ACTING MMD spokesperson Mike Mulongoti has said Katuba Member of Parliament Jonas Shakafuswa and other MMD members who are not happy with the party should resign.

Mr Mulongoti said in Lusaka yesterday that Mr Shakafuswa should peacefully leave the MMD instead of regretting being a member of the party.

In an interview, Mr Mulongoti said the former deputy Finance minister should leave the ruling party if he was not happy about certain decisions the leadership had made.

“A political party is like a club which one joins voluntarily. When you are not happy you go away quietly,” he said.

Mr Shakafuswa at the weekend told Muvi Television in his constituency that he regretted belonging to a party where leaders were now trying to defer the national convention.

The MP said the MMD party convention should not be deferred because it would be undemocratic.

But Mr Mulongoti said a political party was like a club and all the members should abide by the rules failure to which they should voluntarily vacate.

He said politicians, like any other citizen, had the freedom of association which Mr Shakafuswa should exercise by leaving MMD instead of continuing to regret belonging to the party.

Some MMD MPs having been criticising the party following calls from several provinces urging the national executive committee to postpone the party national convention until after the 2011.

Former Finance minister Ng’andu Magande said some party members wanted to postpone the convention where one agenda item was to elect party president because they were scared that he would win.

[Times of Zambia]

Government says the restriction of broadcasting licenses in certain geographical areas will not hinder digitalization of broadcasting in the country as suggested by some sectors.

Chief Government Spokesperson, Ronnie Shikapwasha says Zambia has in the past used analogue technology in its broadcasting adding that those allowed to broadcast nationally are still able to do so.

In a press statement made available to ZANIS in Lusaka this evening, Gen. Shikapwasha said broadcasters will only have to migrate because of the deadline set by the international Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the entire world to migrate from analogue to digital.

He has further advised operators whose licenses restrict them to certain geographical areas to move to digital but remain in the areas allowed by their licenses.

General Shikapwasha, who is also Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, said no one would restrict broadcasters from using digital technology.

He said experts criticizing government ought to know that one can still remain in the allowed area of operation even with digital technology if the signal is taken to satellite.

He said that broadcasters can not pretend that government is stopping them from using the modern technology as they make choices themselves at the time of application.

Gen. Shikapwasha noted that there seemed to be a misunderstanding between the two among those condemning government for trying to maintain sanity in the industry by stopping illegalities.

He added that there was need to understand that even after migrating from analogue to digital broadcasting some broadcasters with community licenses will remain restricted to community broadcasting.

He said government desire to move with time and adopt modern technology in the electronic media would not see regulation of the media by government being flouted on the pretext of using modern technology.

The Chief Government Spokesperson has said that government would soon embark on a mammoth sensitization programme on migration from analogue to digital.

He has since advised people wishing to go into radio or television broadcasting to apply to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for appropriate licenses in their desired operations.

ZANIS

First Lady, Thandiwe Banda, has appealed to Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in Zambia to extend their programmes to rural areas where more vulnerable people are found.

Mrs. Banda said NGOs should not restrict themselves to urban areas but should instead strive to reach rural areas to help the poor people.

She said NGOs should help fill the gap which government was not covering due to insufficient financial resources.

Mrs. Banda said this in Lusaka today when the National Christian Organization for the Disabled (NACODI) donated ten wheelchairs and ten pairs of crutches to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

These items are parts of the 100 wheelchairs and 50 pairs of crutches, which NACODI will distribute to disabled people in rural areas.

She has also challenged the NGOs to start identifying people in rural areas who are in great need of help.

She has meanwhile said that her office stood ready to help the less privileged people in society.

She has further challenged individuals and the business community to supplement government efforts in reaching out for the poor people.

NACODI National Coordinator, Arrival Chuuka said his organization was scouting for K36 million for the distribution of the 100 wheelchairs and 50 crutches to the disabled people in rural areas.

He said the organization has also sourced for 200 more wheelchairs from its partners in the United States of America (USA).

ZANIS

SENIOR Chief Bright Nalubamba has been challenged to either join politics or stop engaging in political battles to avoid bringing his reputation as a traditional leader into disrepute.

Authentic Advocates for Justice and Development (AAJD) said this in reaction to Chief Nalubamba’s statement that President Rupiah Banda should stop associating with former president Frederick Chiluba because donors still perceived him to be corrupt.

In a story published last Friday, Chief Nalubamba was quoted as saying President Banda should not associate with Dr Chiluba because the donors did not regard the former president as an innocent person even after his acquittal.

“We read with a great sense of shock and fear sentiments attributed to Senior Chief Nalubamba that it was wrong for his excellency President Rupiah Banda to fraternise with former president Chiluba.

“Unless Senior Chief Nalubamba is saying that he does not respect the jurisdiction and verdict of our courts that acquitted Dr Chiluba, we are not surprised by his novel support and desire for donors to try and decide on matters that are purely Zambian,”

AAJD general secretary, Laiford Mwanza said.

Mr Mwanza said AAJD would have expected Senior Chief Nalubamba to put the interests of his subjects above those of the donors and was surprised by his failure to respect and uphold Zambia’s sovereignty.

He said Chief Nalubamba’s personal negative opinion of Dr Chiluba could not supercede the positive discernment of the former president’s personality by the majority Zambians.

He said Chief Nalubamba should have embraced and promoted the friendship between President Banda and Dr Chiluba if he was a fair-minded person.

He wondered why Chief Nalubamba had suddenly thrown himself into political battles that were likely to damage his image.

“Just a few weeks ago the same chief was quoted as saying that chiefs in Southern Province were not in support of President Banda when in fact it was not the case,” Mr Mwanza said.

[Times of Zambia]

MMD acting spokesperson Mike Mulongoti says Change Life Zambia founder Frank Bwalya should clear concerns that his organisation could be a political party.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, Mr Mulongoti said father Bwalya should state the objectives of his organisation.

“He should come out in the open so that people understand his organisation,” he said.

Mr Mulongoti was reacting to calls by Copperbelt MMD youths that Father Bwalya’s organisation must be scrutinsed to ensure that it is not a political party under the guise of a non-governmental organisation.

Mr Mulongoti said Father Bwalya owes the youths an explanation regarding their fears that he is using Change Life Zambia to realise his political ambitions.

“It is incumbent upon Father Bwalya to clear the concerns of the youths so that there are no questions about his organisation being a political party,” he said.[quote]

MMD youths have challenged Father Bwalya to declare that he has allegedly joined politics through the formation of his organisation.

Father Bwalya launched Change Life Zambia in Ndola on Saturday, saying formation of the organisation has been necessitated by continued poverty levels and other challenges the country is facing.

[Zambia Daily Mail]