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THE Ndola City Council has suspended six councillors accused of spearheading illegal allocation of plots, Town Clerk Charity Mpande has said.
The Patriotic Front (PF)-dominated council has also sacked more than 10 employees believed to have been conniving with the councillors in the plot scandal.
Last week, Local Government and Housing Minister Brian Chituwo announced the suspension of Lusaka City Council, also dominated by the PF, for 90 days and appointed an administrator to manage the affairs of the council following allegations of impropriety in the allocation of 102 plots at the Lilayi Housing project.
Ms Mpande said in Ndola yesterday that five PF councillors and one from the MMD had in the last six months been banned for issuing plots illegally, while more than 10 senior and junior employees had been dismissed over the same matter.
“The plots issuance has been revoked by the council which has since repossessed all the illegally-issued plots which have been advertised so that some members of the public can access them,” she said.
Ms Mpande said the Ministry of Lands had launched investigations into the issuance of some commercial and industrial plots in various parts of Ndola which were alleged to have been obtained illegally.
She said the council management recently formed an integrity committee which, among other things, would study cases of illegal allocations of residential plots in Chifubu, Ndeke and Kabushi townships and other alleged bad practices among council employees.
Ms Mpande said the local authority was ready to be probed by any relevant security wings over the alleged illegal allocation of plots by councillors and employees in some PF-dominated councils.
“There is a problem of illegal allocation of commercial and industrial plots involving some officers within the council and some outsiders and as council management we are not sitting idle as agents of the Ministry of Lands.
“The Commissioner of Lands was here last week following up this particular issue and we are just waiting for him to issue a report over the matter,” Ms Mpande said
The Lusaka City Council is serving a 90-day suspension over alleged abuse in the allocation of plots in Lusaka.
The council is alleged to have allocated 10 plots to the office of the mayor Daniel Chisenga and five to his deputy, claiming they would be distributed to residents although the criteria to be used was not clear.
[ Times of Zambia ]
Pesident Rupiah Banda
A group of Ndola based Movement for Multi Party Democracy (MMD) Cadres have called upon Republican President Rupiah Banda to intervene in the manner in which the party’s Ndola District officials are allegedly dividing the party in the district.
ZANIS Ndola reports that the cadres who sought anonymity said the newly elected Victor Koni Executive were championing personal agenda’s and not unifying the party.
The cadres, who are calling themselves as MMD Activists, said the Victor Koni led executive had embarked on a massive harassment campaign of party cadres and officials from the previous Cephas Katongo led executive.
“President Rupiah Banda should immediately come to Ndola and find out for himself how this newly elected Victor Koni Executive is dividing the party, Koni is busy chasing away people from the party that did not endorse his adoption as MMD Chifubu Parliamentary seat candidate,’ they alleged.
“They are harassing cadres and party officials that served in Mr Katongo’s executive, this is not good for the party they are just tearing us apart,” they charged.
The cadres alleged that Mr Koni was not happy that the party did not adopt him as a candidate for the Chifubu parliamentary seat but instead adopted Frank Ng’ambi who eventually lost the seat to PF’s Susan Kawandami.
The Cadres said Mr Koni’s executive was currently planning to suspend the entire Chifubu MMD Constituency Committee.
“Victor Koni is still upset that he was not chosen as the candidate for the Chifubu seat, that is why he is planning to suspend the entire committee,” they said.
They said Mr Koni has since approached the owner of Chachitika motel in Chifubu to take up the seat of Chifubu Constituency.
[pullquote]“Victor Koni is still upset that he was not chosen as the candidate for the Chifubu seat, that is why he is planning to suspend the entire committee,” they said.[/pullquote]
The cadres alleged that in previous Chifubu by-election, Mr Koni was accused of having been seen at Chachitika motel dishing out money to voters and advising them to vote for the PF candidate and not the MMD candidate.
‘He has already approached Mr Mwelwa to be the new constituency chairman, the same person he is accused of having worked with last year, in de-campaigning MMD candidate Frank Ngambi,” they said.
The cadres further accused Mr Koni of having introduced the PF’s latest slogan “Don’t kubeba”, after he started advising people to mingle and eat with the MMD but to make sure that they voted for the PF candidate.
“Koni is the same person who brought about the PF slogan Dontch Kubeba, he told people to eat and pretend to be MMD supporters but to make sure that they voted for the PF candidate, what type of a chairman can such a one be?” they asked.
The cadres went on to say that they are shocked that Mr Koni’s executive has asked them to surrender all campaign materials such as T/shirts, Chitenge materials that they received from the Kephas Katongo led executive for the Chifubu by-election campaign period.
“And now he has asked us to return all T/shirts and Chitenge material that we were using during the Chifubu campaign, how are we going to take back clothes that we have been wearing, the President should intervene otherwise the party will disintegrate,” they observed.
The cadres further said the open de-campaigning of Vice President George Kunda’s candidature at the on coming party’s national convention and the preference for Foreign Affairs Minister Kabinga Pande by Mr Koni and his executive was tribal and should not be encouraged in the MMD.
And when reached for a comment, Mr Koni denied all the allegations and said he was aware that there was a splitter group in the MMD which wanted to destabilise the party in the district.
Mr Koni said the group which was referring to itself as MMD Ndola District activists were PF bound cadres who wanted to bring confusion to the MMD before finally showing their true colours.
He called on the cadres in the district to be very careful with the Activists as he alleged they had the potential to break the party.
And MMD Chifubu constituency chairlady Mable Simbule confirmed that no official in her constituency had received any suspension letter neither were any plans of suspending their entire constituency.
She said the party was very strong and that no one had been asked to return any campaign materials such as Chitenge materials, T/shirts and bicycles in Chifubu.
The chairlady said the new executive was working tirelessly and that it was unfortunate that some people were attempting to distract its focus.
She said Mr Koni’s executive had only been in office for one month and had already started working wonders.
“As Chifubu constituency we are behind the Chairman, he has only been in office for one month and he has done wonders, just go and check the district for yourself, you will see, she said.
The Zambia women’s team heads to Durban on Thursday ahead of their grudge match against Banyana Banyana South Africa in a 2012 Olympic Games return leg qualifier.
For a Faz executive that swears by anything Fifa, I find it surprising that they have suddenly elected to abandon their faith women’s football future being in the custody of women coaches.
But the question is how much faith does Faz have in their straight-talking coach Enala Simbeya whom they have groomed for the last four years?
Faz have just roped in under-20 coach Oswald Mutapa to help Simbeya to try and turn around Banyana’s 2-1 advantage.
No insult to Mutapa but I think Simbeya is doing the best she can under challenging circumstances with her girls.
Faz forgets that Simbeya was not beaten by a man in Joseph Mkhonza standing in the opposite bench but by a better side with a rich background in women’s football despite a stuttering display from the visitors in the first leg at Nkoloma Stadium on January 15.
And Despite losing at home in the first leg a fortnight ago, Simbeya’s team has showing more discipline and direction than when she was understudy two male coaches Fredrick Kashimoto and George Chikokola.
The team also showed its level best trying to punch above their own weight against a starving but resilient Banyana whose hunger for goals cushioned their pre-match meal shenanigans that they endured at the team hotel.
Meanwhile, the prospect of psychological tension cannot be discounted going into a critical game away from home in a potential hostile environment and Simbeya should be given the wheel in the interest of team spirit in Durban.
Let us not forget that a player structure in the women’s game is on firm ground and it is time for Simbeya and her peers to chart the next phase with girl power on the bench.
Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Chairperson Justice Florence Mumba has invited the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate alleged reports of corruption at the commission.
Justice Mumba said this follows allegations that have been made against her by former Commission Director Dan Kalale.
Justice Mumba said the ACC should probe contracts relating to the supply of materials and services and the budgetary accountability for the tripartite and by elections.
In a statement issued on her behalf by Commission Secretary Eric Kamwi in Lusaka today, Justice Mumba said:
“Following aspersions made against the electoral commission of Zambia, the Chairperson has decided to invite the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to probe, among other things they may wish to investigate, the following:
Dates and mode of appointment of all staff, academic and professional qualifications; when and where obtained;
All moveable property, chattels, when and how procured.”
All motor vehicles, when and how procured and to whom assigned and at what times; maintenance records, insurance policies, garages used for repairs, fuel, and relevant contracts, where applicable;
Budgetary accountability for tripartite elections and by-elections, etc,
Contracts relating to the supply of materials and services and actual materials and services,”
On Sunday Mr. Kalale accused Justice Mumba of engaging in corrupt practices. Mr.Kalale said Justice Mumba and other commissioners irregularly singled sourced KPMG to undertake consultancy services on the confidential audit system review for ECZ the year 2008 to 2009 at a cost of one Billion Kwacha.
He said Justice Mumba and the commissioners did not refer the matter of engaging KPMG to the Zambia Public Procurement authority for authorisation.
Electoral Commission of Zambia chairperson Florence Mumba during a media briefing
Meanwhile the Leadership In Development has called on Justice Mumba to step aside, to pave way for investigations into the alleged corrupt activities at the commission.
Executive Director, Moses Kalonde says revelations of alleged corrupt activities at the commission are worrying; especially that it is an election year.
Mr Kalonde has also appealed to the investigation wings to quickly move in so that sanity is brought back to ECZ. He was speaking with ZNBC News in Lusaka today.
And the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions- ZCTU is concerned with events unfolding at the Electoral Commission of Zambia ECZ.
The ZCTU has since called on Government to quickly and thoroughly investigate recent developments at ECZ in order to restore confidence in the electoral process.
ZCTU Director of Public Relations Martin Chembe says developments at ECZ are impacting negatively on the institution.
Mr. Chembe says it is sad that such issues are occurring at a time when the country is preparing for elections.
He has advised Government to intervene before the situation gets out of hand.
Mr. Chembe also says the embarrassing situation at ECZ could have been avoided if the Commission had allowed workers to be represented by a trade union.
This is contained in a statement he has issued to ZNBC News in Lusaka today-Tuesday.
Earlier in the morning Evangelical Youth Alliance expressed saddened at the stand off between workers and commissioners at the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
Alliance Chairperson Moses Lungu said it was unfortunate that the impasse had emerged in an election year.
Reverend Lungu told ZNBC news in Lusaka that there is urgent need to resolve the problems at the commission, before full fledged election campaigns kick off.
He advised ECZ Chairperson Florence Mumba to step down to pave way for investigations into her alleged corrupt activities.
Over 40 people have been admitted to Sinamalima clinic in Sinazongwe district in Southern Province after suffering from cholera in the past one week.
Sinazongwe District Health Medical Officer Elias Chipandwe said three people out of the 44 that have suffered from cholera in the past eight days have since died.
Dr. Chipandwe told the District Epidemic Preparedness Committee yesterday that currently 20 people were still admitted to Sinamalima clinic, which has been turned into a cholera centre.
Dr. Chipandwe described the situation as serious noting that the centre admits between seven and 10 people daily.
He attributed the disease outbreak in the area to lack of toilets and poor hygiene.
He disclosed that 10 villages were affected in Malima.
Dr. Chipandwe said a team of Environmental Health Officers and Nurses have since been deployed to the area to address the situation.
He explained that the Environmental Health Officers were conducting community mobilisation to carry out hygiene promotion, chlorine distribution, and health education.
However, he said this team was facing a challenge of transport, food supply, disinfection materials and physical barriers since bridges on the Sikalamba and Nangombe streams have been damaged.
Meanwhile, Sinazongwe District Epidemic Preparedness Committee has formed a taskforce working towards containing the cholera outbreak.
And Sinazongwe Acting District Commissioner Sokoloku Daka told the committee to work hard and mobilise resources to help Ministry of Health officials meet shortfalls.
Mr. Daka said the taskforce would ensure that the communities were encouraged to have pit latrines to curb the spread of cholera epidemic in the district.
A miner at Mopani Copper Mine in Kitwe has died after being electrocuted.
National Union of Miners and Allied Workers -NUMAW Secretary General Goodwell Kaluba has confirmed the development to ZNBC News in Kitwe today-Tuesday.
Mr Kaluba says Morgan Ngosa a thirty – three year old miner who was working as a whistle man died in the early hours of Tuesday.
He said the late Ngosa was operating at 3360 level at Central Shaft when he met his death at about 02 30 hours.
Mr. Kaluba said Ngosa was riding on a electric trolley when the lining of the machine got burnt thereby electrocuting him.
He said the body of the late miner has since been retrieved from the underground.
Meanwhile Operations at the Non Ferrous China Africa- NFCA mining where miners were protesting against the formation of a new company have normalized.
All the workers have returned to work.
National Union of Miners and Allied Workers- NUMAW Secretary General Goodwell Kaluba has confirmed the development to ZNBC news in Kitwe today.
Mr. Kaluba said the miners have returned to work and mining activities are running normally after management gave the workers two options.
He said management asked workers willing to return to work to do so while those who were not interested were asked to sign forms to be laid off.
Mr. Kaluba disclosed that the workers chose to keep their jobs and have since started working.
He also revealed that management has agreed to revisit its decision to operationalise the new company which triggered the protest.
Mr. Kaluba said management has promised to involve the union so that the best way forward is found before the new company can start operations.
He said employees are still working under the old conditions of service as stipulated in the collective agreement signed by NFCA mining
[ ZNBC ]
The K11 billion worth state of the art Kapiri Mposhi district hospital has been completed and handed over to Government.
Acting District Medical Officer Charles Mwinuna said the contractor, Power Flex, has finished construction works and has since handed over the hospital to the Government for commissioning.
Dr. Mwinuna said the newly built hospital comprises a maternity ward, outpatient department (OPD), theatre, administration and service blocks and ten staff houses.
State of the art equipment would be installed in the new hospital which would also act as a referral health institution in the district.
He said the hospital, which would be commissioned soon, would help alleviate challenges that the Ministry of Health had been facing in providing quality health care to the people.
Dr. Mwinuna said his office had already started planning to send critical health staff to operate from the hospital in readiness for its commissioning.
And Kapiri Mposhi District Commissioner Kunda Mwila has warned civil servants against being partisan as the country gets ready for general elections this year.
Mr. Kunda said as the country goes to the polls this year, Government workers should at all costs avoid being entangled in partisan politics because they were supposed to be non-partisan.
He issued the warning during a meeting with Ministry of Health (MoH) and hospital staff after touring the newly constructed Kapiri Mposhi district hospital yesterday.
Mr. Kunda said Government would sternly deal with Civil Servants who would assume a partisan position during and after the elections.
He observed that assuming a partisan position would affect the provision of public services to the people.
The DC also advised Civil Servants to be on the lookout for individuals and politicians who would scheme to use Government offices to cause confusion in order to discredit the State.
Mr. Kunda said Government is committed to improving working conditions for health workers in order for them to offer quality health care to the public.
He further said Civil Servants should jealously guard Government achievements because this would ease their service delivery to the people.
“Construction of the hospital in the district is testimony that the Government wants to improve service provision. So let us not be swayed by selfish individuals and politicians to rise against Government,” he said.
A 32- year old housemaid of Dambwa compound in Livingstone has been arrested on suspicion that she defiled a 20- months old baby who was entrusted in her care.
Southern Province Police Commanding Officer, Lemmy Kajoba, confirmed the development to ZANIS in Livingstone today.
Mr. Kajoba said the named housemaid, who is also a divorcee, was arrested and is in custody at Livingstone Central Police.
He said on the day the incident happened, the mother to the baby boy went for work but returned home unexpectedly and found the maid completely naked while the undressed baby lay between her legs.
Mr. Kajoba said when she was caught in the act, the maid started apologising and upon being taken to the police station, she gave a statement confirming that she had defiled the infant.
She claimed that she did not know what made her abuse the baby.
The Provincial Police Chief said the baby’s parents have since been given a medical report form for medical personnel to examine the boy and establish his health status.
The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) through Kalabo District Cooperative Union has purchased a total of 13,645 by 40 kilogramme bags of unpolished rice worth K 818.7 million from ten satellite depots in the district in Western Province.
Kalabo District Cooperative Union General Manager Bruce Lisimba disclosed in an interview with ZANIS in Kalabo yesterday.
Mr. Lisimba said the 13,645 bags of unpolished rice have been bought at a unit price of K60,000 per 40 Kilogramme bag.
He named the ten satellite depots where bags of unpolished rice were bought from Luanginga, Nang’umba, Sihole, Ng’uma, Sikushi and Tuuwa.
The crop was also bought from Lulang’unyi, Sikongo, Nyengo and Kande depots.
Mr. Lisimba said the rice would be resold later within Kalabo district at a unit price that will be determined by Government.
He said so far 9,348 x 40 bags of unpolished rice has been transported to the FRA main warehouse at Winela area in Kalabo Boma.
Mr. Lisimba said the remaining 4,300 bags of unpolished rice were yet to be transported to the boma.
But he feared that the transportation exercise would be hampered by flooding on some routes which would soon be impassable due to continuous heavy rains.
Mr. Lisimba further identified areas that were likely to be affected by floods soon as Sikushi, Ng’uma, Sihole, and Lulang’unyi.
The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) is a Government funded agency that buys crops from farmers who do not have market and transport for their produce.
The FRA buys farmers’ crops in satellite depots that set within their (farmers) vicinity and later resells the crops when and where demand arose.
Its mission statement is to secure national food reserves and help take wealth to rural Zambia.
The number of cross-border traders from Zimbabwe utilising the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Simplified Trade Regime (STR) has risen markedly since its introduction eight months ago, with exports under the regime more than doubling, an official says.
The Comesa-STR, which came into effect at the end of May last year on a pilot basis, allows small scale traders carrying a Comesa Simplified Certificate of origin to transact free of duty and quota across borders of member states.
Zimbabwe Cross Border Traders Association (ZCBTA) Secretary-General Augustine Tawanda told Zimbabwea State News Agency -New Ziana yesterday that more small scale traders from the countries were now utilising the trade regime.
Tawanda said statistics on exports to Zambia through the border town of Victoria Falls from June to September last year showed an improvement on the use of the regime.
“In June we realised 59,000 USD in exports and the figure went up to 1,359,000 USD in September,” he said.
Imports in June totalled 2,479,000 USD but declined to 1,756,000 USD in September.
Although the Zimbabwe export trend was going up, the balance of trade was still in favour of Zambia, he said.
Tawanda said oranges, bags, wooden tiles and sculptures were the main products being exported to Zambia.
“Cross border traders also import biscuits, sweets and vegetables from Zambia,” he said.
Since the launch of the STR, the Zimbabwe government, in conjunction with other stakeholders, has embarked on a campaign to raise awareness on the existence of the trade regime.
The advantages of using the Comesa-STR include fast clearances at border posts and reduced clearance costs.
First Lady Thandiwe Banda with Bank of Zambia deputy Governor Mabula Kankasa at State House
First Lady Thandiwe Banda has launched the Binary-First Lady of Zambia scholarship programme in collaboration with the Binary University College of Malaysia which has made available five scholarships.
The scholarships will enable five Zambians study post graduate programmes in Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and Masters Degrees in Business Administration in Malaysia.
ZANIS reports that speaking at the launch of the programmme at State House today, First Lady Thandiwe Banda said the Zambian government has prioritised education as a key feature for national development.
Mrs. Banda said the country has also recorded an increase in the number of private universities which has resulted in increased number of graduates from higher learning institutions.
The First Lady assured Binary University College that the scholarships will be given to the best and deserving Zambians.
She also thanked the University College for giving her the scholarships so that she could help contribute to Zambian’s higher education system.
Mrs. Banda explained that she has chosen education as a key social priority so that she could contribute to the wellbeing of Zambian communities.
“I have a pledge to help in ensuring that as many Zambians as possible gain access to quality education. I would like to believe that this is one of those avenues. I will continue being of service whenever I can,” she said.
Mrs. Banda also encouraged Zambians not to be comfortable with their levels of education but strive to achieve more.
At the same occasion, Binary University College of Malaysia Executive Chairman Professor Joseph Adaikalam said the college is planning to set up a university in Zambia with construction expected to start by September this year.
Professor Adaikalam said Zambia has become the first country in Africa where the college will set up a school to provide higher education to the citizens.
He explained that the coming of Binary University College to Zambian will make Zambia a regional centre of excellence in education.
Prof. Adaikalam said Zambia will greatly benefit in technological, and skills transfer from both the scholarships that will be offered and the setting up of the university.
And Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary (PS) Andrew Phiri said in a speech read on his behalf by Acting PS in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Margret Miyoba that it is important that the country creates a mass of people with specialised skills for the country to attain the middle income status by 2030.
He also said Government will soon establish a higher educational loan board that will strengthen loan recovery systems and reach out to many students.
Dr. Phiri has since commended the scholarship programmes saying this will help complement Government efforts in providing higher education to Zambians.
Federation of Free Trade Unions of Zambia (FFTUZ) president Joyce Nonde-Simukoko
Federation of Free Trade Unions of Zambia (FFTUZ) president Joyce Nonde-Simukoko has said the plot scandal at LCC should serve as a wake-up call to Zambians who should scrutinise political leaders aspiring for national positions.
Ms Simukoko said the irregularities in plot allocations at the LCC were a clear indication that some PF cadres were aspiring for leadership to enrich themselves.
[pullquote]“The plot scam has created an impression that the PF is a party of greedy, selfish and corrupt leaders, and so the party must take some action on those named in the scam.[/pullquote]
She was reacting to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing suspension of the LCC following allegations of impropriety in the allocation of 102 plots at the Lilayi Housing Project where the councillors and MPs were alleged to have given themselves plots without following the right procedure.
The office of the mayor was allocated 10 plots while that of the deputy got five with claims that they would be distributed to members of the public, although the criterion to be used was not known.
PF Kanyama MP Gerry Chanda and his Madevu counterpart Jean Kapata also benefited from the plots.
“The plot scam has created an impression that the PF is a party of greedy, selfish and corrupt leaders, and so the party must take some action on those named in the scam.
[pullquote]“The problem in Zambia is that we don’t analyse and evaluate those aspiring for leadership. We only get excited when they tell us what we want to hear,” she said.[/pullquote]
“It has to do some house-sweeping or else people will believe that the party leadership is greedy,” she said.
Ms Simukoko said Zambians should not be excited by populist statements, but analyse and evaluate them before making decisions.
“The problem in Zambia is that we don’t analyse and evaluate those aspiring for leadership. We only get excited when they tell us what we want to hear,” she said.
She said the Zambian people would live to regret if they made wrong decisions by voting for populist leaders.
The Ministry of Finance and National Planning has disclosed that the K586.5 billion which was approved by Parliament in its last sitting, has been provided in the 2011 budget for capital projects, infrastructure rehabilitation, and maintenance and development in Western Province.
Ministry of Finance Public Relations Officer Chileshe Kandeta stated that the K586.5 billion budget provision for Western Province excludes funds already committed under different capital programmes financed by development partners.
Mr. Kandeta said the 2011 capital expenditure allocation also excludes funds meant for operations, salaries and other non-capital expenditure in the Province.
He told ZANIS in a statement in Lusaka today that the provision of K586.5 billion in the 2011 budget for capital projects in Western Province represents a massive increase compared to K45.5 billion in the 2010 budget.
Mr. Kandeta pointed out that the 2011 provision is in line with Government fiscal focus for the medium term which is geared towards increasing expenditure on infrastructure and social services for the purpose of achieving targets of poverty reduction and economic growth.
He also explained that K541.9 billion has been reserved for upgrading Mongu-Kalabo Road, while K10 billion has been set aside for maintenance of Mongu-Kaoma-Tetayoyo road and K6 billion would be used to grade feeder roads under the Rural Roads Unit.
He said the move is in line with the country’s need to develop and properly maintain quality infrastructure for sustainable national development by 2030.
Among the institutions which will implement capital projects in Western Province in 2011 include the Ministry of Health which has a provision of K10.7 billion of which K8.4 billion is for construction of hospitals, K1.4 billion for rehabilitation of medical training schools and K843 million for rehabilitation and extension of health facilities.
Others are the Ministry of Works and Supply which has a budget provision of K1.43 billion of which K1 billon is for prison infrastructure in Kalabo, K200 million for construction of Kanyala Border Control and K200 million for construction of Imusho Border Control.
He also stated that the judiciary has reserved K1.1 billion for among other projects, construction of Shangombo Subordinate Court.
Mr. Kandeta further disclosed that capital projects under the Ministry of Science and Technology this year will cost K4.7 billion out of which K1.5 billion is meant for completion of construction works at Kaoma Trades Training Institute, K2.5 billion for construction of Kalabo Trades School and K700 million for construction works at Mongu Trades Training Institute.
He further disclosed that the Ministry of Education has reserved K1.8 billion for maintenance, rehabilitation and construction of school infrastructure in Kalabo, Kaoma, Lukulu, Mongu, Senanga, Sesheke and Shang’ombo districts in line with the long term goal of life-long education and training accessible to all by 2030.
Mr. Kandeta also revealed that the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development has a provision of K3.4 billion of which , among other projects, K600 million is for rehabilitation of the regional veterinary and livestock laboratory in Mongu and K875 million for construction of Livestock Centres in Senanga, Kaoma, Kalabo, Sesheke, Lukulu and Shangombo districts.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture has reserved K1.3 billion for various projects including construction of camp houses.
Mr. Kandeta has since urged the implementers of the projects and other capital projects across the country to ensure that all necessary tender procedures are done on time so that project execution timelines are observed and delivery of benefits to the people accelerated.
“Stakeholders around the Western Province and indeed in all other provinces are urged to take interest in the public works and projects that will be implemented in their localities to ensure that resources are applied for intended purposes and so that optimum socio-economic benefits of these public works and projects accrue to the relevant beneficiaries”, Mr. Kandeta stated.
GOVERNMNET says it will proceed with plans to sell a US$500 million euro bond to foreign investors once it receives a sovereign credit rating before the end of the year.
Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane said discussions are currently underway with the advisers on the issuance of a euro bond for the country.
In 2009, Zambia postponed plans to seek a credit rating and sell its first global bond of US$1 billion because of the global financial crisis.
“We are still waiting for a preparatory report from our advisers. We just need about US$500 million now,” he said.
Dr Musokotwane was speaking in an interview in Lusaka on January 19.
It is expected that after the rating is given to Zambia, the cost of borrowing will significantly reduce for both the public and private sector.
Through a euro bond, Zambia expects more developmental projects to be financed while the private sector, more especially mining firms, will borrow at a low cost to finance their huge projects.
Other countries in the region considering issuing euro bonds are Tanzania and Angola while Sudan is likely to sell US$300 million of Islamic bonds next year.
There are only seven sub-Saharan Africa countries that have issued sovereign bonds, namely South Africa, Seychelles and Senegal. Others are Ivory Coast, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana.
The opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) Leadership in Southern Province has castigated some media houses for misleading the nation over assertions that Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata is the suitable candidate for the PF/UPND Pact.
In a press statement released to ZANIS in Livingstone yesterday, UPND Livingstone District Treasurer Winnerson Ng’uni said the reports in some media houses lacked merit and represent a total distortion of facts on the ground.
Mr. Nguni challenged media houses to advise the PF leadership to come up with a constitution and a manifesto which the PF currently does not have.
He further said the PF needed a constitution and manifesto to guide them on how to govern and rule the country and wondered how in the absence of the two documents, the opposition political party would run affairs of the nation without a road map.
Mr. Ng’uni further stated that the same media houses were aware that UPND President Hakainde Hichilema was the preferred candidate for this year’s general elections, but they have opted to ignore this deliberately.
He also recalled that in 2006 Mr. Sata appealed to Zambians to vote for him and promised to drop corruption charges against former president Frederick Chiluba once he became president but now says Dr Chiluba must be jailed.
Mr Ng’uni said this is a sign that he (Mr. Sata) had no laid down guidelines on how to run this country.
He further charged that the PF leader had lost support and this was evident in the PF Losing local government and Parliamentary by-elections.
Mr. Ng”uni also said reports from some media houses should be ignored because saying that the media houses involved had became image builders for Mr. Sata and urged them to apologise to the Zambian people for their conduct.
And Zambia Daily Mail reports that THE United Party for National Development (UPND) has written to the Patriotic Front (PF) requesting for a joint national council to resolve their differences.
UPND spokesperson Charles Kakoma said in an interview in Lusaka on January 24 the meeting will discuss demands presented by his party.
[pullquote]“This is one of the issues we have highlighted as a problem. We need to see how we are going to allocate the local government and parliamentary seats throughout the country. If we do not do this, we are going to clash in wards and constituencies and that won’t be good. This is a problem that needs to be resolved,” Mr Kakoma said.[/pullquote]
“We have written to the PF to have a joint national council. We wrote to them in the first week of January and we are still waiting for a response,” he said.
Mr Kakoma said the meeting is necessary to look at the many problems that the pact is experiencing.
He said this in response to an article in The Post newspaper published on January 24 in which Mr Sata was quoted as having said his party will field candidates in all the 150 constituencies.
“This is one of the issues we have highlighted as a problem. We need to see how we are going to allocate the local government and parliamentary seats throughout the country. If we do not do this, we are going to clash in wards and constituencies and that won’t be good. This is a problem that needs to be resolved,” Mr Kakoma said.
Last week, the UPND and PF differed when PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba advised the former against publicising internal pact issues.
This was in reaction to UPND vice-president for administration Richard Kapita, who told a press briefing in Lusaka that UPND will not allow the pact president to be chosen until contentious issues, including sharing responsibilities in government, are resolved.
ZANIS
