Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI) in Luapula Province has successfully completed the development of 15 new varieties of vitamin A fortified sweet potatoes.

The research to fortify the sweet potatoes has taken seven years at a cost of US$30,000 financed by the Rockefeller Foundation of the United States of America.

ZARI programme officer at Mansa Research Station Dr Martin Chiona confirmed the development of the fortified sweet potatoes to ZANIS today during the Provincial Agriculture and Commercial show.

Dr Chiona, who worked on the fotification research as part of his doctorate,
said the new sweet potato varieties have Vitamin A content of up to 13 percent higher than that of carrot which has only a maximum of seven percent.

He said the sweet potato varieties have passed the evaluation stage and are just waiting for the National Variety Release Committee to endorse their release on the market.

He said fortifying sweet potatoes is a unique option that will provide a cheaper and accessible source of Vitamin A supplement to most low income households in Luapula Province where high deficiency of Vitamin A has been identified as a cause to blindness.

He disclosed that the new sweet potato varieties will have an orange colour inside but retain high dry matter which is a preference taste for most local consumers.

ZANIS

A public debate for Chifubu Constituency Parliamentary by-election candidates started with a fracas in Ndola yesterday as cadres of the contesting parties tried to out-shout each other with slogans, resulting in some of political parties withdrawing their candidates from the public debate.

The fracas resulted in the Patriotic Front (PF) and UNIP candidates boycotting the debate hosted by the Press Freedom Committee of The Post at Mpezeni Hall.

Party cadres of the various political parties that included the MMD and the Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) thronged the stage shouting out their respective party slogans.

Quick action by police officers assigned to the event saved the situation from turning violent. MMD and ADD candidates, Frank Ng’ambi and Brian Banda, respectively went on with the debate.

Mr Ng’ambi said the ruling MMD is the only party with a vision on development that will improve the living standards of the people.

He said the people in the area were tired of the PF councillors who have failed to fulfil their pre-election promises.

“MMD will remain in power as most of the projects are being implemented,” he said amidst shouts of ‘MMD no change’.

Mr Ng’ambi said if elected he will accelerate development, including the construction of a referral hospital.
He said job creation for the youths through various projects will be the main agenda.

And Mr Banda said the boycott of the debate by the PF and UNIP candidates showed that they have nothing to offer to the electorate.

[pullquote]PF Ndola district chairman Rebby Chanda said they had to leave the forum with their candidate because they were uncomfortable with the security.He said police officers were outnumbered by the crowd. [/pullquote]

“People should now realise that their leaving is an indication that they have nothing to offer to the people of Zambia,” he said.

He said if elected into office he will ensure that a by-pass road to connect Chifubu with Mufulira road is constructed.

PF Ndola district chairman Rebby Chanda said they had to leave the forum with their candidate because they were uncomfortable with the security.He said police officers were outnumbered by the crowd.

And speaking earlier, when introducing the MMD candidate rally at Chifubu ground, Mr Mbulakulima said governing the nation is not a simple matter.

He said MMD has been in power since 1991 and its candidate should be elected to foster development.
Copperbelt MMD chairman Joseph Chilambwe said people have realised that the MMD is a worthy party and are rejoining it.

“Following increased development and implementation of projects by MMD, a good number of people are ditching the opposition political parties and are rejoining MMD,” he said.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has registered 117 000 voters countrywide as of July 4, 2010.

ECZ Public Relations Manager Chris Akufuna says the commission is impressed with the number of voters registered so far.

Mr. Akufuna said although the exercise was faced with challenges in its initial stages the commission is positive that the 2.5 million target will be met.

He told ZNBC that issues of officers allowances and poor publicity have been addressed and the exercise is going on smoothly.

The ECZ is conducting a 90 day continuous voter registration exercise.

ZNBC

The Drug Enforcement Commission(DEC) will appeal against the suspended sentence slapped on Ndola Central Member of Parliament Mark Mushili for attempting to swindle the Government.

The Lusaka Magistrate court jailed Mr. Mushili for six months but suspended the sentence for one year and ordered him to do community service at the court premises for 120 hours.

Mr. Mushili was found guilty of attempting to swindle government of over 300 million kwacha.

DEC Public Relations Manager John Nyawali said the Commission has decided to appeal against the judgment of the court after consulting the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Mr. Nyawali said the commission has been prompted to appeal the case due to public outcry demanding a review of the sentence.

He said various stakeholders have termed the sentence as lenient considering the fact that Mr. Mushili is a Member of Parliament who should live above reproach.

ZNBC

United Party for National Development (UPND) president, Hakainde Hichilema, has refuted the assertions that the UPND in the Patriotic Front (PF) pact is a junior party.

Mr. Hichilema said there is no junior party in the PF/UPND pact.

He said both parties have nothing to do with either senior or junior, but that they are meant to work together to unite the country.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hichilema has said the statement by former PF Secretary General, Edward Mumbi, that he has been reduced to the level of PF Secretary General, Winter Kabimba, is non issue.

He noted that in a group of individuals, there would always be different views, adding that no one can change that fact.
[QFM ]

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit”
(Galatians 6:9, The Message).

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Everyone has God-given dreams and desires. We all have goals we want to accomplish and situations we are believing will be turned around. Sometimes it seems to take longer than we originally thought. Sometimes, things don’t work out the way we planned, and it’s easy to lose enthusiasm. If we’re not careful, we’ll get discouraged and end up just settling where we are. But God doesn’t want us to settle, He wants to take us higher. But many times, people miss out on God’s best simply because they give up too soon. They don’t realize how close they are to their victory.

Friend, don’t let that be you today. Don’t give up just because things seem hard. You’ve invested so much, and you never know, just a few more days of believing, another few weeks of doing the right thing, another few months of staying in faith, and you could see that situation turn around. Remember, God is on your side! Keep standing and keep believing because you are closer than you think to fulfilling every desire He’s placed inside of you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father God, today I come to You again, believing that You are working behind the scenes on my behalf. Give me Your strength to keep moving forward into the place of victory You have for me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Lusaka City Council has clarified that the plot outside Leopards hill grave site was specifically designed for churches.

Assistant Public Relations Officer Mulunda Habeenzu said there was nothing wrong with building churches on that plot because the place was meant for that purpose.

Mr. Habeenzu told ZANIS in an interview in Lusaka this week that the construction of a church or any structure only became illegal when built on the grave.

He was reacting to media reports that churches were being erected on the Leopards Hill grave site.

Meanwhile, Mr. Habeenzu said the Council has curtailed burials at Kasisi saying that the development was unacceptable.

Mr. Habeenzu noted that the land in question was not certified for burial purposes saying it was illegal.

He emphasised that people should stick to the already authorized burial sites to avoid such occurrences in future.

ZANIS

The PF-UPND pact has said it has not delayed in announcing the Presidential candidate because it has not yet chosen the one to stand for the presidency.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with QFM, pact’s UPND Deputy Spokesperson, Cornelius Mweetwa, said the MMD and some stakeholders’ predictions that the pact is doomed are too early.

He said the MMD in particular has no moral ground to say the pact is headed for doom following what he termed as ‘superficial misunderstandings’ in the pact because they have always wanted the pact to be disrupted following its alleged heavy loses it has suffered at the hands of the two pact member parties.

He said the Octopus that predicted Spain’s win of the FIFA World Cup trophy is better placed to predict the pact’s failure, and not the MMD.

Mr. Mweetwa said the PF-UPND pact has not yet chosen the candidate to stand for the presidency for the pact as opposed to insinuations by some people.

He said it is for this reason that the pact has not announced the presidential candidate for the pact, adding that the presidential candidate will be announced at an appropriate time after he has been chosen.

Mr. Mweetwa also said the PF-UPND pact is not a marriage of convenience, but that it was a necessary vehicle for uniting the people of Zambia and the opposition political parties’ voice.

On Caritas Zambia Executive Director, Sam Mulafulafu’s statement that the constitution in Zambia has no provision for a coalition government, Mr. Mweetwa said his statement is highly misplaced.

He said the pact is not seeking to form a coalition government but to form a government sponsored by the parties involved and the people of Zambia.

He said there is nothing unconstitutional about the perceived government to be formed by the Patriotic Front and the United Party for National Development.

He however acknowledged that it is a challenge to explain to the electorates on the combination of the parties intending to form government, but that such challenges are not being surmountable.

He has since cautioned that it is cardinal for any person wishing to comment on the pact to acquaint themselves with the fundamental principles governing the PF/UPND pact.

QFM

Former Patriotic Front (PF) Secretary General, Edward Mumbi, says United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakiande Hichilema should have engaged into consultation before going into a pact with Patriotic Front.

And Mr. Mumbi said PF leader, Michael Sata, can not make a good president because he has never been ‘even’ a Village Headman before.

Mr. Mumbi said it is unfortunate that the PF/UPND pact is going through some misunderstandings, but he added that the misunderstandings in the pact were anticipated.

He said Mr. Hichilema made a mistake to accept forming a pact with Mr. Sata because he is an arrogant man who does not respect others’ views.

Mr Mumbi added that despite people’s calls that the pact should chose a young leader for the presidency, Mr. Sata will not accept.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mumbi questioned Mr. Sata’s leadership experience.

He has since expressed disappointment that the UPND leader Hichilema has been reduced to the level of PF Secretary General, Winter Kabimba.
[ QFM ]

NDOLA District Commissioner Joshua Mutisa has said his office has received overwhelming response from Ndola residents who are interested in reading the Draft Constitution.Mr Mutisa said in an interview that people had visited his office in numbers to get a copy of the Draft Constitution.

He said his office was given 200 copies of the Draft Constitution on Friday last week and all the copies had run out.

“All the copies have run out, the response from the people of Ndola has been overwhelming,” he said.
Mr Mutisa said his office was making arrangements for more copies.

He said some people had, however, raised concerns on how they would make their responses. The Luanshya Pastors Fellowship said on Thursday that the 40 days given for submissions on the Draft Constitution were sufficient.

Chairperson Morgan Kanjolo, however, urged the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) to supply sufficient copies to the district.

Livingstone on Wednesday received 200 copies of the Draft Constitution which were being distributed to Government departments, churches, and non-governmental organisations.

District Commissioner Francis Chika, who apologised on behalf of the NCC for the late delivery of the copies to the district, urged residents to read the draft copies and send their comments to the NCC secretariat.
He said at a media briefing that his office would give two copies to each organisation and other sector representatives to ensure many people received the copies and made comments.

“Though the copies are not enough, the idea is to ensure that at least each sector is catered for. “We will also target libraries and other ordinary people who may not access the copies under various sectors,” Mr Chika said.

He urged people to send their comments on the Draft Constitution to [email protected] or [email protected].

[Times of Zambia]