Reuters reports that MTN Group will slash international call rates by about 40 percent in Zambia after the southern African country opened up access to and cut the licensing fees for international gateway facilities.

Zamtel, the country’s fixed-line phone operator, used to control the sole gateway and charged private operators high fees for using it, but Zambia last week allowed other operators to set up their own facilities and cut the five-year international gateway licensing fee to $300,000 from $8 million.

“Some destinations including Canada, China and the U.S., which (combined) form our fifth most called destination, have had their charges reduced by more than 80 percent,” Farhad Khan, MTN Zambia’s CEO told Reuters.

He said call charges to countries such as South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Tanzania had been reduced by 45 percent, and the firm hoped this would help attract more subscribers.

“Although our target for this year is 1.5 million subscribers, we are aiming to exceed this and will definitely achieve the 2 million subscriber mark in the first half of 2011,” Khan said.

MTN competes with India’s Bharti Airtel in Zambia and state-owned Cell Z.

[Reuters]

National Democratic Focus (NDF) leader Benjamin Mwila has said Zambians will live to regret if they vote for Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata in the 2011 general elections because he is allegedly undemocratic and inconsistent on national issues.

And Global Commodity Market Institute country director Mwango Chisha has said Mr Sata’s assertions that he will expel Zambia-based Chinese workers and low class investment is a dream because he will never be president of Zambia.

Commenting on assertions that the PF leader would expel Chinese workers and low investment, Mr Mwila said Mr Sata’s comments on the Chinese investment were a sign of an ignorant man on the global economy.

Mr Mwila said Zambians should blame themselves if they make a mistake of voting Mr Sata into power because he allegedly did not believe in democracy and kept changing position on important national policy matters.

Mr Mwila said Mr Sata did not understand democracy because he was not there when the MMD, which was based on democracy, was formed.

He said Mr Sata was an opportunist and populist leader,who joined the MMD one week before the convention which was why he did not understand and appreciate democracy.

Mr Mwila said he did not understand why the PF leader continued to attack the Chinese instead of explaining to the citizenry how he would contribute to the development of Zambia if elected into power.

Mr Mwila said countries were embracing each other for development but it was surprising that Mr Sata did not like Chinese investment when it was accepted globally.

He said, for instance South Africa, had developed because of embracing other nationals and wondered what was wrong with Zambia doing the same as it needed more development than the rainbow state.

Mr Chisha said Mr Sata was dreaming that he would change things because he would never be president of the country.

“The rate at which politics is moving, Mr Sata will never be president of Zambia because of a simple reason that he was not born a leader, and nothing can make him become a leader,” Mr Chisha said.

He questioned why the PF leader had so much hatred for the Chinese investors when they were globally accepted.

Mr Chisha said the Chinese may have some problem of human relationships due to factors like culture and language barriers but this should not be a weapon to demonise them.

He said there was need to look at the bigger picture of the investment than at individual Chinese who could have differed with a Zambian because of some misunderstanding.
[ Times of Zambia ]

Vice-President George Kunda has vowed that the MMD would crush the PF-UPND Pact in next year’s general elections because it was the only credible party with a national character to advance Zambia’s development agenda.

Addressing Serenje residents in Mailo and Chibale areas, Mr Kunda said the MMD has scored on various development issues to warrant it to remain in power next year.

“We shall defeat the PF-UPND pact in next year’s elections because our works are there to show; we are a party with national character and anchored at fostering national development. The opposition is just pre-occupied with insults which is of little benefit to the Zambian people,” Mr Kunda also Muchinga member of Parliament (MP) said.

The vice-president said that the pact was just fanning confusion in Zambia and that was why it had failed to announce its presidential candidate.
[pullquote]“We shall defeat the PF-UPND pact in next year’s elections because our works are there to show; we are a party with national character and anchored at fostering national development. The opposition is just pre-occupied with insults which is of little benefit to the Zambian people,” Mr Kunda also Muchinga member of Parliament (MP) said.[/pullquote]
“We are more organised, it is a well known fact that President Rupiah Banda is our candidate and we are ready for the so called pact to meet them head on in next year’s general elections. In fact the mass defections of their members to our party is testimony to the confusion in the pact,” Mr Kunda said.

He said while the opposition was pre-occupied with insulting President Banda and his leadership, the MMD was busy undertaking development projects countrywide for the well being of the Zambian people.

[ Times of Zambia ]

The United Party for National Development (UPND) says the failure to tackle corruption by the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) government will cost the country, citing the suspension of funding to the Ministry of Health by the Global Fund.

Siavonga Member of Parliament, Douglas Siakalima says the freeze in funding to the health sector by the Global Fund is dangerous for the people of Zambia for which the MMD government will have to take the blame.
He said though the Global Fund has indicated its intentions to resume funding to the Ministry of Health in the next two months, the effects of the freeze on the health sector are devastating.

Mr Siakalima added that this acts as a reminder to the people of Zambia to vote out the MMD government in which corruption is endemic.

And Katombora Member of Parliament, Regina Musokotwane has observed that as long as government does not put its foot down and stamp out corruption in the country, the people’s suffering will never come to an end.
[UPND]

The National Constitutional Conference, NCC, has today launched the long awaited Draft Constitution.

Speaking during the launch at Mulungushi International Conference Centre this morning, NCC Chairperson, Chifumu Banda, said the launch has been done in accordance with Section 23 of the National Constitutional Conference Act, No. 19 of 2007, which states that the National Constitutional Conference should publish the Initial Report and the Draft Constitution adopted by the Conference and facilitate public debate and comments.[pullquote]Mr. Banda said the governance of the country will not improve by how much citizens quarrel among themselves.[/pullquote]

He says the public should spend much of their time to study the document instead of issuing unworthy criticisms of the NCC.

Mr. Banda launched the three documents which the NCC produced which include the Initial Report of the Conference, the Draft Constitution, and the Summary of the Resolutions of the Conference.

Mr. Banda has since appealed to the general public to take time to study the documents during the 40 days period starting today for the public to make their contributions, observations and other responses to the draft constitution.

He says the documents will be made available to the general public through the office of the District Commissioner in all the districts across the country, through the NCC Secretariat at Mulungushi International Conference Centre, as well as through the three websites which have been provided.

He named the Websites as the governance Secretariat under the Ministry of Justice on www.governance.gov.zm; the National Assembly website on www.parliament.gov.zm; and the National Constitution Conference website on www.ncczambia.org.

Meanwhile, Mr. Banda said the governance of the country will not improve by how much citizens quarrel among themselves.

He says the public should spend much of their time to study the document instead of issuing unworthy criticisms of the NCC.

The Press Association of Zambia (PAZA) has called on government to desist from issuing threatening statements to the independent media in the country.

Reacting to government threats to revoke the license of Sky FM radio station in Monze for allegedly reporting threats by Chief Mwanachingwala to burn the sugar cane plantations belonging to Zambia Sugar Company in Mazabuka, PAZA vice president Amos Chanda said such threats are an affront to media freedom in the country.

Mr. Chanda said the threats have an effect of intimidating journalists working for the independent media. He challenged government to tell the nation the offence the radio station committed that can cost it its operating license.

Mr Chanda said the government should stop questioning the radio station, but rather divert its questions to the Chief who threatened to burn the sugar cane plantations.

[QFM]

Former Defence Minister George Mpombo says MMD Chairman Michael Mabenga has no right to stop either him or former Finance Minister Ng’andu Magande from contesting the MMD presidency.

In a telephone interview with QFM, Mr. Mpombo said it is not possible for Mr. Mabenga to be a hindrance to interested people who want to challenge President Rupiah Banda at the MMD convention.

Mr. Mpombo said Mr. Mabenga’s statement that both him and Mr. Magande are not eligible to stand for the MMD presidency because they are not in good standing with the party is not valid.

He accused Mr. Mabenga of taking the matter personal, doubting his utterances as to whether they have the endorsement of other party officials.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mpombo has vowed to fight his way in the party. He reiterated that he will go ahead and challenge President Banda at the convention because the party manifesto allows him to do so.

MMD National Chairman Michael Mabenga was recently quoted as saying that Mr. Mpombo and his Chilanga counterpart Ng’andu Magande are ineligible to contest the presidency at the national convention because of their poor relations with the party leadership.

Mr. Mabenga said the constitution only allowed members in good standing with the ruling party to contest any position.

He said Mr. Mpombo and Mr. Magande, who have also gone public about their intentions to run for the party presidency, were not enjoying any constitutional powers that could guarantee their candidature after de-campaigning their own party on many instances.

[QFM]