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President Hakainde Hichilema has said the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a huge market for Zambian products.
President Hichilema said Zambian farmers and manufacturers should therefore increase their production in readiness to export to the DRC.
During a press conference at State House yesterday President Hichilema said that the issue of smuggling products produced in Zambia should end as Congolese people are reliable customers.
The President said he had a fruitful meeting with his DRC counterpart Felix Tshisekedi on the sidelines of the 2021 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last week bordering on economic and peace and security matters between the two countries.
“I met my brother President of DRC Tshisekedi and we dedicated ourselves to focus on trade and investment,” he said.
President Hichilema told journalists that Zambia can exports more goods to DRC that she consumes locally.
“The Congolese are our clients and not smugglers and President Tshisekedi sees it the same way,” he stressed.
The President revealed that government will therefore engage manufacturers on the procedures to produce more and export to DRC.
He said there is need for peace with DRC, with whom Zambia shares the longest border amongst her neighbours.
“We also discussed the importance of keeping peace and security along our borders of Zambia and DRC and not living as adversaries,” he said.
President Hichilema said he was pleased that he had discussions with Mr. Tshisekedi.
The Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD says its research on Tobacco in Zambia, indicates, 7,142 people die each year and 60 percent of deaths are of people under 70 years.
CTPD Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist Isaiah Mbewe says it is for this reason his organisation has embarked on a project dubbed Tobacco Taxation Project ( TTP ) to reduce the affordability of Tobacco and its influence in Zambia.
Mr Mbewe says increasing taxation will reduce consumption of the substance which mostly affects the youths.
“We also aim to boost domestic resource mobilization for the country, but the ultimate goal is to reduce the consumption of tobacco in the country among the youth,” he said
CTPD Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist said this during a two day media training with members of Western Province Press Club in Mongu.
Among the objective of meeting was to build their capacity on media advocacy around tobacco control in the country.
And Provincial Press Club Chairperson Sifuwe Mwangala nodded the importance of concerted effort in setting the media agenda on the life threatening substance.
Ms Mwangala said the training was a wakeup call for most Journalists to commit to covering issues pertaining to tobacco control.
“Some of us didn’t know that the health of farmers is always put at risk as they grow and harvest tobacco. Now that we know, we shall sensitize farmers on its dangers,” she revealed.
The Journalists from various media houses attended the meeting.
Meanwhile, A Researcher at Centre for Primary Care Research, UNZA School of medicine, Richard Zulu said the concerns surrounding Tobacco are urgent because of its harm to health.
Mr Zulu discloses that tobacco constitutes poisonous gases, cancer causing chemicals and contains toxic metals.
“Farm workers, often women and children also absorb nicotine through their skin during harvesting and processing causing diseases like green tobacco sickness and at times causing abortions, he explained.
Meanwhile, Paxina Phiri, a Communication Expert from Centre for Primary Care and Research (CPCR) , said collaborating in media advocacy is a powerful strategy to highlight a point of view.
Ms Phiri who is also the Chairperson of the Zambia Media Network against Tobacco (ZAMNAT) emphasized the importance of research and the dissemination of correct information to the audience for meaningful media impact.
And the Chairperson has strongly called on government to pass the Tobacco products and Nicotine control bill designed to domesticate the World Health Organisation Framework convention on tobacco control (WHO – FCTC).
The development of the bill which started in 2009 when enacted will reduce tobacco related diseases and exposure of the public to Tobacco smoke as it will ban indoor smoking, and advertising.
President Hakainde Hichilema has reiterated the United Party for National Development (UPND) administration’s commitment to end political party caderism in public places such as markets and bus stations.
President Hichilema said the UPND members must not discriminate against members of other political parties, including those from the former ruling party, the Patriotic Front (PF).
He said at a press conference at State House yesterday that it was not necessary for UPND members to practice the hooliganism and thuggery that was experienced in the previous regime.
He has since warned that any party member who will be found wanting will face the police.
President Hichilema said the promise to restore law and order in markets and bus stations was one of the main reasons why the UPND was voted into power by nearly three million Zambians.
The Head of State has therefore appealed to UPND members to allow the council and citizens to resolve the issues in the market without the interference of the party members.
He has further appealed to the UPND party leaders to desist from agitating party youths to take over operations of markets and bus stops.
President Hichilema also directed Lusaka Province UPND chairperson to convene a meeting with all youths at the party secretariat which he has committed to attend.
“Leaders of our party, do not agitate the youths to do wrong things at all levels because you will be in direct confrontation with your President. Your President wants law and order, cares for you and wants to make opportunities available for you,” he said
President Hakainde has further sent a warning to Patriotic Front cadres in markets and bus stations to avoid provoking the UPND which he said is managing its cadres with the aim of restoring normalcy and freedom for all citizens in public places.
“We want to bring civility to the markets so that any citizen can trade there as long as they have capital, they have acquired the stock and I am appealing to our youths in the party to not be an enemy of your own party and undermine your own party,” he said.
The President said UPND members should not be, “the new thugs in town” by perpetrating what the PF was doing
He has reiterated his call on all local authorities to take full charge of operations in markets, shops and bus stations and to do so in fair and transparent manner.
The Zambia Qualifications Authority (ZAQA) has launched National Occupational Standards (NOS) for the energy sector that will address the mismatch that exists between job performance requirements and skills development in the energy sector.
ZAQA Board Chairperson, Ann-Mary Ononuju says the six standards launched include the bio digester installer, coded welder, energy auditor, LPG Installer, Non-destructive test engineer and the solar PV Installer.
Speaking during the launch, Mrs. Ononuju said the National Occupational Standards launched are vital to the Energy Sector as they will contribute to improving the efficiency and productivity of the workforce in the sector.
She said the NOS describes good practices in all major areas of occupation and allows employees to get a good understanding of what they need to know for their job and what they need to do on their job.
She stated that the National Occupational Standards play a vital role in economic development.
Mrs. Ononuju disclosed that to date ZAQA has launched National Occupational Standards for the Agriculture/Aquaculture, Tourism, Manufacturing, Construction and Mining sectors.
She noted that the government is aware that there have been concerns from the industry with regard to the skills gap that exists in key economic sectors of the country.
Mrs. Ononuju stated that the Government is therefore ready to work in partnership with the private sectors in undertaking collaborative efforts aimed at enhancing economic sector performance to develop and improve the economy.
She urged the private sector players to continue to participate in the development and implementation of National Occupational Standards in their respective sectors.
President Hakainde Hichilema has announced that his recent trip to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has resulted in among other things, increased Covid-19 support to Zambia.
President Hichilema said developed countries have since committed to donate more Covid-19 vaccines to Zambia.
The President disclosed that he appealed for Covid-19 support in order to achieve the targeted number of vaccinations among the eligible population in Zambia.
“We made our case at the UN General Assembly, we asked for the global community to increase the vaccines available to less developed countries like Zambia. We made our case very clear and the message was heard and more vaccines are coming,” he said.
He has since called on eligible Zambians to take responsibility in the fight against Covid-19 by following the health guidelines and get vaccinated in order to prevent loss of life in the future as was experienced during the third wave.
“A lot of our people died during the third wave, this pandemic is deadly and we are saying this because the fourth wave is coming and it will be deadly. We must act together, we must act in unison,” he said.
He said this when he held a press conferences at State House in Lusaka yesterday
President Hakainde Hichilema has reiterated that his administration will make it uncomfortable for public officers to engage in corruption.
President Hichilema said there is political will in his administration to hand over reports of the Auditor General, Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to the prosecutions authority.
He told journalists during a press conference at State House yesterday that there was deep-rooted corruption in the previous administration hence the current government’s determination to fight the scourge.
“PAC [parliamentary Accounts Committee] should not only be a process, we have the political will now,” he said.
And President Hichilema has disclosed that his contention about the Gulf Stream (presidential jet) was that it was procured at an exaggerated price.
When answering a question on whether his administration will sell the plane or not as stated during campaigns, the President disclosed that his suspicions about overpricing the cost of the plane were true.
“We did not agree with the price of the Gulf Stream, it is the price of the plane we contended, we now have the figures and we have been proved right. Our position is still the same,” he said.
President Hichilema said the issue of the plane, which is the property of the Zambia Air Force (ZAF), will be taken to cabinet and parliament.
“But it does not mean the plane is unnecessary,” he argued.
And the Head of State has warned those that have be appointed to key government positions and those that will be appointment at a later stage to “check” themselves and ensure that they do not fall prey to corruption.
He said those that would be found wanting will have themselves to blame.
On whether his administration would remove former President Edgar Lungu’s immunity if he was found to have engaged into corrupt practices during his tenure of office, President Hichilema said, “we will cross the bridge when we reach there,” if it will be necessary.
Chipolopolo have set up training camp in Cameroon while in transit to Equatorial Guinea as the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup qualifiers resume in October.
Zambia, who left Lusaka on Wednesday for Cameroon, have set up a five-day training camp in Douala ahead of their 2022 Qatar Group B qualifier against Equatorial Guinea on October 7 in Malabo.
“I think everybody in the nation is looking forward to the team doing well. So this is now dependent on the players,” delegation leader and FAZ vice President Justin Mumba said.
“So it is our hope that with all these preparations that the team is going to go through that we can get a positive result.
“We did it when we went to Mauritania so we still believe that playing away again we can still go and win. The players must just believe, be focused and know what is at stake.”
Zambia beat Mauritania 2-1 in their opening Group B match on September 3 following a ten-day training camp in Morocco.
Chipolopolo coach Beston Chambeshi has 15 home-based call-ups in his entourage in Cameroon.
The nine foreign-based call-ups are expected to start arriving in Douala on October 2.
Zambia are second in Group B but tied on 3 points with third placed Equatorial Guinea after two games played.
Tunisia leads Group B on 6 points while Mauritania are bottom on zero points.
Katombola Member of Parliament Clement Andeleki says he will use his salary to help the vulnerable people in his constituency who cannot afford to pay school fees.
Dr Andeleki says he will sacrifice his salary for other development ventures such as repair of poor road network in his constituency like in other rural parts of the country.
Addressing civil servants in Nyawa Central over the weekend, Dr. Andeleki said the United Party for National Development (UPND) government is there to deliver that independency that people were looking forward to having.
“Development is just seen in Lusaka which has good infrastructure while the rest of the country is behind, “ he said.
The law maker said that in the 2022 national budget, Constituency Development Fund (CDF) will be increased by 100 percent so that rural areas can achieve development.
The lawmaker is in the constituency for a series of meetings in his constituency to thank the electorate for ushering the UPND alliance into power.
Other areas he has visited already are Kazungula central, Simango and Katapazi.
In Kazungula central he donated K20, 000 to the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church to go toward the connection of water and electricity and also made a donation of K10, 000 to Katapazi Primary School.
School Head teacher for Katapazi Primary School Greywell Moonde thanked the MP for the gesture and said the money will go towards the payment of 25 desks for the learners.
Health Minister Sylvia Masebo has said that the government has plans to employ 500 medical doctors to cushion challenges facing the sector.
Ms. Masebo said that the recruitment exercise is earmarked for 2022 and that the health sector is expected to be allocated more funding in next year’s national budget.
Ms. Masebo said this when World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Zambia Nathan Bakyaita paid a courtesy call on her.
And Dr. Bakyaita said the WHO has received over 800,000 dollars from GAVI and the German fund that will go towards the acquisition and rollout of COVID-19 Vaccines.
Meanwhile, the British Government has said that it has released 4 million pounds to the United Nations in Zambia towards the support of nutrition, social cash transfer, and health services.
British High Commission Development Director Steve Beel said the United Kingdom is committed to ensuring that Zambia continues to record a reduction in child stunting and other key areas.
Mr. Beel said Britain will continue to partner with the Zambian Government in the quest to improve and strengthen the health sector which has so far scored a lot of positives.
He was speaking when a delegation from the British High Commission in Zambia paid a courtesy call on Ms. Masebo at her office in Lusaka today.
Three candidates have successfully filed in their nomination papers to contest the October 21st 2021 Lusangazi Council Chairperson Election.
The first candidate to file in nomination papers was Fred Banda of the United Party for National Development (UPND) at 11:52 hours while William Banda of the Democratic party was second to file in his nominations around 13:00 hours.
The last candidate to file in his nomination papers around 14:30 hours was Patrick Banda of the Patriotic Front.
ZANIS reports that Msanzala constituency Returning Officer, Lucy Phiri declared the nominations for all the three candidates as valid and successful.
And all the three aspiring candidates for the Lusangazi Council Chairperson election have expressed confidence of scooping the seat.
The UPND candidate Fred Banda said he will look into the issue of clean water and sanitation, grading of roads, early distribution of farming inputs as well as women and youth empowerment once voted into office.
” I’m so grateful that my nomination was successful and I’m confident that I will win this election and attend to the needs of the people of Lusangazi such as the grading of roads, water, early distribution of farming inputs and women and youth empowerment since I understand the challenges better as a resident of this area”, he said.
While William Banda of the Democratic Party, who is also former Lusangazi Deputy Council Chairperson, pledged to continue with the much needed developmental projects in the area of infrastructure and also provision of clean water.
“As you all know that I worked as vice council chairperson for Lusangazi under the PF government, I now want to continue with the much needed developmental projects for this area under the Democratic Party,” he said.
And Patrick Banda of the Patriotic Front party pledged to look and understand the needs of the people of Lusangazi as he plans on how to develop the area.
“I know this area very well as I’m a resident of this place and will learn more challenges being faced by people in this area as I embark on developing this place when I become the Council Chairperson for the area,” he said.
The Lusangazi Council Chairperson election was supposed to take place when the country held the general elections.
However, the Electoral Commission of Zambia suspended the election after one of the contesting candidate, William Banda, for the former ruling party PF died on July 17th barely a month before the general elections.
According to article 52 (6) of the Constitution of Zambia, The Electoral Commission of Zambia, ECZ is mandated to hold elections three months after the death of the candidate.
President Hakainde Hichilema has refuted allegations that he held a meeting to discuss gays and lesbians during his visit to the United States of America.
Speaking during his first press conference held at State House, the President dismissed as untrue reports that he had a meeting to discuss such issues.
President Hichilema said the Zambian Constitution is clear on issues of gay and lesbian rights, hence such allegations are just meant to malign his administration and should not be entertained.
He called on the media and ordinary Zambians not to be misled by people that do not mean well for the country.
President Hichilema added that his trip to the United States of America was in the interest of the country and nothing less.
He further said soon Zambians will realize the benefits of his various high-level engagements during the UN General Assembly.
On the raging debate of cadres in the markets and bus stations, President Hichilema reaffirmed that his Government will not tolerate caderism in markets and bus stations.
President Hichilema said his administration will never backpedal on its call to remove cadres from bus stations and trading places.
He said the debate on cadres returning to markets and bus stations should come to an end as he will not allow that to happen under his administration.
The Head of State explained that under the PF Government cadres took over the running of markets and bus stations which disadvantaged councils and many innocent citizens whose trading stalls were taken away from them.
He called on the UPND party leadership to ensure that that they manage the youths and not agitate them to do wrong things, adding that his administration will create genuine opportunities for them.
President Hichilema strongly warned PF members to behave and not to provoke UPND members who suffered so much mistreatment during their rule.
President Hichilema said that PF members should not take the good will they have received from UPND members for granted.
Shepolopolo have made a perfect start to the 2021 COSAFA Women’s Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.
Zambia on Thursday opened their Group C campaign with a 5-0 win over Eswatini at Nelson Mandela University Stadium.
Ochumba Oseke Lubanji grabbed a hat-trick to propel Coach Bruce Mwape’s side to victory.
Lubanji put Zambia in the driving seat after 24 minutes with defender Margaret Belemu doubling the lead in the 58th minute.
She completed her hat-trick with goals in the 75th and 77th minutes as midfielder Esther Namukwasa poked in the final goal nine minutes away from full time.
Zambia have 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.
Meanwhile, Zambia’s next Group C match is against Namibia on October 3.
When President Hakainde Hichilema announced his eagerly awaited cabinet on September 17th 2021, the name Felix Mutati made the list. Mr. Mutati, as a nominated Member of Parliament was appointed Minister of Technology and Science.
At 62, many people especially the Millennials felt the appointment was misplaced. They would have preferred a youthful and tech savvy person to lead the Ministry tasked with implementing the New Dawn’s government’s ambition to launch a digital revolution in Zambia.
George Mwenya Mumbi wrote on his Facebook page shorty after Mr. Mutati’s appointment that that, “as an IT specialist, I feel the appointment was unnecessary. I feel Hon. Mutati should have been assignment to any other Ministry like the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry other than science and technology.
“I personally look at technology as another area that could be a source of income for the country other than just depending on mining and agriculture. This is the more reason why we needed someone within the field of IT with up to date information on technology to be Minister of Science and Technology. I therefore suggest to H.E President Hichilema to consider moving Hon. Mutati to another ministry so that a technology orientated individual should take up the Ministry of science and Technology,” Mumbi wrote.
There are many like him who feel Mr Mutati’s skills set could be better utilized elsewhere in government but for him, his agenda for the Ministry is beyond his stay there. He says he is not coming to the Ministry with a hands-on approach but merely to attempt to use digitalization to create happiness in the lives of Zambians.
Addressing a team of Zamtel top officials led by Board Chairman Danny Luswili and Chief Executive Officer Sydney Mupeta when they paid a courtesy call at his office recently, Mr Mutati said his mission is to allow every Zambians to feel the positive impact of digital transformation in their individual lives.
After listening tentatively to detailed presentation from Mr Luswili and Mr Mupeta on Zamtel’s role in driving digitalization, Mr Mutati’s response to what needed to happen in order to create happiness among Zambians through digital transformation was as clear as day and he drew a triangle for illustration purposes.
“Listening to your presentations, I get a sense that there is a triangle and at the centre of the triangle is digital transformation, that is the central theme and under it, it creates several opportunities and the triangle sits on three pillars,” he said.
Creating a ladder of authority
Mr Mutati explained that the first pillar is Access and Coverage which involves issues on the need to bridge the skills gap in the sector while the second pillar of the triangle is on Cost.
“The third pillar of this triangle is on Disruption and this is where we have innovators, both inbound and those who are all over the place working to create the latest innovation.”
He said his new Ministry is keen on promotion of disruptive technologies that will create an element of happiness through creation of jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities.
“The ambition of Government for digital transformation is to create an enabling environment which involves looking at the legal and policy framework. If you don’t have an enabling environment, you won’t achieve much. We need to create a ladder of authority for things to move. There will be no transformation if things are not clear.”
Zambia as a regional digital hub
Mr Mutati told the meeting that the second thing that government is thinking through is how to turn Zambia into a digital hub for the region.
“We are at the centre of eight countries and through the use of infrastructure, we can earn revenue by position only, we can be the Exchange for the region, take away from Kenya, take away from Rwanda and we believe we can become the Hub in the southern African region, “he said emphatically.
“How can we create a purely cashless economy? If you look away from simple systems of merely transferring money from this one to that one, a Marketeer in Soweto doesn’t want to carry money home and so they load it and withdraw tomorrow, that is not technology. That is safe keeping, you have just created a safe and that is not what we are talking about. We want practical solution to creating a cashless society.
Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati with a team from Zamtel after they paid a courtesy call on him
Too fragmented to win
As a true believer in the power of collaboration, Mr Mutati wants the tech scene in Zambia to work glove in hand with the government in order to create impact in people’s lives.
“I have a sense that we are too fragmented and in silos and our work is not optimized. We are working very hard and expending energy but fragmented. So you have one guy from Smart Zambia doing this, another chap from Bank of Zambia is doing that, Zamtel is also busy cracking their heads and Infratel is also doing that. At the end of the day there is no optimization because of the silos effect. How do we deal with this fragmentation? Part of the solution is the enabling environment through a Pyramid of Authority, if we don’t have a Pyramid of Authority then you are not going anywhere,” Mr Mutati said.
He added, “If you look at how much government has spent on what they call technology, it is in millions of dollars and yet, if you to Lands, they are still shuffling papers, if you to the Zambia Police today, they are still asking you to go and line up at ZANACO to pay your fines, you for the Bank, you find a queue and you have to wait for three hours in order to pay. So a person who is paying is being restricted and yet when you say non tax revenue is not been collected, it is because you have this struggle called Smart Zambia, you have this huge asset called Zamtel which is not speaking to the needs of that person to be able to transact easily.”
Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati with a team from Zamtel after they paid a courtesy call on him
The ultimate goal is happiness
Mr Mutati said he wants Zamtel to be at the centre of the digitalization drive because of its unique position in the market.
“I am talking to you as Zamtel because you belong to us and I believe you can help us create the next chapter. Once we listen to you and Smart Zambia and whatever else the P.S will bring, then we can come back here and say, colleagues, this is a round table, tell us where is the missing link. We need to listen to all our internal customers, we need to call the private sector and ask, why are you not buzzing? Why are you not rich? Who is holding your hands?”
“So when we present to the Zambian people our version of digital transformation, we want everybody to see themselves in that picture. The ultimate goal is happiness and all the various elements of happiness, whether it is jobs, or people becoming Millionaires or innovating and buzzing their minds and creating things, it’s all part of happiness.”
The writer is a Media and Communications expert and currently works for Zamtel as a Corporate Communications Manager.
Mufulira Leopards coach Willis Magasa is gutted by his team’s failure to win the 2021 National Rugby League.
Leopards missed out on winning the league title after a 10-6 loss to eventual champions Red Arrows.
Arrows have won their eighth consecutive league title after attaining an unassailable lead over second placed Leopards.
With two games left in the season, Leopards are 15 points behind Arrows.
In an interview, Magasa said Leopards needed to be at their best to win the league.
“It is unfortunate. Of course we would have wanted to win the league but I guess it wasn’t to be. We played as much as we could, we tried everything,” Magasa said.
He promised that Leopards will come back stronger next season to challenge champions Arrows for the title.
“We will get back to the drawing board again. We will win the league. Our fight is not stopping here,” Magasa said.
The Road Development Agency (RDA) has appealed to the government to quickly release funds for the completion of Kimasala-Mushitala bridge construction works which commenced in 2016.
RDA Regional Manager, Engineer Manda Ndabane explains lack of funds has been the major challenge to finish the project.
Eng. Ndabane in an interview expressed hope that once the new dawn government settles down, they can receive funding for the completion of the project.
“We haven’t moved and most of the people I think have seen that progress has been slow… and we all know that there has been change of government…we are waiting for more funding”, Eng. Ndabane said
The Eng. Ndabane said over K300,000 is needed for the completion of the project.
“In terms of completing we are looking in the range of may be K300,000 to K500,000…we should be able to finish whatever is remaining”, he said.
Eng. Ndabane said the Agency had received some funding before the August 12 elections towards the project but adjustments to the design made the project to cost more.
“We have made some tremendously on the construction of Mushitala-Kimasala bridge which people refers to as Dawson Kafwaya bridge…we changed the design because the design should have been what we call a composite bridge meaning should have been concrete mixes with steel but now we are going to have what we call a bailey bridge”, he added.
Progress work now stands at 80 percent and bailey bridge deck, finishing off the earthworks and also returning walls remains.
Meanwhile, Solwezi Mayor, Remmy Kalepa said he is impressed with the works that have been done so far adding that the bridge is very important as it will help decongest the main business district.
“In terms of importance of that bridge, it will help decongest independence avenue…you will agree with me some of our miners in Mushitala they need to drive through town then go to Kimasala, Kyawama and go as far as Kimiteto but once that bridge is done it will help our people in terms of making it easier for them”, he said.
Mr. Kalepa has assured the people in Mushitala and Kimasala that he will engage the necessary ministry so that works on the bridge get completed within the shortest period of time.
The Mayor, who conducted a spot check on the bridge, said he toured the site to see what is going on and see how best to lobby support from the central government in order for the bridge to be completed.
