Government says it has observed with amusement UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilemas growing frustration at the prospect of losing an election for the sixth time.

Acting Chief Government spokesperson Stephen Kampyongo says Mr Hhichilema knows that he is miles behind the Patriotic Front government and President Edgar Lungu’s support and popularity from the Zambian people ahead of the 2021 elections.

Mr Kampyongo said this is why Mr Hichilema has now taken to attacking innocent public operatives such as the ECZ Chairperson Justice Essau on unfounded and unmerited accusations.

He said Mr Hichilema is a dictator haunted by his own shadow of a serial loser.

Mr Kampyongo has warned Mr Hichilema to manage his political frustrations responsibly and avoid anything that brings him into conflict with the law.

He said Mr Hichilemas statement against Justice Essau Chulu as reported on his Facebook page and Twitter today is not only intimidating but but also tantamount to inciting citizens into civil disobedience against government.

Mr Kampyongo said the sentiments against Justice Chulu is the is the highest level of vanity where someone starts counting the chicks before they hatch.

“For once, let Mr Hichilema should be schooled and accept the reality that it is only the people of Zambia who have the power to decide who becomes the President for the country in an election.

He said Mr Hichilema should concentrate on selling his manifesto to the people of Zambia and avoid issuing intimidatory and threatening remarks against civil servants and government will not allow politicians to get away with such unfounded and unbecoming and dictatorial conduct.

Mr Hichilema says Zambia remains one of the shining examples of a stable and peaceful democracy and no amount of hunger for Power by the likes of Mr Hichilema should be allowed to dent this impeccable record.

And Mr Kampyongo has refuted reports circulating on social media that passport fees have been increased calling it fake news from fake elements bent on causing unwarranted public anxiety..

Earlier in the day, Mr Hichilema assured that anyone who will participate in rigging the next general elections will do so at their own peril.

He said severe prosecution, a possible prison sentence and a lifetime of shame awaits them.

“Mark my words, it will be the biggest mistake of your lives. We now have the necessary tools and the technical know how to watch you, and you will certainly not get away with it this time around”, he said.

“The way to win an election is to canvas for votes peacefully and honestly and ultimately let the will of the people reflect in their choice. Not vakuba, aikona man.
Don’t say you were not warned”, he added.

President Edgar Lungu has announced a reduction of his salary and that of his cabinet between a range of 15 and 20 percent; a move that comes barely 24 hours after the Energy Regulation Board announced a hike in both electrify tariffs and fuel prices.

The President has also directed the Secretary to Cabinet Dr. Simon Miti to cascade the directive to all Non Unionised Public Officers including parastatal executives.

The slashing of salaries of highly paid officers in both the government and the parastatal sector is aimed at cushioning the impact on citizens arising from the increase of fuel prices and electricity tariffs announced yesterday by the ERB.

The President said he fully understood the challenges that Zambians are facing but he is optimistic that the economy will rebound in 2020 due to the measures that government is putting in place, including the implementation of cost-cutting measures relating to travel of senior officials and protecting the vulnerable through ring-fencing the resources to social sectors.

On today’s directive, the President said public officers in the highest salary brackets will have their salaries cut by 20 percent whereas those in the middle will have their salaries reduced by 15 percent and those in the lower rung will be down by 10 percent.

The President said much as the increase in the pricing in the two essential commodities was inevitable, Zambians needed a cushion and hence the directive.

President Lungu said he has shown the way and those willing to work with him should be ready to sacrifice.

This is contained in a statement issued to the media by President Edgar Lungu’s Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Isaac Chipampe.

The Energy regulation Board (ERB) says the decision to hike fuel prices was arrived at after wide and intense consultations from stakeholders.

ERB Executive Director Langiwe Lungu says the authority through its board made a decision to increase the pump prices for fuel with the cost of petrol going up by K1.64 per litre after wide consultations.

Speaking during a media briefing in Lusaka today, Ms Lungu said the ERB board looked at both local and international factors that surround the procurement of fuel.

And Ms Lungu has clarified that electricity tariffs will be increased for domestic and commercial consumers by 113 percent on average and not the 200 percent as reported in some sections of the media.

She explained that government being a major shareholder, ZESCO and consumers were widely consulted before approving the tariffs that will help the electricity company, operate efficiently.

The ERB Executive Officer underscored that her firm will in due course issue a comprehensive statement on the imminent electricity tariff upward adjustment.

Ms Lungu pointed out that despite 2019 being a challenging year to the energy sector due to climate change, her firm is supporting government’s initiatives of investing in other energy sectors such as solar energy.

“The Ministry of Energy procured 120 MW of solar comprising six projects of 20 mega watts each in 2019.As the regulator we are supporting this initiative by issuing investment endorsements and license waivers for importation of solar equipment where necessary for the dedicated projects. The ERB issued a total of 117 licenses during the course of 2019,” she said.

In her lengthy address to the media, Ms Lungu also disclosed that ERB collected over K177million non tax revenue payments through licence fees, from the initial 2019 target of K173 million.

Yesterday, the ERB announced an increase in pump prices effective today, and electricity tariffs hike for domestic and commercial consumers which will be effected on 1st January 2020

Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) President Dr. Nevers Mumba has said that the MMD Convention would be held in 2020.

In reacting to Today’s Edition of the Daily Nation in which Former Republican Vice President Mr. Enock Kavindale challenged Dr. Mumba to call for an MMD Convention, Dr. Mumba said a convention in the MMD is a must.

“It is obvious that both the Daily Nation Newspaper, and my elder brother Hon. Kavindale have either not listened to any of our several efforts to explain this through interviews and press conferences, or have deliberately chosen to lend a deaf ear to our official position as a party. The MMD Convention is a well prescribed event in our political cycle which requires the completion of several activities in each Province such as Resource Mobilization, the elections of Ward, District and Provincial officials in readiness for the National Executive Committee to set a date for the National Convention”, Dr. Mumba said.

Dr. Mumba said that his a product of a Convention.

“I find it quite shocking when I hear that Nevers doesn’t want a Convention. Am a product of a Convention. In 2012, when we had a Convention, I as a returning diplomat stood against the biggest names in the then MMD like Hon. Kavindale, Hon. Mutati and Hon. Musokotwane, I emerged victorious”, Dr. Mumba said.

Dr. Mumba then said that the MMD Convention will be held in 2020.

“Never at anytime have I or any senior member of the MMD said that we will not have a party Convention. What we have repeatedly said is that we will hold the convention once the process of taking stock of our party and the preliminary arrangements leading up to the convention are done and this will be on a date, in 2020, to be announced by the MMD NEC”, Dr. Mumba said.

Meanwhile, Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) Southern Province Chairman has challenged Former Republican Vice President Mr. Enock Kavindale to tell the Nation what he has done for Party since he lost the Party Presidency In 2012.

By: Anthony Bwalya – UPND Member

Just to put some clarity to it, Ambassador Daniel Foote’s exit may be a small victory to those who peddle illegality under the guise of new age false religious fundamentalism; but the majority of ordinary Zambians may have a huge price to pay because for the Patriotic Front (PF), this was never a question of our collective morality, but an opportunity to entrench a growing Kleptocracy that only works for them and them only.

Forget democracy, because now what we have is a fully fledged organized, legitimized criminal cartel that has hijicked the hopes and dreams of an entire country for its own benefit. For the avoidance of any doubt, a Kleptocracy is a government with corrupt leaders that wield political power to exploit the people and natural resources of their own countries in order to extend their personal wealth and political powers. Typically, this system involves embezzlement of funds at the expense of the wider population.

This is what typifies life under the Patriotic Front (PF). If squandering $42 million on Firetenders that should have cost nearly $30 million less is not organised crime, then what is it? No inquiry has been held to hold to account known government officials over this fraud. And what about the over $1.5 billion of Mukula revenue estimated to have been stolen with not a single Kwacha or Ngwee to have gone to productive sectors of the economy? We know this because between 2014 and 2016, around $204 million of Mukula revenue went undeclared ( Center for International Forestry Research, Issue 211 of 2018), with a further $180 million blatantly squandered under the watch of this PF government between 2017 and 2018 alone!

It is not unimaginable to contemplate that over the past 8 years this government has been in power, at least $1 billion dollars worth of Mukula revenue has been pocketed by government officials at the expense of the long suffering Zambian people.

We also know that government officials under the PF regime, have been sharing close to $40 million in Mukula trade related bribes over the past 8 years. All this information is available and easy to verify from the most recent undercover criminal investigation carried out by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) which estimates annual bribes to politicians at $7.5 million.

The Financial Intelligence Center, our own financial transaction watchdog has provided evidence of the PF party superstructure, receiving close to $1 million in bribes and kickbacks for the award of public contracts. This is in the FIC report of 2018.

And today, it should be a very sad day in the history of the Republic of Zambia. The nation has chiefly remained silent, save for bits of underground commentary, as a foreign diplomat has been hounded out of his position by a government that has become increasingly self-absorbed and power hungry while the rest of the nation scrounges in squalor.

The exit of Ambassador Daniel Foote of the United States of America, over scathing comments he had made, standing up to the rancid corruption and irregularly application of the rule of law by the visibly and undoubtedly corrupt Patriotic Front (PF) regime, is an ominous indication that wolves occupying government are nowhere near done raping our country red – they are barely just getting started.

This is the same government that has plunged 1.6 million more people into abject poverty since the ascention to power of President Edgar Lungu in 2015 owing to poor public project investments underpinned by grand political corruption.

How can a government that has been squandering all these billions of dollars, never mind aid money, fail to repay $1.4 million in interest on facilities to the African Development Bank, threatening close to $1 billion worth of assistance the bank continues to provide to this country and it’s people?

How can a government under whose watch at least $11 million is stolen annually in ONE province alone (Copperbelt) in fraudulent public sector payroll accounting fail to discharge $107,692 per month per council in Local Government Equalisation Fund, condemning our council workers to 3 months of non payment of salaries?

This has got to be unacceptable and only Zambians can liberate themselves.

When foreign diplomats speak, they are accused of interfering in the internal affairs of our country while when we speak, we are labeled bitter and antagonistic. None of this matters anymore because if we allow this kind and level of open, unhindered plunder of national wealth by a small group of politicians under the Patriotic Front, there might be no Zambia in a few years because the level of unwarranted poverty and inequality we are occasioning will be enough to spur an open rebellion by the people themselves.

It does not have to end that way….

10.7 million Zambians living on less than a $1.25 a day and the President buys himself a $100 million super Jet…. Are these the Christian values over which Am

UPND Leader Hakainde Hichilema has described the current fuel hike as a Christmas gift from the Republican President Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

Condemning the over 100% hike in power tariffs effective 1st January 2020 and hike in fuel prices blamed on the depreciating Kwacha and increase in prices of crude oil, Mr Hichilema said typical of thieves, they strike in the night.

Petrol prices rose effective midnight 26th December 2019 from K15.98 to K17.62, Diesel from K14.23 to K15.59, Kerosene from K13.02 to K15.39 while Low Sulphur Gas rose from K16.52 to K K17.88.

Mr Hichilema said this is a clear indication that the current Government is incompetent and has said that another gift awaits on January 1, 2020.

And All peoples Congress Leader Nason Msoni has predicted further hardships for Zambians in 2020 following the upwards adjustment in fuel pump prices and power tariffs.

Mr Msoni accused the PF government of squeezing Zambians because they are broke to pay back the many loans they have acquired.

He described the adjustments as evil and will create misery among Zambians adding that the PF does not consider the plight of the citizens.

ELECTRICITY tariffs have been increased for domestic and commercial consumers by about 200 percent and 49 percent, respectively to help Zesco, the supplier, operate efficiently and viably.

And pump prices for fuel have been increased, with the cost of petrol going up by K1.64 per litre. Energy Regulation Board (ERB) board chairman Raymond Mpundu announced these adjustments last night with the new electricity tariffs coming into effect on January 1, 2020. The new fuel prices took effect at midnight.

Mr Mpundu said the hiked tariffs will be used to improve operations at ZESCO which is said to be technically insolvent.

Zambia’s energy utility company charges one of the lowest tariffs in Southern Africa which has made energy investments very unattractive.

Hiking electricity tariffs comes at a time when fuel prices have been hiked by around 10% compounding Zambia’s economic challenges.