A 66 year old Induna of Chief Chikwenda has been fined K3, 000 by the Mpika Magistrate’s Court for illegal cultivation of Marijuana the herbal product of cannabis.

Appearing before Magistrate John Phiri was Frank Matipa,66 of Mululuma Village in Chief Chikwanda’s area charged with one count of cultivating psychotropic substances, contrary to section 6 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act Chapter 96 of the Laws of Zambia.

Particulars of the offence are that on 25 March 2017 in Mpika District of Muchinga Province, Frank Matipa did cultivate 85 Kilograms of Marijuana the herbal product of cannabis without authority.

Facts before the Court are that on the 24 March, 2017, the Drug Enforcement Commission received information that there was a male person in Mululuma Village who was cultivating suspected Marijuana in his field.

According to the statement of facts DEC officers searched the field where they found 85 kilograms of fresh vegetables of suspected cannabis which were uprooted and part of them sent for chemical analysis and confirmed to be cannabis plants.

In his ruling, Magistrate Phiri said upon Induna Matipa’s admitting to the charge, the court found him guilty as charged thereby convicting him accordingly.

In his mitigation, Induna Matipa pleaded with the court to exercise maximum leniency on him as he was too old to be jailed adding that he has learnt lesson from his old deeds.

He added that he has a field and if jailed his produce will perish. Magistrate Phiri took note of Induna Matipa’s mitigation but he said the offence deserved punishment to deter future offenders.

Magistrate Phiri further slapped Induna Matipa with a K3, 000 fines or in default serve 9 months imprisonment with hard labour.

The Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) is engaging Mpika Councilors starting next week in curbing rampant vandalism of its electricity poles and transformers in Mpika District.

ZESCO National Spokesperson Henry Kapata has revealed that so far three Mpika residents are appearing in Mpika Magistrate’s court for vandalizing an electricity pole and a transformer waiting to be committed to the High Court.

Mr Kapata said people should know that vandalizing ZESCO’s property affect the power utility company by spending an average of 5 million annually to replace the vandalized property.

He added that the vandalizing of one transformer leads to either loss of life or affecting 3000 people who will not have power for four days.

The ZESCO Spokesperson stressed the need to engage Councilors in Districts to help curbing the vice because councilors are closer to the people than the power utility company itself.

He said the power utility company will have a 2 days’ workshop with Mpika Councilors because that is where the vice is rampant and the power utility will be train them on how they can help to curb the widespread vandalism in the District.

Mr Kapata stated that members of the public should aware that the vandalism of ZESCO’s property is a serious crime which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 25 years imprisonment.

He has since urged Mpika Residents to engage in productive activity such as farming among others adding that vandalism of ZESCO’s property can either cost their lives or lead them to life imprisonment if the vandalism led to death.

Mr Kapata has since recommended the Law Enforcers in Mpika District and Mpika Residents for bringing to book those vandalizing ZESCO’s property.

“We are engaging Mpika Councilors starting next week in curbing rampant vandalism of its electricity poles and transformers in Mpika District” Kapata said

The Zambia Police Service has announced that it will deploy 600 of its officers to this weekend’s Kuomboka ceremony.

President Edgar Lungu will be the Guest of Honour while opposition leaders Hakainde Hichilema and his Vice Geoffrey Mwamba are also expected to be in attendance.

The ceremony which is a big tourist attraction is held to mark the shifting of the Lozi King Litunga from his traditional palace in Limulunga to the day parts in Lealui.

The annual festivities of Kuomboka will start from the Royal Capital of Lealui, and will conclude in the Summer Capital, in Limulunga. Kuomboka means “getting out of water” in Lozi and the celebration takes place at the end of the rainy season, when all lower lands are flooded by the Zambezi River, and it redraws the move of the king of the Lozi people, the so-called Litunga.

This year, the royal barge Nalikwanda will demand more paddlers than ever (180 instead of 120), making this celebration the grandest ever.

Famous for its big papier-mâché Elephant on the barge, the Nalikwanda takes a whole day to cover the distance between the two villages.

The last time the ceremony was held was in 2012.

Low water levels on the Zambezi plains and the death of the Queen have been officially blamed for the hiatus.

University of Zambia Vice Chancellor Professor Luke Mumba has disclosed that the university has a staggering debt of K2.5 Billion.

Prof. Mumba told a news briefing that more than 50 percent of the debt is owed to retirees at the institution.

He said at the institution has been experiencing difficulties to meet its statutory obligations and paying off retirees.

Professor Mumba said the university has failed to clear arrears owed to about 120 retired workers.

He said the university has been forced to continue performing salaries to affected former workers because the institution has failed to clear the arrears.

Professor Mumba reiterated the need for UNZA to generate its own revenue and reduce dependency on public funds from the current 90 percent to 50 percent.

He also bemoaned the inadequate bed spaces at UNZA for students.

Processor Mumba said UNZA has 31,000 students against the current bed space that has remained static at 3,700 bed spaces.

He said UNZA will soon embark on the construction of a modern student village with 10,000 bed spaces and two hundred staff houses.

Professor Mumba said the project will help address congestion and staff accommodation challenges.

Professor Mumba said the village complex will be equipped with its own power generation plant that will provide an average 50 megawatts of electricity.

The Zambia Road Safety Trust members are attending the biannual Fifth Global Meeting of Nongovernmental Organizations Advocating for Road Safety and Road Victims convened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 1st – 7th April 2017.

The Global Meeting was officially opened on the 5th April 2017 by Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai, Malaysian Minister of Transport. The Minister discussed the road safety environment in Malaysia and heralded the Malaysia Declaration demonstrating the commitment of the NGOs.

The Global Meeting is organized by the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety (the Alliance), and the Ministry of Transport of Malaysia, and hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO). More than 200 road safety NGOs and stakeholders from 70-plus countries renewed their commitment to enabling governments and communities to achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020.

Every year, 1.25 million people die as a result of traffic crashes—greater than the entire population of Cyprus. More people die from road traffic crashes than from malaria and tuberculosis and are the main cause of death globally among those aged 15–29. While Zambia has more than 2100 people killed every year in Road Traffic, a fatality rate increase of over 100 percent in the past five years alone.

NGOs are key partners in achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal to reduce the number of deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 50% by the year 2020.

Alliance member NGOs are critical to tackling road carnage in multiple ways. They can activate communities to engage with the cause, identify local problems and speak up for the solutions. They can raise awareness by speaking out in the media and countering any local opposition to the implementation of road safety laws, policies and their enforcement, and provide valuable insights and information during governmental consultation processes, for example relating to road building or alternate sustainable mobility solutions. They also often provide support for road crash victims and knowledge-building programs within institutions such as schools and companies.

Daniel Mwamba Chairman for the Zambia Road Safety Trust said:

“Attending this meeting and among the best brains in the World on Road Safety opens up more opportunities, knowledge and partnership for ZRST to tackle road carnage in Zambia, as traffic crashes emerge to be the second cause of death in Zambia behind HIV/AIDS”.

The Zambia Road Safety Trust is thanking the Alliance and the WHO Zambia office for support to attend the Global meeting.

World Wide Fund for Nature in Zambia (WWF Zambia) says there is need for Zambia to invest in alternative sources of power.

WWF Zambia Head of Communications, Mr. Eneya Phiri said the country should promote investments in alternative sources of energy given the impact climate change has had on the country’s traditional sources of power.

Mr Phiri was speaking on the sidelines of the recently held Earth Hour event held on 25th March 2017 which saw WWF Zambia join millions of people around the world in 187 countries in celebrating another record-breaking Earth Hour event.

Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative aimed at creating awareness of people taking responsibility towards a sustainable future.

It was famously started as a lights-off event for one hour from 20:30hrs to 21:30hrs local time (hence ‘Earth Hour’) in Sydney, Australia in 2007.

“We all agree that the energy crisis which has characterized much of the past few years has had detrimental effects on our social-economic status as a country. Load-shedding has been a very unnerving term for Zambians, affecting everyone negatively from individual, household and community level.” Mr. Phiri said.

He mentioned that although the country has recently seen a reduction in load-shedding due to improved rainfall, it is crucial for Zambia to invest in alternative sources of power to reduce overdependence on hydroelectric energy.

He said, “For this reason, we partnered with various stakeholders including ZESCO, Muhanya Solar, Sunny Money, Energy Regulation Board, Zambia Parliamentary Conservation Caucus (ZPCC) and Vitalite among many others to realistically explore ways of achieving cheap, accessible and sustainable sources of power such as solar for the masses. These will complement hydroelectric energy especially in times of faults which have in the past left places in darkness for days on end.”

And speaking at the same event, Vice President Inonge Wina reiterated Government’s commitment to taking positive climate action for the benefit of the country.

Mrs. Wina said as a signatory to the Paris agreement on Climate Change which was assented to by President Lungu in 2016 which has since been ratified, Zambia has renewed its resolve to combat the impacts of climate change.

This was in a speech read on her behalf by Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Vice President Mr. Steven Mwansa.

The event, which was completely solar powered courtesy of Muhanya Solar, took place at Queensmead Stadium in Lusaka.

It combined exhibitions on alternative energy solutions from the Earth Hour partners and a massive music concert featuring prolific artists such as Slap D, Wezi, Kantu, Maureen Lilanda, Amayenge and many more.

‘Earth Hour’ was observed from 20:30-21:30 in the traditional ‘lights off’ manner amidst serenading music from the legendary Maureen Lilanda.

Notable institutions that switched off their non-essential lights during Earth Hour included Intercontinental Hotel and Stanbic Bank head office.

PRESIDENT Lungu says the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) must regulate the tele-communication space so that it can monitor social media which is being abused by some Zambians.

“Some people are using social media, especially Facebook, to write letters insinuating that it is government officials issuing certain instructions which Government is not aware of,” he said.

The President said this at State House yesterday when he received a quarterly report from Minister of Transport and Communication Brian Mushimba.

President Lungu said ZICTA plays a key role in the transformation of information and communications technology (ICT) and should enhance cyber security to stop people from abusing social media.

And President Lungu has directed Mr Mushimba to ensure that Zamtel and other parastatals under his ministry become profitable and viable.

President Lungu wants parastatal firms to start making profit and declare dividends to Government.

He said parastatal companies are consuming a lot of money from Government without making any returns.

“This culture of depending on Government when these parastatals are able to add value, make profit and pay returns to Government should stop,” he said.

The President heard from Mr Mushimba’s report that only Zambia Airports Corporation Limited and Zampost have been declaring dividends to Government.

“All parastatals must be made viable and start making profit instead of only depending on Government,” he said.

He said Zamtel, ZICTA, Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA), Zambia Railways Limited and the Zambia Meteorological Department which are still suckling from the Government must be transformed into profitable institutions which will be able to declare dividends to Government.

President Lungu said Zamtel has the largest network in the country and should not be getting money from Government but should instead be giving money to Government in form of dividends.

Meanwhile, Mr Mushimba said he presented his ministry’s mandate, programmes and projects being undertaken in the ministry.

Mr Mushimba said the goal of his ministry is to lower the cost of transportation and communication, create a knowledge-based society and promote ICT for all to ensure that it becomes a mode of doing business.

And Minister of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection Lloyd Kaziya said President Lungu has urged his ministry to ensure that all Zambians have easy access to clean water.

Mr Kaziya said his ministry will work hard to ensure sustainability of water resources throughout the country.

He was speaking shortly after presenting his ministry’s quarterly report to President Lungu.