The Patriotic Front says it has information that president Rupiah Banda plans to appoint its Rebel Members of Parliament to Ministerial positions.

PF spokesperson Given Lubinda disclosed to QFM that president Banda also plans to appoint someone who has derailed the constitution making process as Deputy Chairman of Committee of the whole House, taking over from Mr Mkondo Lungu who has been appointed Home Affairs Minister.

Mr Lubinda says the Patriotic Front does not support what he terms as dubious appointment of opposition Members to cabinet by president Rupiah Banda.

He however states that the PF is not moved by the information that the President is planning to appoint PF rebel Members of Parliament to Ministerial positions.

And Mr Lubinda says President Rupiah Banda should desist from claiming that he has appointed a Minister from the opposition because UNIP ceased to be a party standing on its own when he was appointed republican Vice President by late president Levy Mwanawasa.

He says the PF-UPND pact is aware that the MMD and UNIP have formed an undeclared Pact.

Meanwhile Mr Lubinda says the PF-UPND pact will be officially launched after the forthcoming Luena parliamentary by-elections.

[pullquote]Meanwhile Mr Lubinda says the PF-UPND pact will be officially launched after the forthcoming Luena parliamentary by-elections.[/pullquote]

The Luena seat fell vacant following the resignation of Former Independent Member of Parliament Member Charles Milupi who has taken over the leadership of the Alliance for Democracy and Development.

Mr Lubinda says both party leaders of the pact understand that members are anxious for the official Launch of the Pact stressing that even the Leaders themselves are also concerned about the amount of time it is taking to launch the pact.

Mr Lubinda explains that the delay in launching the Pact has been caused by the unprecedented by-elections that have come along the way.

He says each time the parties are about to Launch the pact they are faced with the challenge of preparing for a by-election.

There have been calls from both pact members to hasten its Launch so that the Members can speak with one Voice.

QFM

Patriotic Front (PF) says that Zambians will not allow Former President Dr Fredrick Chiluba, government, and the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to rig the 2011 elections in favour of MMD.

PF Spokesperson Given Lubinda who has repeatedly accused Dr Chiluba of being at the centre of rigging some of the past elections said that Zambians would ensure that the MMD government through ECZ fails to not manipulate their votes.

Mr. Lubinda said the PF supporters have since advised their Leader Mr. Sata to go on a self imposed exile so that his supporters are left to directly deal with the ECZ if they attempt to attempt to engineer the 2011 elections.

He said the people have told the party leadership that their votes will no longer be secret because the secrecy element would be manipulated ECZ.

He added that the people would ensure that they vote transparently so that they could estimate the number of votes that the party President has in particular areas before the official counting is done by ECZ.

He has since warned government not to allow Dr Chiluba to rig the elections as it had done in the past to avoid anarchy in the country after the 2011 elections

QFM

A LUSAKA Boma Local Court yesterday dismissed a case in which Patriotic Front (PF) Chimwemwe member of Parliament Willie Nsanda sued another man for committing adultery with his former wife, Phebby Mumba.

Mr. Nsanda sued Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) director of programmes Ernest Mwuamba for allegedly committing adultery with Mumba at a guest house in Lusaka.

The ruling was delivered yesterday by presiding magistrate Henry Mwananshiku.

Mr. Mwananshiku in dismissing the case said Mr. Nsanda never found the two sleeping together and there was no exhibit to prove the allegation.

He said though Nsanda tried very hard to convince the court that there was adultery committed, there was no proof.

“This case is dismissed in the sense that Mr Nsanda never found the two sleeping together and he did not get any exhibit to prove his allegation.

“Although he tried by all means to prove it, he never found them committing adultery and according to all witnesses from both parties, there was nothing like that. This case is over,” he said.

Mr Mwananshiku said such suspicions are always there due to human nature.

He advised Nsanda to read the Bible, where he will find the painful reality that human beings are like lost sheep.

Making submissions before the ruling, Nsanda insisted that Mwuamba and Mumba knew each other.

He said if Mumba did not know Mwuamba, she could not have answered his phone-call the way she did when she was phoned using the latter’s mobile phone.
“In these cases people die with a ‘no’ (answer). Even I can’t admit,” Nsanda said.

And Mwuamba maintained that he never had an adulterous affair with Mumba.

“I want my name to be cleared so that I can move on because I was wrongly accused,” he said.

After the verdict Nsanda indicated that he wants to appeal against the ruling.

But outside court he told journalists that he will appeal against the earlier ruling in which the court granted Mumba divorce from him, and ordered that they share property they acquired together equally.

Nsanda said in the case where Mumba sued him for divorce, the court allegedly forced the MP to admit that Mumba was his wife. He said this was against his will.

“In this case (the adultery one) the court is saying there is no evidence from witnesses but in that other one there was no witness who said she was my wife. She did not bring any relative to prove that she was my wife,” Nsanda said.

He accused the court of hurrying the divorce case and that judgement was ready within 30 minutes.

Nsanda said since the court forced him to admit that Mumba was his wife, it equally forced him to sue Mwuamba for adultery.

He said there was no way Mumba could sue him for divorce because she allegedly fled the matrimonial home on her own.

Nsanda said this was the reason why he did not take the matter to court before Mumba sued him for divorce.
And Mwuamba said there was nothing he could say because the court had already ruled accordingly.

In his evidence-in-chief, Nsanda told the court that he saw Mwuamba fondling Mumba at Mutende Guesthouse in Ibex Hill area.

He said he did not approach the two because he was very annoyed.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

Chilekwa M. Mumba

Today the continent of Africa marks its liberation that to many has turned sour. But rather than immerse ourselves in lamentations of what is our present state of affairs, I thought it would serve us better to contemplate on why self-rule has been quite the opposite of the aspirations of our freedom-fighters. I very much doubt that these great sons and daughters of the mother-land, were willing to shed their blood and lose their lives for the stunted freedom witnessed today.

There have been many explanations that have tried to explain why Africa’s progress has been rather like the tortoise in that lovely fable “The Tortoise and the Hare”, whilst the rest of the world has been the hare (I will not ignore the positive fact that the tortoise eventually got there). Some of the explanations have been downright ludicrous- such as the suggestion and asinine belief that Africans are intellectually inferior, and others have been quite extreme- such as the conspiracy theories that somehow the fate of Africa lies in the white man, and as Africans we can never completely break free. Out of all these various postulations, I lean towards the moderate theories, being that moderation requires looking at “both sides of the coin” before reaching a conclusion. The theory I wish to promote or highlight is that we as Africans [unfortunately] decided to adopt and nurture a system of rule that had removed any element of “Africanism”. As African countries were gaining independence, we for the most part kept the same old colonial constitutions which were designed to keep power in the hands of a few people. Yes we made some changes, but these changes were simply cosmetic. With my lame attempt at humor, I am saying Sir. Roy Welenksy’s shoes simply had African feet slip into them, but the people the shoes trod on stayed the same! That is why the development of our democracy is so stunted- it is because our current system of power [inherited from colonialists] was stunted from the beginning.

Consider the developed nations, and note how they have amalgamated their traditions and customs with modern systems of rule, resulting in prosperity. The United States goes by the theme of its forefathers- that is human freedom. The British- well we all see how they sing “God Save the Queen” with unmatched enthusiasm. The Japanese maintain traditions dating back thousands of years even into their business practices. My favorite has to be Russia’s come-back as a power contender on the world stage. Vladimir Putin was the architect of Russia’s rise from the collapse of the USSR. Want to find out where Putin based his philosophy on? Emperor Peter “The Great”, an icon in Russian Tsarist history. Why then are we Africans looking to cultures which do not fit our mindsets? We certainly have our own rich history to draw inspiration from before colonialism.

For Africa to move forward we have to make serious consideration of incorporating our African customs and traditions in our system of rule, without compromising the values of democracy, After all, democracy has various versions as “the west” itself has espoused. It is undeniable that our traditional Chiefs practiced a system of rule comparable if not equal to democracy, as Chiefs [up to this day] rarely make arbitrary decisions. But colonialists made a mockery of our Chiefs, and only used them to channel colonial interests if and when it suited them. Today in Zambia, we see our politicians using the exact same formula to advance their political interests.

On this day we have assigned “Africa Freedom Day”, let us question why we are in our present state by relating our history to our freedom. Marcus Garvey said “A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots”. I will add “and this tree will not stand”. Happy Africa Freedom Day to all my brothers and sister across the globe!

UPND Spokesperson Charles Kakoma made the revelation that the party has information that President is about to remove the vice president from cabinet in the next few months.

Mr Kakoma said the President has begun questioning the vice president’s ability to lead the nation in his absence.

Mr. Kakoma pointed out that it will be a miracle for Mr. Kunda to survive the President’s contemplation because it is serious.

And Mr. Kakoma said Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) President Charles Milupi was duped by President Rupiah Banda that he would be appointed vice president after the 2008 presidential by-election.

He disclosed that it is for this reason that Mr. Milupi has now decided to form his own political party to challenge President Banda because he was frustrated.
[ QFM ]

UNITED Church of Zambia (UCZ) Matero congregation members yesterday burnt tyres and fought with police as they protested demanding the removal of presiding Reverend John Mukuka Mwelwa whom they accused of infidelity and abuse of church funds.

The fracas, which disrupted normal Sunday services, erupted when the members, mostly youths, ganged up at the church’s main gate to block Rev Mwelwa from entering the premises.

The protesters, who resolved not to allow Rev Mwelwa to conduct any service, threatened to physically ‘deal with him’ if he entered the premises.

Quick action by police officers from Matero police station prevented the protesters from causing damage.

The rioters accused Rev Mwelwa of infidelity with women seeking marriage counselling from him.

Among the protesters were young women, some of whom claimed to have spurned the reverend’s overtures.

“If you want to get married, you have to inform the reverend so that he announces publicly during church service but when you go to him, he starts making advances,” one of the protesters, who sought anonymity, said.

The protesters also accused Rev Mwelwa of impropriety.

Some of the protesters said when preaching, Rev Mwelwa allegedly brags about his material wealth.

“He boasts that we should not accuse him of stealing church money because he has his own money and that he cannot suffer even if he stops preaching today,” one of the protesters said.

Another woman alleged that Rev Mwelwa has been diverting building materials meant for pending church projects to construct his personal house.

“As a reverend, he is not supposed to handle any money meant for construction projects because there is a committee in charge of that. But he keeps all the money and when he buys building material, he takes some of it to his plot,” she said.

Several members talked to said although the youth started the protest, almost all member are behind it.
Some UCZ leaders later called for a meeting to ease flaring tempers but the members maintained their demand for Rev Mwelwa’s removal.

Addressing the meeting, Lusaka Presbytery Bishop Luckson Chibuye asked the protesters to seek God’s intervention before addressing the issue.

“I was supposed to go for my normal church service at Saint Paul’s but I was called to come here because of this problem. I have heard your demands but you should give me chance to sit with other leaders and sort out this problem.

“At the moment there is nowhere to take Rev Mwelwa. Before he came here, there was a due process that was followed and you must allow that same process to take place before he leaves this congregation,” Bishop Chibuye said amid murmurs of disapproval by the protesters.

He said he and other leaders that accompanied him to the meeting were not infringing on the members’ rights to call for Rev Mwelwa’s removal.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

The Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) says that Zambia still has alarming levels of poverty despite the country having recently recorded an economic growth of over 40 percent.

CSPR Executive Director Patrick Mucheleka says that The 6.5 GDP growth recorded in the country between 2005 and 2009 does not correlate with the levels of poverty that are currently looming in the country.

Mr Mucheleka said that the growth benefits of the economy are only being felt by rich people and not the less privilleged people living in the rural areas of the country.

He stressed that the country’s economic growth figures do not tally with the poverty statistics which currently stand at 85 percent in the rural areas and 34 percent in urban areas because of lack of government funding to the key sectors of the country.

Mr Mucheleksa pointed out that as long as the people are not put first on the agenda of the government the poverty levels of the country will continue to rise to unexplained and untold levels.

He explained that government should take deliberate measures to ensure that there is equal distribution of wealth among the people of Zambia. He also said that government should ensure that it aligns economic growth to poverty reduction if all Zambians are to benefit from the country’s wealth creation.

And the Civil Society for Poverty reduction has called on the government to learn from the Australian government move of introducing super tax on its mining sector so as to improve the country’s service delivery.

He said Government should get back to the discussion table with the country’s key stakeholders and reconsider reintroducing the Windfall tax to the Mining sector so as to enable the country raise its revenue base.
[Q FM]