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Zambia defender Stopilla Sunzu says they had picked up valuable lessons from Sundays bashing in a friendly at the hands of Egypt.
Chipolopolo lost 3-0 to The record seven-time African champions in Abu Dhabi as they prepare for their forthcoming 2016 CHAN and 2018 World Cup[ qualifiers against Mozambique on October 24 and Sudan next month respectively.
“It was a good friendly because it exposed our weaknesses and we have learnt from the loss,” Sunzu, of French Ligue club Lille, said.
“The game was very important to us as we prepare for Sudan.
“We just have to remain confident and focused.”
Zambia and Sudan will clash in a second round doubleheader with the first leg set for Khartoum on November 9 while the return leg will follow a week later on November 17 in Ndola.
Winner over both legs will advance to the final group qualifying stage next year.
A 44-YEAR-OLD man of Livingstone who earns a living through illicit drug business has gone in again for trafficking in 30.6 grammes of marijuana.
Patrick Moongwa, who confessed to the court that he was once jailed for a similar offence, was sentenced to nine months imprisonment with hard labour by magistrate Benjamin Mwelwa.
This is in a case in which Moongwa was charged with trafficking in marijuana, contrary to the Laws of Zambia.
Particulars are that on September 2, this year, in Livingstone, Moongwa trafficked in marijuana without lawful authority.
“The marijuana that was found in my possession was for sale, and I was with my friend, but he ran away,” he said in his plea.
Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) prosecutor Andrew Pikiti told the court that his officers received information that there was a male person in Mbita compound who was dealing in psychotropic substances.
Mr Pikiti said the officers rushed to the area and found the suspect with 10 balls of marijuana.
In mitigation Mr Pikiti told the court that Moongwa was a first offender, but the accused testified to the contrary.
Moongwa told the court that he was once convicted on a similar offence and handed a nine months jail sentence but he only served six months.
He, however, failed to tell the court the name of the prison where he was incarcerated.
Magistrate Mwelwa wondered why the prosecution did not have the information that the accused was an ex-convict.
Mr Pikiti insisted that there was no record to prove that Moongwa was a second offender.
And in mitigation, Moongwa said he was at the mercy of the court and that it was up to the adjudicator to decide his fate.
He, however, asked the court to forgive him for the offence that he had committed.
In his judgment, Mr Mwelwa said he would consider Moongwa’s mitigation and treat him as a first offender.
“I will send you to prison for nine months imprisonment with hard labour so that you can reflect on your actions. I will grant you leave to appeal to the High Court within 14 days if you are not satisfied with my sentence,” he said.
Chief Government Spokesman Chishimba Kambwili has lashed out at opposition UPND President Hakainde Hichilema for criticising the PF government describing him as a good for nothing tribalist.
Mr Kambwili said Mr Hichilema’s incessant appetite for criticising most of Government programs has exposed him as an arrogant and pompous person.
He was speaking Tuesday morning when he featured on a live Radio Phoenix’s ‘Let the People Talk’ program.
Mr Kambwili said Mr Hichilema’s recent radio interview on the same program was used to attack Government unjustifiably.
‘It is unreasonable and unjustifiable for anyone to attack the PF that we have failed to develop this country over the last four year and this is what Mr Hichilema was doing on this same program,’ Mr Kambwili said.
‘All the problems facing Zambia today cannot be attributed to the PF. Even in MMD, Zambia had the same challenges including in the UNIP days. That is why i am saying that no normal person can say the PF has failed,’ he said.
He said Mr Hichilema left many Zambians questioning his Economics Degree after he allegedly failed to articulate economic issues on the radio program.
‘Even non Economists know that what Zambia is going through is as a result of external shocks but you have Economic pundits here cheating the Zambia people that the depreciation of the Kwacha is due to PF’s poor policies. These pundits like Mr Hichilema are lying with open teeth.’
He appealed to Zambians to disregard Mr Hichilema’s opinions about the performance of the Zambian economy.
‘This man is just a pompous and good for nothing tribalist who thinks he is the only educated man in Zambia. Our current Bank of Zambia Governor is probably one of the best in Africa but he has failed to arrest the depreciation, so does it mean that Mr Hichilema is the only man who knows Economist by claiming that the Kwacha will appreciation the moment he is sworn? Is this magic? Abracadabra.’
Mr Kambwili itemised several infrastructural development that the PF has initiated since coming to power in four years ago.
‘We have done very well as a Government, we have constructed schools in all provinces, we have already constructed health posts and clinic in several parts of the country while our roads project is also on course.’
On load shedding, Mr Kambwili said Government has put in place measures that will accelerate the construction of ongoing power generation stations.
‘So when you hear these people say PF has failed the people because of load shedding, they are lying. Which power station gets constructed within four years? People need to be serious and realistic. Even my four year old niece Mubanga knows the load shedding is due to low water levels but Mr Hichilema does not seem to know that.’
Former president Rupiah Banda
The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) says it is still interested in appealing against the acquittal of Former president, Rupiah Banda.
ACC Spokesperson Timothy Moono says the Commission has already submitted their opinion on the matter to the National Prosecution Authority and is still awaiting the response.
He also says investigations into Football Association of Zambia -FAZ president, Kalusha Bwalya’s alleged 80 thousand US dollars bribery case has advanced.
Mr. Moono said the ACC is currently working with international organisations and investigating bodies on the matter.
He said other prominent cases that are still under investigations are for Mumbwa Member of Parliament, Brian Chituwo and former Zambia Railways boss, Muyenga Attanga.
Mr. Moono was speaking at the 2015 third quarterly briefing in Lusaka on Tuesday.
He noted that Zambia has made significant strides in the fight against corruption as can be seen in a number of indicators both local and abroad.
Mr. Moono said the World Bank, Moo Ibrahim Foundation and Transparency International Zambia are some of the institutions that have noted progress in the country’s graft fight.
Meanwhile, Mr. Moono said during the third quarter, 3 hundred and 87 suspected cases of corruption were reported of which 62 were investigated.
He reiterated the commission’s resolve to work professionally without fear or favour.
And Inspector General Stella Libongani says the police have advanced in its investigations on the leakage of information from state House and other public institutions.
Ms Libongani says the police will soon close in on the culprits that are responsible for leaking of confidential information.
She said progress has been made but however did not disclose much information to avoid jeopardising the ongoing investigations.
The IG said this in an interview with ZNBC news in Lusaka.
She also said that the service has already started investigating the leakage of the 2016 national budget.
The Grand Coalition on a people-driven constitution is a bunch of individuals who are in the habit of making noise simply because they want funding from their donors, Chief Government spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili has charged.
But coalition spokesperson McDonald Chipenzi has advised Mr. Kambwili to be level-headed when discussing issues of national interests rather than making statements to demean Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) over their funding when Government also depended on donors.
Reacting to the coalition’s 90-day ultimatum to Government to start the process of enacting the draft Constitution through a referendum, Mr. Kambwili said the group was just dreaming because the State would never change its position as long as the coalition did not provide money for the exercise.
He said the country did not have money to undertake such an expensive exercise and that it was irresponsible for the Grand Coalition to demand for what was not possible when Government had already provided a roadmap on the enactment of a new constitution.
“They were quiet for some time but they have resurrected because their pockets are empty, they are broke and now they want to show their donors that they are working by reviving their demands but it will not work out.
“Tell Father Leonard Chiti and friends that they can continue dreaming because it is allowed to dream. We shall not prevent anyone from dreaming but whatever they are pushing for will never be achieved because we are not a reckless Government that will call for a referendum to please a few individuals,” Mr. Kambwili said.
But Mr. Chipenzi advised Mr. Kambwili to be sober because the coalition was speaking on behalf of Zambians in accordance with the constitution.
“We are speaking in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and according to the citizens’ call. So, Mr. Kambwili should not accuse us of dancing to donors because even Government has donors to which it is dancing to right now by flouting the provisions in our constitution. We have not changed and we will never change our position on this issue and we will not back down from this call,” Mr. Chipenzi said.
During a press briefing on Sunday, the coalition gave Government a 90-day ultimatum to start the process of enacting a people driven constitution through a referendum as opposed to a piecemeal amendment of the non-contentious clauses while subjecting the rest of the document to a referendum to run concurrently with the general election.
Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda with wife Margaret on arrival at Parliament Building yesterday before presentation of the 2016 National Budget.
Fitch expects Zambia’s budget deficit to remain high due to a rapidly falling Kwacha, an ongoing energy crisis and falling commodity prices.
The ratings firm said in a statement that the ambitious fiscal consolidation plan in Zambia’s 2016 budget will prove challenging due to its reliance on raising revenue rather than cutting expenditure.
Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda announced in his budget address on Friday that he saw the fiscal deficit to narrowing to 3.8 percent of GDP in 2016, from a projected 6.9 percent in 2015, but Fitch said this was unlikely.
The following statement was released by the rating agency) LONDON, October 12 (Fitch
The ambitious fiscal consolidation plan in Zambia’s 2016 budget will prove challenging due to its reliance on raising revenue rather than cutting expenditure, Fitch Ratings says.
Revenue assumptions are optimistic as an energy crisis, falling commodity prices and a rapidly depreciating currency weigh on growth.
In the budget announced on Friday, the Ministry of Finance expects the fiscal deficit to narrow to 3.8% of GDP in 2016, from a projected 6.9% in 2015. This is likely to prove challenging, particularly in an election year.
The authorities expect revenue to rise by 3.1% of GDP in 2016, but this is unlikely due to the lack of significant revenue-raising measures and weak growth.
They also forecast expenditure to remain flat at 25.1% of GDP. We expect the deficit to remain above 6% of GDP in 2016.
The deficit will be financed largely from external sources, including proceeds from July’s USD1.25bn Eurobond.
This should ease pressure on domestic debt markets, where increased government issuance over the past two years has caused yields to rise sharply.
Nevertheless, financing costs will rise to 20% of government revenue in 2016 due to currency depreciation (the kwacha has fallen nearly 50% since the start of the year) and the Eurobond issue, which priced to yield 9.375%.
This is also likely to push debt well above 50% of GDP by the end of the year, from 24.1% in 2012. The proceeds of the Eurobond issue have boosted reserves, which rose to USD3.8bn in July, from USD2.6bn at the start of the year.
But external risks remain high and could intensify, with USD300m in external interest payments due next year if market access becomes more limited or costly for fiscally troubled emerging markets. Macroeconomic challenges may also intensify next year.
Monetary policy will face weak growth and rising inflation due to kwacha depreciation. An end to electricity shortages would boost the economy, and support the mining sector. The rains, expected to begin in November, are critical to this, as low water levels in the Kariba dam have reduced hydropower electricity projections.
A poor rainy season would intensify Zambia’s fiscal and external challenges next year, as would further falls in copper prices, which are down around 10% since January 2015 and nearly 30% since January 2014.
Growing up in the UK I had a lot of Nigerian friends; and whenever I would go over to their homes I was sure to be fed Jollof rice. Jollof rice, as I’m sure a lot of you know, is a dish found throughout West Africa. Ask any Nigerian or Ghanaian and they will tell you exactly what it is. Now coming from Zambia, and having been raised on mild food; I found Jollof rice really hard to eat. Nevertheless, I would soldier on and eat the mounds and mounds of Jollof stacked on my plate, because my mother always told me it was rude not to finish my food. Never wanting to seem rude, ungrateful or wasteful I would gulp down fork–fulls of the hot rice and wipe away tears induced by the flames in my mouth. The fact is Jollof rice is very hot and spicy, however; if you can get past the stinging sensation on your tongue, you will realise that it tastes amazing. Never one to accept defeat in the food department I was determined to develop my own, slightly less lethal version of Jollof. So today’s recipe is my very own Spicy Tomato Rice also known as Jollof rice; with juicy pork chops.
Some of you might be wondering why I have decided to use pork…..well…because I like pork; but fear not, if you cannot eat pork for whatever reason; be it religious or dietary beliefs and requirements then you can easily replace it with Chicken or beef, or you can actually eat this rice on its own. Another way to eat it is with fried Plantain (if available where you live).
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients
For the rice
Vegetable oil
4 onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
½ –1 scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded and chopped (these are very hot, so try ½ for a milder flavour, or if you are feeling brave use a whole one)
2 tbsp tomato purée
500g tomatoes, chopped
750ml chicken stock
500g long grain rice For the pork chops
4 pork chops
Vegetable oil
3 tsp ground sea salt
2 tsp ground white pepper
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp all purpose seasoning
Scotch Bonnet Chillies
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
In a bowl, rub the pork chops with a bit of oil and the seasoning; white pepper, paprika, garlic powder, all purpose seasoning and sea salt.
On a frying pan, fry the pork chops for 1 minute. Place the pan and the pork chops in the oven, if the pan is not oven proof- transfer them onto a baking tray; and let them cook for about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chops or until cooked through (keep a close eye on them, and check every minute after 6 minutes).
In a saucepan add a splash of oil and fry the onions, garlic and chilli over a low heat for 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée and chopped tomatoes, and then pour in the chicken stock. Bring it to the boil, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the rice, cover with the lid and let it bubble away for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, and adding water if it gets too dry. Finally, stir in the cooking juices from the roasting pan. Mix well, squashing the tomatoes into the rice.
Serving
Serve this colourful and flavoursome rice with the juicy pork chops on top.
Kanta Temba is a cake maker and decorator. She is also the owner and founder of Kanta Kakes – cake shop.
You can find her work onwww.kantakakes.com. Follow her on twitter @KantaKakes and Instagram @KantaTemba.
Glencore, the world’s largest diversified commodities trader
Embattled mining giant Glencore said it has started the sales process for two of its copper mines in Australia and Chile.The firm’s Australian copper mine in Cobar, New South Wales, and its Lomas Bayas copper mine in the Atacama desert in Chile are for sale.
Glencore is attempting to reduce $30bn (£19.5bn) of debt created by its 2013 takeover of Xstrata.Its Hong Kong-listed shares have also fallen some 55% this year.
Trading of the firm’s Hong Kong-listed shares were halted earlier on Monday ahead of the announcement.
“The sale process is in response to Glencore receiving a number of unsolicited expressions of interest for these mines from various potential buyers,” the firm said in an email.
“This will allow potential buyers to bid to purchase either one or both of the mines and may or may not result in a sale,” it added.
The Cobar operation is a high-grade underground mine and plant, while the Lomas Bayas operation is a low-cost, open pit mine.
In Australia, Glencore has 19 mining complexes across the country, including coal, copper, nickel and zinc operations, port facilities, offices and agricultural businesses, among others. It is one of the biggest exporters of Australian grain.
In Chile, Glencore owns and has stakes in several mines, as well as a hydro-power project.
Last week, the firm announced it would dramatically cut its zinc production.The move comes amid a 30% fall in the price of zinc in recent months. The company said it would cut 500,000 tonnes of zinc production – or 4% of the world’s total supply.
Most of the zinc-related cutbacks will be in Australia, where more than 500 jobs will be lost, as well as South America and Kazakhstan.
As it attempts to reduce its debt, the firm has also cut copper production and suspended dividend payments to shareholders. It is also issuing new shares to raise money.
The Malawi leader might have only been trying to set a precedent in giving an example, but Peter Mutharika should have remembered the world was listening when he referred the Malawi media to check how his Zambian counterpart, Edgar Lungu blew a lot of money with a higher delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) recently.
The angry looking Mutharika while railing at the local media for exposing Malawi’s poverty too much, had been seeking ways to defend his reported 115 entourage to the US besides having a typed list of names of people that went along with him.The Malawi President was quick to compare his entourage to that of Zambia’s while trying to parry away accusations that he wasted taxpayers money.
“You are attacking me for taking 115 people? Just go to our neighbors Zambia they took 256 people and their President hired a private jet that took him all the way to New York and
waited for him right there for the return trip,” said a visibly-angry Mutharika.
Just go to our neighbors Zambia they took 256 people and their President hired a private jet that took him all the way to New York and waited for him right there for the return trip
He laboured to contrast President Lungu’s direct flight from Lusaka to US with his 5-hour flight from Lilongwe to Dubai on a private jet where he connected to New York on a commercial airliner.
“Strangely, the attack comes at a time the two seemed to be in good books following Lungu’s visit to Malawi during independence celebrations July this year. This is not the first time that Zambia and Malawi leaders have been at loggerheads.” Zambian Mirror Facebook Page reported on Sunday.
Mutharika’s late brother President Bingu wa Mutharika was not in good books with Zambia’s late Michael Sata following a deportation feud that the later suffered while he was still an opposition politician.
Upon coming to power, Sata never fancied the presence of Bingu at any international forum and the two were only talking diplomatically not as personal cronies.Mutharika blew over K2 billion on his trip to the US, unofficial calculations revealed.
Cleo Ice Queen won the Best Female Southern Africa Award on Saturday night at the AFRIMMA ( African muzik magazine awards) awards held in Texas .
She thanked her fans on social media :
“Who ever thought this ordinary Zambian girl would be an international award winning artist??? Thanks to everyone who voted i love you “
Below is the full Winners List from the just concluded AFRIMMA Awards to which Tanzanian Diamond Platnumz emerged to be the ceremonies biggest Winner by scooping this year’s artist of the year and walking away with three trophies in total. Others that won includes AKA, Wizkid, Davido, Ommy Dimpoz e.t.c..
Full Winners List: AFRIMMA Awards 2015
AFRIMMA Video of the Year – Diamond Platnumz Feat. Flavour – Nana
Song of The Year – Wizkid -Ojuelegba
Best Video Director – Godfather
Best Male (Southern Africa) – AKA
Crossing Boundaries with Music Award – Jidenna
AFRIMMA Best Humanitarian Artist – 2Face Idibia
Best Traditional Act – Flavour
Best DJ – DJ Jimmy Jatt
Music Producer Of The Year – Legendury Beatz
Best Female (Southern Africa) – Cleo Ice Queen
Best Africa Group – Sauti Sol
Best Rap Act – Sarkodie
Best Gospel Artist – Icha Kavons
Best Female (Central Africa) – Mani Bella
Best Dance Hall Artist – Stonebwoy
Best Dance In A Video – Serge Beynaud – Okeninkpin
Transformational Leadership Award – Botswana President, Lieut General Seretse Khama Ian Khama
Best Male (East Africa) – Diamond Platnumz
Best Male (Central Africa) – Yuri Da Cunha
Best Male (West Africa) – Davido
Best Female (East Africa) – Vanessa Mdee
Best Female (West Africa) – Yemi Alade
AFRIMMA Inspirational Song – Bracket feat. Tiwa Savage and Diamond Platnumz for ‘Alive’
Best DJ (US) – DJ Simplesimon
Best Newcomer – Ommy Dimpoz
Best Collaboration – AKA feat. Da Les and Burna Boy for ‘All Eyes on Me’
FAITH Deeper Understanding Church and Ministries, whose building was razed and set ablaze by unruly residents in Kitwe’s Buchi-Kamitondo Township last week on Thursday after news went round that its pastor, Apostle Anthony Musuku, had turned into a snake, has continued going strong.
Apostle Musuku and his members this week on Sunday defied all odds when they went ahead to conduct a service at the very site where the congregation suffered an attack at the hands of ruthless residents who besieged the church with the view to lynching the pastor.
This was barely three days after the attack by the uncompromising residents who also fought running battles with the police on their way to burning the church structure.
With all eyes on the church following last week’s news of Apostle Musuku having allegedly turned into a snake and setting ablaze of the church building structure, the congregation on Sunday refused to succumb to the attack by going ahead to conduct the service, which was interestingly massively attended.
Samuel Mvula who is a Church elder said hundreds of people, with some only interested in seeing Apostle Musuku in personal after his news of having turned into a snake, popped up.
Mr Mvula said in an interview with the Times of Zambia yesterday that the church and its pastor, Apostle Musuku were still in the ‘game’ and going strong.
He said after the church structure was razed, the church mobilized and erected a temporal shelter at the same site where the initial building infrastructure was razed.
Mr Mvula said the church on Sunday used the same temporary structure to conduct the service which was led by Apostle Musuku.
“We had a service yesterday (Sunday) which was conducted by Apostle Musuku and we had a large gathering with some people, of course, only interested in finding out about our pastor,” Mr Mvula said.
He said this week’s Sunday service was a demonstration that news of Apostle Musuku having turned into a snake was a mere fabrication.
He said Apostle Musuku and the church would remain focused to God’s cause of taking salvation to people.
Apostle Musuku who commands a big following with the population of his congregation situated in Buchi-Kamitondo believed to be well over 1, 000 people and is known to possess healing powers has come to the limelight after a mob of unruly residents last week stormed his church building with the view to lynching him for having allegedly turned into a snake.
Efforts to get a comment from Apostle Musuku by press time failed.
It is apparent that President Lungu has adopted a strategy of avoiding to directly communicate to the electorate and the market or dialogue with other stakeholders like the press, opposition, the private sector, NGOs, the diplomatic corps etc and one suspects he has adopted and adapted the PF 2011 campaign strategy of “Dochi Kubeba” (do not tell them) which is totally inappropriate when one is governing a country. It must be a strategy by his handlers to avoid exposing him from committing gaffes before the elections in 2016 but this strategy is a double edged sword!
On basis of the invitation by the President to Zambians to provide advice on the economy, I have written this article because Presidential communication does impact the economy and most people do not appreciate this.
The current communications strategy of the Presidency is a public relations disaster in the 21st century to say the least, and it is likely to backfire on the President. The strategy is promoting negative perceptions about the President which may be difficult to erase in the short term. The President’s Press Aide, Amos Chanda defended the strategy on 8th October, 2015 by saying he did not need to hold press conferences. The President also supported his Aide in way when he told Hot FM radio in a rare interview, that he is not scared of holding press conferences but he saw no need for them because he feels that Government Spokesperson Chishimba Kabwili and Special Assistant for press Amos Chanda have adequately been responding to the issues raised by public. What he does not understand that the two are not taken seriously and are held in very low esteem by the public and their messages are not taken seriously and have minimum impact. He also does not understand that Presidential communications carries more weight in a crisis especially!
The current strategy is clearly a reflection of the amateurish communications and public relations team that the President has at State house. It gives one the impression that the team is unlikely to be sufficiently educated, experienced and exposed because they are allowing the President to score his won goals in the public relations arena!
The above assertion is supported by the fact that during his first eight months (nine months in two weeks) in office, the President has committed the following communications blunders:
Failed to grant any notable serious interviews to the local media organizations except the one he gave to Hot FM on 10 October,2015
Failed to address the nation on the state of the economy during the recent economic crisis especially the energy and Kwacha depreciation crisis (forget about the parliamentary address as it was by law, obligatory and not voluntary. Parliamentary address is supposed to serve a different purpose )
Failed to hold any press conferences for close to nine months
Cancelled a BBC interview at the last minute when he was at the UN
Cancelled the Voice of America interview at last minute when he was in the USA
Refused to meet with the Private sector and other professionals for consultations on the economy(Indaba)
The above appears to be a pattern and it cannot be coincidence. It is clearly an orchestrated strategy by his spin doctors. It is a very risky strategy. The unfortunate thing is that like most important decisions including economic issues by the PF administration, there is a tendency of looking at issues in a simplistic and one dimensional manner. The lack of proper analysis of the pros and cons, risks, the interrelationships when decisions are made and strategies formulated has been their Achilles’ heel. We are in a knowledge century and it is vitally important that informed decisions are made based on analysis and that is the reason that an office like the Presidency requires quality and not mediocre people for one to succeed.
The essence of a democracy is that it is a dialogue between those that have been elected to office and those that elected them to the office. In the modern world, the President has the following different ways of communicating to the electorate and other
stakeholders:
Press releases
Interviews
Press Conferences
Radio and television address
Public speeches ( rally)
Social media
The above mediums of communications are not mutually exclusive and they are all important and are appropriate at different times, have different impacts and address different audiences. If a President has to be an effective communicator, he has to make use of all of them depending on the circumstances and the message he wants to deliver. President Lungu has only been communicating through press releases prepared by Amos Chanda and Press statements by Minister Chishimba Kabwili but those are impersonal statements and the two were not elected by the Zambian people and they are not sufficient and do not have same the impact as a statement from the President’s mouth himself.
At other times, the President has hurriedly answered one or two questions when boarding a plane before flying off outside the country or locally which can hardly qualify for an interview! The only public address he has made to the nation at large was mandatory by law when he addressed parliament and one could see that the speech was almost 100% written for him by technocrats! He has avoided interviews, press conference, radio and television address to the nation and so on!
It is common knowledge that if one wants to be a leader; he or she must know how to communicate. People follow leaders who inspire them and who communicate their ideas effectively. If you cannot communicate, then you are not a leader. An effective President is one who speaks regularly about his vision and beliefs. Speeches, for example, can change minds by persuading the public to your point of view and win you supporters.
Martin Luther King gave his “I have a dream speech” which inspired a nation and helped break down racial barriers. Nelson Mandel- before he became president – addressed South Africa which was on a brink of civil war after the assassination of Chris Hani in 1993 and helped to avert a racial war. During the Second World War, Winston Churchill motivated Britain through a speech to fight the Nazis after London was bombed. There are many examples where a leader has captivated and united a nation through a speech!
I really do not understand how the President or his advisors cannot understand the importance of communication in the 21st Century especially at the time of an economic crisis like right now when families are hurting from the high cost of living! The Kwacha depreciation and the low investor confidence are partly attributable to the lack of communication and involvement at the highest level by the President. He needs to inform the public and the market personally what his government intends to do thereby instill confidence in the market. These are matters you cannot delegate to juniors unless one does not consider them important and critical! Although it may be difficult for the lesser mortals to understand how the lack of Presidential direct communication can influence the depreciation of the kwacha! The importance of sentiment in the global economy should never be understated; it is a reality when you borrow Euro bonds from the international Capital markets especially!
To quote the International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Christine Largade in 2014, when Ghana was going through the same problems we are going through now : “ when some African countries go to the bond market, they are exposing themselves to the market discipline which they do not understand. You can see the results with Ghana.” She could have as well been talking about Zambia now!
The President has not used television to address the nation. Television is the most conspicuous and potentially powerful weapon to communicate to the nation as the President enters the public’s homes and speaks directly, unfettered by news media’s questions, interpretations and editing. The television address is the ultimate political weapon in shaping the nation’s agenda, mobilizing public opinion and building support for him and the positions he espouses. President Lungu has not used this during our economic crisis. It is at the time of a crisis that you tell whether somebody is a leader or not
The current strategy has left people to speculate rightly or wrongly and come out with all sorts of perceptions of the President such as: he is not confident and has an inferiority complex, he is not on top of things, he is ignorant and not knowledgeable about economic issues, he is weak and cannot fire nor discipline anybody, he is not assertive, he cannot inspire the nation, he over relies on what his advisors tell him, he is not his own man and is captive to those who sponsored him, he is scared to expose his ignorance, he is not feared nor respected by ministers and others, he is highly compromised, he is wasteful and not cost conscious , he is incompetent, he does not work and over delegates and that is why he flies around etc. Negative perceptions can be very dangerous and once they are entrenched, there are difficult to erase.
It is always wise for a person in public office to work hard and erase the wrong perceptions and create one’s own favourable brand by more interaction and effective communication. As a non partisan commentator and observer, I have noticed HH’s effort to dispel some of the wrong perceptions people may have on him by his persistent and constant communication through various media. I am very sure he has won some supporters since the last elections in January, 2015 as some people’s perception of him have changed. By continuing with the current strategy, the President is allowing the outsiders to define him when he is supposed to develop his own brand! The wrong perceptions may stick and become political liabilities in a not distant future.
In continuing with the current communications strategy, President Lungu is not gaining experience in the various ways of communicating to the electorate. In other countries, with a vibrant opposition, he would have been vulnerable to opposition attacks of hiding something by avoiding the public!
My advice is that the President should spend more time reading including the social media and researching on issues on his own just like other Presidents do, so that he reduces over reliance on his Aides by collecting some of the information on his own and in the process be able to challenge some of his aides’ recommendations. He should invest more time in understanding the basics of how the economy works! All other Presidents who are not economist but lawyers like Mwanawasa, Obama, Clinton, Mandela etc just learnt the basics on the job but one has to invest time and work hard! I also believe that the quality of some of his Aides at State House is very low and possibly immature for the jobs they hold.
This is the reasons why some of them are found in bars around 03.00hours when expected at work at 0700hrs or earlier. And others issue outrageous and uninformed statements on television like bringing back exchange controls in a liberal economy after twenty four years! I would advice that he considers changing his team of Aides at State House by posting them somewhere and bring better qualified and experienced people; otherwise the current team will bring him down!
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been working with the World Economic Forum (WEF), the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) as well as with partners in the mining industry, governments, and civil society to create a shared understanding of how the mining industry can most effectively contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). During the recent UN General Assembly, these institutions in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Zambia organized a side event to, among other things, identify concrete steps to forward the agenda on extractive industries and sustainable development. UNDP in Zambia has been collaborating with the government through the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development to tackle challenges and changes needed to enhance the sector’s contribution to the SDGs.
President Lungu
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has directed the Ministries of Home Affairs and Finance to address the challenged being encountered by the people obtaining National Registration Cards (NRCs).
President Lungu has received reports of the challenges that people were facing when obtaining the NRCs in most centres, which include limited material and minimal period of time spent in a given area by officers from the national registration department.
“I have directed the line ministries to ensure that they iron out these challenges to enable as many people as possible to obtain the NRCs. I have directed the Ministry of Finance to find the money needed for the programme to ensure that there are enough materials needed for the programme,” Mr Lungu said.
The President said this in Mbabala in Choma district yesterday when he met two traditional leaders, Chief Chikanta, Chief Mukobela and Chief Macha’s representative headman Charles Chikapata.
The President was in Choma to launch the electronic voucher (e-voucher) system under the Farmers Input Support Programme (FISP) for the 2015/16 farming seasons.
He dispelled rumours that his administration was giving priority to the Patriotic Front (PF) strongholds in the issuance of NRCs and voter’s registration.
“I will not favor one area in preference to the other, or to favour area which is PF stronghold against those that enjoy support from the opposition political parties. I am above that, the choice is for the people to choose a leader of their choice and may the best candidate win in 2016,” he said.
He appealed to the traditional leaders to help sensitise people on the need to register during the voter registration exercise.
President Lungu assured the chiefs of continued support as he was the President for the nation and not for PF only.
Speaking on behalf of other traditional leaders, Chief Chikanta welcomed the President and confirmed that the voter registration exercise in the area was going on smoothly.
The chief was, however, sad that the issuance of NRCs was marred with challenges.
“The voter registration is going on very well, we normally have a good number of people registering as voters every day in the centres around, the challenge is with the issuing of NRCs. If funds permit they should consider increasing the centres to allow more people obtain the NRCs,” Chief Chikanta said.
He said the chiefs in the area would support his administration as they always work with the Government of the day to support programmes being implemented.
Chief Chikanta also commended President Lungu for appointing United Party for National Development (UPND) Itezhi Tezhi Member of Parliament Greyford Monde as minister for the newly created Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries.
Two electoral officers have been fired for allegedly charging people to obtain voter’s cards in Kasama District of Northern Province.
The two suspects namely Sharpie Chambeshi who is the assistant registration officer, and a police officer Constable Pure Chapa who was mandated to man the said polling station had their contracts terminated after openly admitting the offence.
This came to light when Kasama District commissioner Kelly Kashiwa paid an impromptu visit at Chanda Mukulu Polling station to find out the cause of continuous low turnout of people obtaining voter’s cards in the area.
However, when the District Commissioner ordered them to pay back the money to the owners, the officers only managed to produce K20 and promised to pay the rest later.
It was at this point that many local people started flocking to the station to demand for their money on learning that they were not supposed to pay to obtain voter’s cards.
And Mr. Kashiwa who was visibly annoyed warned that he did not want to see the named two officers being engaged in any Government programmes again.
He said such officers were not only stealing money from the poor people but depriving them their rights to vote.
Mr. Kashiwa further charged that Government is not going to rest until such officers are withdrawn from the system.
He said he was surprised to note that since the programme started this year, only 200 people were issued with cards in the entire Chanda Mukulu area.
Meanwhile Provincial electoral officer Abel Siwakwi who also rushed to the scene, has since terminated the contracts of Chapa and Chambeshi and replaced them with new officers.
Mr. Kashiwa further said he visited the area after receiving numerous reports that some Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) agents were charging people before issuing them with cards in Chanda Mukulu’s area.
Northern Province is one of the areas in the country where the number of people issued with voter’s cards is very low and only about 28,000 cards have been issued so far in the Province.
