MMD Youths in Chililabombwe has joined other party members that are calling for the expulsion of suspended Nationl Executive Committee Member Ms. Christine Moonga .

Chililabombwe MMD Youths today petitioned the party NEC to expel Ms. Moonga for alleged misconduct and lack of remorse during her suspension.

Chililabombwe Youth Chairperson Enock Kapalu said Ms Moonga had not shown remorse in her response to her suspension and had continued to show indiscipline and lack of respect for the party and Republican President, Levy Mwanawasa.

Ms Moonga, who was a party nominated NEC member, was last week suspended from the party after she issued a press statement accusing President Mwanawasa of practicing tribalism.

In a statement made available to ZANIS in Chililabombwe , Mr Kapalu said Ms Moonga should have channeled her concerns through the relevant party organs unlike issuing press statements as the act may influence people to rise against the President.

He pointed out that calling President Mwanawasa a tribalist might lead other people to rise against him and the rurling party.

The Youth leader alleged that Ms. Moonga is being used by people who want to put the name of the President into public ridicule .

“ In her response to the suspension, Ms Moonga did not show remorse hence our call for her to be expelled,’ he said.

Mr Kapalu urged all MMD members to respect the President and refrain from forcing him to discipline Finance Deputy Minister Jonas Shakafuswa as his case was being handled through proper channels.

He stressed Mr. Shakafuswa’s case is currently being handled by a committee under the Speaker of the National Assembly hence the resolve by the President not to intervene till the process was completed.

Gold and Copper deposits have been discovered in Kaputa District in the Northern Province.

The district also has rich deposits of uranium and other precious stones.

Kaputa Constituency Member of Parliament Mutale Nalumango confirmed the discovery to ZANIS in Lusaka today.

Mrs. Nalumango said the minerals were discovered following exploration expeditions by Geologists in the area.

She said she was cheered by the discovery and called upon investors to explore the mineral deposits in the area.

The lawmaker has called for the tarring of the Mununga/Kaputa road and the Mporokoso/Kaputa roads to enhance and accelerate development in the area.

She said this is because a good road network is vital to transportation of goods and services.

She also called on government to speed up connecting Kaputa district to the national electricity grid.

And Mrs. Nalumango says agricultural activities are booming in Kaputa district.

She cited banana plantations, rice fields and maize production being cultivated extensively in the area.

She said Kaputa has the potential to turn Northern Province into the ‘grain basket’ of the entire Northern Province because farmers there have taken agriculture very seriously.

Meanwhile, Senior Chief Chipepo of the Tonga people in Southern Province has urged government to devise an effective and efficient mechanism that will help the country adhere to international guidelines in the mining of uranium in an effort to protect the people of Zambia.

Chief Chipepo says government should take extra remedial measures that would guild prospecting Uranium Miners to be prospecting and mining Uranium with extra care in a bid to protect the local people from the effects of the uranium mineral.

He told ZANIS in an interview in Siavonga yesterday that there is need for the Zambian government to develop an effective and efficient framework before the commencement of the mining uranium in the country.

The traditional ruler’s concern comes in the wake of the confirmed presence of the high-grade Uranium mineral contents in some parts the Southern Province of Zambia.

Following the recent discovery of Uranium, there has been concerns that Zambia lacked capacity to control uranium mining in terms of storage, safety, security and transportation.

ALBIDON Mining-Zambia Limited has confirmed the presence of high-grade uranium mineralisation at its Njame east project near Chirundu.

When giving an update on the pre-feasibility studies early this year, Albidon Zambia stated that uranium resources at the Chirundu joint venture with African Energy Resources had increased by 25 percent to about 4,120 metric tonnes.

Albidon indicated that the first uranium production was expected by the end of 2009.

However, Mines and Minerals Development Minister Dr Kalombo Mwansa had in a related development warned that it was illegal to commence production in Zambia by prospective uranium miners as government was still developing guidelines in the mining of the mineral.

Dr Mwansa said the government had devised guidelines to regulate the mining of uranium in the country and the guidelines had been sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for scrutiny and guidance.

Albidon Mining has become the third company to discover uranium deposits after Equinox Minerals discovered uranium deposits at its Lumwana copper project in North Western Province and has since embarked on a Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS), whose outcome would decide the way forward.

The other company is Omega Corp Limited, whose uranium exploration operations in the Siavonga area have reached advanced stages, with company managing director Mathew Yates stating that metallurgical discoveries had resulted in new areas of uranium mineralisation at its Kariba Uranium Project (KUP).

THE MMD leadership in Southern Province has joined other party members in condemning suspended party National Committee Executive member Christine Moonga for accusing President Mwanawasa of practicing tribalism.

Southern Province MMD chairman Solomon Muzyamba says MMD in the province strongly condemns the utterances of Ms Moonga.

Mr Muzyamba has since cautioned MMD members in Southern Province against indiscipline.

He was speaking in Livingstone today at the official residence of Southern Province minister Danniel Munkombwe.

Mr Muzyamba said it was unfortunate that Ms Moonga stood out personally to scandalise the President and called him a tribalist when President Mwanawasa was a hardworking, lovable and competent leader.

He noted that Ms Moonga had been a nominated member of MMD for only four weeks and wondered why she should embark on scandalising the President.

On Tuesday, Ms Moonga was suspended as NEC member and given 10 days in which to exculpate herself for accusing President Mwanawasa of practicing tribalism.

Government have came to the rescue of a 65 year old woman who had been abandoned at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) by her relatives for four years.

Ms. Matron Nonde who had both legs amputated in November last year has been taken to Cheshire Divine Providence Home in Chawama Compound.

Community development and Social Services Minister , Catherine Namugala said she was compelled to assist Nonde after learning that she has been abandoned by relatives

The Minister appealed to Zambians to show love and care towards their loved ones when misfortunes such as Nonde’s befall them.

Ms. Namungala said it is inhuman and not African to abandon a relative when they are injured.

She said everybody is vulnerable to disability and stressed that people should not neglect there relatives at such a time.

The Minister thanked hospital authorities for looking after Matron for so many years and urged them to continue in their quest to provide quality health care.

And UTH Public Relations Manager, Pauline Mbangweta said Matron can only lie in bed as sitting for a long time proves to be a challenge for her.

She explained that the nature of her injuries make it difficult for other authorities to look after her hence her prolonged stay in UTH.

Ms. Mbangweta said that two years ago Matron’s relatives were identified but they only visited her once after which they never went back to the hospital.

And Matron thanked government for taking her to the home and she expressed gratitude to UTH for looking after her all these years…

About K200 million 2007 Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in Chavuma district in Northwestern province is still lying idle in the bank.

Chavuma District Commissioner, Frobisher Fulayi, and Council Secretary Bryson Kanchingu confirmed the development to North western Province minister Kenneth Chipungu when he visited the district recently.

Mr. Fulayi said CDF for Chavuma has not yet been utilised because the ministry of Local Government and Housing has not yet approved the committee to administer the funds.

He said applications for projects from various groups have received and approved but authorities could not release the CDF because of the delay in approving of committee members.

Meanwhile, Mr. Fulayi disclosed that 21 schools and several teachers’ houses that were made out of mud and pole structures in Chavuma district collapsed during heavy rains this season.

And Mr. Chipungu said it was unfortunate that the CDF for last year for Chavuma has remained unutilised when there were many projects that required funding in the area.

Mr. Chipungu said there was no need to politicise the CDF because it was meant for development and uplifting living standard of people in a particular constituency.

The Lusaka City Council (LCC) has suspended Lusaka Mayor Stephen Chilatu as ward councilor for six months following his earlier suspension as Lusaka mayor by a full council meeting.

The suspension follows findings by the councilors committee that have revealed a number of irregularities in the manner Mr. Chilatu had earlier obtained a house in Ibex Hill Lusaka and the use of his official vehicle

The suspension was announced yesterday during a Lusaka Council District Development Committee meeting.

LCC public relations manager Chanda Makanta told ZANIS in Lusaka today that the suspension of Mr. Chilatu as a ward councilor entails that he will not perform his mayoral duties with effect from the date of suspension.

Mrs. Makanta added that the councilors will decide the Mayors fate after he has saved his suspension for six months.

And the LCC has given illegal car washing service providers up to Tuesday next week to stop their activity or risk being arrested and their equipment confiscated.

Mrs. Makanta said the council was concerned about the mushrooming of illegal car washing businesses which do not pay the necessary levies to the council and lacked other requirements such as proper drainage systems.

Mrs. Makanta has however attributed the increase in the car cleaning service providers to the increase in the number of vehicles in the city.

She said LCC will only allow registered cleaners with the registrar of companies to operate in order to cerate sanity in the city and collect the much needed revenue from the service providers.

Mrs. Makanta said those found wanting will also be charged with a fine of 450, 000 kwacha.

Meanwhile the LCC public relations manager has described as unfortunate the sweeping of dirt from the roads into the drainage system by performance contractors that are contracted to sweep roads in the city.

She however revealed that the LCC has since reprimanded some contractors to ensure they sensitize their workers.

And Mrs. Makanta has disclosed that construction works on the three modern markets in the city are expected to be completed by next month before the official hand over by the European Union who funded the project.

She attributed the delay in completing the construction works on Soweto, Chilenje and Chelston market to the current cement shortages and heavy rains that the country recently experienced.

African Union observer mission head, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah met President Robert Mugabe at State House on Thursday to discuss various issues concerning Zimbabwe’s 29 March harmonized elections.

Speaking to journalists soon after the meeting, Kebbah said President Mugabe had expressed satisfaction with the way the polls were conducted.

” President Mugabe was relaxed during the meeting,” said Kebbah, who is also the former President of Sierra Leone.

” He is of the view that the country would resolve any of its problems amicably,” he said, adding President Mugabe also expressed hope that the remaining results of Saturday’s harmonized polls would be announced soon.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has to-date announced full results for the lower house of parliament with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) winning 99 seats against 97 of Zanu-PF.

The Arthur Mutambara MDC faction got 10 seats while a single seat went to an independent candidate.

This is the first time that the ruling Zanu PF party has lost the majority in Parliament since independence in 1980.

Kebbah said he had also met MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who like President Mugabe, had also said the elections were free and fair.

” Tsvangirai said he will accept the results,” he said. He even spoke highly about President Mugabe, saying the president has offered a lot to Zimbabwe.”

President Mugabe, Tsvangirai, Simba Makoni, a former Zanu PF member and independent candidate Langton Towungana contested in the presidential election.

Tsvangirai’s party has already released its own results which indicate that he won 50, 3 percent of the vote against President Mugabe’s 43, 8 percent.

ZEC has deplored the move by the MDC to release its own results while it was still verifying and collecting results for the presidential election from all the 10 provinces.

Meanwhile, the African Union has commended the way Zimbabwe held its harmonized elections.

” Everyone involved in the polls was disciplined and professional. The elections were very orderly,” said Kebbah, who was due to leave the country on Thursday.

He said Zimbabwe is one of the few countries in the world that continues to uphold democracy by holding elections regularly.

Kebbah, however, castigated the international media for the biased coverage of Zimbabwe elections, saying a number of their reports were false.

The foreign press, particularly from Western countries, has been hostile to President Mugabe and the government since implementation of land reforms in 2000.