Home Affairs Minister Lameck Mangani says the police have arrested a number of suspected masterminds of the recent Konkola Copper Mine riots.

Mr. Mangani told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that the suspected masterminds will appear in court soon. He said government will not condone any irresponsible behavior where people take the law into their own hands.

The minister said it is necessary for employees or any section of society to use the correct channels of addressing their grievances rather than resorting to violence.

He said it was okay for the miners to complain about whatever they felt but that it was not good for them to destroy company and public property.

Last week KCM miners’ riot disrupted the mining company’s operations for three days after management allegedly failed to award its workers improved conditions of service.

ZANIS

Three female Monalisa School pupils drowned at Adventure city in Lusaka, on Friday.

Police Spokesperson Bonny Kapeso confirmed the incident in a press statement made available to Zanis in Lusaka yesterday.
Mr. Kapeso said the three were among fellow pupils who had gone on an educational tour at adventure city when they met their fate at around 14:00 hours.

Mr Kapeso disclosed that the trio has been identified as Bernice Namusa aged 12 years, Kakulu Mate aged 11 years old and Mirriam Mambwe aged six years old.

The spokesperson has since advised the general public to be extra cautious especially when accompanied by children at all times.

ZANIS

Zimbabwean First Lady Mrs Grace Mugabe arrives in the country tomorrow,Monday November 23rd, to attend the African First Ladies against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA) conference.

Her Ethiopian counterpart Azeb Mesfin who is OAFLA President arrives in Zambia the following day on Tuesday.Other First Ladies expected to attend the conference are Namibia’s First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba who is represented by Reverend Mrs Hilukiluah who has already arrived in the country.

The OAFLA Conference is intended to empower SADC First Ladies with information on maternal health issues and also develop a comprehensive SADC OAFLA sub-regional plan of action.

This is contained in a press statement released by State House’s Press and Public Relations Unit.

The focus of the conference which is being hosted by Zambia’s First Lady Mrs Thandiwe Banda is Maternity Protection as a Preventive and Care Strategy Against Mother to Child Transmission of HIV.

According to the statement, Technical Advisors of the visiting spouses of heads of states are already deliberating ahead of the First Ladies’ workshop which begins on Tuesday November 24, 2009.

Among the planned activities is a visit-site tour to Matero Clinic in Lusaka where there is a support programme for mother and child health, and the State House Women’s Club, Nursery and Pre-School.

The workshop will close with a gala dinner at Hotel Inter-continental in Lusaka on Thursday November 26 whose major function will be to raise funds to help support OAFLA Zambia Chapter activities.

ZANIS

Siavonga District Commissioner (DC) Emily Striedl has urged Law Enforcement Agencies to initiate a framework that will strengthen their fight against corruption in the country.

Ms. Striedl said that a strong framework would enhance the Law Enforcement Agencies to have better ways to fight against corruption in the country.
She was speaking in a speech read on her behalf by Siavonga District Council Deputy Planner Charity Kayombo when she officially closed a four day workshop for Commonwealth In-Country Capacity Building for Governance Oversight Institutions.

The event was sponsored by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Commonwealth Secretariat in Siavonga.
Ms. Striedl said the Law Enforcement Agencies coordination in the fight against corruption in the country is not effective at the moment. She said it was important that the Law Enforcement Agencies coming up with a framework of strong coordination would also help in fighting corruption at a faster rate hence making the country a better place to live in.

Meanwhile, Commonwealth Secretariat Adviser Roger Koranteng pledged the Commonwealth Secretariat support to Zambia in the fight against corruption.

Dr. Koranteng said the Commonwealth Secretariat is keen to see corruption in Zambia come to an end.He urged the Law Enforcement Agencies that attended the workshop to put into practice what they discussed and deliberated.
ZANIS

First Republican President Dr Kenneth Kaunda says he is not happy with the political situation currently prevailing in the Country.

Dr Kaunda told ZANIS in an interview in Kitwe today that if Zambians did not check the political hostilities existing among the various political parties the country would be thrown into chaos.

He said he was saddened by the culture of violence and insults that has characterized Zambian politics and that there was urgent need to correct the situation.

“If you obey Gods word, preach love and unity all the time you can not begin to beat some body,” he said.
He added that peace and unity could only come if people learnt to follow God’s commandments especially loving your neighbor as you love yourself.

He further said there was no other way to correct the political hostility prevailing in the country other than following God’s orders and commandments.

Dr Kaunda, who was in Kitwe to attend a tree planting exercise for the Rotary club of Kitwe North, said Zambians must begin to follow the spirit of brotherhood to enhance economic development and peace.
ZANIS

The Livingstone District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) says the number of teachers’ deaths due to HIV/AIDS has reduced in the district.

DEBS Trustee Hanguwa said intervention by his office has mainly led to the reduction in deaths among teachers. He said in previous years, the Ministry of Education in the district used to lose about 20 teachers per year to HIV/AIDS. He said the trend has been slowed down and that only about eight to twelve teachers are dying.

Mr. Hanguwa who was in the company of the Assistant Human Resources Management officer, Mbuywana Akatumwa told ZANIS in an interview that teachers living with HIV/AIDS have become open about it and are seeking medical, financial, spiritual, and moral support.

He said his office has organized HIV positive teachers into a support group and assist them whenever they need help. He said the DEBS office is organizing counseling sessions for the group as well as organizing entrepreneur experts to help the teachers venture into money making activities in order to help them have a steady flow of cash to improve on their nutrition.

He said his office is securing market for the support group to sell their merchandise to raise money.

Mr. Hanguwa observed that most of the female teachers are widowed and are in need of financial support to meet their basic and nutritional needs. He said his office is putting measures in place to ensure the HIV positive teaching community live longer and contribute to national development.

And Ms. Akatumwa said the support group has put in place a deliberate policy of befriending teachers that are not wiling to come in the open despite their seemingly HIV positive status.

Ms. Akatumwa said one person is assigned to a suspected HIV positive teacher to persuade such a person to go for voluntary testing and counseling in good time.

She further said HIV positive pupils are also catered for by the DEBS to ensure that they have access to treatment and supplementary feeding programmes in schools.

ZANIS

Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) spokesperson Wilfred Moonga says the recent news that there was a stray lion in Lusaka’s ibex hill residential area could have just caused unnecessary alarm as the reports were unsubstantiated.

Mr, Moonga said in a statement to ZANIS, today, that ZAWA rangers yesterday patrolled Ibex Hill suburb, covering Dream Valley area, to verify a news report by Muvi TV that there was a stray Lion in the area.

” The team visited three households within the area which claimed to have seen big strange spoors of a carnivore behind their homes, which they suspected and feared could have been left by a stray lion,” says the spokesperson in the statement.

Upon conducting spoor identification the officers confirmed that the suspected prints were left behind by two big dogs that roamed the area in the night.

Mr. Moonga said the footprints were sighted behind the residences of three named households. One woman, a local resident also confirmed having seen the two unidentified canids in the area.

He has urged members of the public not to panic but go about their normal daily activities as the report was not substantiated.m.

However, he advised that as much as the farming season has just began the general public should be vigilant at all times as they venture into their fields afar to cultivate their crops and to report any encounters with dangerous game animals to ZAWA for quick response.

ZANIS

Defence minister Kalombo Mwansa has re-assured Zimbabwe and its citizens of Zambia’s continued support during this period when the Southern African country is facing various social- economic challenges.

Dr. Mwansa expressed government’s hope is confident that the prevailing dark period in Zimbabwe will continue to improve not only for the benefit of its citizens but in the entire region.

He said this during the official opening and closing of the 25th session of the Zambia/Zimbabwe joint permanent commission (JPC) on defence and security held in Lusaka today

Dr. Mwansa said the peace and stability among the two countries can only be guaranteed in the defence and security services which should continue working closely together in finding lasting solutions to challenges of mutual interest.

He pointed out that there is an increased tendency by illegal migrants from the horn of Africa and other regions to use the Zambia/Zimbabwe border as a transit route.

He observed that incidents of cross-border crime such as smuggling, poaching, cattle rustling and illicit drug trafficking have continued to be a source of concern.

Dr. Mwansa further said there is need for strengthened joint efforts in dealing with these vices.

And Zimbabwe’s minister State for National Security Sydney Sekeramayi thanked all the SADC member countries that have continued to render support to his country.

Dr. Sekeramayi especially thanked the Zambian government and its people for its continuous support especially during the liberalization struggle in which many Zambians lost their lives.

He said despite the Zambian economic development being hampered during the liberalization struggle, the mineral rich country has not stopped supporting Zimbabwe to gain its independence.

He added that the 25th session should act as a stepping stone in laying a firm foundation to strengthen defence and bilateral relations between the two countries.
ZANIS