Monze Town Council (MTC) Secretary Benson Bweenje has declared his district ready for investors in different sectors including those interested investing industrial park which will be the first of it’s kind in the Province.

Speaking in Livingston where the district is showcasing its investiment opportunities at the Provincial Tourism and Investment Exposition, Bweenje said the district has various opportunities and that land has been made available for would be investors in different areas.

He said the district has various mineral deposits which have not been exploited an opportunity he said was worth looking into.

“We have also minerals which have been identified. We have overwhelming evidence of Gemstones which have been identified in Monze they are there. Those who are interested to invest in such they are free to come to Monze and we will show them the sites, we have been shown the sites, they are readily available.

“The minerals you are able to see on our stands were just picked on the surface, what more is on the ground. I don’t know but those who are interested to invest can be able to see. Apart from that, we also have quarry mining. The quarry we have there, we have been told that ot has the potential to be turned into a cement plant. So we are also inviting people who are willing to come and invest in our District. Our District has the potential,” he said.

Meanwhile Bweenje said the town will be home to an industrial park which will be located in Bweengwa.

He said the Bweengwa Industrial Park will have an advantage of using the by-products of geothermal energy which is heat and hot water to be used in a number of industrial activities.

He explained that the Kalahari Geo Energy, the company doing the geothermal project has indicated that the pilot power generation will start in early 2021 hence those interested should quickly position themselves for the opportunity.

He further explained that there are also opportunities in the area of value addition to the meat and dairy products and by products.

“Have not talked much to do with animal or maybe maize, you might be wondering. Am aware, for example the government is putting the mealing plant so I can not talk on that because I know that value has already been added and I do know that we still have some people who buy the hides from animals so that business is already but we want people to come and invest in a company that will turn these raw materials into finished products,” he said.

On Tourism, Bweenje said the district has huge potential for game ranching and Safari as it is home to the Lochinvar National Park.

“Apart from that, we are also giving the opportunity to people to view wild animal, that’s game ranching. we also have the opportunity for people to do normal Safari. We also have the opportunity for people to come and build estate, for example on our stands you are seeing the display of a map which is planned for a shopping mall. Those are opportunities that Monze is giving out,” he said.

The government says the economy of Southern Province and Livingstone, in particular, is heavily dependent on the tourism sector in that part of the region.

Provincial Permanent Secretary Mwangala Liomba points out that the only challenge the sector faces is that most people, who include both local and international tourist, do not fully exploit the various tourism sites dotted across the province.

Mr Liomba told ZANIS on the sidelines of the Southern Province Exposition, to be officially launched tomorrow, that the province will continue relying on tourism, adding that government will also focus on accelerating the development of other sectors through value- addition of local products.

Mr Liomba stressed that the region has had several untapped riches which need to be exploited especially in tourism and agriculture.

He said government is trying to ensure that necessary infrastructure is put in place in all tourism sites across the province.

“As you know, the ability of the national economy to benefit from tourism depends on the availability of investment to develop the necessary infrastructure and on its ability to supply the needs of tourists,” he explained.

Mr Liomba added that this is the reason why government decided to have the exposition, in order to accelerate the economic diversification and exploration of untapped potential in various sectors of development.

“The exposition will be treated as an opportunity to open up Southern Province, and enhance youth empowerment and employment creation,” he added.

Mr Liomba expressed optimism that the region is poised to diversify its traditional reliance on tourism to other areas of interest with the successful hosting of the Expo.

Meanwhile, Livingstone residents have challenged stakeholders to diversify the economy of Southern Province by tapping into other beneficial sectors of the province.

“I was born in Livingstone 66 years ago, there were some industries in Livingstone apart from the hospitality industry which has dominated the region, I don’t know what has happened,” Patrick Mwiza a resident of Livingstone lamented.

And Emanuel Nyambe 33, complained that he among other residents of Livingstone have different career skills far away from hospitality industry and they feel disadvantaged in the tourist capital.

Meanwhile, the Southern Province exposition has gained momentum with several local and international exhibitors, as well as would be investors have all arrived in the tourist capital which is the Expo’s hosting place.

The Expo’s theme is accelerating Development through Value Addition and Diversification and President Edgar Lungu is expected to grace the event.

PF has maintained its opposition to the re-introduction of deputy ministers in the Constitution Amendment Bill Number 10 of 2019.

PF Secretary General Davies Mwila says the re-introduction of Deputy Minister will be costly to government.

And Mr. Mwila says the PF supports the increase of timeframe for an election petition to be heard from 14 to 30 days.

He said the Party also supports the proposed amendment of article 116 to include sub article 4 to allow Minister to continue holding office until a new government is elected.

Mr Mwila said this will allow the government to continue performing its functions.

He said the proposal to reduce the period a civil servant should resign before seeking political office from two years to six months is also supported by the party.

Mr Mwila was speaking when he appeared before the Parliamentary Select Committee tasked to scrutinise the Constitution of Zambia Amendment Bill Number 10.

Meanwhile, Mr Mwila said the Party is opposed to the proposed amendment on the voting of the President to include the possibility of forming a coalition government.

He said it is important that the President should draw his or her mandate directly from most of the people because most coalition governments have proved to be unstable.

[ZNBC]

The Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) has supported the constitution amendment bill number 10 of 2019.

ZCID Constitutional Committee chairperson Chilufya Tayali says 32 out of the 35 ZCID affiliates resolved to support the bill after a meeting that was held in Lusaka.

Mr. Tayali says other affiliates of the ZCID that did not take part in the meeting are at liberty to present their individual political party submission before the parliamentary select committee.

He says ZCID believes that Bill number 10 is a true reflection of the resolutions of the National Dialogue Forum (NDF)

Mr Tayali, who is also opposition Economic and Equity Party (EEP), the leader was speaking when he presented submissions before the Parliamentary select committee on the Constitution Bill number 10 of 2019.

And MMD president Felix Mutati has supported the re-introduction of deputy ministers.

Mr Mutati said this can be achieved if the government considers compressing the number of ministers in Cabinet

Deputy Parliamentary Chief Whip Tutwa Ngulube has dragged Lusaka lawyer John Sangwa of Simeza and Sangwa Associates to the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) for alleged professional misconduct.

Mr. Ngulube, who is also Lusaka lawyer, has consequently raised a complaint before the LAZ legal practitioners committee claiming that Mr. Sangwa has allegedly misconducted himself on professional grounds.

This is contained in a letter addressed to LAZ and released to ZNBC News in Lusaka.

Mr. Ngulube has alleged that Mr Sangwa has violated rule 37 sub-rule three of the legal practioner rules of 2002.

This is in reference to the letter that Mr. Sangwa recently wrote to President Edgar Lungu over the Constitutional dispensation in Zambia.

Last week, Mr Sangwa wrote to the President begging him to uphold the Constitution by withdrawing the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No.10 of 2019 and accepting that having been elected twice to the office of President of Zambia, he was not eligible for a third term

 

President Lungu has done more for Zambia’s Constitution than all predecessors combined but Amendment Bill No.10 2019 will undermine his achievements – Sangwa

The Anti Corruption Commission has bemoaned the poor funding from the government making it difficult to carry out its mandate effectively.

Speaking at the launch of the 2019 Zambia Bribe Payers Index Report in Lusaka, ACC Chairperson Justice Anderson Zikonda said that the commission lacks resources to be present in every corner of the country.

Justice Zikonda said that it was impossible to attain a corrupt free Zambia without the involvement of every Zambian in fighting the scourge.

Justice Zikonda observed that the increase in the overall aggregate bribery index from 10 percent in 2017 to 10.9 percent in 2019 underscores the seriousness with which the fight against corruption is being approached.

Justice Zikonda said that the commission remains resolved towards addressing the corruption scourge and is determined to ensure that the current upward trend is reversed.

Officiating at the launch of the report, Minister in the office of the Vice President Olipah Phiri reiterated the government’s commitment to zero tolerance to corruption.

Ms. Phiri urged the Anti Corruption Commission to expedite the review process so that there is a national framework to coordinate and harmonize all efforts aimed at fighting corruption in the country.

And Transparency International Zambia chapter President Reuben Lifuka said that TIZ is encouraged to see some positive trends in the bribe payers Index for some critical target institutions such as the Zambia Police, which previously had 63.9% likelihood of the public paying a bribe dropping to 40.7%.

Mr Lifuka stated that while this was commendable; this was still a high percentage.

The 2019 Zambia Bribe Payers Index Survey Report has revealed that bribe seeking incidents are mostly in the Zambia Police Service standing at 41.7 percent, Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) at 41.2 percent, with the local authorities at 10.3 percent and the Ministry of General Education standing at 8.1 percent.

Reasons for paying a bribe demand to the Zambia Police including avoiding delays, avoiding penalties or sanction, fear of service denial and other factors.