By Wesley Ngwenya

addressing the much anticipated press conference. There are so many things that Rupiah touched on. Here are a few highlights that need to be discussed.

In his response to the global economic crisis the president stated that;

1. Senior government officials should use government vehicles for intended purposes only and not park the vehicles at home
2. Reduce foreign traveling and officials on all trips unless absolutely necessary
3. Government workshops should be held in ministry boardrooms not lodges and hotels.

It is commendable that Rupiah was able to highlight these issues as a response to the current economic crisis. However, are these really new measures? Shouldn’t these things have be done with or without the economic crisis? Aren’t government officials supposed to use government vehicles and benefits for work and not personal use in the first place? These are not intelligent measures to respond to the economic crisis. The abuse of government resources have been going on for a long time now. Besides, what measures are Rupiah putting in place to ensure that they will be adhered to?

The president addressed the Zamtel issue by setting up a commission headed by minister of finance. In addition, he defended the proposed ZESCO increase in tariffs by sixty percent. It is unfortunate that we are back to the same position on Zamtel.

Looks like the president is particularly quick in setting up commissions since he has also set up a salaries commission. We already have various ministries and government departments that should be able to deal with the Zamtel issue. We know what happened to some of the commissions such as the Chirwa Tribunal that wasted government resources on something that was not going to be respected by the same appointing authority. What the president failed to justify on the ZESCO tariffs is how much of the company’s revenue go to paying salaries of employees.

On procuring hearses, the president refused responsibility that he was unaware of the purchase but stated that our people needed to be buried with dignity. Interesting. Apparently, for Rupiah, it is more important for us to be buried with dignity and not live with dignity. Many Zambians are worried about where they find money for food or to send their children to school and not how fancy their coffins should be. It’s a shame that the president should make such insulting remarks to the many Zambians living in poverty.

Zambians expected some specifics from the press conference instead of using it to insult the opposition. Rupiah must learn to live with the opposition. He must not feel intimidated. The opposition parties are there to create checks and balances that parliament cannot do. They are there to defend our democracy. Lately, we have actually seen more leadership from the opposition than the president himself. It is very insulting for Rupiah to make a statement such as “shame on the Zambians who are under the leadership of HH.” Zambians are free to follow their political leaders of choice and therefore should not be intimidated by the head of state.

It is disappointing that Rupiah has taken this long to even say something regarding the many issues that are affecting our nation. The president is barely reacting to public pressure and not providing proactive leadership. He should have addressed these issues head on instead of busy flying around the region when there is so much of a crisis in our country. The president even failed to apologize to the many Zambians who have lost their lives as a result of the national strikes by nurses and doctors around the country. What the president is trying to do is unfortunately too little too late.

GOVERNMENT says meeting improved conditions of service demands of striking nurses will entail hospitals and other health centres going without drugs for at least one or two months.

Minister of Health Kapembwa Simbao said this is because his ministry might be forced to obtain money from key areas such as provision of drugs and equipment to meet nurses’ demands.

“Everyone must understand that you can only move around the same money. If you undertake an activity that was not planned for, it means you have to move money from some other area to put into that activity.

And the only place where this money can be obtained from is the budget for drugs, equipment or infrastructure,” Mr Simbao said.

He said such reallocation of money will see hospitals go without drugs for at least one or two months.
“This is where we have a problem. For one or two months, hospitals might have no drugs,” Mr Simbao said.

He said this after touring the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) to check the situation at the institution.

Mr Simbao said if the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Situmbeko Musokotwane objects to the reallocation of money meant for drugs, equipment and infrastructure towards nurses’ demands, then the money might have to be sourced from other ministries.

He said the problem Government has is denying Zambians drugs and critical services to meet nurses’ demands.

“Should we deny people drugs, clinics and equipment? We have that big problem. Once we make that decision, some people will have to suffer,” he said.
Mr Simbao said nurses have not yet resumed work at UTH except for a few.[quote]

He said Government will continue talking to the nurses with the hope that they understand what Government is able to do for them at the moment.

“We have to continue talking to people. We must reach a position where it must be understood what, as Government, we can do,” he said.

Mr Simbao said his tour of UTH was meant to help him see what could be done about the situation at the hospital.

“I came to see how the hospital is being run so that I may be in a position to see what needs to be done,” he said.

Striking nurses have agreed to go back to work on condition that Government and their union leaders sign a commitment agreement that will indicate the time-frame in which their demands for improved conditions of service will be addressed.

Minister of Labour and Social Security Austin Liato said on Monday that Government will get back to the nurses and their unions over their demands for a commitment agreement.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

The MMD Party has castigated Patriotic Front (PF) President Michael Sata for alleging that President Rupiah Banda has allowed his Ministers and the National Executive Committee (NEC) members to bring the name of the late President Levy Mwanawasa into disrepute.

MMD Information and Publicity Chairperson Benny Tetamashimba says the Party was not using the late Dr Mwanawasa’s name to win political mileage but that the Party was using late President Mwanawasa’s name to appreciate what he did to the incumbent President.

He said in a statement in Lusaka today, that the MMD Party will not keep aloof when the PF leader speaks things that he does not understand as President Banda had told his ministers and NEC members that his ascendancy to the presidency was because of late Dr. Mwanawasa who brought him from retirement.

Mr. Tetamashimba said he has no regrets to state that the people who worked under late President Mwanawasa’s regime were stealing and that they were involved in corrupt practices without Dr Mwanawasa’s knowledge adding that he saw nothing wrong to mention late President Mwanawasa’s name.[quote]

Mr. Tetamashimba was reacting to PF leader Michael Sata and Patrick Mwanawasa junior remarks that the MMD Party was using late Dr Mwanawasa’s name to bring him into disrepute.

He charged that Mr. Sata was not a right person to allege that President Banda has allowed his ministers and MMD NEC members to bring the name of the late President into disrepute as he, Mr. Sata, was only interested in using Dr Mwanawasa’s name to win a cheap political mileage.

Mr. Tetamashimba, who is also Local Government and Housing Minister, challenged the PF leader to state how many houses he got under the Avondale Housing Project if he was not corrupt.

He further advised Mr. Sata not to bring Patrick Mwanawasa junior into the firing range adding that people should not mislead Patrick Mwanawasa junior as President Banda has promised to do his level best to help the Mwanawasa’s family.

Mr. Tetamashimba has since advised Patrick Mwanawasa junior to go to the University so that he can be a shining example to future generations.

ENDS/TK/AM/ZANIS

the family and herself are happy with her appointment as MMD national trustee contrary to claims by the late president’s son Patrick that the family was not consulted.

Ms Mwanawasa said claims by Patrick that she was not aware of the appointment were not true and advised her nephew to avoid being used by people not happy that the Mwanawasa family was ready to work with President Rupiah Banda.

“The Mwanawasa family has always been ready to work with President Banda. We said this even at first prior to the October 2008 presidential by-election and I do not see the reason things can change now.

“This situation will not take us anywhere. I mean, Patrick has never been in touch with me to talk about this issue and if anything, Patrick is just a child and he is not the person we should be consulting over such issues,” she said.

Ms Mwanawasa said family members who included her uncles Green Chilabika and Philimon Mokola and her older sister Rona were all consulted and gave a ‘green light’ for her appointment to the NEC.

Reacting to claims published in yesterday’s Post edition that she and the family were not consulted, Ms Mwanawasa said she even had the opportunity of discussing the matter with her close friends who all advised her to accept the appointment.[quote]

She advised Patrick to go back to school and build his future than allowing himself to be used by the people that would not help him shape his destiny.

Ms Mwanawasa said her family was ready to work with President Banda’s administration and that was the reason she accepted the appointment.

“In fact, after my appointment, we even went to State House with my two uncles to meet and thank President Banda for recognising me as a person who can work with the party and this confirmed that we were actually consulted,” she said.

Rona Mwanawasa said separately in Chisamba that the family actually sat down and advised her sister to take up the position.

“We actually sat down as a family and advised Evelyn to accept the appointment. We are MMD and we see no reason we should abandon the party to join the opposition just because our brother has died,” she said.

She said that those trying to use Patrick should desist from doing so because they were just bent on destroying the young man.

“In fact, if Patrick says anything wrong in the whole thing, he should have contacted us than going to the newspaper. We have never been in touch with him and it is not true for him to say he had even contacted Evelyn over the appointment,” she said.

Patrick claimed in the Post Newspaper story that MMD wanted to use the Mwanawasa name only when it suited them and that the appointment of her aunt was not genuine and was just intended to benefit the MMD.

But Rona said Patrick was not a politician and had never been one and that those trying to use him were not helping him.

[Times of Zambia]

Striking nurses and other health workers at the University Teaching  Hospital, UTH, have given government a two-week ultimatum in which to address their demands.

The workers have vowed to continue with the strike until government pays them improved risk, night duty, Uniform, and housing allowances among other demands.

They accused government of neglecting their plight of working up to 78 hours per week when ministers are getting huge salaries and allowances.

The workers issued the ultimatum when Labour Minister Austin Liato addressed them at UTH this afternoon.

The irate health workers, who displayed placards denouncing the effort by Labour Minister to address them, said they will not succumb to any form of intimidation by government.[quote]

Zambia Congress of Trade Union, ZCTU, President, Leonard Hikaumba, who sympathised with the nurses advised government to desist from evacuating ministers to South Africa for medical treatment because the measure was compounding the problem in the health sector.

“We demand equal treatment in the distribution of health care facilities with those in south Africa because nurses at UTH are working under difficulty situations. We see senior government officials being flown outside for medical treatment when that money can be used to purchase the needed equipment, where is the fairness?”, Mr. Hikaumba wondered.

Mr. Hikaumba advised the nurses to remain united as ZCTU is working with the Zambia Union of Nurses Organisation, ZUNO, to pressurize government to improve conditions of service for public health workers.

He said the 15 per cent salary increment awarded to the nurses was done in good faith and dismissed claims that government bribed the labour leaders to settle for a ‘meagre’ 15 per cent salary increment.

He urged the health workers to go back to work because if they continued with the strike action, government would take advantage and weaken the solidarity in speaking with one strong voice through their reputable union, ZUNO.

But in response, Labour and Social Services Minister, Mr Liato urged the nurses to go back to work as their plight has been heard.

Mr. Liato, a former labour movement leader of the Energy and Allied Workers’ Union said negotiations for bargaining cannot be done in a short period of time but government acts when communicated to through labour union leaders.

He added that President, Rupiah Banda, has been in office for only nine months and pleaded that government be given enough time to address the concerns of the workers.

“Go back to work then the negotiation will go smoothly because government cannot start bargaining when workers are away. Government has heard from your side and so hear our side also. Allow the bargaining process to start because no-one is interested in trivialising this matter be it government or union leaders. As government we are addressing the strike with the urgency it deserves,” assured Mr. Liato.

ZANIS

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has announced that it will soon kick-start the continuous voter registration exercise.

ECZ Public Relations Manager, Chris Akufuna told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today that the commission was currently putting in place the necessary logistical requirements.

Mr. Akufuna said ECZ would strive to stick to the earlier announcement by its Chairperson Justice Florence Mumba to commence the exercise this month.

“The Electoral Commission of Zambia will endeavor stick to the earlier statement by Justice Florence Mumba that the continuous voter registration will start by June this year and members of the public will be informed once the exercise begins,” he said.

Mr. Akufuna said the ECZ is working tirelessly to ensure that the exercise commences promptly.

The ECZ Public Relations Manager said the commission is alive to the fact that it needs to act with a sense of urgency over the matter.

He said the exercise would ensure that all eligible voters are capture so that they may exercise their right to vote.

Pressure is amounting on the ECZ to commence the continuous voter registration exercise.

Government this year allocated K5 billion in the national budget to the ECZ for the continuous voter registration.

ZANIS