Wednesday, April 2, 2025
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‘HH childish, irritating’

United Party for National Development (UPND) party president Hakainde Hichilema
United Party for National Development (UPND) party president Hakainde Hichilema

Chief Government spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha has described as childish and irritating United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema’s remarks that President Banda should apologise for allegedly misbehaving and extending his bullying tactics to the donor community.

Lieutenant-General Shikapwasha said Government is not surprised with Mr Hichilema’s outbursts because he is ignorant of governance issues.

He said Mr Hichilema should tone down and develop the habit of respecting President Banda.

“Let Mr Hichilema tone down because he should remember what the Bible says, that what you do unto others is bound to happen to you.

“The unpalatable language which Mr Hichilema has continued to use against President Banda is unacceptable and demeaning to the head of state,” he said.

Gen Shikapwasha said President Banda should be respected because he was elected by the majority of Zambians.

He said Mr Hichilema should study how politics is conducted because he is still new in politics.
[pullquote]“Let Mr Hichilema tone down because he should remember what the Bible says, that what you do unto others is bound to happen to you.

“The unpalatable language which Mr Hichilema has continued to use against President Banda is unacceptable and demeaning to the head of state,” he said.[/pullquote]
Gen Shikapwasha said Mr Hichilema might fool members of the UPND-Patriotic Front (PF) pact with his outbursts, but his conduct will be judged by the majority Zambians.

“What Mr Hichilema and his PF counterpart, Mr Michael Sata, should concentrate on is trying to find solutions to the many challenges the pact is facing as opposed to attacking President Banda,” he said.

Gen Shikapwasha said President Banda’s recent statement on donors has been blown out of proportion by some people who are trying to gain cheap political mileage.

He said there is no cause for President Banda to apologise over the recent statement as he was merely expressing his views over the matter.

Gen Shikapwasha said the relationship between Government and donors is still cordial, contrary to assertions by some members of the public and opposition political party leaders.

He said Government is working hard to deliver development and social services to the Zambian people, but that its efforts are being obstructed by unnecessary criticism by the opposition.

Mr Hichilema was quoted by yesterday’s edition of The Post newspaper as saying that President Banda owes donors and Zambians an apology for misbehaving.

And Gen Shikapwasha said Government is ready to dialogue with the donor community on issues affecting the country.

He said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that Government’s doors are open for the donor community to sit down and discuss issues of national interest.

“The administration of President Banda stands ready to discuss anything which concerns donors and any other issues which will benefit Zambia as a country than using the media,” Gen Shikapwasha said.

He said it is important for donors to seek audience with Government when need arises.

“The donors that have intentions of seeking an audience with Government are more than welcome to do so at any given time,” Gen Shikapwasha said.

On Monday, British High Commissioner to Zambia Tom Carter said he will seek an audience with President Banda to discuss the use of aid in the country.

Mr Carter said the partnership between donors and the Zambian government is of key importance.

“The partnership with the Zambian government is significant as we all try together to deliver the long-term goals of reducing poverty in Zambia and achieving the Zambian government’s target of reaching middle-income status by 2030,” he said.

President Banda recently advised diplomats accredited to Zambia to stop meddling in the internal affairs of the country.

Mr Banda said diplomats should not be made to interfere in the internal matters of Zambia because the country is a sovereign state.

“There has been too much peddling of stories in the media by diplomats who feel that because their respective countries are donating to the road or health sector, they can use that as blackmail,” he said.

The President said the diplomats should appreciate the spirit of warmth being given by Government instead of resorting to public statements regarding funding to Zambia.
[ Zambia Daily Mail ]

‘ Donors are crying out too loud’ says Chifire

Committee of Citizens Executive Director Gregory Chifire has charged that the donor community is crying out too loud over its demands for accountability of the resources it provides Zambia.

Mr. Chifire challenged government to come up with a donor aid exit mechanism by beginning to put in place long term plans that would help the country diversify into other modes of resource mobilization.

He said the current situation where donors are making the government feel as if it is not accountable and incapable of accounting for the little that they provide to Zambia is retrogressive.

The Executive Director said the best solution to avoid confrontations between government and the donor community is to put an end to donor dependency.

Mr. Chifire added that Zambia has the ability to stand on its own if only resources were properly utilized and directly spent for the benefit of the people.

He further stated that it does not give respect for the nation to be scandalized by the donor community.

He noted that Zambia has been begging for far too long and now is the time that government began to work towards policies that would help the nation to stand on its own.
[ QFM ]

Zambia recognises VCT Day

Zambia yesterday joined the rest of the international community in commemorating the International Voluntary Counselling and Testing Day with activities in various parts of the country.

In Kitwe, Mayor Steven Chipungu praised various stakeholders involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS for their support and care towards the people living with the virus.

Mr Chipungu said this in a speech read for him by his deputy Chileshe Bweupe during the commemoration of the National Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) at Kitwe City Square yesterday.

He said VCT Day was important for the country as it continued to work towards achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by the year 2015.

Mr Chipungu said the involvement of various stakeholders in the fight against HIV/AIDS was an encouraging development, but that more needed to be done to win the fight considering the high prevalence.

Kitwe District HIV/AIDS Taskforce (DATF) chairperson Chikafuna Banda encouraged people to come out in numbers and get tested.

Dr Banda said it was important that they got tested so they could be able to receive care and support from both government and other stakeholders in the city.

In Chingola, acting district commissioner Philip Simbule urged married couples to go for voluntary HIV testing because 60 per cent of HIV transmission happened in marriages.

Mr Simbule said the percentage was an indication that the epidemic was not only among the high risk groups hence the need for couples to go for VCT.

He said if people were encouraged to go for VCT they would be equipped with knowledge either to protect themselves from the infection or live positively and access treatment.

He said despite the enhanced sensitisation and awareness campaign about the need to go for VCT, only 15 per cent of Zambians had gone for VCT.

“The overall prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in Zambia stands at 14.3 per cent and on the Copperbelt at 17 per cent and Chingola at 16 per cent.

He said the fight against HIV had some setbacks such as lack of trained personnel in VCT, low numbers of VCT centres which were geographically apart, especially in rural areas.

Other challenges he cited were inadequate information reaching the general public on availability of VCT services in Zambia and inadequate physical infrastructure in most VCT centres resulting in limited counselling space.

And Chingola DATF chairperson Aaron Kantumoya said the commemoration of the VCT Day came against the background of Zambia being one of the countries seriously ravaged by the effects of HIV/AIDS.

In Livingstone, DATF is facing a great challenge of having only one CD4 count machine despite the city having one of the highest HIV/Aids prevalence rates in the country.

DATF chairperson Eugene Kamuti said the district only had one CD4 count machine at the Government hospital.

Mr Kamuti was speaking at the commemoration of the national VCT Day held at Livingstone’s Mukuni Park yesterday.

Mr Kamuti has appealed to Government and the cooperating partners to assist purchase other CD4 count machines in the district.

“Government and partners should assist procure for us more CD4 count machines as the uptake for VCT increases in the district,” Mr Kamuti said.
[ Times of Zambia ]

International trade fair opens

The Zambia International Trade Fair yesterday opened its gates to the public with calls from the chairperson Phesto Musonda to the 618 official exhibitors and show-goers to make sure that they maximise the benefits at the country’s premier annual business event.

Mr Musonda said in an interview at the trade fair grounds the ZIFT management was impressed with the overwhelming response from both local and international investors.

He said most of the exhibitors’ stands and halls were filled and ready to be used by the exhibitors to host the show-goers.
[pullquote]“This year we have experienced a 20 per cent increase in the number of exhibitors participating at the show. The number of local exhibitors participating has increased from 400 last year to 519 this year while the number of foreign companies exhibiting is 99 while 82 companies showed up last year,” he said.
[/pullquote]
The show opened yesterday for the business days, which will end on Friday in readiness for the official opening by President Rupiah Banda.

“This year we have experienced a 20 per cent increase in the number of exhibitors participating at the show. The number of local exhibitors participating has increased from 400 last year to 519 this year while the number of foreign companies exhibiting is 99 while 82 companies showed up last year,” he said.

Mr Musonda said local and foreign exhibitors and show-goers involved in various trade and tourism promotion activities were using the trade fair business days to enter into partnership and exchange business information.

“The business show which has started today will end on Friday with a special trade fair business seminar at the Presidential Pavilion.

“The seminar will deal with economic, policies and investment climate in Zambia at which Government organs such as the Bank of Zambia, Zambia Development Agency and Zambia Revenue Authority will make key note presentations,” he said.

The ZITF chairperson assured both the exhibitors and public that the show organisers would ensure there was security.

He said a number of leading local musicians and other entertainers from different parts of the country have been engaged to entertain show-goers.

[ Times of Zambia ]

Chief Justice not obliged to greet Sata – Miyanda

PF Leader Michael Sata and Chief Justice Ernest Sakala ( Picture by Post NewsPaper )

Heritage Party (HP) president Godfrey Miyanda has said Chief Justice Ernest Sakala is not obliged to shake hands with Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata because greeting is a personal choice.

Brigadier General Miyanda also said that claims that the refusal by Justice Sakala to greet Mr Sata implied that the chief justice will scuttle Mr Sata’s 2011 presidential ambitions were off the mark.

The general also wondered why eminent people like Michelo Hansungule and John Mambo had joined the melee to add credibility to an otherwise empty noise at a funeral.
[pullquote]“What has happened to Zambia? Why should a mere greeting become a serious political issue and be turned into a national debate?

“There is no need for the chief justice to apologise to anyone unless he wants to. Since when did greeting become a duty?” he asked.[/pullquote]

He said to accept or not accept a greeting was a personal matter and that there was no need for Chief Justice Sakala to apologise to anyone.

General Miyanda was commenting on the greeting row that erupted after Chief Justice Sakala allegedly refused to shake hands with Mr Sata at the funeral of justice Peter Chitengi.

“What has happened to Zambia? Why should a mere greeting become a serious political issue and be turned into a national debate?

“There is no need for the chief justice to apologise to anyone unless he wants to. Since when did greeting become a duty?” he asked.

He said several opposition leaders had been rejecting President Rupiah Banda’s invitations to State functions because it was their right and that no one must make an issue out of it or make it a duty.

Gen Miyanda said Mr Sata’s statement that the chief justice would scuttle his 2011 dream was divisive and based on speculation.

“How can a refusal of a greeting interfere with ballots? Is it the chief justice who votes in all constituencies or does he carry ballots in his pockets? President Sata must provide cogent evidence or else withdraw this divisive statement,” said Gen Miyanda

He said Zambians must reject Professor Hansungule’s new definition of multi-party politics.

He said the idea of forming many parties suggests that people see matters differently and that they might reject even a greeting that they perceived not genuine.

He said Prof Hansungule was wrong to suggest that funerals were gatherings for reconciliation.

“We have several contentious issues facing our country, including the constitution-making process, the electoral process, security, tribalism, regionalism, poverty etc. Does the professor suggest seriously that we should all go to funerals to resolve these issues and for SACCORD to move its headquarters to Leopards Hill Cemetery?

If the 50 per cent plus one issue was tabled to be resolved at a funeral, there will be no reconciliation but fist fights and gnashing of teeth,” he said.

Gen Miyanda was also surprised that Bishop Mambo supported Prof Hansungule and added that a greeting might just be an act to dupe a naïve person into believing that one had found a friend.

“The bishop and most likely the professor know of one Judas Iscariot who hugged Jesus Christ just before he sent him to the gallows!” he said.

He said Zambians must remember the purported reconciliation between President Sata and late president Levy Mwanawasa.

“A lot of fanfare was made after the secret get-together. President Sata has declared that the reconciliation was a “gimmick”. Was Mr Sata’s greeting at St Ignatius also a gimmick?” he wondered.

He recalled that when Mr Sata went to greet him outside St Ignatius Church, he extended his hand voluntarily because he accepted the greeting.

“No one forced me that is how it should be although I did not like to be hugged,” he said.

He has called upon lawyers and Zambians to roundly condemn what he termed pettiness.
[ Times of Zambia ]

Southern PS Kristafor calls for cooperation during census

Southern Province Permanent Secretary Gladys Kristafor has urged Zambians to cooperate with officers that will be involved in the census of population and housing which has been earmarked to kick off in October this year.

Ms Kristafor said this when she paid a courtesy call on Sinazongwe District Commissioner Oliver Pelete that the census would provide information and indicators for social and economic planning and decision making.

She said government would like to know the exact number of people in the country so that resources could be applied to priority areas.

Ms Kristafor noted that even the ongoing voter registration exercise could be done well if the exact number of people in the country is known as government cannot afford to rely on assumptions.

She called for sensitization on the programme so that people are aware of the importance of getting counted.

And Mr Pelete disclosed that the phase one project for Rural Electrification Programme has been completed in the district.

He said that K8 billion was used to complete the project from Zambeef Farms to Malima area.

[ ZANIS ]

Family Affair In Italian Job For Zambia

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Dario Bonetti

Zambia is set to have its first-ever official coaching duo by foreign trainers in the form of the Italian sibling pairing of Dario and Ivano Bonetti.

Sources close to the development have revealed that 48 year old Dario Bonetti who is favored to take up the post by State House will be assisted in his younger sibling Ivano as new Zambia coaches.

The duo last documented high profile engagement together was at Dundee United in Scotland that lasted a season from 2000 and 2002.

Should Dario and Ivano get the job, they will be joined by an assistant coach and goalkeeping trainer if they agree terms with the sports ministry under whom, and via State House, the Italian Job will be coming to take over from Herve Renard.

According to the online Wikipeadia, Bonetti made his professional debut in the 1978-79 season with Brescia. He then moved to AS Roma in 1980, and played for the giallorossi until 1986, except for a one season spell at Sampdoria in 1982-83. In 1986 he signed for AC Milan, but failed to impress and moved to Verona only one year later. In 1989 he transferred to Juventus, where he played two seasons. A return to Sampdoria in 1991 was followed by a single season at SPAL in 1992, and retirement in 1993.

In all his whole playing career in the Serie A, Dario Bonetti was suspended for a total of 39 matches, this being as of 2009 an absolute record.

After his retirement, Dario Bonetti became coach of amateur Genoa side Sestrese in 1999, with his brother Ivano as player. Both brothers then jointly managed Scottish team Dundee from 2000 to 2002, with Dario officially acting as Ivano’s technical assistant.  On February 2005, Dario Bonetti was then appointed head coach of Serie C2 club Potenza.

He then announced a surprising move to Hungarian side MFC Sopron on February 2006,  thus joining fellow Italian Giuseppe Signori. Bonetti was then sacked on May 2006, after the final matchday, a 1-0 home loss to Rákospalotai EAC,  but made a comeback at the Hungarian side on March 2007.  On June 22, 2007 he was unveiled as new head coach of Italian Serie C1 team Gallipoli.

On December 2008 he was appointed as new head coach of Lega Pro Prima Divisione team Juve Stabia.

On June 23, 2009 he was appointed as the new head coach of Liga I team Dinamo Bucure?ti, the Italian coach replacing Mircea Rednic. He was sacked by Nicolae Badea, head of Administrative Council of Dinamo Bucharest, as a result of Bonetti’s public statements about Dinamo shareholders on October 3, 2009.

On November 9, 2009, Bonetti was announced as the new head coach of Lega Pro Prima Divisione team Valle del Giovenco. He was fired in February 2010.

Government to increase beneficiaries of subsidized Agricultural inputs

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MMD Spokesperson Dora Siliya

Government has announced that it intends to increase the number of beneficiaries of the Farmer Input Support Programme(FISP) from the current 500,000 to over 600,000 farmers for the 2010/2011 farming season.

Acting Agriculture Minister Dora Siliya told parliament that that Government will further increase the number of beneficiaries to over one million farmers by 2011/2012 farming season.

She attributed the bumper harvest the country has recorded this year to the increased number of beneficiaries of the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) from previously 250,000 to 500,000.

Responding to a question in Parliament today by Mandevu Member of Parliament Jean Kapata who wanted to know whether government is considering increasing the number of bags from the current four bags following an outcry from farmers that it is not enough, Ms Siliya says people are happy with the intervention by government to reduce the number of packs in order to accommodate more people.

Ms Siliya told the House that the reduction in the number of fertilizer bags to four per farmer has enabled more people to access the fertilizer under the FISP.

She says government proved that four bags were enough to produce sufficiently and that beyond that people would be selling the fertilizer.

QFM

‘MMD has robbed the country of its dignity’

Luena Independent Member of Parliament, Charles Milupi
Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) president Charles Milupi

The Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) has observed that the failure by successive MMD administrations to manage national resources and tolerance for endemic corruption has greatly cost Zambia’s dignity and respect.

ADD president, Charles Milupi said the continued over dependency on donor funds and failure to manage public funds in a prudent manner by successive MMD governments has taken away the nation’s pride and dignity because Zambia is ever begging.

Mr. Milupi it was wrong for President Rupiah Banda to castigate the donor community who in the last few years the MMD has been in power have provided aid and helped in the implementation of various programs across the country.

He said President Banda should simply heed the donor community’s call for accountability in the utilization of their funds because they still remain a significant partner.

The ADD leader noted that donors contribute a significant percentage towards the country’s national budget hence they have the right to demand for accountability.

Mr Milupi who is former parliamentary public accounts committee chairperson said the uproar by the republican President and the government in general over the calls for accountability from the donor community is because the MMD government has not been able to appreciate the Auditor General’s reports.

Mr. Milupi said there is need for government to begin to address the various issues highlighted in the Auditor General’s reports to uphold transparency.
[QFM ]

Zambia’s HIV/AIDS prevalence, alarming-Simbao

Health minister Kapembwa Simbao

Government has disclosed that the HIV/AIDS prevalence in the Country is still alarming.

Health Minister Kapembwa Simbao said this to mark the Launch of the World Voluntary Counseling and Testing VCT Day which fall today on National Television last evening.

Mr Simbao said estimates indicate that as of 2009 about 82,600 new HIV/AIDS related infections of people between the ages of 15 and 49 were recorded.

This translates into 226 new infections everyday.
The Minister said Government attributes the rise in new infections to continued low levels of VCT among Zambians and uneasy access to HIV/AIDS testing centers and facilities especially in rural areas.

Mr Simbao explains that lack of testing which he says has been caused by fear of stigmatization and discrimination has led to people missing out on opportunities to receive free and proper treatment.

He said that this has led to making the fight against HIV/AIDS nearly impossible.

Mr Simbao calls on Zambians to instill Confidence in each other if the Country is to record success in the fight against the Scourge that has caused huge repercussions on not only Zambia but the entire African Continent.

He has,however, noted that there has been an improvement in the number of people that are turning up for Voluntary Counseling and testing VCT.

And Mr Simbao says Faith Based Organizations FBOs are well placed to offer solutions to the fight Against HIV/AIDS.

He says this because FBOs have a unique platform and strength to offer support to families.

He also encouraged the FBOs to use their unique position to help Government bring the levels of HIV/AIDS as low as possible.

This week will see Health Centers and Non Governmental Organizations offering free VCT services and other HIV related information.
[ QFM ]

Major Robbie Chizyuka implores people in Namwala District to fully support RB government

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Namwala Member of Parliament Major Robbie Chizyuka has implored people in Namwala District to fully support government in the implementation of developmental projects in the area.

During a meeting with all heads of government departments, here, yesterday, Major Chizyuka noted that the district has benefited from Government in many areas including the construction of roads, School infrastructure, health centres and drilling of boreholes.

He further said that the district has also benefited in livestock disease control programmes and small-scale Livestock development projects.

He said that is was therefore the duty of public service workers to help government realize its goals to develop the country through hard work and dedication to duty.

Meanwhile, Major Chizyuka has recommended that the construction of the proposed District Hospital in Namwala should be in Kabulamwanda ward to cater for the large population in Chiefs, Muchila and Nalubamba.

Major Chizyuka observed that people in the two chiefdoms had problems in accessing medical attention and many were forced to travel long
distances to Namwala Hospital.

He further said that there was need to construct more permanent dip tanks as opposed to the purchase of mobile spray races.

Reacting to District Veterinary Officer Dr Enerst Ndalama’s reports about the Ministry of livestock and Fisheries intention to buy two mobile spray races for the District, Major Chizyuka said while buying the equipment might be cheap, the operation cost in terms of logistics would prove to be costly.

He said permanent dip tanks were the solution to containing and controlling animal disease in the district.

ZANIS

RB flies to Kinshasa

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President Rupiah Banda has left for the Democratic republic of Congo (DRC) were he will join other invited Heads of State and Government to commemorate the 50th Independence anniversary for that country.

The president is accompanied by First Lady Thandiwe Banda, Foreign Affairs Minister Kabinga Pande and Chief of Protocol Bob Siamakai and other government officials.

Mr Banda left the country aboard the presidential challenger jet at 07:00 hours and he is expected to arrive in Kinshasa at around 09:00hours.

He was seen off by Vice president Gorge Kunda , service chiefs , Secretary to Cabinet Joshua Kanganja, Cabinet Ministers and other senior government officials at Lusaka international Airport this morning.

President Banda has not only been invited in his capacity as Chairperson for the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) but also as a member of SADC, COMESA and as a neighboring Head of State .

ZANIS

Open Letter to NCC Commissioners

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By Henry Kyambalesa

Dear NCC Commissioners:

Comments on the NCC Draft Constitution

I wish to join other Zambians in acknowledging your extraordinary effort, determination and commitment to review the Republican constitution and give our beloved country a new constitution that is expected to stand the test of time.

In this connection, I wish to make a few comments and suggestions designed to make the new constitution more acceptable to the majority of Zambians, and more credible in the eyes of the international community.

1. The Preamble: The first three paragraphs of the Preamble should read as follows:

We, the people of Zambia, by our representatives assembled in our Parliament,

Acknowledge the supremacy of God Almighty;

Uphold the right of every person to enjoy that person’s freedom of conscience or religion; …

The Republican constitution should be a neutral document that should not appear to discriminate against atheists or pagans, or those who believe in Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, or Jainism. All these segments of Zambian society have a genuine stake in the Republican constitution and, therefore, deserve to be respected in spite of the fact that they are not currently as large as their Christian counterparts.

2. Christian Values and Principles (Article 16): This Article should be removed because “directing the policies and laws towards securing and promoting Christian values” or beliefs would be inconsistent with “upholding the right of every person to enjoy that person’s freedom of conscience or religion” that is enshrined in the Preamble. It is also not consistent with what is enshrined in Article 96(2)(a) of the Bill which states that a political party shall not be founded on a religious basis, among other things.

If it were permissible for the national government to generate “policies and laws towards securing and promoting Christian values …,” why would it be wrong for a political party to fashion its existence and contemplated policies and laws that would have a religious bearing?

If there is a compelling and absolute need for this Article to be retained, however, the “Christian Values and Principles” will need to be specifically defined in the same manner as Article 10 (Political Values, Principles and Objectives), Article 13 (Socio-Economic Values, Principles and Objectives) and Article 15 (Cultural Values, Principles and Objectives) are defined.

3. Promotion of Sport (Article 19): This Article states that “The Government shall promote recreation and sports for the citizens.” It could more appropriately and logically be incorporated into Article 13 (Socio-Economic Values, Principles and Objectives).

4. Qualifications of Presidential Candidates (Article 108): The requirements that presidential candidates should have a bachelor’s degree as a minimum academic qualification, and to have been resident in Zambia for 10 consecutive years preceding any given presidential election are clearly designed to exclude certain individuals from contesting the Republican presidency.

It is obvious that these two clauses could not have been recommended by the NCC if the MMD presidential candidate in the 2011 general elections — that is, Rupiah Banda — did not have a degree and had been working or studying in a foreign country over the last 5 or so years.

The degree requirement, for example, is undesirable and outrageous for the following reasons:

(a) It is not based on evidence from Zambia or anywhere else in the world suggesting that a president’s competence is directly related to his or her academic qualifications. In other words, it is mainly based on hunches rather than on facts!

(b) There is no academic degree offered anywhere in the world which can equip an individual with the qualities that are needed in political leadership, such as emotional stability, patriotism, selflessness, fair-mindedness, patience, compassion, tolerance, respect for the rule of law, and the ability to make compromises with people who have dissenting views.

(c) Most academic degrees are not designed to equip students with the requisite knowledge and skills relating to political or national leadership.

(d) The number of years which have passed from the year someone obtained a degree to the present reflects on the relevance of the degree involved. A degree obtained during the 1980s, for example, is generally useless if the holder is not engaged in teaching or other professions which require the application of the knowledge and skills acquired during the pursuit of the degree.

(e) The Republican president appoints qualified advisors to provide him or her with decision inputs in dealing with legal, economic, political, and other matters.

(f) The Republican president is expected to appoint competent government ministers and charge them with the responsibility of advising him or her on matters relating to national projects and programs, and spearheading the implementation of such projects and programs.

(g) The clause, if it is eventually included in the new Republican constitution, will inevitably require all office bearers (including the vice president) who are constitutionally expected to take over the presidency under special circumstances to be holders of academic degrees. And

(h) The kinds of national policies, projects and programs a presidential candidate promises to pursue are more important than his or her educational attainments.

There is, therefore, a need to retain Article 123 (1) (e) of the Willa Mung’omba draft constitution, which states that a person would only be qualified to be a presidential candidate if he or she had obtained the minimum academic qualification of a Grade 12 certificate.

With respect to the 10-year residence requirement, what is really the rationale for such a Clause? What is it supposed to achieve?

There are many reasons why Zambians temporarily reside in foreign countries, such as to pursue studies, to work for the Zambian government in foreign missions, to work at foreign-based branches of companies registered in Zambia, to pursue investment opportunities, or to seek employment due to the widespread unemployment currently obtaining in the country.

These are all good reasons why some Zambian citizens have, now and again, found themselves temporarily residing in foreign countries. Why, then, should their native country’s constitution deny them the opportunity to vie for the Republican presidency?

[pullquote]These are all good reasons why some Zambian citizens have, now and again, found themselves temporarily residing in foreign countries. Why, then, should their native country’s constitution deny them the opportunity to vie for the Republican presidency?[/pullquote]

There is a need to remove this requirement because it discriminates against citizens who temporarily live in foreign countries for good reasons.

Over the years, the people’s call for a non-discriminatory Republican constitution that is expected to stand the test of time has been loud and clear. Unfortunately, those who are entrusted with the noble task of delivering such a constitution to the people seem to have personal and/or partisan stakes in the constitution-making process.

I, therefore, wish to urge each and every member of the NCC to heed the people’s call for a Republican constitution that will meet their needs and expectations in order to save financial and material resources that are likely to be devoted to another constitutional review commission in future.

Thus far, Zambia has wasted a good portion of its 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. There is, therefore, a need for the NCC to put personal and partisan interests aside and give the people a more acceptable constitution this time around.

5. Appointment of MPs to Executive Positions: The Bill requires that the Vice President, Provincial Ministers and Deputy Ministers should be appointed from Members of Parliament (Articles 128, 130, 131 and 132). This is an outdated and backward requirement for a burgeoning democratic system like ours.

We, therefore, need Articles and/or Clauses which would provide for the appointment of the Vice President, Provincial Ministers and Deputy Ministers from Zambians who are qualified to be elected as MPs, but who are not MPs. Such Articles and/or Clauses are important for the following reasons:

(a) They can afford a Republican president or President-elect a larger pool of competent people from which he or she can constitute a Cabinet.

(b) They can provide for greater separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of government.

(c) They can afford presidential aspirants enough time to identify potential ministerial appointees well before tripartite elections rather than waiting for parliamentary elections to be concluded. And

(d) They can reduce the apparent work overload on government officials who have to handle both ministerial and parliamentary functions.

6. Defence and National Security (Part XVI): There is a need to create an additional Article in this Part of the Bill relating to the Zambia National Service (ZNS).

Italian Job for Zambia?

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Is the Italian Job coming to a Zambia national team bench near you?

According to reports in Wednesdays Post, an unnamed Italian-born coach is in the country for talks on taking charge of the team.

Zambia has been without a permanent coach since Frenchman Herve Renard quit in April to take up a lucrative offer with western neighbor Angola.

The coach is said to have arrived in the country on Monday and held talks with both government and Faz officials on Tuesday and also met president Rupiah Banda.

Revisit areas not covered in issuance of NRCs

1

Anti Voter Apathy Project AVAP Executive Director Bonnie Tembo has called on government to revisit areas that were not adequately covered during the mobile issuance of National Registration Cards NRCs.

Mr. Tembo noted that if this is not done, the ongoing voter registration exercise by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is bound to be a failure.

He says government should honour its pledge to go back to the areas that were not adequately covered due to unforeseen circumstances.

Mr Tembo said for the voter registration exercise to capture the targeted number of 2.5 million news voters, there is need to revisit areas which were not adequately covered.

Meanwhile Mr. Tembo has bemoaned the inadequate publicity of the on-going voter registration exercise.
[QFM]