Works and Supply minister, Mike Mulongoti, says the decision on whether government printers will print the 2011 ballot papers will be made in consultation with political players in the country.

Mr. Mulongoti says stakeholders such as political parties, civil society and the electoral commission of Zambia will have to endorse the decision.

The minister however said government is confident that the 2011 general election ballot papers will be done at government printers in Lusaka.

Mr. Mulongoti told ZNBC news that government is already making efforts to buy security camera’s for government printers.

This is to ensure transparency during the printing of ballot papers.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia- ECZ has requested governmemnt to install security cameras and a fence at government printers.

[ZNBC]

Chawama Health Centre (CHC) has recorded 15 Christmas babies were eight are female and seven are male.

And the Lions Club of Mulungushi District 413 has today donated Christmas hampers to the babies worth K3.5million.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS shortly after making the donation at Chawama Clinic, Lions Club of Mulungushi District 413 President Prisca Kalaba-Chimolula said the club will continue donating to Christmas babies at the health Center.

She said this is in the hope of helping the mothers to take good care of their new babies.

Ms. Kalaba-Chimolula urged the mothers of the babies to use the donated items for the benefit of their babies.

She expressed hope that the Christmas hampers would go a long way in assisting the mothers take care of their babies.

Chawama Clinic Sister-in-Charge, Evelyn Nkhata-Tembo, thanked the Lions Club of Mulungushi for donating to the babies.

Among the donated Christmas hampers are baby bathing dishes, baby towels, nappies among others.

And Luapula Province has recorded four (4) Christmas babies as at 06:00hrs this morning.

Two babies were recorded at Saint Paul’s Mission hospital in Kawambwa, one at Mansa General Hospital and another at Samfya Rural Health Centre.

Luapula Province Permanent Secretary Jazzman Chikwakwa disclosed this when he visited and presented gifts to the Christmas baby born at Mansa General Hospital this morning.

The gifts included baby clothes, bathing and washing soap and a washing basin.

And head of clinical care at the hospital Dr Consity Mwale, said the Christmas baby recorded at the hospital is a girl and was delivered at 06:00hrs this morning.

The mother to the baby girl Sara Penza, who appeared in good health, thanked the Permanent Secretary for the gifts.

And Mazabuka district hospital has also recorded three Christmas babies.

This came light when members of the local Lions club led by their president Gurdson Shamilimo donated assorted clothing to the babies who included two girls and a boy.

Sister-in-Charge at the hospital, Mary Hamusankwa told the Lions club that the first baby to be born was a girl at 02:00 hours this morning.

Ms. Hamusankwa said the second baby another girl was born an hour later while the baby was delivered at 07:00 hours.

Meanwhile, Mr. Shamilimo has said the Lions club will continue supporting the needy in society in order to improve their livelihood.

And Mr. Shamilimo commended the Lions club for coming to the rescue of the parents whom she said need the support of the community.

[ZANIS]

A two year old boy of Chanyanya in Matente area of Kafue district has died after falling into a water well.

Both the area Councilor Maurice Hikapulwe and Area Community Development Officer Fredrick Milandu confirmed the incident to ZANIS today.

Mr. Milandu told ZANIS that the boy drowned at around 13:00 hours yesterday when his mother was away for work.

He said the boy, who was left under the care of his brother, was only discovered in the well when the mother returned from work and went to draw water.

Mr. Milandu said the body of the boy was retrieved by the uncle and rushed to a nearby clinic where it was certified dead.

He has since appealed to well wishers to sink a borehole in the area.

And area Councilor Maurice Hikapulwe described the death of the toddler as unfortunate.

Mr. Hikapulwe has since appealed to members of the community to leave their children in custody of people who are caring.

He has also appealed to the community to bury all unprotected wells in order to save lives.

The people of Matente area have had no water since they were relocated from the islands and given tents as temporal shelter last year following floods.

They dug up unprotected well for their source of water.

ZANIS/

By Henry Kyambalesa

I have found it hard recently not to comment on calls from some segments of Zambian society for Vice President George Kunda to be arrested or to resign. But after analyzing his utterances when he was featured on Radio Phoenix’s “Government and You” program on 20th December 2009, it would be unpatriotic for me not to bolster such calls. In fact, it would be irresponsible for any patriotic Zambian not to join the bandwagon!

While on the radio program, Kunda accused Fred M’membe of trying to take over state power by scheming to control the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and other constitutional offices for the purpose of making money. He also found it necessary to urge Hakainde Hichilema to leave the PF-UPND pact – a complete departure from the theme of the radio program by the country’s Vice President who has seemingly found it necessary to delve into partisan politics as if such a duty is prescribed in his job description!

What kind of national leader is this who could make statements that are laughable even to a five-year-old?

Such statements would be excusable if they were made by any of the riff-raffs in the MMD. The learned lawyer is clearly no longer of a sound mind! This perhaps explains his inability to see anything wrong with enacting legislation designed to muzzle private media institutions so that they can become propaganda tools for the government like ZNBC, ZANIS, Times of Zambia, and Zambia Daily Mail.

The duties of the Republican Vice President and Minister of Justice are too consequential to be discharged by a person whose utterances are akin to those of a mentally challenged individual. As Vice President, for example, Kunda (as provided for in Part IV of the 1996 Republican constitution) is expected to preside over Cabinet and/or govern the nation if and when any of the following obtains with respect to the incumbent Republican President: absence from office, resignation, impeachment, death, or incapacitation (mental or physical).

Kunda’s behavior is clearly inimical to the security and constitutional rights and freedoms of the citizenry. In fact, his insinuations of wrong doing by selected members of society can very easily lead to assassinations of innocent citizens by loyal members of the country’s security wings. If any of the citizens who are constantly being targeted for unwarranted criticism by Kunda were to be killed in unexplained circumstances, for example, the MMD government would find it hard to exonerate itself from being culpable.

I, therefore, wish to urge President Rupiah Banda to retire Comrade Kunda in the national interest. If he ever wishes to spearhead the creation of a more just, more democratic and more peaceful society, he needs to heed this piece of advice. If the President is reluctant to retire Kunda, members of his family should advice him to retire if they really care for him and for the well-being of the nation at large than to let him continue to make highly questionable and alarming statements in public.

As it is often said, prevention is better than cure – and such prevention needs to be timely!

I, of course, make this suggestion knowing very well that the President has confessed publicly that he is an arrogant and stubborn man who does not take advice from anyone outside his inner circle.

The LT team wishes our dear readers a Wonderful Christmas and Successful New Year

By Bishop Katebe
It is Christmas season once again. For some of us houses on our streets are lit with wonderful decorative lights. The shops are busy with people flocking in to get their loved ones some Christmas presents. The Internet is busy with people ordering gifts and the delivery trucks are in and out of our neighborhoods. Western union is busy with people sending money to their loved ones so that they can have a decent Christmas. For the Post Offices, this is the busiest time of the year. Churches are busy working on Christmas plays or skits because the Christmas weekend usually experiences a swelling in attendance due to those who only attend Church at Easter and Christmas. Airfares have gone up because it’s one of the busiest times of the year and the roads will be busy with traffic this weekend.

For some, this is the most ugly time of the year because their family tradition is that everybody goes home for Christmas and there will be competition among siblings, in terms of how prosperous some have become and how others are scrapping by in life. After all is said and done, most will wish they didn’t have to make the trip to their Christmas get-together. In some families it will be a sad moment because some of their loved ones who were with them last Christmas will not be there because they have passed-on. To some who can’t afford to buy childrens presents; depressing.

For some Zambians living abroad, the extra to some of the activities above will be a time to get together with other Zambians and celebrate the season over a drink.

No matter which way you choose to celebrate or not even celebrate the Christmas season, depending on your beliefs, there’s one thing we cannot afford to loose sight of. Traditionally Christmas points to the birth of Jesus Christ. His birth is really a historical fact. However, to most children, the most popular individual during Christmas is Santa Clause.

We hope you will have a great Christmas and that it will be full of Jesus Christ, who is the savior of all. We hope and pray that you will take time to explain to the children in your care that despite all the activities during Christmas, “JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON.”

Merry Christmas from us to you and yours!

Reuters reports that Zambia’s main opposition leader on Thursday said his party would renationalise Zambia’s fixed line operator, Zamtel, if elected in 2011, because the decision to privatize the company is not in the best interest of the country.

India’s Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd , Angola’s Unitel and Libya’s LAP Green Networks on Wednesday submitted bids to acquire between 51 and 75 percent of the stake in Zamtel.

However Patriotic Front (PF) party president Michael Sata said the sale of Zamtel was unacceptable because apart from it being a strategic organization, the new majority stake owners were likely to close the rural branches and concentrate on urban areas.

“Those bidding for Zamtel are doing so at owner’s risk. The PF in government will reverse the decision to privatise Zamtel. Even if it is sold we will renationalise it,” Sata told Reuters in an interview.

Sata said parliament would decide the conditions of Zamtel renationalisation.[quote]

Zamtel’s revenue for the year to end-December was $100 million. It is Zambia’s only licensed fixed-line provider of voice and data communications and has performed poorly despite its monopoly rights.

Sata said Zamtel had performed badly because the government owed it a lot of money.

“If the government paid all the Zamtel bills, Zamtel would be very viable. The government owes Zamtel trillions of kwacha and that is what has created problems,” Sata said.

The Zamtel sale has been criticised by opposition politicians and trade unions, who say Zambians should hold a bigger stake in the company.

Nigerian fixed-line operator Nitel is also currently being privatised, while in April, Mali’s government rejected a bid for state-owned Sotelma.

Independent analyst Oliver Saasa told Reuters renationalising Zamtel would scare away other investors and was not in the best interest of the country because the sale was legally binding.

“What has been done within the laws of the land should not be changed with every change of government because it will send very wrong signals to other investors,” Saasa said.

“The PF leader should suggest other measures that will ensure that the interests of Zambians are protected after the sale of the company instead of suggesting renationalisation.”

[Reuters]

Copperbelt Province Minister Mwansa Mbulakulima has said it was irrational for the opposition political parties to advocate for the removal of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) from power simply because the party has been around for many years.

ZANIS Ndola reports that Mr. Mbulakulima, who is also MMD National vice Treasurer, was speaking at Mushili Council Youth training centre during the card renewal exercise for MMD Bwanamukubwa constituency.

Mr. Mbulakulima said it was wrong for the opposition parties to want to remove the MMD from power on grounds that the ruling party has overstayed in government.

He said people should only remove a political party from government when it has failed to perform to their expectations.

“The only reason the opposition parties want us out of government is that we have overstayed, but do you divorce a woman because you have stayed with her for 20 years in marriage?” he asked.

Mr. Mbulakulima has meanwhile said there was need for the MMD members to explain the party’s developmental programmes to the public so that the people can appreciate their government.[quote]

He further said the party should be proud that the economy of the country has grown by 6 per cent this year.

He said this has been made possible because of the able leadership of President Rupiah Banda.

And speaking earlier, Bwanamukubwa Constituency Chairman Kelvin Chaumwe, said his constituency had decided to endorse President Banda as the party’s presidential candidate for the next general election.

Mr. Chaumwe said the constituency will also not allow anyone to insult the president.

ZANIS

The Economic Association of Zambia (EAZ) has expressed happiness with government’s intentions to reduce on its domestic borrowing by next year.

EAZ President Mwilola Imakando says the move will go a long way in improving the economic performance of the country by attracting more private sector investment.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today, Dr. Imakando noted that the reduction in domestic borrowing will make more money available for the Private sector hence improving the economy.

He explained that if government continues to borrow from commercial banks the private sector will not have enough money to invest in various sectors of the country’s economy.

Dr. Imakando said government’s move is important because the private sector will be given a chance to access more money from commercial banks.

He said this will also assist commercial banks to reduce on their lending rates there by benefiting many local people economically.

He further added that this will also compel the private sector to invest in important sectors such as in infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Dr. Imakando has appealed to commercial banks in the country to reduce further their lending rates if the sector is to be more competitive.

He noted that Zambia’s economy has the potential to perform well if only the banking sector can be made more competitive.

He since praised the government for continuing to record growth in the economy of the country despite many challenges that came with the global economic down turn.

Dr. Imakando has also cautioned people in the country against making statements that can scare away investors and disturb the economic environment of the country.

Currently Government borrows about K620 billion in treasury bills and government bonds per month.

Government has announced that its intentions to reduce on it domestic borrowing and attract more private sector investment in the economy.

ZANIS