President Rupiah Banda has returned to Lusaka from a three day official visit to the Northern Province.

Mr. Banda who came aboard a Zambia Air Force (ZAF) plane arrived at city airport at around 17:05 hours.

The President was accompanied by Community Development Minister Catherine Namugala, Home Affairs Minister Mike Mulongoti, Finance and National Planning Deputy Minister Chileshe Kapwepwe.

Others were Local Government and Housing Minister Benny Tetamashimba, Office of the Vice President Deputy Minister Gaston Sichilima, and Presidential Advisor for Political Affairs Akashambatwa Mbikusita Lewanika.

Mr. Banda was met on arrival by Vice President George Kunda, several cabinet ministers, service chiefs and senior MMD party officials. Below are pictures of his tour

The Zambia Direct Democracy Movement, ZDDM, has petitioned President, Rupiah Banda, not to consider extending the mandate of the Task Force on Corruption before investigations are done on its operations.

ZDDM National Coordinator, Edwin Sakala, said the Task force on Corruption should be investigated before it auctions property recovered from alleged plunderers.

In a letter dated January 2, 2009 addressed to President Banda and copied to ZANIS in Lusaka, Mr Sakala said the actions of the Task Force on Corruption should be thoroughly investigated to establish whether they were conducted in an objective manner.

Mr Sakala also suggested the establishment of a commission of inquiry to look into pending investigations of cases of alleged economic plunder being handled by the Task Force.

He said the Task Force on Corruption was formed outside the Constitutional provisions despite the presence of other security and investigation wings such as the Zambia Police Service and the Anti Corruption Commission, ACC.

He alleged that the crusade against corruption was vindictive and clouded with hatred.

Mr Sakala has since asked President Banda to consider disclosing to the nation the amount of money the Task Force on Corruption has used since its inception.

He said this would help the nation establish whether the institution has recovered more money than it has utilised in its operations.

ZANIS/CM/ENDS/SJK

The Mine suppliers and contractors Association of Zambia says nationalizing the mines is not the answer to the current problems in the sector.

Association president Fanuel Banda is of the view that mines can still operate buoyantly in private hands.

Mr. Banda said Zambia has learnt a number of lessons from nationalizing industries and can therefore not afford to gamble with mining conglomerates.

He observed that the benefits of having mines in the hands of the private sector are enormous.

Mr. Banda told ZNBC in the Copperbelt Province mining town of Kitwe that Government should instead address some of the grey areas affecting the mining sector.

He has advised Government to revisit the laws on the Investment Act which should dis-allow the externalization of money raised from the mining industry.

ZNBC

Authorities at Kariba border post in Siavonga District have intercepted and impounded a truck carrying twenty eight  by twenty five kilogram (28X 25 KG) bags of mealie – meal destined for sale in Zimbabwe.

The meal mealie is said  to have been  bought in Zambia .

Siavonga District Commissioner Emily Striedl told ZANIS in Siavonga today that the canter truck that was carrying G.M roller meal bags was impounded at the border yesterday.

Striedl disclosed that all the 28 bags of roller meal belonged to a Zimbabwean business individual who crossed into the neighboring border town of Siavonga to buy the commodity.

She said the confiscated bags have since been stored at Siavonga police station waiting to be disposed off by the courts of law.

The District Commissioner stated that the confiscation of the bags follows a resolution that was arrived at during a stakeholders meeting held on Monday.

She said the district has noted  the  recent increase in the number of Zimbabweans that were crossing into Zambia on a daily basis and were buying bags of mealie meal in bulk forcing a serious shortage of the commodity in the district.

She stated that during the meeting that was attended by border officials from Zambia Revenue Authority( ZRA), Immigration, police, mealie- meal dealers, local based milling outlets as well as marketeers observed that Siavonga Township has been hit with increasing cases of mealie meal smuggling.

Mrs. Striedl added that the district has recorded a sharp increase in the number of individuals from Zimbabwean that were buying the commodity which they later resell on the black market in their country.

She said the meeting resolved that authorities at Kariba border post border would only allow passage of not more than two bags of mealie- meal on each individual.

A snap survey at Kariba border post this morning found scores of Zimbabweans carrying a bag of either breakfast or roller meal bag bought from Micho and Siavonga main markets.

Meanwhile the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has sent about 500 bags of maize to Siavonga district for sale to people in the district.

District Commissioner Emily Striedl told ZANIS that the bags have been sent to the district , which  will  cushion the mealie-meal prices.

Striedl said the maize would be sold to members of the public at a price of K55, 000 per 50 kg bag.

ZANIS/LL/MKM/ENDS

President Rupiah Banda has advised controlling officers to take note of irregularities reported in the Auditor General’s report and ensure that measures are taken to bring the culprits to book.

Speaking when he officially opened the Auditor Generals’ building in Kasama today which was built at a cost of K2.6billion , Mr. Banda said those found wanting should be dealt with accordingly..

President Banda said there is need to make sure that corruption in government institutions is wiped out.

Mr Banda said the opening up of the Auditor Generals offices is an illustration of his administration’s resolve to promote good governance, accountability and transparency.

Mr Banda said on account of his commitment, government supports institutions such as the office of the Auditor General and other agencies in the government that promote accountability and transparency in the utilization of public resources.

He pointed out that a strengthened Audit function of government is important in that it assists in enhancing accountability for public resources.

Mr Banda said it is therefore imperative to have a strong , objective and technically competent office of the Auditor general.

He said government within the overall Public Expenditure Management and Financial Accountability Reforms (PENFAR), committed itself to enhancing the institutional capability of the office of the Auditor general.

Mr Banda said government’s political will to improve the governance of the country and the implementation of various reforms have necessitated the work of the office of the auditor general to be acknowledged by the international community.

And speaking earlier Auditor General Anna Chifungula commended government for providing an enabling environment which has enabled her office to effectively execute its duty of ensuring accountability prevails on the expenditure of public resources.

Mrs. Chifungula said the expanded logistical support to her office has improved its performance .

She however said her office face a number of challenges which include staff recruitment for provincial and district offices because the new recruits were reluctant to be posted to the new offices.

She added that the retention of highly qualified auditors is another challenge that her office is facing.

Finance and National Planning Deputy Minister Chileshe Kapwepwe said the construction of the Auditor General building is a measure of government’s commitment to the fight against corruption.

Ms Kapwepwe said government will offer all necessary support to institutions of good governance.

She said the Auditor General office will receive priority from the ministry of Finance as the office assist government to account for public resources .

Northern Province Minister Charles Shawa said the provincial administration was extremely happy that the AG has established itself in the province.

ZANIS/AM/MKM/ENDS

The Immigration department yesterday arrested a British national of Zambian origin at Chirundu Border post for failing to pay for visa fees to enter Zimbabwe.

Immigration Department Public Relations Officer, Mulako Mbangweta who identified the offender as Martin Nkandu 28 said Mr. Nkandu later attempted to cross into Zimbabwe after he was denied entry for failure to pay the visa fee to enter that country.

She said Mr. Nkandu was later discovered to have dual citizenship which is currently forbidden under the Zambian laws after he was found with a green national registration card which he had not surrendered earlier after obtaining British citizenship.

Ms. Mbangweta said the immigration officials at the border post have since withdrawn the green national registration card from Mr. Nkandu.

Ms. Mbangweta said another British national was also arrested in a separate incident after he was found working for a named company as a workshop manager when he had obtained a permit to work as an agriculture system specialist at a named farm in Lusaka.

She said the offender Dominic Bedward John 42 has since been fined a total of K1 million kwacha for the offense while the named company he worked for has also been fined the same amount for allowing him to work without an appropriate permit.

Meanwhile, the Immigration Department Spokesperson has reiterated that it will not allow any Zambian wishing to travel outside the country with the old passport after February this year which government set as a deadline to stop using the old passport copies.

She has urged Zambians wishing to travel out of the country to ensure they apply for the new passport books which government introduced last year.

The Immigration Department also has warned of stern action against foreign nationals engaging in illegal door to door trading in residential areas.

MS Mulako Mbangweta, said the department has noted with displeasure reports of some foreigners from a named country, who are selling various merchandise in some residential areas in Lusaka.

Ms Mbangweta told ZANIS in Lusaka today that it was illegal for the foreign nationals to engage in trading activities because the department did not issue them with permits to trade in the country.

She pointed out that the department only issue permits to foreign nationals looking for investment opportunities and not to trade illegally in the country.

Ms Mbagweta has disclosed that the department has since deported five Egyptian nationals to their country of origin after they were arrested for illegal trade while four others were still in detention.

She has urged Zambians to desist from buying merchandise from such traders because it will encourage them to continue the illegal trade adding that people should instead report offenders to the department.

Ms Mbangweta said her department will not relent in arresting any foreign national engaging in illegal trade and described the practice as abuse of the country’s renowned hospitality to foreign nationals .

She said the department is on the alert and has since intensified patrols to arrest illegal traders of foreign nationals.