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ZCCM-IH suspends salaries for Maamba workers

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The Zambia Consolidate Copper Mine Investment Holding (ZCCM-IH) has suspended paying salaries for Maamba Collieries (MCL) employees.

According to the memo from the MCL Human Resource Department addressed to all employees, workers have been told to be patient as management source for money to pay their June and July salaries which they have not been paid so far.

The memo states that ZCCM-IH will no longer be in the position to pay the salaries to MCL employees and has told management to find money to pay them.

When contacted for a comment, ZCCM-IH Acting Chief Executive Officer, William Musama, said Maamba Collieries should explain the reasons why thousands tonnes of coal that has been mined was not being sold.

Mr Musama said he would only issue a comprehensive statement after the board meeting in Lusaka on Wednesday.

A check by ZANIS at the Maamba Collieries plant found heaps of coal that has not been sold.

Workers from the coal mine, who did not want to named, blamed management for their failure to find market for coal that was just heaped at the mine premises.

The workers said management was employing outdated methods of marketing and they needed to find a market immediately production of coal resumed.

The coal miners alleged that management has failed to pay Oriental, the contractor who is mining coal on their behalf, because there was no market for the coal that has been produced.

The workers said the contractor has threatened to pull out if management fails to pay them their money.

They said their families were suffering as a result of management’s failure to pay them their salaries.

“I tell you there is hunger in Maamba Township and there was no money in circulation,” the source said.

The source said the suspension of salaries by ZCCM-IH to MCL workers follows an article in the Post Newspaper that management had awarded themselves hefty salaries even when they were not selling the coal they had produced.

Efforts to get a comment from the Maamba Coallieries Limited Mine Manager, Alex Mutale, failed as there was no response from both his land phone and cell phone, while MCL Managing Director, Stephen Mutambo,was reported to be unwell.

ZANIS

Namwala District Council to introduce dog levy

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Namwala District Council says it will soon introduce dog levy in accordance with Act Cap 247 section 12[a] [b][ [c] and [e] of the laws of Zambia.

The proposed levy would range from K2, 700 per male dog and K2, 250 per female dog for owners living in the council area, and K1500 for per male dog and K1800 per female dog for owners living in customary areas.

This came to light during a full council meeting today. The move has been necessitated by the Council’s need to increase its revenue collection.
ZANIS

Teacher suspended after being caught pants down

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A Chadiza Boarding Secondary School teacher has been suspended after he was allegedly caught pants down with a female pupil.

Chadiza District Education Board Secretary, Catherine Chirwa, confirmed the development to ZANIS and added that the teacher has since been asked to stay away from work pending disciplinary action.

It is alleged that the named teacher has been stalking a female pupil for a long time and that she reported to the school matron to no avail.
Last Thursday, the pupil in question allegedly accepted the teacher’s advances and arranged to meet him at the school football ground at night. She then mobilized her fellow pupils to hide at the selected meeting.

The pupils arranged to pounce on the teacher as soon as it became clear that he wanted to sleep with the pupil.
It is alleged that the teacher met the grade 12 pupil and when it became apparent that he was about to have sex with her, her fellow pupils appeared from their hiding place.

Ms Chirwa said the teacher has since been asked to show why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.
She further said the pupils who caught the teacher have implicated him in their reports.

Ms Chirwa said the normal government disciplinary procedure will now take its course.

ZANIS

President Banda defends decision to privatise ZAMTEL

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The President has defended government decision to privatize ZAMTEL saying the move will help improve the status of technology in the Parastatal.President Banda said the institution was important to the country, hence the need to find investors with financial capacity to improve its operations.

President Banda told Zambians living in Uganda that government took a bold decision to private ZAMTEL while retaining 25 percent control of the institution.

He said government would in the process limit issuance of licenses to those wishing to set up mobile phone companies to enable ZAMTEL recover and operate competitively with other privately owned cellular companies.

“Government took bold steps to privatize ZAMTEL because of its strategic importance to the country,” he said.

He said ZAMTEL needs to play a crucial role in enhancing the access and utilization of Information communication and technology (ICT) by Zambians.

“We don’t have money as a government to pump into ZAMTEL but if there are others with the money to do so why not allow them?” he said.

President Banda is in the Ugandan capital, Kampala attending the 19th
Smart Partnership Dialogue which closes this evening.

ZANIS

President Banda condemns use of Live ammunition on Students

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Armed police officers unbundling Copperbelt University students who were arrested after staging a protest in Kitwe
Armed police officers unbundling Copperbelt University students who were arrested after staging a protest in Kitwe
President Rupiah Banda has condemned the use of live

ammunition by police in quelling disturbances that occurred at the Copperbelt University of Zambia yesterday.

Speaking in Kampala today when he addressed Zambians residents in that country on the sidelines of the ongoing Smart Partnership Movement conference at Munyonyo Commonwealth resort, President Banda said he is extremely disappointed that police had to use live ammunition instead of teargas.

He said he did not understand why police had to resort to shooting
when there were other options of containing the riotous behavior of
the students.

President Banda has demanded for a comprehensive report on
circumstances leading to the use of live ammunition by police.

I am glad that the commissioner of police is here with me. I want to know why police used live ammunition. I am not happy at all. This report has disturbed me and spoiled my stay here in Uganda,” said
President Banda.

He said he was particularly disappointed to learn that the riotous behaviour emanated from a trivial matter involving the theft of a laptop from one of the students.

President Banda has advised University students and other youths not to resort to violent means in resolving personal differences.

He said there are other amicable ways of resolving problems emanating from the highest learning institutions citing the use of dialogue as the most preferred means of settling disputes.

President Banda said Zambians should emulate the way Uganda has scored tremendous strides in the provision of tertiary education to its people resulting in socio-economic development.

He said education is key for any country develop that this explained why Uganda has recorded significant growth in economic growth because of a large number of its citizens who attained university education.

“Education has a lot to with the development of Uganda. Imagine that every year they are churning out 30, 000 graduates,” he said.

President Banda regretted that Zambia’s education base had not been wide enough because of the limited number of people going through tertiary education.

ZANIS

42% of school girls getting pregnant – Munkinyi

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pregnant_bellySolwezi District Education Board Secretary (DEBS), Fredrick Munkinyi, says 42 per cent of girls in the district drop out of school due to pregnancies.

Mr Munkinyi said 42 per cent of school girls in between grades five to nine drop out of school before they complete basic school while 21 per cent leave school for early marriages, and attributing this to cultural practices, negative attitude towards education and poor sanitation in most schools.

He said this in a report presented to the District Development Coordinating Committee (DDCC) held in Boma Conference Hall.

Mr Munkinyi said there was need to improve water and sanitation, sensitization of the value of education, and increase bursaries in primary and secondary education sectors.

Mr Munkinyi said the increase in pollution in the district has exerted pressure on education facilities resulting in crowded classrooms and inadequate staff accommodation, toilets, learning materials and teachers.

He said the enrollment rate has been constant on average for the past four years, saying the goal of 80 per cent rate of seven year olds who enter school for the first time was not achieved.

Mr Munkinyi attributed this to the increasing number of underage children in urban schools and over age children in rural schools.

He said there was need to ensure that children are enrolled at the right age in urban and rural schools and sensitize parents on enrolling their children at the right age both in urban and rural schools.

Mr Munkinyi observed that the teacher-pupil ratio has been increasing gradually since 2005, saying more pupils are coming to the district than the teachers the district was receiving, hence the need to construct additional classrooms and staff houses for the teachers.

ZANIS

ECZ needs K48 billion for voter registration

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The meeting that never was...Electoral Commission of Zambia chairperson Florence Mumba talking to a handful of MPs before the meeting on voter registration failed to take off in Lusaka
The meeting that never was...Electoral Commission of Zambia chairperson Florence Mumba talking to a handful of MPs before the meeting on voter registration failed to take off in Lusaka
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has submitted

a K48 billion budget to the Treasury for the continuous voter registration exercise scheduled to start in October this year.

Government allocated K5 billion in this year’s budget for the commencement of the continuous voter registration exercise.

Opening a symposium for members of Parliament on the continuous voter registration and delimitation exercise, ECZ chairperson Judge Florence Mumba said K48 billion will enable the Commission to open an average of 10 mobile registration centres in every district for a limited period

She said the amount does not include the acquisition of equipment, which will be purchased through the help of cooperating partners coordinated by the United Nations Development Programme.

Judge Mumba appealed to MPs to ensure that the ECZ is funded adequately for the successful implementation of the continuous voter registration exercise..

Electoral Commission of Zambia chairperson Florence Mumba taking her seat after addressing MPs on the forthcoming voter registration exercise in Lusaka
Electoral Commission of Zambia chairperson Florence Mumba taking her seat after addressing MPs on the forthcoming voter registration exercise in Lusaka

She said in 2007, a budget of K119 billion was submitted to the Ministry of Finance and National Planning but that only K84 million was approved, while in 2008, the same budget was submitted but was not approved.

Judge Mumba said the ECZ can not start the exercise on the funds approved in 2007 because they could not meet the basic minimum for starting the exercise.

“This demonstrates that Government has a lot to do in terms of making continuous voter registration a reality,” she said.

She also called on MPs to lend more support to the department of national registration so that its register is digitized like that of ECZ, saying this will facilitate the efficient update of the voters’ register on a regular basis.

The symposium was, however, badly attended as most MPs shunned it.

During official opening, only eight MPs out of the 158 were present and after that, only two remained.

Earlier, Ms Mumba, who insisted that the meeting should proceed despite the small number of MPs, said her office was assured by the Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly that MPs would be available.

Judge Mumba said the ECZ has started preparing for the 2011 tripartite elections. She said the Commission views MPs as cardinal stakeholders in the electoral process, hence the on-going consultations.

Ms Mumba said ECZ’s plans for the 2011 elections will be impacted by the outcomes of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) deliberations.

She said critical among these is the number of constituencies the country will have, which is one of the terms of reference being addressed by the NCC.

Ms Mumba said the ECZ’s concern is that if the number of constituencies is increased, it will entail delimitation which requires a lot of time since the commission staff will have to visit all the 72 districts.

She said this matter must be addressed as soon as possible so that ECZ has enough time to conduct delimitation for effective election administration.
[Zambia Daily Mail]

Team Zambia in a “Must Win” Situation

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Team Zambia after the match
Team Zambia after the match
By Chanda Mwenya

Team Zambia under 14 girls has pulled a 1-1 draw with Oppegård, a Norwegian team from the south of the country. This is at the ongoing Norway Cup that entered its 2nd day on Monday. Team Zambia secured an equalizer in the 35th minute through midfielder Mary Mwakapila who seemingly looked off form until in the dying minutes when she scored the team`s first goal in the tournament.

The game that was 20 minutes each side had a lot sparks with Team Zambia missing golden opportunities that would have put them in an advantageous position of sailing further in the competition. Grace Zulu almost scored from outside the 18 area having collected with confidence, a brilliant pass from the ever hard working skipper Ruth Mukisa. It was until the 35th minute when Helena Mubanga dribbled into the 18 area and flipped the ball to Mary Mwakapila while laying on the ground. Mwakapila made no mistake but to make it 1-1 for Team Zambia having conceded a goal 3 minutes to half time.

Helen Mubanga (9)crossing the ball to Mary Mwakapila in a move that made it 1 all.
Helen Mubanga (9)crossing the ball to Mary Mwakapila in a move that made it 1 all.

Having lost their opening game on Sunday and the 1 all draw in the second game puts Team Zambia in a tight corner of making it beyond the group stage. The girls are third in the group with a point while Tertnes, a team that beat them in the first game tops the group with 6 points .Team Zambia must win their last game against Hvam & Haga at least with 5 goals if they have to book a ticket to the next stage of the competition.

Coach Gregory Shikombelo observed that the girls have improved technically from their opening match, but due to the unfriendly weather conditions, the girls could only perform what they did. It was showering throughout the game with a very wet pitch. The girls so used to the Zambian harder turfs could not cope with a wet one.

Veep did not sell land to Chinese nationals- Traditional leaders

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Two traditional rulers in Serenje District have defended Vice President George Kunda against accusations that he had sold large tracts of land to some Chinese nationals in the district.

Senior Chief Muchinda and chief Kabamba said yesterday that the allegations that the vice president had sold over 1,000,000 hectres of land to the Chinese were unfounded.

Senior chief Muchinda said at his palace that it was not possible for one chief to sell land as big as over 1 million hectres because that would mean selling the entire chiefdom.
He said the only land he was aware of having given to government was in Nansanga area which government was intending to use for agricultual purposes, adding that the land was only 155,000 hectres.

He further said the Chinese that were in his chiefdom were only working on the roads leading to Nansanga farming block.
Chief Muchinda called urged people to be factual and honest, because making wild accusations would not help build the district and the nation as a whole.

And Chief Kabamba expressed surprise that there are people who are telling lies, adding that such reports should be brushed aside because they create confusion.
He said he did not have any information about any chief in the district having sold land to the Chinese through the Vice President.

“I have heard that some politicians were accusing Mr. Kunda of having sold land to Chinese. But not to my knowledge, I do not think this is true because if a chief in the district sold out such a big land, what can he remain with,” he wondered.

Opposition Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata is quoted in one of the daily newspapers as having accused Vice President George Kunda of selling over 1 million hectres of land in Serenje district.
ZANIS

Magistrate threaten to dismiss PF cadre’s assault case

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A Serenje magistrate has appealed to prosecutors to ensure witnesses were ready and available for the cases to avoid unnecessary adjournments.

Magistrate Happy Chongo made the appeal today when he adjourned two separate cases, one involving a Patriotic Front (PF) cadre, Nevers Muchemwe, 25, facing an assault charge and Danny Chipasha, 19, facing a defilement charge.

Magistrate Chongo said it was important to have the witnesses ready and available whenever they were needed to speed up justice and warned that he would dismiss the cases if the witnesses fail to show up next time.

“Justice delayed is justice denied and we need to move quickly in these cases especially the case involving alleged political violence as you know the campaigns are coming to an end by August 13. So ensure that you bring the witnesses or else I will dismiss the cases,” he warned.

Mucehemwe’s case today adjourned to July 31, 2009, while the case of Chipasha of Tazara compound in Serenje was adjourned to August 10, 2009.

Muchemwe is alleged to have assaulted Loyd Kabango, an MMD carder on July 19, 2009 at Chalilo in Chitambo constituency by-elections scheduled for August 13.

And Chipasha is alleged to have defiled a 13-year old girl near National African Church in Serenje on July 4, 2009 and he is remanded in custody.

Public Prosecutor, Israel Chikubayi, told the court that it was unfortunate that witnesses in both cases were not available despite summons having been served on them well in time.

ZANIS

Cifire implore youths to contribute to national development

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Government has urged youths to start tackling real issues that will help develop the country as they aspire for leadership .

Deputy Minister of Sports, Youths, and Child Development, Angela Cifire said the country needs effective leadership from the youths to overcome the current challenges the country is facing.

Ms. Cifire said the country has lagged behind in development because the youths who make up more than 60% of the population are failing to tackle real issues that can contribute to the development of the country.

She said this when she officiated at the leadership training workshop for Young Women Leadership Academy which was organised by Youth Vision Zambia in Lusaka today.

Ms. Cifire said her ministry has designed strategies to enhance effective youth leadership and development by supporting the youths to become positive agents of change.

Ms. Cifire said Government has embarked on courses at King George National Youth College in Kabwe aimed at grooming the youths in different sectors of leadership for good future leaders.

And a participant from the Youth Alliance for Development of Solwezi, Jacqueline Kafwimbi has challenged fellow youths to take up the challenge and start contributing to the development of the country.

Ms. Kafwimbi said youths should rise above parties and politics

ZANIS

CFZ constructs clinics in Nyimba

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Child Fund Zambia (CFZ) has spent over K 91 million on the construction of Mkopeka Maternal Child Health (MCH) Unit and Msima Health Post in Nyimba district.

And Child Fund Zambia National Director, Victor Koyi, said the risk of women dying from pregnancies and child births in Zambia were high because of shortage of emergency equipment in rural health centers.

Mr Koyi was speaking at the handover ceremony of the maternity facility at Mkopeka rural health centre in Nyimba district last over the weekend.

He noted that high poverty levels among the Zambian people, long distances to health centers and common illness, such as malaria, are the major factors contributing to the high death rate of children and pregnant women at delivery time.

Mr Koyi said his organization will continue investing in the health sector to supplement government’s effort in ensuring safe mother hood.

He said Child Fund Zambia will also extend its continued support to the training of community based health care providers and health care workers so that deliveries are attended to by skilled people.

Speaking at the same function, Nyimba District Commissioner, Alexander Miti, said government will continue to work closely with partners such as Child Funds Zambia to ensure that women and children in the country are accorded the best health services as close to their home as possible.

Mr Miti has since appealed to the beneficiaries of the health facilities to look after them properly so that they provide the essential services for which they were constructed.

ZANIS

Mufumbwe council workers in 30-month salary arrears

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Council workers in Mufumbwe have not been paid their salaries and wages for 30 months and have appealed to government to look into their plight to avert suffering.

Mufumbwe Council Secretary, Aaron Kamalondo, comfirmed in an interview that the council was finding it difficult to raise funds since its revenue base is very low.

Mr Kamalondo said the council collects K12 million per month from its revenue against K50 million monthly wage bills for the workers.

He said the council has no capacity to settle the arrears which were disrupting its operations and the K1.7 billion debt it owes many organizations such as NAPSA with K55 million unremitted contribution funds.

Mr Kamalondo said the council was struggling to pay the workers and has since appealed to government to bail the local authority out of the financial crisis it is facing.

Meanwhile, Mr Kamalondo has said that campaign activities in Kikonge ward by elections in Mufumbwe were going on smoothly with two candidates from MMD and UPND/PF pact being fielded.

Kikonge ward fell vaccan after the UPND councillor Moses Mangisha resigned from his party and joined MMD adding that the UPND/PF pact has fielded Bruce Kanema as its candidate while the MMD has retained Moses Mangisha as its candidate.

And a check by ZANIS at Kikonge and Nyasonso polling stations found campaign activities have heightened with the two parties anticipating victory.

The local government by election is scheduled to take place on August 13, 2009.

ZANIS

National Revolution Party to support UPND/PF pact in Chitambo by-election

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CorrectedThe National Revolution Party (NRP) has declared its support for the Patriotic Front and United Party for National Development PF/UPND pact candidate for the forthcoming Chitambo by-election slated for next month.

Party President Cosmo Mumba said the NRP has decided to rally behind the PF/UPND as it was unable to field a candidate of its own at the moment.

Mr Mumba said the NRP failed to field a candidate in the by-elections because the party was busy preparing for the 2011 tripartite elections.

He said his party has supported the PF/UPND pact because the adopted candidate was a young man who looks promising enough to deliver quality services for the people of Chitambo constituency.

He told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that his party’s declared support for the PF/UPND pact candidate does not however mean that the NRP was joining the PF/UPND pact.

The Chitambo by-election which has been slated for August 13 was necessitated following the death of area member of parliament Nasim Hamir who died on May 1.

Four candidates that include Dr Solomon Musonda from the ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), Chanda Mutale from the PF/UPND pact, [quote] Evans Chola from the Forum for Democracy and Development(FDD), and Timoyhy Kapolo from the United Independence Party (UNIP) are vying for the sit.

Meanwhile, Mr Mumba has called on the republican President Mr. Rupiah Banda to fire Local Government and Housing Minister Benny Tetamashimba.

The NRP President said Mr. Tetamashimba’s call for the suspension of Livingstone Mayor Joram Mwinda based on allegations of raping a Livingstone woman is uncalled for, selfish and very childish.

He said the Livingstone Mayor should not be suspended based on allegations, adding that everyone is innocent until proven guilty by the courts of law.

Mr Mumba urged the President to quickly fire Mr. Tetamashimba saying the minister’s utterances are likely to divide the ruling MMD.

This comes in the wake of local government minister Benny Tetamashimba’s directive to his ministry’s permanent secretary Coillard Chibbonta to suspend Livingstone mayor Joram Mwinda over the alleged rape case.

ZANIS

ZACCI commends government for decision to privatise ZAMTEL

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zamtel-lamyahouseTHE Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) has commended government for its decision to partially privatize Zambia Telecommunications Company (ZAMTEL).

Speaking in an interview in Ndola today, ZACCI Chief Executive Officer, Justin Chisulo, said the privatization of the company will improve service delivery which will in turn benefit the business community in the country by enhancing effective communication in business transactions.

Mr Chisulo, however, urged government to be cautious on the selection of the equity partner to ensure that it sells the company shares to a strong and credible investor who will ensure high quality service provision and efficiency in the running of Zamtel in order to improve the performance of the private sector producers through improved service delivery in communication services.

He further advised government to consider an equity partner comprising of a consortium between foreigners and Zambians so that there will be transfer of business and technical expertise from the foreigners while Zambians contribute through their knowledge of the local market.

He said the association had been advocating for the privatizations of ZAMTEL and was glad that government has finally agreed to privatize the company.

And Mr Chisulo has urged government to quickly revise the fees for accessing the International Communication Gateway to enable more private business entrepreneurs access the service.

He said currently the fees are too high for some entrepreneurs to access thereby becoming a hindrance to their profitability and growth.

Last week on Friday, President Rupiah Banda announced that government has decided to sell 75 per cent shares of Zamtel to an equity partner and will retain the other 25 per cent on behalf of the Zambian people.

ZANIS

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