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Zambezi District Education Board Secretary, Kenneth Solochi says academic excellence in school can only be thoroughly achieved through having trained teachers.
Speaking to Zambia News and Information Services at his office yesterday, Mr Solochi said the availability of trained teachers in school should be a number one priority as it leads to good performance.
He said the recruitment of over 30,000 teachers will add value to school performance.
Mr Solochi said the new dawn government should be commended for its commitment and continued support to improving the education system in Zambia.
He said Zambezi district is grateful to the government for deploying over 500 teachers to the district, a move he said will to staffing level and eventually leading to improved academic performance.
“With this big number coming to our schools, I do not expect to see classes without teachers. Worse is to hear learners complain of not having teachers because this is a big number that can cater for all our schools in the district,” Mr Solochi said.
He said the primary focus of the newly recruited teachers should be on knowing their principle accountabilities, adding that knowing their principle accountabilities is critical to improving academic performance in schools.
“Knowing our principal accountabilities as teachers should be our primary goal. We know why we are there and I don’t expect anyone to fail.
“No amount of excuses will be understood because the government has done its part, it is now up to you to prove yourself worth in terms of delivering to the learners,” Mr Solochi said.
He has since appealed to old teachers to embrace the new teachers and make them settle quickly and focus on key principles of delivering effective and efficient lessons to the learners.
“My appeal to the old teachers is that they should be accommodative to the new teachers. Most of them are young and they are just about to start life so mentor them so that they quickly settle in the teaching system,” Mr Solochi said.
Chief Justice Mumba Malila has noted that there are legal practitioners in the country who do not believe in the ideals of the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) and have opted to engage in corrupt practices which has contributed to the high poverty levels among citizens.
Chief Justice Malila said this is evidenced by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) where some lawyers have been mentioned.
He said that for as long as the conduct, character, and commitment of lawyers at any level, in eradicating corruption remains an issue, the corruption fight will remain elusive and citizens will be consigned to perpetual poverty.
Chief Justice Malila said it was not a secret that corruption induces inefficient economic performance in a country – any country for that matter.
He said that corruption inflates the cost of low-quality goods and services, hampers long term foreign and local investment, diminishes the ability of the Government to raise revenue and thereby leading to high taxes being imposed on fewer and fewer tax payers.
The Chief Justice was speaking when he officially opened the 9th Annual Law Conference at Avani Victoria Falls Resort in Livingstone yesterday.
“It is an embarrassment to the legal profession, is it not, that there are some lawyers who do not take the ideals of this noble profession seriously and only think of ways of fleecing the country or their clients of their resources,” he said.
“Some lawyers, I grieve to say, will stop at nothing to satisfy their large appetite for material wealth, sometimes using incongruous ways to make money and more money, even if this means being accessories to crimes, especially those involving corruption. To put it crudely, some of your members, Mr. President, must work at addressing the deficit in them of good fiscal morals and professional ethics,” he said
Justice Malila said that the story of the corruption that animated past public dealings is no longer unfamiliar to any decent, well-meaning, good and reasonable citizen of this country who is of full age and competent understanding.
He charged that this debilitates the Government’s capacity to equitably provide essential public goods and services – especially for the majority poor.
The Chief Justice said that it was no exaggeration to state that all well-meaning, recent efforts in the battle against corruption, including the introduction of the Economic and Financial Crimes Court, are unlikely to record a high success rate if the majority of lawyers take an opposing stance or act as dispassionate onlookers over these initiatives.
“In fact, our lawyers wherever they are and in whatever they do, must be willing to work together in mutual respect and trust in the fight against corruption. We must all, as players and stakeholders in the legal system, share the same commitment if we are to succeed,” Justice Malila said.
He charged that lawyers should all strive to be themselves, persons of unimpeachable integrity and vision, who are ready, willing and able to provide moral, legal as well as technical leadership.
“Is it not a matter of serious regret that we see lawyers, in dramatically increasing numbers, standing up at forums away from the courts, not to fight corruption, but to root for corruption instead,” he said.
And outgoing LAZ president Abyud Shonga encourage members to live to the values that anchor their profession.
Mr Shonga said that currently, the association is collecting views in areas of the constitution that needs to be reviewed.
He challenged the practitioners to keep abreast with the new technology that changed the working culture in view of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Vice President Mutale Nalumango says the new dawn government is looking to realign the cooperative movement away from depending on state coffers.
Ms Nalumango said government was a cooperative movement that will not extend begging bowls.
The Vice President said the UPND Alliance administration will engage India to help build the capacity of and turn around cooperatives in the country.
Ms Nalumango said it is imperative that the cooperative movement in the country is helped to grow in order for it to play a significant role in Zambia’s economic transformation agenda.
She said there are vital lessons Zambia can learn from the progress India’s cooperative movement has made over the last 120 years in impacting the economy.
The Vice President was speaking after touring the US$ 5 billion Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) dairy cooperative plant.
Ms Nalumango said the Amul Cooperative society model is a clear cut framework that can help Zambia’s cooperative movement arise from slumber and effectively participate and contribute to the country’s economic development.
“your organization, the way you run things, we would like to tap into that, help us set up, we are not saying, we want cooperatives that will have the hand of government, we would like to follow this model” said Ms Nalumango.
Amul Managing Director Rupinder Sodhi explained that micro level participation of members is cardinal to the effective operation of a cooperative society.
Mr Signh said that every member of Amul is treated equal regardless of their shareholding status.
“The famers cooperative model is based on self-sufficient, business Enterprise, …and it has to be operated from bottom to up, You need very dedicated selfless farmers’ leadership…” Said Mr Sodhi.
He stressed that leadership and management styles of top to bottom are a recipe for cooperatives to fail.
The Amul Dairy cooperative was founded in 1946 to address and has over 18,000 farmers as members supplying the plant with milk used to make various dairy products.
University Zambia lecturer Sishuwa Sishuwa has donated to Kabwata orphanage the K30, 000.00 that was paid to him as damages for defamation by former Zambia’s ambassador to Ethiopia Emmanuel Mwamba.
“I pledged to donate all the money paid to me as damages by Emmanuel Mwamba for defamation. In the interest of transparency, I am happy to state that I have donated it to Kabwata orphanage in Lusaka. The orphanage is addressing real problems in Zambia and deserves our support”, Dr Sishuwa tweed.
“It is important to honour our word. As I said, the key thing for me was not the money, but the need to promote content-based discussion, to have civility and decency in our public exchanges, and to raise both the level and quality of public debate.
“Kabwata Orphanage has been doing vital work for the last 25 years. The organisation represents much that is good, wholesome, ethical, and moral. I thought of making a donation if only to assure them that their efforts are greatly appreciated not only by me but by many people. I also admire the integrity and efficiency with which they use resources to establish services and directly support the running of a successful orphanage and foster care program”, he wrote.
And in a letter to Kabwata orphanage director Angela Miyanda, Dr Sishuwa said the vital work that the orphanage has been doing reminds him of how he was raised.
“I admire your diligent efforts to improve the world around us by providing services such as education, shelter, health, nutrition, love, and security to orphaned and other vulnerable children in our community. The work that you do reminds me of how I was raised – through the generosity and kindness of other people – and is essential to helping the children reach their full potential in life”, he wrote in a letter dated 20 July 2022 shared on his twitter page.
“When I think of all the people you have helped already, and the vast number of people still in need, I feel not only deeply grateful for your vision, but also strongly compelled to help support your good cause. To this end, I am honoured to present your orphanage and transit centre with this monetary donation of ZMW30, 000.00.
“I hope the donation provides at least a small amount of assistance toward the continuation of your services.
“Thank you for all that you do.”
University Zambia lecturer Sishuwa Sishuwa with Godfrey Miyanda
In March 2021, Dr Sishuwa wrote an opinion piece in News Diggers on the then eroding democracy, lack of freedoms and potential for unrest after the elections titled, “Zambia may burn after the August election. Here is how to prevent this”. The article was republished a few days later in South Africa’s Mail & Guardiannewspaper.
In a response published on his Facebook page, ambassador Mwamba alleged that Dr Sishuwa’s piece was a “paid for opinion” and that he could “even guess who paid for that Op-Ed article in the Mail & Guardian”.
He also accused Dr Sishuwa of being a frustrated member of an unnamed political party or sympathiser of a certain political leader who was destined for defeat by the then ruling Patriotic Front in the August election.
In a letter to Mwamba dated 29 March 2021, Dr Sishuwa stated that neither he nor the Mail & Guardian received any payment for publishing the article. He requested the diplomat to retract his “defamatory and false” claims and apologise within 48 hours or face legal action.
Following the expiry of the ultimatum, Dr Sishuwa sued Mwamba for defamation on 20 April 2021. A week later, the former permanent representative to the African Union wrote to then Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja, asking him to charge and arrest the academic for sedition.
Mwamba stated that Dr Sishuwa’s criticism of the government “is dangerous as it can incite people to rise against it”. A conviction on sedition carries a minimum sentence of seven years in jail.
The threat of sedition charges against Dr Sishuwa caused local and international outrage.
Last month, Mwamba through a consent judgement with Dr Sishuwa that was endorsed by the Lusaka High Court, agreed to pay nominal damages in the sum of K30, 000 to the UNZA lecturer for defamation.
The former diplomat further undertook to pay K50, 000 to Dr Sishuwa’s lawyers, retract his defamatory article, and apologise to the UNZA academic on his Facebook page, Mwebantu, Smart Eagles, Ask Muvi Tv, and in both News Diggers and the Zambia Daily Mail newspapers.
“Should the Defendant fail, refuse or neglect to perform any of his obligations under this judgment within thirty (30) days from the date hereof, the Plaintiff shall be at liberty to enforce this judgement without further recourse to the court and may levy execution in respect of any sums payable by the Defendant under this judgment or any part thereof which may still be outstanding”, read the consent judgement dated 14 June 2022 signed by justice Ruth Chibbabbuka.
In the wake of the consent judgement, the academic publicly pledged to donate all the proceeds from the case to charity.
“It should never have come to this; all I ever wanted was a retraction and an apology for the false and defamatory statements that harmed my reputation. For me, it was never about money, all of which I will donate to a charity or orphanage of my choice”, Dr Sishuwa wrote on his Twitter page in June following the consent judgement.
“It was about raising the quality of public debate and promoting content-based discussion. I believe that those who welcome praise must also accept criticism, provided it is devoid of slander, libel or defamatory content. Having claimed and exercised my freedom of expression, I am only all too aware of the right of others to exercise the same free speech on any matter, including when commenting on my public commentaries. Being human, it is natural that we will have varying lines of thought.”
Some winners of the recently held My Home Town beauty pageant have spoken of the frustrations that have come with winning the pageant after the Drug Enforcement Commission froze their bank accounts.
Faith Mukonko and Dorcas Couvaris were the top winners and each walked away with US$150,000 and Mercedez Benz cars while others who emerged as runner ups received various amounts in US dollars.
Some of the ladies who spoke on condition of anonymity say they are now going through an agonizing period as they are unable to access even their own personal funds that have been tied up in their bank accounts as DEC investigates the Chairman Mr. James Ndambo.
They lament that the DEC investigations have taken too long and they feel that they are now paying a tough price for winning a competition organized by Mr. Ndambo’s My Home Town Initiative.
They also confirmed that none of the ladies who won vehicles at the pageant has been able to drive their vehicles due to the seizure by DEC.
“We have even failed to have a feel of the vehicles as DEC quickly moved in and grabbed them. It’s so traumatizing,” one of the ladies lamented.
This week, the Commission returned three of the seven vehicles it had seized from Mr. Ndambo following the conclusion of investigations into how they were purchased.
DEC Director General Mary Chirwa confirmed that the Commission had launched investigations into the activities of Mr. Ndambo and the My Home Town.
A source at DEC confirmed the vehicles were seized because the suppliers were closely linked to the PF administration.
“What happened is that we found that the Chairman’s activities here we clean and above board and we couldn’t pin in on anything but when we dug deeper we found that the vehicles were supplied by Phil Auto and Chiza (Sarago) and you know those two were close to the PF and so we suspected the monies and the cars could have been proceeds of crime,” the source said.
The source confirmed that now the investigations have moved to the two vehicle dealers to verify how the purchase of the vehicles was made.
President Hakainde Hichilema says access to low cost capital is critical for Africa to overcome most of the challenges it is currently facing and attain its full growth potential.
President Hichilema said Africa despite the huge resource endowment that the African continent has, most of the country are still faced with low incomes, high poverty levels, low levels of human development and low levels of private investments, which are limiting them from realizing their full potential.
“Despite our resource endowments, we are yet to realize our full potential. The national incomes for African countries have remained low in addition with inequality and poverty levels being among the highest in the world. Partly, this is because our continent is characterized by huge infrastructure deficits, low levels of human development and low levels of private investment. To address this unfortunate reality, Africa needs access to low cost capital” he said.
In a speech read on his behalf by Minister of Finance and National Planning, Situmbeko Musokotwane at the opening of the Ministerial meeting of the 5th ordinary session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Finance, Monetary Affairs, Economic Planning and Integration, the president added that the poor credit rating for African Countries is leading to high cost of borrowing and lack of access to sovereign bonds.
The Head of State affirmed that one way in which the continent can only attract low cost capital by ensuring that there’s a predictable, competitive and stable economic policy environment and has urged the delegates to come up with policy options and recommendations that will help Africa address the many challenges it is facing.
“I hope your committee will delve into these issues and propose concrete home-grown policy options and recommendations regarding access to capital, debt management challenges and the rising influence of sovereign credit rating agencies. Let me emphasize that this Meeting has been charged with a noble responsibility of deliberating on fundamental issues of development and integration for the Africa we want,” he added.
And speaking at the same event, Africa Union AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals Albert Muchanga says self-reliance is key for Africa to achieve its growth as envisioned in the Agenda 2065 and added that Africa needs to be innovative in coming up with policies that will help address the many challenges that the continent faces.
The 2022 CAF Awards held in Rabat, Morocco on Thursday night did not favour the Zambian duo that made the final honours shortlist.
Shepolopolo Zambia coach Bruce Mwape and midfielder Grace Chanda both returned to camp in Casablanca empty-handed from the awards gala held on the sidelines of the 2022 Women’s AFCON Morocco is staging from July 2-23.
Despite steering Zambia to the 2020 Olympics last July as Africa lone representatives in Tokyo, Bruce Mwape lost the CAF Women’s Coach of the Year award to incumbent Desiree Ellis of South Africa who also beat his side to the July 23 WAFCON final where Banyana will play host Morocco on July 23.
Interestingly, Mwape beat Ellis for third place at the 2021 COSAFA Cup last October that Shepolopolo won 4-3 on post-match penalties after a 1-1 draw.
And in the player category, Chanda lost the CAF Women’s Payer of the Year Award to another incumbent.
Nigerian striker Asisat Oshoala retained her accolade.
But Oshoala will not be in Friday’s third place playoff against Zambia in Casablanca after withdrawing from the 2022 WAFCON in the group stage due to injury.
She did not even score a goal in the WAFCON qualifiers after an injury plagued season that she highlighted in her award acceptance speech.
Furthermore, Oshoala also missed Nigeria’s 2022 WAFCON final round qualifier in February against Cote d’Ivoire in February due to injury.
President Hakainde Hichilema has called for the maximization of the Kafue River’s potential to generate power.
President Hichilema who today undertook a guided tour of the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydro Power plant in Chikankata district of Southern, said the Kafue basin’s natural endowment of water is one which must be utilised fully for the country.
“Before the Kafue River gets to the Zambezi River, we can generate more power, at least up to 2000 megawatts” he implored.
The President also commended Zambia and Chinese cooperation which has led to the completion of the hydro power plant.
President Hichilema further applauded the local community in Chikankata district for allowing their natural environment to be utilised for national good.
The Head of State said it was pleasing that the local people in the area have allowed the project of the hydro power plant to be erected in the Kafue basin for the benefit of electricity to the entire country.
And Minister of Energy Peter Kapala said the completion of the project is evidence that public private partnerships can deliver sustainable development.
Earlier ZESCO Managing Director, Victor Mapani said the company is committed to developing electricity production in the country
“Since the lenders stopped releasing funds to the project in 2019, ZESCO has released over 500 million to ensure expansion in the sector is sustained,” Mr Mapani said.
At the same event, two protocols of sanitary and phytosanitary requirements for the export of soya beans meal and stevia from Zambia to China were signed.
Minister of Agriculture Mutolo Phiri used the occasion to announce that the government will buy a minimum of 100 metric tonnes of maize and the price had been moved from K150 per bag to K180 per bag.
He also announced that the Government, through the food reserve Agency, will buy over 1500 metric tonnes of Soya Beans at K11 per kg.
The Minister assured the farmers in Southern province that the ministry will set up satellite points in local communities to ensure proximity to the farmer and that the signing of the soya beans export agreement between Zambia and China will increase production of the crop in the country.
Shepolopolo Zambia are plotting for a giant-killing finish to their 2022 Women’s AFCON campaign when they face record champions Nigeria in the battle for Bronze on Friday in Casablanca.
Zambia and Nigeria come into the match hurting following controversial semifinal losses to South Africa and Morocco with a questionable VAR call and two red cards respectively key talking points of their penultimate stage heartbreaks.
Shepolopolo coach Bruce Mwape said his is very eager to make a final statement that Zambia has arrived as an African women’s football giant to all those still in doubt of what they have seen so far in Morocco.
“Being the last game I still want to say that we want to finish on a good note,” Mwape said.
“We have come a long away and this being the last game we should go back home with at least a medal.”
Shepolopolo welcome back goalkeeper Hazel Nali who missed the South Africa game after she was sidelined with illness.
But Nali’s deputy Catherine Musonda is out with an abdominal injury she sustained against South Africa.
Meanwhile, Nigeria is unbeaten against Zambia in WAFCON, winning both their two group stage meetings by 6-0 at the 2014 tournament in Namibia and 4-0 in Ghana.
And so debut victory over their fellow 2023 FIFA World Cup finalists and record 11-time WAFCON winners will be as precious as the final.
Just how much energy Shepolopolo can summon from their earlier WAFCON unbeaten run against Cameroon, Tunisia, Togo and Senegal, fuelled by the hurt of the loss to South Africa, will be interesting to see.
“We are ready for this game we have prepared accordingly and we want to come out as winners,” Mwape said.
The government says it will soon announce the successful bidder awarded to work on the Ndola -Lusaka Road, and two major roads in Luanshya district.
The development follows the shortlisting of eligible applicants following an advertisement under the private public partnership
where the final bidder will soon be announced.
ZANIS reports that Copperbelt Province Minister Elisha Matambo says the Ndola-Lusaka Road works will be extended to Luanshya district which will see the Luanshya- Masangano and the Luanshya- Fisenge roads get a face left.
“ The road works will be implemented at a reasonable rate unlike the previous government that quoted the works at $1,3 billion, “ he said.
And in a related development, the Luanshya Municipal council will soon commence rehabilitating the infamous H-Figov road in the central business district at an estimated cost of K 4 million.
Luanshya mayor Charles Mulenga disclosed that the local authority has already secured K1.5 million from the ward development funds and will begin the rehabilitation works.
“ The rehabilitation works will also include the replacing and repairing of streetlights in the central business district which will come at a separate cost, “Mr. Mulenga said.
He assured Luanshya residents that the council will ensure that the road works were completed before the onset of the rains.
The local authority is upgrading roads and clearing drainages in Kamirenda township and other parts of the district that were flood prone during the last rainy season.
Mr. Mulenga said the initiative to clear roads and drainages before the onset of the rains was taken as a proactive approach to abet flooding of the roads and houses.
Acting Muchinga Province Health Director David Silweya has called on parents to be on the lookout for any signs and symptoms of polio in their children below the age of five .
Acting Muchinga Province Health Director David Silweya says the fact that Muchinga has not recorded any case so far , it should not make parents relax with measures that prevent polio virus in children.
Polio virus is typically spread in the faeces of an infected person and is picked through contaminated water and food and multiples in the intestine.
He said during the last polio vaccination exercises, the province received good community response from parents.
The Provincial Health Director (PHD) added that the overwhelming response that the sector got from the door -to -door strategy ,made it possible for the province to surpass its target in the exercise.
” If you compare it to COVID-19 vaccination, polio vaccination received good response in the province as parents in various communities brought their children eligible to be vaccinated ,” he said.
The 98 percent that was recorded during the vaccination exercise in the province can only be meaningful if parent adhere to the strict polio preventative measures such as practicing good hygiene and ensuring that their children are fully immunized against polio among others.
He said Muchinga Province is elated with the output and it’s cooperating partners that came on board to support the ministry.
Zambia was declared a polo virus risk country after the neighboring country Malawi recorded an outbreak of wild poliovirus type 1 since Africa was declared free of the indigenous world polio in August 2020.
Youths in Chililabombwe district on the Copperbelt have advised the new dawn government to put in place modalities that will compel corporate companies to only sell their goods and products at wholesale at Kasumbalesa boarder.
The youths are of the view that they should buy from wholesale companies in order for them to trade at retail prices at the boarder.
Mr Kornelia Lombe told ZANIS in an interview that trading at Kasumbalesa boarder is one source of livelihood for many young people in the district.
“Trading is one of the opportunities that we as young people are engaged in here in Chililabombwe. But if the big companies which include millers are doing trade right at the boarder, we will have nothing to do. As you know, jobs are hard to find,” she said.
She added that trading at the boarder is a main income generating activity which help many youths not to engage in illicit activities.
And Chililabombwe Mayor Lucky Sichone has observed that there is a need to engage the government to see how the locals can benefit fully by trading at Kasumbalesa.
The Chililabombwe Mayor said he shares the concerns of the traders and assured that the government will ensure that the cries of the youths in the district are addressed.
“It is only fair that those companies involved in manufacturing of goods sell their products to other businesses at wholesale price in order for the small businesses to sell those goods at retail prices. If a manufacture sells the goods up to the retail price, the others who are supposed to do that business are cut off which should not be the case,” he said.
Mr. Sichone assured the youths in the district that their concerns about how business is being done at the boarder will urgently be addressed.
Chipolopolo captain Enock Mwepu is looking forward to better fortunes at his English side Brighton ahead of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign.
Speaking to Brighton Media, Mwepu said he is fit and healthy after recovering from the injury that had sidelined him late last season.
The midfielder is targeting to be more consistent at Brighton.
Mwepu said:“I feel great now. So praying that this season I will be consistent, I will claim as many games as possible and help the team. That is my target.”
Brighton will kick off the new Premier League campaign with a tricky away match at Manchester United on August 7.
“I am really praying everyday that I stay fit and healthy so that I can participate more in the games,” Mwepu said.
Green Buffaloes Womens FC face eSwatini and Comoros opposition in their CAF Women’s Champions League qualifiers at next month’s COSAFA Zone playoffs to be held in South Africa.
The Zambian champions will face Young Buffaloes of eSwatini and Olympique Moroni from Comoros in the COSAFA Zone playoffs that will be held in Durban from August 7-13.
Buffaloes tumbled at the semifinal stage in the inaugural CAF Women’s Champions League qualifiers in 2021 where the eventual African Women’s club champions Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa beat them 1-0.
In the group stage, Buffaloes beat Tura Magic of Namibia 1-0 but lost 2-0 to COSAFA zone losing finalists Black Rhinos of Zimbabwe.
Buffaloes will kick off their campaign on August 7 against Young buffaloes and play Olympique de Moroni in their final Group B game on August 9.
The top two Group B finishers will progress to the semifinals on August 11 to face opponents from Group A where Sundowns have been drawn against Costa Do Sol of Mozambique and last season’s semifinalist Double Action of Botswana.
The winner will represent the COSAFA Zone at the CAF Women’s Champions League tournament at the end of this year.
Buffaloes, Double Action and hosts Sundowns are the only teams back for a second successive season while Zimbabwe did not send a club due to their current FIFA ban from international competition because of government interference in the FA’s affairs.
Ndola-based clergy Rev. Charles Ngoma has advised the over 30,000 teachers recently recruited by the Government to be dedicated to work as they go to their respective new schools.
Rev. Ngoma of the Reformed Church in Zambia (RCZ)– Masala Congregation said new teachers should be seen helping to improve the pass rate of learners in the education sector.
He said time for honey noon among the over 30, 000 teachers is over because serious business awaits them in schools.
Rev. Ngoma further saluted the Government for engaging the new teachers.
“I want to thank the Government of the day for the good job well done. The recruitment of 30 thousand teachers deserves to be commended. The recruitment of 30496 can be termed as a morale booster in the education sector that works well with the introduction of free education in schools. This is a commendable job; we really need to commend the New Dawn government of President Hakainde Hichilema. We need to support and work with the government of the day in implementing such huge tasks. This is the way to go for the government. It is important to note that the 50-50 gender policy is coming into reality as you can see almost 59% of the teachers recruited were female and the rest are male. This is good and it should be recommended,” Rev. Ngoma said.
“We want to wish the newly recruited and deployed teachers God’s blessings and to encourage them that they should go out and deliver to the well being of this country Zambia. So that we can have more teachers in future from their contribution. It is not a time to go for luxury but a time for work. It is time for serious business. Once they go to their respective stations, we want to encourage them to go and work and deliver to the best of their ability. We need our pupils to go back to the 100% pass rate as a nation,” he said.
Rev. Ngoma also encouraged the teachers left out in the ended recruitment programme not to give up.
“To those that have not been considered in the ended first phase recruitment programme, not all hope is lost. The scripture says ‘No matter how many years it will take, it shall surely come to pass’ and so I want to encourage you not to give up. Again when the government starts recruiting teachers let us apply so that we can be considered in the second phase,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rev. Ngoma said people are now looking forward to the publishing of names for the recruited 11,000 health workers.
He hoped that besides the planned 11,000 workers the Government could recruit more.
“We are now looking forward to seeing the names of recruited health workers from the Ministry of Health soon. I hope and trust and my hope is that we may also have additional health workers from the 11,000 just like we have seen from the teacher recruitment. My plea is that more names should be added to the 11,000 and so the health workers don’t panic. Don’t even think of killing yourself if you are not considered. Remember, there is still tomorrow, you can be considered. Never give up. God bless you,” Rev. Ngoma added.
