Government has assured the nation that no effort will be spared to ensure free and fair elections.

Justice Minister George Kunda says the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is doing everything possible to ensure that polls are conducted in a free and fair manner to the satisfaction of all stakeholders.

Mr. Kunda says government has confident in the ECZ and assured the nation that the Commission was fully in charge of the electoral process.

He was speaking in Lusaka today shortly after he led Attorney General Mumba Malila and Director of Public Prosecution Chalwe Mchenga and other Ministry of Justice officers in laying wreaths on the tomb of the late President Mwanawasa at Embassy Park.

Mr. Kunda described the departed President as an icon who was exemplary in addressing judicial matters.

Mufulira Town Clerk Charles Mwandila has described the protest by traders against the implementation of the revised trade licensing fees for 2009 as politically motivated.

Mr. Mwandila said it was not clear why traders in the district have decided to protect against the local authority now, when the Statutory instrument was signed by Commerce Minister Felix Mutati in June this year.

The revised trade licensing fees are contained in a Statutory Instrument Act number 65 of 2008.

“Why should traders in Mufulira be the only ones to protest over the fees when the instrument was issued in June, why this time? He asked.

He said the motive behind the protest will be deemed political, because the Statutory Instrument came in effect at the time it was signed on behalf of Government.

Traders in Mufulira staged a protest against the council yesterday, for implementing the Statutory Instrument issued by the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry on revised trades licensing fees for 2009.

The license fees have been increased from K90,000 to K400,000 per year for new applicants and renewals.

Traders are complaining that the fees are too high, compared to their monthly income earnings and that the council did not consult them before effecting the adjustment.

“The fees were revised by Government after consultations so if they are too high, why should they protest against the council,” Mr. Mwandila asked.

He said the council informed the traders through notices that were issued last month, which indicated that the fees had been adjusted upwards.

He advised the aggrieved traders to direct their complaints to the Ministry of Commerce, not to the council.

A veteran politician in Mufulira has challenged United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema to substantiate his claims that Acting President Rupiah Banda was corrupt.

Levy Mwansa told ZANIS that the statement made by Mr. Hichilema was irresponsible and lacked merit.

Mr. Mwansa described the statement as a shame which should not come from a presidential candidate.

He advised the UPND leader to cease the opportunity to propagate the agenda of his party for the nation and not focus on character assassinating political rhetoric.

Mr. Mwansa, who is former Copperbelt Provincial UNIP chairperson, was reacting to a statement by Mr. Hichilema that Mr. Banda is corrupt and using state machinery to campaign.

He further said it was cheap politicking for Mr. Hichilema to state that the Acting President was wrong to distribute food stuffs in Katete District instead of delegating the function to the District Commissioner of the area.

Following the launch of the Michael Sata campaign website, a copy website called hakainde.com was also launched.This was according to a Patriot Front spokesperson. The website had on its front page a claim that Mr Sata had endorsed HH.

Mr Sata has since refuted this  claim.” I cannot be a vice to someone who is under five and inexperienced…He has never met me to discuss a government of national unity. It’s a lie.”

Mr Sata further said “In 2006, I had more presidential votes than H.H, I had more MPs than H.H, I had more councilors than H.H . In 2006 when he represented 3 parties, H.H reduced the Mazoka led UPND from 49 to 22 MPs, he reduced FDD from 11 to 2 MPs, he reduced UNIP from 15 to 2 MPs. So what credentials has he got to consider me as vice? If in his eyes I am too old, why then should he consider me for vice? It’s all in his dreams and wishful thinking. We are filling nominations next week and we are very confident PF will form the next government”.

I am a man aged 40 years married to a beautiful woman. We have been married for 11 years now.

The problem has been the issue of Sex. She is what I may term a frigid woman. She does not like sex. Besides me trying to give enough quality and quantity she does not respond in the affirmative.

Recently she had a dental problem and her front tooth was removed. That has been reason enough that she does not want to be kissed. It has now been 1 year No Kiss from my dear wife and I love kisses. What do I do?

Worried Man

Please give mature advise

The National Constitutional Conference -NCC- has suspended its sitting indefinitely.
NCC Chairman Chifumu Banda says the conference will only reconvene after next months Presidential Election to allow delegates to participate in campaigns.
He told ZNBC news in Lusaka, Tuesday, that after a lot of consultation, the NCC decided to suspend sittings until after the Presidential by-election.
Mr. Banda however, could not say when the NCC sittings will start but stated that the conference will wait for the dates of the next parliamentary sittings before making a new calender.He said this is because NCC does not meet while parliament is in session.
The NCC plenary was supposed to meet this month to consider recommendations made by the three committees which met in July.

ZNBC

A Zambia woman, who gave birth in Addis Ababa Ethiopia in July while on transit to Dubai on a business trip, has finally left that country for Zambia.

Barbara Mushota, 32 was seen off at Bole International Airport by officials from the Zambian embassy in Addis Ababa yesterday.

On July 18th, 2008, Ms. Mushota went into labour when she arrived at Bole International Airport and was rushed from the airport to the nearest hospital by Ethiopian airline officials. She gave birth to twins on the same day. One of the twins, a boy, died after birth but the girl survived and has been in an incubator in Addis Ababa’s Korean hospital for the past two months.

Ms. Mushota told Zambian embassy staff that saw her off at the airport that she was grateful for the assistance and support she received from the Zambian community the past two months.

Acting Head of mission at the Zambia Embassy in Addis Ababa Patrick Ngoma has however, advised women with advanced pregnancies to avoid traveling in order to avoid such incidents.

This is contained in a press statement issued to ZANIS by First Secretary for Press at the Zambian Embassy in Ethiopia, Dorcas Chileshe.

THE United Party for National Development (UPND)  launched its presidential campaign with a promise to reduce taxes by increasing the tax free income to K1.5 million.

UPND president, Hakainde Hichilema said  that he had accepted his party’s nomination as presidential candidate in order to continue what late president Levy Mwanawasa had left.

“I accept the nomination for that reason and not to put food on my table. We are in an economic and social war where Zambians should also be investors and not observers,” he said.

Mr Hichilema said when elected into office, UPND would continue with the anti-corruption fight while good governance would be a must if Zambia was to run in decency.

He said corruption would be fought in a professional manner and that there would not be any sacred cows.

He said the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) would be urged to expedite its conclusion.

Mr Hichilema said that when UPND comes into power it would avoid a bloated government for it to run in a more prudent and efficient manner while nominated members of Parliament would be drawn from eight provinces.

He said there was no need to look for political gymnastics but people should look at the future with a clear mind by voting for leaders that would improve lives of the people.

The opposition leader said there should not be promotion of ethnicity in politics because no one chose their ethnic being and that Zambia was one country.

He said his government would provide free education up to tertiary level and medical services would also be free because that was government’s responsibility.

He said politics was a business that required a business approach and to reduce the price of mealie-meal, the UPND government would provide agricultural in-puts as a way of subsidising the sector.

Late UPND leader Anderson Mazoka’s wife Mutinta, former Republican president Kaunda’s son Panji and several MPs, attended the launch.

Times of Zambia

The Zambian Airways debt to the National Airports Limited has increased from 1.6 million United States to 1.9 million United States dollars.

The debt is as a result of unpaid air passenger services and other services.

National Airports Corporation Limited Finance Director, Frederick Banda, told ZNBC news, Monday, that Zambian Airways has not communicated on how it intends to off set the debt.

Mr. Banda however, said his organisation has agreed with National Airports that the airline pays passenger service charges weekly to prevent the debt from swelling.

Zambian Airways makes fifty thousand dollars per day in passenger service charges.

As at September 4, Zambian Airways had defaulted payment by three months.

It also defaulted in other services such as ground handling services, aircraft landing and parking services by six months.
[ZNBC]