Ministry of Health Permanent secretary, Dr Kennedy Malama has strongly cautioned health personnel against pilfering essential drugs.

Dr Malama said any health member of staff found pilfering essential drugs should be brought to book and disciplined accordingly.

Dr Malama said this last night when he addresses senior health personnel at Solwezi general hospital before touring the hospital.

He also advised the medical staff to ensure that they provide quality health services to the people who seek the services at the hospital.

“You know the health sector, focus is now to ensure that we provide health services to the people of Solwezi, but as we do that we should ensure that quality of services”, Dr Malama said.

He also advised the hospital management to always ensure cleanness at the hospital not to wait until senior people visits the institution.

“All we want to see is that resources and monies received from government are translating into better patient care. We do not expect to see shortage of drugs, dirty environment and shortage of food for the patients,” Dr Malama said

He further appealed to the hospital management team to ensure the grants received and other resources translate into better health care service provision to the people.

Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matabini has called on all members of parliament to sensitize people on the importance of planting trees in their various constituencies.

Dr Matabini challenged all MPs to inculcate the culture of planting trees to the citizenry as such will help conserve and prevent environmental degradation thus reducing effects of climate change.

He was speaking during the National Assembly and Commonwealth parliamentarians Association of Zambia branch executive members planting a tree at Parliamentary conference forest grounds in Lusaka yesterday.

“I urge all the parliamentarians as they go out in the provinces to plant trees and also work with the forestry department officers in the constituencies and be advised on the types of tree to plant in the various constituencies ,” Dr Matabini stated .

He said the commonwealth Parliamentarian Association of Zambia has partnered with the forestry Department to plant a thousand trees in the constituencies to reduce effects and challenges of climate change that the country is facing.

And Director Forestry Department Ignatius Makumba said the department is ready to partner with a lot of stakeholders on planting various species of trees throughout the Provinces.

Mr Makumba said the department is ready to planting a thousand trees and called upon all stakeholders and the public to work together with the department and get advice on the types of trees that can be planted in different areas of the country at affordable prices .

He also thanked the speaker of national assembly and the parliamentarians for being part of the planting of the two hundred trees at Parliament grounds at a cost of two hundred Kwacha.

President Edgar Lungu has appreciated the innovative thinking that the Ministry of National Development Planning through the Zambia Integrated Forest Landscape Project (ZIFLP) has introduced to improve food security and livelihoods of rural communities while achieving climate change mitigation objectives.

President Lungu made the commendation when he recently visited the farm of Mr Charles Tembo, a ZIFLP Lead Farmer from Manyane Agriculture Camp in Chief Mwanjabanthu in Petauke District in Eastern Province, who is growing cashew and practicing Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) techniques taught by ZIFLP, a Project in the Ministry of National Development Planning.

He said the innovation will improve food security and livelihoods as well as enable the country attain its climate change mitigation objectives in line with international climate change commitments.
President Lungu was pleased to witness that cashew can also grow in Eastern Province. The President said he looked forward to see more farmers adopting CSA, which includes high value tree crops such as cashew.
President Lungu has just concluded his successful working visit to Eastern Province.

ZIFL Project is an initiative of the Government of Zambia through a loan facility from the World Bank at a total cost of $32.8 million meant to support rural communities in Eastern Province to allow them better manage the resources of their landscapes to reduce deforestation, improve landscape management and increase environmental and economic benefits for targeted rural communities.

Explaining to the President about his cashew nut farming and support from Government through the Ministry of National Development Planning, Mr. Tembo expressed gratitude to ZIFLP for the technical support and knowledge about climate smart agriculture imparted in him and other farmers.

Mr. Tembo requested the Ministry of National Development Planning through ZIFLP to support him and fellow farmers with borehole for watering the trees, saying that he had totally embraced climate smart agriculture.

The farmer expressed gratitude to His Excellency the President for visiting his farm, adding that the visit had given him and other farmers in the catchment area encouragement to do more and contribute to Zambia’s development.

And ZIFP National Project Coordinator Dr. Tasila Banda commended President Lungu and his Government for the commitment to combat climate change through mitigation and adaption interventions such as ZIFLP.
“As an integrated Project, the only way to keep these intervention sustainable is to engage the private sector who are helping communities to generate bankable project proposals for enterprises around agriculture value chain, non-timber forest value and eco-tourism,” said Dr. Banda. “All three technical service providers have been selected, these being private sector who have a good track record and evidence of products on the market.”

Zambia Integrated Forest Landscape Project’s three components are meant to create enabling conditions for livelihood investments to be successfully implemented and provide support for Local Level Planning and Emissions Reductions Framework, focus on activities that improve rural livelihoods, conserve ecosystems and reduce Gas Emissions, finance activities related to national and provincial level project coordination and management, and provision of assistance in the event of a disaster or emergency relief.
This is according to a media statement issued by Ministry of National Development Planning Spokesperson Mr. Chibaula D. Silwamba in Lusaka yesterday.

A clergyman in Mpulungu has urged parents to encourage children especially girls to take education seriously.

Stella Maris Assistant Parish Priest, Isaac Kabumbu said it is disheartening to find that most girl children fall pregnant at a very tender age.

Fr Kabumbu noted that early marriages are retrogressive to the development of a human life and to the nation as a whole.

He said girl children especially in rural areas fail to attain proper education because of going into early marriage and early pregnancies.

“You should as children find pride in education, be happy to go to school so that you can take care of yourselves and support your families,” he said.

Fr Kabumbu explained that it is difficult for a child to concentrate in school when she is going through changes of womanhood.

“Be patient as children and learn from your parents so that you can help reduce the levels of poverty in your communities,” said Fr Kabumbu.

He said this during a homily, when he commissioned 20 members of Nazareth who he urged as parents to ensure that they perform their role of bringing up children in a Godly way.

“It is your responsibility as parents to ensure that you help guide this new generation to ensure they bring development not only to you as parents, but to the church and the nation as a whole,” he urged parents.

A Lusaka man aged 25 has set ablaze his wife aged 21 using kerosene and later attempted to commit suicide by taking unknown poisonous substances.

Zambia Police Spokesperson, Esther Katongo identified the man as Shepherd Chisala of Mtendere East, who set ablaze Agnes Kafupi Chisala, between 02: 30 hours and 03: 00 hours yesterday on November 22, 2020 after a marital dispute.

Ms Katonga said both victims were rushed to Levy Mwanawasa Hospital where Shepherd Chisala died the same day while his wife was admitted in the ICU until she died in the early hours of today around 05: 30hrs.

She said the bodies are in the same hospital mortuary.

This is according to a statement issued to media today by Ms Katongo.

President Edgar Lungu has empowered marketeers in Chingola constituency with a revolving fund of K100 thousand to enable them to boost their businesses.

Delivering the funds on behalf of President Lungu to the marketeers, Chingola Central Member of Parliament, Matthew Nkhuwa said President Lungu does not want to see people’s businesses collapsing due to lack of capital.

Mr Nkhuwa said the Head of State has instructed him to ensure that every marketeer should benefit from the funds that are being provided to cushion the economic shocks of COVID-19.

“The President has sent me to deliver these funds to you our marketeers here at Kasompe market so that you sustain your businesses. He has instructed me not to leave none of you behind as long you are a marketeer,” he said.

The lawmaker who is also Minister of Energy, implored the market leadership to properly coordinate the disbursement of the funds to the beneficiaries and cautioned that he will not entertain any misappropriations.

He noted that empowerment funds have proved to be a game-changer of people’s livelihoods if prudently utilised.

“When you have such an opportunity from the President, make sure you utilize it to amend the challenges your businesses are going through. These funds have come to you out of goodwill from the Head of State,” Mr Nkhuwa said.

Meanwhile, Mr Nkhuwa also urged marketers in the constituency to obtain voters cards for them to participate in the 2021 general elections.

“Voting is every citizen’s right, therefore you should go in numbers and be captured as voters so that you can choose leaders of your choices during next year’s elections.

And one of the markeers, Theresa Nanyangwe, a vegetable trader at Kasompe market said the funds will help revive her business which had completely collapsed after she consumed all her K500 capital.