Government has reiterated that it will not listen to arm chair critics, but go ahead with the National Constitution Conference in order to make head way in the constitution making process.

Defence Minister, George Mpombo, said in Choma in Southern Province yesterday that
the nation can no longer afford to delay the constitution making process simply
because of critics who have no alternative to offer.

Mr Mpombo was speaking when he installed newly elected Choma Mayor, Geoffrey Makaya,
and his deputy, Tenson Hajongola.

He said government has embraced an open and democratic process in the constitution
making process which deserves support.

Mr Mpombo also urged leaders of some opposition political parties to be consistent
with their position on the NCC.

He said some of the leaders were not courageous enough to stand by their decision on
NCC and they easily gave in once criticized.

Mr Mpombo told councillors to support the NCC by selecting a councillor to represent
them.

 

Meanwhile, Defence Minister, George Mpombo has assured councils that are controlled
by opposition councillors that government will not discriminate against them in the
allocation of public resources.

Speaking in Choma yesterday when he installed Choma Mayor, Geoffrey Makaya, and his
deputy Tenson Hanjongola, Mr Mpombo said the fact that the local authority is in the
hands of the opposition UPND was immaterial to government.

He said government did not look at political affiliations when allocating resources
for development.

The Choma Municipal council has 27 councillors, out of whom 26 are  from UPND and
one from MMD.

The minister said the spirit of fighting on political lines at the expense of
development was long gone.

Mr Mpombo cautioned the councillors that the tendency of bringing politics into
council matters was very dangerous as it would hold back development.

He expressed happiness that the local authority had remained focused on development
despite being run by the opposition UPND.

Mr Mpombo appealed to chief officers to exhibit a high profile performance and avoid
running personal errands at the expense of council work.

Minister of Energy and Water Development, Kenneth Konga says a ship carrying Zambian crude oil has docked at the port of Dar es Salaam and that fuel will soon start flowing smoothly to filling stations.

Mr Konga was addressing a press briefing after a tour of the Copperbelt Province and Indeni Petroleum Refinery in Ndola yesterday.

He said the shortage was due to delays in finalising a letter of credit amounting to US$42 million that was due to the shipper supplying 60,000 metric tonnes of crude oil that would be offloaded and pumped through the Tanzania-Zambia (TAZAMA) Pipeline.

Mr Konga said Government was addressing the issue of credit with utmost urgency.

“The ship has docked in Dar es Salaam…that is evidence enough that the crude oil will come, so it is just addressing these issues of the letter of credit. Once that is done, the fuel will flow,” Mr Konga said.

He assured the nation that Government was making every effort to ensure the shortage of the commodity was cushioned off at the earliest possible time.

Indeni ran out of crude oil, prompting its closure and would be operational once the crude was offloaded.

Mr Konga also appealed to oil marketing companies (OMCs) to continue importing fuel to address the current shortage. “It is just some amendments to the letter of credit that has caused the delay,” he said.

He also urged the OMCs to work out ways of dealing with the problem.

Mr Konga observed during his tour of the Copperbelt that service stations belonging to BP Zambia and Kobil Oil had the supply of petrol but could not meet the demand.

Diesel is readily available.

With Total Fina, who has a 75 per cent market share on the Copperbelt, having little supply of petrol, the Minister said the oil marketing firm needs to get into an agreement with other OMCs on acquiring the commodity.

“I would like to urge Total to find ways of how they can collaborate with other organisations in dealing with fuel to ease the shortage.

“I also urge the OMCs to find a way of moving their stocks from Lusaka to the Copperbelt. There are enough stocks of fuel in Lusaka,” the minister said.

In Lusaka, KANGWA MULENGA reports that the fuel shortage being experienced in some parts of the country has now spread to Lusaka.

An on the spot check at most filling stations yesterday revealed that the commodity had run out.

Queues of vehicles formed at filling stations around the city. At BP filling stations at Arcades and Manda Hill Shopping Centre, several motorists waited for fuel for a long time but by press time the situation had normalised.

Fuel attendants said motorists were buying in bulk in anticipation that the shortage will get worse.

“I don’t think the fuel we have can last for the next few days because some motorists have started buying in bulk. Some fuel is being kept for account holders only,” said one fuel attendant at BP Manda Hill.

Other service stations which had motorists waiting to access fuel were Engen and Total on the Great East Road.

Ministry of Energy and Water Development Permanent Secretary, Buleti Nsemukila warned fuel dealers to desist from hoarding the commodity as they anticipate a shortfall in supply.

Dr Nsemukila said in an interview yesterday that Government had meetings with OMC officials who have since assured the ministry of the availability of the commodity.

He said there was no need for panic buying because Government has put in place measures to ensure fuel was available.

The OMC’s had continued to import the commodity from South Africa and Mozambique to caution the shortage.

Dr Nsemukila also disclosed that yesterday two trains with fuel left Livingstone for Ndola.

“As government we have intervened, and I can confirm that two trains with fuel being imported from South Africa today (yesterday) left Livingstone for Ndola.

So, these are some of the measures we have put in place to control the situation,” he said.

A pressure group in Kafue supporting the Oasis Forum has vowed that it will not participate in the National Construction Conference (NCC) because  the whole process is not democratic and is a share waste of resources and time.

Group leaer, Clement Katongo, said that even those who are re-joining the NCC are
doing so because  they are just after  huge allowances which the government has
promised to give them. 

He said whatever document the NCC will come up with, it will be subjected to
criticism and may not stand the test of time.

Mr. Katongo charged that the whole process has been hijacked by politicians  who
have already manipulated for their own benefits and not for the nation. 

He said if the politicians were interested in the constitution making process they
should have consulted all stakeholders before passing the act.

Mr. Katongo said that the Oasis Forum had all the answers to the constitution making
process rather than the politicians who are deliberately delaying the process for
their personal interests.

He said the representation of the civil society was not much as compared to that of
government which at the end of the day will influence the outcome of the process.

Dear sissy,

How are you and the family? I am well and love being here at Havard university. Who would have thought a boy from Kalingalinga would land at Havard! I miss my wife and kids though. As you you know I left Mary 7 months pregnant. Please check on her once in a while for me. She isn’t so impressed that I won’t be there when the baby is born and will only get to see the baby when he/she is 3 years old. Its a tough choice I had to make but I think my getting a pHD will eventually pay off.

Okey my little sissy take care and greeting to my brother-in -law and the kids.

Yours Max

Dear Max,

It was nice hearing from you and that you are fine. Indeed,we as a family are proud of your academic achievements. However, you should know that your in laws are very upset that you left Mary heavily pregnant with two other kids to look after. I did go to see her. I think you can tell she is depressed. She feels you value your education more than your family.

Max I sometimes tend to side with her too. You have hardly spent time with your wife and kids the last 2 years. You just came back from the U.K where you were doing your masters. Your family still stay in a small, dilapidated rented flat in Rhodes Park. Max juniour calls you uncle Max instead of Daddy because he’s only spent 1 full year with you out of his 3 years of existence. Now you are talking of coming back to Zambia after 3 years! Your children will not know you. I hope you will at least be coming for holidays.

Anyway. I hope your pHD brings you much happiness. Sorry for being harsh.You know I love you but sometimes your little sissy has to tell it as it is.Your kids are paying a huge price for your pursuit of a better life. Take care.

love Beauty

The MMD in Eastern Province has with immediat effect lifted the suspension of Chipata Mayor-elect, Sinoya Mwale and his deputy, Wilson Tembo.

Regional Party Executive Committee (PEC) chairperson Lameck Mangani, said the party resolved to lift the suspension of the two, following their being apologetic to the
remarks made against the party and its leadership.

During deliberations of the meeting held in Chipata yesterday, Mr. Mangani said the
situation had improved after a Tobacco company which is owed money by the two civic
leaders, assured that they had shown commitment to settle the debt.

He said after the election of the mayor and his deputy, there was some reaction from
members of the general public who felt that something was not being done well by the
party.

Mr. Mangani said the party’s involvement into the two civic leaders’ debt with
Alliance One, the tobacco company, was merely to serve itself from embarrassment and
not forcing them to pay back as indicated in some sections.

” As PEC chairperson, I confirmed with the company that the issue of debt was being
serviced by the two people and that they had shown commitment, ” he said, adding
that, what the MMD wanted was harmony between the two civic leaders and the company.

And Chipata Mayor-elect, Sinoya Mwale, said he had apologized to whoever was
affected by his remarks and urged fellow councillors to work in harmony to deliver
to the public, adding that, the party should remain united and work as one family.

His deputy, Wilson Tembo, said he would not repeat what he did, adding that, a text
message he set to the Provincial chairperson was not intentional but was done out of
pressure.

When welcoming them back, Mr. Mangani said the MMD was a family and it was not
expected that everything could be going on smoothly every time.

” The two are founder members of the party and we have discussed that we should
bury the differences and move forward,” he said.

He also warned party members to pay homage to the party, adding that, the utterances
made by the Mayor and his deputy were too harsh to go un noticed.

Mr. Mwale, who is Kapata ward councilor in Chipata Central constituency and Mr,
Tembo, councilor for Chipangali ward in Chipangali constituency, were suspended for
six months from the party with effect from September 23 this year and told not to
hold any party functions.
 

The Foundation for Democratic Process (FODEP) has called on government to come-up with measures that would help build consensus and dialogue in  adopting the new constitution.

FODEP President, Stanley M’hango says his organisation believes that consensus
building through dialogue is critical for the nation to arrive at a new constitution that will answer the aspirations of the Zambian people.

Mr M’hango says government should expeditiously make practical steps towards
building a broad consensus on the critical issues raised by stakeholders so that the
National Constitution Conference (NCC) can deliver a constitution that will stand
the test of time and meet the expectations of the Zambian people.

This is contained in a statement issued to ZANIS  in Lusaka today.

Mr M’hango said his organisation has been following with keen interest the recent
developments on the constitution making process regarding the NCC.

He said  with the recent developments on the NCC, FODEP has decided to engage other
stakeholders through constructive dialogue either within or outside the NCC in order
to enhance the coming-up of the constitution that will be widely accepted and owned
by all citizens.