The newly appointed Zesco Board of Directors and Management have set a twelve months ultimatum in which to see tangible impact in the supply and distribution of power countrywide.

Zesco Board of Directors chairman, Songowayo Zyambo, said it is disheartening to note that distribution of power to customers has been ineffective due to factors that include obsolete cable networks and unreliable power supply.

To this effect, Mr Zyambo has implored Zesco management to look for resources to ensure diesel power generation is done away with in the country to ensure reliable supply and distribution of power to customers.

Mr Zyambo, who is heading the Board of Directors on the familiarization tour of the Livingstone Zesco power station, said there is need to put all areas, such as Kaputa in Northern Province, on the national grid.

He observed the need for optimally and reliably supply and distribution of power to customers twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week at top quality.

“The Board of Directors has learnt that there is need to do a lot of work on supply and distribution of power so Zesco management should bear in mind that customers come first and are the best judge,” he said.

He said the new Zesco Board and Management were focusing on neglected areas to ensure quality distribution and supply of power.

Mr Zyambo observed that obsolete underground cable net is impeding the distribution of power.

He said areas such as Lusaka have rotten underground cables, and expressed worry that more frequent power faults and failure would be experienced especially in the rainy season.

“It is disheartening to note that the distribution network cannot take power to customers despite power being produced because cables are faulty and rotten,” he said.

The Board of Directors is on an orientation tour of Zecso installation following the appointment in April this year.

Mr Zyambo said the board has undertaken the tour in order to have a visual orientation and inspection of Zesco installations in the country.

He further said that the board has adopted an interactive approach with Zesco employees and management in order to appreciate their concerns and to ensure equality and fairness.

Mr Zyambo said the tour also involves taking an on the spot check of reports that Zesco management make and to listen to employees on the grassroots in order to map the way forward.

ZANIS

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LT Team

The Committee of Citizens (CC) has added its voice in condemning alleged tribal remarks uttered by Science and Technology Minster Gabriel Namulamba.

Committee executive director Gregory Chifire says the remarks attributed by Mr. Namulamba if unchecked have the potential to bring about division among the people in the country.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today, Mr. Chifire said this is why there is need for President Rupiah Banda to put in place serious disciplinary measures that will curtail ministers’ against making remarks that are likely to cause confusion.

Mr. Chifire noted that politics of tribalism should not be entertained at all costs adding that there is need for President Banda to act on the matter immediately.

Science and Technology Minster Gabriel Namulamba has come under fire after been quoted as having said that the Lamba people feel frustrated, hurt and injured that some people have publicly declared that they hated late president Mwanawasa who they alleged was corrupt.

In another development Mr. Chifire has called on government to intensify sensitization on the mobile issuance of National Registration Cards (NRC) especially among the rural communities.

Mr. Chifire pointed out that an NRC is an important document that every Zambian above the age of 16 must have adding that this is why government should take it upon itself and ensure that people are helped to understand the exercise.

He observed that the exercise is been shunned in most parts of the country because many people lack adequate information on what they are expected to do when an exercise is been undertaken in their area.

The CC chief further advised government through the ministry of Home Affairs to devise sensitization programmes aimed at educating local people on the importance of the exercise.

Mr. Chifire also added that government should consider engaging traditional leaders to help in convincing their subjects on the issue.

He explained that traditional leaders have a significant role to play and ensure that their subjects understand government programmes.

ZANIS

I recently read an article entitled “Government Urges Local Scientists to Be More Competitive” which appeared in the Lusaka Times (LT) of December 2, 2009. In the article, Science and Technology Minister Gabriel Namulambe was reported as having toured government-funded projects at the Technology Development Advisory Unit (TDAU) at the University of Zambia.

Technological inventions and innovations are of immense value to any given society. We, for example, know very well that the affluence being enjoyed in such countries as Canada, Japan, Great Britain, and the United States today is the direct outcome of a relentless quest for new and improved forms of technology in agriculture, agribusiness, commerce, and the manufacturing industries by individuals and institutions in such countries.

In developing countries like Zambia, on the contrary, zealous efforts by national governments to break the bondage of the masses of their people to misery, want and destitution have been thwarted partly by chronic scientific and technological backwardness. In Zambia, the scientific and technological sector is perhaps one of the obvious sectors where our country will continue to lag behind due to a host of constraints, which include the following:

(a) Traditional beliefs that are inconsistent with the promise and routines of science and technology, such as the association of the occurrence of such natural phenomena as lightning and the rainbow with fierce, giant snakes;

(b) Conspicuous neglect of formal and tertiary education;

(c) Failure by business, government and other institutions to use or promote findings or recommendations associated with research and development (R&D) activities under the pretext that they are merely ‘book materials’ which have no practical value;

(d) Inadequate scientific and technological (S&T) infrastructure, and the existence of a weak arrangement for facilitating the development of conceived product ideas and technological innovations;

(e) Misplacement of trained personnel, mainly due to political considerations;

(f) Inability of tertiary educational institutions to censor research and study programs that are not consistent with the current and/or future needs of commerce, industry and government;

(g) Dependence on foreign technology, which has made indigenous scientists and technologists in the country to be less creative because they expect industrialized nations to provide the necessary technical know-how;

(h) Loss of trained nationals to other countries through the brain drain, which has robbed the country of potential inventors and innovators;

(i) Patent protection (which was extended from 17 to 20 years by the World Trade Organization in 1993), which affords current inventors and innovators the opportunity to prevent potential competitors from entering certain technical fields or markets;

(j) A small domestic market, which cannot support the introduction of advanced production techniques that which normally evolve rates of output that are well beyond the size of the local market, and the inaccessibility of foreign markets due to poor transport infrastructure and other increment factors;

(k) A sluggish economy, which, among other things, cannot support investments in science and technology; and

(l) Lack of, or inadequate, political will and commitment to the advancement of scientific and technological know-how.

There are many practical ways and means by which the Zambian government and business institutions can stimulate the supply of, and/or the demand for, new forms of technology, such as the following: (a) addressing the needs of formal education; (b) designing research and study programs that are consistent with the needs of society; (c) adequately supporting R&D activities; (d) fostering innovation and creativity in commerce and industry through tax and other kinds of incentives; (e) generation of a suitable population policy designed to increase the size of the local market through population growth; (f) engaging in multilateral S&T initiatives with technologically advanced countries; and (g) keen governmental leadership.

Getting rid of sinecures in government, among other things, can release financial and material resources for investment in science and technology.

The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) Community Worker Davies Kayeba says there is an increased number of men who are victims of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Zambia.

Mr. Kayeba said the center has so far recorded 46 cases this year adding that this is not the true picture as most GBV cases concerning men go un-reported due to self stigma.

He urged men in the country to start reporting GBV cases as keeping silent does not help them as it may lead to their untimely death especially if the violence continues.

He said this in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today.

The Community Worker advised the GBV victims to face reality as the vice does not only affect women but men as well.

He said men need to communicate their GBV experiences to the relevant authorities in order to be helped.

He said some of the factors that contribute to male GBV are bad personal behavior towards a spouse, poverty, cultural aspects and a lack of Knowledge.

Mr. Kayeba called for increased sensitization should be done to provide information to people on the negative impact of GBV saying such behavior sometimes leaves one spouse disfigured for life.

He expressed hope that in the near future the organization will build a shelter for men who suffer extreme GBV like there sister organization Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) does for women and children in extreme GBV situations.

He has since urged men to come out in the open and report GBV cases to YMCA, YWCA, and the victim support Unit instead of remaining silent.

He added that with much sensitization and adequate information disseminated to the masses there is likely to be a decrease in GBV cases.

ZANIS