Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union (CSAWU) has commended the Government for the reduction of pump fuel prices in the country.

CSAWU Kitwe District Chairman Denny Maluti said the gesture by the Government was welcome, though long over due.

Mr. Maluti told ZANIS in Kitwe today that the measure which the Government has taken would have a multiplier effect that would lower the cost of doing business and result in the reduction of prices for essential commodities such as mealie meal and other services which have sky rocketed in the country.

He said workers have been negatively affected for so long, especially the lowly paid civil servants.

Mr. Maluti also challenged the millers and transporters to stop using the excuse of high fuel prices to exploit the consumers now that the fuel prices have been reduced.

Mr. Maluti said the transporters should adjust their bus fares in view of the reduced fuel prices announced by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB), to pass on the benefit to the common man.

The opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) has implored government to step up its efforts which are aimed at alleviating poverty among Zambians in 2009.

UPND chairman for information and publicity, Charles Kakoma told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka that Zambians had been challenged with a lot of hardships during the year 2008, hence the need for government to cushion their sufferings by easing the impact of poverty in their lives.

Mr. Kakoma said government should devote most of its efforts towards poverty reduction, lowering of inflation rates and exchange rates, increasing employment opportunities and gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

He observed that although there were job losses in the mining industry, Zambia still had a window of hope especially in the agriculture sector.

Mr. Kakoma, who is also Member of Parliament for Zambezi East, expressed optimism that Zambia could still thrive amidst global economic meltdown.

He said the country could prevail over the world’s economic crisis through seizing every opportunity in the agriculture sector at both subsistence and commercial levels.

He pointed out that even in the face of the world’s economic crunch, Zambians still has a lot of sectors that could redeem her from challenges of poverty.

Mr. Kakoma cited the rural economic potential and small scale agricultural activities as some of the areas which could be effectives in developing the country’s economic base.

The MP explained that Zambia had a good rain pattern and a favourable dry weather that could support agricultural activities all year round.

And Mr. Kakoma has, on behalf of the UPND, wished Zambians a prosperous 2009 and urged them to work hard for their individual development, which would subsequently promote national development.

Recently, Zambia experienced among other economic challenges, a rise in food prices, job losses in the mines which closed due to plummeting copper prices on the world market. The country also experienced high exchange rates against the United States dollar and other foreign currencies.

The Food Reserve Agency -FRA- has reduced the price of a fifty kilogram bag of maize from K63,000 to K55,000.

FRA Board Chairperson, Costain Chilala, announced the price reduction in a statement to ZNBC news in Lusaka on Wednesday.

Mr. Chilala said the FRA board took the decision in consultation with the government.

He explained that the decision has been taken in view of the escalating mealie meal prices in the country.

He said the FRA will buy available maize from the local market and import adequate stocks for local consumption.

Government is making serious efforts to reduce the prices of mealie meal which have increased sharply in the last few months.

Meanwhile, Choma District Commissioner, Laiven Apuleni, has directed the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to suspend the on-going sale of maize, saying the exercise is not benefiting the intended starving rural communities.

Mr Apuleni issued the directive in Choma yesterday when he summoned officials from the Choma District Cooperative Union mandated to sale the maize on behalf of FRA.

The DC said he is disappointed to learn that the FRA is selling maize within the town instead of delivering the commodity to rural areas.

Mr Apuleni said the district administration requested the FRA to offload some maize specifically to cushion the serious effects of hunger in rural communities.

He wondered how people from rural areas would be expected to travel to town to buy the maize when they do not have the capacity to meet transport costs due to hunger stalking the area.

He stated that the decision by the FRA to sell the maize within the town defeats the purpose as unscrupulous businessmen in the township will take advantage of the exercise to buy the commodity in huge quantities which they will later re-sell at inflated prices.

He said it is better for the FRA to suspend the current sale of maize if the agency maintains that it will not authorize the district cooperative union to carry out the exercise in rural communities.

Mr Apuleni said he would inform all the five chiefs about the development especially that the district administration is under intense pressure from the traditional leaders over the delayed delivery of maize.

He said management at the FRA should be humane enough and understand the suffering of rural people who are going without food.

The FRA has released 2,000 by 50 kilogramme bags of maize for sale at K63,000 per bag.

znbc/zanis

Luapula Province Acting Permanent Secretary, Clement Siame, has implored the public to give support to President Rupiah Banda in his quest to address economic challenges that the country was facing.

Mr. Siame said the current economic challenges Zambia and the rest of the world were going through needed concerted efforts and not blame  it as a failure on the part of government.

He said there was no need to blame the current escalating mealie meal and other food prices on President Banda but on the global economic down turn which had affected even bigger economies than Zambia’s.

Mr. Siame said this during the 4th Quarter Provincial Development Coordinating Committee Meeting (PDCC) in Mansa.

Meanwhile Mr Siame has called on Heads of Government Departments in Luapula Province to ensure that they implemented government programmes to cushion the effects of the recent economic crisis that was obtaining in the country.

He said the failure to effectively execute government projects would further worsen the livelihood of the people on the ground and would be costly to the development of the country during the current economic meltdown.

“let us effect government programmes so that we mitigate some of the impacts of this economic recession. If we don nott implement these programmes we will be adding more salt to the wound,” Mr. Siame said.

And Mr Siame has warned that his office would next year not approve any payments for departments to implement projects without a work plan.

He said work plans were necessary because they helped in supervision and evaluation of the works being done on projects but some government departments did not see the essence of submitting the work plans to his office.

The PS noted that in the past, government had released huge sums of funds for project implementation by various departments in Luapula Province, but some departments had failed to implement the projects effectively.

He advised heads of government departments to be  serious and committed when implementing government programmes for the people to benefit as intended.

A concerned teacher at Kabwata Basic School has alleged that there were a lot of defilement cases  going on at the school and aurthorities at the institution were covering the scourg because they were involved.

The teacher, who did not disclose his identity, appealed to the Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare, the police, the Young Women’s Christian Association and others to visit the school and neighbouring villages to unearth the scam.

The teacher revealed that there were ten (10) pregnancy cases at the school involving school girls below the age of 14 and school authorities were covering them up.

He appealed to the social welfare team to move in quickly, saying the scourg had taken root and many young girls might become victims if the current offenders were not punished.

The teachers also alleged that even some unnamed police officers in the area were involved, adding that such officers should be punished because they were supposed to be custodians of moral values and upholders of the rule of law.

He said the situation was a serious matter that required quick attention and action to save the lives of the girls whose future opportunities might be ruined by such barbaric adults.

The concerned teacher said there was need to punish the culprits publicly so that others would-be offenders could learn that the rule of law was not segregative but applicable to all.

Copperbelt Police Chief, Antoneil Mutentwa,  when reached for a comment could not confirm but asked for more time to get to the details on the ground.

The opposition Patriotic Front (PF) has described 2008 as a ‘sad year’ for Zambia, particularly without the services of departed President Levy Mwanawasa.

And the PF has urged Zambians to put God in front as they reflect this year-ending and begin to digest workable solutions to lift the country to high esteem in 2009.

PF Spokesperson, Given Lubinda, condemned to strongest terms the 10-day holiday taken by the republican President, Rupiah Banda, who is in Mfuwe, Eastern Province.

Mr. Lubinda requested Zambians to resist temptation exhibited by President Banda to spend huge sums of what he termed  ‘public resources’ with the First family holidaying in Mfuwe when the country is at cross roads economically.

Mr. Lubinda sympathised with the Zambians to remain steadfast and pray to God in this trying moments, saying the Rupiah regime is not forth trusting and promising to deliver.

He charged that the Head of State is allegedly using tax-payers money with his family when millions of Zambians are wallowing in hunger and also miners on the Copperbelt have lost their employment.

“Shame on President Rupiah and his MMD party who are reaping the tax-payers money. Its a scandle for Mr. Rupiah to go on holiday when the country is faced with a lot of challenges of meali-meal and job losses on the Copperbelt. We in the PF would like to appeal to the Zambian people to reflect on Christmas, remain steadfast in this trying moments and resist the Rupiah regime,” Mr. Lubinda said.

President Banda left for Mfuwe yesterday on a 10-day holiday. The Head of State is expected back to state House in Lusaka on January 2, 2009.