Mongu District Mayor Charles Akende has said that Members of Parliament (MPs) who don’t attend full council meetings will face suspension.

His worship the Mayor said that Mps’ presence is most needed in full council meetings as they represent the people in parliament.

The Mayor questioned that how MPs will present accurate information in parliament if they don’t attend meetings when called for.

Mr. Akende pointed out that issues faced by the community are most likely to be raised by their respective councilors adding that it from same information MPs are to gat accurate information.

Mr. Akende threatened to suspend Members of Parliament for Western Province who don’t attend council meetings saying that they violet council regulations as they are also members of the council.

Meanwhile Mr. Akende has said Mongu Municipal Council’s financial position and cash flow has improved.

He said that with the money realized from sale of trading licenses, the council has managed to pay its workers the January and February salaries.

He further said though there are challenges in the collection of revenue, the council management hopes the improvement which has been made can be sustained to some extent during the year.

The Mayor said this yesterday when he opened the 6 th ordinary council meeting at council chambers.

ENDS/RK/PK/ZANIS

The Forum for Leadership Search Zambian (FLSZ) Chapter has called for the resignation and removal of Mutembo Nchito from the position of Public Prosecutor.

FLSZ Executive Director Edwin Lifwekelo said Mr. Nchito should resign on moral grounds adding that he cannot be prosecuting legal matters on behalf of the Zambian people when he was facing serious criminal allegations.

Mr. Lifwekelo said in a press release made available to ZANIS in Lusaka today, that Mr. Nchito cannot be expected to bring people to justice when he himself has been arraigned before processes that should bring him to justice.

He said in an event that Mr. Nchito chooses not to resign, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Mr. Chalwe Muchenga should immediately remove him from the position of Public Prosecutor.

The FLSZ Executive Director also said the Post newspapers should stop the mockery of these serious legal proceedings with its comments, Editorials and coverage.

He added that with the warn and caution theft by agent statements issued by Law Enforcement Agencies, the Post should cease to carry prejudicial and contemptuous comments relating to Zambian airways.

Mr. Lifwekelo further said now that the Managing Director of the Post Fred Mmembe was a suspect in the Zambian airways saga he should not be allowed to use the paper to attempt to exonerate himself and Mr. Nchito.

He added that the Law Enforcement Agencies must intensify processes that should help recover the US$ lost in the saga.

“We have also leant with interest the statement by the British High Commissioner to Zambia, Thomas Carter that Britain has spent over US$1billion,  500,000 million pounds in the last 5 years on the fight against corruption,” Mr. Lifwekelo said.

He said both the Zambian government and Mr. Carter should help the nation by disclosing how such a colossal amount of money was used for.

Mr. Lifwekelo also demanded for the forensic audit against corruption to cover both monies received from donors and the Zambian government.

He added that the audit should extend to the offshore account held in Britain called the Anti-Corruption Fund (ACP) adding that corruption has been on an increase in the country and that it needs to be curbed.

The FLSZ Executive Director added that so much resources have been misdirected to activities that did help to curb the vice.

ENDS/AJN/PK/ZANIS

The ruling MMD in Mpulungu has with immediate effect suspended its constituency youth chairman Boas Lumbwe from his position for alleged indiscipline.

In an interview, MMD Provincial Vice Secretary ,Jairas Simunyola said the decision to suspend Lumbwe was reached yesterday during an emergency meeting held by district and constituency officials in Mpulungu.

Simunyola who had traveled from Kasama for the meeting added that Lumbwe had since been given 10 days in which to exculpate himself.

He said lumbwe has been charged with squandering K450 000, money meant for party operations in Mpulungu which the party at the province entrusted in him recently.

Simunyola said lumbwe also allegedly insulted chief Zombe of Mbala district who was in Mpulungu recently whilst in a drunken stupor, an action that landed him in police cells.

He said the party will not condone such levels of indiscipline among its members especially that the alleged utterances were directed towards a respected traditional leader adding it’s such behavior that has the potential to taint the name of the party if left unchecked.

He said by his behavior, Lumbwe has disgraced himself and brought the party’s name in public ridicule and scandal.

Meanwhile Simunyola has asked party members in Mpulungu to unite and start organizing for the 2011 general elections.

Simunyola who was flanked by district chairman Edward Chelleh said the party has a lot of ground work to cover in Mpulungu before the 2011 elections.

He urged party members to bury their differences, unite and forge ahead in selling the MMD manifesto to the Mpulungu electorates.

Simunyola warned erring members that the party’s Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) will not hesitate to institute disciplinary action on any member found wanting and contravening the party rules and regulations.

He revealed that he, together with his team, were sent to Mpulungu by provincial chairman Griver Sikasote to quench the ‘Fire that has been raging’ in the party in Mpulungu.

ENDS/EK/PK/ZANIS

“On March 26, the Japanese government offered the Zambian government a loan worth US $274 million for the implementation of the Increased Access to Electricity Services Project to cover five areas in the country”, observes Tina Nanyangwe-Moyo, Coordinator of the JCTR’s Debt, Aid and Trade Programme. “According to the Japanese official, at the signing ceremony” Moyo continues, “Japan had resumed her Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans to Zambia which she relinquished in 1992 due to Zambia’s heavy external debt burden before the attainment of 2005 Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) Completion Point”.

“As an institution that played a key role in the success of the HIPC Completion Point through the Jubilee-Zambia debt cancellation campaign”, Moyo continues, “we urge creditor countries not to take advantage of Zambia’s favourable fiscal space to lend irresponsibly. Just a few weeks ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) offered the Government a loan worth US $200 million to boost national reserves. The Japan and IMF loans are just two loans among several loans that the government has signed since the beginning of this year”. Moyo observes that Japan as a member of the Paris Club should show great commitment to the five good practise principles of the Paris Declaration if their ODA flows to Zambia are to yield positive results.

Commenting on the same matter, Privilege Haang’andu, JCTR’s Programme Officer for Debt and Public Resource Monitoring warns that unless Zambia works on a more transparent debt management strategy, it shall perpetually be prey to floating loans from developed countries and the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). “It is crucial”, Haang’andu cautions, “that Government realises that every single loan contraction commits the country’s future taxes to debt servicing at the expense of national development. It is for this reason we have tirelessly implored Government to urgently work on a loan contraction framework that involves parliament in setting annual ceilings of what can be borrowed in a given financial year”.

“Although HIPC is often used as a basis for providing external financial support,” observes Haang’andu, “Zambians have not yet experienced the benefits of HIPC and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI) even after bearing the austere conditions of processes. The majority of Zambians still live in poverty despite the gains from the debt write-off”. “Therefore”, concludes Haang’andu, “much as we support external borrowing, responsible financing and borrowing should be at the core of such financial support”.

[Press statement by JCTR]

Dear bloggers,

I have been happily married for 5 years.We have a two kids, one 3 years and the other just born 3weeks ago. I had a difficult pregnancy with my last child. I had to be admitted in hospital for the last two months of my pregnancy.Thank God everything went well and I delivered a bouncy baby girl though premature.

Now, the time I was in hospital I got my young sister to live with us so she could take care of my older child and generally look after the house.

When I came back home I noticed my sister was vomiting alot and spitting alot. I told her to go to the hospital and she came and told me it was just malaria.I wondered how a person can have malaria with no fever.It then clicked to me that she was pregnant. I confronted her and she started crying.I was not prepared for what she then revealed.She said my husband was responsible!I slapped her and said a lot of things to her and chased her from my home.

When my husband came home from work I confronted him and he reacted with anger towards me.He said had it not been for our premature baby he would have chased me from home!

I could not believe  this was happening. I am so hurt.My husband  did appologise later for saying the things he did.But he has neither confirmed nor denied that he made my sister pregnant whilst I was in hospital. My relatives are furious and they want to bring my sister to my house saying he(my husband) is responsible for her now.I am stuck in the middle.Should I leave or stay.What kind of a household will we have with my sister living with us? On the other hand the area and house we stay in is ideal for my prem baby. I do not want to move her around as yet. I am so confused.

Confused mother

A retired Professional designer has called on the NCC to consider upholding the constitutional clause that provides for expelled members of parliament to maintain their parliamentary seats as independents unless they join another political party.

Mr George Daka, who is partially blind now, told ZANIS that when a political party decides to expel a member of parliament, it should not affect such a member’s status in parliament unless he decides to switch to another political party.

He said the clause would help in saving financial and material resources that were spent on by-elections to be used for developmental purposes and programmes.

Mr Daka said though elections were one avenue through which political party cadres make money during the process of electioneering and political party campaigns, the exercise of such resource draining activities should remain predictable and well planned for.

He observed that by-elections should be constitutionally forbidden unless in circumstances where a member of parliament chooses to cross the floor which should also be deliberately made unpopular because there was no way a normal person would agree with a political party values at election time and two or three years later change his mind.

Mr Daka sid political party ideologies must be clear in conviction and practice so that there should be no one behaving like a chameleon at election time and once in parliament elects to behave differently.

He said political party leaders and members should emulate the example of Dr Kenneth Kaunda who has remained with UNIP in both good and bad times because of his belief in the values and convictions on which the party was founded.

He said in many cases, by-elections were caused by what he termed as ‘political opportunists’ who were unprincipled and in search of a parliamentary seat at all cost regardless of what was on the way.

The designer called for principled politicians to take up parliamentary challenges at election time so that government did not waste developmental resources on unplanned for elections before they were due.

Mr Daka said the constitutional provision was a progressive one and should help the country to have clearly planned election times which should help people to compete on a favourable platform.

He further proposed that in an event of the death of a member of parliament, a sending political party should choose one among themselves who should replace a member because the party ideology and beliefs should be the same.

ZANIS/ENDS/CN/CMM/EB.