Some unscrupulous businessmen have invaded Shangombo deceiving villagers to sell their animals at cheep prices telling them that government will soon slaughter livestock due to the swine and bird flu (H1N1))in the country.

The businessmen have been going round Shangombo villages deceiving people to sell their domestic animals at cheaper prices for fear that government would kill them due to the presence of the flu.

Speaking in an interview , Shangombo District Block Extension Agriculture Station Officer, Joseph Chipoya confirmed that villagers were being deceived by unscrupulous businessmen who wanted to buy their domestic animals at cheaper prices.

Mr Chipoya said the villagers blocked him at one time from collecting data in the field because they thought he was a government worker who had gone to kill their animals.

And Shangombo District Commissioner Misheck Kabayo has said that he would instruct police and relevant authorities to investigate the matter because there was no such information on the ground from government.

Mr Kabayo noted that the businessmen are just up to exploiting the villagers.

He has since warned villagers to be careful with such people because they would end up losing their animals.

The unscrupulous businessmen are taking advantage of the villagers’ ignorance on the swine flu situation in the country and deceiving villagers that government will fine them K50, 000 per animal found with the flu.

ZANIS

Government has released K50 billion towards the completion of Lukwesa high school and the construction of a girls technical high school in Mwense district.

District Education Board Secretary (DEBS) Smith Bweupe said yesterday during a special District Development Coordinating Committee (DDCC) meeting that government had given Mwense K50 billion for education infrastructure development.

Mr Bweupe said K23 billion is meant for the completion of remaining works at Lukwesa high school while K25 billion is for the construction of Luapula girls technical high school at Musonda falls.

He said the remaining K2 billion is meant for on-going construction works on classes and teachers’ houses at Sun Shine, Sichema, Kangomba, Mulwani and Chikubi basic schools.

He also said other basic schools like Kanyemba, Nsakaluba, Kabundafyela, Kawama and Kabila have each received K9 million out of the earmarked K180 million for extension of classroom blocks.

ZANIS

Scores of Itezhi-tezhi fish traders besieged the District Commissioner’s office to protest against the arrest of their colleagues and the confiscation of their 500 Kgs of fresh fish yesterday.

The fish traders who included former Itezhi-tezhi district administrator in the Chiluba regime Fleming Nabuzoka and other UPND officials, thronged the district commissioner’s office around 10:00 hours today, chanting anti-ZAWA slogans and demanding to have their fish back.

“Yesterday we were on the boat on lake Itezhi-tezhi when we saw a Zambia Wild Life Authority (ZAWA) engine boat following us. We were stopped and told that we were under arrest because we were carrying fridges and ice on the boat. Later, more than 500kgs of fresh fish belonging to many fish mongers was confiscated ” the group’s spokesperson Armstrong Chisala said.

Chisala said after confiscating the fish, the ZAWA workers took it to Musa Gate and later to their headquarters in Ngoma.

“All the fish was taken to Ngoma together with our two colleagues who were arrested. These people have bad manners. Then they take our fish to Ngoma where they select the big fat breams for their pots, leaving the thin ones. This is very bad, because we spent a lot of money to buy that fish” he said.

Former Itezhi-tezhi UPND Youth Chairperson, Mukubulo Chilufya who was among the protesters said ZAWA’s action was tantamount to economic sabotage.

‘We want to register our sincere disgust at ZAWA regarding the confiscation of our fish. What they are doing is tantamount to economic sabotage. We spent colossal sums of money to buy our fish and now the ZAWA workers want to take advantage of our being unarmed to grab our fish and share it with their relatives” he said.

Former District Administrator Fleming Nabuzoka who was among complainants and negotiators for the release of the confiscated fish told the unruly fish mongers to exercise patience as the District Commissioner’s office and ZAWA were addressing the situation.

“Fishing is our mine here in Itezhi-tezhi. Just like our friends in North-Western Province have Lumwana Mine, our mine here is the lake and Kafue river. Fish is our only means of survival,” he said.

But when District Forestry Officer Chanda Besa, who represented the Acting District Commissioner, called ZAWA to clarify the matter, the officers who declined to be named said they arrested two fish mongers and confiscated the fish because it was against the law to trade and transport anything in the national park.

“According to Zambia wildlife Act, it is against the law to carry out trading and transportation of any goods in the national park. The fish was confiscated and two fishermen arrested for contravening this Act” the officers said.

Mr. Besa cautioned the fish mongers against contravening the laws of the national park.

ZANIS

Panic has gripped authorities at Chikankata School of Bio Medical Sciences in Mazabuka following threats by the Ministry of Health to close down the institution which is heavily funded by government.

The institution’s Principal Portipher Pilingana, who disclosed this to ZANIS in Mazabuka today, said the closure of the institute will have a negative bearing on its 78 students, especially those that are expected to sit for their examinations before the end of the year.

Mr. Pilingana said it would be wrong for the Ministry to impose such punitive sanctions at a time when donors and government had increased funding to the institution.

He urged the ministry to rescind its decision because doing so would frustrate the donors who have pumped in a lot of money for infrastructure development and were also sponsoring Zambian students.

According to Mr. Pilingana,both TEVETA and the Ministry of health allowed the institution to open after it met some of the set conditions.

Mr. Pilingana said among the conditions set by the ministry of health and TEVETA wer an increase in accommodation capacity for students, construction of three demonstration laboratories and classrooms.

” We have met almost all the conditions except for the demonstration laboratories that had to pass through the tender procedures but we are lucky because government has finally given us authority to look for contractors to do the project,” he explained.

He said the institute was being penalised for delaying in completing the construction of two demonstration laboratories.

Mr. Pilingana said the ministry of health has since sent a memo advising his administration to prepare for a site visit by a number of directors from Ministry headquarters in Lusaka although they did not indicate the closure.

He said junior officers at the ministry informed him that Chikankata institute of Bio Medical Science is not recognised by the ministry of health.

Mr. Pilingana however questioned why government was funding the institute heavily if the school is not recognised.

Chikankata Institute of Bio Medical Science was closed in 1999 due to policy change by the ministry of health.
The policy change meant change in the training of laboratory technicians to laboratory technologists.

Chikankata, which was closed at the same time as Ndola School of Bio Medical Science, remained closed until 2003 when Chikankata mission hospital management engaged government in discussions to re-open the institute.

During the closure period, Chikankata was used as a practical training area for students from the University of Zambia, Ndola School of Bio Medical Science and Evelyn Hone College.

In 2006, government gave the mission authority to re-open the school at a new site where construction of boarding, hostels and administration block has been built.
ZANIS