Defence Minister George Mpombo has called for the improvement of infrastructure at Kipushi border post in Solwezi.

Mr. Mpombo said it was embarrassing to have ram shackled infrastructure on the Zambian side, while the Congolese side has very modern infrastructure.

He urged departments operating at the border to work hand in hand with the Provincial Administration in improving the existing infrastructure.

Mr. Mpombo said this when he toured Kipushi border post in Solwezi today. He was accompanied by the Deputy Army Commander, Major General Mutwale, Commissioner of Police, Willies Manjimela, North-Western Province Permanent Secretary, Jeston Mulando and other senior security officers both from the

Ministry of Defence Headquarters and the province.

He also called for the beefing-up of the manpower at the border post to curb smuggling, especially now that Solwezi has become a hive of activities due to the economic boom in the district.

Mr. Mpombo said smuggling at Kipushi border post is rampant because of lax control due to inadequate manpower and the porousness of the border area.

The Minister also cautioned the government departments operating at the border post to avoid being compromised by their Congolese counterparts just because the water and electricity they use comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He urged the North-Western Province Permanent Secretary to find a lasting solution to the problems of the officers not being supplied with water and electricity from the Zambian side at the border. In response, Mr. Mulando said there are plans to tap water from the Kafue River about 15 kilometres away because sinking a borehole has yielded nothing as underground water has been drained by mining activities going in nearby Kipushi town in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr. Mulando further said government was planning to renovate the structures at the border post next year, adding that the focus for this year is to improve the infrastructure at Jimbe and Kamapanda border posts and the opening of a new one at Kambimba in Mwinilunga.

He appealed to the Minister and the Ministry of Home affairs to support the 2010 provincial budget in order to achieve some of the planned programmes for that year.

On water, Mr. Mulando said, as an interim measure, government introduced water harvesters at the border post but those were only reliable during the rain season when heavy rains are received.

On staffing levels, Mr. Mulando said the workforce was small as a result of suspension and charge cases affecting some officers and the transfer of others.

He said the Provincial Administration was making arrangements with the Ministry of Home Affairs to have some more officers sent to the border post to fill the gap.

Speaking earlier, Regional Immigration Officer, Hachibamba Munamonga told the Minister that Kipushi border was the busiest border post in the province recording the highest revenue collection, seconded by Kamapanda in Mwinilunga.

He said the problems they were facing were inadequate staffing resulting in a number of illegal entries, lack of water, inadequate transport and the place has seen no rehabilitation of the infrastructures for a long time now.

ENDS/WN/PK/ZANIS

The Presidential Affairs Minister has cautioned members of the National Constitution Conference (NCC) against including the fifty percent plus one in the constitution on Presidential elections.

Gabriel Namulambe said the current system of a Presidential candidate winning with a simple majority is good for Zambia.

Mr. Namulambe said Zambia has no resources for holding Presidential election re-runs as demanded by the fifty percent plus one alternative.

He said its inclusion will be a burden as the government will be forced to use funds for development for re-runs in case the winning President does not secure the required percentage.

Meanwhile United Party for National Development vice president Richard Kapita has urged NCC members to support the inclusion of the fifty plus one percent.

Mr. Kapita said Zambia can only have a majority President using the fifty plus one percent.
ZNBC

The demand for condom use in Mazabuka has increased tremendously among the sexually active group.

Total Control of the Epidemic (TCE) Mazabuka District Deputy Commandant, Jabez Kanyanda said today that his organisation has doubled its allocation of condoms in Itebe- Kafue gorge area to 4 million from the previous two million.

Mr. Kanyanda said the increase in the condom use meant people are now responding well to the HIV/AIDs prevention measures.

He said TCE will continue supplementing government’s efforts in sensitising people on the dangers of contracting HIV/AIDS by providing rural communities with information that would prevent the wide spread of HIV/AIDs such as the Prevention of the Mother to Children transmission of the pandemic, bad traditional practices such as sexual cleansing and conducting HIV/AIDs mobile tests.

Mr. Kanyanda further said his organisation has embarked on a sensitisation programme targeting Commercial sex workers in the district.

He said the increase in Commercial sex in the district is worrying his organisation and should somehow be stopped. Mr. Kanyanda said high poverty levels and high unemployment are attracting most women to engage in commercial sex business.

He urged the Immigration Department to investigate the high influx of Zimbabwean women reportedly tactifully availing themselves to clients in Guest houses and bars.

Mr. Kanyanda said unconfirmed reports suggest that some Zimbabwean women are allegedly engaging in commercial sex business.

ENDS/HC/PK/ZANIS

Luapula Province Minister, Boniface Kawimbe has said today Zambia is among the 50 least developed countries out of the 350 nations worldwide. Dr Kawimbe further said that during the early 1970s Zambia had a lot of foreign reserves, second only to those of South Africa, in the Sub-Sahara region. He said to reverse the situation, leaders and all the people in the nation should reflect on why the country lost its riches to wallow in rags.

“This country was one of the richest in the world, with the second most largest foreign reserves only second to South Africa in the Sub-Saharan region. Now we are among the 50 least developed out of the 350 countries in the world,” Dr Kawimbe said.

He further said that to speed-up development in Zambia, people should be asking themselves about what must have gone wrong for the country to lose its wealth many years after attaining its political independence.

He said the education system in the country should be re-designed to churn out graduates capable of contributing to wealth creation.

Dr. Kawimbe further said that the conditions set to access the Citizen Economic Empowerment Fund are too rigid. Dr.Kawimbe has proposed a formulation of conditions suiting applicants according to their economic status.

The Minister said conditions for accessing the Citizens Economic Empowerment Fund were too rigid for poor people, adding that only the elite in Lusaka and and other big towns would benefit from it.

He said that people of all walks of life including ordinary civil servants should be able to access it.

He was speaking after a conducted tour of the newly constructed Hillside Lodge owned by a local businessman in Samfya, Dr.Kawimbe said the existing Development Agency in Zambia takes care of the welfare of foreign investors only.

He said a similar institution should be set up to support the welfare of local investors. The minister was impressed by the high standards set by the new lodge which has 12 self-contained rooms, constructed at a total cost of K1.3 billion.

Dr. Kawimbe urged the owner of the lodge, Bernard Musangulule, to construct a presidential suite for President Rupiah Banda to use when he goes to officially commission the K4.8 billion district hospital due for completion in April this year.

The Provincial Minister said he would approach relevant authorities to extend incentives to the lodge.

He urged the people of Samfya to emulate Mr. Musangulule by investing in the tourism industry and not to wait for foreign investors to establish lodges in the area.

ENDS/IMD/PK/ZANIS

Second Republican President Frederick Chiluba, Tuesday appeared in the magistrate court in Lusaka, for the continued trial in a case involving plunder of national resources.

The case came up in chambers before Ndola High Court Registrar Jones Chinyama, sitting as a magistrate.

Mr. Chinyama adjourned the case to Wednesday after state prosecutor Mutembo Nchito sought permission to stay away because of a bereavement in his family.

Defunct Access Financial Services former director Aaron Chungu is Wednesday expected to testify in Dr. Chiluba’s trial.

Mr. Chungu along with his former co-director of Access Financial Services Faustin Kabwe are jointly charged with Dr. Chiluba in the alleged plunder of national resources.

Dr. Chiluba is expected to testify on January 26th.

ZNBC