Mr. Mwamba says it would be the wish of the people of Kasama Central if he loses and therefore he cannot reject their choice of whom they prefer to represent them in Parliament.

He has however told QFM News in an interview that he doubts anyone else other himself can win the by-election.

Mr. Mwamba says he does not think PF candidate Kelvin Sampa is any closer to matching his popularity in Kasama Central to beat him in the by-election.
He states that all the people that voted for him when he stood on the PF ticket in 2011 have now followed him to the UPND.

Mr. Mwamba says this is why he does not think what happened in Lubansenshi where the immediate past Member of Parliament Patrick Mucheleka was defeated would repeat itself in Kasama Central.

He adds that he is ready to counter any form of electoral corruption and vote buying that allegedly characterized the Lubansenshi by-election in order to keep what he has termed as his Parliamentary seat.

Government has proposed to spend K53.14 billion in 2016 National Budget, representing 25.8 percent of GDP.

Presenting the budget in Parliament this afternoon, Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda says the budget will be financed through domestic revenues of K42.11 billion and grants from co-operating partners of K550 million.

Mr Chikwanda says financing will comprise K6.07 billion in net external financing representing 2.9 percent of GDP and net domestic borrowing of K1.75 billion representing 0.9 percent of GDP, with amortization projected at K2.66 billion.

He has allocated K727.9 million to the 2016 tripartite elections and the referendum, while external and domestic debt interests have been allocated K3.6 billion and K3.5 billion respectively.

Mr Chikwanda has allocated K717,013,167.00 to the Local Government Equalisation Fund,K536,237,121.00 to the Sinking funding and K100,000,000 towards awards and compensation.

He has further allocated K13.2 billion towards economic affairs and K3.1 billion for defence and K1.8 billion public order and safety.

Mr Chikwanda has also proposed to spend K4.4 billion to the health sector in order to ensure equitable access to quality health care.

He says this allocation includes K754 million for the procurement of drugs and medical supplies and K340.7 million for completion of ongoing health infrastructure development projects.

He adds that the allocation to the health sector also includes K73.8 million for the net recruitment of additional frontline health personnel and K6.3 million towards the establishment of the National Social Health Insurance Scheme.

The Minister has proposed to spend K9.1 billion on education and skills development, with K1 billion earmarked for various infrastructural projects in the sector, such as shools,universities and trades training institutes, while K217.8 million is for the recruitment of additional K5,000 teachers.

And Mr Chikwanda proposed to increase the capital allowance for implements, machinery and plant used in the generation of electricity to 50 percent from 25 percent.

This is to encourage the development of sustainable and alternative sources of energy.

He has also proposed to extend the 10 year period for carrying forward of losses for businesses generating electricity using hydro and thermal, to businesses generating electricity using other sources of energy such as wind and solar, but excluding wind.

And the Finance Minister has proposed to restructure the current withholding tax system on rentals to provide for a landlord to account for tax on rentals in circumstances where the tenant cannot withhold the tax, subject to approval by the ZRA Commissioner General.

He has also proposed to simplify the taxation of the insurance industry by removing Value Added Tax and introducing a levy at the rate of 3 percent on insurance premiums.

He has further proposed to increase the specific exercise duty rate on cigarettes to K200 from K90 per 1,000 sticks and introduce incentives to support local manufacture of cigarettes.

Mr Chikwanda has proposed to adjust upwards customs duty on selected categories of motor vehicles excluding buses and trucks.

He further proposed to introduce a surcharge of K2,000 on motor vehicles older than 5 years from the year of manufacture.

He says all the revenue measures will take effect from 1st January 2016, apart from measures relating to consideration fees on land which will take effect from midnight tonight.

BELOW IS THE FULL BUDGET SPEECH

The FULL 2016 BUDGET SPEECH

The guardian of a 27-year-old man of Mongu who is alleged to have masqueraded as a woman and permitted a taxi driver to have sex  with him against the order of nature has told the Mongu Magistrate’s Court that the family knows the accused as a woman and not a man.
Hatch Bril is alleged to have permitted a male person to have carnal knowledge of him against the order of nature.
Mark Sydney Wakings testified before magistrate Derrick Mate Chingumbe that his family who took Bril in early this year, has allegedly lived with the accused person as their “aunt.”
Mr Wakings said he brought Bril to Mongu from Lusaka to work in a salon because “she” is a good hair stylist.
Mr Wakings testified as a hostile witness on behalf of the state.
“Bril was introduced to me as an ‘aunt’ by my grandmother when I visited her [grandmother] in Lusaka’s Makeni area in 2014. So, when I opened a salon early this year, I was advised by the people in Lusaka to consider calling ‘her’ [Bril] and my cousin Doreen as the two are good hairstylists. However, Doreen left for reasons known to herself,” he said.
Mr Wakings told the court that he has on several occasions reprimanded Bril for returning home late.
“Bril liked moving at night and I warned ‘her’ against this behaviour. I even threatened to evict her from the house if she continued keeping late nights,” he said.
Earlier, the 19-year-old taxi driver, who is the complainant in the case, told the court that he reported Bril to the police because he felt ‘cheated’.
The man testified that he proposed love to Bril because he was convinced that ‘she’ was a woman, considering ‘her’ appearance on the fateful night.
He testified that on September 24, 2015 around 01:00 hours, he was stopped by a man near a lodge while he was driving home.
The man testified that he came to know the man who stopped him as George.
The witness testified that after he stopped his vehicle, George pleaded with him to drop him at a named nightclub.
The man testified that he accepted to give George a lift after he offered to buy fuel for the vehicle.
He man said when they reached town, he parked his vehicle at a car park near the nightclub where they met Bril.
He told the court that George proposed love to Bril and ‘she’ accepted on condition that he buys her beer in the night club.
He said the ‘couple’ along with him entered the club but left after taking a few drinks.
The man testified that George suggested that he should be dropped at his house in Yeta Plots with Bril, but ‘she’ turned down his proposal.
He narrated that after dropping George, he proposed love to Bril and ‘she’ accepted to go with him to his house in Imwiko Stage Two.
The man testified that on arrival at his house, he and Bril went straight to the bedroom and ‘she’ advised him to switch off the lights after he told ‘her’ to take off ‘her’ clothes.
He, however, said that Bril only took off the leggings and left ‘her’ top and bra on.
The man testified that he discovered that Bril was a man.
The man also said that his attempt to touch the breasts of his ‘lover’ also proved futile as the chest was flat.
He said it was at this point that he grabbed Bril and drove to his aunt’s place for reinforcement, before taking ‘her’ to the police station.
But in cross- examination, Bril said the man forced himself on ‘her’, adding that the sexual encounter happened in his car and not in his house.
Mr Chingumbe adjourned the case to October 14 for continuation of trial.

(DailyMail)

Mr. Kavindele 42 made the withdrawal in an application before Lusaka principal resident Magistrate Mwaka Mikalile this morning.

He told the court when the matter came up for trial that he and Mr. Zulu have decided to put the past behind them as brothers.

Mr. Kavindele said his decision to withdrawal the matter is without any coercion stating that as a Christian, forgiveness forms the basis of his beliefs.
Magistrate Mikalile however, only granted the withdrawal of the first count that of threatening violence.

The second count of failure to take precaution against causing injury could not be withdrawn because it is solely up to the State whether to withdraw or not.

The State has since applied to for an adjournment to assess whether it can proceed or not with the matter on the second count against Mr. Zulu particularly that Mr. Kavindele who is suppose to be a witness has withdrawn all counts of the criminal complaint before the court.

Magistrate Mikalile has since adjourned the matter to the next week on 12th October.

On Wednesday, Mr. Hichilema said before the county could go for prayers and fasting, there was need for Government to reflect and address alleged police brutality and abuse of the Public Order Act (POA) in which he and other opposition political parties and civil society organisations had found it difficult to freely operate under the current Government.

Mr. Hichilema also said Government needed to address what he termed as abuse of public media which he said had been turned into PF media houses yet they were funded by taxpayers’ money.

But when contacted for a comment yesterday, UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma said the UPND had not made an official position on whether to participate or shun the national event on October 18, 2015.

Mr. Kakoma said his party was surprised by some statements by some politicians and civil society organisations that the party had boycotted the national day of prayers and fasting when it had never issued any statement to that effect.

He said he was surprised that some people had taken turns to condemn his party over the event when it had not refused to attend.

Mr Kakoma said the fact that the party had questioned the motive behind holding prayers when political players had not yet reconciled did not mean that the party had made a position that it would not attend. “We are even surprised that some people have been taking turns to condemn UPND over the prayers when we have not even taken a position as to whether we will attend or not. What we have done is to question the motive to call for prayers even before we reconcile as politicians over our previous differences because our prayers will be irrelevant without reconciliation.

“There has been a lot of bickering among us politicians and we thought the first thing we needed to do was to reconcile so that as we go for prayers, we are in one accord. Otherwise, we are not opposed to prayers and we have not yet made any position over the same. This is why we find attacks on this matter unfortunate,” Mr. Kakoma said.

He explained that the party may come up with a position over the national day of prayers and fasting today when the National Executive Committee would be meeting to discuss other matters.

“The NEC will be meeting tomorrow (today) to discuss some issues and am sure one of the issues that will be resolved is the day of national prayers but as things stand, UPND has never made any statement to that effect and we are wondering why people are busy making statements accusing us of shunning the event,” he said.

President Lungu has declared Sunday, October 18, 2015 as a day of repentance, prayer and fasting throughout the country.

I don’t know about you, but personally I don’t always have the time or energy to make a lavish healthy meal, with all the trimmings.  After a long hard day of baking and decorating, like today; I just want to put my feet up with a tasty and hearty bite, and a cool soft drink. So today I’m going to make a delicious, warm, and gooey, Grilled Cheese toastie, with a sweet and tangy tomato dip.  I’m so excited; the thought alone is making me salivate.

I hear some of you say “what is this ‘Grilled cheese toastie’ that you speak of Kanta?”

Well…a grilled cheese toastie is basically a sandwich with melted cheese inside it; and yes it is different to cheese on toast.  It sometimes contains a variety of tasty extras like bacon, tuna or veggies, but cheese is always the primary ingredient.  It’s the perfect midnight snack or soup-dipper and the perfect thing to tuck into after a night out of drinking and partying.  It’s great for children and never turned down by adults. It is salty, gooey, buttery, and comforting in all the right ways; with the right amount of crunch, and most importantly; quick, cheap and cheerful.

Before we get started on the recipe, here are a few grilled cheese facts.

A grilled cheese must….

• Be a closed sandwich
• Have cheese as the primary ingredient. Other ingredients can complement the cheese, but shouldn’t overwhelm it.

• Be made with sliced bread
• Be served hot all the way through, with the cheese completely melted.
• Be cooked on a flat, greased surface (like a frying pan) until both sides are golden brown; and must never be baked or deep-fried.

So without further ado, here’s today’s recipe

Preparation and cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 1 person

Ingredients

For the grilled cheese

• 2 slices of wholemeal bread (you may use white bread)
• About 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese (you can use any cheese that is not dry, white and crumbly like goats cheese)
• ¼ tin of Tuna, drained and seasoned lightly with a pinch of salt and paprika
• 3 tbsp salted butter

For the dip

• 1 small tomato, chopped
• ¼ onion, chopped
• 2 tsps Hellman’s light mayonnaise
• 1 tsp thyme (optional)
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Method

Turn on the stove to a low–medium heat.  On a frying pan melt the butter, and brown each slice of bread on both sides first.

Remove from the pan.  Now add cheese to each slice of bread and spread the tuna on top of the cheese, so that when the sandwich is closed, the tuna will be in the center.  Close and cut the sandwich in half, as desired.

Melt more butter (if needed), and place the sandwich on the pan, covering it with a lid; cook for 2 minutes, until the bread is evenly golden brown on the bottom side. Flip, cover and cook again for about 2 more minutes, until the bread is golden brown and the cheese is visibly melted.

Meanwhile add all the ingredients for the dip into a small bowl and mix until everything is combined; remembering to wash your tomato and onion before chopping.

Serving

Plate up this wonderful and tantalizing grilled cheese, eat it whilst it’s still warm; open up your favorite soft drink, relax and enjoy this delicious treat.  You deserve it!!

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 on www.kantakakes.com.  Follow her on twitter @KantaKakes and Instagram @KantaTemba.

In an interview with Qfm News, Mr. Simuusa has cited the power deficit and the volatility of the Kwacha as some of the issues which the PF must deal with.

Mr. Simuusa notes that the PF government is in control as far as infrastructure development is concerned, but that it also needs to start listening to the people.

He says this means that the government has to adopt a less-talk-and-more-action approach to dealing with challenges that the country is currently going through.

Mr Simuusa has also noted the need for the PF to transform itself from being a draconian government to one with a human face which explains issues to the people.

He thinks that in this way the PF government will be showing to people that it understands what they are going through and is doing something to improve the situation.

He states that the foundation upon which PF was founded gives the party a higher chance of bouncing back to power in 2016.

Mr. Simuusa adds that the PF already has an advantage to win the 2016 general election because it is the party in government.

But Political Analyst Alex Ng’oma believes the current prevailing economic challenges in the country will not have a bearing on next year’s general election.

Dr. Ng’oma also notes that it is too early to determine which political party will win the 2016 elections.

He says while people will be concerned and apprehensive especially that cost of living has gone up, they will be cautious when it comes to voting in the 2016 elections.

But Works and Supply Minister Yamfwa Mukanga says the ruling party has better chances of winning the 2016 general election despite the current economic challenges the country is facing.

Mr. Mukanga says Zambians have confidence in the ruling party owing to the massive infrastructure development taking place around the country.