Gender Division Permanent Secretary Mainga Kabika has noted that despite all efforts of achieving gender equity and equality, participation of women in different sectors of the economy still demonstrates high levels of inequality.

Ms Kabika says this could be because of the gender policy issues that have been largely ignored in the formulation and distribution of national finance resources.

The PS said this in Lusaka today , when she officially opened the workshop on the orientation of line ministries on gender-responsive planning and budgeting which has been organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Ms Kabika noted that in 2017, public funding for gender mainstreaming activities was reduced from 45 percent to 24 in 2018.

She said this calls for self-introspection that requires strengthened approaches to implementation of policies and programs in order to make them more responsive while leaving no one behind.

UNFPA country representative Gift Malunga said the orientation meeting is aimed at creating linkages between policy making programs and budgeting to add value of gender responsive budgeting approaches to policy.

Ms Malunga stated that the meeting will also help to identify which tools can be used for specific budget analysis purposes and proposals to provide information for policy advocacy purposes.

Italian Ambassador to Zambia, Antonino Maggiore has expressed gratitude for the long-standing relationship that his country enjoys with the Zambian government.

Ambassador Maggiore notes that the warm relationship will be strengthened further with the visit of the Italian President, Sergio Mattarella in a weeks’ time.

Ambassador Maggiore said this at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport when he witnessed the arrival of 5,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines that his country donated to the Zambian government.

He has commended the government for attaining the 43 per cent of the population which has been vaccinated against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ambassador Maggiore pointed out that his country will continue to help Zambia in its fight against the pandemic and to ensure that more people get vaccinated.

Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary for Technical Services, Lackson Kasonka who received the vaccines on behalf of government thanked the Italian government for working with his government in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professor Kasonka says Italy has for a long time been assisting the Zambian government in the area of health and social services.

He said the provision of vaccines is the game changer in the campaign to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prof. Kasonka noted that through friendship with the international community the country has continued to receive the vaccines for the people to use in protecting themselves against the danger of COVID-19.

He appealed to Ambassador Maggiore to convey his gratitude on behalf of Zambians to the Italian government for the support given in the fight against COVID-19.

CHAMA North PF member of parliament Yotam Mtayachalo says it is difficult to fight corruption with weak institutions of governance.

In a statement, Mtayachalo said there was need to eradicate corruption, tribalism and nepotism in Zambia.

“Corruption, tribalism and nepotism are the biggest enemies facing Africa today including Zambia and unless such vices are eradicated, we shall not achieve much in terms of economic development. Further, I have heard politicians in the ruling parties pledging that there shall be no sacred cows in their fights against corruption, but I wonder how they can fight corruption with weak institutions of governance,’’ he said. ‘’And as such pronouncements are just a window dressing exercise in absence of effective state institutions of good governance which are truly autonomous. Therefore, the so-called fight against corruption shall not bear much fruits as long as politicians drive this agenda because the probability of biasness against their political foes is very high.”

Mtayachalo said it was unfortunate that some people are always investigated after leaving office.

“It is a fact that people are mostly investigated when they leave office, which is a clear indication that these law enforcement agencies are toothless bull dogs and dance to the tunes, to those who control the instruments of power. I’m looking forward to see a president who is genuinely committed in fight against corruption by putting in place state institutions of good governance which are truly autonomous, have teeth to bite and their heads have security of tenure, because currently power does not reside in the law enforcement agencies as the real power resides at State House,’’ Mtayachalo said. ‘’Therefore, these institutions merely dance to the tunes of the President and most often they target political opponents, overlooking the real corruption taking place in the public service and private establishment because presidents in Zambia and Africa as a whole have too much powers than state institutions.”

He said there was need for people to be investigated while in office.

Mtayachalo said it is not right to only pursue people after they have left even when the law backs investigators.

“Some Presidents in Africa have abused their powers by abrogating their constitutions with impunity but go scot-free until when probably they leave office, which in my view, undermines the fight against corruption and good governance. Unless if they can be investigated and prosecuted while holding office like the way it is civilised societies then we shall be moving in the right direction, but this can only be realised when we build strong and independent state institutions of good governance failure to which we shall continue to change governments frequently,’’ said Mtayachalo. ‘’But we shall be singing the same song even fifty years from now and we shall continue taking former presidents and former leaders to various courts of law which is costly and time consuming because white collar crimes are highly sophisticated. That’s why you will never hear the President of USA or UK just to mention but a few saying they will fight corruption because it is not their roles but it’s the role of institutions which our friends have built to do their job they were created while politicians preoccupy themselves in governing the country.”

President Hakainde Hichilema has been annoyed by insinuations from his critics suggesting that he is a puppet of foreign entities.

Democratic Party (DP) President Harry Kalaba and Socialist Party leader Fred M’membe are among people that have branded President Hichilema as a stooge of foreigners.

Mr. Kalaba once said that President Hichilema cares more about foreigners and the rich at the expense of majority poor Zambians that voted for him during the 2021 elections.

But President Hichilema has described as noise accusations that he loves foreign entities.

Speaking during the 2022 International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking held at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka on Tuesday, the Head of State said he was a puppet of Zambians.

“I am asking the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) to finalise in this respect the drug and substance control policy. Please finalise the policy, take into account international instruments which constitute the cornerstone of the international drug control system. Madam resident coordinator from the UN (United Nations) you could assist us, you could help us in that regard. On best practices but also working together on the steps that are required to conclude that piece of law. That will help us now to derive laws from regulations and domestic ethos. We cannot deny that we are a member of the UN,” President Hichilema said.

“I must say what I said yesterday (Monday) when we were swearing in and the UN aid colleagues visited us. The World Bank visited us. Young people separate between noise and substance please. I hear a lot of noise. Separate that noise from substance. I made a request to the DGE Director, a capable woman. I make a request to the UN Resident Coordinator, another capable woman. Tomorrow someone said HH believes in foreign entities. Aikona man. That is noise. That is politicking. The issue is that this is our own UN. We are the founders of the UN. We are members of the UN. It is our UN. That lady (UN representative) there works for us. Isn’t it madam? She is a civil servant. An international civil servant working for our UN based in Zambia,” he said.

President Hichilema said Zambia has a stake in international organisations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, United Nations and Commonwealth.

“So we are not asking a foreigner to assist or work with us. The IMF is not a foreigner, we are shareholders. We pay money. The World Bank is our own World Bank. That is why we want it to work with us. We want them to work with us but tomorrow you will hear the noise’ HH is a stooge of foreigners and imperialists’. I am not a stooge of the IMF. I am only a stooge of you people (Zambians). I love to be your stooge. So let’s distinguish noise and substance. Then we should all say we should not be involved in the African Union because it is a foreign entity. Should we not be involved with the Commonwealth? I am sending a message because young people are afflicted by this scourge that affects everybody including elders feeding young people drugs. So research has been done already on our behalf by the United Nations. So let’s work together. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be here (UN envoy Zambia),” he said.

President Hichilema further called for concerted efforts in fighting drug abuse.

“As a nation we can’t solve a problem we don’t acknowledge, and so the moving testimonies we heard from the victims of drug abuse really underscored our collective aspiration to fight this vice, which has far such horrible consequences. Illegal drug dealing threatens to disrupt our way of life and the security of this nation. Sadly, those most affected by this vice are our youth, whose future this nation relies upon. That’s why we called upon the Drug Enforcement Commission to finalise the Drug and Substance Control Policy, taking into account the international instruments which constitute the global cornerstone of the International Drug Control System. Illegal drugs can destroy families and tear communities apart. There is no place for drug traffickers in Zambia. We will find you. We will protect our communities, and our children, from the pain of addiction. If you think you are above the rule of law, you are wrong,” he said.

FQM Trident limited through its Trident Foundation limited has donated sanitary towels worth K49, 000 to 210 girls at Jiwundu secondary school in Kalumbila district of North-Western Province.

FQM Trident Community Affairs Manager, Joseph Ngwira said education support is one of his firms’ key areas of support and strongly believes in its ability to empower and liberate the mind thereby, giving individuals an opportunity to live dignified lives.

Mr Ngwira also said no girl should miss a period of class just because she is having one.

He said this in a speech read on his behalf by FQM Trident Public Relations Coordinator, Mirriam Harmon during a launch of the Educating and Developing Girls Education (EDGE) program in Kalumbila today.

“Through the launch of EDGE, we will complement efforts by the government and promote the interest of less privileged girls in our community. We are taking the wellbeing of the vulnerable girl child seriously so that they attain education in order to improve their lives,” Mr Ngwira said.

He said the EGDE initiative will equip girls with an all-round education which will help them serve as agents of change in their local environments as well as help them to improve the status of their families and communities.

“Through the EDGE programme, girls will also have the opportunities to access quality education, thereby meeting some of our core objectives regarding student support,” Mr Ngwira said.

He said the donation under EDGE initiative of sanitary pads is valued at K 49,000 and would be given to all the 210 girls at this school, adding that the pads would be enough for the whole term and that a more sustainable initiative of promoting reusable sanitary towels is underway which will benefit about 4,000 girls in the community.

“Through this initiative, Trident Foundation would like to see a reduction in absenteeism which is caused by menses, reduction in school dropout and also to see the girls outperform the boys,” Mr Ngwira said.

And speaking at the same event, Kalumbila District Commissioner, Brenda Sankisa said the EDGE programme is an intervention that will keep the girl child in school and must be commended and given the necessary support.

“The donation of sanitary towels at the school could not have come at a better time than now when the world is calling out to all partners to make menstruation a normal fact of life by 2030,” Ms Sankisa said.

She said it is sad to see girls still struggling to access menstrual products and being stigmatised over a situation that is natural, have little or no access to proper standards of hygiene and further still miss school because of the same.

“Furthermore I find this launch to be targeted at the general public to raise awareness and demand action because we believe that it is not an individual girl problem but a societal matter where we need to equip and empower our youths especially the vulnerable and marginalised in our rural settings like girls,” Ms Sankisa said.

She said the launch of EDGE will surely help to de-stigmatise the issue and assist girls to break their silence on other sexual and reproductive health issues.

“We would also like to encourage our partners in the private sector to emulate FQM Trident and join us in our quest to make a difference in the lives of young girls and women who are deprived and cannot afford sanitary towels,” Ms Sankisa added.

Meanwhile, Jiwundu Head teacher, Kennedy Minganja appreciated FQM Trident for the gesture, saying it will go a long way in assisting the vulnerable and less privileged girls at the school.

Taonga Bwalya, a pupil at the school commended FQM for launching EDGE.

“We are indeed grateful for your efforts and contributions and most especially the launching of the programme to support girl child education, therefore, we would like to assure you that all your contributions will be valued and put to good use,” she said.