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ZAMBIA Competition Commission (ZCC) has commended mobile phone operators that have publicised their pre-paid roaming rates and internet browsing charges which consumers have complained about for a long time.
In February this year, ZCC engaged the mobile phone operators and requested them to disclose roaming charges and browsing the internet which according to investigations conducted by the commsission were not known by many users.
ZCC public relations officer, Vaida Bunda said the commission would continue to monitor the market for unfair trading practices to ensure that as firms succeed in their various businesses, the benefits are also passed on to the consumers.
Ms Bunda said in a statement in Lusaka that the commission had since last year received many complaints concerning non or full disclosure of roaming rates by mobile phone operators, which left most subscribers in the dark as to how much they were being charged for making calls while on roaming service.
“The commission also received complaints relating to mobile internet browsing whose charges have previously not been made available to users. The commission however, considers the publicising of roaming charges by mobile operators as good news for consumers because they can now decide objectively on whether to roam or simply buy a simpack from the country they are travelling to,” she said.
Ms Bunda noted that consumers would be able to decide based on comparisons in price of the roaming charges and that of the cost of calling using the local network from a purchased simpack in the country they are calling from.
She, however, said the commission considered that there should be options availed to internet users on whether they should be billed per second, minute, hour or megabyte.
“Charging per megabyte appears to be too technical for consumers to understand the billing and it may raise conflicts in future,” Ms Bunda said.
SEVEN headmen and some residents of Mbeza in Namwala say they are disgusted with UPND president Hakainde Hichilema for his alleged verbal attacks and violence directed at Namwala Member of Parliament Robbie Chizhyuka.
The headmen have charged that Mr Hichilema has allegedly been sending youths to harm Major Chizhyuka
Headman Nakamboma said Mr Hichilema is pushing Major Chizhyuka to respond to his continued attacks, saying time has come for the people of Mbeza and Namwala to defend their son.
He sounded the warning in Mbeza when a team of headmen and residents summoned Major Chizhyuka to brief the people on his relationship with the UPND President.
The visibly annoyed traditional leader warned that it is time Mr Hichilema stopped hiring youths to allegedly harm Major Chizhyuka, saying the family and people of Mbeza have been observing Mr Hichilema’s provocations.
He pointed out that the people of Namwala and Mbeza in particular do no want the pact and should not be forced to accept it through violence.
Headman Nakamboma warned that any youth sent to hurt Major Chizhyuka by Mr Hichilema should expect brutal reteliation.
“Some people are not grateful. It is Major Chizhyuka who introduced Hichilema to the people of Namwala. Major Chizhyuka talked well about Hichilema so much that we liked him,” he said.
He said if Mr Hichilema really wants to get some votes in Namwala, he should not rubbish Major Chizhyuka.
The traditional leader noted that in most cases, nothing tangible comes out of pact arrangements, especially those entered into with wrong people.
Headman Nakamboma cited the Choma declaration and the UDA as such pact arrangements which never yielded any fruits.
Meanwhile, a senior representative for headman Shalupumbu, Charles Chiboola, said it is sad that some educated people fail to understand politics and are putting their people in problems.
Mr Chiboola warned that he will deal with anyone who will visit his house to talk about the pact.
“We already have a good MP who has fought for improved lives for his people even way back before politics. What else would we want? We shall go wherever he goes, but not into this pact,” he vowed.
He said it will be difficult for Mr Hichilema to get back to the people in Namwala to ask for a vote when he has forsaken the person who introduced him to the people of Namwala.
“We have already benefitted from Major Chizhyuka’s good works. He has worked well with government to bring us the Choma-Namwala road, a girls’ high school and a basic school in Namwala boma. He worked hard to improve the Monze Nieko-Road,” he said.
Namwala District Indigenous People Rights Association chairman Dominic Shingalwe said Mr Hichilema should understand that Major Chizhyuka has relatives and friends who will not sit back and watch while other people hurt him.
“What wrong has Robbie done? Let Hichilema not start a war he will fail to stop,” he said.
Mr Shingalwe, who was the first district chairman for the African National Congress party, said Major Chizhyuka is an innocent man who is merely expressing his democratic right to oppose the pact.
Mr Shingalwe said Mr Hichilema will regret his move to partner with the PF, saying as a senior citizen who worked close with the late Mungoni Liso and Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula, he has a clear understanding of how the Tonga people have been cheated into forming pacts
PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda says the partial privatisation of Zamtel to Lap Green Networks of Libya can be viewed as being the most successful in the country’s history largely on account of the process that was used by the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) to structure the transaction anchored on professionalism and transparency.
The President said Government raised about US$433 million from the previous 262 transactions but will this time around make US$257 million in Zamtel’s proceeds and a further US$127 million in guaranteed financing, bringing the total commitment to US$384 million.
He was speaking in Lusaka yesterday when he officially opened the 13th sitting for the Third Session of the House of Chiefs at Cabinet Office.
“Note that of this (US$433 million), the gross mining sector proceeds accounted for US$339 million and the non-mining sectors accounted for the remainder. As can be noted, the Zamtel transaction alone has raised US$257 million in sale proceeds,” he said.
The President appealed to traditional rulers to explain to their subjects the benefits of the partial privatisation of Zamtel to Lap Green Networks of Libya as it is probably the single most successful transaction of the 263 deals undertaken since 1992.
Mr Banda has also advised Zambians against politicising the sale of 75 percent shares in Zamtel because the benefits from the transaction will be immense and that only posterity will judge Government’s decision on the matter.
[pullquote]The President said Government raised about US$433 million from the previous 262 transactions but will this time around make US$257 million in Zamtel’s proceeds and a further US$127 million in guaranteed financing, bringing the total commitment to US$384 million.[/pullquote]
Mr Banda said the proceeds from the Zamtel deal demonstrate the difference that his Government is making in implementing the right processes aimed at bringing about change and stimulate the country’s economy.
He said Government has ensured that a substantial part of the US$257 million proceeds is allocated to the settlement of full terminal benefits for all Zamtel employees as agreed with union representatives.
Mr Banda said this is significantly different from previous transactions like the Roan Antelope Mining Corporation (RAMCOZ) where workers’ interests were not properly represented or accommodated.
He said independent auditors have been appointed to ensure that the package for every employee is correct and paid in full.
Mr Banda said all Zamtel employees will be given a lump sum proportionate to their grade and tenure at the company.
He said about US$98 million will go into the pockets of ordinary Zambians and the country’s economy.
“I hope that our people will invest this money cleverly to enjoy a lasting benefit,” he said.
Mr Banda said before the sale of 75 percent shares in Zamtel to Lap Green Networks of Libya, a concerted and sustained effort was made by ZDA to maximise the attractiveness of the company, improve its efficiency and prepare its other elements for post-transaction change.
“The process of privatisation was transparent and competitive throughout,” he said.
The President said the implementation of the privatisation process took into consideration some of the shortcomings observed in earlier processes.
“We had many bidders-all of them serious- and Lap Green Networks emerged from this competitive and rigorous process as the clear winner,” he said.
Mr Banda said the rigorous process ensured transparency and was done in accordance with the ZDA Act.
He said from the time Lap Green Networks takes over operations of Zamtel this monthend, Zambians will start seeing real change at the company as it will begin to actively compete and innovate in a way a modern telecommunications firm ought to.
The President, however, said that the key objective of the transaction deal was to find the right partner for the company and Government as an ongoing shareholder in Zamtel.
Mr Banda appealed to Zambians not to politicise the Zamtel transaction because without the intervention to privatise it, the company would have collapsed.
He said in its current form, Zamtel is unable to compete in the telecommunications market for various reasons well known by most Zambians.
The President said Zamtel made US$17 million loss in 2008 and more than US$30 million last year and that while its competitors like Zain have over three million subscribers, Zamtel has been struggling at barely 100,000.
“Even in the fixed line business where Zamtel is a monopoly, it has only about 240,000 connectivity,” he said.
He said the situation in which Zamtel is can only continue up to a certain extent beyond which it would collapse.
Mr Banda said Government has a duty to ensure that it safeguards Zamtel’s assets on behalf of the people and as such cannot allow the company to collapse while there are options to save it.
[pullquote]
The President said Zamtel made US$17 million loss in 2008 and more than US$30 million last year and that while its competitors like Zain have over three million subscribers, Zamtel has been struggling at barely 100,000.[/pullquote]
The President questioned the motive of those politicising the privatisation of Zamtel when it is clear that the prime objective of the transaction was to find the right partner that could raise capital, invest in new technologies and improve efficiencies that could help in turning around the company while Government continues to be a shareholder.
“The proof of Zamtel’s failure will not be in my words but in the turnaround that you, the Zambian people, will see at Zamtel within the next year. My Government and I have been criticised for this privatisation.
“But I challenge all Zambians to judge this privatisation by its results, the change they will see from a new and transformed Zamtel,” Mr Banda said.
ZAMBIA Congress of Trade Unions secretary general Roy Mwaba addresses journalists while his deputy Alfred Mudenda listens during a media briefing in Lusaka
THE Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has urged stakeholders to ignore criticism of the Zamtel sale by the PF/UPND Pact because the two parties poured similar scorn on the privatisation of the now viable Zanaco.
ZCTU secretary general Roy Mwaba said in an interview that meetings had been held in which all the 2,431 workers had been assured of both full separation packages and retention of their jobs.
Mr Mwaba said the pact leaders had continued attacking very promising deals like they did when Zanaco was sold to Rabo Bank but the bank had now proved to be among the most viable financial institutions in Zambia.
ZCTU was reacting to sentiments by UPND president Hakainde Hichilema and PF president Michael Sata who have threatened to revoke the transaction should they assume power.
[pullquote]“They must stop politicising everything. That is exactly what they said about Zanaco and now the bank is doing very well they have kept quiet,” Mr Mwaba said.[/pullquote]
“They must stop politicising everything. That is exactly what they said about Zanaco and now the bank is doing very well they have kept quiet,” Mr Mwaba said.
He said ZCTU had undertaken to research on the viability of the Libyan firm, LAP GreenN that has its headquarters in Uganda and had discovered that the company was well grounded through diversification into ICTs and agriculture.
It had been agreed that all workers who would lose their jobs would be paid in line with the prevailing conditions of service signed between Zamtel management and the National Union of Communication Workers (NUCW).
Mr Mwaba said the people condemning the sale of Zamtel should keep a distance when Zamtel starts making profits and becomes more competitive like Zanaco, which was now operating at its best.
The congress also called on the political stakeholders to accept that contentious issues regarding the sale of Zamtel had been resolved including the tribunal that heard the involvement of RP Capital Partners which cleared former Communications and Transport minister Dora Siliya.
And the NUCW has called on all unionised Zamtel employees to remain calm as they await their separation packages because their packages will be paid in full.
NUCW General Secretary Clement Kasonde said in a circular dated June 8, 2010, that the payment of separation packages for Zamtel unionised employees would be paid in full as agreed upon by the union and Zamtel management.
“In view of the above assurance, you are all directed to remain calm to ensure that the remaining legal issues are finalised as quickly as possible,” the circular read in part.
Mr Kasonde thanked the workers for their patience.
MMD national chairman Michael Mabenga
The ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) has likened the PF/UPND pact to a horse that does not gallop.
MMD National Chairman Michael Mabenga told QFM that there was something sinister about the PF/UPND pact adding that even its recent launch was largely attended by hired cadres.
He said Zambians should question the real motive behind the pact.
Mr Mbenga has also described this year’s party card renewal exercise as overwhelming.
He said the Party has recorded an increase in the number of members recruited in Luapula and the Copperbelt provinces.
Mr Mabenga has also attributed the high levels of defections on the Copperbelt by opposition supporters to the ruling party to the recent irregularities in valuation of land and property in PF run Councils.
He alleged that people of the Copperbelt have now realized that PF cannot be entrusted to run the affairs of the country.
[ QFM ]
Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) General Secretary, Reverend Suzanne Matale has called on Zambians to reject the new constitution if the National Constitution Conference (NCC) continues to refuse to include the bill of rights in the new constitution.
Reverend Matale said if the NCC delegates persistently refuse to include the economic, cultural and social rights in the constitution, they should be assured that Zambians will not vote for it during the referendum.
She said failure to include the basic rights of the people in the constitution is pronouncing death on the people because they would not have access to anything which falls under the bill of rights.
She noted that the non inclusion of the bill of rights in the constitution was worrying and should be looked at carefully.
Reverend Matale explained there is no way a government could claim to be serving the people when it cannot grant them the right to food.
[ QFM ]
Mrs Thandiwe Banda checking her hand bag to get money to award dancing MMD cadres in Mutendere township
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Mrs Thandiwe Banda giving money to dancing MMD cadres in Mutendere township.
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Mrs Thandiwe Banda dancing with pupils at Mahatma Gandhi Basic School in Lusaka
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Mrs Thandiwe Banda captured during the tour of Mahatma Gandhi basic school in Lusaka
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Mrs Thandiwe Banda bids farewell to her hosts after visiting Mutendere township in Lusaka
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Mrs Thandiwe Banda about to give money to dancing MMD cadres in Mutendere township
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A youthful dance troupe in Mutendere township in action
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Mrs Thandiwe Banda waves as she leaves Mutendere township
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Science Minister and technology Brian Chituwo helps a pupil of Nampundwe to wear glasses donated to the public in Nampundwe
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President Banda with Togolese president during the French Africa Summit
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President Banda with vice president George Kunda at Lusaka international Aiport
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Post newspaper editor-in-chief Fred Mmembe saying his last words before being ushered into the Lusaka central or Chimbokaila prison
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Post Newspapers editor- in- Chief Fred M'membe being escorted to Lusaka Central Prison after he was jailed for four months with hard labour by Lusaka magistrate David Simusamba on June 4,2010-Picture by Eddie Mwanaleza
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National Milling Corporation managing director and public relations officer Esther Chilala during a press briefing in Lusaka.
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Local government and housing minister Eustarkio Kazonga inspects the ZAIN Zambia housing compound for winners of the SMS promotion in Lusaka
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Former Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo with his wife Maria Sung captured at Lusaka international airport when they arrived in Lusaka
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First republican president Kenneth Kaunda plants a tree to commemorate the World Environment Day in Lusaka
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Education minister Dora Siliya visits the poor in her constituency in Petauke
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A trucker stands helpless after his vehicle that was used to transport cement flipped
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A peasant farmer drying his agricultural produce in Mongu.
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Some pupils in Nampundwe pose for a photograph after receiving free eye screening from Konkola Copper Mines
Zambia Water and Sanitation Engineering and Allied Workers Union members have began a sit-in protest following the elapsing of a 48-hours ultimatum given to government to withdraw a circular directing water utilities in the country to award workers a 5 percent salary increment.
And some water utilities are reportedly threatening and intimidating their workers who are staging a sit-in protest.
Union president, Joseph Musapa, has however urged water utility managements to calm down and allow for the protest to go ahead as planned because it is not targeted at them.
Mr. Musapa said the protest is meant to send a message of displeasure to government over its decision to award the workers a 5 percent salary increment when civil servants were awarded a 15 percent pay rise.
He has urged water utility managements to stop intimidating workers and allow them to go ahead with the protest because it is for a good cause.
Workers at Nkana and Mulonga water and sewerage companies on the copperbelt have lead the way in staging the protest which expected to spread to Lusaka soon.
Mr. Musapa says failure by the MMD Government to listen has caused the protest by the workers
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) says it is deeply concerned about the recent harassments of The Post newspapers,worsened by the prosecution and detention of editor in chief Fred M’membe.
In a statement released to QFM today, MISA Regional Director Kaitira Kandjii said MISA views the prosecution and detention of M’membe as a deafening attack on media freedom and freedom of expression.
He said MISA’s regional secretariat and its 11 chapters throughout southern Africa outrightly reject the judgement by Magistrate David Simusamba and regard it as a betrayal of media freedom and freedom of expression.
Mr Kandjii said the words used by the Magistrate Simusamba when passing sentence that the sentence is meant to reform M’membe as well as to deter would-be offenders are a threat to every Zambian and are meant to instill fear.
He said The Post Newspaper has been a major critic to Zambia’s bad governance and that its prosecution is a sign by the Zambian government to avenge dissenting voices.
Mr Kandjii added that it is disturbing to note that The Post and M’membe are being prosecuted for giving a platform to a citizen to express himself on an issue of public concern.
He stated that the Zambian media has a responsibility to publish and broadcast news and information and that in this case The Post had the right to publish an opinion article by Professor Muna Ndulo, adding that the fact that the Kabwela case was before the Court did not override the rights of people to express their opinions about the ongoing trial.
M’membe was last week sentenced to four months imprisonment with hard labour after being found guilty for contempt of court.
President Banda with vice president George Kunda at Lusaka internati
President Rupiah Banda has described the sale of Zamtel to Libyan firm LAP Green as the single most successful transaction since the MMD commenced the privatization process of parastatals in the country.
President Banda has also revealed that the sale has enabled the Government to raise a total of 384 million US dollars.
President Rupiah Banda said this when he officially opened the first session of the third House of Chiefs in Lusaka today.
The President further described the sale of ZAMTEL as professional and transparently done and has since called on Zambians to refrain from politicizing the sale and wait until the results of the sale start showing.
And President Rupiah Banda said a substantial amount of the total proceeds from the sale of Zamtel will be allocated towards settling the terminal benefits of Zamtel workers as agreed with the unions.
Through the Chiefs the President assured Zambians of transparency in the settling of the terminal benefits of the workers.
He added that LAP Green is a competitive and reputable firm in Africa that will offer modern communication solutions to Zamtel which was on a brink of collapse.
Over 10,000 poor young Zambians and Angolan refugees in the soccer-crazy country’s remote areas will watch some of the World Cup matches in South Africa live on specially mounted huge flat screens, a UN agency said on Friday.
UNICEF spokesman Patrick Slavin said large open-air screens and projectors had been set up in western Zambia to enable refugees and young people without access to electricity and television sets to watch some of the live broadcasts of matches in South Africa.
“More than 10,000 young people in remote parts of Zambia who are passionate about football will be accorded the opportunity to watch the World Cup games on big screens,” Slavin told Reuters.
Slavin said the public viewing places would also be used to provide the viewers with information about education, health, child protection and HIV/AIDS, one of major problems affecting the poor southern African country.
“The young people will be encouraged to do more than just watch the games,” he said.
Slavin said the project dubbed, “the World Cup in My Village,” would also be implemented in Mongu, some 600 km west of Lusaka.
Zambia, which has never been to the World Cup, missed out on the opportunity to be one of African countries at the first World Cup on African soil, when it was pipped for a qualification place by Algeria during the qualifiers.
Slavin said the UN refugee agency UNHCR was helping organize the screening of the games in Mayukwayukwa refugee camp about 500 km west of Lusaka but the funding had been provided by
Night revelers take to the stage at a night club in Lusaka
By Wesley Ngwenya
Because of the overwhelming email responses I got from the earlier published article on Lusakatimes.com called “Zambia: Night Life and Prostitution in Lusaka” I feel obliged to give the readers just one story from the book in progress. Instead of sending numerous emails, let me publish an excerpt, from the book, so that other readers can benefit as well. The stories are fascinating, frightening and sometimes funny. Here is one of the thirty stories you will find in “Judge Me Not” (proposed name).
First time I met Cindy (not her real name) was in the Northmead area. We had a short conversation after I declined her request to buy her a drink. My usual reply to the girls when they ask me to buy them a drink is, “Why should I buy you a drink?” This unexpected response usually surprises them. Some will respond by saying, “You don’t buy drinks to girls who ask you?” This then leads to a conversation and before you know it we are talking about many other things. But no drinks.
Cindy and I had chatted briefly that night. Couple of years later, I met her at the Makeni Casino. Something seemed very different about her. She immediately recognized me but was too busy to talk to me since she was with the company of some Asian men. I looked for an opportunity to talk to her. When that opportunity came I talked to her. She joked with me about having given me a chance the last time we met. I talked to her about my mission and that I will tell her story without ever using her real name. She reluctantly agreed and we arranged to meet a week later.
Cindy lives in the upper middle class neighborhood of Ibex Hill on the East Side of Lusaka. She moved in with her grandparents after she completed school a couple of years earlier. Although she never seemed to have invested much time in job searching she blames the “Zambian System” for failing to provide jobs for people like her. Cindy speaks very good English and has very good high school grades.
It all started one night when Cindy and her cousin stayed out late at a drinking place. They were just enjoying a game of the English Premier League Football. She is a big fun of Manchester United. That night a man offered them to buy some beer. They accepted. She loved the attention she got from this man and the other men in the nightclub. This particular man was ready to spend that day. She had never had a man spend so much on her. It downed on her that nigh that, as a girl, she possessed certain powers that she could use to manipulate men.
The man took them home that night after exchanging numbers. Later in the week she met up with him and things escalated from there onwards. The man gave her money and other things she badly needed. He often took her out on weekends to nightclubs and afterwards would spend the night with him at a guesthouse. She never bothered to ask if this man was married or not. According to her she didn’t want to know besides she didn’t want to spoil the relationship with him.
Though they had sort of developed a relationship with this man she confesses that it was not serious. She was not in love with him. She liked that he gave her the opportunity to have certain things and go places around town. It was during these night adventures that other men gave her a lot of attention. She gave her phone number to some and would then link up with them during the week and on weekends. Suddenly, she had a busy schedule meeting all kinds of men who mostly wanted to sleep with her.
She recalls that her life turned around the night she asked the man how much money he was going to give her if she slept with him. The money had offered about $50. She could not believe the offer. She thought she can do it just this once and no one would ever know. She did it and it became a habit thereafter.
Soon she started getting offers from other men. The money was so good that she decided to be proactive. This is when she started hanging out at Alpha Bar in Northmead. Here she met all kinds of people. It was here that she was introduced to white men who were frequent patrons of the bar. The white men paid better.
The day I met her was one of her first visits at Alpha Bar. She is a skinny girl, tall and a fair dark and smooth complexion. She has thick black hair she likes to tie in a ponytail like. When she walks, her steps are deliberate like she is on a catwalk. She knows she is beautiful and loves to be watched by all the admiring eyes in the nightclub.
Cindy has gone out with all kinds of men from all corners of the globe. She has gone out with men who are older than her grandpa. She is quick to point out that these men are good men and treat her well. That is why she likes the white men especially.
When I pointed to her why she had graduated from the white men to the Asian men that day at the casino, she responded, “to me they are the same.” However, she liked the Chinese men because they loved the casinos and was learning a lot of card games and using the slot machines.
The story of Cindy is not an uncommon one. Both her parents are alive and well. Both sets of her grandparents are alive and well. “What happened then, one may ask?” Could it be that the parents and grandparents took things for granted? Is it the rebellious spirit of humans? Is it the lack of career guidance? Is it that we place so much emphasis on exams and not skills development? Is it the “System”? Many questions come to mind as I recount the story of Cindy…
Before the book comes to print, I need to identify a publisher. Ideas are welcome. In addition, I would welcome readers who want to help as advisors and be part of the editorial team. Please send me an email and we can discuss the details. [email protected]. Thanks to those of you who contacted me directly. I really appreciate your comments and support. Keep them coming.
Nelson Mandela’s 13-year-old great-granddaughter was killed in a car crash on the way home from a concert in Soweto on the eve of the World Cup, his office said Friday.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation said Zenani Mandela died in a one-car accident and no one else was injured. Tummi Shai, a police spokeswoman, told The Associated Press that a case of probable homicide – not unusual in traffic accidents where negligence is suspected – had been opened. Shai would not give any further detail, including the location of the accident.
Thursday’s World Cup concert had drawn tens of thousands of people to Soweto, and traffic was congested into the early hours of Friday.
Zenani, who celebrated her 13th birthday on Wednesday, was one of the anti-apartheid icon’s nine great-grandchildren.
“The family has asked for privacy as they mourn this tragedy,” the foundation said in a statement.
Mandela, who turns 92 on July 18, has largely retired from public life although as of Thursday it had been anticipated he would make a brief appearance at the World Cup opening ceremony Friday, depending on his health and the weather conditions.
In a statement Thursday, the Foundation said it had been “inundated with requests for meetings, and it will be impossible for Mr. Mandela to accede to even a small fraction of these.” But Mandela met this week with members of the Black Eyed Peas, one of the main acts at Thursday’s concert, and Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo and coach Carlos Queiroz – the latter a former coach of South Africa.
[AP]
The Movement for Multiparty Democracy MMD is scouting for over 6 billion Kwacha to hold its National convention and elections of its leaders at lower organ level.
Party National Chairman Michael Mabenga told QFM in an interview that the party could not afford to luxuriously spend party resources as it has a budget to meet before the convention.
He said this is the reasons that have caused the delay in holding the National convention.
Mr Mabenga said the money required for the party to hold the convention is colossal.
And Mr Mbenga noted that no National Executive Committee Member has been paid to endorse president Rupiah Banda as the sole candidate of the party for the 2011 elections.
He said the decision to endorse President Banda as the sole candidate at both the national convention and the 2011 Presidential elections is entirely dependent on the members of the Party themselves through their provincial leaders.
Mr Mabenga, however, stated that anyone is free to challenge president Rupiah Banda at the convention.
[ QFM ]
President Banda points at a tree where a monkey passed water on him before he addressed a press briefing at State
President Rupiah Banda has said the partial sale of Zamtel to a Libyan company is irreversible because it has been done legally.
The president said United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema is exhibiting ignorance by saying the sale will be revoked.
Mr Banda said the sale of Zamtel to Lap Green Network was binding on the Zambian Government as it had been done within the law and there was no way of reversing the process.
He said Mr Hichilema was exhibiting lack of political and legal understanding by asserting that he would reverse the privatisation of Zamtel if he comes into power.
Lap GreenN, which had bought 75 per cent shares in Zamtel at US$257 million, would have long paid the money to Zambians and investment would have taken place, which would render the process irreversible.
On arrival from Mfuwe where he went for a three-day working holiday, President Banda wondered where the money to pay Lap GreenN of Libya would come from especially that everything had been done within the requirements of the law.
President Banda said Mr Hichilema was merely exposing his failure to understand politics and wondered where he was getting the muscle to condemn a process that had been widely accepted by the workers and stakeholders.
“Where will he get the money to pay those Libyans? He does not understand politics. Most of the privatisation in this country was done by Mr Hichilema and we have not reversed what he did,” President Banda told journalists in an interview.
Government at the weekend concluded the sale of Zamtel to Lap Green N of Libya. Finance Minister Situmbeko Muskotwane said Zamtel had become a drain on the treasury as it was making losses.
And Mr Banda dismissed sentiments by Mr Hichilema that the ruling party was shaken by the launch of the Patriotic Front and UPND (PF/UPND) Pact going by the huge support his Government continues to enjoy.
Mr Banda said huge crowds of people welcome him wherever he goes, citing Mfuwe where he was well received during his three-day working holiday.
“Do I look like I am shaken? Even last year they launched the pact and now we thought they would announce their leader. I don’t understand what they launched,” the president said.
The president was reacting to sentiment by Mr Hichilema on ‘Let the People Talk’ programme on Radio Phoenix on Tuesday that the MMD had been shaken by the launch of the pact last Saturday.
Meanwhile, Mr Banda has said The Post newspaper editor-in-chief, Fred M’membe should not kill himself to put the Government on a black spot in view of his continued attacks on the Government over his contempt case.
Mr Banda said Mr M’membe’s problems were with the courts that cited him for contempt and had nothing to do with the Government.
The life of Mr M’membe could not be said to be in danger on account of his court appearances over an offence committed in court.
The president said he was not a man-hunter and that Mr M’membe’s allegations were far from the truth.
Mr Banda also said he sympathised with Health Deputy Minister Solomon Musonda who shot and wounded a PF cadre identified as Jackson Musaka last month.
President Banda said the matter would be left in the hands of the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to resolve.
The president said he would not take any action against Dr Musonda to allow the law enforcement agencies to deal with the matter professionally.
“I feel sorry for him. He is a very professional man but I will leave the matter with the police and the DPP,” Mr Banda said.
The president also called for more investment in the vast game reserves, forests and national parks in the countryside.
Mr Banda said he was taken to areas in the Northern parts of Luangwa National Park and discovered that massive forests were under-invested which must be changed.
He said there was so much potential for huge investments in the valley areas around Luangwa National ?ark.
Vice-President George Kunda, Information Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha, Home Affairs Minister Mkhondo Lungu, State House Minister Ronald Mukuma, Agriculture Minister Peter Daka welcomed the president on arrival at City Airport.
[ Times of Zambia ]
