The long awaited fresh voter registration exercise begins soon. The exercise has been on the cards for some time now.

Electoral Commission of Zambia(ECZ) Florence Mumba, says the exercise in all the 72 districts of Zambia will be done over a period of 90 days.

In some areas, especially those in remote areas, the exercise will be conducted through mobile services.

Ms. Mumba told a consultative meeting in Lusaka on today that the fresh registration exercise will help to remove deceased voters from the register.

The new voters roll will also enable more people to take part in the 2011 general elections.

The stakeholders’ meeting was attended by Town Clerks and Provincial local government officers.

[ZNBC]

President Rupiah Banda is on Tuesday scheduled to officially re-open the Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM) and commission the production of copper following the successful acquisition of the mine by a new investor.

President Banda will join the new investor China Non-Ferrous Metals Corporations (CNMC) at LCM in Luanshya on the Copperbelt Province to reopen the mine which was put on care and maintenance by the previous owners before it was sold to CNMC.

This is contained in a press statement made available to ZANIS in Lusaka today by President Banda’s Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Dickson Jere.

President Banda and his delegation are expected back to Lusaka after the commissioning of the mine, which has so far created about 2, 000 jobs for the people in the area.

Meanwhile, President Banda is on Wednesday expected to travel to Eastern Province where he will officially open a Technical and Vocational college in Chipata before flagging off the construction of the Chipata-Mfuwe road.

President Banda will spend his Christmas in Mfuwe where he is also expected to hold meetings with various groups on a number of national issues.

ZANIS

VICE-PRESIDENT George Kunda says the claim by Mr Sata and Mr Hichilema that they are both presidential candidates for the 2011 elections shows that there is confusion in the PF-UPND pact.

Speaking on a Radio Phoenix programme ‘Government and You’ in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Kunda has challenged the PF-UPND pact to tell Zambians who the candidate is between them. He also alleged that The Post newspaper is promoting Mr Sata while Mr Hichilema is considered a thug.

“I am just wondering why an intelligent man like HH should make an alliance with Mr Sata, whose conduct we all know is not very good. The earlier you (Mr Hichilema) come out of it the better because Mr Sata is just using you.

“If he can dismiss 22 members of Parliament without even blinking, how do you trust such a man? UPND, please leave that sinking ship because there is confusion where you are,” he said.

Mr Kunda wondered whether Mr Hichilema has given up his ambitions of being republican President.[quote]
“Are people of Southern Province happy? Please leave this confusion; you are a learned man,” he said.
Mr Kunda said Mr Sata expelled late UPND president Anderson Mazoka from MMD.

He said Mr Hichilema’s alliance with Mr Sata is betraying Mr Mazoka’s legacy.

He said the MMD will continue talking about the PF-UPND pact because people talk about the MMD as well.
“We have seen a weakness in the pact. Southern Province is cracked. Even chiefs in that province are saying Mr Hichilema has made a blunder. We must also gain mileage out of the mistakes of our competitors. So, even tomorrow (today), I will sharpen my tools to fight the pact. This pact is only between Mr Sata and Mr Hichilema,” he said.

Mr Kunda said Government has information that some UPND members of Parliament will not be adopted.
He alleged that Mr Sata is a die-hard dictator because his party has made it clear that some jobs will be reserved for PF members only.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

SCIENCE and Technology Minister, Gabriel Namulambe has been told to publicly apologise to President Rupiah Banda or resign on moral grounds.

Copperbelt provincial MMD publicity and information secretary in charge of youth affairs Morgan Ntankula, said in Kitwe yesterday Mr Namulambe should apologise for raising what he called false alarm which had created unnecessary tension between the Lamba people and other tribes.

Mr Ntankula who was speaking in his capacity as a concerned Lamba person, said in a statement it was unfortunate that Mr Namulambe who recently said that Lambas were hurt and frustrated, did not even consult the Lambas.

He said Mr Namulambe should have handled his grievance with maturity than implicating the innocent Lamba tribe.

When contacted, Mr Namulambe who is Mpongwe Member of Parliament (MP) said, he would not apologise because his statement was not targetted at President Banda but at those that had continued to attack the late Levy Mwanawasa’s legacy.

“Let the people read my statement and they will find out that at no time did I direct that statement at President Banda,” he said.

He said Mr Ntankula was not one of the people he represented as Mpongwe MP and he should just concentrate on organising the party.

“It is sad that people have decided to take the smoke out of my statement leaving out the fire,” Mr Namulambe said.

Mr Ntankula, however, said it was shameful of Mr Namulambe to even boast that he was strong politically and could not be pushed, instead of humbling himself.

“I strongly feel Mr Namulambe should apologise publicly or resign if he has any morals. What we have noticed in his attitude is that he is exhibiting the worst levels of indiscipline and disrepect to the authority, something very unfamiliar to our tribe.

Failure to publicly apologise to the president and the nation at large, will compel us the concerned Lamba speaking people, to earnestly request the president to fire him and consider other people that are eager to work with the president,” Mr Ntankula said.

He said Mr Namulambe had dented the image of the Lamba speaking tribe.

Mr Ntankula said it was sad that Mr Namulambe should create an impression that President Banda had become unpopular in Lamba land when the president was enjoying massive support in the area.

Meanwhile, Kafulafuta Constituency leadership in Ndola, is against the expulsion of area Member of Parliament, George Mpombo from the party because the move is not a solution to the current stand off with the MMD.

Constituency chairperson, Abraham Mwape said the party in the area was still hopeful that the issue concerning Mr Mpombo could still be resolved amicably.

Mr Mwape said in an interview in Masaiti at the weekend that calls for the expulsion of the former Defence minister would not solve the problem but compound it.

“Calls for Mr mpombo’s resignation is not a solution to the problem but he should instead be called for a meeting so that all outstanding issues can be resolved,” he said.

He said the party in the district still wanted Mr Mpombo to avail himself at the forthcoming constituency conference scheduled for January 8, 2010 in Ndola, where he was expected to explain in detail his position following his unwarranted attacks on President Banda and the MMD leadership.

Mr Mwape said Mr Mpombo had not responded to calls by the constituency to go and explain his position on the matter since he resigned from Cabinet in September.

But provincial party chairperson, Joseph Chilambwe maintained the earlier position taken by the party in the province to recommend to the National Executive Committee (NEC) to expel Mr Mpombo from the MMD.

[Times of Zambia]

THE United Party for National Development (UPND) and the Patriotic Front (PF) have not yet agreed on who will be their joint presidential candidate in the 2011 elections. This is contrary to assertions by PF president Michael Sata that he will contest the republican presidency.

UPND spokesman Charles Kakoma said in an interview yesterday that the presidential candidate for the UPND/PF pact will be chosen by a national governing council of the alliance.

He said no-one has been chosen as presidential candidate for the UPND/PF alliance because the two parties are still working on selling the alliance.

“I am a member of the national governing council where decisions are made. The national governing council has not chosen anyone to represent the pact in the presidential elections,” Mr Kakoma said.

On remarks attributed to Mr Sata on one of the private radio stations that he (Sata) is the presidential candidate, Mr Kakoma said the PF leader must have been misquoted.

And UPND Namwala member of Parliament Robby Chizyuka Chizyuka said Mr Sata does not qualify to be the UPND-PF pact presidential candidate because people in the UPND strongholds do not recognise him.

Major Chizyuka said that in several parts of the country, people only know UPND president Hakainde Hichilema as their candidate, and not Mr Sata. “I was in Kaoma, Nangoma and other places where UPND is leading. Mr Sata is not even known by these people and, to be frank, the people in these areas only know Hakainde Hichilema as president,” he said in an interview.

On Chinese Investment

In another development the UPND says that it is not opposed to Chinese investments in Zambia as long as the investors uphold Zambia’s industrial and labour laws. Mr Kakoma said Chinese investment should only be allowed on condition that they uphold the labour laws and respect workers’ rights.He said that there is nothing wrong with Chinese investment if they adhere to the laws of the land.

He said the Chinese have invested all over the world, in Europe, America and South Africa and there is no problem if they uphold the labour laws.
He said people working for the Chinese in Zambia, especially miners, are subjected to unsafe working conditions. [quote]

And Evangelical Youth Alliance International president Moses Lungu and Major Chizyuka have wondered why Mr Sata is so opposed to Chinese investors in Zambia when it is evident that they are helping to improve Zambia’s economy for the benefit of all Zambians.

Mr Lingu said that Chinese investments are key to the improvement of Zambians’ standards of living. “Chinese investments in Zambia cannot be ignored; it would be at our own peril. So many countries the world over have welcomed it because they have seen that it is genuine,” he said.

Reverend Lungu has challenged Zambians to work hard and learn from the Chinese on how they have managed to bring massive investments in their country.
Rev Lungu called on politicians to stop attacking the Chinese who are creating jobs for Zambians.

Major Chizyuka also wondered why Mr Sata is strongly opposed to Chinese investors. He said Chinese investments and projects in his constituency are impressive and effective. Maj Chizyuka said these include investments in mining and infrastructure development such as road rehabilitation.

He said Chinese investments are real and consistent. Some of the investments, he said, go back to the early years of independence when Mr Sata was in Government. Maj Chizyuka said Mr Sata seems to have forgotten about the great things the Chinese government did for Zambia during first President Kenneth Kaunda’s reign.

“Mr Sata is forgetting that most of the investment in this country was in the 1970s and was brought by the Chinese whom he is condemning today,” he said.

Maj Chizyuka said it is high time the Zambians appreciated the work the Chinese are doing. He wondered what investment Mr Sata would bring to Zambia if he came to power.

Maj Chizyuka also condemned Mr Sata for reportedly cutting short an interview with the Voice of America. He said such an opportunity (interview) should be used to market the country.

“How do you bring wealth to the country if you cannot sell your country through such interviews with international journalists?” Maj Chizyuka said.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

By Henry Kyambalesa

I wish to comment on the donation of various relief items worth US$100,000 to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID should be commended for making the donation, which includes blankets, tents, shovels, wheelbarrows, water containers, sanitary towels, and other essential items.

However, there is a need for donor countries and humanitarian organizations to be politically sensitive when making donations designed to assist needy members of Zambian society. They need to be aware of the potential for selective distribution of relief supplies to affected communities by the ruling political party with the intention of gaining political leverage in elections.

In this regard, donor countries and humanitarian organizations need to advocate for the creation, by the Zambian government, of a statutory and autonomous government agency that would perform its duties without any political meddling or manipulation by government officials designed to achieve partisan objectives.

The agency should also be responsible for providing assistance to the needy and, therefore, should incorporate the functions of the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme currently administered through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, and which includes the Social Cash Transfer Scheme.

Suggestively, the agency could be referred to as the “Welfare and Emergency Management Bureau,” and should be accountable to the Parliamentary Committee on Health, Community Development and Social Welfare. DMMU, which is currently vested in the Office of the Vice-President, is very likely to be abused by the MMD or future ruling political parties for partisan purposes.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“…Prepare the way for the Lord.”
(Isaiah 40:3, NIV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Everyone goes through seasons of waiting. A lot of times, people just sit back and wait for God to do everything. But you have to remember to do your part and make preparations. You have to talk like it’s going to happen and act like it’s going to happen. Some people might say, “Well, Joel, what if I do this and it doesn’t happen?” But I say what if you do and it does happen? And even if things don’t turn out the way you had hoped, you’d still be better off living your life positive and hopeful than you would to go around down and discouraged.

I love what David said in the Bible, “God, my times are in your hands.” He was saying, “God, I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but I know You know what’s best for me.” So I’m going to go out today expecting good things. And even if it doesn’t happen, I’m not going to go to bed all disappointed. I’m going to go to bed knowing that I’m one day closer to seeing my dreams and desires come to pass!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

“Father in heaven, I dedicate this day to You. Show me how to prepare for You to move in my life. Help me guard my words and thoughts as I put my trust in You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

Joel Osteen ministries