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Patriotic Front (PF) Lusaka Provincial secretary Kennedy Kamba has observed with concern the continued tendency by the opposition and some civil society organizations to discredit the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
He has expressed dismay at the systematic machination by the opposition and some civil society organizations, trying by whatever means possible to discredit the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) on a daily basis and trying to portray a picture that they are not capable of handling the 2021 general elections.
“This is very dangerous and Zambians must reject attempts to ridicule the ECZ, a professional and autonomous electoral body that is headed by technocrats,” Mr Kamba said in a statement.
He said the country should believe in the electoral body as stakeholders and never involve it in sheer politics.
He said the commissioners and indeed management at ECZ are doing everything possible, working round the clock to ensure that they put up a credible, free and fair general election come 2021, starting with the ongoing voter registration exercise.
“Indeed, the ECZ has a mammoth task and challenges in this regard are inevitable as they are part of every process and part of life.We, therefore, cannot afford as a country to have irresponsible leaders to continue claiming that the electoral body is not ready for the 2021 general elections” Mr Kamba.
He said the opposition UPND and their allies have put up a systematic attack on the ECZ because they know they are losing even in 2021 general elections but they want to shift the blame on the electoral body even when it is clear that its actually the opposition which is not ready to compete with the ruling PF.
He has since advised the opposition to leave the ECZ alone, to let them do their job in peace.
He further said the opposition UPND, Chishimba Kambwili’s NDC and others, know very well that they don’t have numbers and that they are unpopular hence their attempts to declare elections a sham even before a vote is cast.
Mr Kamba said the opposition are scared, and just cry-babies and urged them to leave the ECZ alone and just work hard and stop the blame game.
“Comments from people like Dundumwezi UPND MP Edgar Sing’ombe where he is saying the ECZ is not ready for 2021 general elections must be condemned with the contempt they deserve”he said.
Chipangali Member of Parliament (MP) Vincent Mwale says he is ready to pay back the money he accrued in emoluments when he remained in office as Minister after Parliament dissolved in 2016.
Mr Mwale, who is also Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Development, told ZANIS in Chipata yesterday, that he will pay back the money now that he knows how much he is supposed to refund the Government.
The Chipangali MP is among the 64 former ministers who stayed in office and continued to draw emoluments after parliament was dissolved prior to the 2016 general elections.
“I have always been ready to pay back the money. That was a court judgment. I will pay back now that it is clear on how much I need to refund,” he said.
Mr Mwale stressed that although he is yet to receive official communication on how to make payments, he is more than ready to pay.
“I hope to pay back the money through monthly deductions from my monthly salary, or in case I fail to manage to do so, payments can be made from my benefits, “Mr. Mwale indicated.
According to the constitutional court’s calculations, Mr. Mwale is supposed to pay back K60, 434.87.
On December 7th, 2020, the constitutional court released a schedule determining the amounts each of the 64 ex-ministers, some of whom are serving in the current cabinet, is supposed to pay back to the Government.
Government says there is need to formulate interventions that will benefit micro-businesses as they constitute about 95 percent of businesses in the country.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Permanent Secretary, Mushuma Mulenga says it is unfortunate micro businesses have over the years been overlooked.
Mr Mulenga noted that most micro-businesses could not benefit from government incentives meant for SMEs as they could not meet the stipulated requirements due to low turnover and other factors.
“As government, we need to look at this category of businesses and begin to tailor our interventions towards them,” he said.
Mr Mulenga said this during a consultative meeting with the Livingstone Chamber of Commerce in Livingstone yesterday.
He further stressed the need for effective policy implementation to address the various challenges entrepreneurs are facing on the ground.
Mr Mulenga urged the Livingstone Chamber of Commerce to take the lead in ensuring government implements the relevant policies.
“As government we have resolved to work closely with the private sector. We need a close relationship with entrepreneurs on the ground as they are an important stakeholder and play a key role in attaining economic growth for the country,” he said.
And speaking earlier, Livingstone Chamber of Commerce President, Namakau Siyanga implored the Ministry of Commerce through its statutory bodies to enhance collaboration, with the Chamber of Commerce, in order to timely identify the constraints affecting the private sector along the different value chains of the economy.
“As a chamber of commerce, we believe the Ministry of Commerce has formulated policies that are able to cause positive change of the livelihood of the private sector if effective implementation is done in a collaborative manner between public to public and public to private partnerships,” she said
Ms Siyanga said for the country to attain meaningful economic growth, there was need to concentrate on implementing policies that have been formulated and enhance monitoring and evaluation in order to track progress and record impact.
The Chililabombwe District Epidemic Preparedness Committee has called on stakeholders in the area to reinforce the sensitization of communities on the coronavirus (COVID-19) preventive guidelines.
The committee, which is led by District Commissioner Roy Ngosa, observed that people had dropped their guard in adhering to the recommended practices posing a threat of another wave of the pandemic.
Most people have stopped adhering to the guidelines among them social distancing, wearing of face masks and hand washing or sanitizing following the recently experienced reduction in the number of COVID-19 positive cases being recorded across the country.
Chililabombwe, whose first positive corona virus case was recorded in April, has a cumulative number of 4869 tests conducted since with 405 confirmed cases and nine deaths, which were brought in dead (BID) cases. There is no active case currently.
Speaking during the committee’s meeting held at the Chililabombwe Municipal Council chamber, Mr Ngosa called on all stakeholders to join efforts to ensure access to quality services by the community.
The District Commissioner also reminded the stakeholders to ensure they subscribe to the “Keep Zambia Clean, Green and Healthy” agenda as it is a good intervention in providing healthy surroundings and preventing disease outbreaks.
“Epidemic control is key to maintaining a healthy population and being a border district, we are expected to maintain high levels of vigilance for diseases know no boundaries. It is not a responsibility of the Ministry of Health alone to put up measures to prevent the occurrence of avoidable diseases but calls for participation of all the stakeholders in the district,” he said.
Other health issues that received attention include the need for stakeholders to help in acquiring chlorine and lime to facilitate the disinfection of shallow wells and pit latrines in high density areas to avert the spread of diseases such as cholera and typhod.
The committee also leant that the district is currently at about 90 percent in terms of vaccinating dogs to prevent the spread of rabies courtesy of a partnership between the local authority’s Public Health Department, the Veterinary Department and Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) which has been providing the vaccines.
On waste management, it was resolved that the district engages a potential company that could set up a plant to recycle plastics and bottles as this could lead to minimal waste to be taken to dumping sites as well as increased revenue collection and employment creation.
The committee comprises officials from the District Administration, the Ministry of Health, the local authority, Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company, selected government departments, the private sector, Faith Based Organisations and some Civil Society Organisations.
A 66 year old man of Mbawe village in Nakonde district in Muchinga Province, has been murdered by unknown people. The development has been confirmed to ZANIS by Muchinga Province Police Commissioner Joel Njase.
Mr Njase said Wrightwell Sinkala was last seen on Monday around 05:00 hours in the morning when he went to his maize field 5 kilometres away from his home. The Police Commissioner added that Sinkala was discovered dead yesterday around 07:00 hours in his field facing down with a deep cut on the neck.
The Police Chief added that the motive for the murder is not yet known and that investigations into the matter have been instituted, while the body of the deceased is currently deposited at Nakonde District Hospital awaiting postmortem and burial.
Meanwhile, the Muchinga Province Police Command has called on the Community Crime Prevention unit (CCPU) to continue working hard and in collaboration with other defence forces in the region, in order to zero in on the criminals.
Mr Njase has also appealed to the aged people in the villages, to avoid moving long distances alone, but should be accompanied by someone.
The Police Commissioner has warned the perpetrators of such violent acts that the long arm of the law will catch up with them and that they will be dealt with accordingly.
“As police we want to send a serious warning to all those involved in the killing of innocent people that the long arm of the law will catch up with them,” said Commissioner Njase.
Napsa Stars on Wednesday failed to replicate their continental form back on the domestic front when they lost their Lusaka derby date against Zanaco at Nkoloma Stadium.
The match was Napsa’s first league game back from CAF Confederation Cup action where they collected back-to-back first round victories over Ngazi FC of Comoros to advance to the second stage 9-2 on aggregate.
But Napsa’s league drought continued when they lost 2-1 to Zanaco to slump to the bottom of the log at 18th place with three draws and two defeats.
Baba Basile put Zanaco ahead in the 21st minute before Jacob Ngulube gave Napsa hope with a 42nd minute equalizer.
But Moses Phiri broke Napsa’s hearts with a 50th minute winner and record his fifth goal of the campaign to tie with club mate Roger Kola.
Zanaco are third on 14 points, a point behind Zesco United and leaders Buildcon who are tied on 15 points.
Meanwhile, Napsa’s CAF Confederation Cup compatriots Green Eagles finished 0-0 at home against Nkwazi.
But Forest Rangers who have just exited from their debut CAF Champions League campaign, were excused from their Wednesday date against Kabwe Warriors after arriving back from continental duty in Gabon on Tuesday.
FAZ SUPER DIVISION
WEEK 9
09/12/2020
Power Dynamos 1-Lumwana Radiants 0
Green Eagles 0-Nkwazi 0
Indeni 2-Nkana 0
Green Buffaloes 1-Buildcon 2
Prison Leopards 4-Lusaka Dynamos 2
Kitwe United 0-Young Green Eagles 0
Zanaco 2-Napsa Stars 1
Red Arrows 0-Zesco United 0 TBA:
Kabwe Warriors-Forest Rangers
Nkana’s early season woes continued on Wednesday when they lost 2-0 away in Ndola at promoted Indeni in their first match without the suspended coach Manfred Chabinga.
The defending champions are stuck in the bottom four relegation zone with just one win ,two draws and three defeats since the start of the campaign.
And Nkana got off to the worst possible start against Indeni with defender Jimmy Dzingai scoring a 20th minute own-goal.
Gravin Chitalu put Nkana out of their misery in the 59th minute to see the defending champions slump from fourth to third from bottom at number 16 inside the drop zone.
Nkana meanwhile were without influential striker Idris Mbombo who has been handed an extended rest period after playing through the pain barrier due to an injury he sustained at the end of November.
The prize for Indeni’s big kill is fifth place on 12 points, three points behind new leaders Buildcon who beat Green Buffaloes 2-1 away in Lusaka.
Isaac Shamujompa put Buildcon ahead via a 14th minute penalty but Buffaloes equalized through FridaySamu in the 41st minute before Kamal Jafaru scored the winner for the Ndola club.
Buildcon replace their Ndola neighbours Zesco United from number one on goal difference after the latter were held 0-0 away in Lusaka at Red Arrows.
Eleventh placed Arrows could have walked away with the three points but missed a penalty through James Chamanga.
Defending COSAFA U20 champions Zambia are through to the semifinals of this year’s competition currently taking place in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Zambia beat Malawi 2-0 to sail through with a 100 percent run from Group B on 9 points to the December 11 semifinals with an eye on Mauritania 2021 AFCON U20 qualification.
Jimmy Mukeya struck a brace in the 22nd and 67th minutes to send Perry Mutapa’s team through to the last four.
Zambia will face Mozambique in the semifinals while Angola and Namibia will meet in the other last four fixtures.
Mozambique won Group A on 7 points, two more than hosts South Africa after 0-0 draw in their final Group A match on December 8.
Namibia booked their last four place as best runner-up from the three group competition while opponents Angola finished top of a tight Group 3 via goal difference tied on 3 points with eSwatini and Botswana.
The two finalists will represent the COSAFA zone at next year’s AFCON U20.
President Edgar Lungu says political violence in the country can only end when the United Party for National (UPND) opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema and his party commit to the process. President Lungu said political violence in the country is being perpetrated by the UPND.
Responding to a request from six Chiefs in Monze District for peace mediation between the Head of State and Mr Hichilema, President Lungu said he has always remained ready and committed to see violence end.
President Lungu told chiefs Hamusonde, Monze, Choongo, Chona, Mwaanza, and Ufwenuka’s representative that UPND President Hakainde Hichilema is the one perpetrating violence in the country as a recourse to losing general elections.
The President stated that UPND which he belonged to under late President Mazoka was not a violent party until Mr Hichilema took over the party’s leadership. “Under Mazoka, we never had violence. I have condemned the violence. I have not heard my friend HH condemning violence, “said President Lungu, urging the traditional leaders to also advise people to desist from harming each other.
President Lungu who is in Southern Province for a three-day working visit said his administration remains committed to bringing development to the region. He regretted that Southern Province had not received the desired development under past Presidents and that he will continue to work within means to bring development. He said the government will continue to improve the road network through construction of road infrastructure to aid service delivery.
The President assured the Chiefs that the Nickel- Monze Road will be made passable while waiting for funds to upgrade the road to tarmac and that he will make sure that people trying to sabotage government service delivery in the health sector are fired.
The Head of State said he is saddened to learn that there are shortages of drugs in health centres in Monze and he will engage the Minister of Health to assess the situation and ensure that essential drugs are distributed to people who need them.
President Lungu also assured the traditional leaders that the government will look into their complaints of the stoppage of the issuance of National Registration Cards. He explained that the ongoing mobile issuance of NRCs is intended to supplement the normal issuance of NRCs at the Boma.
President Lungu further assured the chiefs that he will engage the Minister of Livestock to ensure that veterinary services and drugs for cattle are made available.
On the repair of dilapidated dams and construction of additional dams, President Lungu said Minister of Water Jonas Chanda was recently in the area to assess the situation and needs.
The President said the government has already engaged the World Bank to help address the issue of dams so that people can have clean safe water for drinking and irrigation.
The President said he remains committed to promoting agricultural production in Southern Province so that the region reclaimed its bread basket status.
He said he has already engaged the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) and other stakeholders to explore ways of improving agriculture in the region.
“Agriculture is important for Southern Province Significantly, but yield has been going down. I will engage stakeholders like ZNFU, Ministry of Agriculture to boost agricultural production “, said President Lungu.
President Edgar Lungu during the tour of Bweengwa High School in Monze, Southern Province before officially launching the school on Wednesday, 9th December, 2020. Picture by Eddie Mwanaleza/State House.
President Lungu said it was unfortunate that the area Member of Parliament for Bweengwa has not taken advantage of the K126 Million Constituency Development Fund to finance the construction of police or health posts to meet people’s needs.
The President said he was humbled that people have appreciated his personal efforts of putting up new infrastructure at Bweengwa School. President Lungu financed the construction of new structures at Bweengwa School at a cost of over K1.4 million which led to its upgrade to a Secondary School.
Earlier, Chief Hamusonde had appealed to President Lungu to address the development challenges of the people of Monze. Speaking on behalf of five other chiefs, Chief Hamusonde urged President Lungu to quell political violence in the country by engaging UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema.
President Lungu also met and addressed Headmen whom he said play a vital role in the management of chiefdoms as they are custodians of traditional authority and lineage.
And President Lungu has directed Monze District Commissioner Munachongo Muleya to procure bicycles for all headmen in the district to aid their work.
Paramount Chief Chitimukulu of the Bemba of people of Northern Province says the “Movement for Voter Sensitization” has stepped up efforts to ensure that all eligible citizens obtain voters cards during the ongoing voter registration exercise.
The Mwine Lubemba who is Patron for the named organisation, has disclosed that the movement has put in place a number of measures to enable people acquire voter’s cards.
“As a movement we do not want to leave any stone unturned. We are making every effort to ensure that we sensitize the public on the voter registration exercise” he said.
The Paramount Chief added that the organization is also working closely with the local traditional leadership in areas where it is operating, to ensure that people without National Registration Cards and Voters cards acquire the documents.
The Paramount Chief has hailed the provincial and district administrations in the province for the efforts they are making in sensitizing people to register as voters.
He emphasized the need for people to know the significance of participating in elections.
“We are also educating people so that they understand the importance of taking part in the various national programmes such as voter registration and voting” he said.
Paramount Chief Chitimukulu was speaking when Minister of National Guidance and Religious Affairs, Godfridah Sumaili paid a courtesy call on him at his palace in Mungwi district.
And Rev. Sumaili said government is grateful to Paramount Chief Chitimukulu for his tireless efforts in sensitizing people to register as voters.
Rev. Sumaili said the initiative by the Mwine Lubemba to set up a voter sensitization movement is a move in the right direction.
She noted the need for all stakeholders to come on board and sensitize people on the importance of participating in voting.
“We are conducting civic education to our people, we want to make them understand their responsibilities, values such as patriotism” she said.
Rev. Sumaili is in the province to engage the clergy, traditional leaders and conduct civic education on the importance of people obtaining voter registration cards.
Brazil has recognised Zambia as one of the viable partners that the country is collaborating with in establishing a biofuel industry.
Brazil’s Foreign Affairs Director of Department and Promotions of Energy Resources, Minerals and Infrastructure Alex Giacomelli da Silva says, the commitment shown by the Zambian government and its stakeholders on plans to establish a biofuel industry is commendable.
“I would like to encouraged other Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) member states in Brazil to emulate Zambia’s stance to consider reducing dependence on fossil-fuel and opt for other sources of energy, which has massive economic benefits,” notes Mr da Silva.
He further assured the SADC Ambassadors of his government’s commitment to work in close collaboration with SADC member states in Brazil, with the aim of finding better ways of facilitating economic and bilateral cooperation.
This was during trade and investments negotiations held by the SADC group of Ambassadors in Brazil, and the Brazilian government, aimed at accelerating opportunities for the corporate sector to do business with SADC member states.
At a meeting convened at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brasilia, the host government equally expressed eagerness to commence business in earnest with SADC member states.
Meanwhile Zambia’s Ambassador to Brazil Alfreda Kansembe said the gesture by the Brazilian government to assure SADC member states of strengthened bilateral cooperation in trade and investment as well as other sectors that promote economic development, is a welcome move.
She disclosed that Zambia has had more viable business partnerships with Brazil’s private sector, but was now more encouraged to get assurance from the Brazilian government, who outlined a number of areas that will promote economic and bilateral cooperation.
“The plan by the Brazilian government to establish a biofuel industry in Zambia is a milestone to the growth of the economy due to its benefits which include improved domestic energy security and reduced greenhouse gas emissions when compared to fossil-fuel which is expensive to produce,” she noted.
This is contained in statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka today by First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Zambian Embassy in Brazil, Grace Makowane.
Home Affairs Minister Steven Kampyongo has said tha Luapula registered more people than Western Province in the Mobile National Registration Cards- NRCs exercise because of stronger mobilisation.
Mr. Kampyongo said that all provinces were given equal human resources and equipment to carry out a similar exercise without preference for any region, adding that Government also extended the Mobile NRC exercise to cover more people and that all district offices remain open for people to obtain NRCs.
Mr. Kampyongo said that no police permits are currently required for those replacing lost or damaged NRCs to encourage more people to obtain the national document and that even in class students get different results in an exam without blaming the lecturer.
The Home Affairs Minister said that his Ministry has been instructed to carry out a review of the NRC exercise adding that given resources officers might go back to some areas.
He was responding to a question in Parliament yesterday from UPND Mitete MP Misheck Mutelo who wanted to know why the Western Province recorded only 52% success rate compared to 181% for Luapula Province, in the just-ended Mobile Issuance of National Registration Cards Exercise when the two provinces had a similar target of 100,000 people.
Mr. Mutelo also wanted to know the urgent measures that are being taken to ensure that eligible citizens are issued with National Registration Cards in the Western Province, to enable them register as voters in the ongoing Voter Registration Exercise before it ends on 12th December, 2020.
The Civil Society Constitution Agenda (CiSCA) would like to refresh the memory of the Electoral Commission of Zambia that universal suffrage and the right to vote is not only a human right but is also guaranteed in our Constitution. Consequently, the management of the electoral process, including voter registration as per article 229 subsection 2 of our constitution, is not a charitable undertaking for ECZ to be making arbitrary decisions with impunity. Article 46 of our Constitution assures every Zambian citizen who has attained the age of 18 years the right to register as a voter. Our Bill of Rights within the purview of articles 20 and 21, warrants freedoms of association and expressions and voting for a preferred political party or candidate.
Additionally, Zambia is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), having ratified it in 1984. Article 25 of the covenant provides for every citizen the right and the opportunity, without unreasonable restrictions, or distinction of any kind such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or another opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status of any differentiation to vote.
The Human Rights Committee that supervises governments’ implementation of the ICCPR reiterates that where there is need for voter registration, it should be done without imposing obstacles. As CiSCA, we submit that the lopsided registration blatantly skewed to advantage certain regions, not only flies in the face of both the human rights standards and our constitutional guarantees but is a subversion of the ECZ’s mandate. It is a very clear hallmark of inefficiency and ineffectiveness.
Notwithstanding the human rights and constitutional guarantees on the right to vote, the potential volatility of the upcoming 2021 elections is not lost on anyone in the nation and we suspect least of all on the ECZ, therefore, the tenets of transparency should not be glossed over. This calls for a serious commitment to openness, communication and accountability on the part of ECZ. Failure to do so reduces the credibility of the elections and consequently the results and the legitimacy of whoever takes power.
We demand that the allegations of the deliberate registration of more voters in PF strongholds by allocating more personnel for registration compared to perceived opposition strongholds should be thoroughly investigated and put to rest. Allegations of children being issued with NRCs and voters’ cards should also be investigated. The insistence on discarding of the 2016 existing voters roll with higher registered figures compared to the current lower registered figures should be resolved short of which we will assume that ECZ is compromised and bent on disenfranchising millions of Zambians. The ECZ set 9 million as the target number to be registered and we believe there was a rationale for that number, therefore, the focus is to attain 9 million registered voters so logically the registration period should be attached to the attainment of the target number. It is also not enough to just mention the total figures captured but we need disaggregated numbers by province in comparison to the population in each province so we assess the credibility of the new voters’ roll.
We also demand that ECZ explain the number of registration centers, registration officers per district or province and the basis on which number of registration centers per district/province is made. We are greatly concerned that in some cases, the low allocation of personnel has slowed down the registration. The failure by the ECZ to address this would give credence to allegations or suspicions that they are colluding with some parties to disenfranchise some voters.
There is no excuse for the ECZ Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer who all come from sectors that stand for legal and social justice and respect for human rights to aid or champion an agenda that clearly violates fundamental human rights. Time is running out, but it is not too late for the ECZ to correct this situation, if they really want to.
The Masaiti district Administration has embarked on sensitising surrounding communities on how to prevent occurrences of some natural disasters.
Masaiti District commissioner Patrick Zulu says there is need for communities to be knowledgeable of some disaster preventive measures that can be undertaken in order to help reduce calamities.
He said government such information will help government reduce on the expenditure incurred, each time the area is faced with a calamity.
Mr Zulu added that some roofs that were blown off were not strong enough to withstand a hailstorm, while other structures are too weak, hence collapsing during a heavy downpour.
“It has been brought to my attention that most of the houses which have had their roofs blown off are as a result of using wrong materials when constructing.” Mr Zulu said.
Mr Zulu further revealed that some community schools built by community members were not inspected by the local authority before being handed over to government, hence no assessment done declare the safety of the premises.
“We decided to come up with this workshop to educate our people on the importance of following preventive measures which can help reduce some of these disasters,” he said.
Meanwhile the District Commissioner said government has worked on the school infrastructures which had their roofs blown off.
Mr Zulu added that government did not want learners to miss out on school hours, adding that it was this reason that government decided to provide the necessary materials to replace the roofs.
Meanwhile, Mr Zulu explained that his office is still assessing the total number of affected houses, which have been affected by the heavy rains.
He added that a complete report will be submitted to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) once the assessment is done.
About a month ago, Masaiti district had a number of houses damaged after heavy rains experienced in the area.
Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention Deputy Director Ahmed Ouma has cautioned Zambian’s to be weary of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic that has hit certain African countries.
Dr Ouma, notes that although Zambia is not one of the listed countries for the second wave of the pandemic, the citizens should not be complacent as the country, also has hotspots.
He however says that the second wave of the COVID pandemic is not uniform across Africa but that it is being driven by certain countries, among them South Africa, Kenya, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt, due to different socio -economic and particularly environmental factors that exist on the continent.
He announced that the African Continent started experiencing a second wave of the COVID -19 pandemic in mid -October particularly in the East and Northern regions.
“Zambia is not one of the listed countries for the second wave but that is not to say you be complacent because within Zambia there are hotspots as well which the government of Zambia is tackling quiet effectively,” Dr. Ouma said.
“We are seeing a second wave since the mid of October, the second wave is not uniform across Africa, it is being driven by certain countries because of different socio economic and particularly environmental factors that exist on the continent,” he said.
Speaking at a media briefing in Lusaka this morning, the African CDC Deputy Director indicated that despite having observed a second wave on the African Continent, the curve is not as steep as the first wave and that it is expected that the curve will be much lower than in the first wave.
“If you look at Zambia, have been relatively stable and low after the first peak in mid-July but continentally from mid of October we have seen a rise in the second wave, though I must add that the curve is not as steep as the first wave and we expect that when it picks, it will pick at a much lower level than we saw in the first wave,” he observed.
And Dr. Ouma stated that the centre is supporting Zambia with rapid responders who are professionals, to help in combating the further spread of the coronavirus, adding that consideration is being made to include more people on board.
“For Zambia, what we have done is that we are supporting the country with rapid responders. We have professionals and there are about 10 and we have been asked for more which we will consider and we also have community health workers and those are currently 2, 000 and we will also consider increasing those numbers depending on how the pandemic is evolving in the country,’ Dr. Ouma said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ouma indicated that as of this morning, nearly over 2.3 million COVID- 19 cases have been documented on the African continent, which he said is way below what was predicted at the beginning of the pandemic.
