The Finnish government has withheld funds meant for supporting Zambia’s forestry commission until after two issues concerning its operationalisation were ironed out.

Finnish Ambassador to Zambia, Sinikka Antila disclosed that her government was willing to provide funds to the commission but only after the current forestry law was repealed.

Ms. Antila said the current forestry law should be repealed to address the modern challenges facing the forestry sector.

She said this when she paid a courtesy call on Copperbelt province Deputy Permanent Secretary, Christopher Mutembo today.

She said the current piece of legislation has no incentive for maintenance of the forestry resource by the local people.

Ms. Antila also cited institutional reforms as one benchmark that could allow her government to support the operationalisation of the commission.

She was responding to a concern raised by Mr. Mutembo who noted that although the commission was established three years ago, it still had no financial support for it to start operating.

She revealed that her government was interested in the forestry sector and was looking for ways in which the two countries could exchange ideas on how best they could engage in activities of mutual benefit.

Ms. Antila is on the Copperbelt to prepare ground for before the Finnish Minister of Commerce and Development visits the province to meet business people and share developmental ideas.

She said the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) would be a key player in the scheduled meetings aimed at opening up business opportunities that exist in the two countries.

She said her government was interested in timber plantations, wood processing and commercial forestry which she said were in abundance in Zambia.

And Mr. Mutembo said the Copperbelt province had vast potential for forestry development.

He said Copperbelt has abundant human resource that could work effectively in programmes of reforestation, forestry management and maintenance.

He said the province has the potential of opening up new forest plantations because the demand for timber was ever increasing.

ZANIS/CN/KSH/ENDS

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has started reviewing its election manuals in a bid to enhance the credibility of holding elections in the country.

ECZ chairperson Justice Florence Mumba disclosed this when she officially opened a post-election workshop of the 2008 presidential election held at Moto-Moto Pastoral Centre in Kasama today.

In a speech read for her by ECZ manager for Elections and Voter Education Jocelyn Mubita, Justice Mumba named the election manuals under review as those relating to electoral officers at all levels respectively.

She noted that since electoral officers play a critical role in elections, ECZ decided to consult them in order to come up with user friendly handbooks.

Justice Mumba has since urged electoral officers to ensure that they actively participate in the formulation of new election manuals in order to add credibility to the way elections are held in the country.

And Justice Mumba has called on all electoral officers from Northern Province to provide the ECZ with accurate and comprehensive information of how last year’s presidential election was conducted in the region.

She said ECZ decided to hold post-mortem workshops of the last Presidential election in order to learn from the shortcomings noticed and make necessary improvements for future elections.

Justice Mumba expressed optimism that the feedback from stakeholders would help the ECZ to improve on its performance of holding credible elections in the country.

Justice Mumba further advised her staff facilitating the post-election workshops to be attentive and allow the participants to highlight the challenges they faced during the last presidential election so that they could obtain useful information of bettering the electioneering process in the country.

The three-day post-election review workshop in Kasama has attracted electoral officers from all the 12 districts in Northern Province, who took part in the 2008 presidential election..

Meanwhile ,the Anti Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) has maintained that the 50 per-cent plus one vote for a presidential holder should be enshrined in the new republican constitution in order to curb regional voting in the country.

AVAP executive director Bonnie Tembo said the 50 per cent plus one vote for a winning presidential candidate is a progressive idea especially for a democratic country like Zambia.

Mr. Tembo was speaking in Kasama during a stakeholders meeting held at AVAP governance house over the weekend.

He urged Zambians to support the popular mode of electing a republican president unlike the current system of a simple majority.

Mr. Tembo noted that incidences of people choosing a president on tribal lines would be curtailed once the top two (2) presidential candidates go for a re-run in case the first round polls does not come with a clear-cut winner.

The AVAP director also dismissed arguments from some sections of society that the exercise was costly saying it was a better a have a legitimate president elected by a majority vote than have minority one.

Mr. Tembo further urged National Constitutional Conference (NCC) delegates to be objective and conduct their debates above partisan lines if the country is to come up with a people-driven republican constitution.

And , Mr. Tembo has revealed that his organization will this year advocate for amendment of the current electoral code of conduct in order to make it more enforceable.

He explained that during last year’s presidential election, political parties and other stakeholders breached the code of conduct but that no action being taken against them.

The AVAP director further urged Zambians to actively participate in the electoral reform process in order to enhance the credibility of elections in the country.

ZANIS/WS/MKM/ENDS

The Democratic Republic Congo has apologised to the government of Zambia over impounded diplomatic vehicles at Kasumbalesa, found with mealie meal for that country.

Out going Copperbelt permanent Secretary, Jannifer Musonda, says the Congolese government tendered in the apology on Thursday.

Zambia has accepted the apology.

Mrs. Musonda was briefing the Chililabombwe District Joint Operations Committee (DJOC) members at the kasumbalesa border post where she went to verify the reports.

She said that the Congolese Consul General’s office in Ndola has apologised on behalf of his country.

Mrs. Musonda said the vehicles will remain impounded until the mealie meal is off-loaded.

And Kasumbalesa Immigration officer In-Charge, Harrison Kabaza, said the situation at the border point is now under control.

Mr. Kabaza said diplomatic vehicles have for a long time been smuggling goods because they could not be searched.

And DJOC chairman, Richard Kabwe, said that more that 3 hundred bags of mealie meal destined for Congo have been impounded in the recent past.

[ZNBC]

MMD’s Veteran politician and Government Chief Whip in parliament Mr Vernon Mwaanga told ZANIS in an interview that he has made tremendous improvement after undergoing a successful operation on his left ear at at Garden Court Morningside clinic in Johannesburg.

Mr Mwaanga will remain in South Africa until Thursday when he is due for a review. He is expected to return to Zambia on Saturday

Yesterday, president Rupiah Banda visited Mr Mwaanga, and Chief Justice, Enerst Sakala who is currently undergoing medical treatment in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Justice Sakala was discharged from Milpark Hospital a few days ago and is due for review this week.

The President also visited former Presidential Affairs Minister, Cecil Holmes, who arrived in Johannesburg on Friday for medical attention.

Mr Banda is also due to visit Science and Technology Minister, Peter Daka, who is also in South Africa for medical attention.

Meanwhile, President Banda is today expected to join other SADC Heads of State and government at an extraordinary Summit on Zimbabwe.

The Summit, which is scheduled to take place at the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria, has been called by South Africa, as current Chair, for regional leaders to try and find a durable settlement of the political stalemate in Zimbabwe following last year’s Presidential elections.

The meeting comes in the wake of the latest fruitless attempt by President Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to agree on the sharing of key ministerial positions, which has been the thorniest issue in the formation of a government of national unity.

High Commissioner, Leslie Mbula, told ZANIS ahead of President Banda’s arrival that Zambia was hopeful that today’s meeting will yield positive results in finding a lasting solution to the Zimbabwean situation.

ENDS/SJK/AM/ZANIS

Government has called on Zambians living in the diaspora to assist implement government’s efforts in addressing problems the country is currently going through.

Energy and Water Development Minister Kenneth Konga said government was committed to promoting Public Private Participation in order to enhance development in the country.

Mr. Konga said this yesterday during the launch of Europa Drilling Services (EDS), a new company involved in providing drilling services which is been spearheaded by Zambians living in the United Kingdom.

Mr Konga said EDS could not have come at a better time into the water sector than when the capital city is experiencing cholera outbreak due to lack of clean and safe drinking water.

He said the water sector remains critical to the social and economic development of the country and was optimistic that EDS will contribute positively to the water sector in the country.

Mr Konga said Zambia currently faces acute water scarcity because of the inadequate infrastructure in the water sector as a result, the country lacks water for irrigation, power generating, for energy, agriculture, domestic and other aspects of water use.

He said the issues of climate change has created droughts in the country and has resulted in the scarcity of the commodity in the country.

Speaking earlier, EDS Chief Executive Officer Nawa Sumbwanyambe said his company is responding to government’s call for people in the diaspora to come and implement government’s efforts in social and economic development.

He said EDS is bringing in the country a cutting edge drilling equipment which was made possible through collaboration between a leading UK based drilling company and EDS.

Dr Sumbwanyambe said the equipment will add value to people’s lives as it will help people in water blue areas to access clean and safe drinking water.

ENDS//PM/PK/ZANIS