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Mazabuka NGOs partner to fight HIV/AIDS

Guest Editor
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Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) and Concern Worldwide have partnered to intensify the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic through a concept called Total Control of the Epidemic (TCE).

TCE is a project aimed at mobilising people to take total control of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in their lives by employing field officers, who go from house-to-house, person-to-person doing voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) using finger prick testing in the Mazabuka district.

Speaking during the visit to Mazabuka District yesterday, Concern Worldwide Country Director Rakesh Katal said people should not be careless with their sexual behaviour because of Anti Retro Viral drugs that were being administered by health institutions.

Mr. Katal also called upon counsellors to be careful when dealing with the technical aspect of HIV/AIDS testing.
He added that a good educational background for HIV counsellors was imperative in the fight against the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Mazabuka District Health Management Team (MDHMT) Manager, Martha Musweu has commended the two NGOs for their efforts in the district.

Mrs. Musweu said the partnership between DAPP/TCE and Mazabuka District Health Management Team will go a long way in reducing the high prevalence rate of the pandemic.

”Mazabuka is privileged to have the first TCE programme initiated in the country as this has assisted in counselling and testing people,” she said.

She added that TCE field officers play a key role in helping suffice for the shortfall of health workers in all the district’s 46 health centers.

The visit by the two country directors to Mazabuka was aimed at learning about the effectiveness of TCE concept and at seeing the possibility of replicating the concept in Western Province.

ZANIS/TS/KSH/ENDS.

Green Belt Fertiliser workers resume work

Guest Editor
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5

Striking casual workers at Green Belt Fertiliser (GBF) Zambia Limited in Mazabuka have finally resumed work after management increased their off loading and loading fees from K 110 to K 140 per bag.

GBF Mazabuka operations manager, Peter Barker confirmed the development to ZANIS in Mazabuka today.

Mr Barker said management decided to increase the loading fees per bag to K 140 in order to motivate workers, who have been protesting and demanding improved conditions of service for a long time now.

He said the increment represents a 30 per cent hike from the previous fees.

He said industrial harmony was necessary to foster production, adding that his company would do everything possible to improve conditions of services for his staff.

Over 160 casual workers last Thursday staged a protest demanding an increment in the loading and off loading fees at the company.

The workers also complained of poor working environment noting that their management has not even provided them with protective clothing.

The casual workers said they were forced to handle chemicals used in the production of fertiliser without any gloves, gumboots and other protective clothing.

They have since called on the District Commissioner, Tyson Hamaamba to intervene.

ZANIS/HC/KSHJ/ENDS

Zambia is not utilissing its natural resources and location, World Bank Rep

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imfWorld Bank Country Manager Dr Kapil Kapoor has challenged the Zambian Government to use the global economic crisis as opportunity to create the right environment to attract Investment for longer sustainable growth.

Mr Kapoor said Zambia has tremendous economic potential given its location and natural resources which was not being exploited currently due to weaknesses in the policy environment.

Dr Kapoor said this in Kitwe yesterday at Edinburgh Hotel in a paper presentation titled the role of the World Bank in managing the Global Financial crisis at the Economic Crisis Impact on the Mining Industry International Conference organised by Caritas Zambia.

He said it would take Zambia between 20 to 30 years to build the economic wealth it used to have in the late 60’s hence the need for Government to take advantage of the Agriculture potential of the Country to stir the economy back to life.[quote]

He said Zambia has a lot of abundant land and the untapped Zambezi water basin which it must explore fully to promote agriculture activities in the rural parts of the Country were 90% live in abject poverty.

Dr Kapoor further said there was need for Government to boost growth in the Agriculture sector from the current one percent per year to meaningful figure if the poverty levels currently prevailing in the Country were to be reduced.

He noted that despite all these large expenditure on the Fertiliser support programme (FSP), maize yields have been declining while the growth of the sector is insignificant.

He urged Government to invest massively in Irrigation farming and other viable Agriculture projects if the poverty levels was to be reduced and not the Fertiliser support programme which was not adding any value to the sector.

Dr Kapoor observed that the majority of the Zambian people depend on Agriculture for economic survival hence the need to develop the sector.

And speaking earlier at the same function Professor John Lungu of the School of Business at the Copperbelt University called on the Government and various stakeholders to work together if they were to cushion the impact of the global economic crisis.

Professor Lungu said there was need for an acceptable economic agenda that would champion the cause of the Zambian people and not individuals.

He said Zambians had a tendency to champion their personal agendas and maintaining their rigid minds at the expense of national development.

ZANIS

Matete to train athletes

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mateteFormer Zambian 400 metres hurdles world champion, Samuel Matete leaves for Mauritius to take-up his new coaching appointment.

Matete has been appointed as Instructor at the International Athletic Associations Federation (IAAF) High Performance Training centre in Port Loius.

Matete said IAAF, the world athletic mother governing body, intends to extent his contract to two years after expiry of the initial six months contract.

Matete’s immediate task is to train athletes expected to compete in the 2009 World championships in Germany later this year and 2012 London Olympic games.

The former world champion believes he has the experience and ability to develop athletics.

Matete said he is humbled to have been recognised by a global sports organisations like the IAAF.

He however, said he will come back to Zambia at the end of his appointment to continue with his Sport for Youth organisation which he founded in Kitwe four years ago.

He said during his absence, the Sports for Youth board members will help run affairs of the organisation in conjunction with the head coach Charles Lupiya.

The multi talented Matete who also plays other sports disciplines, returned home in 2002 from the USA where he was based for over 17 years.

In August 1991 in Tokyo-Japan, Matete surprised the world when he became the first African to lift a gold medal in the four hundred metres hurdles.

ZNBC

Monze farmers say the K65,000 maize floor price is too low

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Farmers in Monze district of Southern province have expressed disappointment over this year’s maize floor price, which was announced by government through the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) last week.

According to a statement made available in Monze and signed by Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) Monze branch chairman Simon Malambo, farmers in Monze were not happy with the K65, 000 floor price per 50 kilogram bag of maize.

Mr. Malambo said farmers would have preferred a price of up to K75, 000 per 50 kg bag of maize because production costs for those who purchased fertilizer from private sellers not less than K2.8 million per hectare.

In the last agriculture season, a 50 kilogram bag of fertilizer was costing an average cost of K250, 000.

He said basing the calculation of the floor price on the cost of fertilizer under Fertilizer Support Programme of K50, 000 per 50kg bag was disadvantaging some farmers that never got fertilizer from the FSP.[quote]

He explained that the development would incapacitate some farmers from purchasing fertilizer for the next farming season because they would have enough money.

Mr. Malambo noted that this would mean that the number of farmers that would require FSP support for the next farming season would increase.

He added that this would promote a dependency syndrome among farmers in the district.

Mr. Malambo said encouraging the dependence syndrome among farmers through dishing out handouts in form of food relief and inputs through FSP would contribute greatly to destroying of the farming industry in the district.

He said farmers who were members of the Pemba-Monze Association were in support of ZNFU’s position on the floor price.

Mr. Malambo wondered who the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives consulted before setting the floor price.

He said government must ensure that stakeholders and farmers themselves were consulted extensively at district, provincial and national levels in order to strike a balance in its decision over the matter.

ZANIS

President Banda to open 6th ZIBAC

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President Rupiah Banda is today expected in Livingstone to officiate at a two-day Zambia International Business Advisory Council (ZIBAC) V1 conference at Zambezi Sun hotel.

According to a program released by Southern Province Permanent Secretary Darius Hakayobe, President Banda is expected to touch down at Livingstone International Airport at 16:00 hours and will be received by Provincial Minister Daniel Munkombwe, Provincial MMD Chairman Sol Muzyamba, City Mayor Joram Mwinda and other senior officials.

Mr. Banda is expected to officially give his opening address on Wednesday morning at the conference where Commerce Minister Felix Mutati, representatives from the private sector, co-operating partners and cabinet ministers will be present.

The ZIBAC V1 conference will be officially closed on Thursday by President Banda who will then be expected to fly back to Lusaka at 14:30 hours .

And Special Assistant to the President Dickson Jere said the meeting will have a restricted number of participants, who will include selected Cabinet Ministers, business representatives, cooperating partners and international advisors.

The meeting will also comprise of ten high-level business leaders from different countries and business sectors led by Lord Simon Cairns.

The theme of this year’s ZIBAC meeting is “Global Economic Crisis: Zambia’s Response to growth and Competitiveness.’’

ZIBAC was created in 2003 to provide advise to the Republican President and his Cabinet through the support from the UK Department for International Development (DFID), other donors and the Commonwealth Business Council.

The ZIBAC process has previously been used to identify key priorities and action plans to address issues such as telecoms, policy, labour reforms, and private-public partnerships for infrastructure development, citizen’s economic empowerment and mining agreements.

ZANIS

Kitwe United, Nkana Draw in Derby Feast

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Nkana and Kitwe United on Sunday served up a rare local derby treat at Garden Park in the two sides Division 1 north week 11 game.

Garden Park was packed and one would have also mistaken the electric atmosphere to that of a big Faz Premier Division clash.

Moreover, the quality of the game was by far higher than their well-heeled rivals Power Dynamos display 24 hours earlier across town at Arthur Davies Stadium where they drew 0-0 against Choma Eagles.

Latecomers didn’t miss a thing due to a 30 minute delay thanks to a clash of jerseys and the long wait didn’t disappoint, that was coupled with a light-hearted moment, courtesy of two animated fans just a few minutes before the delayed kickoff.

Getting a little tired of the long wait, the two fans climbed over the perimeter fence and took to the pitch gesturing with a finger to wrist before the police gave chase.

And when the game did finally start, Nkana supplied the attacking spark led by striker Evans “Singuluma” Kangwa who has so far scored 9 goals from 11 games this season.

However, he found a solid wall in United’s giant teenage defender Levy Makungu who didn’t put a foot wrong the entire game with some crude but well-timed tackling.

United’s stout defending is clear for all to see on the table where they have the meanest defence and also the poorest strike-force conceding 2 goals and 1 for from 8 matches played with 2 games in hand.

And while United have suffered from a chronic drought of striker deficiency stretching back four years, Nkana could not match them in midfield where playmaker Victor Kashitu inspired but was let down by the misfiring nature of team mate and veteran striker Ezzie Lundu.

United’s best chances on goal the entire game came after coach Emmanuel Siwale threw on substitute and life-long stalwart Chishala Mwandama-the lone survivor from their 2001 promoted team.

United surely should erect a statue in honor of the beanpole striker when he finally retires if they can afford one, albeit life-size, for sticking around from boom to bust and endured the wrath of Garden Park’s volatile supporters.

He had one effort cleared off the line in the 75th minute and another saved by Kelvin Mulenga, who together with one Patrick Kabamba now of Zanaco and William Chinse, joined Nkana from United three seasons ago when the Garden Park club was demoted.

United later had a penalty appeal turned down after a hand ball on the edge of the area.

However, in the spirit of fairness, a free kick instead was all United got.

The scoreless draw was a fair and justifiable result for such a rare treat of pure flowing derby action that if one is lucky to witness, comes once every season.

 Fewdays Musonda’s Nkana continues to lead the table with 19 points from 10 games, while Mufulira Blackpool are second on 17 points and seeking to end a 10-year absence from top-flight football.

[leaguestandings league_id=2 mode=extend logo=false]

Do not associate museums with witchcraft- Minister

Guest Editor
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Copperbelt provincial Minister Mwansa Mbulakulima has appealed to people to refrain from associating Museums with witchcraft.

The Minister said Museums were simply sites where valuable natural pieces of heritage were preserved for reference and admiration.

Mr. Mbulakulima made the appeal this morning during the commemoration of the International Museums Day under the theme “Museums and Tourism” held at the Civic Center grounds in Ndola.

He said this year’s theme explained the aim of ensuring that tourism interacted with cultures around the world adding that attitudes and approaches needed to take into consideration both tangible and intangible heritage.

Mr. Mbulakulima has however said the tourism industry’s incredible growth over the past five decades is stagnating due to the global financial crisis.

And speaking earlier, Northern Regional Tourism Co-coordinator Veronica Milimo said Museums were social institutions that reflected and conveyed what was happening in society.

Mrs Milimo said there was need to increase the value of the heritage of people as it defined a base of cultural knowledge of a particular people.

She further appealed to government to increase the quality and value of museums country wide.

Zambia today joined the rest of the world in commemorating the international Museums Day which falls on 18th May every year.

ZANIS/PC/CMM/MKM/ENDS.

Students protest over delayed exam results

Guest Editor
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The Zambia Institute of Business Studies and Industrial Practice (ZIBSIP) students today carried out a peaceful demonstration over the delay in the release of the December examination results.

ZIBSIP Students’ Union president elect Innocent Mulenga told ZANIS that students were protesting against management’s failure to release results for students pursuing Diploma in Business Administration (DBA), which were due in February.

Mr Mulenga said the normal duration of release of results was two months after the last day of completion of the examinations.
He disclosed that students had not been given their results five months after completing their examinations.

He said it was difficult for students to prepare for the end of June examination as they did not know how they performed in the previous examination.

“Students are psychologically defeated, there is no morale to study for the next examinations in June as they do not know where they stand and what they are studying for as the results for last semester’s examinations have not been published,” he said.

And Students Union outgoing Secretary General, Arthur Matefeya said management has not been very open in addressing the concerns of the affected students .

He said there was poor communication from management to the students on the release of the results despite constant follow ups by the Students’ Union representatives.

Meanwhile ZIBSIP Training Manager, Francis Bwalya attributed the delay in the release of results to administrative problems at the Copperbelt University (CBU) who are the examining body of the DBA programme.

Mr Bwalya told ZANIS that the Institute was only involved in the training part of the programme while CBU prepares the examinations and publishes the results.

He confirmed that the results of DBA for the institution were supposed to have been released at the end of February but were not yet made available.

Mr Bwalya also disclosed that CBU management had indicated that they would release the results on the 15th of May as they were finalising the process but had not yet availed them to the institution.

He was hopeful that the matter would be resolved as soon as possible so that normal learning could resume at the institution.

ZANIS/SZ/MKM/ENDS

Court to hear whether mandatory HIV testing is constitutional in Zambia

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The Livingstone High Court will this Wednesday hear a ground breaking case on whether mandatory testing for HIV and discrimination solely on the basis of HIV status is constitutional in Zambia.

The case, Kingaipe and Another v Attorney General, involves two former Zambian Air Force (ZAF) employees, Stanley Kingaipe and Charles Chookole who were allegedly subjected to mandatory testing for HIV without their knowledge and dismissed due to their HIV status.

The two are seeking reinstatement and damage for mental and emotional anguish.

This is contained in a joint press statement by Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and Zambian AIDS Law Research and Advocacy Network (ZARAN) and made available in Livingstone today.

According to the statement Kingaipe and Chookole were allegedly subjected to an HIV test without their consent and given anti-retroviral treatment without their knowledge in 2001.

And in October 2001, without their knowledge and participation, a medical Board reviewed their medical records and declared them permanently unfit for service but continued to work at the ZAF for a full year after the Board’s decision.

The statement indicated that they both performed very well in their job that one of the applicants was promoted during that time until October 2002 when they were both dismissed

Priti Patel, a lawyer with SALC stated in a statement that there is no legitimate medical or policy reason for discriminating against HIV positive persons in the military and subjecting them to testing without their consent.

Mrs. Patel challenged Zambia to send a clear message to the military that such unlawful treatment will not be tolerated.

And Dimuna Phiri, a paralegal with ZARAN stated that the testing of individuals without their consent not only violates fundamental rights guaranteed in the Zambian Constitution, but also has been shown to have harmful public health consequences by increasing stigma and further pushing HIV into the shadows.

SALC and ZARAN are assisting the Legal Resources Foundation of Zambia in the case.

ZANIS

President Banda orders forensic investigations in some government ministries

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rbhPresident Rupiah Banda has reiterated that he would not condone any acts of corruption in his government but instead support law enforcement agencies’ investigations on corrupt practices in various ministries.

President Banda has since ordered Secretary to the Cabinet, Joshua Kanganja to cooperate with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and other law enforcement agencies that were undertaking investigations on corrupt practices in the civil service.

He said Dr. Kanganja, who is the head of the civil service in Zambia, should work with the ACC and other anti-corruption agencies as they try to get to the root cause of the alleged corruption in some government ministries.

He expressed sadness that allegations of serious corruption involving huge sums of public funds have persisted despite government efforts to fight the vice.

This is according to the press statement released by Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations, Dickson Jere and made available in Lusaka today.[quote]

“I want a full report on these allegations. We cannot condone such acts of abuse of public funds,” he said.

President Banda said going by the amounts of funds and assets involved, it was clear that most of the alleged corruption cases in government ministries could not have started in the last six months when he was elected as President.

He has further appealed to all government officials to adhere to the principles of zero tolerance to corruption.

The President has also demanded for a thorough forensic investigation in the mentioned government departments in order to get to the root cause of the allegations.

He has meanwhile asked the investigating agencies to carry out their work in accordance to the law, noting that the alleged perpetrators of corruption should be subjected to the due process of the law while their rights to a free and fair trial should be respected at all times.

Last week, the ACC unearthed a scam in which a former Ministry of Health senior official allegedly got K10 billion though corrupt means.

The agency further uncovered another scam in Eastern province in which a road contractor wanted to defraud government of K925 million.

ZANIS

Pupil dies, three injured in Kabompo road accident

Guest Editor
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A grade 11 pupil of Loloma High School died on the spot while three others sustained serious injuries when the Toyota Hilux registration number ABT 533 they were travelling in, careered off the road and overturned at Manyinga in Kabompo district.

North-Western Deputy Commanding Officer, Lackson Sakala confirmed the accident in a telephone interview with ZANIS today.

Mr. Sakala said the accident happened at 12:30 hours last Friday when the driver of the vehicle, identified as Godfrey Chalula 20, lost control of the vehicle and overturned near Manyinga-Solwezi road.

Mr. Sakala identified the deceased as Clifford Kayonga aged 20.
He said, two of the injured, including the driver were rushed to Kabompo District Hospital and the third, to Loloma Mission Hospital, where they were admitted.

The body of the deceased was taken to Kabompo District Hospital mortuary, awaiting burial.

ENDS/MK/PK/ZANIS

Livingstone man in court for indecent acts

Guest Editor
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A 28-year old Livingstone resident this morning appeared in the magistrate’s court charged with indecent acts aimed at annoying females contrary to section 137 Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.

Charles Hamooya of house number 82 Dambwa Site and Service in Livingstone, appeared before magistrate Davis Mumbi, for plea and pleaded not guilty to the charge levelled against him.

Particulars of the offence were that on May 11, 2009 Hamooya while standing in a queue in Shoprite Checkers store and with intent to annoy, indecently photographed Muzungu Phellin between her legs, thereby capturing on his cellular phone her thighs and underpants without her consent.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge and is set to appear in court again on June 11, 2009.

ZANIS/ENDS/AMM/EB

ICT still a gloomy picture in Africa

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Government says Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are currently central to the process of development.

Transport and Communications Deputy Minister Mubika Mubika says it is practically impossible for the world to be what it is in terms of politics, commerce and trade, social networking and personal well being without any means of communication.

Mr. Mubika however says the current statistics on ICT as reported by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) paints a gloomy picture of Africa.

He said the reports raises doubts as to whether the continent will be able to attain the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) number eight, target five, which is specific to the ICT sector.

Mr Mubika was speaking when he officiated at the International Telecommunications Regional Development Forum whose theme is “Next Generation Networks and Broadband: Opportunities and Challenges” in Lusaka today.

Speaking earlier, Communications Authority of Zambia (CAZ) Acting Chief Executive Officer Judith Tembo observed that the African Continent has continued to trail far behind the developed world in the telecommunication industry.

Mrs Tembo said although efforts are being made to reduce the digital divide, the continent is constrained by lack of adequate financial and human capacity to deploy new technologies.

She said the Next Generation Networks hold significant promise for the developed world where wireless broadband access includes the use of satellite based technologies.

Mrs. Tembo said Next Generation Networks could dramatically improve access to telecommunications particularly in rural areas.

Telecommunication Development Bureau Director Sami Al-Basheer Al Morshid said Next Generation Networks and broadband services are poised to bring significant benefits to all parts of the world.

In a speech read for him by Head of the Regional Office for Africa Brahima Sanou, Mr Morshid said the provision of broadband to the masses is one of the major challenges that face the global ICT community.

ZANIS

Maamba Collieries Retrenchees demand money owed them for the past 11 years

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Maamba Collieries Ltd (MCL) retrenchees, who have not been paid their money for the past eleven years, today stormed the house of the District Commissioner (DC) Mungoni Simulilika to present their grievances on the government’s delay in paying them their money.

The former workers, who complained that many of their friends have died of depression, warned that they would demonstrate if government fails to pay them their money.

Speaking on behalf of the retrenchees, Alick Siankuku said their representatives have been in Lusaka for the past four months to have their matter addressed but government has continued delaying in paying them.[quote]

Mr Siankuku said retrenches have demanded to be put back on MCL payroll according to the high court judgment that they obtained so that their misery could be reduced.

He said according to the judgment, all the retrenches were supposed to be put back on the payroll until government paid them their money but it was not honoured resulting in the accumulation of wages for the past eleven years.

He said the retrenches would not want to disappoint the President through resorting to riots but if government fails to honour its promise they would be forced to demonstrate.

Bornface Nchimba said they were failing to take their children to school because they have no source of income from the time they were retrenched.

Mr Nchimba disclosed that there was starvation among the retrenched workers and they were desperate because there was no peace in their homes.

Malala Muchimba, who is a widow, said all the retrenched workers were bitter about the non-payment of their money.

She said President Ruphiah Banda promised to pay them their money in two weeks last year in October but nothing has been done since.

She alleged that the ministries of Justice and Finance and National Planning were delaying the whole process of paying them.

Ms Muchimba warned that their patience should not be taken for granted.

And the Sinazongwe DC, Mr Simulilika, said he would take up their grievances to the relevant authorities so that the matter would be addressed.

Mr Simulilika said the matter was already above his office and everything possible was being done to ensure that it received the highest attention.

He noted that government was being careful in addressing their complaints so that no mistake was made since the matter was ruled in court.

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