12, including juveniles, have been arrested by Council police for disorderly conduct in Kasama.

And Kasama Municipal Council has shut down 36 bars for contravening the Liquor Licensing Act.
Acting Council Town Clerk, Francis Nkhoma, confirmed the development to ZANIS in Kasama today.

Mr Nkhoma said the six adults and six juveniles were picked up following their unruly behaviour when the Council police raided the bars and night clubs to enforce the law on liquor licensing, over the weekend.
He expressed concern that under-age children have continued to patronize bars and night clubs contrary to the law.

Mr Nkhoma has threatened to revoke trading licences for bar and night club owners who deliberately violate the law by allowing children to patronize their places.

And Mr Nkhoma revealed that 28 bars were closed in Kasama for failing to observe the stipulated time of 22:00 hours for closing their premises.

He also said eight other bars were shut down for operating without licences.

Mr Nkhoma has since warned bar and night club owners found abrogating the Liquor Licensing Act that they would have their premises shut down indefinitely.

ZANIS

Chipata Municipal Council has run out of receipts for revenue collection in markets.

The situation has hindered the local authority from collecting enough money to be channeled to various social activities in the district.
Town clerk Golden Banda told ZANIS in an interview that this follows the council’s decision not to have receipt books locally printed.

Mr Banda said the local authority decided not to get the receipts printed within Chipata for security reasons as some Council officers were last month suspended for issuing fake receipts.

The six employees were alleged to have printed double receipt books and were not issuing the original council receipts to clients who paid levies.

A survey conducted by ZANIS yesterday found some public toilets closed due to non-availability of receipts which are issued to people who pay to use the toilets.

“The collection of revenue at markets in Chipata has been derailed because of receipt books which have run out and that information did not reach this office on time,” he said.

However, Mr Banda stated that a Lusaka-based company, which won the tender through the local authority Tender Board, would soon print receipt books for the Council.

ZANIS

President Rupiah Banda yesterday launched the Levy Patrick Mwanawasa Centre of the Great Lakes Region for promotion of good governance, human rights and civic education.

President Banda, who has taken over the Chairmanship of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, launched the Centre in Lusaka during the third International Conference on the Great Lakes Region Summit, held at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre.

President Banda disclosed that a place has already been found where the Centre would be constructed.

He said at least 58 Chief Executives, who are civil servants, have been attached to the Centre’s Secretariat to implement and domesticate issues in the Great lakes Region pact on security, stability and development.

And speaking at the same function, United Nations Development Programme Country Representative McLeod Nyirongo welcomed the launch of the Centre and pledged to support it in enhancing good governance in Zambia and in the entire Great Lakes Region.

He expressed confidence that the Pact on security, stability and development will be implemented for the benefit of the people in the Great Lakes Region.
ZANIS

CHIEF Moyo of the Tonga people of Choma says
he is disturbed by what he had described as unwarranted attack and
lack of respect exhibited by chief Nalubamba towards President Rupiah
Banda.

Chief Moyo who has lashed out at chief Nalubamba for bringing the
names of the traditional leadership into ridicule has asked his fellow
chief to publicly apologize for misleading the nation.

He said in a statement in Choma yesterday that traditional
leaders must not only be above partisan politics but must respect
democratically elected leaders.

Chief Moyo said the remarks made by chief Nalubamba border on
political hatred and wondered how traditional leaders could involve
themselves in active politics when they were supposed to be
politically neutral.

“I am very disturbed by insinuations coming from Chief Nalubamba
against President Banda. I wish to categorically state that it is a
personal view not representative of all chiefs in southern province,”
he said.

He said the role of traditional leaders was to support the government
of the day and not show open support for political parties.

Chief Moyo said chief Nalubamba rose to senior positions of government
in the first republic and wondered why he could sink so low as to
issue embarrassing statements.

Chief Moyo now joins Chief Macha of the same district who over the
weekend disassociated himself from a statement made by Chief Nalubamba
of the Ila people of Namwala district on Saturday that President
Rupiah Banda had lost wholesome support of Southern Province Chiefs.

Chief Macha said when Southern Province Permanent Secretary Darius
Hakayobe paid a courtesy call at his palace that Chief
Nalubamba did not consult widely before issuing a sweeping statement
on Saturday.

The traditional leader said he was entitled to his own opinion and
wondered why Chief Nalubamba decided to include other Chiefs in his
own opinion.

ZANIS

The ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD), Patriotic Front (PF) and the United Nations Independence Party (UNIP) told ZANIS in a joint statement in Nchelenge that the move by Government will greatly assist in the transportation of goods and the movement of members of the public.

MMD Constituency Youth Chairperson, Panji Siame said that the rehabilitation of the road will greatly contribute to the development of Nchelenge district, which he said depended on that road to transport consumer goods into the district and to transport fish out of the district to other parts of the country.

Mr. Siame urged passenger transporters, who had in the recent past withdrawn their new buses from the route for fear that they would get damaged due to the bad state of the road, to re-assign the new buses to the route.

Speaking earlier PF Nchelenge Ward Publicity and Information Secretary, Knife Mwewa commended President Rupiah Banda for appointing Dr. Borniface Kawimbe and Mr. Jazzman Chikwakwa as Luapula Province Minister and Permanent Secretary respectively.

Mr. Mwewa said since the appointment of the pair, whom he described as hardworking, Luapula Province has started to see tangible developmental programmes which were meant to alleviate the suffering of people in the area.

And UNIP District Chairperson Thadeos Kafula has thanked the Luapula Province Administration for appointing Mr. Orswell Musanda as the new District Commissioner for Nchelenge.

Mr. Kafula said Mr.Musanda is a local person who knows and understands the problems faced by the people of Nchelenge especially being a former Council Secretary at the Nchelenge District Council.

Meanwhile, newly appointed Nchelenge District Commissioner has thanked Government for his appointment and has pledged to serve the people in the District diligently.

Mr. Musanda said he feels humbled by the appointment and will use his position to help develop the district which he said is in dire need for socio-economic development.

ZANIS

Deputy Minister in the Office of the Vice President Gastone Sichilima has said that government is concerned about poor farmers who are selling their produce at a very low cost.

Mr. Sichilima has urged farmers to be patient not to sell their maize cheaply as this would perpetuate their poverty.

Speaking to ZANIS in an interview in Serenje yesterday, Mr. Sichilima said that government was yet to release an additional 10 billion Kwacha for the purchase of maize from farmers around the country.

Mr. Sichilima assured farmers in the country that government would buy their maize.

Meanwhile, Mr. Sichilima has called upon prospective maize buyers to identify themselves with cooperative societies.

He said this would enable government to know how much maize was being produced in the country.

ZANIS

A stray lioness and its cub are reportedly posing a threat to both livestock and people living at Batoka Livestock centre and surrounding villages in Choma.

Batoka Golden Valley Research Station Livestock Centre Manager David Mubita confirmed the development to the National Agricultural Information Services (NAIS).

Mr. Mubita told NAIS that his office is making frantic efforts to contact the Zambia Wild Life Authority (ZAWA) to ensure that the beast is hunted down, to protect people’s lives and livestock.

He disclosed that the lioness with its cub, believed to have strayed from Sinazeze area of the valley, was seen entering Batoka Livestock centre after killing a wild pig.

Mr. Mubita told NAIS that communities in Kaila area near Batoka livestock centre confirmed also seeing the stray lioness.

And Mr. Mubita expressed worry that the lioness may not be alone in the area and was suspicious that it might be moving with a male lion.

ZANIS