MMD Masaiti District secretary Patrick Zulu said some of the wards which withdrew their support for Mr Mpombo were Muyenga, Shitwe, Majaliwa, Kambowe and Mutaba.

He said the district party leadership had received the petition and that it would meet on Thursday to decide Mr Mpombo’s fate.

Mr Zulu said the leaders would discuss matters regarding Mr Mpombo, whose recent stand in the party has been a source of controversy.

The Kafulafuta MP has caused tension in the ruling party with his constant attacks on the top leadership, including President Rupiah Banda.
[ Times of Zambia ]

Mr. Hichilema said the MMD government drove Mr. Mpombo’s conviction just like it did drive Post newspaper editor, Chansa Kabwela’s case.

Mr. Hichilema said the way Mr. Mpombo’s case was handled, it clearly shows that there was pressure on the judiciary by the government.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hichilema has said the judiciary in the country has been divided, one for the MMD sympathizers, and the other for non MMD sympathisers.

The UPND leader noted that there is need for the judiciary in the country to operate the way it ought to operate.

He said the judiciary is being driven by those in authority, adding that this could be clearly seen from the way Ms. Lucy Changwe’s case where she failed to honour a cheque to a Mr. Musonda was handled by the government.

Mr. Hichilema said that Mr. Mpombo’s case is almost the same as that for Ms Changwe, but that she was not convicted.

He added that it is extremely not fair for the government to handle cases in such an imbalanced manner.
[ QFM ]

Political analyst, Dante Saunders called on government to completely change the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to instill confidence in the electorates who continued to shun participating in elections.

Mr Dante observed that the current abnormal political situation in Zambia is responsible for the low voter turn out in the Chifubu and Luena by-elections.

He said that there is need to stream line the work of the ECZ whose credibility Zambians have continued to question.
[pullquote]“This will help the ruling movement for multi party democracy MMD government regain the people’s confidence in the commission” Mr Dante said.[/pullquote]
Mr Saunders said that it is vital for government to allow a complete change of the ECZ.

“This will help the ruling movement for multi party democracy MMD government regain the people’s confidence in the commission” Mr Dante said.

Mr. Saunders also explained that government should be able to allow the participation of the opposition in the ECZ.

He said as long as government does not agree to allow the ECZ to be changed, the current voter apathy will remain.

The political analyst also noted that failure to address this situation now, the ECZ is bound to experience worse apathy next year when the country goes to the tripartite polls.
[ QFM ]

Parliamentary Chief Whip Vernon Mwaanga says President Banda’s foreign trips are aimed at promoting economic development in Zambia and are in line with an international trend of economic diplomacy.

Economic diplomacy is the process through which countries tackle the outside world, to maximize their national gains in all fields of activity including trade, investment and other forms of economically beneficial exchanges.

Mr Mwaanga said Zambians should be proud that the President is marketing the country at a regional and international level and bringing investment to the country.

“No country is an island; our country has a good reputation both at regional and international level hence the reason we are being invited because of the active role Zambia plays in regional, African and international foras.

Zambians should be proud that they are recognized and this helps in attracting investors to the country,” he said.

Mr Mwaanga, who is a seasoned diplomat, said the investors that come to Zambia after President Banda’s trips create employment for the Zambians and they contribute to Government’s tax revenue.

He said it is sad that the President is criticized when he is playing a role of economic diplomacy of being the number one sales and marketing person for the country.

Mr Mwaanga said no President everywhere in the world travel because economic diplomacy requires a Head of State to sell and market his country personally.

He said in economic diplomacy, the president is a major factor and for Zambia all the trips the president has undertaken to countries like China, Turkey, South Africa, Malawi, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe have been very beneficial to the country in terms of wooing investors.

Mr Mwaanga said it is at conferences and during state visits that presidents exchange ideas on how they are managing their economies.

He said economic diplomacy is one of the aspects included in Zambia’s foreign policy.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!”
(James 3:10, NLT).

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Did you know you have the power to bless or curse your future? Your words have tremendous power. If you go around saying things like “I don’t have what it takes. I’m so clumsy; I can’t get anything right. I’m so undisciplined. I’ll probably never lose this weight,” you just cursed your future. No, we’ve got to be extremely careful about what we allow to come out of our mouths. Realize your words are setting the direction for your life. Let me ask you today, which direction are you going? Are you declaring good things? Are you blessing your life, speaking words of faith over your future? Or, are you going around saying negative things like “Nothing good ever happens to me. I’ll probably never get out of debt. I’ll never break this addiction?”

Today, choose to bless your future. Choose to declare what God says. As you align your words with His Word, you’re setting your future up for success. You’re preparing your way for victory, and you will fulfill the destiny He has planned for you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father God, I choose to speak blessing over my future. I choose to speak life over my future. Thank You for equipping me with everything I need to fulfill the destiny You have prepared for me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

– Joel & Victoria Osteen

By Henry Kyambalesa

Over the years, the people’s call for a Republican constitution that is expected to stand the test of time has been loud and clear. Unfortunately, we have wasted a good portion of our country’s meager resources on financing the Chona Constitution Commission, the Mvunga Constitution Review Commission, the Mwanakatwe Constitution Review Commission, and the Mung’omba Constitutional Review Commission without coming up with such a constitution.

We are now grappling with the draft constitution recently tendered by the National Constitutional Conference (NCC), which is apparently laden with Articles and Clauses that are partisan, short-term and discriminatory in nature. It has too many contentious issues, errors and inconsistencies, which are predictably going to elicit nationwide demonstrations and potentially culminate in losses of property and human life if the authorities attempt to push it through by hook and crook.

I, therefore, wish to urge President Rupiah Banda to appoint an ad hoc task force consisting of at most 30 citizens who do not currently hold leadership positions in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), political parties, religious institutions, the labor movement, the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, the civil service, and the House of Chiefs.

The terms of reference for the task force should be to identify and examine contentious issues, errors and inconsistencies in: (a) the 1996 Republican constitution; and (b) the draft constitutions of the Chona Constitution Commission, the Mvunga Constitution Review Commission, the Mwanakatwe Constitution Review Commission, the Mung’omba Constitutional Review Commission, and the National Constitutional Conference.

Moreover, the task force should be required to prepare a draft constitution based on its findings. It could be given 1 year to complete its work, and its output could thereafter be tabled for comments by the citizenry.

We can hold the forthcoming tripartite elections under the 1996 constitution in its current form. It would not be prudent to push through a controversial and potentially divisive constitution just because we have spent unprecedented amounts of public resources on it. I believe it is much more important for the output of the constitution-making process to be widely acceptable.

It is shameful that after nearly 46 years of political independence, we have failed to give ourselves an acceptable constitution. Is there something that is innately deficient in us? How can personal, partisan and short-term interests inhibit us from working together to craft a constitution that will stand the test of time?