THE Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MACO) has warned of blacklisting beneficiaries of the Fertilizer Support Programme (FSP) who will be found selling agricultural inputs they will get under the programme.

Cooperative and Marketing Permanent Secretary, Bernard Namachila, sounded the warning during the launch of the 2008/09 National Fertilizer Support Programme (NFSP) held at Crystal Spring hotel in Chipata today.

Mr. Nakachinda said there were some malpractices happening in the programme where some beneficiaries sold the inputs instead of using them in their fields.

He said in some cases, cooperatives had been used by some businesspersons to procure the inputs meant for small holder farmers for re-selling.

“Let me reiterate my warning that individuals found wanting shall be visited by the law and such farmers shall be blacklisted together with members of their households who will never access the facility. Genuine farmers and not traders should be the only ones to benefit,” Mr. Namachila charged.

He implored District Agricultural Committees ( DACs) in the country to be on the look out for people involved in malpractices. The Permanent Secretary also said under the Fertilizer Support Programme, a household is supposed to benefit only for two seasons after which it is weaned so that other households could benefit.

Mr. Namachila said the beneficiaries to this programme must be small scale farmers belonging to a registered cooperative or farmer group who must also have capacity to grow one to five hectares of maize.

He said the beneficiaries should be able to raise the 25 percent of the cost of the inputs which is K 50,000-00 and must not concurrently benefit from the Food Security Park under Preventive Against Malnutrition ( PAM )

Mr. Namachila also directed the department of agriculture to disqualify cooperatives and farmer groups that were only re-activated during the time of acquiring inputs.

And Kasama District has received a total of 32,000 by 50kg bags of subsidized fertilizer under the Fertilizer Support Programme (FSP) for this year’s agricultural season.

District Commissioner Lieutenant Colonel Steven Chanda confirmed the development to ZANIS in Kasama , Thursday.

Col. Chanda said out of the total fertilizers received by the District, 16, 000 by 50 KG bag is Urea while another 16, 000 by 50kg bags is D-compound.

He revealed that the distribution of the inputs would start next week.

Col. Chanda has since urged farmers to make sure that they procure the subsidized inputs through their cooperatives to avoid compromising their yields.

The DC also advised civil servants intending to access the same fertilizer to liaise with the District Agriculture Coordinator, so that they too could benefit from the subsidized inputs.

Recently, Government announced a drastic reduction in the price of fertilizer under the Fertilizer Support Programme from K200, 000 per 50 KG bag to K50, 000 per 50 KG bag.

The move is aimed at empowering vulnerable but viable farmers to access the agriculture inputs in order for them to boost production and in turn enhance the country’s food security.

ZANIS/WS/ENDS/KSM/MM

President Rupiah Banda says people aggrieved about the outcome of the October 30 presidential election are free to petition.

Mr. Banda says according to Zambian laws any candidate who is not happy with election results is free to petition.

The President said Patriotic Front-PF- leader, Michael Sata, is free to reject and petition the results.

Mr. Banda was speaking to Journalist shortly after getting an official portrait at Zambia News and Information Service-ZANIS- in Lusaka on Wednesday.

And President Banda said he is not aware that former President, Frederick Chiluba, helped his campaign in the just ended presidential election.

President Banda said he just read in the newspapers that Dr. Chiluba had gone round campaigning for him.

He however thanked Zambians for voting for him in Thursday’s presidential election.
[ZNBC]

Cadres from opposition Patriotic Front (PF) and the ruling MMD Thursday morning clashed in a free for all punch-up at Lusaka’s Nakatindi Hall where verification of presidential ballots was due to take place.

According to eye witnesses, a number of polling assistants were also caught up in the physical tussle between the PF and MMD cadres.

The fracas prompted Lusaka Returning Officer, Timothy Hakuyu to indefinitely suspend the verification of presidential ballot papers.

Mr. Hakuyu who is also Lusaka Town Clerk confirmed that a number of polling assistants were slapped by some unidentified cadres during the fight.

But MMD Lusaka District Chairman, Paul Chihande alleged that his cadre William Matalauze was slapped by PF leader Michael Sata during the confusion.

However, PF Spokesperson Given Lubinda denied allegations linking Mr. Sata to the fracas.

Mr. Lubinda however confirmed having witnessed the exchange of blows between PF and MMD cadres.

Earlier, some polling assistants who were waiting to be paid their dues refused to leave Nakatindi Hall, demanding that they be paid their dues.

The polling assistants only lef the place after the Returning officer assured them that their monies will be paid later in the day.

And Lusaka Police Commanding Officer Greenwell N’guni told ZNBC news that he sent police re-enforcements after Mr. Hakuyu alerted him on phone.

Mr. N’GUNI said Inspector General of Police Ephraim Mateyo will issue a comprehensive statement later in the day.

[ZNBC]

Zambia’s electoral commission is today (Thursday) expected to begin verifying votes from last week’s presidential election making it possible for the opposition to challenge the result in court. Main opposition leader Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front party claims the electoral commission rigged the vote for the presidential candidate of the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy. Rupiah Banda was sworn in Sunday after the electoral commission declared him winner of the presidential by-election to replace late President Levy Mwanawasa.

Fred Mtesa is a Zambian political analyst. From the capital, Lusaka he tells reporter Peter Clottey that the looming court challenge could strengthen Zambia’s democratic process.

“I think it is an important step in the development of the electoral process in Zambia because it means the aggrieved party has an opportunity to lay their grievances through the legal process,” Mtesa noted.

He said previous presidential candidates have challenged election results after they were defeated.

“In the first place Mr. Sata is not the first losing presidential candidate to challenge the result of a presidential election in Zambia. In 2001, three losing contestants Mr. Mazoka, Christian Tembo and General Godfrey Miyanda petitioned the results of the presidential election, and they went to court. And of course in the end, the Supreme Court of Zambia ruled that the late President Levy Mwanawasa was duly elected as president of the republic of Zambia, although the court said there were anomalies,” he said.

Mtesa said the main opposition leader is not content with the election results.

“For Mr. Sata in 2001 he did not challenge the election results, in 2006 he did complain. And it is understandable given the growing popularity of his party in the urban areas, particularly in Lusaka and the Copper Belt where he swept the votes. I think it is understandable that he feels aggrieved,” Mtesa pointed out.

He said poll observers were unanimous about the credibility of the October 30th presidential by-election.

“The election was held under very difficulty conditions, and the Electoral Commission of Zambia was called upon to prepare at a very short notice. But we had reports from monitors of the Africa Union, the SADC (Southern African Development Community) monitors and also local monitors who adjudged that the election were conducted in a free and fair atmosphere,” he said.

Mtesa said there was a need to allow the electoral process to flourish.

“It is difficult to say what the court would decide and would have to look at the evidence. And I think for now the right thing to do for every observer is to allow the due process of the law to take its course and it would be a test of the Zambia constitution and to see what would happen in the event that the court ruled that the election was fraudulent,” Mtesa noted.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Sata claims the election was marked by discrepancies between vote tallies and the number of voters on registration lists and is ready to challenge the results in court. Under Zambian law, the verification of ballots is required before an aggrieved politician can ask the court to demand all ballots to be recounted.

VOA

The Anti Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) says there is need to decentralize the Electoral Commission of Zambia in order to have an effective electoral process.

AVAP Executive Director Bonnie Tembo says there is also need for the commission to consistently build capacity among its workers to enable them handle the electoral process effectively.

Mr. Tembo told ZANIS in Lusaka today that decentralizing ECZ would result in delivering election materials and facilitate the electoral process in time adding that this would also restore voter confidence in the country.

He said noted that they were a lot of challenges in the just ended elections especially in delivering election materials on time in distant places because all the materials had to be transported from Lusaka.

And Mr. Tembo has said that the ECZ should in future consider having election materials such as ballot papers printed within the country in order to reduce on the cost of printing them outside the country.

He said the country has sufficient capacity to prepare ballot papers and other materials adding that there is need to resuscitate the government printing department.

Mr. Tembo has also urged the media to report objectively and responsibly on electoral issues in order to avoid confusing stakeholders.

Meanwhile the AVAP Executive Director has commended ECZ and the Zambia Police Service for their capacity to hold elections despite the pressure of organizing the presidential by election in limited time.

The October 30th elections in which four candidates participated was won by MMD’s candidate Rupiah Banda.

ZANIS/CM/AM/ENDS

The Zambia Consumer Association has blamed the Milling companies in the country for unjustifiably inflating prices of Mealie meal.

Executive Secretary Muyunda Lililonga said the Millers had a hidden agenda for increasing prices on the commodity saying what they were doing was tantamount to bringing down the government..

In an interview with ZANIS in Kitwe Wednesday, Mr. Lillilonga wondered why prices of the staple food were too high when the millers had bought the maize cheaply.

He explained that the millers claims that the high prices of mealie meal was due to high maize prices were unjustifiable.

Mr. Lillilonga called on the government to intervene quickly because it was too dangerous politically as majority of poor Zambians would blame the new administration of the newly elected Rupiah Banda over the prices.

He called on the millers to be partners with the government because what they were doing now after elections was not healthy.

In another development, Mr. Lillilonga has said the appreciating of the Kwacha against the united states dollars was an indication of confidence that investors had in the new government of President Rupiah Banda.

The executive secretary added that since the Kwacha had regained strength, he was hopeful that the prices of imported goods would also come down.

And ruling MMD Copperbelt MMD Copperbelt Provincial Youth Chairman Richard Mofya says there is no justification for increased mealie meal prices in the country.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS Ndola Wednesday morning, Mr Mofya said there was no justification for retailers to increase the price of commodity without government’s authorisation.

Mr Mofya said there was need for retailers that had increased the prices of the commodity to justify their action.

He observed that there was need for all stakeholders to move in accordance to governments’ decision on prices of commodities in the country.

He said it would be the youths who will suffer most because they were unemployed and did not have a stable source of income.

Mr Mofya advised business people to be considerate to the fact that the Zambian Kwacha had started to appreciate soon after the elections hence there being no tangible justification for increasing the price of mealie.

ZANIS/PFK/CMM/ENDS/MM.