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Nkana have beaten visiting Congolese side Bazano 2-0 in a friendly match played on Thursday afternoon at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe.
Striker Idris Mbombo struck a brace in this pre-season friendly watched by a sizeable crowd.
Mbombo, who recently rejoined Nkana, scored first half goals in the 7th and 18th minutes.
Nkana coach Beston Chambeshi paraded his usual stars among them Kelvin Mubanga, Harrison Chisala, Ronald Kampamba, Freddy Tshimenga, Musa Muhammad and Shadreck Malambo.
The victory is expected to relieve Nkana after receiving criticism for losing a friendly match against Kansanshi Dynamos by 3-1 at home in Wusakile last Saturday.
Kalampa are preparing for the 2019/20 FAZ Super Division campaign starting on August 31 when they host Green Buffaloes in Kitwe.
Some of the Copperbelt residents and students from Kitwe, Ndola and Luanshya participating at the Copperbelt Forum dubbed, ‘the Zambia We Love,’
Copperbelt residents and students from Kitwe, Ndola and Luanshya participating at the Copperbelt Forum dubbed, ‘the Zambia We Love,’ resolved to support their Members of Parliament in debating the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 10 of 2019.
The residents, who gathered at a fully-packed Forum at Crossroads Lodges on Tuesday, 13 August, 2019 organised by the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), expressed happiness that their members of parliament have begun to publicly engage with them to explain how some resolutions from the National Dialogue Forum were arrived at and to dispel the falsehood that had been planted by those against the Bill.
Addressing residents, Bwanamkubwa Member of Parliament, Dr. Jonas Kamima Chanda, said the National Dialogue Forum was a forum of the free minds whose agenda was not to add clarity to the constitution which posed a lot of problems in 2016 and onwards. He stated that changing any part of the Constitution is the sole mandate of National Assembly of Zambia but Government decided to further constitute the National Dialogue Forum to allow the public deliberate on the submissions made by many Zambians to the Ministry of Justice before Parliament could proceed to debate and make changes to the law.
“All members of Parliament were encouraged by the Speaker to attend the NDF. Initially, 28 UPND Members attended the Dialogue before some withdrew to only remain with 16 UPND MPs who wanted their constituents represented. Their Royal Highnesses were invited, political parties were invited, the church had enough representation and civil society organisations, including the Electoral Commission of Zambia,” said Dr. Chanda.
He said the UPND and some civil society organisations that refused to attend the dialogue merely exercised their democratic rights not to do so but they cannot now begin to claim the NDF was not all inclusive because they had an opportunity to attend and debate on equal footing. The Bwanamkubwa lawmaker encouraged residents to read for themselves what is contained in the Bill rather than get cheated.
And Copperbelt University Students Union President Emmanuel Kasonde said withdrawing the Bill to amend the Constitution is a non-starter but said those aggrieved with some provisions of the Bill have an opportunity to make their case with Members of Parliament. He said not everyone would remain agreeable to provisions of the law and argued in a democracy, it is cowardice for MPs to walk out when they disagree with provisions of some law but they must always stand up to debate and put themselves on record.
Earlier, a senior citizen from Ndola, Peter Mpande, who turned 63 called on all Zambians to never waste an opportunity to make long-lasting changes to the Constitution.
“We cannot be a nation that plays politics all the time. In the 1970s, Nkumbula tried the trick to stop the passage of the Constitution amendment Bill using the courts but it failed. The same was done in 1996 when the Zambia Democratic Congress repeated the same attempt but it all failed because our courts always treasure the doctrine of separation of powers.” Said Mr. Mpande.
YALI President, Andrew Ntewewe, also reminded the Copperbelt residents that the Constitution is a living document which can be amended at any time so long the provisions of the law is adhered to.
“There is always one political party in Zambia which has consistently remained opposed to making changes to the constitution so long as they are not the ones in the driving seat. They have vowed to oppose every amendment but are promising that only them can deliver a perfect constitution. There is no perfect Constitution in the world,” said Ntewewe.
Residents, who applauded the Bwanamkubwa lawmaker for meeting them, took turns to call on President Lungu and leaders of other political parties to encourage members of Parliament of Parliament to hold Townhall meetings with the people and listen to all views even as they attempt to amend the constitution. The residents said they would like to see the current process yield results and emphasised the constitution is not only about 2021 elections but governance of the country.
Some of the Copperbelt residents and students from Kitwe, Ndola and Luanshya participating at the Copperbelt Forum dubbed, ‘the Zambia We Love,’Some of the Copperbelt residents and students from Kitwe, Ndola and Luanshya participating at the Copperbelt Forum dubbed, ‘the Zambia We Love,’Some of the Copperbelt residents and students from Kitwe, Ndola and Luanshya participating at the Copperbelt Forum dubbed, ‘the Zambia We Love,’Some of the Copperbelt residents and students from Kitwe, Ndola and Luanshya participating at the Copperbelt Forum dubbed, ‘the Zambia We Love,’
President Lungu and President of the Republic of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind arrives at the State Banquet at Pamodzi Hotel on Wednesday, April 11,2018. The President of India is in Zambia, for a three- day State Visit
President Edgar Lungu is expected to undertake a visit to India on Tuesday August 20, 2019. According to a press statement released to the media by State house, President Lungu’s visit to India follows an invitation by his Indian counterpart Ram Nath Kovind when he visited Zambia.
During the visit six Memoranda of Understanding on cooperation between Zambia and India are expected to be signed. It is anticipated that whilst in India President Lungu will also lay a wreath at the mausoleum of late Indian political icon Mahatma Ghandi.
And India’s High Commissioner to Zambia Ngulkham Gangte has said that President Lungu’s visit to India is not only historical but also means a lot to the people of India.
He also thanked President Lungu for accepting the invitation to visit India.
Meanwhile President Lungu is today scheduled to travel and join other Heads of State and Government including Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika, President of Malawi, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of Mozambique, Andry Rajoelina, President of Madagascar at the 39th SADC Summit in Da es Salaam, Tanzania.
During the summit, President Lungu is expected to present a report to mark the handover of the Chairmanship of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation to the Republic of Zimbabwe. The President has been Chairperson of the Organ since August, 2018.
The Organ for Politics, Defence and Security was launched in June 1996 as a formal institution of SADC with the mandate to support the achievement and maintenance of security and the rule of law in the SADC region. The SADC Treaty, the Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation and the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ (SIPO) II are the key documents that guide the activities of the Organ.
President Lungu has been at the helm of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security since August 2018.
The Itezhi tezhi Magistrates court has found a fisherman with a case to answer in a matter in which he is accused of assaulting his wife after she enquired the whereabouts his mobile phone.
This is a matter where Lingoi Clement Musangu, 39, a fisherman of African Housing Compound in Itezhi tezhi is charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on Linety Kasovu.
Particulars of the case are that on 8 July, 2019 in Itezhi tezhi district, Musangu did assault Linety Kasovu thereby occasioning her actual bodily harm.
When the matter came up, Magistrates Mugala Chalwe placed Musangu on his defense after establishing that there was sufficient evidence on record that he assaulted his wife.
After his rights were fully explained, Musangu opted to remain silent and to call three witnesses.
And giving evidence earlier, Regina Mwaanga 9, a grade 3 pupil testified that on 8th July’ 2019, her mother ( Linety Kasovu) enquired from her father where his mobile phone was, and the father replied that it was with his wife, resulting in an exchange of words between the two.
She said that after she went outside the house, the door to the house was closed and she heard her mother crying.
Mwaanga said that when she opened the door, she saw her father kicking her mother whilst she was holding a baby and that after he realized that she had seen him, he shut the door and continued beating her.
She said that when her mother tried to escape with the neighbours, Musangu picked a pan brick and hit her mother on the waist, and when she fell down, he continued kicking her until more people came to rescue her and his father fled.
And the last witness in the matter, Constable Jimmy Choongo, 28, a police officer testified that on June 8, 2019, he was allocated a docket of case involving assault actual bodily harm on Linety Kasovu of African Housing Compound.
He said that Kazovu sustained deep cut on her upper lip and her head was swollen. Choongo said that kicks and a pan blick were alleged to have been used though the brick was never found during investigations.
He said that acting on the information, investigations were instituted which led to the arrest of Musangu after a medical report confirmed that Kazovu was assaulted.
Meanwhile Magistrates Chalwe adjourned the case to today, August 14, 2019 for continued defense.
A 19 year old pupil of Luwingu boarding secondary school has been convicted to five years imprisonment by the Luwingu magistrate court.
Luwingu Magistrate Davy Simfukwe convicted Jonathan Mulenga of Chelstone compound in Luwingu district for one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on a child contrary to the laws of Zambia.
Particulars of offence were that Jonathan on 15 July 2019 did assault Luheto Kameya aged 8 thereby occasioning bodily harm by administered tattoos without authority from the parents.
It is alleged that on the material day, Jonathan administered tattoos and added unknown mixture on both legs of an eight year old grade 3 pupil of Katopola primary school without authority of the parents.
In mitigation, Jonathan told magistrate Simfukwe that he was a first born child who deserve lenience and that he was also in grade 12 and said he regret what he did.
He added that after completing his grade 12 he wants to continue helping his parents in doing business at kamumango market.
Magistrate Simfukwe found that Jonathan Mulenga guilty of the offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm on a child contrary to section 248 A of the penal code chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia as amended by Act No. 15 of 2005.
He sentenced him five years imprisonment with hard labour from the day he was arrested.
Government says it has released another consignment of 4,480 bags of mealie meal and 2,000 by 50 bags of relief food worth thousands of kwacha to the vulnerable facing hunger in Monze District, in Southern province.
Monze District Commissioner, Cyprian Hamanyanga stated in a walk-in interview yesterday through the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit ( DMMU ) , the District has also received another consignment of 560 bags of maize bran for feeding livestock, apart from an additional 1,800 by 50 kilogrammes bags of food, which would sold at a subsided price of K111 per bag.
Mr Hamanyanga says the move is government’s response to appeals for more relief food in the area.
“ Government will continue to live up to its promise to ensure that no one dies as a result of hunger and was committed to work flat out to ensure that adequate relief food was available to address the hunger ravaging the District and other parts of Southern province.
“As a District we have received 4,480 by 12.5 kilogrammes bags of mealie meal, 2,000 by 50 kilogrammes bags of relief maize and an additional 560 bags of maize bran for livestock feed. This is a true succinct demonstration of government’s commitment to ensure that no one dies of hunger across the country,” said Mr. Hamanyanga.
Maintaining that the increase in the allocation of relief food the hunger situation in the District will be addressed, Mr Hamanyanga strongly dispelled social media reports allegedly peddled by some politicians that government was encouraging people to mix the maize bran with mealie meal.
And commenting on social media reports alleging that government is encouraging people in the area to mix maize bran with mealie meal for consumption, Mr Hamayanga rubbished the reports saying such reports are malicious, ridiculous and should be treated as such.
He instead explained said maize bran been distributed was solely for feeding animals adding that contrary to social media reports no one has encouraged the vulnerable to start eating the maize bran which is fit for animal consumption, only.
“ I have heard reports on social media of some politicians saying government is encouraging people to mix maize bran with mealie meal and eat- I want to state here that such reports coming from disgruntled politicians are both malicious and preposterous and just meant to dent the good cause that government is doing in feeding its people and should therefore be treated as mere trash,” said Mr Hamanyanga.
Politicians should be advised to desist from making baseless allegations against government he said was making to address the hunger situation when they have failed to bring up tangible solutions or initiatives to help address the hunger situation in the area.
Monze District recorded total crop failure during the 2018/2019 farming season following the drought that hit the District.
Since April this year, Government has so far delivered a total of 8,960 by 12.5 kilogrammes bags of mealie meal, 1,120 by 50 kilograms bags of maize bran through the DMMU while the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) through the community sales has sold 6,429 by 50 kilogrammes bags of maize realising a total of K713, 619.00 to date.
A 26 year old man of Ndola’s Mushili – Kansengu area has appeared in the Ndola magistrate court for allegedly having sex with his two year old step son to gain fame in the music industry.
The accused’s wife Christine has appeared as a witness and testified against her husband before Magistrate Monica Mutinta.
Ms Christine, aged 20, of house number 3932, alleged that the accused in the matter, Philemon Bwalya has been inserting his manhood in the boys’ mouth.
This is in a matter in which Bwalya has been charged with unnatural offences, defined as one having carnal intercourse against the order of nature which is contrary to the laws of Zambia.
Particulars of the offence are that Bwalya on July 13, 2019 in Ndola district on the Copperbelt province allegedly committed unnatural offences.
During trial, Christine testified that on the day in question, she left home early in the morning for work in Lubuto Township where she works as a maid leaving Bwalya and her son sleeping.
Christine narrated that when she returned home mid afternoon, she found her son asleep in the house but noticed that he had white mucus which looked like sperms on his chin and a coat he wore.
She stated that when she confronted her husband whom she had left the child in his custody, he expressed ignorance.
“When I returned home from work I did not find my husband. I asked my niece to call him from the barber shop he works from and he returned.
“When I asked for an explanation on what I had discovered on my son, he got angry and left the house and only returned later in the evening in a drunken state. Upon his return, I continued to demand for answers and this agitated him to an extent that he started to beat me up.
“It was then that he confessed he committed the offence as per instruction from whom he did not say but said he had joined a secret society group called illuminate.
“He said the condition was to establish a covenant with his son by having carnal knowledge in his mouth to grow his fame as a musician in the entertainment industry. He wants his music to sale”, she narrated.
Christine stated that it was not the first time to find her son with mucus which she concluded to be sperms.
She said she has been married to the accused person for a year.
Another witness in the matter has testified that on July 13, 2019 whilst home, overheard Bwalya and Christine fighting.
The witness who is a neighbor to the accused, narrated that she listened in to Bwalya’s confession that he had joined Satanism.
She alleged that the accused said he was instructed to kill four of his relatives to gain fame but the attempt failed.
She told the court that the accused confessed that the second option given to Bwalya was to make a covenant with the male child by inserting his manhood in his mouth.
And Benadette Musonda aged 26 stated that she attended a meeting where the accused apologized for his actions.
Ms Musonda testified that Bwalya explained that he was made to commit the offence because his wife denied him sex.
The court has since adjourned the matter to August 19, 2019 for continued trial while the accused person is in police custody.
Green Eagles coach Aggrey Chiyangi has cautioned against underrating 2019/2020 CAF Champions League opponents Orlando Pirates who have hit a bad patch.
Pirates on Wednesday night lost 3-0 away to SuperSport United in a South African league match in Pretoria.
The Gauteng derby loss was Pirates second successive competitive defeat that came five days after Eagles beat them 1-0 away in Lusaka in a Champions League preliminary round,first leg match on August 10.
“We will not go to sleep just because Orlando Pirates lost to SuperSport United,” Chiyangi said.
“That’s a local league and we are playing them in the Champions League.
“The magnitude of the games differ so they will definitely put on a hard fight.”
Eagles will visit Pirates in Johannesburg on August 24 where they need a draw to advance to the pre-group stage but a 2-1 defeat will still see them through on away goals rule.
The Ndola High Court has sentenced to 18 years imprisonment two out of the five Ndola women who inserted a bottle into another woman’s private parts.
This is in a case where five women were alleged to have assaulted Denise Mwanakumbwila and occasioned her actual bodily harm on December 1, 2018.
In count one, it was alleged that the five jointly and whilst acting together, abducted Denise with the intention of putting her in danger of being subjected to grievous bodily harm.
In count two, the five were charged with indecent assault on a female after the victim was suspected to be having an affair with the husband to one of the accused women.
However, the other three accused have been acquitted.
When the matter came up for sentencing this morning, Ndola High Court Judge-in-charge Emelia Sunkutu said the lower court was on firm grounds to convict the two.
In mitigation, Legal Aid Counsel Kenneth Tembo said the convicts were remorseful.
However, Judge Sunkutu said the wickedness among young people was shocking adding that the act offended and insulted the women folk.
During the entire trial, the victim refused to testify before court after she disappeared, a situation which has saddened Judge Sunkutu.
The Copperbelt University management has announced a reduction of the surcharge imposed on students from K1500 to K150.
CBU Vice Chancellor Professor Naison Ngoma disclosed this to Journalists in Kitwe this afternoon.
Prof. Ngoma said the decision follows a consultative meeting with Higher Education Minister Dr. Brian Mushimba.
He said management had taken heed of guidance from Dr Mushimba and that the surcharge for the general students populace has been reduced to K150.
The Vice Chancellor however clarified that those that were suspended for their role in the riot that led to the indefinite closure of CBU in April this year will be charged K1000 each while those that were expelled but later reinstated at the mercy of the Minister and on suspension for an academic year will still pay K1500 each upon returning to the institution.
He added that the K150 will have to be paid by all returning students before they are re-admitted at the institution.
Kabwe Central Mp-Tutwa Ngulube and Kasama-central Mp-Kelvin Sampa at the PF-interactive Forum
PF deputy Chief Whip Tutwa Ngulube has claimed that Law Association of Zambia President Eddie Mwitwa must be impeached because he has been paid by a named organization to fight and embarrass government.
And Mr. Ngulube says Constitutional Lawyer John Sangwa must immediately recuse himself from the petition before the Constitutional Court regarding Bill 10 or be stripped of his status as State Counsel so that he cannot use it to fight personal battles against President Edgar Lungu.
On Monday, the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) dragged President Lungu, the Attorney General and the National Assembly to the Constitutional Court for attempting to illegally alter the Constitution of Zambia through Bill 10 of 2019.
But reacting to this, Mr. Ngulube said LAZ had agreed not to challenge the bill in court and the court action was proof that Mwitwa wanted to leave a trail of destruction before his term of office ends.
In an audio released on social media, Mr Ngulube said Mwitwa’s LAZ Council should be impeached.
“I would like to support the calls of State Counsel Sakwiba Sikota and other learned State Counsel who have come out in the open and said they would like us to impeach the LAZ President Mr Eddie Mwitwa for dragging the name of the association into serious disrepute and also for being used to fight political battles on behalf of a named opposition political party, the United Party for National Development.”
“It is very clear that Mr Mwitwa, whose term of office is coming to an end would like to leave a trail of destruction on behalf of the Law Association of Zambia. We therefore want to urge the general membership of the Law Association of Zambia to rise and remove Mr Eddie Mwitwa from office,” Mr. Ngulube said.
“I am also aware, as a Member of Parliament who is also a lawyer and fully paid up member of the Law Association of Zambia that Mr Eddie Mwitwa cannot impose his hatred of President Lungu on the general membership of the Law Association of Zambia. His personal views or vendetta must not be misunderstood to mean that he represents the views of the entire legal fraternity and the entire Law Association of Zambia.”
He charged that Mr. Mwitwa had been paid and challenged Mr. Sangwa to recuse himself from the petition.
“We are aware also that Mr Mwitwa has been paid by a named institution to fight the Patriotic Front government and also to embarrass government but we are also saying, both Mr Eddie Mwitwa and Mr John Sangwa SC were lawyers representing Mr Hakainde Hichilema in the presidential petition who failed to win the case in the ConCourt and are now trying to use the Constitution to protract their battle against His Excellency the President of this country Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu.”
“We are also aware that Mr Mwitwa does not mean well for our association. Just like state counsel John Sangwa is State Counsel, he is expected as State Counsel to guide the state whenever he feels there is something that the state is not doing correctly. He is not supposed to use his rank as State Counsel to fight government or to fight the state. We therefore call upon the President to strip him off the status and rank of State Counsel and let him go and continue fighting on his own without hiding under the umbrella of State Counsel. We therefore demand that Mr John Sangwa should immediately recuse himself from the court proceedings or if he fails, we will petition the President to remove his rank as State Counsel so that he does not use his position and status in the legal fraternity to fight his personal battles against the President,” said Mr. Ngulube.
Mr. Ngulube also said Mr. Sangwa was being illogical by taking a petition before a court whose judges he insulted and publicly embarrassed.
He also stated that no other institution could regulate what Parliament does.
Mr. Ngulube has since urged the general membership of LAZ to rise and remove the LAZ President from office.
“We therefore call upon President Lungu to strip them off the status and rank of State Counsel,” emphasised Mr. Ngulube.
Mr. Ngulube further charged that despite its financial ills, the Law Association of Zambia paid legal fees to Mr. John Sangwa who is infact Mr. Haakainde Hichilema’s lawyer.
“Its embarrassing that LAZ can’t even afford to construct an office complex for the past over 20 years, and yet, they managed to pay fees to a lawyer who could even insult Con-Court Judges.”
He said LAZ was not an extension of the UPND Secretariat and as genuine members of the association. We will stop them from using LAZ like a political organ.”
“The Law Association of Zambia is a creature of an Act of Parliament and we expect that the leadership of the association should help government in governing the country and not to plunge it into unnecessary anxiety over matters we know can not lead the country anywhere,” said Mr. Ngulube.
The Kabwe Central lawmaker said there has never been any day LAZ members allowed Mr. Mwiitwa to “use our money to hire the services of Mr. Sangwa and demand to know who will pay the crippling bills Mr. Sangwa will bring.”
“John Sangwa is just one of us, not all of us and so we will not need his interpretation of the constitution especially that all of us had agreed to examine the entire constitution and understand the positives and negatives and not to rely on his interpretation,” he said adding, we will not allow LAZ to fight a sitting government using our money.”
Mr. Ngulube also explained that there was no institution, public of private, that had the authority to supervise or stop Parliament from making laws.
Lusaka City Council and state police in the early hours of Thursday demolished illegal structures and evicted some retirees who have been residing in Munali secondary school teachers compound.
This follows the expiry of a 14 days eviction notice issued to them.
Among the structures brought down are boarding houses.
A ZNBC news crew that visited the institution found household goods outside with some students stranded.
Meanwhile Lusaka City council Public Relations Manager George Sichimba said enough enforcement notices were issued and that some teachers complied and demolished illegal extensions on their own.
Judge Bobo’s decision to dismiss Vedanta’s application on August 8, 2019 to halt the liquidation process of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and refer the matter to arbitration has declared the legal battle between the two stakeholders official. As per the shareholders agreement signed in 2004, the government has gone against its contractual obligation to settle any matter of dispute through arbitration in a South African High Court. At this point, what remains of critical importance is to acknowledge the implications of this decision in order to establish a mechanism to mitigate the impact that will soon arise from this verdict. I would argue that there are likely to be two major problems that the government will encounter as they battle with Vedanta Resources Limited and seek its replacement.
The first stumbling block will involve raising the legal fees to fight Vedanta in an international court coupled with the compensation that will ultimately accrue. The current state of affairs in Zambia shows that our economy is strained and choked of finances with debt in excess of US$ 10 billion. The President confirmed this when he spoke at Kansanshi Hotel in Solwezi last week. Moreover, the first US$ 750 million Eurobond matures in 2022. Can the Mines Minister, Mr. Richard Musukwa, please explain to us where the money to service these liabilities will come from?
The second and perhaps even more contentious issue will arise from the implicit cost of the government’s decision to erroneously liquidate KCM in the process of finding a new investor. Any investor worth their money will demand that due diligence of KCM is undertaken before buying the mine. In this process, they will evaluate the assets of the company versus its liabilities. The investors will want to know the size of the of the copper ore body, the grade of the copper, etc. in order to determine the commercial viability of the asset. After this is done the investor may ask to conduct an independent assessment of the mine in order to determine its true value and establish a counter-offer to the government’s asking price. Now, while it remains true that KCM sits on one of the country’s richest copper ore bodies, through the due diligence process the potential buyers will learn about the encumbrances surrounding the mine, the pending legal liabilities, and a compensation that would need to be paid-out. The process will further assist the potential new mine owner to understand how much they need to invest in exploring new ore bodies, given that Vedanta exhausted most of the existing bodies. When this is coupled with the legal liabilities and compensation, it further weakens the government’s negotiating power. So, what strategy is the government using when negotiating with a new investor?
For an economy that has been struggling to find ways to maximise on the gains from its natural resources in order to end abject poverty and build an inclusive economy, we must be more astute and aware of the decisions that condemn us to this status quo. Our leadership must avoid making decisions, such as this decision that have the potential to implicate us in costly battles. The experiences of the last three decades must also provide us with critical lessons explaining why we must shun the continued overdependence on external investment as the means of driving our economy.
The experiences of the last three decades must also provide us with critical lessons explaining why we must shun the continued overdependence on external investment as the means of driving our economy.
Our economy is still characterised by dire poverty, skills underdevelopment, and poor public services—problems that we were told are naturally fixed by the laws of free market economics. In our case, these challenges are amplified by the very laws that are supposed to be pulling us up. They have a deleterious effect on our economic situation through illicit financial flows where we have lost up to the tune of US$ 1542 million as of 2015. Fiscal indiscipline by the state is yet another problem that undermines our struggles. To fix our problems we must begin to think anew. As Rwandan President Paul Kagame expressed, “…in Africa we have everything we need, in real terms. Whatever is lacking, we have the means to acquire. And yet, we remain mentally married to the idea that nothing can get moving without external finance.” Our quest towards building a developed country in the contemporary world demands that we change our mindset and cease to think that for our country to develop, we must solely depend on foreign direct investment. It does also demand transparency, accountability and a genuine commitment to a national cause. I fear what will be of beloved Zambia when all the natural wealth is sold off and depleted.
Looking ahead, our redemption lies in knowing how to pivot our national development agenda in a manner that leverages international interest in our natural resources. It must be clear to us by now that China and the West compete for our land and what lies beneath it. They have no common strategy for dealing with developing country markets and their governments but a massive appetite for our minerals. And therein lies an opportunity for us to exploit. But for us to be able to capitalise on this opportunity, we need disciplined and visionary leadership that will pull together the best of Zambian talent and coalesce them towards a common purpose. What would be an even greater achievement would be to mobilise this talent in the direction of increased participation in major economic activities such as mining. To do this will require putting aside partisan politics, crony capitalism and the indiscipline that comes with it but opting to genuinely support local private sector players with a strong commitment to nation building. We have this one Zambia and whatever we do with it, posterity will judge us, dead or alive.
WWF-Zambia Country Director, Ms. Nachilala Nkombo (left), chats with a young farmer and ZYCALA project beneficiary, Ms. Rozen Ndonde, at the construction site of the youth-led honey processing plant.
Construction of a youth-led honey processing house in Serenje District has reached an advanced stage, with 80 percent of works done.
The honey processing house, which will cost over K70,000, is being constructed with support from the Scottish Government, WWF-Zambia, YEFI and Gaia Education, under the auspices of the Zambia Youth for Conservation, Agriculture and Livelihood Action (ZYCALA).
ZYCALA is a three-year project being implemented in Chitambo, Serenje and Mkushi districts of Central Province. The project is building capacity of 420 local youth leaders to become active and effective change agents in youth-led campaigning on social and environmental issues, as well as sustainable income generation and food security actions.
Commenting on the development, one of the beneficiary youth, Rozen Nkonde, thanked WWF and its cooperating partners for empowering them with income generating skills.
“We are so happy as young people of Serenje for this wonderful gesture. Through this honey processing house, we will be able to raise enough income to support ourselves and our families. Also, the need to keep the honey house up-and-running will help in keeping us away from vices that are capable of affecting our good health as young people, such as beer drinking,” observed Ms. Nkonde.
Speaking earlier, the WWF-Zambia Country Director, Nachilala Nkombo, urged the youth to help in the fight against poverty and climate change through engaging in sustainable income-generating activities such as bee-keeping. “First of all, demand for honey is soaring every day on both the local and international markets. Secondly, as opposed to other economic activities, honey production is environmentally friendly. For this reason, I urge you to treat the honey processing house as an opportunity for you to expand bee-keeping activities and begin to contribute massively to the economic wellbeing of your families and the country at large,” advised Ms. Nkombo.
The WWF-Zambia Country Director said this when she toured the honey house recently in Serenje. The facility is strategically located at Kabamba, along the Great North Road, on a piece of land which was donated to the youth by His Royal Highness Chief Kabamba.
About WWF
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
Issued by:
Arnold Chasaya
ZYCALA Project Communication Assistant
WWF-Zambia Country Office
