Join our community of SUBSCRIBERS and be part of the conversation.
To subscribe, simply enter your email address on our website or click the subscribe button below. Don't worry, we respect your privacy and won't spam your inbox. Your information is safe with us.
Kabwe Central Mp-Tutwa Ngulube and Kasama-central Mp-Kelvin Sampa at the PF-interactive Forum
Deputy Parliamentary Chief Whip Tutwa Ngulube says the decision by Law Association of Zambia President Eddie Mwitwa to take President Edgar Lungu, the National Assembly and the Attorney General to Court over NDF Bill number 10 of 2019 was not a collective decision of lawyers.
Mr Ngulube says no consensus was reached by Lawyers on whether the matter should be taken to court and they are surprised that Mr Mwitwa went ahead to sue the President.
Speaking on the Hot Seat Programme on Hot FM, Mr Ngulube said there are no minutes anywhere to show that LAZ sat and approved the decision to go to court over the matter.
“He has no support from Zambian Lawyers, the people supporting Mr Mwitwa are CSOs, Political Parties and Law Associations from other countries not Zambian Lawyers because no agreement was reached over this matter”, he said.
And Mr Ngulube said it is sad that Mr Mwitwa and many other people opposing the Bill have not read its content and have not made any suggestions on how the content can be improved.
He said if Mr Mwitwa and John Sangwa has read the Bill, they wouldn’t have gone to court but made suggestions on how the content can be improved.
“We pay a lot of money to LAZ, the K10, 000 every lawyer pays annually should be used to improve the Association and not to pay Mr Sangwa to take the President to Court”, Mr Ngulube said.
He said the select Parliamentary Committee will on 2nd September 2019 start receiving submissions from stakeholders and all those that are aggrieved should appear before the committee failure to which the process will go ahead without their input.
Meanwhile, Mr Ngulube said he has not received any formal communication from Mr Mwitwa demanding an apology for accusing him of working with the UPND.
He said a decision will be made to either apologise or not after he receives formal communication from Mr. Mwitwa.
Zesco United striker Jesse Were is the only Zambian-based Kenyan player summoned for next month’s international friendly date against Uganda on September 8 in Nairobi.
Were returns to the Harambee fold after he was snubbed by ex-Kenya coach Sebastian Migné for the 2019 AFCON in Egypt.
But Migne’s successor Francis Kimanzi has axed Were’s club mate David Owino and Nkana defender Musa Mohammed who were both in Egypt with Kenya.
Midfielder Anthony Akumu, who was also dropped for the 2019 AFCON, has also not been picked.
However, Akumu is currently recovering from a long-term injury he in sustained against GreenEagles in the 2019 FAZ Super Division final playoff in June and has yet to even feature for Zesco this season.
First Republican President Kenneth Kaunda has urged private institutions of higher learning to offer scholarships to the less privileged in society.
Dr Kaunda was speaking when Texilla American University Management officially handed over a scholarship plaque for a scholarship programme given in his honour at his residence.
Meanwhile, Texilla American University Deputy Vice Chancellor Ajay Poddar said the University was proud to be associated with Dr Kaunda’s name.
Prof Poddar said the University is giving out the scholarships to twenty-five students as part of its social corporate responsibility programme.
Buildcon coach Tenant Chembo believes qualification to next month’s CAF Confederation Cup first round is attainable tomorrow away against Young Buffaloes of eSwatini despite their first leg home defeat.
Buildcon this Saturday battle to overturn a 1-0 preliminary round, first leg home loss they sustained on August 10 at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in a game of two halves that saw the visitors dominate the first period and scored the game’s lone goal through Mpendulo Dlamini in 42nd minute.
But Chembo’s side controlled in the last 45 minutes in which poor finishing , and an inspired Young Buffaloes goalkeeper Bongani Gwebu, characterized proceedings.
“Definitely we are confident, we know what we can do, we went through the paces in training and we know where we went wrong,” Chembo said.
“Having said that, we have to go and play for a win and we are ready for that.
“I know it is a big task, but it is task that can be attained.
“Looking at the way we played in the second half gave us a starting point.
“They (Young Buffaloes ) are a beatable side but that won’t come without hard work, we have to go there with a positive mind, focused, and cover a lot of ground, but mentally we have to be strong.”
A 1-0 away win will see the match decided on post-match penalties while a 2-1 victory will see Buildcon advance on away goals rule.
Winner over both legs has a first round date in September against Bidvest Wits who enjoyed a preliminary round bye.
Minister of Information and Broadcasting Dora Siliya
Relieving an encounter with Dora Siliya
And why she’s right about need to curb social media
By Chimwemwe Mwanza
A heavy sound emanating from a high pointed shoe (stiletto) pounded the staircase leading to the reception at Kanjombe house. In no time, an elegantly dressed lady strolled into the reception area.
This author who by then was a teenage freshman pursuing Media studies, was an intern at a now defunct, independent tabloid. Turning to check on the identity of the intruder, yours truly was star-struck, almost dropping his jaw to the floor. Here was Ms Dora Siliya in flesh. Watching the now Honorable Siliya on his family’s small black and white television screen, this author grew up idolising her in the same breath as Maureen Nkandu, late Goreti Mapulanga, and the gruff-voiced Kenneth Maduma among others.
Make no mistake, Siliya, has an infectious aura around her. She’s beautiful, smart but feisty. After an exchange of pleasantries, she went straight to business. “Are you a Journalist? To which a trembling yours truly responded, indeed madam and how can I help you? She narrated her frustrations about the existence of a highly ingrained patriarchal structure at her then employer, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC). She strongly believed that this structure only served to silence and frustrate ambitious and talented women Journalists like her.
Moreover, she had observed that exciting and rewarding assignments including the holy grail of international trips, were a preserve of a select few. She now wanted management to put a stop to this practice, a bit more like the biblical David taking on Goliath. But what infuriated her the most was that news bulletins were often skewed and wrongly edited against tenets and ethics of the profession, she lamented further.
“Having said all this, what can I do for you madam,” enquired yours truly? “This is not about me but the fact that women in any work place should not be subjected to such a working environment. We need more women in ZNBC’s decision making structures, maybe that way things will change,” she argued. Prior to our interview, Siliya had just been summoned to a meeting with ZNBC management in which she was threatened with disciplinary action for wearing a mini-skirt. She explained that the incident was merely a ruse, to intimidate her for her outspokenness and principled stand on injustice and freedom of the newsroom.
Relieving this encounter, a few things stood out during our interview. Her determination for ZNBC to transform by offering key positions to women seemed genuine. Her desire for the public broadcaster to offer unbiased but credible news was also on the mark. However, yours truly’s most important observation was that, ZNBC had such expansive radio platforms for her to tell her story yet she chose our publication? “Because you are credible and that is important for me and anybody who cares for the truth. ZNBC would never tell my story and even if they did, it won’t be accurate,” she insisted.
This response was enough to earn her a front-page newspaper headline “Dora’s miniskirts annoy ZNBC bosses,” The following day. The irony of this episode is that she did not flinch at the prospect of earning a dismissal for speaking ill of her employer to a rival media company. Even better, she opted to wear the same short number for the photo-shoot accompanying this story.
Curbing social media
As fate, would have it, Honorable Siliya is now the de-facto head of not only ZNBC but government’s communication apparatus. By extention, she is the most influential figure responsible for shaping Zambia’s narrative against anything that might be perceived as being negative or even positive. Not sure though how far she’s progressed in transforming ZNBC into a well-functioning medium that she’s long-wanted it to be.
For starters, she was right about everything she told the Canadian High Commissioner to Zambia, Pamela O’Donnell regarding the effects of social media and the need to curb this vice. In support of the Minister, social media has indeed broken families to devastating effect. In certain cases, the callous have gone on to use this medium to peddle lies against the innocent. We live in interesting times indeed. It’s almost an accepted norm in this age that when somebody whips a lie so hard, it gradually morphs into a truth and this only happens on social media platforms. So, what recourse do victims of hate-filled chain messaging have when their reputation is unfairly soiled?
How do we curb social media?
Against everything the Minister said, the only thing absent were solutions on how this could be curbed. Do we go the Chinese route in which we can easily adopt a blanket ban on the vice or impose harsher punishment on those that peddle lies or hide under pseudonyms?
Borrowing a pay-offline from one of the world’s oldest but credible independent publications, the Washington Post, it reads, “In darkness, truth dies.” It’s thus tempting to speculate that the absence of truth creates fertile grounds for, lies, speculation or the spread of hate filled messaging. As goes an adage, lies have short legs. In fact, they have no hiding place as those that seek the truth will use all means necessary to uncover that which is hidden.
Take the case of the 48 houses without an owner, is it true that government does still not know who owns these properties? The absence of fact is the reason why deceptive politicians like Chishimba Kambwili are banding about conspiracy theories. He believes that by whipping the dog so hard and linking this potential scandal close to state house, the owner of the dog will finally show up.
And this is no different to the story of who owns land in Forest 27. Surely, why should it be left to social media platforms to scout for individuals who have bought land in this area? Unless there is something else, is it even a scandal for one to own land in a degazetted area? A bit more of objectivity, transparency and transformation in government owned media might just be a starting point towards curbing the ills of social media. How about starting with ZNBC, honorable Minister?
The author is an avid reader of political history and philosophy. He loves eating Nshima with game meat.
MINISTER of Home Affairs Stephen Kampyongo has warned millers who are distorting mealie-meal prices and smuggling it to the neighbouring countries after accessing subsidized maize from FRA that they should have themselves to blame when the law catches up with them.
And Hon. Kampyongo said government has prioritised the provision of decent housing units for the uniformed officers whom he said play critical role in preserving peace and security in the community.
The Minister said this when he commissioned and handed over of 30 housing units and police station at Mpatamato Police Camp and Ndeke Police Police in Luanshya.
Hon. Kampyongo expressed concern over the high price of mealie meal and greedy behaviour by some millers who are distorting prices on the market as well as smuggling mealie meal to neighbouring countries.
“Let me take this opportunity to warn the millers who get subsidize maize from FRA. FRA get maize from our subsidized farmers, we subsidize the production of maize in order for our people to afford food.
“Now if you want to be greedy by getting that maize, grind and take to sale for more money by smuggling it out, you will have yourselves to blame because we (police) are on the ground. Don’t say you were not warned,” Hon. Kampyongo warned.
And Hon. Kampyongo said government was constructing housing units for men and women in uniform mainly to address shortages of decent housing and to ensure officers lived a dignified lives.
Hon. Kampyongo further implored the Police command to exhibit the highest level of discipline as they carry out their duties.
He also cautioned police officers against engaging in any corrupt activities.
The Minister stressed that the provision of decent housing units and police station comes at a great cost, urging occupants to take good care of them.
Speaking earlier, Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja thanked government for the newly constructed housing units and police station.
Mr Kanganja who immediately upgraded the Police Post to Police Station promised that with such facilities, law and order is guaranteed.
He said there could no meaningful development in the community without law and order.
Mr Kanganja disclosed that police had already deployed newly recruited officers in Copperbelt and North-Western provinces to curb smuggling and ensure law and order prevails in the regions.
The Vision 2030 goal is to make Zambia a “prosperous middle-income country by 2030”. As a stairway to attain the Vision 2030, the PF Government’s developmental agenda is guided by the Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP), whose goal is to “accelerate development efforts towards the Vision 2030, without leaving anyone behind”.
For the PF Government to successfully bring about inclusive development “without leaving anyone behind” and achieve more with less resources; the 7NDP has to be implemented in an integrated and coordinated manner, in line with regional and global developmental agendas. In this regard, the 7NDP (page 6) states that:
“(The 7NDP towards Vision 2030) will be achieved taking into account regional and global development agendas, such as the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), which is a comprehensive development and implementation framework guiding the regional integration agenda of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) over a period of fifteen years (2005-2020), African Union Agenda 2063, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) protocols.”
This article focusses on achieving the 7NDP goal towards Vision 2030, in line with the SDGs. There are 17 SDGs which represent an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. The 17 SDGs include: no poverty, zero hunger, good health and wellbeing, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, among others.
Indeed, it is of paramount importance to implement the 7NDP, in line with regional and global developmental agendas (in this particular case, the SDG), because failure to do so means that:
1. The 7NDP will fail to create an environment for the domestication of SDGs and other regional and global development agendas mentioned above. The negative outcome will be that, instead of the 7NDP being a springboard to the promotion of partnerships in a transformative way, it will fail to leverage partnerships needed to achieve 7NDP and SDG goals in Zambia.
2. Since the 7NDP forms the link between the Vision 2030 and the SDGs; weak integration and coordination of the implementation of the 7NDP vis-à-vis the SDGs, may jeopardize the attainment of the 7NDP’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which in turn, affects the achievement of SDGs and Vision 2030.
In order to avoid the above from happening; given the strategic importance of domesticating SDGs through an integrated multi-sectoral engagement with interlinking goals, as well as recognizing the fact that SDGs are universal; the PF Government under His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu embarked on a strategic mission to engage regional, continental and global development partners to elect Zambia as the permanent host of the SDG sub-regional centre for Southern Africa.
Zambia being chosen as the host of the SDG sub-regional centre for Southern Africa was not subjected to a raffle-draw, but was a painstaking process undertaken by various countries and development institutions to ascertain if Zambia met the requirements to host the SDG sub-regional centre, such as: sustainable economic agenda, human development, safety and rule of law, political stability, human rights among others – the conditions which Zambia met successfully.
As stated above, the SDG sub-regional centre for Southern Africa in Zambia, will enhance more effective integration and coordination of the simultaneous implementation and achievement of the 7NDP, Vision 2030 and SDG goals.
Speaking during the launch of the “Sustainable Development Goals Sub-Regional Centre for Southern Africa” in Zambia on 7th August, 2019, and to quote rather extensively from this speech, His Excellency President Edgar Chagwa Lungu said:
“The city of Lusaka is synonymous with the struggle for freedom and self-determination in the region. it was a struggle that was successfully waged from here by the liberation movements. today, we meet to rekindle that hope among our people through yet another wave of self-determination from the sustainable development front.
The centre launched today renews our hope that, yet again, we can win the war against poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, and the negative effects of climate change, and other challenges most African countries could not attain the millennium development goals mainly on account of various challenges such inadequate financial resources.
In our pursuit to achieve sustainable development goals, this trend unfortunately is likely to continue, unless Africa devises more innovative ways of addressing its development challenges. Time has come for Africa to adopt home-grown solutions to its own challenges.
Therefore, the establishment of the sustainable development goals centre for Africa in Kigali was a launch pad for such initiatives…. given that most countries on the continent did not meet the millennium development goals due to lack of concerted efforts, the Africa centre provides an avenue for accelerating the attainment of sustainable development goals.
In this regard, the centre in Lusaka brings the initiative closer to home for those of us in the southern African region. it will be a vehicle for facilitating engagement between governments, and other stakeholders, to accelerate the attainment of sustainable development goals.
…. I am glad to note that the centre will help member states to contextualize the sustainable development goals in line with their national development priorities such as agriculture, health, education among others. the region should be able to gain from the centre’s activities in these focus areas. For instance, in agriculture, we expect our small-scale farmers to be given the necessary attention so that they grow into more productive actors of our economies.
Likewise, the centre’s intervention in the health sector should be to promote healthy lives for our citizens to engage in productive activities.
…. As a region, we expect that this centre will work closely with our national development banks, and other financial institutions in resource mobilization and disbursement. this will in turn support national development priorities to achieve sustainable development goals. this your excellencies, will require urgent restructuring and recapitalization of national development banks effective financing towards achievement of sustainable development goals. to this effect, for Zambia, I am glad to report that the development bank of Zambia has already signed a collaborative agreement with the sustainable development goals centre for Africa.
….. At national level, the Zambian people are desirous to live in a middle-income industrialized nation by the year 2030 in which various opportunities will be readily available for them to improve their well-being. these aspirations are espoused in our vision 2030 which is being implemented through the seventh national development plan running from 2017 to 2021. I am therefore, delighted to note that our national development plan has mainstreamed the sustainable development goals as per the united nations expectations.”
CONCLUSION:
As stated by the 7NDP (page 6):
“(The 7NDP goals towards Vision 2030) will be achieved taking into account regional and global development agendas, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).” Therefore, as emphasized by President Lungu in the speech we have cited above:
“(Implementing the 7NDP in line with SDGs and Vision 2030) will not only propel our ability to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, but it will also enhance our capacities to develop and implement home-grown interventions. We are convinced that most of the solutions to attaining the sustainable development goals in Africa, reside within Africa.
The successful attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals will reinforce the realization of our aspirations espoused in the African Union Agenda 2063.
Our collective resolve as a people therefore, re-assures us that the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the African Union Agenda 2063 are indeed attainable….
The realization of the sustainable development goals cannot be left to Governments alone. it is a shared responsibility, which calls for participation by all stakeholders, including individual citizens.
I have said before elsewhere that development cannot be left to Government alone, the private sector or the civil society, but it is a challenge for all of us.”
Therefore, by ensuring the establishment of the SDG sub-regional centre in Zambia, the PF Government under President Lungu will not only ensure successful implementation and achievement of SDG goals, but also ensure successful implementation and achievement of national strategic goals in agriculture, health, education among others.
This is the developmental agenda which the PF Government under President Lungu is certain to win.
However, as President Lungu has implored Zambians in the above speech, “development cannot be left to Government alone, the private sector or the civil society, but it is a challenge for all of us.”
Green Mamba coach Caleb Ngwenya has warned Zesco United that the tie is not over despite coming to Zambia limping off a home loss against George Lwandamina’s side from their 2019/2020 CAF Champions League preliminary round, first leg tie.
Zesco made a bright start to their CAF Champions League campaign on August 10 when beat Green Mamba 2-0 in eSwatini.
Green Mamba must win 3-0 away on August 24 at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola to eliminate Zesco while a 2-0 result for them will see the tie decided on post-match penalties.
“We know how tough it is but these are the challenges you face in football. Anything is possible,” Ngwenya said on Thursday in Ndola after landing with his team at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport.
“We learnt a lot especially seeing Zesco for the first time and went back and worked on our shortcomings.
“Zesco won away and we can also win away.”
Ngwenya added that they were not scared of a wounded Zesco who come into the match after losing 1-0 to Zanaco in the Charity Shield final last Saturday in Lusaka.
“It could work for them but they are two sides of the coin in a game of this magnitude, so we are prepared and worked hard for this game and I can only invited Zambian fans to come for this one,” Ngwenya said.
The National Olympics Committee of Zambia has pointed the finger at FAZ for late submission of accreditation as reason for Shepolopolo Under-20 teams failure to take part at the 2019 All Africa Games.
Shepolopolo withdrew from the ongoing quadrangular event currently taking place in Rabat, Morocco from August 16- 30.
The Women’s Football tournament will run from August 17-29.
NOCZ president Alfred Foloko said in a press statement that FAZ submitted the official team list after the July 31 deadline.
“The National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ) regrets the failure by the Zambia Under 20 Girls National Football Team to participate at the ongoing All Africa Games taking place in Morocco due to logistic challenges,” Foloko said.
“As the main body responsible for the accreditation for All Africa Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games, we wish to provide a correct position that led to the failure of the Girls Football Team to travel to Morocco.
“NOCZ works under strict Rules and Procedures laid down by the Games Organizing Committee when dealing with the accreditation and travel arrangements for the participating teams, which is the case with the 2019 All Africa Games, currently taking place in Morocco.
“Therefore, all Sports Federations are consequently required to follow these Rules and Procedures and adhere to timelines given by the Games Organizing Committee for submission of athlete names, sport entries and Team travel itinerary for purposes of accreditation.
“As regards the failure by the Under 20 Girls Football Team, NOCZ wishes to set the record straight as follows:
“1. All Sports Federations who qualified for the All Africa Games were expected to submit the names of their athletes to the NOCZ for purposes of accreditation before the Games Organizing Committee (Comité d’organisation Des Jeux Africains de Rabat – COJA) deadline of 31 July 2019. All participating Federations submitted the names and their respective budgets with the exception of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ).
Consequently, NOCZ submitted the received names of the Zambian athletes to COJA by 31 July 2019. It should be noted that FAZ had not submitted names of their team or indicated their intention to participate in All Africa Games by the deadline.
“2. On 11 August 2019, long after the accreditation deadline had closed; NOCZ was informed that the Girls Football Team will be participating in the All Africa Games. NOCZ worked tirelessly to obtain late accreditation of the team from COJA and pushed for the possible late arrival of the Girls Team by 14th August 2019.
“3. We understand that FAZ made their own arrangements for the training and were confident that the Team would travel from South Africa to Morocco after the COSAFA tournament.
Meantime, the NOCZ instructed its Chef De Mission (CDM) in Morocco to make an urgent check and clear any outstanding dues to COJA in relation to the Girls Team participation at the All Africa Games. All that was done at short notice.
“4. We are, therefore, saddened that FAZ, as our affiliate, did not inform us about their participation at the All Africa Games. As earlier alluded, accreditation closed on 31 July 2019 and FAZ only submitted the names to NOCZ on 13 August 2019 for the Team that was expected to arrive in Morocco on 14 August 2019.
“Finally, we wish to state that in line with this, our Technical Committee works with our Sports Federations to include participation of their athletes in our longlist to Government in determining the Team size and addressing all logistics to attend these games. A good example is that of CHESS, which was not part of the initial list but was later included after confirmation from the COJA and the Africa CHESS Confederation.”
Mines and Minerals Development Minister Hon Richard Musukwa
Government has reiterated that the debacle about Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) is a subject of the court process.
Mines and Minerals Development Minister Richard Musukwa says as a government of laws it is inclined to allow the due process of the law to take its course.
He however says Government is willing to listen to any progressive talks that structures a user friendly exit mode for Vedanta.
The Mines and Minerals Development Minister was speaking on the sidelines of the State Visit to India by President Edgar Lungu.
Mr. Musukwa says it is now in public domain that it has extensively lost the social licence to operate in communities such as Chililabombwe and Chingola adding that the marriage has irretrievably broken down.
He says the decision to liquidate KCM was premised on securing the company from total collapse and protecting the jobs of the people because Vedanta had in principle walked away owing to the negligence as evidenced by its inability to exploit and develop its primary sources of its ore materials and payment of contractors and suppliers and other obligations.
The Cabinet Minister says Government is determined once the court processes are concluded to urgently secure a credible investor in an open and transparent manner.
Mr. Musukwa says a new investor should have the capacity to inject fresh capital to operationalise the KDMP project and both underground and upper orebody resources which are believed to have huge life line which will in turn provide job security.
He says the investors should lead to the transformation of the host communities in terms of infrastructure such as roads, health and education.
This is contained in a statement released by First Secretary Press and Tourism at the Zambian Mission in India Bangwe Naviley.
President Edgar Lungu with India’s President Shri Ram Nath Kovind and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Zambia and India have called for increase and deepening of bilateral trade which stood at 833 million United States dollars in 2018/2019 and was largely dominated by exports from Zambia.
The two countries have stressed the need to expand the basket of traded items, adding that trade and investment cooperation should be expanded and deepened, by encouraging public and private companies to explore trade and investment opportunities, as well as improve the ease of doing business in their respective countries.
President Lungu and President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind acknowledged the steady inflow of Indian private investment into Zambia, in the areas of mining, infrastructure, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, and agriculture.
The two Heads of State said this when they held bilateral talks, at the ongoing State Visit to India where President Lungu was accorded a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In a Press statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka today by President Lungu’s Press Aide Isaac Chipampe, the two leaders praised the continued existence of cordial and mutual relations existing between the two countries.
President Kovind warmly recalled his fruitful visit to Zambia in April 2018 and said he was satisfied with the position and progress of the agreements signed, and the decisions reached by the two countries during the said period.
President Lungu also held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and reaffirmed the mutual desire to further strengthen economic, commercial, health, infrastructure, capacity building and cultural cooperation between the two countries.
The President further thanked the Indian government for supporting Zambia’s developmental programmes in energy, health, infrastructure, trade, as well as contributions towards capacity building to the country’s Defense Forces, through the MoU signed on Defense cooperation.
Six MoU’s were signed on cooperation, which include Geology and Mineral Resources, Health and Medicine, Art & Culture, Diplomacy and International Studies, Elections and Defense Cooperation as well as an MoU for Zambia’s participation in tele-education and telemedicine through the e-VBAB Network Project.
The Government of India also announced its support to set up an SME Incubation Centre, with a view to promote the development of Small and Medium enterprises in Zambia.
In addition, the Government of India announced grants for 100 Solar Irrigation pumps to help boost agriculture in Zambia, 1,000 metric tons of rice and 100 metric tons of milk powder as humanitarian assistance and 5 Fire tenders for deployment at the Zambia Air force bases.
President Lungu thanked the Government of India for the announcements and donations of medicines and medical equipment worth 3 million United States dollars delivered to Zambia, which were pledged during President Kovind’s state visit to Zambia last year.
The Zambian Head of State also welcomed the donation of 100,000 dollars to the Mahatma Gandhi Primary School, and announced that as a show of appreciation and in honour of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, the Zambian Government would welcome the installation of the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the school.
The two governments discussed the positive impact of cooperation in the Health Sector and expressed satisfaction over the ongoing construction of 650 health posts in Zambia and the ongoing implementation of the Lusaka City Roads Decongestion Project, funded by the Indian Government under the Buyers Credit scheme of Exim Bank of India.
Meanwhile the Zambian and Indian governments further agreed to cement cultural interactions between the two people and intensify cooperation at the United Nations to address current global challenges such as climate change, peace, security, and sustainable development as well as the reform of the global body.
During the State Visit, President Lungu also visited an agro-business and food processing unit in the NCR region.
President Lungu is accompanied to India by a high level delegation comprising Ministers for Foreign Affairs Joseph Malanji, Presidential Affairs, Freedom Sikazwe, Commerce, Trade and Industry, Christopher Yaluma, Mines and Minerals Development Richard Musukwa, Minister in the Office of the Vice President Olipa Phiri, and Senior Government Officials.
Government has advised Zambian professionals against seeking employment outside the country, through employment agents who have no fixed contact addresses.
Labour Commissioner Chanda Kaziya says government has noted with concern the mushrooming of the employment agents in the country, adding that this has resulted in a number of Zambians being duped.
Speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka, Mr Kaziya explained that Zambians seeking employment outside the country through the agents should take time to read the laws of such countries and avoid engaging agents who do not refund them when they do not get employed.
He says reading such country’s labour laws will also help them avoid issues of human trafficking, which is also on the increase especially in the Sub-Saharan region.
Mr Kaziya noted that the current Zambian labour laws require that the person is refunded the money paid to agents once the employment contract fails to materialize, a situation that is not being observed.
He has advised Zambians seeking employment abroad to submit the standard contracts which they are being offered, in order for government to scrutinize them thoroughly.
It is important that the standard contract which they will be given is made available to protect our workers interest.
The same standard rules apply to everybody guide them.
Statement from the Hon. Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services and Chief Government Spokesperson on mealie meal prices
Government wishes to express great concern over the high price of mealie meal which is reported to have reached K150 for 25kg bag of breakfast and ZML120 for a 25kg bag of Roller meal in some cases.
This is a matter of grave concern to the Government and this morning, the Acting President, Mrs Inonge Mutukwa Wina summoned the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Michael Katambo.
Government has resolved the following:
1. Government will not stand by and watch the staple food go out of reach of ordinary Zambians.
2. The Acting President has instructed the Minister of Agriculture to immediately arrest the price distortions in the market, for example the price of a 25kg bag of breakfast is selling at 150 in Sioma in Western province and similarly at 150 in Lusaka and the Copperbelt. This is a clear case of price distortion by unscrupulous retailers who wish to enjoy abnormal profits at the expense of ordinary Zambians. You would expect the price of mealie meal to be cheaper in Lusaka and the Copperblet because that is where milling plants are located.
The average selling price by millers to retailers is between ZMK115 to ZMK120 only, while for rollermeal the millers are selling to retailers at between ZMK80 to ZMK90.
Hon Katambo has been instructed to urgently meet major retail outlets to address the price distortions.
Government is also aware of price distortions in the maize buying market. While the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) buy-in price is ZMK110 per 50Kg of maize, the private sector price is as high as ZMK170 per 50kg bag of Maize. This too is clear distortion because historically the price difference between FRA and the private sector has never been more than ZMK10 per bag. However, this year the difference is as high as ZMK60.
Once again Hon. Katambo will today meet with manufacturers of livestock feed to arrest the price distortion in the maize buying market. Our information is that what is driving the high maize buying price in the private sector are the 3 major manufacturers of livestock feed who are procuring maize at exorbitant prices, to make stock feed cake for export, at the expense of ordinary Zambians.
3. Government has instructed the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to render a report to Government on these price distortions within 24hrs.
4. The Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Katambo is expected to conclude these interventions by Government to stabilize the price of Mealie meal and make the staple food affordable to ordinary Zambians in the next few days.
The Government wishes to reassure the nation that while the country was impacted by drought and floods in some areas, the country is food secure and Government will do everything possible to ensure that it remains so and that no Zambian should die from hunger.
Hon. Dora Siliya, MP
Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services and Chief Government Spokesperson
Ecobank Zambia has received USD 15 million from its parent company Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI).
This is part of a syndicated loan facility of USD200 million arranged by the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) with other DFIs in support of Ecobank Group’s strategic development objectives for the pan-African Ecobank Group across its network of 36 African Countries.
The proceeds of the loan to be directed towards SME’s across various sectors of the economy.
Ecobank Zambia Managing Director Kola Adeleke said: “The USD15 Million investment by FMO into Ecobank demonstrates international investors’ approval and confidence in Ecobank’s strategy and prospects as a strong and sustainable pan-African financial services institution. It also demonstrates the ability of African corporates to access international capital markets.”
Ecobank Zambia will use this investment to give out loans to deserving small and medium entrepreneurs in Zambia to help boost their businesses and contribute towards the economic development of Zambia.
“Ecobank Zambia will continue to position itself as a key partner in SME development in Zambia. Although SMEs provide the majority of jobs, their access to finance remains limited. We believe that supporting SMEs will help stimulate economic growth due to the sector’s contribution towards the Gross Domestic Product and employment creation” Mr. Adeleke said.
Transparency International Zambia has called on President Edgar Lungu to cancel all the land offers on the controversial Forest 27 in Lusaka East.
In a statement, TIZ President Reuben Lifuka says his organization is demanding that appropriate answers be given over the issue.
Mr Lifuka also demanded that President Lungu ensures that there is a partial degazette of Forest No 27 is reversed and the forest reserve protected.
He also challenged the Anti Corruption Commission to investigate if there was any abuse of office particularly by policy makers and those involved in making decisions on this matter.
Below is the full statement
Transparency International Zambia’s statement on leaders’ acquisition of land on Forest 27
Transparency International Zambia has been following with keen interest the developments surrounding the partial degazettion of Forest No 27 and subsequent award of parcels of land mainly to Politically Exposed Persons in the same area.
We did wait for the authorities to give us satisfactory answers to all the questions surrounding this issue and we note that the Chief Government Spokesperson – Hon Dora Siliya, together with other officials from the Forestry Department and the Commissioner of Lands, did recently engage the media and the nation on this matter.
We found the answers and justification given by Government inadequate and very unsatisfactory.
As a preamble, we wish to state that we are alive to the fact that under section 17 (1) of The Forests Act No. 4 of 2015, the Republican President has authority by Statutory Instrument to gazette and degazette any local forest in Zambia. And in exercising this authority the president is not obliged by law to state the purpose of his action. However, the practice has been that whenever this action is taken, it is for developmental reasons.
We take note of the fact that Forest No. 27 has been the subject of degazettion on a number of occasions and at each instance, portions of Forest 27 have been hived off for different reasons. We are aware of three Statutory Instruments that have been passed in relation to Forest 27 and these are SI No. 62 of 2017, SI No. 59 of 2018 and SI No 13 of 2019. We have taken time to research for the reasons for degazetting of Forest No 27 and the reports of the Parliamentary Committee on Delegated Legislation are instructive.
In relation to SI Nos. 62 of 2017, the Permanent Secretary of the responsible ministry submitted to the Committee on Delegated Legislation that Statutory Instrument was issued in order to allow the partial de-gazettion (excision) of Lusaka East Local Forest No. 27, to enable Lusaka District to meet its growing development needs.
For SI No 59 of 2018, the Committee of Delegated Legislation was informed that the objective of the Statutory Instrument was to alter the existing boundary description of Local Forest No. F27 by deleting it and substituting it with the boundary description specified in the SI. It was thus submitted to the committee that the alteration was meant to facilitate the construction of office space and staff housing to allow Lusaka District meet its growing development needs.
The 2019 report of this Committee is not yet in public domain and the reasons therefore for the degazettion not yet known. However, it is evident from the foregoing that the reasons for degazetting part of the forest reserve have been stated as developmental and for specific infrastructure developments.
Against this background, Transparency International Zambia wishes to raise a number of issues which need further clarification from Government.
1. Objective for the 2019 partial de-gazetting of forest reserve No.27. Government has not clearly stated the reasons and objective for the issuance of SI No 13 of 2019, in which it seeks to further degazette Forest No. 27. We would like to know whether the main reason was to pave way for the parcels of land that have subsequently being offered to mostly Politically Exposed Persons?
2. Purpose for Degazzeting of part of Forest 27 from being a forest to an area for residential plots. We would like to know, a) at what point was this decision made to allocate this piece of land to individuals as opposed to it being used for ‘development purposes’ as stipulated in SI No 62 of 2017, and b) what prompted this decision to change the intended land use to private residential land use? The justification given by the Commissioner of Lands during the recent media engagements, was that there is need for more land for residential developments. While this is true, what the Commissioner of Lands failed to highlight was why this need for land seems to be confined to a small group of persons in high office and those who are politically connected or indeed a few ordinary citizens, some of them who have benefitted from other parcels of land around the country. If indeed there is a long list of applicants, how is it that politicians and government officials- including those working for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, were the ones given priority?
3. Environmental and Social Impact Assessments.
We found the answer given by the Director of the Forestry Department which suggested that there was no need for an EIA to be conducted in this instance of partial degazettion of Forest No 27, not only unfortunate but misleading. First and foremost, we wish to remind the Director and his colleagues of section 23 of the Environmental Management Act No 12 of 2011, which requires proponents of policy, programme or plan that could have an adverse effect on environmental management or the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, to mandatorily conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment.
This Assessment should be formally approved by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency. As far as we know, no such Strategic Environmental Assessment has been undertaken before reaching such decision to partial degazette Forest No 27.
A SEA would have inevitably given the environmental significance of Forest No 27 in terms of water resources management for the surrounding communities and those living downstream. We do recall that in November 2017, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources- Hon Jean Kapata, in the National Assembly, in responding to a question by Hon Mulenga – MP for Ndola Central, who wanted to know whether government was about to degazette the land belonging to ZAFFICO in Ndola to pave way for the construction of a Multi-facility Economic Zone; the Minister refuted this. She indicated among other reasons that the role of the Ministry is to ensure that forest reserves are conserved as part of environmental protection and sustained production and utilization of forest resources.
Clearly, the answer by the Director of the Forestry Department, did not reflect this policy of the Ministry.
4. Lack of Advertising of this land.
It is self defeating for a Government which professes to uphold the the tenets of
transparency and accountability to fail to advertise the plots created at the Forest No 27 and we find the reasons given for this that no law compels the Commissioner of Lands to do so, unfortunate. In a country where corruption has affected every sector including land administration, the most prudent thing to is to have an open process. It is wrong to have a process where those policy makers, technocrats and those with power to influence decisions, are the first ones to acquire enormous acreage of these contentious plots. This is not only conflict of interest, but amounts to insider dealing and definitely disadvantages the ordinary people.
What message are they sending to an ordinary Zambian out there? Under normal circumstances, it would be safe to assume that the minister of lands exerted undue influence over decisions around this land allocation or indeed abused her office despite ‘following procedure’ as we were informed.
The Commissioner of Lands claims there is no law that compels the commission to advertise land, the question we have is does the commissioner need a law for him to do what is morally right? Are our leaders going to be using the deficiencies in our statutes to do wrong things? Are we going to do wrong things provided these are not illegal? Good practice requires that land is advertised before allocation otherwise how is the general public will know that there is land available.
The Commissioner of Lands knows this and the fact that this was done silently, speaks volumes of the motives at play.
We demand that appropriate answers be given and we particularly demand that President Lungu cancels these offers of land and ensures that partial degazettion of Forest No 27 is reversed and the forest reserve protected.
We also challenge the ACC to investigate if there was any abuse of office particularly by policy makers and those involved in making decisions on this matter.
Finally, we want to urge that all future land schemes should be advertised and handled in a transparent manner.
Access to land should never be the preserve of only the rich and powerful or politically connected. Land is a national asset and we should guard it jealously
Yours Faithfully
Reuben. L. Lifuka Chapter President
