Minister of Health Kapembwa Simbao has refuted insinuations that donors have suspended the Global Fund facility to the Ministry of Health. The Minister however said the Global Fund instead delayed disbursements of all grants to pave way for the Global Fund audit. Speaking at a press briefing at Ministry Headquarters in Lusaka today, Dr Simbao assured that the Ministry of Health was still enjoying a cordial relationship with some donors such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as well as World Health Organisation(WHO) among other co-operating partners.

Mr Simbao said Government with the Global Fund partners are currently working on modalities which will enable the Ministry to start accessing funds through UNDP. He added that the Ministry will then be able to access the funding directly after two years.

He said the current position is that, instead of being the principle recipients, the Ministry of Health has now become sub recipients. And Mr Simbao further stated that the Ministry of Health has been invited to apply for Global Fund round 10 since the country has managed to qualify in four rounds namely rounds 1,4,7, and 8.

He said the round four grants for malaria and HIV which were due to expire in October this year have been extended for one year to make up for the delay in disbursement. Mr Simbao further revealed that the Ministry will continue working hand in hand with some co-operating partners to build its capacity especially in procurement and finance as per agreed joint governance action plan.

He added that the Ministry of Health has so far accessed Six million United States Dollars from the Global fund saying out of this money, only three million Dollars has been used and the remaning three million dollars was yet to be accesed. Mr Simbao said the Global Fund allowed the Ministry of Health to continue procuring life saving drugs namely anti malarial, anti retro virals and Tuberculosis (TB) drugs.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported today that Global Fund had suspended disbursements of grants to the Ministry of Health in Zambia

ZANIS

Last week was one shining moment for journalism in Rochester. When the Democrat and Chronicle published a story about Beverly Anderson, a student whose college future was mired in a paperwork bog, the community sprang into action to help her. Talk about making a difference, the reason some of us went into this profession.

That is why Shakespeare’s “Parting is such sweet sorrow,” makes great oxymoronic sense as I prepare to answer a call to full-time ministry in the United Methodist Church. I find sweet sorrow in leaving Rochester and the Democrat and Chronicle. The sorrow stems from leaving behind friends and colleagues of the last 15 years. The grief emanates from that missed phone call that was never returned, that lunch date that was cancelled, that chance to meet that did not materialize. The sweet oozes from that cherished letter, card or phone call to express gratitude about a story or a column.

For 15 years here, I have tried in different roles to highlight the global nature of today’s world. When Sept. 11, 2001, attacks occurred, we were able to put in the hands of our readers a newspaper at noon, barely three hours after the attack, educating our community about the rest of the world. Through internationalization of local stories and localization of international stories, I strived to help Rochester understand the world better.

Here at the Democrat and Chronicle, I served in various capacities and led several projects, including the revamping the Diversity Committee; leading the creation of the first-ever Ethics Code for the National Association of Black Journalists; founding the Rochester Association of Black Journalists and starting the Multimedia Academy for high school students studying journalism, which was instrumental in helping the Democrat and Chronicle be recognized by Gannett Inc. as the front-runner in reflecting the diversity of the community in staffing, outreach and coverage.

Where do I go from here? Answering God’s call to serve full time would be my humble way of thanking God for the many blessings showered on me and my family. For the last 20 years or so, journalism has been my religion, but now religion becomes my journalism.

Maybe the only word that can capture my gratitude to Rochester is: Natotela. (“Thank you” in Bemba — my language from Zambia.)

Mulenga, a native of Zambia, has been appointed director of communications for the Upper New York Area of the United Methodist Church. He will be based in Syracuse.

[Rochester Democrat & Chronicle]

There were really two main reasons why I went into politics. The first was that I was struck by the expression “politics is a dirty game”. If it really is, then that is something that has to be addressed, because development will have to come through politics. Secondly, I saw that educated, so-called elite people were not getting into politics. But for me, I thought that if I am going to be educated, I must be able to get into the game and make a difference.

Also, I wondered why it was only men in politics, when it was clear so many of them couldn’t deliver. I wanted to see how I could contribute.

I had studied for a diploma in education at the University of Zambia, then I worked as a teacher. That was in the family; both my father and mother were teachers. Then in 2000 I started a Bachelor of Arts, and I’m now in a full-time Master’s programme in educational administration. Eventually I want to do a PhD on issues related to gender parity.

When I decided to go into politics my father was very supportive. He had attempted to become an MP twice in the Mkoshi North constituency that I now represent, without success. But others were sceptical. It meant that I lost my job in the civil service.

But when you have a will something keeps telling you to move, move, move. And I knew that people were looking for a change. Everbody said: “Let’s try and give a woman a go.”

There are now 22 women and 150 men in parliament. The voice of women in parliament is still a little weak, although the women in the various parties try to lobby their men, and we try to balance out who sits on committees. All of the women MPs in my party [the Movement for Multiparty Democracy] are ministers.

It seems that men want to show that the women are not capable, not chosen on merit. But most of the women have done tremendously well. They do their work, their research, and when they are not able to state the answers they say that they will go away and find out.

You ask me when there will be a woman president of Zambia: well the time is ripe, anything is possible. There will never be bells ringing saying “this is the time”. It is up to women to take up the fight.

I am married to an accountant who works in the ministry of health, but he stays almost 1,000km away in a northern province. My daughter, who is 12, is at a state boarding school. I don’t keep her at home because of the prevalence of rape and defilement. If you have a houseboy you cannot trust him; if you have a garden boy, you cannot trust him. If you have cousin, you cannot trust him; you cannot trust anyone.

Given the position I have, given the nature of breadwinning, I have to be away a lot. Women who are earning the family’s money have to go out. When they are out, who is looking after their girls?

There is a lot of gender-based violence in the world. And in Zambia too. A bill is now being finalised with the law development commission and will soon be brought to parliament. And the government has set up a number of institutions. One is the victim support unit, another is an awareness and sensitisation programme. More violence is being reported and our judges are doing well, with sex offenders getting very long sentences.

But there is a myth in Africa that someone who is HIV-positive can be cured if they sleep with a virgin. This is why we have all the issues of rape and defilement of very young girls. It usually happens in homes. That is why I feel my girl is safe in an all-female environment.

But my sons, aged 10 and seven, live at home. I do all the house chores myself. Every day I wake at 4am and prepare the food, make sure the boys have their baths and take them to school. After that I clean, sweep and dust, and by 7am I am ready for work.

In the evenings the boys can cook their own simple food. I think everybody must do their own work – cooking, washing, cleaning. No part of the work should be reserved for women and girls. Among urban-dwellers this is a concept that is widely spreading, but when you go to rural parts of the country it is almost taboo. It’s a real challenge for developing countries to address such taboos.

The other challenge in rural areas is that literacy levels are low, particularly for girls. The next school might be 10 or 15km away, and much farther for high school. What I really want to do is build a high school for girls in my constituency. At the moment we have just two high schools that are supposed to educate 200,000 pupils. A new school would cost about 10 billion Zambian kwacha and I’m looking very hard for a donor who might be able to support that.

Also, there’s a big problem with HIV and Aids. The burden of caring falls very much to women and girls, and some girls have to stop school as a result. But we have so many terminally ill people, and so many orphans.

It is not an easy road for women, but then nothing is impossible for a woman, and they are in a better position than men to address many of the vices and problems that we see.

[guardian.co.uk]

The funeral of Nelson Mandela’s great-granddaughter, Zenani, will take place on Thursday June 17, 2010 at the chapel of her school, St Stithians College in Sandton, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said on Monday.

While the funeral would not be open to the public, South Africans were welcome to send their condolences to the Mandela family via email, said foundation spokesperson Sello Hatang.

“We appreciate that South Africans and visitors to the country would all like to be there, but due to space constraints, we ask that they please send their condolences to [email protected],” he said.

“We will certainly make sure that the family receives them.”

Zenani Zanethemba Nomasonto Mandela, 13, died in a car crash after the World Cup opening concert in Soweto on Thursday night. She is the granddaughter of Zindzi Mandela, who is the daughter of Madiba and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

The driver of the car was Sizwe Mankazana, the 23-year-old son of Zwelakhe Mankazana, who is Zenani Mandela-Dlamini’s partner. Mandela-Dlamini is the late Zenani’s great-aunt.

Mankazana was initially arrested and charged with drunk driving and culpable homicide, but his case was struck off the roll on Friday pending “further investigation”.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said that Mankazana would appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on July 26, two weeks after the World Cup had ended.

NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga declined to comment on claims that Mankazana was getting special treatment because he was part of the Mandela family.

He also denied that Mankazana’s case had been delayed to manage media coverage by letting him appear after the World Cup had ended on July 11, when most foreign journalists had already left the country.

“Whatever decisions we take, they are above board,” said Mhaga.
Sapa

United Liberal Party (ULP) president Sakwiba Sikota has said the leaders of PF/UPND pact Michael Sata and Hakainde Hichilema are allegedly naive and too simplistic by suggesting that they would reverse the sale of 75 per cent shares in Zamtel to Libya’s Lap Green Networks.

Mr Sikota, who is also a lawyer, said the two leaders lack a proper understanding of economic management from a legal perspective because renationalising companies was costly as the new owners would demand several other costs apart from the principal purchase value.

Mr Sikota was reacting to continued statements by Mr Hichilema and Mr Sata that they would revoke the sale of 75 per cent shares in Zamtel sold to Libya’s Lap Green Network.

He said the cost demobilisation, projected profits, the amounts invested, compensation and the actual profits, which would be lost, could rise to un proportional levels that no government would pay.

The country’s rating had already been threatened because of such statements, which do not give hope to the present and would-be investors.

He warned that Zambia’s world credit rating would collapse if Mr Hichilema and Mr Sata continue to threaten renationalisation of the privatised companies like Zamtel.

Mr Sikota said Mr Hichilema and Mr Sata should avoid such thoughts because they were almost legally unrealistic.

Mr Sikota said Government operated on the principle of continuation of sovereignty, which ensures continued economic and political stability.

He said Mr Hichilema and Mr Sata should not become a risk to national economic development by issuing statements that would threaten the country’s increased confidence internationally.

He said whether or not Government changes after next year’s elections, the Government of the Republic of Zambia would remain with the mandate of encouraging foreign direct investment.

And Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Felix Mutati said that Zamtel made losses that amounted to K385 billion in the last three years and that it saved US$200 million which was required to save the company from closure.

Mr Mutati said at a media briefing in Lusaka yesterday the company had become technically insolvent with shareholders’ fund collapsing to negative K270 billion in 2009 alone.

Mr Mutati said the company had terminally collapsed with more than 50 per cent of monthly revenues going towards salaries while its competitors, Zain and MTN only spent less than 25 per cent on the payroll and made contributions to the economy through taxes.
[ Times of Zambia ]

Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati says he will never insult the integrity of the Zambian people.

Addressing journalists during a press briefing held at his office this afternoon, Mr. Mutati said his statement that the people of Zambia would not understand the ZAMTEL Valuation Report was not meant to insult the integrity of the people.

Mr. Mutati explained that what he meant was that the people would only understand fully the matter after government makes a presentation of a comprehensive statement to parliament immediately it resumed sittings next month.

He said a comprehensive statement would highlight the details of the RP Capital Valuation Report and other details pertaining to the sale of ZAMTEL.

Mr. Mutati said his statement was based on how people might find it trick to understand the motive behind government’s sale of the country’s telecommunications company before a detailed comprehensive statement is made available to the public through parliament.

And Mr. Mutati disclosed that government decided to sell ZAMTEL because it was financially ill.

He said government did not have money to recapitalize the company because it was not budgeted for in the 2010 national budget.

He said the money that was needed to recapitalize ZAMTEL amounted to over US$200 million which he says government could not afford.

He noted that the only option government had was to find an investor who would inject money needed to revive normal operations of the company, which he says was a good idea because government will now receive dividends and taxes, as opposed to recording zeroes before it was sold.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mutati said the Zambia National Commercial Bank, ZANACO, is currently performing well in the wake of its privatization.

He said government has been benefiting well from ZANACO through dividends and taxes it receives from the investor in the commercial bank since it was privatized.
[ QFM ]