Government says tender procedures were followed in the procurement of crude oil and has dismissed media reports implicating the State of corruption as unfounded.

Acting Chief Government Spokesperson George Mpombo also described the media reports as a political move aimed at undermining Government operations.

Mr Mpombo says Government requested Total Outre-mer to supply both the July and
August 2007 crude feedstock cargo to allow the State make procurement arrangements
for the month of September 2007.

He indicated that in August, Total Outre-mer declined to supply the commodity for
Indeni until the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) made an adjustment forcing Government to reject the offer and opted to bring in cargo by itself to avoid a fuel crisis in the country.

Mr. Mpombo, who is also Defence Minister was speaking at a press briefing in Lusaka
today.

And Mr. Mpombo says President Levy Mwanawasa enjoys executive Constitutional powers to intervene when need arises to avoid the country being plunged into a serious
disaster.

He announced that Government through the Ministry of Energy and Water Development has requested the Zambia National Tender Board to invite open tenders for the supply of 1,440,000 metric tonnes of crude feedstock. He said the tenders opened on Oct 5 and will close on November 16 to supply on a much longer period of time effective January 2008.

And Mr. Mpombo has lashed out at Transparency International Zambia for undermining Government saying the data it collects is misleading and aimed at wooing support.

MMD National Secretary Katele Kalumba has directed the party to commence  party elections with branch Executive Committees .

Dr. Katele’s directive follows instructions he received from Party President Dr. Levy Mwanawasa to begin the process of leadership renewal through internal
democratic process.

He said in a statement to ZANIS  in Lusaka today that he has written to the Chairman
of Elections Mr. Mike Mulongoti who is also Information and Broadcasting Minister to
prepare clear guidelines for the conduct of elections at branch levels which will be
proceeded by constituency and district levels to be held next year.

The party National Secretary  has since lifted all suspensions and has further
directed provincial chairmen to communicate to all lower organs.

He said in an event that specific suspensions already in effect have not been fully
served, that a special case shall be made to his office through appropriate
channels.

Dr. Kalumba said a final decision shall be communicated to the affected organs after
study and consultations on each individual case.

‘In considering which case must be exceptional, executive committee must take into
account that the objective of this blanket lifting of suspension is to facilitate
competitive democracy with in our party,’ he said.

He said any indication that an appeal against lifting a suspension has the effect of
reducing competition for office will result in rejecting such an appeal.

Government says a provision for the dissolution of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) is a necessary sanction to ensure that delegates do their work within the confines of law.

Acting Chief Government spokesperson George Mpombo said it was proper that there is
a provision for dissolution of the NCC should its work degenerate into breach of
law.

Mr. Mpombo said the provision for the Republican President to dissolve an unruly NCC
is a necessary sanction to ensure that delegates conduct themselves property.

He said the provision is a security safeguard that would be used only when it
becomes absolutely necessary and unless the NCC chair is seen to be party to the
breach of the order.

He said it is at this stage that government would consult the chair and the
secretary before dissolution of the conference.

Mr. Mpombo said President Levy Mwanawasa meant acts likely to impede implementation
of the Act and governance that would constitute an offense.

” Those who express their right in a lawful manner need not fear because the
president has no intention of arresting nor threatening law abiding citizens for
stating their fears, concerns or wishes,” he said.

Mr. Mpombo told ZANIS in a press statement that government is concerned about
misinformation and ignorance being banded and exhibited by some political parties
and civil societies on the provisions of the NCC.

Mr. Mpombo, who is also Defence Minister, said people claiming that the NCC does not
provide a new constitution to replace the current one have not read the act.

He stated that Section 13 of the Act provided for the conference to consider and
deliberate the provisions of the report of the constitution and the draft
constitution.

The minister added that the Act provided that the entire draft shall be submitted to
a referendum if a decision to do so is made by the members.

He said it is surprising that the Patriotic Front (PF) party is calling for
proportional representation that equates political parties with church mother
bodies.

“The church mother bodies have been included on the NCC for the wisdom that the
participants can draw from them as non partisan people and not to represent their
church members,” he said.

He said a church mother body cannot claim mandate to speak for its flock on
contentious issues such as content of the constitution because its members belong to
different political parties that may represent them.

Unless it was the intention of the PF to leave out the church mother bodies that
were established less than ten years ago, Mr. Mpombo said there is no justification
to demand that only church bodies that had existed for ten years ago should qualify
 to send representatives.

Mr. Mpombo added that it is an insult on the intelligence of church leaders to
suggest that a church mother body that was established less than ten years ago will
be an appendage of the government.

He has since advised PF party to read National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders
104 if it want certain parts of the NCC Act amended.

Lands Minister, Bradford Machila, has disclosed that incidences of corruption in his ministry have reduced due to intervention measures put in place to curb the vice.

Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Kasama, Mr. Machila, however, said more work
needed to be done to completely root out the corrupt elements in his ministry.

Mr. Machila said he has managed to instill more discipline among workers in his
ministry resulting in the drop of corruption cases.

He warned that any officer found practising corruption would not be spared but dealt
with severely.

Mr. Machila noted that in the past, some ghost names of people were issued with
title deeds for land but that corrective measures have since been taken to redress
the situation.

The minister said he is determined to fight corruption head with the help of law
enforcement agencies to ensure that his ministry was corrupt-free.

He has since urged members of public to continue reporting corrupt activities in his
ministry so that the law could take its course against the culprits.

Meanwhile, Mr. Machila has advised councils countrywide to deal with all forms of
illegal land allocation in order to bring sanity to land management.

The minister said he was aware of rampant illegal land allocation in the country but
warned people involved in the vice that they would be prosecuted for their
irresponsible actions.

Mr. Machila further urged the local authorities to sensitize the public on the need
for them to develop their land as failure to do so would result in Government
repossessing their property.

Zambia has raised its 2007 economic growth forecast to seven percent or more from an initial six percent projection due to new investments in mining, agriculture, tourism and other sectors, a minister said on Tuesday.

Commerce and Trade Minister Felix Mutati said in an interview Zambia had in the nine months to September recorded about $1 billion in fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) into projects in the country’s copper and cobalt mines, agriculture, tourism and manufacturing sectors.

Mutati said other projects that would push gross domestic product to 7.0 percent or more were the construction of four new big hotels in Lusaka and the tourist resort city of Livingstone and a major housing project partly financed by the U.S government in the capital city.

“The level of investment has been tremendous and more than what we thought it would be. In this regard, we are going to hit 7.0 percent or even more in GDP (gross domestic product) growth this year,” Mutati told Reuters.

Indeni Oil Refinery has resumed production, managing director Gerald Gueglio said on Monday, after a prolonged shutdown which sparked fuel shortages as suppliers gave copper mines priority.

Last week Zambia started rationing fuel following a shortage caused by the closure of the sole oil refinery.

Indeni was shut on Sept. 1 but re-started preliminary production on Sunday with normal operations due to be resumed on Monday, officials said, following the pumping of crude oil from Dar-Es-Salaam by another state-owned firm, Tazama Pipeline.

“We have started pumping crude oil and even the refinery has started (preliminary) production. We pump an average of 2,000 tonnes of crude oil to Indeni per day,” Tazama’s managing director Largeman Muzelenga told Reuters. Tazama is set to supply Indeni with 60,000 tonnes of crude.

Ministry of Energy Permanent Secretary Buleti Nsemukila said last week that Tazama could not begin to pump the 60,000 tonnes crude oil imports following a misunderstanding with a banker over a $42 million letter of credit, but the issue had been resolved.

A senior ministry of energy official said on Monday that Zambia was still importing refined fuel from South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania to cushion the shortages following the closure of Indeni.

“The imports of fuel will continue until Indeni stabilizes its operations,” the official said.

Nsemukila said last week that the fuel shortage had not affected the copper and cobalt mines, Zambia’s main economic lifeblood, because oil marketing firms were giving mines preference for fuel deliveries.

Last week, a few service stations in the capital Lusaka were offering only 10 litres of fuel worth about $18 per vehicle while others completely ran out of petrol as motorists parked their cars and opted to go to work by public transport.

Nsemukila said the shortage had partly been caused by deliveries of fuel to the copper mines.

The Ugandan community in Zambia is happy with the warm relations existing between Zambia and Uganda.

Speaking during celebrations to mark the 45th, Independence Anniversary at the
Barclays Sports Complex yesterday, newly elected Chairman for the Ugandan Community
in Zambia, Fred Kagimu, said Zambia has been an all weather friend of Uganda.

“I would like on behalf of the Ugandans in Zambia, to commend the Zambian Government
and its people for the warm and cordial relations that have existed between the two
countries from pre-independence days”, Mr. Kagimu said.

“For most Ugandans living in Zambia, this has become like a second home to us, as we
have over the years studied, and in some cases even intermarried with the Zambians”,
he noted.

And speaking at the same occasion Managing Director of Madison Insurance, Rhoydie
Chisanga said Zambia appreciates common areas of cooperation that have existed
between the two countries since time immemorial.

Mr. Chisanga said Zambia stands ready to learn from success achieved by Uganda in
developing that country’s agriculture sector.

“Uganda has a rich and vibrant agricultural industry especially for cotton and
coffee, which is largely exported to both the European and Asian markets”, Mr.
Chisanga said.

And in a vote of thanks, a Legal Expert at the Common Market for Eastern and
Southern Africa, COMESA, Secretariat Stephen Karangizi said Zambia and Uganda have
many similarities and as such the need for stronger relations.

“Both Countries are land locked, are facing similar challenges, both were colonized
by the British, and the Universities of both countries has had students from Zambia
and Uganda study and emerge in various disciplines, this goes to show the strong
bond between the two countries”, he observed.

The Celebrations to mark the Uganda’s 45th independence anniversary whose theme was
dubbed “Living in Harmony Outside Uganda”,  attracted the attendance of Zambians,
Ugandans and many other nationalities.

Ugandan, which gained her independence on 9th October, 1962, had gone through
political instability in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s that led to a mass exodus
of its people, some of whom have lived and settled in Zambia.