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12 Zimbabweans convicted for unlawful entry in Zambia

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12 Zimbabweans convicted for unlawful entry in Zambia

The Department of Immigration in Sinazongwe district in Southern Province has convicted 12 Zimbabweans for the offence of unlawful entry.

The offenders who were convicted on Friday, October 2, 2020, were arrested on September 25, 2020 in Sinazongwe after being intercepted on a Zimbabwe bound Bus which was returning from Lusaka.

The group comprising seven females and five males did not have any travel documents at the time of the arrests and have since been removed from the country after paying the fines.

This is according to a statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka today, by Public Relations Officer Namati Nshinka.

Mr Nshinka noted that each has been sentenced to pay a fine of K300 or in default 6 months simple imprisonment.

“The Department of Immigration in Sinazongwe on Friday, 2nd October, 2020 secured the conviction of twelve (12) Zimbabweans for the offence of unlawful entry. They were each sentenced to pay a fine of K 300 or in default 6 months simple imprisonment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Nshinka has added that five other foreign nationals were also convicted for being found outside the refugee camp without authority.

“On 2nd October, 2020 the Department secured five (05) convictions. The convicts were two Malawians and one South African convicted for unlawful entry and one Burundian and one Congolese, both refugees, convicted for being outside a refugee camp without authority,” he explained.

On the same date, 32 persons of various nationalities were apprehended for various immigration offences, country-wide.

Mr Nshinka said the Department also removed thirty-five illegal immigrants from the country and refused six foreign nationals entry into Zambia for failing to meet entry requirements.

Construction of mini hospitals in Northwestern to commence this month

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Construction of mini hospitals in Northwestern to commence this month

Construction of Mini Hospitals in the Northwestern Province is expected to commence this month.

Northwestern Province Health Director, Charles Msiska said the commitment that government made to build mini hospitals in the province is coming alive, with works expected to commence this month of October.

Dr Msiska said boreholes are going to be drilled at the agreed sites to mark the commencement of the projects.

He said this when he addressed selected traditional leaders from Northwestern Province who convened in Kasempa District over the weekend for a malaria elimination programme.

“The contractor came and assessed the land that was offered to the government. This month boreholes are going to be drilled in order to start construction,” Dr Msiska said.

He disclosed that government wants to have a health facility everywhere where there is a school.

“Every after five kilometers or where there is a school, we should have a health facility hence this infrastructure development,” Dr Msiska said.

He said 90 percent of the rural health posts allocated to the province have been constructed and handed over to the community with the remaining 10 percent expected to be completed before November, 2020.

He further disclosed that 30,000 health workers have been recruited and deployed across the country with Northwestern being among the beneficiaries.

MONDAY’S PRO’S HIT LIST: Fashion Scores , Mazembe Trio Kickoff Season

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Here is our weekend wrap of selected Chipolopolo player’s performances at their respective clubs abroad.


=DR CONGO
Defender’s Kabaso Chongo and Tandi Mwape played the full 90 minutes in TP Mazembe’s season opening league game on Sunday against Blessings that ended 0-0 at home in Lubumbashi.
Midfielder Rainford Kalaba came on in the 56th minute.


=TANZANIA
Midfielder’s Clatous Chama and Larry Bwalya started but were not on target during defending champions Simba SC’s 4-0 away win over third from bottom JKT on Sunday.
Chama, though, was substituted in the 77th minute for the second placed side.

=SWEDEN
Midfielder Edward Chilufya started but was not on the score sheet for 6th placed Djurgarden in Sunday’s 1-1 away draw at fellow mid-table side Hammarby.
Chilufya was substituted in the 46th minute.


=RUSSIA
Brothers Klings Kangwa and Evans Kangwa played the full 90 minutes for 12th placed Arsenal Tula but were not on target in Saturday’s 1-1 away draw at 13th positioned Tambov.

=BELGIUM
Fashion Sakala helped propel mid-table KV Oostende to their third league win of the season with the sides’ second goal in the 81st minute of Sunday’s 3-0homewin over bottom placed and winless Excel Mouscron.
It was Fashion’s third goal of the season before he was substituted in the 85th minute.

Zambia’s debt restructuring timeline is ambitious-Stanbic Bank

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Zambia’s debt restructuring timeline is ambitious-Stanbic Bank

Standard Bank trading in Zambia as Stanbic Bank says the Zambian government’s proposed timeline for debt restricting may be too ambitious.

According to a note from its Africa Research team, Stanbic says it suspects that negotiations with external creditors and the IMF could potentially be longer than the 6-month period the government intends.

“The Zambian government approached Eurobond creditors along with other commercial lenders for a 6-month interest payment deferral. It appears that the government intends to use this 6-m period to secure an IMF deal as well as conclude restructuring negotiations with all external commercial debt holders,” it said.

“In a recent call with investors, the Zambian government emphasized that it is facing extreme fiscal and external pressures, which are exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“Nonetheless, we still think that the government’s proposed timeline may be too ambitious. Should the government’s request for debt service suspension on all commercial debt be granted, they could save up to USD979m. This includes the USD81m in debt service relief that Zambia received from the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).”

It added, “While this may provide much needed short-term relief, Zambia would still remain at an elevated risk of debt distress. Of course, an IMF programme and successful restructuring of external commercial debt within the next 6-m, could improve the external account position and possibly unlock additional foreign financing. This is captured in our bull case, or best case, scenario for Zambia that was published in the Sep edition of our Africa Markets Revealed. Of course, a quick and successful debt restructuring would limit upside pressure on the USD/ZMW.”

The bank has since projected that the Kwacha’s best case scenario will be around 18.1 to a Dollar in the first half of the year.

“Furthermore, the government has highlighted that it intends to treat all external commercial creditors fairly. Media reports indicate that Eurobond holders seem reluctant to be treated junior to other commercial creditors. Although Eurobond investors appear willing to engage in negotiations, some bondholders are seeking more clarity on the composition of Zambia’s external debt stock. After all, despite fiscal distress, the government acknowledged that USD 900m in project loans were disbursed in the 8-m to August.”

“The relevant meetings for each Eurobond will take place on 20 Oct, where quorums have been set at two thirds for the Zambia 22s and 24s, and three quarters for Zambia 27s. Failure to meet quorum, or pass resolution will trigger adjournment to 3 Nov. Should the meetings be adjourned, the deadline for voting for the 3 Nov meetings will be 30 Oct.”

“Critically, the relevant extraordinary resolution to defer interest payments from Oct to Apr 21, must be passed at the relevant meetings for each Eurobond on 20 Oct, or the relevant adjourned meeting. The threshold for passing the relevant extraordinary resolution is a majority of not less than three quarters of the votes cast. If passed, the relevant extraordinary resolution will be binding on all bondholders.“

“At the end of Jun, total public debt reached USD 19.9bn, or 112% of GDP. Domestic debt accounts for USD 5.7bn, with public and publicly guaranteed external debt at USD 14.2bn. Of course, a successful outcome from negotiations with creditors and the IMF hinge on full disclosure of the government’s debt stock, particularly related to the size of publicly guaranteed debt and possibly other contingent liabilities, such as debt contracted by state-owned entities,” it said.

“Recall that the government recently disclosed that public guaranteed and non-guaranteed debt reached USD 2.2bn at the end of Dec19. This includes USD 1.6bn in guarantees, mostly for government energy projects, and USD 600m in non-guaranteed debt for ZESCO. Public debt estimates exclude domestic arrears to private suppliers and government related entities as well as VAT refunds.”

Muchinga Province stores building burnt to ashes

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Muchinga Province stores building burnt to ashes

An inferno has swept through the Provincial general stores building in Chinsali District of Muchinga Province destroying all medical items and storage facilities worth millions of kwacha.

All the vaccines, drugs and storage equipment including documents for the entire Province have been burnt and reduced to ashes.

The fire brigade teams that rushed to the scene with two fire trucks struggled to put off the fire as the only source of water was about 10 kilometers from the hospital.

The fire is believed to have started in the afternoons of yesterday around 12:00 hours leaving the entire facility completely empty.

Muchinga Province Permanent Secretary Joyce Nsamba who was present at the scene has described the fire accident as a disaster.

Ms Nsamba said the situation is saddening as all the medicines, drugs vaccines and storage facilities have been gutted completely.

She said the fire accident is a huge loss to the government because it had spent huge sums of money on the procurement of drugs and vaccines that have been destroyed by fire.

The PS has since commended the Chinsali Fire Brigade for managing to put of the fire after 5 hours despite some challenges.

“I was in the field monitoring NRC mobile issuance exercise when I received a call that the general stores was on fire and I quickly rushed here. I want to thank the fire brigade for their quick and prompt response, “the PS said.

And acting Provincial Health Director Charles Chungu has expressed shock at the development.

Dr Chungu said the facility that has been burnt stores drugs and vaccines for all the nine (9) districts of Muchinga Province including equipment and documents.

“This storage facility carters for the whole province and all vaccines and drugs are kept right here for all the districts in Muchinga Province,” Dr Chungu lamented.

He said the gutting of the building including the storage facilities where all drugs and vaccines were kept under the required temperatures is a big loss to the Districts, Province and the Ministry of Health.

Dr Chungu said the cause of the fire is not yet known adding that there was no electricity due to maintenance works by ZESCO but that the facility was powered using a gen-set.

Meanwhile, Muchinga Province Police Commissioner Joel Njase who was also present at the scene said the fire accident is unfortunate.

Engineer Njase said the Police through the forensics experts in the service will do its part in ascertaining the cause of the fire within the shortest possible time.

He has since warned that should it be found that the fire was started on purpose by an individual, the law will take its cause without fear or favour.

“We will get to the bottom of this and if we discover that someone was behind this the law will visit them accordingly,” he warned.

Chinsali residents including health workers and patients from their hospital beds rushed out watch as the storage facility was burning down to ashes.

The general storage facility building was built in 2011with support from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Edward Chilufya Set For Chipolopolo Debut

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Midfielder Edward Chilufya is set for his senior Zambia debut after his Swedish club Djurgarden confirmed he will be available for Chipolopolo’s October friendly program.

The  21-year-old 2017 U17 AFCON winner gets his first senior call-up after enjoying his best season at Djurgarden with eleven games and two goals so far this term since he joined the Swedish club three seasons ago.

“The Allsvenskan (Swedish topflight) is now taking a break for two weeks and national team games will begin. For Edward Chilufya, this means that he now joins the Zambian national team who has three international matches,” the club posted on its website.

“We hope for Edward’s success and his Chipolopolo team.”

Chipolopolo have three friendly’s coming up starting with Malawi at home on October 7 at National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka.

Micho and his team will later travel to Kenya on October 11 in Nairobi and face South Africa away at Rustenburg on October 13.

NDC urges youths to turn up for anti-ECZ demos

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NDC urges youths to turn up for anti-ECZ demos

The National Democratic Congress is urging all the youths to turn up in great numbers to demonstrate against the Electoral Commission of Zambia.

NDC National Youth Chairman Charles Kabwita announced that further to the successful notification for demonstrations made to the police by NDC and UPND, he is directing the youths in all provinces to turn out in great numbers to demonstrate against ECZ Chairperson Justice Esau Chulu, ECZ Commissioner Mrs. Emily Sikazwe and ECZ Electoral Officer Patrick Nshindano.

“Note that we will also be protesting against bad governance and selective allocation of the law, among other issues. All this has resulted into the opposition like the NDC failing to mobilise as much as it would like to. We have met all the requirements of the Public Order Act hence our expectations of the police are that they do not interfere with the demonstrations. The police should be there to police the demonstrations and not be a source of confusion or violence against peaceful demonstrators,” Mr Kabwita said.

He vowed that the youths are not going to take no for an answer for this undertaking and that they expect the rule of law to prevail.

“The directive from my office, therefore, is that all the youths should go to their particular routes on the 7th of October and demonstrate against these injustices and obliteration of the rule of law in the country. We also encourage our youths in Lusaka from both the NDC and UPND, as well as from other parties and those that are not aligned to any political party, but they are aggrieved with what is happening in the country, to show up for the protest,” he said.

“The police have, of late, granted a number of rallies to the PF, the recent one being in Chingola. So we shall not take no for an answer, we shall go ahead with or without the police and our notification to go ahead was already successfully given to the police last week.”

Privatization inquiry not politically driven, Mundubile

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Privatization inquiry not politically driven, Mundubile

Patriotic Front (PF) Chairperson for Legal Affairs Brian Mundubile has dismissed assertions by some sections of society that the call for an inquiry into the Privatization process of national assets is politically driven.

Mr Mundubile, who is also Government Chief Whip and Mporokoso Member of Parliament, said the matter is of national interest.

Mr Mundubile said politicians have been compelled to comment on the issue because it affects the people they represent.

Speaking to journalists in Chilubi, Mr Mundubile said many Zambians who lost their jobs have suffered the adverse effects of privatization because the process was allegedly mismanaged.

“The call for an inquiry cannot be politically driven, because this particular topic has been discussed time immemorial. The fact that some politicians have commented does not mean it is politically driven,” said Mr Mundubile.

The lawmaker however said people in leadership or those who aspire for leadership positions and were involved in the privatization process should have their names cleared regardless of their political affiliation.

He said individuals who were involved in the process should not be negative about the inquiry but instead see it as an opportunity for them to set the record straight.

“What we are seeing now is a blame game, but there is need to set the record straight. This is not political but if you want to be a leader, you need to clear your name in certain issues,” he said.

Mr Mundubile has since appealed to members of the public to support calls for the inquiry.

Continental Leadership Research Institute Concerned With Deteriorating Civil Rights

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Continental Leadership Research Institute Concerned With Deteriorating Civil Rights

The continental Leadership Research institute (CLRI) has said that it is concerned with the continued deteriorating space of civil rights and liabilities in Zambia.

In a statement to the media, CLRI Director Mundia Paul Hakola said his organization is concerned that the rights of assembly and speech are being curtailed by officials using state institutions meant to protect the citizenry.

He observed that in the recent past there has been a number of incidents where the right of speech and assembly have been threatened and some state institutions that have a mandate protect citizens have actually been used to threaten these same rights and liabilities.

“Zambia is heading to the polls in 2021 and the government has a duty to ensure that it upholds principals of democratic state and that is to listen to descending views and not silence them. The views of those who don’t share your view allow you to think outside the box and also to interrogate the policies and decisions on a table with different view but when you don’t allow others to speak and assembly then we slowing heading to a state of one-party state.

“We noticed that critical voices in the country have been silenced through state agencies which is a matter of concern and an assault on the whole essence of democracy. The state and party in power needs to learn that the best and unbiased advice or view sometimes doesn’t come from those we share the same view with but those that are critical are actually helping us to become better, democracy is consultative by nature and dialogue is key to achieve good governance,” he said.

Mr Hakola said freedom of speech and assembly is one of the benchmarks that is critical in democratic governance especially in an election year that the country in going in.

“Freedom of speech and assembly is one of the benchmarks that is critical in democratic governance especially in an election year that we going in and non -state actors such civil society have a duty to do a lot civic education as head to the polls, so are other actors that need to freely enjoy their rights to effectively participate in the democratic processes. The institute is however concerned by the unfair application of the public order act and also the constant infringement on the freedom of expression that is clearly demonstrated by the closure of Prime TV, treats to arrest youths for wanting to conduct peaceful demonstration and many other acts which we have documented.

“We are concerned by the slowly shrinking space in our democratic tents in Zambia, if the harassing of citizens by state agencies continues, we might soon be categorized as state without free speech and no right of assembly.”

He said failure to address the concerns his organization has raised will negatively impact on the country’s standing as well as affect citizens participation in next year’s elections.

“We call on the human rights commission to release a report on the state of governance regarding freedom of speech and assembly in Zambia, we take this opportunity to invite the international organisations concerned with human rights to take keen interest in Zambia and begin to aggressively monitor the human rights situation in Zambia and we also call the Zambia Police and the ministry of home affairs to engage with all stakeholders and find common ground that will head towards a path of transparency and accountability in the way the public order Act is being administered.

Failure to take necessary steps to deal with the human rights situation will badly affect our standing as country and will also citizen participation in 2021 elections,” he said.

Vice President donates to Kitwe quadruplets

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Vice President donates to Kitwe quadruplets

Vice President Inonge Wina has donated hampers and a cash gift of 10 thousand Kwacha to three months old quadruplets in Kitwe.

The Vice President said she is aware that feeding four children is a burden for the family and donated K10, 000 to Mr Daniel and Elizabeth Bwalya, the parents to quadruplets of Miseshi area in Mindolo township.

Ms Wina encouraged the family to look after the babies as they a gift from God and that he is the one who will protect them.

The quadruplets who were born on 2 July this year at Kitwe Teaching hospital are the third born children after three other siblings.

ZANIS reports that two of the quadruplets are named after the Head of State President Edgar Lungu and the First Lady who are the first and fourth born, Jeremiah is second and Chese third.

And Mr Bwalya the father asked the Vice President to help him with a job that will help him to sustain his family.

Mr Bwalya who is currently working for an Indian company said he has a huge responsibility to look after seven children and needs a stable income.

In response the Vice President asked the Minister of Community Development Kapampa Chewe and Copperbelt Province Minister Japhen Mwakalombe to see how the family can benefit from the various empowerment programs.

The Vice President who has concluded her two-day working visit to the Copperbelt province left fot Lusaka yesterday morning.

-Vice President Inonge Wina encourages Mother of quadrato (4) babies Elizabeth Phiri Bwalya and Father Daniel Bwalya during the presentation of the gifts to the quadrto (4) babies Edgar, Jeremiah, Jessy and Esther the only female in Kitwe
-Vice President Inonge Wina encourages Mother of quadrato (4) babies Elizabeth Phiri Bwalya and Father Daniel Bwalya during the presentation of the gifts to the quadrto (4) babies Edgar, Jeremiah, Jessy and Esther the only female in Kitwe
Mother of quadrato (4) babies Elizabeth Phiri Bwalya and Father Daniel Bwalya admiring presents given to there babies Edgar, Jeremiah, Jessy and the only female Esther
Mother of quadrato (4) babies Elizabeth Phiri Bwalya and Father Daniel Bwalya admiring presents given to there babies Edgar, Jeremiah, Jessy and the only female Esther
Mother of quadrato (4) babies Elizabeth Phiri Bwalya and Father Daniel Bwalya admiring presents given to there babies Edgar, Jeremiah, Jessy and the only female Esther
Mother of quadrato (4) babies Elizabeth Phiri Bwalya and Father Daniel Bwalya admiring presents given to there babies Edgar, Jeremiah, Jessy and the only female Esther
-Minister in the office of the Vice President Olipa Phiri admires one of the babies whilst the mother of quadrato babies Elizabeth Phiri Bwalya Father Daniel Bwalya looks on during the presentation of the gifts to the babies Edgar, Jeremiah, Jessy and Esther the only female
-Minister in the office of the Vice President Olipa Phiri admires one of the babies whilst the mother of quadrato babies Elizabeth Phiri Bwalya Father Daniel Bwalya looks on during the presentation of the gifts to the babies Edgar, Jeremiah, Jessy and Esther the only female
Gifts which are presents of the gifts to the quadrto (4) babies Edgar, Jeremiah, Jessy and Esther the only female in Kitwe by the Vice President Inonge Wina
Gifts which are presents of the gifts to the quadrto (4) babies Edgar, Jeremiah, Jessy and Esther the only female in Kitwe by the Vice President Inonge Wina

Employees Quarantined by the Chinese Firm for over five months released.

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Employees Quarantined by the Chinese Firm for over five months released.

The CNMC Luanshya Copper Mines employees who were quarantined by the Chinese Firm for over five months have been released.

According to a statement issued by Kirby Kaoma Musonda, the NDC Deputy Media Director, the employees were released yesterday following the intervention of Roan Member of Parliament Honourable Joseph Chishala.

Two weeks ago during the Vice President’s question time in parliament, the Roan lawmaker asked the government through the Vice President if they were aware about the quarantined employees at the mine due to COVID-19, but the Vice President’s response was that the government was not aware of it.

On 30th September 2020 the Roan Member of parliament visited the Ministry of Labour and had a meeting with the permanent secretary who promised that on a Saturday 3rd October 2020 they will together with the MP visit the mine to handle the issue.

As per their promise yesterday the 3rd October 2020 CNMC management was paid a prompt visit.

The entourage consisted of Mr charles Muwowo provincial labour commissioner, Mr Kaziya chanda Permanent Secretary ministry of labour, Mr Maloma Chiwezi provincial senior labour officer and they were accompanied by Roan Member of parliament Honourable Joseph Chishala.
Upon arrival at the mine the Chinese management scampered in all directions and left the mine site.

The entourage immediately started doing their inspection and they were in shock to see how the Chinese company had been keeping employees who were quarantined.

The Chinese firm was ordered immediately to release the employees and the entourage promised to visit the mine the next day on the 5th October 2020 and requested to meet all the Chinese management.

The employees who were spoken to thanked the Roan Member of parliament and the entourage for coming to their aid and releasing them from what they called SOBIBO.

The community hearing that the Roan MP and his entourage was at the mine site attending to the quarantined miners, the community ambushed the gates of the mine site to try and make a glimpse on what was happening in the mine while chanting slogans of Jubilation and said (Akana Kambwili nako nimbwili), a son of a leopard his also a leopard.

One of the wife’s of the miners spoken to was very happy and had this to say. (we are very happy that the Honourable member of Parliament Honourable Joseph Chishala has heard our cries and has come to our rescue. We have not been with our husbands for months now and seeing that they are out today, we can only thank God for what is doing through Honourable Joseph Chishala.

A lot of leaders has been telling us lies that they will make sure our husbands are released from quarantine, but it was all lies. We have been following the Honourable MP’s debate in parliament and he has always been pushing for this issue. Today we thank God it has come to pass.
We also take this opportunity ,as I stand here on behalf of others families to also thank the Labour Commissioner and the Labour Permanent Secretary and his entourage for the good job done. Said one of the miners wife’s.

The Roan Member of parliament Honourable Joseph Chishala spoke to the media and has since appealed to the government to put in strict measures on investors who come to invest in Zambia to follow laid down procedures on things which has to do with the welfare of the employees.
The Roan Lawmaker further said, these Investors are making a lot of money and yet what they are paying our own Zambia’s is peanuts and I can only call this as a joke, Honourable Chishala said.

We cannot have a situation were our own brothers are leaving in their own country like slaves this is unacceptable and should not be tolerated.
The Roan MP has also called on the Ministry of Water Development Sanitation and Environmental Protection to immediately visit the mine and see to it that their is order at the mine. As the mine site is a sorry site for now.

Patson and Mwepu to Miss October Friendlies

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Striker Patson Daka and midfielder Enock Mwepu will not travel for Chipolopolo’s October international friendly series due to a health embargo imposed by their club.

Austrian champions RB Salzburg activated a provisional FIFA clause that allows clubs not to release players during the October international match window on Covid-19 grounds.

Salzburg said in a statement  that  it  had  three  positive Coronavirus cases following  their mid-week UEFA  Champions League playoff  match against Maccabi  Tel Aviv  of Israel who had travelled to  Austria  for  the final leg meeting without ten players who had tested  positive.

Meanwhile, Daka and Mwepu are in the clear and featured in Sunday’s 7-1 home win over Hartberg in which the Chipolopolo striker scored a brace and played the full 90 minutes for the leaders.

Mwepu also started the match but was substituted in the 78th minute.

Chipolopolo face Malawi in Lusaka on October 7 before travelling for two away games against Kenya on October 11 in Nairobi and South Africa on October 13 in Rustenburg.

Below is the full official statement from RB Salzburg: 

The first round of Covid-19 tests after our UEFA Champions League play-off match against Maccabi Tel Aviv has seen three FC Red Bull Salzburg players test positive.

The players, who are all currently without symptoms, have gone straight into self-isolation and will not be available for the Austrian Bundesliga match against TSV Prolactal Hartberg. According to the Covid-19 prevention concept, the Austrian Bundesliga, Austrian football association and the relevant health authorities have been informed.

TEAM IN QUARANTINE
The rest of our squad have begun a team quarantine according to the prevention concept. This means that they can only travel between their house, the training ground and match locations. No other contacts should be meed.

We will increasing our control efforts in the coming weeks.

NO INTERNATIONAL DUTY
In addition, all international call-ups for FC Red Bull Salzburg players in the next two weeks have been rejected. This is a standard procedure that is required as part of the Covid-19 prevention concept agreed between the Austrian Bundesliga, Austrian football association and Austrian authorities.

Cut off my finger if load shedding doesn’t end by March 2021-Nkhuwa

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Cut off my finger if load shedding doesn’t end by March 2021-Nkhuwa

Energy Minister Mathew Nkhuwa has offered to have his finger cut off if load shedding does end by March 2021.

Mr. Nkhuwa said he is confident that load shedding will be a thing of the past by end of first quarter next year.

He said the Kafue Gorge Lower Power Station is expected to be fully functional by March 2021 adding over 720 MW of power to the grid.

Mr Nkhuwa who is also Chingola Member of Parliament was speaking on Saturday when a PF Mobilisation meeting at Kaunda Square grounds in Chingola.

Mr Nkhuwa who spoke mostly in Bemba said he is ready to lose his finger if loadshedding goes beyond March 2021.

“By December this year, we would have commissioned the Kafue Lower and by March next year, all the five machines at Kafue Lower would have started running and that will add plenty of energy to the grid effectively ending loadshedding and if this is no done, you can cut off my finger,” Mr Nkhuwa said.

And speaking at the same meeting, PF Copperbelt Mobilisation Commiteee Chairman Bowman Lusambo assured Chingola residents that production at KCM will improve once the transaction of possible investors are finalized

Mr Lusambo said there are a number of investors interested in KCM but the Covid-19 pandemic have hampered discussions with possible new owners.

He said KCM would be able to create thousands of new jobs once a new investors takes over.

NDC Statement on ECZ Multiple Breaches of the Electoral Process Act of 2016 Voter Registration

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NDC Statement on ECZ Multiple Breaches of the Electoral Process Act of 2016 Voter Registration

SECTION 7: ‘ The Commission shall conduct a continuous registration of voters’.

Interpretation: This means that voter registration is an ongoing process that should take place on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis and should never be stopped. The law requires the ECZ to have permanent voter registration centres just like the National Registration Office.
The Law only requires the ECZ to stop voter registration in any district during the period of a by election, or during the period of general elections. Otherwise voter registration is to be done on a daily basis without breaks.

Question: Has the ECZ conducted continuous voter registration since the electoral process Act of 2016?

Answer: The Answer is an emphatic ‘NO’. The ECZ is in breach of the Electoral Process Act of 2016, they have failed to conduct continuous voter registration since 2016, and as such the Chairperson of the ECZ, Commissioners of ECZ and Chief Electoral Officer must be compelled to resign from their positions for being in breach of the law.

PRISONER VOTING

SECTION 9: (1) The commission shall not register a person as a voter if that person

(D) is detained under the Criminal Procedure Code.
(F) is under a sentence of death imposed by a competent court, or a sentence of imprisonment imposed by a court or substituted by a competent authority for some othersentence imposed by that court;

Interpretation: The law is very clear, any person currently serving a prison sentence as a result of a court conviction is not eligible to register as a voter, and the commission is prohibited by law from registering prisoners as voters.

Question: Is the ECZ in breach of the law by registering prisoners as voters?

Answer: It’s an emphatic ‘YES’. The law expressly prohibits the registration of prisoners as voters. The ECZ is therefore in serious breach of the law by proposing to register prisoners as voters.

It is illegal and an offence to register prisoners as voters.

On these grounds the ECZ Chairman and Commissioners must resign in national interest.

VOTER REGISTRATION PROCESS

Section 13. (1) The Commission shall establish a Provisional Register of Voters as prescribed.

Question: Is there a provisional voter register?

Answer: Yes, there is, it was established in 2016 and used in the 2016 General Elections. Infact, the same register is in use today in all by elections that have taken place between 2016 when the voter register was compiled and 2020.

Section 14. (1) The Commission shall compile and maintain the Register of Voters as prescribed.

Interpretation:

The key words here and ‘compile’ and maintain’.

In 2016 the ECZ compiled a voter register. Compilation of the register is a once off event which took place in 2016.Therefore, the ECZ only needs to maintain the register that was compiled in 2016.

Question: How should the ECZ maintain the voter register?

Answer: Through continuous voter registration as prescribed in section 7 of the Electoral Process Act of 2016.

Question: Is the ECZ in breach of the law by failing to maintain the register that was compiled in 2016, and proposing to throw it away and create a new register?

Answer: The Answer is yes, the ECZ is in breach of the law, the law requires them to compile a register (which they did in 2016) and to maintain it through continuous voter registration (which they have not done since 2016).

On these grounds again the Chairperson, Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioners of the ECZ must be compelled to resign or be removed from their offices for breach of the electoral act, negligence, and gross incompetence.

SECTION 10 – DEREGISTRATION OF VOTERS

A registration officer shall de-register a voter if the registration officer is satisfied that the voter

(a) does not qualify to be registered as a voter;
(b) no longer meets the qualifications for registration as specified in section eight;
(c) has been fraudulently registered;
(d) obtained the registration through submission of falseinformation or making of a misleading statementInterpretation: What this means is that these are the only circumstances under which a voter can be deregistered.

Question: Is the ECZ in breach of the law by deregistering over 6 Million registered voters ?

Answer: The answer is an emphatic ‘YES’, the ECZ does not have authority under law to deregister any voter unless one of these 4 criteria has been met.

On these grounds again the Chairperson and Commissioners of the ECZ must be compelled to resign for proposing to illegally deregister over 6 million validly registered voters who have not met the above 4 criteria for voter deregistration.

REMOVAL OF DECEASED PERSONS FROM THE VOTER REGISTER

The argument put forward by the ECZ is that they want to create a new voter register because there are a lot of deceased (dead) persons on the register.
So what does the law say about this matter?

Section 16: Amendments to Voters Register 16.

(1) A registration officer shall—
(c) delete the name of a voter who is deceased.

The law is very clear, deceased voters must be deleted from the register.The Law does not allow for the creation of a new register for the reason of knocking off dead people.
The word ‘DELETE’ means to ‘REMOVE’ from an already existing document.You can only delete something from something else that already exists, and what exists is the 2016 Voters Roll, therefore the deceased persons must be deleted from the 2016 voters roll.

Question: Is the ECZ In breach of the Electoral Process Act 2016 by proposing to discard the register for the reason of knocking off deceased people?

Answer : The answer is an emphatic ‘YES’, the law requires the ECZ to ‘DELETE’ the names of deceased persons from the voter roll, it doesn’t require the ECZ to create a new voter roll, in fact there’s nowhere in the law where the ECZ is granted powers to discard the voters roll and create a new one, the law requires them to maintain the existing register on a continuous basis and to register new voters and delete deceased voters. The voters roll has an indefinite life abs no one has authority under the law to discard the voters register.

On this basis again, the Chairperson of the ECZ, Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioners must resign and be prosecuted for breaching the law.

CONCLUSION

Any election conducted by the ECZ through a new voter register is illegal, ultra vires, null and void and is non-binding on the people of Zambia. Any election where prisoners are allowed to vote is illegal, ultra vires, null and void and is non-binding on the people of Zambia.

Any election conducted by the ECZ where the 6.6 million validly registered voters are deleted from the voter register is illegal, ultra vires, null and void and is non-binding on the people of Zambia.

So Zambians should not even consider any process conducted by the ECZ outside of the provisions of the law, that is not an election, it is an illegal attempt to create a dictatorship in the country through an illegal sham electoral process done outside of the provisions of the law.

Zambians should not participate in any purported election done outside of the provisions of the law, it is illegal, null and void, ultra vires and non-binding on the people of Zambia.

All genuine political parties should not participate in any purported election done outside of the provisions of the law, it is illegal, null and void, ultra vires and non-binding on the people of Zambia.

Participating in such an illegal election would be validating it and rubber-stamping illegality and a bogus electoral process conducted outside of the provisions of the law.

If the ECZ proceeds to conduct a purported election conducted outside of the provisions of the law, Zambia will be without a President because any individual supposedly elected through that process shall not be recognized as President of the Republic of Zambia because they would have been elected through a process that is illegal, null and void, ultra vires and outside of the provisions of the law, which will create a constitutional crisis as the country will be without a legally elected Head of State when the tenure of President Edgar Lungu has expired.

COPYRIGHT NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS PARTY (NDC) MEDIA 01.10.2020

Let’s pray for peaceful elections in 2021, Godfridah Sumaili urges clergy

Chief Editor
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18
Let’s pray for peaceful elections in 2021, Godfridah Sumaili urges clergy

Minister of National Guidance and Religious Affairs Godfridah Sumaili has urged the church to pray for God’s peace to reign over the nation ahead of the 2021 general elections.

Reverend Sumaili said the church and all citizens must take advantage of the day of national prayer which falls on 18th October to pray for peaceful campaigns and elections during and after.

The Minister said this in Solwezi at the weekend during a meeting with the clergy.

“The issue that needs our attention and focus is the coming general elections next year, we need to pray as a nation so that we can have peaceful campaigns,” she said.

Rev. Sumaili said it takes everyone’s participation to ensure that there is no violence regardless of political affiliation.

“Zambia is a constitutional democracy, meaning people are sent to positions through a democratic process of elections, so this should not kill us because elections come and go. We should work together and bring development to the people,” she said.

Rev. Sumaili said government stands on equity of taking development to all parts of the country as can be seen by massive infrastructure development being implemented across the country.

“This year’s day of national prayer must be inclusive, people from different political parties, the churches, traditional leaders must come together to pray so that the peace we are talking about can come from this togetherness,” she said.

Speaking at the same meeting Open Doors City Mission Pentecostal Assemblies of God church, Pastor Reuben Banda challenged all political party players to embrace one another and desist from politics of hate and insults.

“Let us uphold national good values of respect and embracing each other. To our young people following politics know that violence and insults is not the way of life,” Pastor Banda advised.

This year’s theme for national day of prayer is, “Zambia seeks Gods intervention for sustained national unity, peace and prosperity”.

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