JAILED former Ministry of Health permanent secretary, Kashiwa Bulaya, has filed a notice of appeal in the Supreme Court against his conviction by Lusaka High Court for corruption and abuse of authority of office.Bulaya has also applied for bail pending his appeal in the Supreme Court.

According to the notice of intention of appeal filed in the Supreme Court by his lawyer Mumba Kapumpa yesterday, Bulaya appealed to the Supreme Court against the upholding of his conviction by the High Court on December 26, 2008.

On the grounds of appeal, Bulaya argued that the High Court erred in law and fact by not fully dealing with the constitutional issue of a fair trial under Article 18 of the republican Constitution.

Bulaya said he raised this issue before the trial magistrate High Court deputy registrar, Edward Musona, and it formed part of the grounds for appeal to the High Court.

Bulaya said the High Court erred in law and fact when it found that he orchestrated the supply of Elixir 9 to the Ministry of Health and approved payment for it as a controlling officer.

He stated that the prosecution proved the case of abuse of authority of office when in fact he had left the public service when Elixir 9 was supplied to the Ministry of Health, signed for by other officials and not him.

Bulaya also argued that Supreme Court judge, Marvin Mwanamwambwa, who sat as High Court judge, erred in law and fact when he upheld the order of the trial court of seizure of properties under section 41(C) of the Anti-Corruption Act.

He said this was without due regard given to the evidence on record that the said properties were acquired long before he was alleged to have committed the offences for which he was charged.

Bulaya said further grounds of appeal would be furnished upon perusal of the appeal case record and judgment of the High Court.

He also applied for bail pending his appeal in the Supreme Court.

Bulaya said he was a former permanent secretary with fixed abode and definite family roots and responsibilities in Zambia.

He said this demanded that he had no intentions of leaving the court’s jurisdiction as his appeal was being processed if granted bail.

Bulaya said on January 2, 2009, he filed a notice of intention to appeal in the Supreme Court and preliminary grounds of appeal against his conviction.

“I am, therefore, applying for bail pending the hearing of my appeal on such terms and conditions which the court shall deem appropriate and I pledge to abide by them as I have done before,” Bulaya said.

He said he had continued to abide by conditions of the bail and that when the case started, he availed himself to the Task Force on Corruption and the court.

Last week, the Lusaka High Court upheld a five-year sentence slapped on Bulaya by the Magistrates Court for corruption and abuse of authority of his office.
Judge Mwanamwambwa dismissed Bulaya’s appeal when he sat as High Court judge.

“I uphold the conviction and this appeal has no merit. I also uphold the seizure of assets,” Justice Mwanamwambwa said.

He said corruption was an offence in the class of crime for financial gain and the rationale for forfeiture was to make the crime non-profitable.
“He (Bulaya) must go to jail now,” Mr Justice Mwanamwambwa said.

On January 27, 2007, Mr Musona jailed Bulaya for five years with hard labour on three counts of corruption and abuse of authority of office.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

The Livingstone Tourism Aassociation (LTA) says the global credit crunch being faced by many developed countries has had adverse effects against the tourism industry.

LTA Secretary Frederick Mwendapole said the past six months had seen a low turn out in the tourism industry with some of the lodges and guest houses in Livingstone laying off staff.

He added that most hotels and lodges were operating at 40 percent as a result of the global recession and other factors that affected the country last year.

Mr Mwendapole was speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Livingstone today.

He described 2008 as the most trying year ever faced in the tourism sector adding that the death of former President Levy Mwanawasa was one of the greatest blow to the tourism industry as it caused a lot of anxiety and uncertainty in the economy of the country.

He said the October 30 Presidential elections also created anxiety in the nation thereby affecting the toursim sector.

Mr Mwendapole noted that cholera which hit the neighbouring Zimbabwe had caused a negative effect on tourism in Livingstone because of the proximity to the country.

Mr Mwendapole further observed that increased visa fees also affected the industry negatively as most tourists were not ready to pay for the increased fees.

He said the upped visas fees had a negative impact on the tourism industry from early 2008 until the end of last year when President Rupiah Banda announced a reduction in visas fees.
ZANIS/ENDS/FM/MM

Dear Rupiah,

Let me start by congratulating you on winning the presidential election. It was a close race I wonder how you pulled that off. Hey, why did you have to rush the inauguration? Two hours after you were declared winner you were being sworn in, don’t you think that was kind of suspicious? Before I get into the details, let me say we have never really met–officially. However, we did informally meet at Mulungushi during the Independence Eve celebrations in 2007. I am the guy who came to your high table and advised you that next time you host a national event like that you should invite groups from other parts of the country not just Eastern and Northern. Then I didn’t even think you were capable of being the Commander-in Chief.

Well, your job now Mr. President is not to attend parties and babysit diplomats who cannot get an audience with the President. You are actually the President. You get to make very important decisions that drive the twelve million citizens of this nation. You actually hire a team of men and women who are entrusted with the country’s wealth and power. Now that is a lot of responsibility on you and your team. As a leader, you get to supervise these individuals and make sure that they perform accordingly. And if they don’t you get to fire them. Already, you could use these powers on some of those guys you know.

The job of the President is not an easy one. Please stop whining about you having too much work and facing difficult times than any of your predecessors. In fact you have it easy. All you need to do is delegate. Delegate your work to some of the brightest men and women Zambia has. You may have to make a few international calls. But don’t worry the Zambians will pay for the calls. Ask some of these competent men and women in economics, agriculture, banking, medicine, and other disciplines to come help you stir the nation in the right direction. I certainly have a few names I could throw your way. Please don’t hesitate to ask. Remember what Mwanawasa did with Bank of Zambia. He fished Caleb Fundanga out from some foreign country.

In order to leave an indelible mark on the Zambian political scene I suggest you pick a cause you are passionate about. Your predecessor fought against corruption. I suggest you fight against illiteracy. Yes, dedicate your energy and time to fight this deadly disease in our country. Make sure that going to school becomes mandatory for every child in Zambia. In fact, pass a law that forces parents to enroll their children to school when they turn seven. Make education free for everyone. Build more schools in every corner of the country. Trust me the Japanese will gladly offer you a few grants for this project. Upgrade some colleges like Evelyn Hone and NIPA to universities. Talk education and dream education. I certainly don’t mind you napping during meetings as long as you are thinking about education.

When you wage this war against illiteracy you will be amazed what will happen to millions of Zambians. Millions will learn how to survive and create their own opportunities amidst the tough times. They will not look to the government to employ them. That is fewer headaches for you trust me. They will not bother any of you and your buddies in government. And most importantly, you leave a legacy that will be difficult to match.

Well, now you see even amidst what you call “difficulty times” you can create opportunities for yourself as the Commander-in-Chief. As long as you have sharp individuals doing the work for you there will be nothing to worry about. You can travel around the country supervising the school projects and no one will question you. Instead of sugar, please take a few good books and give the pupils—someone’s life could be changed forever. When the opposition sees you working hard like this, they will have no words.

Finally, if after three years the work is too much or you find the literacy campaign isn’t too exciting don’t hesitate to resign the presidency. It is not a sign of failure but a sign of courage. You will actually go down in history. You will have more sympathizers all around the country and continent. You will become the literacy campaign spokesperson of the United Nations. Your services will suddenly be needed in Bolivia, Bangladesh and all over the world. Being a private citizen can be fun and fulfilling after all.

Good luck and let me know if I can help in any way.

Sincerely yours,

Wesley Ngwenya

By Mingeli Palata

If there is one word that is not popular in today’s politics, its communism. Dear friends that word is so unpopular  that it’s not advisable to use it especially if you have intentions of being politically trendy. Communism is not the sexiest of words and if you mentioned it among western friends they would call you politically gay.  Okay, enough meandering, let me let it out; ‘I am pro communism’ but I find it fashionable to call myself a ‘contemporary Marxist’.

Yes communism is such an awful word to be associated with but like it or not Karl Marx has returned and today as I speak ‘Das Kapital’ is selling like hot cakes the world over due to a recently famous combination of words called the Global Economic Crisis or the Global Credit Crunch. By the way, the word ‘bailout’ has been voted the word of the year in the US and my rat eating neighbor from Chipata recently named his son Kledit-Klunch Mbewe!

Now for the average person reading this, this combination of mysterious words has resulted in to the record depreciation of the Kwacha and mine job loses throughout the country. Yet capitalist and economic pundits have had a hard time accepting this new reality but to spill it right in their face- Capitalism is fundamentally broken.

First the Great Depression which occurred in 1929 and now this; ‘The global economic crises’- a huge problem caused by the continuous failure to acknowledge the flaws of capitalism. Its simple, capitalism is all about free markets in which banks and financial institutions do what ever they like, they trade securities, bonds, stocks, mortgages  to whoever and when ever they want. It’s called the principle of demand and supply- all regulated by market forces. Sounds fair right? WRONG! This system makes society prone to one of mankind’s’ grievous curses, you guessed right; Greed.

It being a free system, market players borrow and borrow, and because the system is so interdependent, if a few people default- everybody including the poor miner in chingola is affected. Now with such an inevitable system in place, why on earth would a government leave everything to the market forces? Isn’t that irresponsible? Well I guess the capitalists were confident that the system was perfect, but one thing they forgot that man’s biggest threat is himself.

Now world over markets are in turmoil, big companies are closing, people can’t pay back their mortgages and my abused example of the Chingola miner is losing jobs.  Harold James, professor of History and international Affairs at Wildrow Winston School in the USA says in quote ‘in the face of the difficulties of the big automobile producers and smaller suppliers alike, many are demanding that, as part of the rescue package, THE STATE SHOULD COMPEL BANKS TO LEND.’

Now, does this ring a bell in your mind? Well if that is not enough, allow me to quote J. Bradford Delong, a professor of economics at University of California and a former US Treasury Secretary who suggested the following as a measure central banks should take to mitigate the impact of the Global economic crisis. ‘Central banks should try to keep the economy at near full employment by pushing asset prices up when unemployment threatens to rise.’

I don’t know about you but for me, one thing is clear, the world has now realized that the market cannot not be left to float on its own without state involvement visa vies protecting and directing its growth- sounds like moderate socialism doesn’t it?

The United National Independence Party (UNIP) has called for unity among Zambians in the wake of the global financial crisis in order to address its effects on the country.

And the once ruling party has also called on its membership to intensify mobilization in preparation for the 2011 presidential and parliamentary elections.

UNIP Vice President Njekwa Anamela made these remarks when he led party officials and other members on behalf of party president Tilyenji Kaunda at the card annual renewal exercise in Lusaka today.

Mr. Anamela said the current global financial recession calls for all stakeholders to unite and help government find solutions to the challenge.

He said the prevailing world financial credit crunch is a reality that has affected most countries including Zambia which can not be ignored.

And Mr. Anamela has urged members of the party to ensure that they remain united in order to play their role of providing checks and balances to the sitting government effectively.

He said there is need especially for communities to ensure the local leadership is kept in check on various developmental projects government is supposed to deliver.

And UNIP Provincial Chairperson Judith Muteri reiterated the need to mobilize party members across the country in order to strengthen the 49 year old political party.

She expressed confidence that the party will retain back the power in 2011 once members are well mobilized throughout the country.

ZANIS/CM/AM/ENDS

First Lady, Thandiwe Banda, has urged stakeholders in the health sector to join hands in working towards efforts of achieving improved service delivery in the country.

Mrs. Banda said stakeholders should actively be involved in programmes aimed at improving health facilities and access to services in rural areas.

Mrs. Banda was speaking when she donated an assortment of goods and One million kwacha cash to Kakumbi Rural Health Centre in Mfuwe yesterday.

The first lady said she was aware of the many problems that Kakumbi rural health centre is facing but was optimistic that government would work hard to address the problem.

Kakumbi Health Centre Sister-In-Charge Regina Banda, said the health facility was faced with a shortage of staff due to lack of adequate accommodation in the area.

And Mrs Banda also challenged women in Kefa Village of Chief Kakumbi’s area to venture in income generating activities for them to help reduce poverty in the communities.

She donated K2 million to Kefa Womens Club towards the project of caring for orphans and the elderly in the community.

At the same occasion, Kefa Village Headman, asked government to help the community engage in viable tourism activities for their livelihood.

ENDS/SJK/AM/ZANI