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Government has decided to lift the restrictions for the next one month

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Following the reduced transmission of COVID-19 in Zambia, Government has decided to lift the restrictions for the next one month starting today 2nd October 2021.

The COVID-19 situation will continue to be monitored to inform appropriate decision-making even before the end of the month.

The new guidance on the various restrictions which have been in place is as follows;

  1. Churches and other places of worship: Worship services are to be conducted normally, subject to observing the five golden rules. Religious leaders are urged to disseminate public health messages to congregants, including encouraging congregants to get vaccinated;
  2. Markets and trading places – To operate normally while ensuring adherence to public health guidelines. All traders and customers are urged to observe the five golden rules and regular disinfection of premises.
  3. Public places and transport – Transport operators must ensure the masking up of all passengers is always observed and that conveyances are thoroughly disinfected and sanitized regularly.
  4. Public events of a social nature to be held while observing the five golden rules. Masking and physical distancing should always be adhered to.
  5. Workplaces – Employers should ensure that employees return to normal working arrangements with strict adherence to 5 golden rules.
  6. Physical conferences, workshops, and general meetings – We encourage the holding of virtual meetings. Where physical meetings are necessary, facilitators must ensure that the meetings are held in compliance with five golden rules and adequate meeting space is provided to allow physical distancing.
  7. Bars, taverns, casinos, restaurants, night clubs will operate normally and strictly observe the five golden rules including regular disinfection of premises;

The Government said that as stated above, the situation will continue to be monitored closely with appropriate action taken and emphasised continued adherence to the prescribed COVID-19 public health measures including the five golden rules as well as cleaning and disinfection of public premises.

Stakeholders laud govt’s stance on cross border trade

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Western province Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WCCI) has called for enhancement of trade across boarders for the benefit of Zambians.

Western Chamber of Commerce and Industry Coordinator Fred Mulozi has called for traders to take advantage of the fact that cross boarder trading does not require international companies or inter-government arrangements for it to take place.

Mr. Mulozi said this in reference to President Hakainde Hichilema’s pronouncements on enhancing cross-border trade between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia during yesterday’s press conference.

Mr. Mulozi has encouraged the people of Western Province to also take advantage of the neighbouring Angola and utilize the readily available markets.

He said Angolans are buying mealie meal, cement, sugar and maheu among others from Zambia while Zambians are buying fuel, cooking oil, condensed milk and beer from Angola.

He has since appealed to government to work on the Kalabo-Sikongo road up to the Angolan border so as enhance trade between the two countries.

JCTR urge govt to reduce cost of living

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The Jesuit Center for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has called on government to put measures that will reduce the cost of living in the 2022 national budget.

According to the JCTR’s trends analysis findings, the cost of living has continued to increase from K6, 256.95 in January to K7, 704.15 in August this year.

JCTR Social and Economic Development Programmes Coordinator Modester Mwanza said government should address the increasing cost of living in next year’s budget.

“Government should consider implementing policies that will promote production of food so that they can be grown at a larger scale for export purposes and revenue collection.

Ms Mwanza said at a press briefing in Kitwe, that government needs to put in place other policies in next year’s budget that will ease affordability to cost of living.

Ms Mwanza said the trends analysis carried out in 15 towns indicate a persistent increase in the cost of living due to an increase in food prices such as mealie meal, rice, fruits and chicken among others.

She said the prices of non-food items such as charcoal also contributed to an increase in cost of living.

She explained that the country has continued to witness an increase in the cost of living which the organization would like to see addressed in the national budget.

She said the upward in price of food and nonfood were affected by volatility in the macroeconomic indicators such as the exchange rate and inflation rate.

Ms Mwanza said the exchange rate necessitated a hike in prices because the country is dependent on imports.

She said the 2022 budget is a window of opportunity to spell out how key macroeconomics indicators will be addressed towards reducing the cost of living.

HH accords Zukas an official funeral

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President Hakainde Hichilema has accorded an official funeral to the late Simon Zukas who died at the age of 96 on Monday, September 27, 2021 at his residence.

In a statement released yesterday by Secretary to the Cabinet, Simon Miti, President Hichilema described the late Zukas as a gallant freedom fighter, veteran politician who served as cabinet minister in the Movement for Multiparty Democracy government.

Mr Miti disclosed that the President has also declared a one day of national mourning on Tuesday, October 5, 2021 in recognition of the numerous contributions he made towards the attainment of freedom in the country.

The late Simon Zukas will be buried at leopards Hill Memorial park in Lusaka on Tuesday October 5, 2021.

Unbeaten Leaders Green Buffaloes Visit Chambishi FC

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Green Buffaloes hope to go into the two-week FIFA with a consolidated lead of the FAZ Super League log when they visit promoted Chambishi FC on Saturday.

Buffaloes enjoy a three-point lead on 13 points from five games played since replacing second placed Buildcon at the summit exactly a week ago and head to Chambishi on the back of four straight league wins.

Furthermore, Buffaloes are one of only two teams still unbeaten together with sixth placed Lusaka Dynamos.

Buffaloes who have also won both their away games are set to test Chambishi’s home form where they are unbeaten with two draws.

Chambishi hosts Buffaloes just days after they beat Nkana 1-0 away in Kitwe on Wednesday to record their first win back in the FAZ Super League since ending their lengthy absence this season that dated back to 2009.

Furthermore, Chambishi will be hoping not to suffer the same fate as Nkwazi and Red Arrows who failed to get a point at home over the surprise leaders Buffaloes.

FAZ SUPER LEAGUE WEEK 6 FIXTURES
02/10/2021

Power Dynamos-Kafue Celtic
Indeni-Nkana
Chambishi-Green Buffaloes
Kabwe Warriors-Konkola Blades
Red Arrows-Green Eagles
13h00: Nkwazi-Forest Rangers
15h00: Lusaka Dynamos-Buildcon
03/10/2021
Zanaco-Prison Leopards
POSTPONED:
Zesco United-Kansanshi Dynamos

Shepolopolo Bench Hails Bright Start At COSAFA Womens Cup

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Shepolopolo interim coach Florence Mwila has hailed her side for opening the 2021 COSAFA Women’s Championship with a 5-0 win over Eswatini on Thursday in South Africa.

Zambia shot to the top of Group C on three points following Namibia’s goalless draw with guests Uganda in the earlier group match on Thursday.

“You know the first game is always important so we needed to get goals,” Mwila said.

“And once you score an early goal it gives you the morale and the team spirit to start moving. You know once you score early it puts pressure on the opponents.”

Zambia’s next Group C match is against Namibia on October 3.

“We are here to go all the way to the final as gold medalists,” Mwila said.

Zambia were runners up at last year’s COSAFA Women’s Championship.

The HH administration should call for amnesty on the past corruption

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By Venus N Msyani

Any commission or institution that the new dawn administration may come up with to recover stolen properties will have to start from the 1990s privatization process and definitely the name Hakainde Hichilema will be mentioned in the process.

Starting from the middle, when the PF government came into power or choosing not to mention the name of the president in the process of recovering stolen properties will lead to questions.

It will mean that president Hakainde Hichilema administration has adopted the previous Patriotic Front (PF) administration plan of using the fight against corruption to fix opponents.

President Hakainde has promised that the corruption fights will not be vindictive or selective. It will be hard to prove that if the president chooses to focus on the previous administration.

“We will not use a political hand, no vengeance, no retribution but the right institutions will do it professionally,” he told Zambians living in North America during his trip to the UN.

“No effort will be spared to fight the vice and recover everything stolen from the people of Zambia” the president added.

Reflecting on that, Zambians are still living in the abyss on the 1990s privatization scandals. Don’t’ they deserve to get back what was stolen during the privatization process as well?

If they do, any recovery process that excuses the 1990s privatization process scandals is unacceptable. A fair recovery must include privatization process.

Zambians refused to allow the previous administration to use the fight against corruption to fix opponents and must do the same with the new HH administration.

Amnesty is the only fair approach to deal with the past corruption in the country. It will also facilitate unity in the fight against current and future corruption.

On the other hand, the recovery process may end up costing the country more than what is to be recovered. It may also end up costing the HH administration focus and time to fulfill promises.

In reality, the presidential term in Zambia can be divided into three categories: Honeymoon, action, and campaign. The first year of HH administration can be counted as a honeymoon and the last year as a campaign year. So, president Hakainde has only three years to fulfil his promises.

Amnesty on past corruption could help him save time.

State enters a nolle prosequi in a case against a Police Officer for inciting mutiny

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The Chinsali Magistrate Court in Muchinga Province has discontinued court proceedings against Jason Chipepo, a police officer who was charged with one count of seditious practice contrary to sections 57 (1) of the penal code chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.

The State informed Senior Chinsali Resident Magistrate Julius Malata, when the case came up for trial yesterday that the State has entered a nolle prosequi.

Chipepo was facing one count of the offence of inciting mutiny, contrary to section 48 (a) of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.

Acting Deputy Chief State Advocate, Oberty Siankanga said particulars of the offence were that on the 16th Day of July, 2020 in Chinsali district of Muchinga Province, Chipepo did utter a seditious post on social media using the facebook and youtube platforms.

Mr Siankanga charged that the seditious post was allegedly aimed at seducing other officers in the Defense Force or any member of the Police Service from their duties and allegiance to the President.

He further mentioned that the court on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions has entered into a Nolle Prosequi.

“I Oberty Siankanga, Acting Deputy Chief State Advocate on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions for the republic of Zambia pursuant to the powers vested in me by Sections 81 and 82 of the criminal code authorize the entry on record of proceedings that proceedings are discontinued against the accused person,” he declared.

We cannot continue to have no electricity supply when we have enough water in Kariba Dam-Nalumango

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Vice President Mutale Nalumango says the government remains resolute to address challenges being faced in the energy sector.

Mrs Nalumango cited the water sub-sector as among the areas that the government has placed high priority, in order to enhance the provision of quality water and sanitation services.

The Republican Vice President underscored that the erratic water supply that some parts of the country is facing will soon be a thing of the past.

Mrs. Nalumango further pointed out that the government is putting up modalities to address the intermittent supply of electricity in some parts of Lusaka.

She cited putting in place the right management teams in the utility companies as among the strategies.

“We cannot continue to have no electricity supply when we have enough water in Kariba Dam, and adequate supply of water is top of our agenda and will soon resolve this,” stressed the Vice President.

This came to light in a session in Parliament today, during the Vice President’s question time, when responding to a question from Matero Member of Parliament Miles Sampa.

Mr Sampa wanted to know why his constituency experiences erratic water and power supply.

Meanwhile, Kabushi Member of Parliament Bowman Lusambo was evicted from the house due to unruly conduct.

This followed the point of order raised by Home Affairs and Internal Security Minister Jack Mwiimbu who wanted to know whether the Kabushi lawmaker was in order to walk out on the Speaker when she passed a ruling which was not in his favour.

And in response, Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti ruled that the Kabushi lawmaker leaves the house and vent his anger from outside the house.

Parliamentary proceedings will resume on Tuesday 5th October 2021 at 14:30 hours.

Nkombo calls for issue based campaigns

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Garry Nkombo has called on political parties taking part in various elections across the country to engage in issue-based and violence-free campaigns.

Mr. Nkombo, who is also the United Party for National Development (UPND) elections Chairperson said elections are an important component of the country’s development process, hence the need to desist from politics of hate speech and violence.

The Minister was speaking in Kaumbwe at Mwanjawanthu Primary School yesterday when he witnessed the filing of nominations papers for the October 21 Kaumbwe Constituency Parliamentary elections.

He said the UPND administration will only entertain politics of peace, stressing that it is only in a peaceful atmosphere that development can come.

Mr. Nkombo, who is also UPND Mazabuka Member of Parliament, also warned individuals or groups against political violence during the campaigns.

“UPND government will not allow some individuals or groups to take the law into their hands and cause confusion because this government stands for peace.We need to take drastic measures on this matter so that insecurity that has been pervasive does not resurface,” he said.

He urged Police to decisively deal with individuals or groups found to be engaged in acts capable of breaching peace during the campaign period.

And Patriotic Front (PF) Vice president, Given Lubinda has pledged peaceful and violence-free campaigns ahead of the Kaumbwe elections.

Mr. Lubinda said the party will focus on explaining to people the development that was initiated under its leadership.

Millers Association praises President Hichilema for expressing willingness to establish formal trade links with DRC

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The Millers Association of Zambia has commended President, Hakainde Hichilema for expressing willingness to establish formal trade links with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Speaking in an interview with in Kitwe today, Association President, Andrew Chintala said the millers will capitalize on the potential of the Congolese market and bring in the much needed forex into the country.

Mr. Chintala said the Congolese market has been under exploited for a long time saying much of the trade activities between Zambia and that country are illegal which does not bring revenue into the national coffers.

“We are going to position ourselves and realign ourselves so that we can increase our stocks and get ready to export to the new DRC market,” he said.

He has called on relevant authorities to actualize the pronouncement by President Hichilema of enhancing trade between Zambia and DRC.

“With the rains around the corner, farmers can prepare to plant more for them to exploit the DRC market in a formal way, we can talk of exporting but if we do not produce enough, we will not manage to export,” he said.

He further stated that the Millers will continue buying maize from farmers even beyond the earlier set deadline of October 1 so that they can position themselves for formal exports to DRC.

Yesterday during a press conference in Lusaka, President Hichilema said his administration will formalize trade activities between Zambia and DRC.

Mampi steps out of her comfort zone with visually stimulating new video ‘Paipa Panja’

Queen Diva Mampi released the video for her latest single ‘Paipa Panja’.

Mposha lauds Amatheon Agri Zambia Limited

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Water Development and Sanitation Minister Mike Mposha have praised Amatheon Agri Zambia Limited for its investment into value addition and rural livelihoods in Zambia.

Mr. Mposha said this when he officially launched the new spices and superfoods processing plants by Amatheon Agri Zambia Limited as the company celebrated its 10 year anniversary of operations in Zambia.

“Amatheon Agri Zambia is a leading example of an integrated and inclusive farming model and today, we proudly open these facilities to supply Zambian spices to the world,” he said.

And speaking at the same occasion, the Minister of Agriculture Mtolo Phiri thanked Amatheon Agri Zambia Limited for opening new and advanced processing facilities for spices and superfoods in Mumbwa district.

Mr. Phiri stated that such developments will help raise the profile of Zambian products in the international markets.

“The impact of these new processing facilities will be felt not just in Mumbwa district but in the Zambian agriculture sector as a whole,” he said.

And Ambassador of Germany to Zambia, Anne Wagner-Mitchell, is impressed with the progress that Amatheon Agri is making in value addition, stating that the value addition is beneficial for the whole region.

Meanwhile, Amatheon Agri Zambia Managing Director Troy Minne, disclosed that his company is exporting top quality and certified products.

Mr. Minne said without the investments in the processing facilities, growing chilies and superfoods was not feasible in the area.

“We are very proud of all that has been achieved over the past decade. It is a result of a highly motivated team and close cooperation with all stakeholders. With this base, we look forward to furthering success in the coming 10 years too,” he said.

Amatheon Agri pioneered superfood production in Zambia and began supplying chia seeds and quinoa to European markets in 2019.

Since then, the company has expanded its portfolio and volume and introduced the products to smallholder farmers in its out-grower programme with the rural farmers.

Govt to distribute development equally

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Vice President Mutale Nalumango says the government will ensure that development is taken to all parts of the country.

Speaking during the Vice President’s question time in Parliament today, Mrs Nalumango said the entire country is in dire need of development, thus everyone will receive a fair share of it.

The Vice President was responding to Sikongo Member of Parliament Mayungo Simushi who wanted to know how the government will deliver development to Lundazi Constituency.

She stated that the government is aware that there are areas that were marginalized by the previous government and will ensure that all provinces benefit equitably.

“Government will take development equitably wherever it is needed. There won’t be any selectivity as all Zambians must benefit from government programmes”, she said.

Meanwhile the Vice President stated that the government has continued to distribute grain bags for farmers selling maize to the Food Reserve Agency.

The Vice President was responding to Lundazi Member of Parliament Brenda Nyirenda on the shortage of grain bags for farmers in her constituency with the expected onset of rains this month as announced by the government.

Mrs Nalumango noted that the government is aware of the shortage of grain bags, countrywide and added that the government is currently distributing over 500,000 empty grain bags to the farmers.

Social Media is a Double-Edged Sword for Women Politicians in Zambia: Study

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By Dr Parkie Mbozi

What is the extent of access to and use of social media among women leaders and leadership aspirants? To what extent are social media effective as tools for activism among Zambian women leaders? Does social media use make or break women leaders’ careers? How influential are social media in positively promoting women leaders?

Social media is an umbrella term encompassing Internet-based applications used for different purposes. The specific apps include, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Snapchat and microblogs (Treem and Leonardi, 2013; Greenwood, Perrin and Duggan, 2016}. The use and popularity of social media technologies have grown exponentially over the last few years and at an incredible pace (Treem and Leonardi, 2013), particularly since the United Nations declared access to and use of the Internet a human right in 2011 (Greenwood, Perrin and Duggan, 2016).

Their growth has fueled interest in how social media affect citizens’ participation in civic and political life and specific areas of activism, such as gender and child rights. Current scholarship cites the Arab Spring in 2011 and the campaigns for political office in 2008 and 2012 by Barack Obama as some of the factors that helped to escalate the interest of social media in these areas (Boulianne, S., 2015). In the next article I will analyse how social media could be credited for the recent electoral victory of Zambia’s 7th President Hakainde Hachilema.

The use of social media suits the description of a double-edged sword; they present both challenges and opportunities to every facet of human life. On one hand, they present the novelty of interactivity, flexibility and customisation, which are associated with Internet-based technologies. On the other hand, they pose risks of abuse, which is associated with all digital and interactive media. Leadership, which is the most important and influential of human institutions, is more challenging than ever before in the face of the intricate nature of social media (Erçetin, and Bisaso, 2016). The challenge is more intriguing when it involves women, given the gender debacle and the established public biases towards women leaders (Erçetin, and Bisaso, 2016).

The above cited questions informed the multi-country study conducted in 2020 under the sponsorship of Hivos, an international humanitarian organization based in Harare, Zimbabwe and The Netherlands. DevCom Consulting Ltd, a consultancy firm which I chair, was hired to undertake the exercise in Zambia. The overall objective or aim of the research was to determine the effectiveness of social media as tools for opening up spaces for women leaders to participate in or aspire for leadership in public administration, politics, and quasi government in Zambia. The study also compared social and online media with traditional media in supporting women’s aspirations in leadership.

The study investigated the opportunities and challenges posed by social media and social network systems to women in leadership and how women have risen to these challenges and opportunities wrought by these technologies. It examined the extent to which social media influences societal dynamics in Zambia, specifically on whether it is an enabler or inhibitor to women’s leadership careers and gender activism. It also investigated and characterised women’s participation on social media and their experiences (positive and negative) with using the social media technologies.

Hundred and eight (108) interviews were conducted with women in or aspiring for leadership positions in public, private, NGO and other sectors. The interviews were supported by an online ethnographic review of social media spaces to ascertain the presence and use of these media by Zambian women leaders in terms of, for instance, number of followers on their Twitter and Facebook (FB) accounts.

Empirical data (from the survey) were triangulated (complimented) with case studies or in-depth interviews with four prominent and leading female social media users; these are: Laura Miti (FB); Linda Kasonde (LinkedIn); Saboi Imboela (FB); and, Brenda Zulu (WebLog or blog). The four women gave account of their experiences (positive and negative) with social media use and, in particular, how they handle negative effects of cyberbullying.

Quantitative (survey) data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Testing of hypothesis and relationships was done using Chi-square analysis at 95% significance. The discourse and thematic analysis methods were used to analyse qualitative data.

Major Finding and Conclusions

Access to and use of the Internet and social media

  1. The results of the study are conclusive of mild (one in five women) access to and use of the Internet and social media among the Zambian women in leadership or those aspiring for leadership. Access to and use of social media is hampered by inadequate Internet access and smartphones and poor Internet speed and connectivity.

  2. Use of social media among rural-based women is hampered by structural bottlenecks of slow Internet speed, connectivity problems, cost of Internet bundles and smartphones.

  3. An overwhelming majority of Zambian women leaders access the Internet and social media using data bundles on their phones. This is in line with the global trend and makes smartphone ownership an imperative for increasing social media use among women leaders.

  4. WhatsApp and Facebook are the preferred and most used social media platforms among Zambian women leaders, followed by Instagram and LinkedIn. However, FB commends a comparative advantage in terms of the sizes of ‘followers’ and linkages that the women are connected to individually and collectively. This makes it an ideal choice for creating a critical mass for activism and social mobilization.

  5. Long experience with the Internet and training are essential imperatives for improving social media skills. Likewise, improving income is a critical intervention for improving access to and frequent use of social media access among women in leadership. Financial capacity is particularly critical for use of Facebook, whose primary purpose is achieved through strong linkages and networks and, consequently, costlier.

  6. The results from both the ethnographic and survey studies reveal inadequate use of relevant social media platforms for specific and sophisticated purposes, e.g. activism and social mobilization, through such methods as hashtags.

  7. The study found and documents some classical and creative use of social media among some prominent women for both personal career progression and on national matters. The four case studies documented some of the ‘best’ practices in social media use among prominent women.

  8. The report also highlights the use of social media by two prominent politicians – Princess Kasune and Dora Siliya – to inform the nation that they had tested positive for the dreaded Covid 19 virus and to warn the citizens to take the disease seriously.

Women’s experiences with online gender-based violence

  1. Some women, albeit being in the minority, have experienced abuse of one form or another on social media. It appears that high profile individuals involved in activism and governance issues at national level and those with very active accounts, including all the four profiled in the study, are the most affected.

  2. Facebook is considered the most disruptive online platform. It is also the platform that has the largest audience or followership, which makes it a double-edged sword. Most of the abuses come in the form of negative and demeaning statements, insults, verbal abuse, cyberbullying and hacking of accounts run by women leaders. Saboi Imboela, a renowned Zambian female artiste, human rights activist and now leader of a political parties has been a victim of abuse on social media,

I have been a victim of social media abuse countless times. I have had experiences where I post something on constitutional matters on social media as an activist and politician, and some people who know me as a divorced person will come with personal attacks and say you are just saying that because you don’t have a husband.

  1. Messaging platforms, notably Twitter and LinkedIn, are considered elitist by most of the women leaders. However, they are also regarded as niche platforms by some women in the corporate and civil society spaces, which they use to showcase their profiles and advance a specific agenda. These channels are perceived as more respectable and less prone to verbal abuse.

  2. Most women leaders do not seem to have a clear strategy for dealing with social media abuse. The majority ‘just ignore’ the abuses. Although the study did not probe the reasons for ‘just ignoring’ such abuses, one plausible assumption is that they have no skills for dealing with the situations.

  3. Majority of the women respondents perceive digital spaces to be uneven in favour of men. There is also a strong feeling that social media users deliberately focus on the women’s personality to “divert attention from the truly important societal issues that they raise and to humiliate them”. Therefore, the impact of cyberbullying on women’s participation in public office cannot be under-estimated, especially on a national scale.

Effectiveness and influence of social media

  1. At a personal level, the findings suggest that majority of the women in the study appreciate the positive functionalist role social media particularly towards their enhanced business/entrepreneurial activities, networking and easy of communication and positive self-image. A few believe that they would not be where they are in their careers without social media. The below statements by Saboi sum up the views on benefits from social media at a personal level,

For me, the positives outweigh the negatives of being on social media. I have benefited and achieved quite a lot. Through social media, my music career thrived. I have been able to market my music through social media. You can only underestimate the power of social media at your own cost. I got a job at UNDP because of my social media activism which was acknowledged by the UN agency in Zambia. Of course, I qualified for the job, but social media exposed me to the opportunity.

  1. At a broad national level, social media are generally perceived to be influential and helpful in improving the situations and lives of women and for advocacy on a broad range of national issues. However, the actual use of these media for activism and for driving real change and livelihood transformation has been marginal and their full potential not fully exploited.

  2. Majority of the respondents perceive social media to be more accessible, effective and influential than traditional media for their career progression. This underscores the need for more interventions around this resource vis-à-vis career progression for women in leadership.

Recommendations

The study recommends a number of measures to curn cyberbullying of women leaders and to enhance the positive contribution social media tot cause of women and the Zambian society generally. The measures include, but limited to:

  1. Enactment of favourable regulatory and legal frameworks to protect women and other vulnerable social and online media users;

  2. Targeted and advanced training in use of social media, particularly for activism, advocacy and lobbying, crowd sourcing and protection from cyberbullies; and,

  3. Improved access to the Internet and ownership of a smartphone.

The author is a researcher and scholar with the Institute of Economic and Social Research, University of Zambia. He is reachable on [email protected].