Vice President George Kunda says most donors who had withheld funding following the financial scam at the Ministry of Health have started releasing the money to government.

And Mr Kunda has castigated some opposition Members of Parliament (MP) and their leaders for inciting donors not to commit funding to the government

The Vice President said the donors are ready to resume funding to government, adding that some have even started releasing the money they committed to government.

He said donors are impressed with the commitment the government has shown in fighting corruption in the country as evidenced from the number of agreements government has continued signing with them.

Mr Kunda said this in parliament today in response to questions from Members of Parliament during the Vice President’s question time.
He said government has been interacting with donors and continued to enjoy a warm relationship with them which he hoped would continue to grow from strength to strength.

The Vice President has further urged the Members of Parliament to be patriotic and stop inciting donors not to fund government.
He said donor funding is needed by government and even the MPs as it helps to provide services to people who are in need of the funds.

Mr Kunda advised them to instead help government influence the donors to commit the funds to the state so that the people may be assisted.
He has also wondered why some opposition MPs and their leaders have continued attacking government even when government has done a lot in fighting corruption.

“They are what we call celebrated critics, fault-finders who cannot find anything good in what the government is doing; they are hoping that by doing so they can find mileage” he said.

Mr Kunda said he has, however, assured law makers and their leaders that government will continue fighting corruption head on.

ZANIS

Vice President George Kunda says the Non Governmental Organization (NGO) law, which provides guidelines on how they should operate, will soon be operational.

Mr. Kunda said government is working closely with the NGOs in developing guidelines and regulations of the law.
He told parliament during the Vice President’s question time today that government was also working with the British government in helping the country develop the best guidelines for the new NGO law.

He said many NGOs have supported government on the introduction of the law, adding that he will soon have an audience with the Ministry of Community Development on how best it could be implemented.

Mr. Kunda has also commended the NGOs for helping government in uplifting the standards of living for Zambians especially in rural areas.
He further called for an even stronger partnership between NGOs and government to foster national development.

The Vice President said NGOs were important to the development of any nation, adding that government will continue depending on them as reliable partners in developing the country.

He has however called on the NGOs who were bent on criticizing government and politicians to also accept constructive criticism.

“If they attack us politicians as our watchdogs, they should be ready when they are also criticized. Let them develop a thick skin, they should not cry foul for months and publish adverts in the papers. We never do that. Let them instead accept criticism provided the criticism is for the benefit of the country,” he said.

ZANIS

This follows a meeting held on Wednesday between the UNZA Management and the affected de-registered students.

The meeting resolved that students will be allowed to sit for the First semester examinations without settling the outstanding fees but will be required to pay a flat surcharge fee of K200, 000.

They said the students who will fail to pay the penalty fees will have their results withheld and will not be allowed to register for the second semester of 2009.

Communications Manager, Stan Chewe said that the institution has in the past faced similar problems brought about by the failure by some students to honor their obligation to pay examination fees in installments.

He said the institution will continue accepting payments in installments and that the situation has normalized, as students have started collecting slips in readiness to sit for their exams.

ZANIS

The Zambia Agency for Persons with Disability (ZAPD) has expressed worry at the increased number of sign language interpreters who have commercialized the language.

ZAPD Director General, Charles Mwape says interpreters have abused the language and are making profit out of it at the expense of the deaf.
He says government, in conjunction with the agency, is working towards developing a policy that will regulate the conduct of interpreters so that sign language is not abused.

Dr. Mwape said this when his organization conducted a familiarization tour of the Zambia National Association of the Deaf (ZNAD) offices in Lusaka today.

He said government will also start issuing practicing licenses to sign language interpreters so that people can begin to respect sign language in the country.

Dr. Mwape further said that the agency through the Ministry of Community development has written to the Ministry of Health to start training HIV/AIDS counselors and nurses in sign language so that they can attend to the deaf without any difficulties.
He said this will enable the deaf access HIV/AIDS information and Voluntary Counseling Testing without fear of stigmatization.

And ZNAD Executive Director, James Kapembwa, called for the recognition of the deaf in communities.
Mr. Kapembwa, who was speaking through an interpreter, said it has been difficult for the deaf to communicate with other people in communities because there is no proper culture that they can be identified with.
ZANIS