A DISCONTENTED member of the Patriotic Front (PF) has left the opposition political party and condemned its president Michael Sata’s statement that he will re-nationalise companies that are being privatised.

Mubanga Chileshe said such statements could cause consternation in the private sector and among potential investors.

Mr Chileshe, who announced his resignation in a statement to PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba, urged Mr Sata to desist from inflammatory statements against investors because that could stir economic instability.

Mr Chileshe was beaten with Samson Zulu on June 5, 2009, by suspected PF cadres and bundled into a motor vehicle in the middle of a press briefing they held to question the party’s policies.

He wondered what would stop Mr Sata from re-nationalising the mines if he could talk of reversing the engagement of a strategic partner in Zamtel.
He said Zamtel needs to be revitalised through the engagement of such a strategic partner.

“MTN and Zain are new on the scene, but they are doing far much better than Zamtel. We don’t need to sell it off completely, but it’s necessary that a strategic partner comes in to boost the operations of Zamtel,” Mr Chileshe said.

He said it is unfortunate that Mr Sata is talking about the re-nationalisation of state enterprises at a time the mines are just recovering from an expedited privatisation process.

Mr Chileshe wondered what solution Mr Sata would offer to issues arising from privatisation when he was Minister Without Portfolio when then President Frederick Chiluba’s administration started the privatisation of state enterprises.

“The mines are just recovering from a rushed privatisation during which Mr Sata was Minister without Portfolio and Mr Hichilema (United Party for National Development president) was a consultant on privatisation. How can he say that he has a solution to privatisation?” Mr Chileshe said.

He said Mr Sata should have challenged privatisation when he was in Government because his position was as good as de facto vice-president.

Mr Chileshe urged politicians to be careful with the statements they make on national issues.

Meanwhile, Mr Chileshe said he has decided to leave PF because there is no commitment from the party leadership to addressing alleged escalating violence.

He said the recent harassment of a party member, Oppa Hamiyaza, by suspected PF cadres when he was expressing divergent views on Mazabuka FM was evidence of growing intolerance in the party.

Mr Chileshe said the press briefing he co-hosted with Mr Zulu was in good faith because they wanted the PF to address certain issues so that the party forms the next government.

“I had the democratic right under the Zambian constitution to express myself over these concerns. Unfortunately, this resulted in my being beaten, assaulted and kidnapped in front of cameras and full view of journalists and police officers,” Mr Chileshe said.

At the press briefing, Mr Chileshe and Mr Zulu voiced out the need for the PF to have a national convention and make amendments to party constitutional provisions, which they feared are allegedly undemocratic.

In reaction to Mr Chileshe’s resignation, Mr Kabimba urged Mr Chileshe to go and partner with a party that has no rules.

Mr Kabimba said he has never known an organisation that accommodates people who betray its cause or rules.
He said the PF was not undemocratic as Mr Chileshe was claiming, because if it were, it would not be growing and winning elections.

Mr Kabimba said PF is the only political party that is growing and the public has growing interest in it.
He said the PF will be holding a general conference before the end of this year to elect national leaders in a democratic manner.

The conference will follow elections from the section up to provincial level.[quote]

Mr Kabimba said he released party election rules a few days ago for the lower organs to follow.

He supported Mr Sata’s statement that the party will re-nationalise Zamtel if it comes into power.

Mr Kabimba said the PF supports privatisation which benefits the people.
And in an interview yesterday, Mr Chileshe said the PF is not short of leaders for Mr Sata to court Mr Hichilema for presidency if he wanted to hand over power to a younger person.

Mr Chileshe said the PF-UPND pact will crumble because their memorandum of understanding (MoU) does not state how they will share Government positions if elected into power.

He said there is no guarantee that if one wins, he will appoint the other as vice-president if that is not enshrined in the MoU.

Patriotic Front president Michael Sata has re-stated that that his party has never been against the Chinese investment in general.

Mr Michael said his party is only concerned with the conditions of service the Chinese offer to the Zambian workers.

He said that though Chinese investment could be encouraged, the investors from that country should respect Zambian laws.

Mr. Sata says that Zambian workers have continued to be paid low wages at the expense of the so called investment.
Mr. Sata also said in an interview with QFM that government should not be boasting about opening new mines.

He noted that what the government is simply doing is only recycling old mines and not opening news ones.

Mr. Sata further stated that if Luanshya Mine was sold on principle other than through corruption means, it would not have been changing ownership.

He has advised government to engage in proper management skills in the selling mines other than through corrupt means.
QFM

By Charles Ngoma

The case of the gay couple that have decided to co-habit publicly in Malawi is interesting. Homosexuality in Malawi is a criminal offence and so it is in Zambia. Amnesty International publishes a world map where they colour red any country in which there are human rights abuses. Zambia is in red, not because of political prisoners but because it criminalises homosexuality.

Many developed countries no longer consider homosexuality as a criminal offence but consider this as a human rights issue. Africans tend to be conservative and traditional on this matter and many of the readers will find the practice ‘offensive’ and ‘barbaric.’ On top of this, Zambia, has declared itself a ‘christian nation.’ There is no doubt that once this issue is brought up, there will be many who will come up with an arms length of Biblical quotations in support of the ban against the practice.

Let me make it clear from the outset that I have no doubt in my mind that homosexuality is un-natural. Indeed I go further to say that its practice is morally wrong. But, what I question is whether it constitutes a criminal offence. There are at least three main questions that should be considered before an act or practice is made illegal.

First: Is it an offence to persons?
Second: Is it destructive to property?
Third: Is it an offence to the State, i.e. does it interfere with governance?

I may be mistaken, but nearly every good law must fall into one or more of theses categories. There are many things that are morally repugnant but they are not criminal offences because they fall outside these principles. Adultery is morally wrong and illegal and rightly so, because ‘another’ person is offended. So are slander, abortion and murder. Libel is an offence against a person by attacking his character. Theft is illegal too because it concerns property and persons. Treason is offence against the State. There are some illegal practices that one would not classify as immoral. For example, drink-driving and over-speeding, but there is a potential to harm another person.

So, coming back to homosexuality, can it be classified as a criminal offence? The practice is arguably immoral but should the taxpayer’s money be spent on taking these people to court and incarcerating them in prison for something that they have no natural power to overcome on their own and is between mutually consenting adults? Wouldn’t resources be better spent to understand why people come to have this alternative sexual outlook? Homosexual practice is a moral issue that one has to answer to in their heart and before their Maker.

I do not think that the State should get involved in this. It may not be long before Zambia is in the world news again with another ‘comedy of errors’ trial, just like Malawi. In actual fact, it may be that the law enforcers in Zambia are casting a blind eye to this ‘breaking of the law’ going by the Vice President Rt. Hon. G. Kunda S.C.’s statement to the House of Parliament. Homosexual practice is rife in Zambia. Issues of sexual health are not adequately tackled if we hide our heads in the sand and pretend that this does not happen. There may be a case to revisit this archaic colonial law and expunge it from our statutes.

THE National Constitutional Conference (NCC) has rejected articles in the Mung’omba draft Constitution which would subject members of the National Assembly to a recall when they are not performing to the expectations of their electorate.

The conference voted unanimously to have Article 188 and Article 189 deleted as they could promote anarchy in the country.

In the Mung’omba draft Constitution, Article 188 stipulates that the National Assembly may censure a minister by resolution, supported by two-thirds of the votes of all the members of the National Assembly.

And Article 189 specifies that the electorate may recall members of the National Assembly who hold a constitution-based seat in a constituency.

Contributing to the debate, Commissioner Lucy Changwe said the articles, if included in the new Constitution, would be a recipe for power struggles.
Ms Changwe said the process can also have an effect on policy implementation as many programmes can be disrupted.

She said allowing 50 percent of the registered electorate to petition the removal of an MP who fails to perform can also be retrogressive to national development because it will be betraying the majority of the electorate who are not in favour of the petition.

“I am in full support of having these articles deleted completely without making any changes because they are a threat to development,” Ms Changwe said.
She said MPs have a parliamentary code of conduct which regulates them, and there is no need for them to be recalled by the electorate.

Commissioner Daniel Munkombwe said adopting the article will be dangerous for the country because people will start to look for faults just to get rid of certain individuals in Parliament.

Mr Munkombwe said the electoral system provides for MPs to work for five years and that the electorate are there to make choices regarding MPs during an election.

“If an MP does not work according to people’s expectation, the electorate will be free to speak through the ballot paper instead of petitioning their removal before the elections are held,” he said.

Commissioner Benson Chingombe commended the committee members for deciding to do away with the articles, saying they are a threat to democracy.

Mr Chingombe said if the articles were to be adopted, Zambia would be headed for disaster.

Earlier, Commissioner Richard Mwitwa argued that the articles should be included in the national Constitution because this would make MPs accountable to their electorate.

Mr Mwitwa said if Article 189 is reinstated, the electorate will be given power to offer checks and balances.

“As it is now, MPs can choose whether to work for the people or not. I am in support of this article as people will have the authority to remove MPs who don’t perform,” he said.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

The company is providing funding for Stagecoach Driving Instructor Neil Rettie to spend 12 months helping to make driving standards in the African state better as part of Transaid’s Professional Driver Training Project.

Having spent three months in the Lusaka region of Zambia last year during which he trained more than 60 bus and coach drivers, Neil has now set off for a second three-month spell in the country where he will continue to deliver a “Safe and Skilled Driving” course to transport operators.

He will also be working alongside the Zambian Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) to help them develop and implement their curriculum.

Neil said: “I’m looking forward to getting back to Zambia. I’ll be working with some of the same companies as previously as well as some new ones, to try and help improve the driving standards of bus and coach operators.

“I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge and it’s a great opportunity for me to share my skills with others. We received very positive feedback the first time round and all the drivers are very keen to learn and to improve their skills.

“It’s so important to ensure that driving standards are high, not only to protect the drivers and their passengers but also to improve the safety of other road users.”

The aim of the project is to address the huge shortage of skilled drivers through improving driver training and safety standards, in order to reduce the number of road crashes which occur in the Lusaka region.

Road crashes are the third highest cause of premature death in Africa after HIV/AIDS and malaria.

In Zambia, the Road Transport and Safety Agency estimates that road accidents cost the country around £167million each year, which equates to around three percent of Zambia’s GDP.

Many accidents can often be attributed to poor driving skills and poor vehicle maintenance which Transaid’s project is trying to address

[STV]