The kwacha has made a dramatic comeback with a strong appreciation following the inauguration of President, Rupiah Banda.Before the election day the kwacha depreciated to trade at about K4,800 to one US dollar.

But the latest exchange rate report issued by the Zambia National Commercial Bank shows that the kwacha is now trading at K3,850 to one US dollar.This represents an appreciation of about 20 percent.

And Local Economist Chibamba Kanyama said the performance of the kwacha is a sign of the level of confidence investors have in the leadership of President Banda.

And Commerce Permanent Secretary,Davidson Chilipamushi, said the Kwacha will regain its stability now that the uncertainity created by the Presidential election is over.In the first quarter of the year, the Kwacha was trading at K3100 to $1.

Meanwhile foreign analysts are hailing the election of Rupiah Banda as potentially good news for mining companies like First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Equinox Minerals Ltd. Like Mr. Mwanawasa, Mr.Banda  is strongly in favour of foreign investment in the copperbelt.

But one difference from his predecessor investors are happy with is  he appears to be opposed to the higher mining taxes that Zambia introduced this year. While he has said publicly that he will follow the policies of Mr. Mwanawasa, there is some hope for investors that he will make the punitive windfall profits tax less costly.

“It appears that the onerous tax rates enacted into legislation in Zambia earlier this year are likely to be significantly watered down. And this should enable the country’s copper producers to regain a stable economic footing,” TD Newcrest analyst Greg Barnes wrote in a note to clients.

Mr. Barnes calculated that the current windfall tax could top 70% at higher copper prices. But if it is reduced to a flat 25% tax above US$2.50 a pound copper, then it would decline to between 45% and 50%. At current copper prices, the windfall tax is irrelevant because prices are too low.

Mr. Banda barely beat out opposition party leader Michael Sata for the presidency. RBC Capital Markets analyst Cailey Barker considers this a “lucky escape,” as Mr. Sata was looking to enforce 25% local ownership in mining projects (though this was unlikely to get pushed through because of opposition in the copperbelt). Mr. Sata is contesting the vote and that may drag out the current proceedings.

First Quantum’s Kansanshi mine was the only one in Zambia that paid the windfall tax in the second quarter. Equinox’s Lumwana mine is going into production by the end of the year, but the company has a development agreement that it says will exclude it from the tax.
ZNBC/Nationpost.com

The Patriotic Front  has written to the electoral commission demanding a verification of the results of last week’s presidential elections. The Patriotic Front is  seeking a recount in 78 of Zambia’s 150 constituencies, saying the tallies should be verified by independent monitors and party agents, party spokesman Given Lubinda said.

We hope the recount and verification can be done soon,”he said.

Mr. Sata however said,”Knowing how corrupt the Electoral commission are, I do not think we are going to get much from them.That is why we now want to involve the courts of law.

He claimed that the number of votes announced in one district was higher than the total population of that district.

Mr Rupiah Banda won  40% of the 1.79 million votes cast on Thursday versus 38% for Sata, according to final results released by Zambia’s electoral commission.

The margin of victory was 35,209 votes. However the PF say the poll was marked by discrepancies between vote tallies and the number of voters on registration lists.Mr Sata led through two days of counting before Banda overtook him in results late on Saturday.

Mr Rupiah Banda was rapidly sworn in on Sunday.The swearing-in ceremony was held just two hours after election officials said he had won by 40.1% to Mr Sata’s 38.1%.

The United Party for National Development (UPND) will not petition the election results despite citing a number of electoral malpractices by some parties that participated in the election adding that the petition is a waste of time.

Party president Hakainde Hichilema says the party will now concentrate on providing alternative leadership by formulating policies that can help address challenges the country is faced with.

Mr. Hichilema said his party will also continue to prepare for the 2011 presidential and parliamentary elections.

He described the just-ended presidential polls as the most competitive and exciting elections the country has ever had.

Mr. Hichilima has also thanked Zambians for voting peacefully in the tightly contested polls in which MMD’s presidential candidate Rupiah Banda emerged winner.

He has however expressed concern about the low voter turn out which was attributed to voter apathy among registered voters.

Speaking during a media briefing the opposition party leader also commended the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) for facilitating the October 30 polls professionally despite the pressure on the commission.

He has however called upon government to consider funding ECZ to enable the commission continue carrying out voter registration throughout the country.

He said this will help increase voter turn out once the country is holding an election and ensure a majority vote.

And Mr. Hichilema has disclosed that his party has written to the ECZ on alleged malpractices in the just-ended presidential by election.

And UPND vice president Richard Kapita said the just ended presidential elections provided an opportunity for the party to market its presidential candidate for the 2011 polls.

He said the party has resolved maintain the candidature of Mr. Hichilema because he has become more popular in the country.

ZANIS/CM/AM/ENDS

By Mingeli Palata

It is a fresh and new week, pretty different from last week’s campaigns, energy and enthusiasm; at least Zambians had something on their minds that kept them away from their poverty. Zambia voted and a new president has been elected. Rupiah Bwezani Banda is Zambia’s fourth. Hate it or love it!

Yes the election is done and over with but there are a lot of issues that have come out in this election that merit our serious consideration.

Everybody agrees that this has been a tight race, very close. The voting patterns are not so different from what most us had predicted. Michael Sata claims his own along the line of rail plus the Northern and Luapula provinces, Hikainde gets his Southern province, Rupiah wins Eastern, Central Western and North Western provinces. Yes not so different from the 2006 election.

Notice how easy it was for any political strategist to predict the results or the voting pattern in a similar vein it doesn’t take a pundit to see that Zambians voted on regional lines. As expected the easterners went yako ni yako, the Northern and Luapula provinces went for their own Sata and the Southern province maintained their default voting pattern. Of course there may have been some who voted purely on competence but the dynamics of rural politics all point to regionalism in the voting pattern. This comrades is a very vicious reality. Regionalism or any form of tribalism is detrimental to national development and risks disturbing the much talked about peace that our beloved country enjoys.

From regionalism, another issue that has re-surfaced in this election is the divide between the rural and urban votes and this has been the trend in most African countries, talk of Kenya, Zimbabwe and now Zambia. In any given election that has taken place in the last 15 years, the urban population has gone for the opposition while the rural population has voted for the ruling party. This is the trend, did you notice? For me this shows that the urban population are not satisfied with the way the ruling party have been governing this country. The urban voters are not happy and this is a big failure on the part of government or the ruling party; they have lost the urban vote in three elections in not more than 10 years.

Fine, you can talk about the country having registered a 5% annual economic growth rate, having reduced inflation and so forth but the question is how that translates to the common man. The people in Kanyama and Mwanabombwe don’t care about the inflation; they don’t care about 5% economic growth, what is 5% economic growth when they are buying mealie meal at K50, 000.00 per bag? What is inflation below 10% when every time they get on a bus the fare is increased? All the much chorused economic gains the country has made don’t mean a thing if the average pay is K300, 000.00 per month and the minimum standard of living is rated at K1, 800, 000.00 if not even higher.

Education is illusive for many, the two universities cannot accommodate the demand and the available private schools are too expensive for the common man. Graduates have been reduced to corporate kaponyas moving around the streets of Cairo road and doing briefcase businesses. They are no jobs in Zambia. No jobs. Most of my colleagues some of whom are reading this article have been reduced to doing jobs abroad that they otherwise wouldn’t have done back home.

In my view, this explains the voting pattern visa-vies the divide between the urban and rural votes. Our colleagues in the rural areas don’t feel the pinch of a capitalist economy or is it that their conditions are subject to manipulation by fraudulent politicians? While the urban voters have access to LusakaTimes, the rural voters have to rely on government controlled media to know what is happening and the truth is that any media will only tell you what they want you to know. It’s really issues of information and the sugar. The dynamics of rural politics are very different from urban politics. In the rural areas it’s mostly what the chief says and who distributes the most sugar. I had visitors from Chipata a week before the elections and I took the time to ask them who they were going to vote for and they told ‘kaili amfumu anena kale’ in an apparent reference to an instruction given to them by the local chief to vote for Rupiah Banda.

Development is relative to the situation. What urban voters see as issues very differently from rural voters and that is one thing the MMD knows very well.

Moving on, the voting pattern also raises questions about capitalism. If you look at the Sata vote; you will realise that it is more of protest vote than anything. Sata has a very simple message; ‘I want to empower you economically’. Is it time for Africans to begin rethinking wealth distribution? Is it time we tried to regulate the economy more to spread wealth to everyone?

Sata’s message is not ideologically different from that of Robert Mugabe, they both are saying that it is time we Africans became a little selfish and enjoyed some economic power. Like the cliché saying goes’ who so ever has the money has the power’. If you give investors 3 years tax exemption then why don’t you do the same to the local investors? The truth is that Zambians are over taxed well over three times. Think about it! The government cries of not having money but one thing they don’t realise is that there is a huge informal sector out there which is not taxed. Why? Because the taxes are high so people don’t register their businesses? The best way to widen the tax base is to reduce tax and provide an environment that will help grow local industry. Then you will have more money to build school. Simple.

Perhaps it’s time for Africans to begin implementing economic policies that favour us and not the west. Economic policies are models, there are other models, and Americans have their own models which has plunged them into the crises they are in. Why don’t we seek models we can benefit from? The thing is the current economic policies favour either foreigners or the rich few, nothing for a poor me living in Kabwata. There is need for us to seriously re-consider and find ways of creating an environment in which all Zambians can be wealthy. Maybe then, the urban voter will rejoice when they hear our economy has grown by 5%.

MMD Presidential Candidate, Rupiah Banda, has been sworn in as Zambia’s fourth Republican President.

Mr. Banda took oath before Chief Justice Ernest Sakala at a colorful ceremony held at the parliament buildings in Lusaka on Sunday afternoon.

The swearing in ceremony was also attended by foreign dignitaries, who included presidents Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Malawi’s Mbingu Wamutharika and Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa.

Former presidents, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda and Dr. Frederick Chiluba were also part of the several guests that attended the ceremony.

MMD supporters clad in their party colours sung and danced to celebrate their victory in an election which

was tightly contested.

And in his inaugural speech, Mr. Banda called for unity in the country and extended an olive branch to losing candidates, especially Patriotic Front leader, Michael Sata.

Mr. Sata has rejected the results of the election claiming the poll was flawed.

Mr. Banda stressed the need for unity after Thursday’s presidential election, saying he does not want to govern a divided nation.

He said the election should unite the Country for the common good of citizens.

In his speech, has pledged to fight poverty and transform Zambia into a middle income nation.

President Banda who spoke shortly after he took oath as Zambia’s fourth President, observed that many Zambians have been excluded in the sharing the Country’s economic prosperity.

He described poverty as demeaning and an unnecessary evil.

The president said he is determined to empower Zambians through education and employment creation during his reign.

President Banda also pledged to transform Zambia into the hub of Southern Africa.

He further stated that he will continue the fight against corruption and observe the rule of law.

Today’s Scripture

Jesus replied, “It is written, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only Him'” (Luke 4:8).

Today’s Word from Joel and Victoria

Jesus was in the desert to pray. He’d been fasting. He was alone and probably weak in His body. Along comes Satan to offer Him an easy way out of going to the cross. “You can gain the world by letting me give it to you. Why don’t you take the easy way out?” the devil was saying. But Jesus knew that the mission wasn’t just to gain the world. He knew that the real victory was to gain the world and defeat temptation, death, hell, and the grave. There was no “easy way out” of that!

Notice how Jesus answered. Each time Satan would tempt Him, Jesus responded by saying, “It is written…” Jesus fought the enemy with the Word of God. The Word of God is your weapon. When you feel the pressure of temptation, when you feel like giving in, when you think you’re not going to make it, fight those negative, self-defeating thoughts by declaring the Word of God. Declare, “I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! No weapon formed against me shall prosper. I am an overcomer through Christ who strengthens me.” Speak the Word, and allow Him to lead you on the path of victory!

A Prayer for Today

Father in heaven, thank You for the power of Your Word. I declare that I am filled with Your strength and hope because I choose to honor You in everything I do. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Joel Osteen ministries

Acting vice president Rupiah Banda will be declared the winner of the presidential by election today after taking the lead for the first time since the presidential poll results were first released by the Electoral Commission of Zambia on Friday.

The results so far showed Mr Banda with 708,683 votes versus 682,171 for Michael Sata, the leader of the opposition Patriotic Front. The count was based on results from 148 of 150 constituencies.

With two constituencies remaining, Mr Sata is unlikely to gain many votes to overhaul the gap as both of the constituencies are in the ruling MMD’s strongholds.

But the PF have not conceded defeat. They have announced that they would be asking the court for a complete recount due to discrepancies between voter tallies and registration lists.

Michael Sata on Saturday morning stormed the Electoral Commission of Zambia election results center claiming Thursday’s presidential poll had been rigged.

Mr. Sata, who was visibly angry accused the ECZ of releasing inflated figures.

He alleged that constituencies in Eastern Province can not have 75 percent turnout when the poll has been characterised by apathy.

“I have evidence that results are being inflated. They cheated me in 2006 and they want to do the same,” Sata said.

Most regional bodies have declared the elections free, transparent and fair

Two African regional bodies have declared the October 30 presidential election free and fair.

In their Preliminary reports the African Union Election observer mission and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa COMESA- say the election was held in a free and peaceful environment.

AU observer mission team leader, Anil Gaya, says the election took place in a peaceful atmosphere in which voters were able to cast their votes without intimidation.

Mr. Gaya said the Electoral Commission of Zambia-ECZ- organized an efficiently run election.

He said the Presidential election was in conformity with the declaration of the AU principles governing democratic elections in Africa.

And COMESA Observer mission leader, Johnson Wa Binana said the election was held in a peaceful manner.

Mr. Wa Binana also called on Zambians to remain peaceful and united.

Also The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa-EISA- has observed that the October 30 presidential and parliamentary by-elections were conducted in a transparent manner.

EISA delegation leader, Leshele Thoahlan, says the polls were transparent because Zambians were allowed to freely express their will.

Mr. Thoahlan says the mission hopes that the management and announcement of Presidential results will be handled in the same manner.

He commended the people of Zambia for their peaceful conduct during the election period.

Mr. Thoahlan said this in Lusaka when he released a report on the October 30 polls.

The EISA Observer mission will produce a more comprehensive and final report on the entire electoral process within ninety days.