President Rupiah Banda has said that there is no justification for some people to create unnecessary worries in the minds of Zambians regarding the recent hike in fuel prices.

The President has explained that countries that are on the importing side usually pay the price each time prices from oil producing countries go up.

President Banda said this is because countries like Zambia do not have oil fields of their own. He has since challenged people unnecessarily criticizing the hike in fuel pump prices to be realistic.

President Banda was responding to Journalists at City Airport before departure for the Northern Province

Meanwhile, the Public and Private Drivers Association of Zambia has officially announced a K300 bus fare increment on local routes across the country.

Association Spokesperson Steven Zulu confirmed the development to TV2 news in an interview on Monday.

Mr. ZULU said the K300 increment was agreed on following consultations with the Ministry of Transport and communications and the Commuters’ Rights Association.

[pullquote]He appealed to the travelling public to respect the increment and avoid conflicts with bus drivers and conductors.[/pullquote]

He appealed to the travelling public to respect the increment and avoid conflicts with bus drivers and conductors.

The Association has further appealed to the Road Transport and safety Agency- RTSA and other relevant authorities to consult his Association when increasing the penalty fees for traffic offences.

He said this would avoid what happened in Livingstone recently where bus and taxi drivers demonstrated over newly introduced fares.

In another development, the Association has expressed concern over the delay to open the newly constructed Kulima Tower bus shelter.

Spokesperson, Steve Zulu appealed to the council to quickly open the bus station. He said buses loading from the streets were inconveniencing both members of the public and companies operating from the area.

ZNBC

THE opposition Patriotic Front (PF) has continued to juggle its national leaders in yet another shadow cabinet, with the latest inclusion being former Chadiza member of Parliament Panji Kaunda who is earmarked for the post of Agriculture minister.

Their latest ‘innovation’ has also seen the inclusion of former Chipangali MP Lucas Phiri earmarked for the Home Affairs portfolio.

The new machinations have rocked the PF boat, with some members being dissatisfied by their president Michael Sata’s scheming, especially that he has given himself three portfolios – Presidency, Defence and Local Government.

In the envisaged PF government, which has no place for its pact partners United Party for National Development (UPND) members, party secretary-general Wynter Kabimba has lost his earlier appointment as vice-president to Guy Scott because of his (Kabimba’s) alleged involvement in the Lusaka City Council land scam.

Well-placed PF sources revealed in Lusaka on February 28 that Kabwata MP Given Lubinda, who was left out of the earlier shadow cabinet, has been earmarked for the position of Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services.

Although Mr Kabimba is still seen as the favourite to assume the position of vice-president, sources said the recent land scandal at LCC may see him give way to Dr Scott.

However, the PF sources indicated that Dr Scott’s undoing may be his involvement in what became known as the 1992 ‘Swinegate’ scandal when he served as Minister of Agriculture.

Roan MP Chishimba Kambwili has retained his shadow portfolio of Minister of Finance, given his consistent call for the re-introduction of windfall taxes in the mining sector.

Mwenya Musenge would be Mines Minister while Mr Lubinda has been given the shadow portfolio of Information and Broadcasting Services to dissuade him from challenging Mr Sata for the position of PF president should the party hold a convention.

Conspicuously missing from the list of shadow ministers is Inonge Wina, who has allegedly failed to deliver Western Province to the PF.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

QFM reports that United Party for National Development (UPND) Leader Hakainde Hichilema has charged that Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general Wynter Kabimba has a petty mind and that he will not respond to his challenge to tell the people of Zambia whether or not the UPND has agreed to the proposal made by Professor Clive Chirwa on the PF/UPND pact.

Mr. Hichilema said he would not engage himself in an argument with Mr. Kabimba as the people of Zambia will not know who is telling the truth between the two.

He wondered why Mr. Kabimba had become more interested in calling for the meeting between the PF and UPND when they never responded to the call earlier made by the UPND to quickly convene a meeting.

Mr. Hichilema said it was pointless for the two political parties to challenge each other when there are more important issues they can address.

He said he will not involve himself in any argument with Mr. Kabimba adding that the PF secretary general can continue with his arguments because he enjoyed doing so.

Mr. Hichilema has observed the need for the Patriotic Front to understand that public service is about serving the people of Zambia and not sharing jobs.

[pullquote]Mr. Hichilema has observed the need for the Patriotic Front to understand that public service is about serving the people of Zambia and not sharing jobs.[/pullquote]

And Times of Zambia reports that PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata has said United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema has been leading a small and tribal party, which would tumble in this year’s presidential elections because he emerged from the blues to assume his position.

Mr Sata said within the time he had been in the pact with the UPND, he had managed to find out that the UPND was actually only popular in Southern Province, which he said was proof that its leader was tribal and lacked a track record of how he ascended to the helm of the opposition party

Ironically, Mr Sata said he had built PF from the scratch after rising through the ranks to become Lusaka District governor in the UNIP era, Kabwata member of Parliament (MP) and Cabinet minister before he formed his party, which he had built while Mr Hichilema just emerged from nowhere to pronounce himself president of the UPND after scheming his way out.

Mr Sata was angered by Mr Hichilema’s performance on a QFM live phone-in programme last week where he said PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba was responsible for the death of the pact and that Mr Sata was hungry for power, hence their declaration that the PF leader was the pact’s presidential candidate.

“If UPND are not power-hungry, let them leave politics and do something else. Where in this country are they popular apart from Southern Province? UPND is a small tribal party but since they have declared that they will contest on their own, I wish them good luck,” Mr Sata said.

[pullquote]“If UPND are not power-hungry, let them leave politics and do something else. Where in this country are they popular apart from Southern Province? UPND is a small tribal party but since they have declared that they will contest on their own, I wish them good luck,” Mr Sata said.[/pullquote]

He said Mr Hichilema had a dubious character that he used to ascend to positions of authority and this was what the PF never wanted to happen in the pact.

“I have a track record myself because I have built this party but Mr Hichilema just came from nowhere because he uses dubious means to get his way up. Ulembe bwino efyo ndekweba. Ubebe (Write what I am telling you well, tell them)

“Mr Hichilema is a hijacker, dubious and an opportunist,” Mr Sata, who is in Mporokoso for campaigns for this Thursday’s parliamentary by-election said.

He said PF could not lean on UPND because it was very popular while UPND was relying on telling the people of Zambia lies to gain popularity.

Mr Sata said he was disappointed that the two opposition parties were now attacking one another in the media instead of working together because of the behaviour of UPND and its leader.

Mr Sata said UPND should be above board instead of provoking other political players and added that the PF was aware that UPND was already working with the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD).

Meanwhile, Mr Kabimba has accused Mr Hichilema of employing tricks against Mr Sata in the loose alliance to win adoption for candidacy in the 2011 presidential elections.

Mr Kabimba said his party would not allow Mr Hichilema to use the 1996 formula that was used at the time to make him the automatic choice to be head of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

[pullquote]“Mr Hichilema is a hijacker, dubious and an opportunist,” Mr Sata, who is in Mporokoso for campaigns for this Thursday’s parliamentary by-election said.[/pullquote]

Featuring on a live MOBI television programme Open Forum which also had UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma, Mr Kabimba said Mr Hichilema lost the 2006 elections terribly to the MMD and PF because of using such tricks.

Mr Kabimba accused UPND of hiding under the cover of putting together the social economic programme before electing the pact leader because it wanted Mr Hichilema to employ a formular that would make him the preferred candidate so that Mr Sata was knocked out.

He argued that the social and economic programme being agitated by UPND could not be mooted without a leader and UDA only announced Mr Hichilema as its candidate and the issue of the social and economic programme never arose.

Mr Kabimba said the pact leaders must be bold and announce the failure of the pact because of the deep divisions that had engulfed the pact lately.

He said the PF did not go into the alliance formed on June 4, 2009 after realising that it would falter in the 2011 elections but because of the need to form a majority Government.

He said there was need to bring on board all the stakeholders, including those aligned to UPND, but the party had the capacity to win the elections as a single entity.

But Mr Kakoma differed with Mr Kabimba, saying the reason for the formation of the pact was that the opposition was too weak to beat the MMD.

“This explains why we are having problems. Now I am being told that the reason why we had came together was to form a majority Government. For us we did not think that the most important thing was leadership.

“What we thought was that we were forming the pact because people wanted us to address poverty by putting up a social and economic programme,” Mr Kakoma said.

Mr Kakoma said the UPND was not prepared to rush into the sharing of positions but that fundamentals must be addressed. He said UPND was not tribal but national.

But Mr Kabimba maintained that the central cause of the divisions in the pact was the absence of a leader and not the lack of social and economic programmes.

QFM/Times of Zambia

THE Electoral Commission of Zambia has managed to register close to 80 percent of eligible voters for this year’s tripartite elections, according to the voter registration update for February 2011.

According to the update obtained by the Daily Mail, out of the 6,434,272 eligible voters countrywide, the commission has managed to capture 4,990,047 voters, representing 77.55 percent.

This means the commission has yet to register 1,444,225 more voters to reach the 100 percent mark.

With the current continuous registration and intensified sensitisation to encourage eligible voters to register, the target looks attainable.

However, this will require more efforts by all stakeholders because the elections are drawing closer.

The Copperbelt has recorded the highest number of registered voters at 832,963, followed by Lusaka Province with 756,388.

The capital city is, therefore trailing the Copperbelt by 76,605 voters, pointing to the need for more work to be done, considering that it is the most densely populated city with nearly two million inhabitants.

Northern Province has recorded the third highest number of registered voters with 627,220, while Southern Province is fourth, with 626,221 voters.

Eastern Province has captured 615,018, Central Province 462,955 and Luapula 395,050. Western and North-Western provinces have recorded 376,076 and 298,156, respectively.

[table id=17 /]

The figures are a compilation of the number of voters captured from all the districts in each province.
Lusaka Province has four districts, the Copperbelt 10 and Northern Province 13, including the newly established Mafinga.

The rest of the provinces have between seven and 10 districts.

To register as a voter, one must have attained the age of 18, live in the polling district where they applied to be registered and in possession of the green national registration card to confirm their Zambian nationality.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia recently announced the resumption of mobile voter registration while continuous registration is going on at district councils throughout the country.

The continuous registration focuses on new registration, replacement of lost, destroyed or defaced voter’s cards and transfers between polling districts following change of residential address.

It also focuses on change of name, deletions following the death of a registered voter and amendments because of errors in personal details.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

FORMER PF national youth secretary Eric Chanda has told United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema to swallow his pride and accept Professor Clive Chirwa’s proposals on the leadership of the pact.

And Mr Chanda says Mr Hichilema should declare whether his party is forming a pact with the MMD or will continue with the PF-UPND pact.

He said should Mr Hichilema and his party opt to continue with the PF-UPND pact, he should humble himself and accept UPND chairman for international relations Professor Chirwa’s suggestions on the allocation of positions in the pact.

“We want to challenge Mr Hichilema and his party to reflect, swallow their pride and be bold enough to accept Professor Chirwa’s proposals on the way forward in the pact,” he said.

Mr Chanda said in an interview on February 27 that it would be prudent for Mr Hichilema to be open instead of making allegations that the PF has killed the PF-UPND pact.

He was reacting to recent media reports in which UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma was quoted as saying the PF lacked political will to manage the pact and that it would be difficult for the UPND and PF to agree on important issues, unless the latter changes its attitude.

Mr Chanda said PF youths have no problem with the UPND forming a pact with the MMD if that will stop Mr Hichilema from making allegations that the PF has caused the demise of the pact.

“If they are going into a pact with the MMD, as PF youths we wish them well and we hope they can stop putting the blame on PF Secretary-General Mr Wynter Kabimba and PF President Michael Sata for the breakup of the pact,” he said.

Mr Chanda said he is beginning to believe speculation that the UPND is forming a pact with the ruling party, going by Mr Hichilema’s conduct towards the PF-UPND pact.

He appealed to the opposition leader to be clear about what he wants to do for Zambians.

Meanwhile, Mr Kabimba has charged that the UPND invited PF to form the pact with a pre-conceived idea of thrusting Mr Hichilema into the race for the republican presidency.

Mr Kabimba says the UPND’s idea was to see Mr Hichilema lead the pact before and after the 2011 elections in the same way he found himself at the helm of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in the 2006 general elections.

Mr Hichilema led the defunct UDA, which comprised the UPND, UNIP, and Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) after the death of UPND founding president Anderson Mazoka.

Mr Kabimba said in a letter to UPND Secretary General Winstone Chibwe dated February 24, 2011 that the pact presidency is the major obstacle to the success of the alliance and not the social and economic programme under which ‘the UPND pretends to hide.’

“This may leave a bitter taste in your mouth and a sting in your ears but it is the truth,” Mr Kabimba said.

He said the UPND was hoping that something would happen to Mr Sata before the 2011 general elections or that he would be disqualified from the race.

“UPND went all the way during the National Constitutional Conference to support the degree clause. This level of duplicity coming from our pact partners was astonishing to me and other Zambians. However PF was charitable enough to continue with the pact,” he said.

Mr Kabimba said on February 22, 2011, he wrote to Mr Chibwe over UPND blaming the PF for the pact failure but the latter’s reply was full of personal attacks against him.

He said instead of responding, Mr Chibwe said UPND holds Mr Kabimba responsible more than any other individual for frustrating the pact’s work, since its formation in June 2009.

He said Mr Hichilema’s diatribes and aspersions against him during February 24’s live phone-in programme also confirmed the UPND’s personal attacks.

“I listened to him during the discussion but I refused to make a comment to the press. It is therefore clear to me from your letter and Mr Hichilema’s comments that this is no longer about the PF-UPND pact but something between Mr Hichilema and myself personally,” he said.

During the radio programme, Mr Hichilema accused Mr Kabimba of being mischievous and warned that the UPND will not tolerate his mischief for the next 30 days.

But Mr Kabimba said he found Mr Hichilema’s comments to be inappropriate and wished the UPND good luck on the 30-day ultimatum.

He said he is far above UPND chairman for international relations Professor Clive Chirwa’s confidential paper on the way forward for the pact, which seems to be the UPND’s highest yardstick for confidentiality.

Mr Kabimba said confidentiality should not be used to cover up dishonesty or duplicity of groups, individuals or organisations.

He said as PF secretary general, he is a very senior member of the party and deserves respect even when the UPND or Mr Hichilema does not agree with his opinion.

And Mr Kabimba says he refused to join the United Party for National Development (UPND) at inception because he disagreed with its founding doctrine of promoting ethnic hegemony of one group, over others, CHARLES MUSONDA, reports.

Mr Kabimba said in a letter to the UPND dated February 24, 2011 that he was one of the people UPND founding president Anderson Mazoka consulted before forming the UPND but he turned down the offer.

“This philosophy (ethnic hegemony) offends my personal character and beliefs. As an individual I have chosen to think with my brain and not tribe. It is therefore not a matter of coincidence to me that all the people who called me in protest after my February 17 press briefing on the proposed leadership structure of the pact were southerners.

“Their language was not different from Mr Hichilema’s uncivil language on Hot FM radio programme. This is what I refer to as thinking with your tribe and not your brain,” he said.

Mr Kabimba has been at the centre of a row with the UPND over his February 17 press briefing at which he disclosed UPND chairman for international relations Clive Chirwa’s proposals on the leadership of the pact.

Professor Chirwa gave an edge to the PF over the UPND but UPND argued that it had not approved the proposals and felt betrayed by Mr Kabimba’s action.

Meanwhile, NKWETO MFULA reports that the UPND on the Copperbelt says Mr Sata’s political life is expiring following the misunderstandings that have rocked the pact.

Party National youth chairman Joe Kalusa on February 27 urged the party leadership to call for a national management committee meeting to chart the way forward on the failed partnership with PF.

Mr Kalusa said in an interview in Ndola on February 27 that the differences within the pact show that Mr Sata’s political career is almost reaching a dead end.

He said facts against Mr Sata are that time is running out for him and his strength is diminishing as days go by.

Mr Kalusa said Mr Sata’s demand that he will not engage in any talks with UPND leaders until they become “mature and sincere” is the joke of the year.

Mr Kalusa said Mr Sata should not claim that UPND has killed the pact when he is to blame for his failure to provide wisdom and leadership.

“This is the reason why we are questioning his credibility to run the country,” he said.

He wondered why Mr Kabimba accepted the PF-UPND pact if he felt UPND was a tribal party.

He said in the PF, only one person makes decisions and it is clear that PF has wasted UPND’s time. Mr Kalusa said PF has proved to be untrustworthy and unreliable.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

Thirty Seven Zambian Nationals resident in LIBYA have been successfully evacuated into Zambia following violent protests by Libyans against their leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

The evacuees arrived at LUSAKA’s international airport aboard a Zambezi Chartered plane around 07:35 hours yesterday morning.

Among those evacuated was Zambia National Soccer Team player, Felix Katongo and his wife Mwaka, a former television presenter.

The Zambian nationals evacuated from Libya say they are traumatised by events in the oil-rich North African country and are relieved to be back home.

“Seeing blood on the streets and some people dying on queues at the Airport in Libya is something I never thought I will ever witness,” one of the evacuees who declined to be named told the Daily Mail.

Another evacuee, whose identity could not be revealed, said he witnessed an Egyptian who was ill die in the queue because he could not push through the crowd to seek medical attention.

“There was some resentment towards the Egyptian because some people felt what was happening in Libya was the fault of the Egyptians,” he said.

Recently, Egyptians managed to end President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule after relentless protests that lasted 18 days.

Protests have been taking place in Libya against the leadership of President Muammar Gaddafi.

According to some harrowing accounts by the Zambians who were evacuated, the protests started somewhere close to their homes which they fled as their safety could not be guaranteed. They said a few days before the demonstrations started, they noticed Libyans assembling at the Green square in the capital Tripoli to start their protests.

“Zambia is a peaceful country, we should not take things for granted,” one of them said as the others nodded.

“We were at the airport by 12:00 hours but only boarded the flight at 17:00 hours. Some of us did not think we would see our families again, because of the tension. We can’t believe we are home. We are happy, we are so glad, we are even short of words to express ourselves,” they said.

Zambezi Airlines chief executive officer Wilfred Amstelveen, who flew to Tripoli on the chartered flight, said the 36-hour trip was filled with uncertainty.

He said he decided to accompany the crew because of the importance of the mission. Mr Amstelveen said the crew left on Saturday around 01:00 hours via Abuja to Algiers then Tripoli.

The plane had to refuel in Abuja and Algiers because the crew was not sure of the possibility of refuelling at Tripoli International Airport.

He said the crew had to ensure there was adequate fuel to fly the Zambians back home.

“We got to Tripoli at the height of tension and we were not sure of being able to buy fuel from there,” he said.

He said when the crew landed in Libya, Tripoli International Airport was crowded with other planes trying to get different nationals out of that country.

“We waited and waited and waited – from 15:00 hours and we only left at 18:00 hours,” he said.

The crew had to present its flight plan three times before it was accepted by the Libyan authorities at the airport.

“I am grateful to the Zambian government for their support. As Zambezi Airlines, we are proud that Zambians are home safely. We never thought we could accomplish this mission,” he said.

Another crew member who declined to give an interview simply said: “I am just glad to be home. It has been a hell of an experience.”

Welcoming the Zambians, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kabinga Pande said President Banda has had sleepless nights over the safety of the Zambians.

Mr Pande, who was accompanied by officials from his Ministry and others from the Disaster Management Mitigation Unit (DMMU) cheered and clapped as the plane touched down at 07:35 hours.

He said the President would have loved to welcome the Zambians if he was not in Eastern Province.

“He will certainly meet you at a later stage,” Mr Pande told the tired and anxious-looking evacuees.

He said he telephoned President Banda to inform him about the arrival of the Zambians and the President was very excited.

“We should thank God for his travelling mercies,” he said.

Mr Pande said the Zambians should not worry about where to be accommodated because government has already put measures in place.

The Minister announced at a press briefing on Saturday that government had chartered a plane to evacuate Zambians from Libya.

However, the Ambassador and a few support staff remained at the embassy to monitor the situation in Libya.

[Zambia Daily Mail]