The death toll in last Sunday’s road accident involving a heavy truck and Rosa Bus which occurred at Luanshya turn-off area on the Ndola/Kitwe Road has risen to four.

The accident happened when the Rosa bus being driven along Ndola/ Kitwe dual carriageway from east to west hit into a truck which had cut in front from north to south direction by joining Ndola Luanshya Road.

Copperbelt Police Commanding Officer Sharon Zulu has disclosed that two more people who were hospitalised after the accident have died.

Ms. Zulu identified the deceased as 37-year old Masauso Tembo of Bulangililo in Kitwe who was driving the Rosa bus and 40 year old passenger Gideon Banda who died at Roan General Hospital where they were admitted.

She also identified the first two victims who died on the spot as Mervis Kalengo aged 53 and Sylvia Nalengo aged 48 both of House No .01 Luangwa Road in Mindolo, Kitwe.

Ms. Zulu said the Renault Truck driver Boston Chinyama of Kopaland in Lubuto, Ndola is on the run.

“Follow up report on fatal road traffic accident which happened on 24/07/22 at about 17.50 hours along Ndola-Kitwe Duo Carriage way at Luanshya inlet turn off.Be informed that the Renault truck driver has been identified as male Boston Chinyama of Kopaland Lubuto Ndola. However, he is still on the run, as for the two females deceased passengers ,the same have been identified as male Mervis Kalengo aged 53 and female Sylvia Nalengo aged 48 both of house No .01 Luangwa road Mindolo Kitwe,” Ms. Zulu.

“On a sad note ,the driver of the Rosa bus male Tembo Masauso and a passenger male Gideon Banda age 40 died on 24/07/22 around 21.00 hours at Roan General Hospital where they were admitted. This brings the total number of people who have died from the Rosa bus to four (4 ),” she said.

“Fatal road traffic accident on reported at Luanshya police station on 24/07/22, The incidence occurred on 24 July 2021 at around 1750 along Ndola -Kitwe dual carriage way at Inn -Let- Turn Off, Involved was Renault Truck Reg No.AJE 750 which had a damaged rear diff , being driven by unknown driver who abandoned the truck after the accident. Also involved was a Mitsubishi Rosa bus Reg Not.AAZ 8988 which was extensively damaged on the front part and it was being driven by Male Masauso Tembo age 37 of H/no 1316B Bulangililo, Kitwe,” she said.

“The accident happened when the Mistubish Rosa bus was being driven along Ndola Kitwe dual carriageway from east to west direction in the process it hit into Renault truck which had cut in front from north to south direction by joining Ndola Luanshya Road.”

Zambia Police Spokesperson Rae Hamoonga says a Direct Deposit System has been introduced with each Police Station having a particular code attached to a specific commercial bank to facilitate for the smooth operations of the fingerprint scanning process for newly recruited teachers.

He said that in trying to run away from the issues of corruption and contain it, the direct deposit was introduced where one doesn’t need to physically take money at a Police Station but rather pays at a commercial bank using a code for a specific police station which later issues a receipt and have the fingerprints lifted.

“What happens is that when you go there and deposit your money at the bank and then the Police station will receipt for that money, so there is no issue of you bringing money to the Police station,” he said

He cited that this directive was given by the Inspector general of Police to have people submit their fingerprints at a particular Police Station because of the numbers as having all the 30,000 plus teachers going to Police Headquarters will overwhelm the officers who won’t be able to process the forms.

Mr Hamoonga explained that the procedure is for people to have their fingerprints lifted at the Police station within their vicinity, leave the forms there, and the Police will carry the forms and take them to Lusaka Police Force Headquarter.

“Yes, they could be cases where Officers are referring people to come to Police Headquarters but we are saying is let them not trouble themselves to come to Police Headquarters to bring the fingerprints which should be left at the police station,” he said

He added that all the officers handling the process of fingerprints are trained and specialized because for somebody to process a fingerprint form and issue a clearance, one must be a trained and all the officers that are doing this job at Police Headquarters were trained abroad.

“We don’t want to have a situation where people who are not supposed to be doing the work of clearing the fingerprints are now involved in receiving fingerprints at the Headquarters,” he said

Mr Hamoonga stated that the Police have upscaled their operations where officers are now working in both day and night shifts to ensure that the fingerprints forms are cleared because one cannot work in government without undergoing this clearance which confirms that a person has no criminal record.

He noted that people need to understand that the process of giving someone a clearance for employment is actually almost a manual thing because with the system being used, the officers need to ensure that they compare whatever they have gotten out there with the central fingerprints bureau.

“We however want total cooperation for us to progress very well, like I said we don’t want all the people coming to Lusaka, already there is COVID-19 so this can endanger the lives of the people that are supposed to be cleared, that’s why we want to ensure that people submit these forms through the various Police stations then file into the central location where we are supposed to clear these forms from,” he said

Mr Hamoonga has also clarified on the issue of express fee stating that there is no express fee attached to this process, when one pays K84 through the bank, all they need to do is to go back to the Police station with their deposit slip where they will be issued with a government receipt for K84 for the procession of the finger print.

“We have heard insinuator that some people are being swindled of their money by making them pay an express fee, so we are saying there is no express facility attached to this process, it’s just a normal process where you pay K84, submit your form and the form will be brought to Police Headquarters, processed then taken back to the Police where you had your fingerprint lifted from,” he explained

He added that the Police have kept on giving guidance, after realizing that there is some sort of panic by some people who have heard that the issuing of letters will start by next week this has made them panic, thus coming to the Headquarters.
Mr Hamoonga highlighted this when he made an appearance on ZNBC TV2 Morning Live Breakfast Show.

The Free Press Initiative (FPI) Founder Joan Chirwa cites the importance of bringing on board Citizen Journalists that are running online media platforms and publish news to undergo a training in media ethics.

Ms Chirwa noted that with the growing presence of digital platforms right now, it is necessary for people who might be interested in carrying out journalistic work but have not undergone formal training to be brought on board and assisted with knowledge that is critical to their operations as they are also in the business of disseminating information to the people.

“Lack of understanding of what guides the practice of journalism may become detrimental because an unethical practice of journalists is so bad such that it can actually cost people’s lives and damage people’s reputation,” she said

She added that educating people on the ethics that guide the practice of journalism will make it much easier to see some level of professionalism that everybody else expects from the media industry.

Ms Chirwa highlighted this in an interview with Lusaka Times during a two days journalism training in Media Ethics organised in collaboration with WAN-IFRA’s Media Freedom Committee held at Taj Pamodzi Hotel.

And Mthoniswa Banda a Media Consultant said that there is media literacy where society is learning how to interpret media sources, products and verify information that is shared in the media and the onus of online media is that if one lies or publishes a bad story citizens, readers, viewers and listeners have multiple sources where they can counter check to see whether the information is correct or not.

“If they find that the information you have been chaining out is not correct, you tend to lose value, clients, listeners and viewers,” he said

Mr Banda added that traditional and online media are the same and the only difference is the platform used to disseminate information, and online media should ensure that they do a good job in their service delivery.

“All the values of journalism still apply to online media, be truthful, factual, ethical and do a good story because failure to do this will make you lose credibility and sources,” he stated

The Men’s Network Katete Chapter has challenged parents to cultivate a culture that sees value in their children.

Chapter Chairperson, Rodwell Lungu said the psychological impact of seeing value in their children will trigger the children to develop value at a personal level.

Mr Lungu told ZANIS that children who feel valued by their parents develop enough tenacity and ambition to achieve their set goals.

“Parents need to see value in their children to help them achieve their goals in life. Parents should have a vision and a plan for them, not like a child was born as an accident. A lot of children are not supported by their parents,” he said.

Mr Lungu also emphasised the need for parents to change their mindset and perceptions toward hands-on vocational skills like plumbing.

He said vocational skills offer a wide range of opportunities and if well harnessed, they can create employment for the youth.

He said the skills sector offers lucrative opportunities that can mean economic emancipation for a lot of youths.

“I have seen a lot of children engaging in bad behaviour or vices because they are doing nothing, so parents should not just concentrate on white collar jobs, but take these children for skills training like carpentry, plumbing, and brick laying that will empower them,” he said.

President Hakainde Hichilema has called on Heads of Quasi government institutions to avoid extravagance in their expenditures and always put the interests of Zambians first as it is for them whom they are employed to serve.

President Hichilema said Quasi government institutions have an obligation to improve the lives of the Zambian people through the services they provide and has tasked the Heads to explore ways in which they can reduce unnecessary expenditure and channel funds to other areas that they could develop.”

He said this in Lusaka yesterday during the Special Meeting for Heads of Quasi Government institutions and Statutory bodies held in Lusaka under the theme: working together towards a common purpose.

“There is too much extravagance in government sectors. please ensure to be cost effective and stop placing value on material things. you can drive that car that you found. you don’t need to buy a new GX, ” he said

Some of the expenses incurred in the institutions could be avoided and funds channeled to other areas of priority such as investment in infrastructure development that could help the country generate extra income.

“When you go back to your stations, go and look at ways in which costs can be saved from expenses and the money channeled to other sectors that will help the country generate revenue instead of investing in consumption. be conscious to ensure that in your interactions you create jobs for the people of Zambia, ” he said.

The Head of State sighted the construction of the Kazungula one stop border post as one of the infrastructural developments that are generating income for the country adding that the infrastructure could be replicated to other boarders, such as the Mpulungu Harbour, which he said is in a bad state.

He further urged the Heads of institutions to ensure that they create an enabling environment for the private sector and job creation so as to contribute to the reduction of poverty in the country.

President Hichilema suggested that rules governing service delivery should be moderated for quicker service delivery in areas like land titling, tender procedures and issuance of operating licenses to help create an enabling environment for the private sector to grow.

“ Tender procedure rules can be amended to make the process faster and more effective. take a look at the tender rules and see how they can be amended to open business to other Zambians, ” he added.

Meanwhile Zambia National Commercial Bank ZANACO Chief Executive Officer Mukwandi Chibesakunda said the meeting is a very welcome idea as it helps to create an environment for ease of doing business, no corruption and valuable service delivery.

Ms. Mukwandi disclosed that ZANACO has identified some solutions that will demonstrate their commitment to improve the lives of Zambians in response to the President’s call, especially in the mortgage space.

“First of all I would like to congratulate our president for having come up with this idea of meeting various stakeholders. we have been informed that this the 4th session that has been held, which is for the Quasi government institutions and the whole idea is to come together and meet at an intersection to ensure that we deliver a Zambia that has the proper ease of doing business, no corruption and be able to deliver in an agile way” she said.

According to the Republican President on his Twitter , the aim of yesterday’s meeting with heads of department and statutory bodies and parastatals is to remove barriers that hinder business, among others.

“Our goal is to quickly break down barriers that make it difficult for our citizens to do business. For example, it doesn’t make sense to have tender requirements that disadvantage our citizens, who are trying to create jobs, “ says Mr Hichilema on his Twitter.

The business community in Ndola has advised the Ndola City Council (NCC) to introduce quarterly payment of license fees as opposed to the annual payments which they say quiet costly on the their businesses.

Chief Steak House proprietor Wellington Malindi says there is need for the local authority to consider introducing quarterly statutory payments to reduce on pressure that businesses under go in settling annual payments.

Speaking during a business networking meeting organized by The Chief Steak House in Ndola, Mr Malindi said the local authority should support all businesses in the City by addressing the challenges surrounding payment of fees.

While coming the hospitality industry ‘s resumption after the COVID 19 restrictions, he however explained that the industry would meaningfully contribute to creating the needed revenue if the council came up with quarterly payments of license fees thereby keeping the business running.

“ Paying annual fees is one of the major challenges that come along with running businesses but we have to pay all by the end of the year. This is not good as this is too much,” he said.

Mr. Malindi said for the business men and women to raise enough money to be able to pay for all the licenses, they need consideration from the council such as allowing them to pay in instalments and allow them to generate funds.

He said business networking is meant to help the business community collectively address common challenges and find solutions which complement their businesses to grow.

Currently business entities are expected to pay annual fees such as fire prevention, trading, health permits among others which the business community is proposing that council to considers revising into quarterly payments.

And Ndola Mayor Jones Kalyati has assured the business community that his office will support them adding that the council is working on slashing off some of the arrears owed to the council by the business community in form of rates.

Mr. Kalyati has urged them to engage the council and see how best they could improve trading sector in the district.

He said the council had embarked on a pilot project to establish a one stop shop where licenses will be given at one place unlike the current situation where licenses are being issued in different places.

Under the Trading Licence CAP 393 of the laws of Zambia , the local authorities are by law regulators of all forms of licenses.