Chinese Head of Mission to the African Union Mr. Lui Yuxi has refuted recent media assertions that China was putting the Zambian Government under political pressure to pay back loans.

Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mr. Emmanuel Mwamba, at the Zambian Embassy in Ethiopia, Mr.Liu stated further stated that reports alleging that China was demanding a stake in the running of Zambian mines and other national assets were totally false.

Mr. Yuxi said that negative reports being made about China and Africa were malicious and designed to drive a wedge between the two, adding that China was cooperating with Africa to ensure that countries succeeded in their development agenda.

Mr.Liu noted that Zambia was an important country on the African continent because it played a key role in the regional body SADC and was a member of the African Union Committee called the C10.

Mr. Liu said that China would support Africa’s quest for reforms at the United Nations Security Council.

At the same meeting, Mr. Mwamba said it was unfortunate that the western media was using Africa’s debt owed to China as a weapon to fight China and derail the ambitious infrastructure development plans China was supporting in Africa.

Mr. Mwamba said Zambia only owes China about 30% of loans compared to other loans that the country was servicing with other development partners.

Mr. Mwamba requested the Chinese Government to support President Edgar Lungu’s ambitious infrastructure development program.

Mr Mwamba urged China to fulfil its commitment to complete infrastructure projects approved under the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Mr. Mwamba said that President Lungu’s infrastructure program that had seen the construction of roads, airports, schools and hospitals was instrumental in the development of the country.

Mr. Mwamba further said Zambia would engage the Commission of the African Union and propose projects which would be incorporated on the phase two of the China Africa infrastructure cooperation plan being done jointly with the African Union.

And

Today’s Scripture

“Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word…”
(Psalm 103:20, NIV)

Angels Move On Your Behalf

Did you know that when you speak words of faith, angels are dispatched to move on your behalf? The Scripture tells us that God gives His angels charge over us. That means, when God hears you declaring His Word, He says to the angels, “Do you hear My child speaking words of faith? He believes I can do great things. Angels, I have an assignment for you. Go to work and begin to turn the situation around.” And the angels obey His Word!

If we could pull back the curtain on the unseen realm, we would see a host of angels and heavenly beings watching over us. That’s why it’s so important to guard what we say because, with our words, we either open a door for God and His angels to move on our behalf, or we open a door for the enemy and the forces of darkness.”

Make the decision today to only speak words of faith and life over you, your home and your family. Declare God’s Word and His promises and let your words set the angels into motion to help you fulfill the destiny God has planned for you!

A Prayer for Today

“Father in heaven, thank You for the relationships in my life. Help me find creative ways to connect with the people I love. Help me to walk and live in a spirit of unity as You commanded in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

President Edgar Lungu is tomorrow expected in New York to attend the 74th United Nations General Assembly in the United States of America.

President Lungu will join host President Donald Trump and other foreign Heads of State and Government in discussing global issues affecting humanity.

Foreign Affairs Minister Joe Malanji has confirmed the development during a media briefing in New York today.

Mr. Malanji revealed that President Lungu will hold a bilateral meeting with the King of Jordon Abdullah Bin Al-Hussein on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

He also said the Head of State is scheduled to undertake a State Visit to Jordan later this year in a bid to enhance bilateral relations with the Jordanian monarchy.

And Mr. Malanji said President Lungu will also hold discussions with President TRUMP’s representatives from State Department while in New York.

Meanwhile, Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Lazarous Kapambwe said this year’s United Nations General Assembly will focus on among other issues climate change, access to universal health care and progress in implementation of the Sustainable development goals.

The opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC) has officially disbanded.

NDC legally recognized National Secretary, Mwenya Musenge has disbanded the NDC and indicated that he will form a new party.

He has advised those members in contention with him to join him or form their own party too.

This follows the dismissal of the appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo.

Last month, the NDC was disbanded following the Lusaka High Court ruling on the matter.

Meanwhile, The National Democratic Congress party (NDC) President Mr. Chishimba Kambwili has announced that he will hold a Press briefing on Sunday 22/09/2019 where he will discuss the status of the political party NDC as well as other matters.

The Press briefing will start at 10:00hrs at Mr Kambwili’s Woodlands Residence and all media houses are invited and requested to be seated by 09:30hrs.

By Pilato

First of all we must acknowledge that Climate change is a very serious issue and accept the responsibility to do something about it. Appropriate actions in dealing with this crisis lies in our ability to diagnose it and how much we understand it. I do agree with President LUNGU on this score. Climate change has the potential to affect every section of our lives as a people and as a country. My advice to our president is that avoid simple solutions to complex issues. If the house is collapsing, you don’t paint it a different color to save it. Climate change is crisis and to deal with it we must employ the necessary sophistication needed.

For so many years now, the motorists in ZAMBIA have been paying the carbon tax, how much of this money has been used in research work? What interventions have we employed in the country to control and manage carbon emissions? Or did we just use the carbon emission theme as an opportunity for the government to raise extra cash for itself?

With extended hours of loadshedding, are we able to account for the number of trees that we are cutting for charcoal? How then do we avoid worse rain drought next year if we fail to manage our lifestyle patterns now? We must remember that this loadshedding cycle will not end itself, we must be deliberate to deal with it as a people. What are we doing now that should guarantee us a different reality next year?

Last year I remember we spent millions of dollars just to import power and this year we are doing the same. This intervention is shallow and unsustainable for a small economy as ours. When the energy sector is left to random swings, it becomes difficult to industrialize a country. It also makes the environment vulnerable as people we opt for unconventional ways of getting the much needed power. For example, many have resorted to using fuel propelled power generators which is an additional burden on the environment because most these emit unmonitored carbon into the environment.

WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD?

As a matter of urgency, the government must freeze import duty on clean alternative sources of power like Solar energy equipments. This will make solar energy generators become affordable and accessible by majority of our people. This will lessen the burden on ZESCO and also on the environment.

Instead of spending millions of dollars on importing power from South Africa, the government should use that money to construct new solar power stations that should guarantee a loadshedding free next year. The importation of power today would be a good idea but not sustainable. We did it last year and if we do it this year we can be sure that we will do it next year. If we can construct solar power stations now and wind energy stations this year, we will not have to worry about extended loadshedding next year and we will not worry about millions of dollars to import power.

Remember complex issues cannot be solved with simple solutions. I am not an authority on this, to deal with this issue extensively the government and the president must be bold enough to look for minds outside of their political friends and engage them. There are brilliant Zambians who understand these matters better and can help find solutions that are sustainable and affordable. The work of politicians is to win elections and make stupid speeches but the real work must be left for people with the talent and skills. The government must not be shy to reach out to these brilliant minds. They are the real assets of our beautiful country.

God bless ZAMBIA

Chef 187 released his highly anticipated 4th album ‘Bon Appetit‘ on 20th September. The 23 track album has features from Nigerian artists Mr P and Skales as well as local artists such as Macky 2 , Wezi , Afunika among others.

‘Bon Appetit‘ is the follow up to Chef 187‘s highly successful 3rd album ‘Amnesia‘.  This album could potentially have a bigger impact as it is already receiving alot of praise.

The album is available for purchase on local music site Mvesesani and streaming on most online music platforms such as Deezer ,Spotify ,Apple Music among others.

Through the emPawa Africa initiative by Mr Eazi, Zambian emerging female singer Ruth Ronnie drops the music video for her single dubbed “On My Mind“.

The video was directed by DJ Lo.

The competition was intended for aspiring and established songwriters and musicians to produce a song that is memorable, entertaining, educational and informative.

Chisenga’s (Formally known as C.R.I.S.I.S) song, titled ‘SADC – Throw Your Hands Up’, triumphed against 27 entries by artists from nine SADC countries who took part in the competition. The Australia-based artist received $4000 and flew to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to perform the song at the SADC Summit official opening ceremony in August.

“We’d like to say a big thanks to everyone who participated in the competition,” a post reads on the SADC Facebook page. “It has been a great pleasure receiving your songs, they were all amazing. And now we’d like to congratulate Chisenga Katongo, a Zambian national who emerged the winner.”

“Music provides impactful formats of relaying information about an organisation or product, hence the SADC Secretariat decided to launch the public outreach song to educate and inform about SADC.”

Launched last year in October, the competition was open to citizens of the SADC region and the wordings of the song and content were aimed at promoting awareness and visibility of SADC’s Objectives and Common Agenda.

The competition was intended for artists in any of the following categories: reggae, rock, blues, Christian, comedy/novelty, country, dance, folk, comedy, jazz, pop and R&B/hiphop.

SOURCE: Music In Africa