Government is in the process of introducing degree courses at Nkrumah and Copper belt Teacher Training Colleges in order to raise the quality of training standards at the two institutions.

Speaking when he officiated at the Chengelo School fundraising dinner dance in Lusaka last night, President Levy Mwanawasa said more teachers are also being trained and upgraded in various training institutions around the country..

Dr. Mwanawasa noted that the growing population of young people poses a huge challenge for government to provide quality education hence the need for partnerships with the private sector in meeting the national educational needs.

He stated that excellence in the education of children in Zambia is the foundation of the country’s future saying the best should be provided to accelerate the development of the country.

Dr. Mwanawasa added that academic excellence, character development and good experience are not enough without true wisdom which enables children stand for what is right.

Dr. Mwanawasa who is also patron of the Zambia International Youth Award Programme at Chengelo’s outdoor center, commended the school for developing into a fine education institute incorporating a primary school, secondary school, sixth form and an exciting outdoor education center.

He further commended the school for scoring a number of successes in academics, sports, cultural and leadership training activities.

Speaking earlier Education Minister Geoffrey Lungwangwa said the traditional belief that government will always provide all the resources for education is a misconception that needs to be removed from the minds of the students, teachers and lecturers.

Professor Lungwangwa said his ministry’s policy supports the idea of self sustaining, generating sufficient income to meet the needs in the country’s educational institutions.

He noted that government has established and empowered education boards in institutions to raise funds for self sustenance.

Professor Lungwangwa said the education system that government aspires for includes the practice of teaching, assessment for learning, curriculum development, use of information communication technologies and involvement of parents and communities in nurturing the unique talents of every pupil.

Speaking at the same occasion, Chengelo school Parents Teacher Association Chairperson William Nyirenda said the funds raised during the dinner would go towards acquiring more computers for the newly established computer laboratory and musical equipment to aid the learning process of the pupils.

And Chengelo School Board of Governors Chairperson Russel Wyatt said the school’s vision is to develop children to take up their place in society as leaders in all spheres of life.

Mr. Wyatt said Chengelo Schoolwhich is located in Mkushi in Central province, remains committed to building ethics of excellence to develop possibilities for success in the children.

Community Development and Social Services Minister, Catherine Namugala today launched the first ever Eco-Village model project in Zambia, an initiative of the Network for Environmental Concerns and Solutions (NECOS).

The initiative aims at transforming Madiba compound of Matero, from a peri-urban settlement into an Eco-Village Model.

Speaking at the launch at Diana Kaimba Basic School in Lusaka, Ms Namugala said every nation aspires to have socio-economic development saying Zambians should strive to pursue developmental activities that will have minimum negative impact on the environment.

She said studies and experiences have shown that where the community improves its water and sanitation, the quality of health also improves.

Ms Namugala said the upgrading of informal settlements in peri-urban areas will play an important role in improving living standards for the residents.

She further said sustainable development can only be guaranteed when community involvement is encouraged and supported by all.

Speaking at the same function, Finish Ambassador to Zambia Sinikka Antila said the project was founded by Finish Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) and other NGOs from other co-operating partners.

She said Finland and Zambia have been collaborating in areas like environment, health and private sector development.

Ms Antila said Finland will to continue increase its aid to the Zambian government in order to improve the living standards for its citizens.

And NECOS President Obed Kawanga said NECOS is a community based non governmental organization which was founded in 2004 to address community problems of Madiba compound like the cholera outbreak which claimed many lives.

He said environmental and social-economic concerns should be handled together with all concerned residents and stakeholders.

Meanwhile the Global Dry Toilet Association Project says sanitation is a big problem that kills about 1.5 million children every year globally.

Project Coordinator,Sari Huuhtanen said most children die from simple diarrhoea diseases, a problem which she said can easily be prevented with proper toilets and hygiene.

The Anti-Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) has called on government to speed up the process of disbursing the Youth Empowerment Fund introduced in 2006.

AVAP Executive Director, Bonnie Tembo says his organisation is concerned with the lack of political will on the part of the government to have the funds disbursed despite political pronouncements during the youth day celebrations.

Mr Tembo has however Commended President Levy Mwanawasa for calling on the Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) to ensure that the funds meant for the youths are disbursed according the law.

He claimed that although the youths are majority voters, they are both politically and economically marginalised.

Mr Tembo has pledged to partner with other Youth Organizations in lobbing government over the disbursement of the youth Empowerment Fund saying youth are the majority voters.

The AVAP leader however, advised all the youth organisations in the country to unite and strategise on how best they can play a critical role in ensuring that the youth in the country benefit from the youth Empowerment Fund.

Mr. Tembo said there is need to liberate the youth from the yoke of unemployment and poverty.

He has also called upon Members of Parliament in all the 150 Constituencies to spearhead the disbursement of the Youth Empowerment Fund to the youth by engaging the CEEC.

He noted that the elected representatives who enacted Citizen Economic Empowerment Act should take a lead to ensure the implementation of the CEEC.

Mr. Tembo has further appealed to government through the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development to publish and disseminate youth empowerment Fund guidelines to enable youths have the information on how to access, utilise and account for the Fund.

Vice President Rupiah Banda has assured all donors to the flood situation that government is preparing a report of distribution and expenditure saying all donations need to be accounted for.

The Vice President said this when he received a donation of various medical supplies worth K50 million from the Federal Republic of Brazil in Lusaka today.

Mr. Banda said government’s plan is to make Disaster management a national programme and not a government programme so that people with ideas and goodwill can easily make their contributions through projects of their choice but coordinated by Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU).

He thanked the Brazilian government for the donation saying they specifically target the core issues of food and health both of which are very critical in the survival of flood victims.

Mr. Banda said Brazil’s donation of 6.5 tonnes of maize and beans last month and medical supplies donated today are a demonstration of the true spirit of South to South cooperation.

He said Zambia which has established a diplomatic mission in Brazil is looking forward to deepening the relations between the two countries.

Mr. Banda also commended Zambian organizations that have made significant contributions towards managing the impact of this year’s floods saying they will be called upon to participate in planning for mitigation against future disasters.

And Brazilian Ambassador to Zambia Josal Luiz Pellegrino said the medical supplies are a humble donation that was manufactured by the federal government laboratories using federal resources in Brazil.

Mr. Pellegrino said the medical supplies that are also administered in Brazil are meant to cushion the effects of the floods in Zambia.

He said Brazil will continue to render its assistance to Zambia as an indication of its commitment to the south to south cooperation.

The Ndola Magistrate Court has set April 21st, 2008 as the date for the ruling in the case involving suspended MMD Copperbelt Provincial Chairman Terence Findley.

ZANIS reports that Ndola Principal Resident Magistrate Chilombo Phiri adjourned the case to April 21st for ruling and set March 28th, 2008 as the date for the defence to submit its written submissions to the court while the state will submit its submissions on April 11th, 2008.

The matter, which had came up for continued defence today, saw the defence team inform the court that there was a change in their earlier indication that they would bring to court nine witnesses.

Defence Lawyer Paulman Chungu informed the court that the defence would instead only bring two more witnesses to the court in addition to the five that it had previously brought.

And in cross-examination, one of the defence witnesses Martin Mulowa, 20, a school leaver of 26 Lewanika road, said he did not observe any injuries on Isabel Phiri during the period he offered her accommodation at his brother’s house.

When asked by the state prosecution team led by state prosecutor Mulongwa Mutakela whether he had examined Isabel’s entire body, Martin responded that he had only seen the top part of her body from the waist as she was changing her clothes.

He further said he was not there where and when it was alleged that Mr Findlay burnt Isabel with a cigarette lighter and added that he knew nothing about the pornographic DVD known as Bwaski 1.

Another witness Kaponda Mukeya 17, of house number 8 Kopa road, a pupil at St Andrews High School, testified that some time last year in June, he had offered accommodation to Isabel Phiri and her friend at his parents home after he was told that she had been chased from her parents home because she went clubbing the whole night.

Kaponda popularly known as ‘Popo’ testified that he had asked the girls to stay outside the gate and wait for his parents to sleep so that he could let them sneak inside the house.

He explained that after 21:00hours he went out and helped the girls to climb the wall fence, and that after they jumped in, dogs started barking and the girls rushed back and tried to jump but that at that point Isabel hurt herself on the hand and somewhere behind.

When cross examined Popo, who had taken the court to view the wall fence at house number 8 Kopa road, said that he did not see Isabel hurt herself as it was dark but that he saw that she had trouble climbing the wall fence and added that the following morning was when he was told that Isabel had hurt herself.

Defence Lawyer Chungu informed the court that the defence had closed its case and that it wanted to file written submissions to the court.

Mr Findlay,43, whose legal representation includes lawyers Eric Silwamba, Lawrence Matibini and Paulman Chungu, was this morning accompanied to court by Mr Chungu alone.

Mr Findlay is charged with three counts of Rape, Unlawful possession and distribution of obscene matter and Assault occasioning bodily harm.

Facts before the court are that Mr Findlay on unknown dates but between May 1, 2007 and June 2, 2007, allegedly had unlawful canal knowledge of a 16 year old named girl of Ndola.

He is further alleged to have, between the dates of May 28 and June 3 2007, unlawfully distributed obscene matter in form of a disc labelled ‘Bwaski 1’ to the same girl and that he is further on June 2, 2007 alleged to have assaulted her by burning her on the left buttock and hand with a cigarette lighter.

LET YOUR BODY DO THE TALKING

We all hunt for the perfect chat-up line, but in reality, our body gives away a great deal before we open our mouth. It is estimated that when you meet a stranger, their impression of you is based 55 per cent on your appearance and body language, 38 per cent on your style of speaking and a mere 7 per cent on what you actually say.

So what can we learn from the experts? There are a number of actions that signal “I like you” to another person. Adopting an open posture (no folded arms), and mirroring another’s posture help create a feeling of affinity. Most people are not conscious of being mirrored, but evaluate those who do it more favorably. And it is worth adopting stances that enhance your masculinity or femininity, such as placing hands in pockets with elbows out to enlarge the chest.

You could also indulge in a “gestural dance”, synchronising your gestures and body movements with those of the object of your desire, such as taking a sip of your drinks at the same time.

EXPERIENCE FEAR TOGETHER

A dramatic setting can kick-start your love life. Meeting a stranger when physiologically aroused increases the chance of having romantic feelings towards them.It’s all because of a strong connection between anxiety, arousal and attraction. In the “shaky bridge study” carried out by psychologists Arthur Aron and Don Dutton in the 1970s, men who met a woman on a high, rickety bridge found the encounter sexier and more romantic than those who met her on a low, stable one. A visit to the funfair works wonders too. Photos of members of the opposite sex were more attractive to people who had just got off a roller coaster, compared with those who were waiting to get on. And couples were more loved-up after watching a suspense-filled thriller than a calmer film. Why? No one is sure, but the adrenaline rush from the danger might be misattributed to the thrill of attraction. But beware: while someone attractive becomes more so in a tense setting, the unattractive appear even less appealing.

SHARE A JOKE

An experience that makes you laugh creates feelings of closeness between strangers. A classic example comes from experiments carried out by US psychologists Arthur Aron and Barbara Fraley, in which strangers cooperated on playful activities such as learning dance steps, but with one partner wearing a blindfold and the other holding a drinking straw in their mouth to distort speech. Sounds stupid, but love and laughter really did go together.

GET THE SOUNDTRACK RIGHT

It is thought that Shakespeare suggested that music is the food of love. Well, rock music, at least. Women evaluating photos of men rated them more attractive while listening to soft-rock music, compared with avant-garde jazz or no music at all.

USE LOVE POTIONS?

Can you short-cut all the hard work of relationship-building by artificial means? People have been trying to crack this one for thousands of years. A nasal spray containing the hormone oxytocin can make people trust you – an important part of any relationship – though there’s no evidence yet to suggest it can make someone fall in love. And while we wouldn’t suggest you try this at home, studies on prairie voles show that injecting the hormone vasopressin into the brain makes males bond strongly to females. Dopamine levels can also be increased legally by exercising. Another neurotransmitter, phenylethylamine (PEA), is tagged the “love molecule” because it induces feelings of excitement and apprehension. PEA is found in chocolate and it, too, is linked to the feel-good effects of exercise. Overall, a swift jog could be more conducive to love than anything you might find in a bottle.

GAZE INTO THEIR EYES

Any flirt knows that making eye contact is an emotionally loaded act. Now psychologists have shown just how powerful it can be. When pairs of strangers were asked to gaze into each other’s eyes, it was perhaps not surprising that their feelings of closeness and attraction rocketed compared with, say, gazing at each other’s hands. More surprising was that a couple in one such experiment ended up getting married. Neuroscientists have shed some light on what’s going on: meeting another person’s gaze lights up brain regions associated with rewards. The bottom line is that eye contact can work wonders, but make sure you get your technique right: if your gaze isn’t reciprocated, you risk coming across as a stalker.