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N/Western PS sad with filty headquarters

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North-western Province Permanent Secretary, Dr Eustern Mambwe, has expressed disappointment at the filthy surroundings in Solwezi.

Dr Mambwe has, therefore, called on all government departments, parastatals and business houses to clean up their surroundings and infrastructure to befit the town as a provincial capital.

The new Permanent Secretary said he was not impressed with the dirty surroundings and infrastructure in the town.

Dr Mambwe expressed his disappointment when he addressed provincial heads of government departments, parastatals and business houses during his introductory meeting in Solwezi yesterday.

He said his first priorities are to see to it that there is change of image of the province, cleanliness of surroundings and rehabilitation of infrastructure.

Dr Mambwe called on all government departments, parastatals and business houses to double their efforts in changing the image of the province.

He said the province is blessed with abundant resources for development, including hourbouring the largest single copper mine in Africa, Lumwana mine.

Dr Mambwe said he did not see any reason officers in the province could not be proud to be part of development of in the province.

Meanwhile, Dr Mambwe has cautioned Solwezi Municipal Council against practicing alleged corruption activities in their dealings.

He said according to the information he has received, Solwezi Municipal Council is alleged to be one of the most corrupt councils in the country.

Dr Mambwe has, therefore, directed council officers who own more than three plots to surrender the balance to government.

He said he doid not want a situation where council employees amass several plots at the expense of other people and sell them at exorbitant prices.

The Permanent Secretary also warned government officers against innuendos aimed at backbiting their superiors or other fellow workers.

ZANIS/ENDS/WN/EB.

Chipata chief calls council to plough back levies

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CHIEF Maguya of the Ngoni people in Chipata district of Eastern Province has expressed concern with the Chipata Municipal Council for not ploughing back money after it collects levies from shops located in his chiefdom.

Chief Maguya said the levies that were collected were not benefiting the local people as the money allegedly only developed the urban area.

He was speaking when Eastern Province Minister, Isaac Banda, paid a courtesy call on him at his palace.

Chief Maguya wondered why the money could not be utilized within the chiefdom where the shops were to develop the area.

Meanwhile, chief Maguya has bemoaned the alleged delay of disbursing Constituency Development Funds (CDF) by the Local Authority.

The traditional leader noted that the council did not release funds at the right time, saying the trend retarded development in the area.

He charged that at times, the next allocation came before the previous funds were disbursed.

Chief Maguya noted that the trend by the council was painting a bad picture on government when funds were being released at the right time.

And Mr Banda said communities should benefit from the levies that are collected from areas they live in.

He agrred that 40 per cent of money collected as levies through Area Development Committees (ADCs) must be ploughed back to the communities.

“This money is supposed to be ploughed back to communities and the ADC should fight hard for the money to come,” Mr Banda said.

But Chipata District Commissioner, Nicholas Banda, who accompanied the minister, said the council through the District Development Coordination Committee ( DDCC), had already disbursed the funds that were released last year.

Mr Banda said the only funds which have not been disbursed were those that have just been received.

He asked for all forms of project proposals to be submitted to his office so that he verifies with those that have received funding.

A comment from Chipata Municipal Council Town Clerk, Noel Muchimba, proved futile by press time as he was reported to have been conducting interviews.

ZANIS/ENDS/SM/EB

Teachers in Samfya strike

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Teachers in Samfya have gone on strike with immediate effect to protest over non payment of various allowances entitled to them.

The teachers resolved to join the strike called by their colleagues in Mansa after a meeting held yesterday with their union representatives.

Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) district secretary, Kupa Kunda, confirmed the development to ZANIS today.

Mr Kunda said the decision to go on strike was arrived at during a meeting held at Samfya Basic school attended by 113 teachers.

He said the meeting was convened by the three teachers unions, the Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT), Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) and Secondary School Teachers Union of Zambia (SESTUZ).

Mr Kunda said teachers are protesting over non payment of their fixed band allowance which has been outstanding since 2003 and non-payment of their settling in allowances, among other things.

And according to a copy of minutes of the meeting obtained by ZANIS, the teachers also advanced five other grievances that government has allegesly failed to address as reasons for their strike action.

The five grievances are failure by government to effect change on salary notches, underpayment of 40 per cent housing allowances, non payment of extra and responsibility allowances, and non payment of salary arrears to teachers who are upgraded.

They also want government to pay them housing allowances for the months of May and June which were not paid last year.

Meanwhile, Mr Kunda disclosed to ZANIS that the union will later this morning meet with Provincial Education Officer, Florence Kanchebele, to discuss other complaints that head teachers have raised against the office of the district education board secretary (DEBS).

He said head teachers are complaining that the DEBS office in Samfya is levying schools amounts between K250,000 and K500,000 from their monthly allocations meant for purchase of learning materials.

He said the DEBS office is collecting the money purporting that the fund is being used for monitoring school activities in the district.

He said the union wants this matter clarified because what is supposed to be the practice is that the DEBS office needs to budget for monitoring activities instead of levying the money from school allocations meant for materials.

And ZNUT trustee, Victoria Chituta, appealed to the Ministry of Education to institute investigations on how the money levied from school allocations was being used.

Ms Chituta said she has tried to investigate with schools in other districts of the province whether their DEBS’ offices were deducting money from monthly school allocations meant for materials.

She said so far it is only in Samfya where such levies are effected, hence the need for Ministry of Education to intervene in the matter.

ZANIS/ENDS/IMD/EB

New cellphone handsets plant on cards

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The Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM)has disclosed that a new manufacturing plant for cellular phone handsets will soon be launched in the country and is expected to be producing about 70 000 handsets per month.

ZAM president Dev Babbar disclosed that the plant has already acquired new state of the art equipment that has the ability to manufacture hand sets of high standards acceptable on both local and international markets.

In an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today, Mr Babbar also hinted that the association has already started marketing the plant in other countries in the region, adding that this will make it easy to export the finished product.

He expressed confidence that the new hand set manufacturing plant has the capacity to meet the current local demand for cell phone hand sets in the country.

In addition, he noted that advance marketing strategies are important before exporting a product because it helps in identifying the audience.

“We have already stated marketing this plant in other countries and this will make it easy for us to know the audience that will like our local phones,” he added.

He said the plant will be producing hand sets that will be sold in all Southern Africa Developing Communities (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) countries.

He explained that by supplying finished products in the region the Zambian manufacturing sector is also likely to gain recognition adding that this will go a long way towards marketing the country on the world market.

“Our aim is to supply finished products so that we are known in the world and this will also contribute to the economic recovery of the nation,” He said.

However, the ZAM president expressed optimism that the new plant will also help in creating employment opportunities for the local people.

With the current global economic crisis affecting many sectors in resulting in massive job cuts; Mr Babbar said his association is determined to cushion the impact by creating job opportunities in the manufacturing sector.

He disclosed that some local technicians and electricians have already been employed adding that they have being trained to install the new machinery at the plant.

He stated that the manufacturing industry can contribute positively towards the country’s economic recovery, if properly utilised.

He has further called for concerted efforts from all stakeholders and help the association to market the country on the international scene.

“We are calling upon other partners to come on board and help us market the country world wide,” he said.

Finance and National Planning Minster Situmbeko Musokotwane in this year’s budget increased tax on imported Cell phone hand sets from five percent to 15% adding that the move is aimed at promoting the local hand set manufacturing industry.

ZANIS/ENDS/MM/CLM.

Company allays fears over malaria drug

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Novartis, the makers of Coartem, a drug used in the treatment of Malaria, has allayed fears over the efficacy of artemisinin-based malaria treatments.

A spokesperson for the company, Laura Daunis, said in a statement obtained by the Pan African News Agency (PANA)in Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi yesterday (Wednesday) that the combination of artemether and lumefantrine in Coartem helps to minimise the development of resistance of the malaria parasite to treatment using Coartem.

She explained that the artemether component causes a quick knock-down of the malaria parasites in the bloodstream, while the lumefantrine has a longer-lasting effect on the malaria parasite.

A recent study reported in the medical journal Lancet documented high cure rates of over 97 per cent using the drug.

But a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) raised doubts about the long-term effectiveness of Coartem and other artemisinin-based malaria treatments.

According to reports, the discovery of two cases in Cambodia of a malaria strain resistant to artemisinin has raised fears among researchers about the drug, regarded as a first line treatment.

The reports have also said treatments containing artemesinin are also taking longer to clear the malaria parasite from the blood, which is another indication that the parasite is becoming tolerant to the drug.

But the company spokesperson said while monotherapy treatment could cause resistance, but Coartem is a combination drug and helps to fight the malaria parasite on all fronts.

Daunis disclosed that Novartis is also working on the next generation of malaria treatments at its nonprofit research institute in New York, the Novartis Institute of Tropical Diseases (NITD).

Malaria still poses a serious challenge to African economies as it is seen as a major cause of mortality for children below the age of five years.

It is also causing complication in HIV research given its high level of morbidity on those who contract the malaria parasite.

The situation is further exacerbated by the high prevalence of mosquitoes that are vectors of the parasite that causes malaria.

Tropical regions of the world, and Africa especially, provide the right environment for mosquito breeding.

Research in a malaria vaccine has not succeeded after many attempts by researchers, though recent reports said great progress has been made.

Artemesinin, which is obtained from the Chinese herb, Artemisia annua, has been used in China to treat fevers for over 2,000 years.

Four years ago, East African countries adopted Artemesinin-Lumefantrine, a combination drug manufactured by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis and marketed under the brand name Coartem, as a first-line treatment for malaria.

This followed World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations about efficacy of the Coartem in treating the disease.
ZANIS/PANA/ENDS

Qualified people are needed for PPP

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Government says it needs qualified and competent people to execute Public Private Partnerships (PPP) projects for the purpose of cutting down on appointments of foreign experts.

Commerce Trade and Industry Deputy Minister, Richard Taima, said capacity building at local level had to be a continuous process if qualified and competent individuals were to be identified for the short and long term implementation of PPP projects within the country.

Mr Taima said this during the on-going Public Private Partnerships and Project Finance workshop organized by Zesco at Chrisma Hotel in Livingstone yesterday.

He said despite PPPs being an attractive mechanism for large businesses as they were more viable for big projects, the local private sector dominated by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) still had opportunities to participate in project implementation through supply of materials and sub-contracting.

Mr Taima said government would strive to empower local entrepreneurs through programs like the Citizens Economic Empowerment fund and business development services to enhance their capacity to explore wider business opportunities.

He said government would not use the current economic problems the country was facing as an excuse to withhold support for the growth of emerging businesses since they had potential to contribute to economic growth.

Mr Taima emphasized the need for the country to counter the risks and threats resulting from the global financial crisis through stronger positive measures and increased private sector participation in economic programs.

Earlier, chairman for the PPP Working Group, Dr Francis Ndilila, called for PPPs not to end up as academic programs but to result in profit, prosperity and progress for the nation.

Dr Ndilila, who is also National Construction Council chairman, said Zambia had great opportunities for implementation of PPPs especially in the housing sector which, he said, had a multiplier effect in the economy of as much as 18 times.

Dr Ndilila said it was unfortunate most home owners in the country resorted to self-induced mortgages when opportunities for formal financing by the private sector lay idle.

He said the country had lost out on big programs like hosting of the 2011 All Africa Games and development of infrastructure to benefit from the spill-over of activities from the 2010 FIFA World Cup because government had not involved the private sector.

ZANIS/ENDS/AMM/EB

Govt. will facilitate investments and job creation – Mutati

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Government has pledged to provide facilities that would help private investors to set up investments and create jobs in the country.

Minister of Commerce Trade and Industry, Felix Mutati said government has nine companies which are introducing a new dimension to its diversification efforts.

He was speaking in Lusaka today when he met investors from Canada, India, and Malaysia.

Mr. Mutati said government will make a practical process of translating initiatives into investments and agree on a clear roadmap on what should be done at the end of the discussions with the investors.

He said the investment will be able to help Zambia achieve the target of five per cent economic growth this year.

Mr. Mutati said the investors were willing to form a joint partnership with Zambians to set up investment in the country.

“As government, we are providing a facility to assist these investors to put up investment and they will also assist us to create jobs,” he said.

He said government would minimise risk factors in order to provide the investors with potential partners, adding that government would make sure that this programme reaches its logical conclusion.

At the same occasion, Ink-Media chief executive officer, William Plant, a Canadian investor, said it was essential that a computer assembly plant is established in Zambia because the country was centrally located.

Mr. Plant said Ink-Media are trying to help bridge the digital divide by bringing the assembly of computers to Zambia.

He stressed that Ink- Media was creating a plant in Zambia to stimulate the people to develop an interest in using computers.

Mr. Plant added that Ink-Media the computer assembly plant was likely to open in the next six months.

ZANIS/WM/KSH/ENDS

Kalulushi traders still selling mealie meal at K75,000

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Kalulushi District Commissioner Joshua Mutisa has warned that it would deal with traders selling a 25 kilogram bag of breakfast mealie meal at K75, 000.

Mr. Mutisa said K75, 000 was not a recommended price of a 25 kilogram bag of mealie meal in the country.

Without stating a specific punishment to be taken against traders violating the law, Mr. Mutisa said government was not sitting idle but checking on those who were allegedly exploiting the public.

He told ZANIS in Kalulushi today that his office had carried out a survey in the district and found out that a 25 kilogram bag of breakfast mealie meal should not exceed K55, 000 in Kalulushi.

”I wish to take this advantage to warn our traders that government is not sitting idle, but watching them and if they fail to follow the law, the consequences will be bad,” he said.

Mr. Mutisa explained that Kalulushi district and the Copperbelt province have enough stocks of maize, noting that the current shortages were artificial.

He pointed out that the maize shortages in the province were created by some unscrupulous business people who wanted to make huge profits from subsidised maize.

He added that there were people in the area that were using small boys to buy mealie meal in bulk so that they could resell.

Mr. Mutisa has since warned the people using boys to buy the commodity to stop and advised traders not to buy more than two bags of mealie meal because there was no need.

And a check by ZANIS in Kalulushi today found that most traders in the town centre were defiantly selling a 25 kilogram bag of breakfast mealie meal at K75, 000.

ZANIS/EZ/KSH/ENDS

No further help for Zambia’s freedom fighters, Kunda

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Vice President George Kunda today told parliament that government would not render any material assistance to freedom fighters who became handicapped as a result of the struggle for Zambia’s independence.

Mr. Kunda was responding to a question raised by Choma central Member of Parliament, George Chazangwe in parliament today.

Mr. Chazangwe asked whether the government would consider offering material assistance to people who became handicapped as a result of the struggle for independence.

The Vice President, who is the leader of government business in parliament, said it was not necessary to render material to freedom fighters that were injured because they were receiving awards with Zambian honours on Independence day and African freedom day respectively.

He said the freedom fighters that were detained or tortured during the struggle should have made such claims immediately after attaining independence.

Mr. Kunda further said it was not possible to set aside a day other than independence and African freedom day to commemorate Zambians who died in the struggle for independence.

ZANIS/AC/KSH/ENDS

Sports Minister Warns CHAN Team

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Don’t waste taxpayers money at the Caf Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) in Cote d’Ivoire was sports minister Kenneth Chipungu’s warning he issued to the Zambia national team today.

Chipungu told the team after meeting them at the end of Thursday morning workout that Herve Renard’s squad should justify why government should spend money on the team with performances on the pitch when the CHAN tournament kicks off next Sunday, February 22 in Abidjan.

“You must justify why we are going to spend so much money,” Chipungu said.

“And you know you should not underplay the importance of winning.

“As you prepare to go to Ivory Coast next week, you will need a lot of money and that’s taxpayers money.

“These are the owners of the money and they are watching you, so as you go there you must win.”

Chipungu also warned the team that poor results on the pitch at CHAN will also be met by a no-show from him at Lusaka International Airport when the team arrives back from the tournament.

Government has yet to release the full budget for the team that is expected to leave for Abidjan next Wednesday ahead of the tournament kick off.

Zambia are in Group A together with Senegal, Tanzania and hosts Cote d’Ivoire whom they face in both sides opening game on the 22nd.

Meanwhile, Tanzania were held to a scoreless draw in Dar-es-Salaam by fellow CHAN finalist Zimbabwe in an international friendly played on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe are in Group B together with Ghana, Libya and DR Congo.

FOOTBALL FIXTURES

CAF CONFEDERATIOSN CUP PRELIMINARY ROUND RETURN LEG

13/02/2009

Dar-es-Salaam

Mundu (Zanzibar)- Red Arrows (Zambia)*

*Arrows lead 6-0 from 1st leg.

CAF AFRICA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PRELIMINARY ROUND, RETURN LEG

14/02/2009

Nairobi

Mathare United(Kenya)- Zesco United (Zambia)*

* Zesco lead 2-0 from 1st leg.

Disabled may not access CEEF

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Requirements attached to Citizen Economic Empowerment Fund (CEEF) have posed great challenges for the disabled to access the fund.

Chairperson for People Living with Disabilities in Western Province, John Siyubo, complained that the collateral requirement was hindering the disabled people in the province from accessing the fund.

Mr Siyubo told ZANIS in Mongu that disabled persons were among the poorest of the poor and that asking them to produce collateral was disqualifying them from accessing the money.

He said that the disabled, especially those unemployed who form the largest majority, felt sidelined as they cannot meet the collateral requirement.

Mr Siyubo suggested that collateral be eased, if not scrapped, for the disabled so that they also benefit from the initiative.

He said that much as it was a loan, government should find a way of enabling the disabled to access the money.

Mr Siyubo has since called on government to include disabled persons in top policy making bodies so as to tailor government initiatives like CEEF to also suit people living with disabilities.

ZANIS/ENDS/JA/EB

Mugabe swears in opponent as premier

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Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe yesterday swore in his main rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, as the country’s prime minister in a unity government that took months of hard negotiations to achieve.

Several regional leaders attended the swearing in, which is expected to end months of wrangling between the government and the opposition over an inconclusive election held early last year.

Tsvangirai, a longtime rival of Mugabe, was sworn in together with two deputies, one drawn from his party and the other from a smaller opposition party.

The government and the opposition agreed, under the mediation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), to share power via a coalition government.

Under the agreement, the two sides will share cabinet portfolios and other levers of power, until fresh elections are held.

The agreement followed months of hard negotiations that almost collapsed over the share of cabinet portfolios.

Tsvangirai, taking the oath of office, said he would ‘bear allegiance to Zimbabwe’, contrary to frequent accusations by Mugabe that he was a front for Western powers seeking to oust him from office.

The new government, which is due to be sworn in on Friday, will be immediately confronted by a multitude of crisis, including a raging cholera outbreak, closed educational institutions and severe food shortages.

Over 3,500 people have died of cholera since August last year, and more than 70,000 others infected in an outbreak that has drawn the attention of the world.

Even more worrying is a food crisis affecting over half of the country’s 14 million people.

United Nations agencies said unless international food aid is mobilised soon, millions of Zimbabweans face starvation in coming months.

Poor weather last year and the government’s agricultural policies are widely blamed for the food shortages.

Schools and universities have also been closed because of a long running strike by teachers and lecturers, who are demanding to be paid in foreign currency.

The demand is yet to be met, and the stalemate, which has been running from last year, continues.

Big Western donors, the only hope for the new government to start re-building the country’s shattered economy, have said they will adopt a wait-and-see attitude on the unity government, before unblocking aid and investment.

Earlier this week, South Africa said it would possibly agree to plans by Zimbabwe to use its currency, the Rand, in place of its worthless local dollar.

But large-scale aid from Pretoria, which is also feeling the pinch of the international financial crisis, has been ruled out.

Tsvangirai, whose party controls the key finance ministry, has said his government will target foreign direct investment and aid to revive the economy.
ZANIS/PANA/ENDS

Illegal liquor trading booms in Itezhi-tezhi

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Illegal beer trading has drastically increased in Itezhi-tezhi district.

A survey by ZANIS around the town revealed that numerous makeshift shops and other grocery shops in the township are selling spirits in sachets without any liquor licences.

Meanwhile the sachets are littered all over the market area as the consumers of the spirits just throw the empty sachets any how.

And Itezhi-tezhi District Council Secretary, Cheemo Mangwato, has warned of stern action against those selling alcohol illegally.

Mr Mang’wato said that it is a legal requirement that whoever wants to engage in liquor business must obtain a liquor licence from the local authority before proceeding with trading in alcohol.

“All liquor traders by law are supposed to be licenced by the local authority and all those trading illegally will be followed by the local authority soon,” he said.

Mr Mangwato further said that Itezhi-tezhi district council has already embarked on mass sensitization of people on their need to licence their liquor trading.

ZANIS/ENDS/FM/EB.

K198 million Mongu HIV/AIDS funds returned to treasury

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About K198 million meant for HIV/AIDS programmes in Western Province last year has been returned to treasury because there were no structure for focal point persons to use the funds.

This came to light when the newly elected Provincial Focal Point Coordinating Committee (PFPCC) paid a courtesy call on the Western Province Deputy Permanent Secretary, Phanuel Chibala at his office today.

Mr. Chibala said the money was returned to treasury because the province, by then, had not met the requirements by National AIDS Council (NAC) that there should be a focal point persons structure in place.

He has therefore urged the committee to revive HIV/AIDS activities in the province and act as a bridge between provincial management and the departments in order to utilize such monies.

Meanwhile, Western Province Permanent Secretary, Ikanuke Noyoo has called for an intensified HIV/AIDS fight in the province.

Mr. Noyoo, who pledged his support towards the fight against the pandemic, said HIV/AIDS needed an intensified and well coordinated fight to ease its deadly effects in the province.

He said this when the committee paid a courtesy call on him yesterday.

And Acting Provincial Planner, Sineva Kambenja appealed to the Permanent Secretary to help supervise the utilization of funds allocated to various departments in the province for HIV/AIDS programmes.

Mr. Kambenja said though there was money allocated to departments for HIV/AIDS activities little was being done as the monies were usually channeled to other activities.

ZANIS/JA/KSH/ENDS

Let’s unite against counterfeit products in Zambia-ZACA

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The Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) says more political will must be exercised in the country in order to rid the market of counterfeit products.

ZACA Executive Director, Muyunda Ililonga, said the isolated incidents where the Zambia police service have raided some factories and shops trading in counterfeit products were not enough to rid the markets of these dangerous products.

Mr. Ililonga said counterfeit products that are imported into the country greatly outnumber those that are manufactured locally, adding that it was for this reason that relevant institutions should partner with the police so that the problem is not fought in isolated activities.

He told ZANIS in Lusaka today that while the effort of the police in trying to curb the vice is appreciated, there is need for relevant government institutions tasked to safeguard the interest of consumers to widen their operations.

Mr. Ililonga said a large scale and multi-sectoral operation, which must involve the participation of all relevant stakeholders, needs to be undertaken if the lives of the people are to be safeguarded.

He said counterfeit products have the potential to harm the health of the consumers and could in most cases lead to death.

Mr. Ililonga further said the problem has been getting worse and was wide spread not only along the line of rail but also in rural areas.

He said government through its relevant institutions should not only raid factories and shops but put up stringent measures at border posts if the issue of counterfeit products is to be successfully dealt with.

Mr. Ililonga has meanwhile disclosed that his association has received complaints from the public over the sale of 25 millilitre sachets of liquor by unlicensed traders.

These sachets of liquor are sold at very minimal prices such that even young people were able to access them.

Mr. Ililonga expressed concern that empty sachets of this liquor were contributing to liter in the cities and towns in the country, defeating the “keep Zambia clean and Healthy” exercise.

He has since called on government to completely outlaw the sell of such liquor by unlicensed traders and prosecute any person who will be found selling the commodity to underage persons.

ZANIS/PM/KSH/ENDS

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