The Lusaka City council (LCC) has warned the MMD branch officials operating from Cha Cha Cha market to desist from collecting toilet fees on behalf of the local authority.

LCC Public Relations Officer, Henry Kapata told ZANIS in an interview that councils are the only institutions authorised to collect market levies and toilet fees in markets across the country.

He was responding to reports that the MMD branch officials in the market have taken over the running and collection of toilet fees at the Market alleging that LCC has failed to maintain sanity at the toilets despite collecting money.

Mr Kapata noted that the MMD branch officials should have first reported their grievances to the Market Manager who would have sought an audience with the LCC officials to resolve the matter.

“We appreciate the efforts by the MMD to clean the toilets but it is illegal for them to collect fees on behalf of the council because we haven’t given them consent” Mr Kapata said.

He said the branch officials should stop the exercise immediately as they are violating the law.

Mr Kapata said the council has since called for a meeting with market officials to see how best they can resolve the matter.

Meanwhile the LCC will in December this year start dragging illegal car washer dealers to court.

Mr Kapata noted that despite the council confiscating equipment from the dealers, they have continuously violated the law hence the council’s decision to start taking them to court.

He noted the mushrooming of illegal car washers have been a great source of concern to the council as they have brought about unnecessary filth to the city.

Mr Kapata said that people who are planning to set up car washes should first consult the planning department of the council so that they are advised accordingly.

“You just can’t come from no where and set up a car wash. There so many things one has to consider like the drainage system etc,” Mr Kapata said.

He said that the council has the responsibility to ensure that it maintains sanity in the city.

The opposition Patriotic Front (PF) has retained the Nchanga parliamentary constituency seat in an election marred by apathy.

PF candidate Wylbur Simuusa polled 8,201 votes while his closest rival Charles
Chimumbwa of the ruling MMD got 2,139.

All People’s Congress (APC) candidate Christopher Mwape came third with 587 votes
followed by United Party for National Development (UPND) candidate Alvin Simwinga
who polled 532 votes.

Independent candidate Ginetone Kachamba polled 110 votes with Forum for Democracy
and Development (FDD)’s Stanley Simukoko getting 103 votes.

United National Independence Party (UNIP) candidate Plyson Gondwe polled 78 votes
while another independent candidate Lillian Kaoma came out last with 47 votes.

Announcing the results at Chingola Civic Centre, Returning Officer George Lupani
said 149 ballot papers were rejected while two were disputed.

There was jubilation, characterized by honking and display of fireworks, among PF
cadres who waited for the results that were only announced after mid-night.

MMD Campaign Manager Gabriel Namulambe said it was difficult for his party to
concede defeat as some PF cadres allegedly conducted campaigns at polling centres
during voting in violation of the electoral rules.

He said a recount was necessary for the MMD to verify the actual results of the polls.

Meanwhile, PF’s winning candidate, Mr Simuusa called for cooperation from all
Chingola residents, including the losing candidates, if economic development was to
be achieved.

Mr Simuusa said developmental programmes cannot only be implemented by a candidate
from the ruling party as the constituency had access to resources such as
Constituency Development Funds (CDF).

And Anti Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) Executive Director Bonny Tembo expressed
concern at the poor turn out of voters at most polling stations.

Mr Tembo said there was need to declare election days a public holiday to ensure
more people participate in choosing their leaders.

He was however impressed with the turn-out from the youths compared to the mining
fraternity who are the majority of the voters.

According to a ZANIS survey, less than half of the registered votes cast their votes
in most polling districts such as Kabompo where 255 had voted as opposed to the 668
registered voters.

At Twashuka polling district, 112 people voted against 257 registered voters while
at Twasekelela 280 voted against the registered 742 voters.

meanwhile, the MMD has won the Lumbe ward by-election in Senanga, Western province.

MMD’s Leonard Malala polled 265 votes against his only opponent Muzinga Muyambuta of
the United Liberal Party, ULP, who got 57 votes.

Returning Officer Cecilia Wamulume confirmed the results to ZANIS in Senanga.

She said eight votes were rejected.

The Lumbe ward in Senanga Central constituency, fell vacant after the death of MMD’s
Mashekwa Mubika.

Voting in some parts of Nchanga Constituency on the Copperbelt Province started on a low note with some places like Mpezeni polling station recording 50 people out of 254 that cast their votes by 12:45 hours.

A check by Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) found people trickling in
slowly and some of the people talked to said the elections had come at a time when
they are busy in the fields.

At Chimfinsa polling station, 80 people had cast their votes after 1300 hours out of
the registered 264 voters while at Mbayi polling station, only 44 people cast their
votes by 13:30 hours.

Meanwhile, United Party for National Development (UPND) Copperbelt Province
Chairperson Joe Kalusa and 11 others were last night picked and detained by police
in Chingola.

Mr Kalusa said he was picked up at the civic centre where he was attending a
conflict management meeting where they reported a case of members from the ruling
party who were about to distribute mealie meal, chicken and cooking to the
electorate.

He said that he was at first charged with theft which he said he did not understand
and later it was changed to conduct likely to cause breach of peace adding that the
case will go to court and that he has already engaged a lawyer.

Mr Kalusa said he was worried that the eleven that have been detained are registered
voters who will not vote if they are not released. He said he has been denied an
opportunity to check on what is happening in the polling station.

However, the atmosphere in the constituency is calm as no reports of violence have
been reported.

The 21st century, we are told, will be China’s. Usually this is intended as a warning: if the world’s leading economies fail to respond to the Chinese “threat”, we will face a second-class future trailing in the wake of the People’s Republic.

This blinkered view gets us nowhere. China is a proud nation with a turbulent history, and it makes no secret of its superpower ambitions. It is certainly a fierce competitor for resources – witness the panic in the US about China’s thirst for oil, and what that means for fuel prices. But this vast and diverse country is already much more than a simple adversary. Without China’s supply of cheap manufactured goods, massive overseas investment and talented labour, the world’s economy would be in serious trouble.

In this age of globalisation, China is also a partner – which is why we should all be concerned about the challenges ahead. China faces immense social, political and environmental problems, and whatever is a problem for China is by definition a problem for everyone else too. Today in rich western countries, people worry about poisoned Chinese pet food and imported toys tainted with lead. Tomorrow, it could be a global climate meltdown driven by China’s exploding demand for energy.

China’s leaders are no fools. Most senior members of the central government were trained in that most practical of disciplines, engineering. They know that the nation’s present trajectory is unsustainable, both economically and environmentally. If China is to continue its remarkable development, it must transform itself from an exporter of cheap manufactured goods built to western blueprints into what its leaders call an “innovation nation” – able to sustain its growth through home-grown ingenuity. So they are pouring huge sums into science, particularly at the applied end of hot fields like nanotechnology and renewable energy. China’s spending on research and development has more than doubled in the past five years, and official plans call for a further rise – from 1.34 per cent of GDP in 2005 to 2.5 per cent by 2020.

If the plan bears fruit, some of the innovations that will be needed to solve global problems are likely to come from China. Already, top Chinese researchers and entrepreneurs trained abroad are returning to their homeland in unprecedented numbers. They are emphatic about one thing: wanting China to be able to stand with the US and other leading nations as an equal partner.

Can China really reinvent itself as a lean, green technological superpower? Will the rural poor get left behind as the urban middle class reaps the benefits of rapid economic growth? Or will the economic miracle falter or even collapse? And can the Communist Party maintain its grip on power through it all? Will it ultimately be an engine of reform, or an obstacle to change? Will China eventually embrace democracy as it is practised in the west? Or does conflict lie ahead?

new scientist