President Ruipiah Banda has declared Friday, April 17th, 2009 a day of National Mourning for late Freedom fighter Chitalu Sampa.

President Banda has decided to declare a State funeral for the late Mr Sampa in recognition of his distinguished service to the nation.

Mr Banda has declared Friday, April 17th, 2009 a National Mourning day starting from 06:00 hours to 18:00 hours. All flags will fly half mast and activities of an entertainment nature should be postponed or cancelled.

This is contained in a release signed by Acting Secretary to the Cabinet Robert Mataka and received by ZANIS this evening.

The Late Mr Sampa, who served as Mines Minister, Home Affairs Minister and Defence Minister, respectively, passed away yesterday,at the University Teaching Hospital.

Funeral gathering is at House Number 7 Mukonka Close, in Rhodespark off Great East ROAD . Burial will take place at Old Leopards Hill Cemetry and would be preceded by a church service at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

ZANIS/MM/ENDS/MM

The International Organization for Migration ( IOM ) has donated to the Vice President’s Office relief materials to address the floods situation in the country.

The donation was made to Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit ( DMMU ) comprising tents, wheel barrows, hoes at a total cost of US$33 million dollars and were received by Vice President George Kunda .

And Mr Kunda said the just ended 2008/09 rain season has caused extensive damage to food crops and infrastructure across the country.

The Vice President said the damage to infrastructure indicates that the cost of repair of roads and bridges will be challenging to the government as the impact of heavy rains and floods on crop yield in some parts of the country is expected to be server.

The vice president thanked IOM for coming to the aid of government to solve some of the problems that resulted from the floods.

He noted that government also appreciates the reliable partnership that exists between IOM and reliable partners in the settlement and resettlement of Zambian citizens who migrate from across the world.

And speaking earlier IOM chief of mission Josiah Ogina said his organization will continue to support government’s efforts in capacity building to strengthen the service delivery to the affected areas.

ZANIS/AH/ENDS/MM

The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) is devising another strategy that will help it to effectively curb the use of small buses on intercity routes.

RTSA Public Relations Officer, Mukela Mangolwa, told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka today, that the use of small buses on intercity routes was against the stipulated traffic rules.
He said RTSA would take stern action against bus operators that were flouting the laid down traffic rules which are meant to promote road safety in the country.

Mr. Mangolwa warned that those found wanting risked being fined and ultimately have their operational licences revoked.
He said the agency had been conducting road patrols to ensure that public transport operators observed traffic rules to guarantee passengers’ safety.

And when asked what the agency was doing to ensure buses operating on the international routes complied with the traffic rules, Mr. Mangolwa said RTSA always ensured that the buses that operate on international routes were of acceptable standards before issuing them licences.

Mr. Mangolwa however, stated that the agency also depended on information from the public for it to enhance its operations.
He has since advised the public to report to RSTA, any bus operator who did not comply with the laid down traffic rules and regulations.

ZANIS/MDP/KSH/ENDS

Zambia Prisons Services Commissioner, Gibbie Nawa, says more than 10 million people in prisons across the world have been seriously affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Mr. Nawa said most countries in the sub-Saharan region have a higher HIV prevalence rate among their prison populations than the general population of the same countries.
He said a decade ago, the Zambia Prison Service carried out an HIV prevalence survey which showed that the prevalence rate of the pandemic in prisons varied from that of the outside population.

He was speaking at the official opening of a three-day training workshop held for prison service officers-in-charge on HIV/AIDS in Kabwe yesterday.
The training workshop is aimed at providing prisons leadership with information on how to reduce stigma and discrimination in order to help both prisoners and officers accept their status.

Mr. Nawa also noted that Zambian prisons officers are at high risk of contracting and spreading HIV due to the nature of their work.

ZANIS/AH/KSH/ENDS

A Lusaka based private contractor has appealed to the government to support the growth of the construction industry in the country by giving more contracts to local contractors.

Fabian Watanuka who is managing director of Hadac, a civil engineering construction company, says local construction companies have the potential to make a significant contribution to the growth of the economy if supported by government.

Mr. Watanuka says this can be seen in the high standard of some projects local construction companies have undertaken around the country especially in the education and health sectors.
He made the appeal when the monitoring and evaluation team led by Lusaka province deputy permanent secretary Conrad Tembo visited a clinic being built by Hadac Construction Company in Lusaka’s Chaisa compound.

Mr. Watanuka said the clinic was nearing completion and would be handed over to the government in a few weeks time.

And Lusaka province deputy permanent secretary Conrad Tembo commended the company for completing the project within the stipulated time and standard.
Mr Tembo said government will always support local contractors who deliver quality service.

He said the provincial administration has enhanced the supervision of ongoing development projects in the province to ensure they are completed on time and in accordance with the projected standard.

Earlier, the monitoring team inspected progress on projects at Chelston, Chunga and Chilenje high schools.
The team also visited Chainama College of health sciences, construction of a library at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) and a local court in Chilenje.

ZANIS/LN/BMK/MKM/