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Bharti Airtel of India the mobile company which recently acquired Zain Africa assets has said it will invest US$150 million in Zambia towards the enhancing of the 2G and 3G network coverage in the country.
Speaking during a media briefing in Lusaka this afternoon,Bharti Airtel International Chief Executive Officer Manoj Kohli said the investment will be carried out over a two to three years period.
He said Bharti intends to take 3G services deeper by enhancing the coverage and quality and the wireless broadband available to more towns and cities in the country.
[pullquote]Mr Kohli added that Bharti Airtel will also bring affordability to the Zambian customers by making services more affordable in form lower tariffs.[/pullquote]
He said this will entail that more and more Zambia will be able to utilize wireless broadband on their mobile phones using the Bharti Airtel 3G services. Mr Kohli said this will happen in the next three to six months.
Mr Kohli said the Zambia market provides a lot of encouragement to Bharti Airtel and commended Zain Zambia for the work done to take on market leadership.
He said Bharti Airtel will take a bigger leadership in network coverage across Zambia including in rural areas of the country.
He said it is clear from the meetings he held with Zambian officials in the ministry of communication and the regulators that the agenda of Bharti Airtel and the Zambian Government is completely alike because both are looking forward to building a prosperous Zambia.
Mr Kohli added that Bharti Airtel will also bring affordability to the Zambian customers by making services more affordable in form lower tariffs.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) says it is carrying out sensitisation programmes following the outbreak of measles especially in some parts of Lusaka. Ministry of Health Spokesperson Dr. said the ministry has set aside some funds to contain the further spread of measles to other parts of the country.
Dr. Mbewe said the most affected by the vice were children under the age of five and it was for this reason that the ministry will hold a child health week in July.
He told ZANIS in a telephone interview in Lusaka today that the ministry has a mandate to safeguard the lives of children in the country.
Dr. Mbewe pointed out that the ministry intends on increasing the number of children to be immunised during the child health week next month.
He urged parents and guardians in the nation to ensure that they take children 5 years and below to the nearest clinic when child health week starts.
He added that the ministry was still compiling more data on the measles situation in the country.
From January to April 2010 Lusaka was worst hit by an out break of measles with Chawama Clinic recording 36 cases, Kanyama recorded six, Mandevu recorded four and Makeni recorded three cases.
Government has released K915 million for road works in Kawambwa district of Luapula Province. Kawambwa District Commissioner Gershom Tanga says the money is meant for the rehabilitation of four main roads in the district.
Mr. Tanga says the rehabilitation work will commence soon.He disclosed this during the District Development Coordinating Committee (DDCC) meeting held in the council chamber Thursday morning. He also said earthmoving equipment has been released to the district and has since appealed to members of the community to support the project.
Mr. Tanga added that once the roads are repaired, transportation of farming inputs to farmers this season will be eased.
In another development, the District Commissioner has appealed to Luapula Rural Water Supply and sewerage company (LRWSSC) to improve the supply of water in the district.
Mr. Tanga wondered why the company has decided to increase the water tariffs before improving the system in the area.
He has since advised the water firm to seriously address the issue of service delivery and customer satisfaction as opposed to rushing into increasing the tariffs.
And members of the DDCC unanimously resolved that the water utility company should suspend the new tariffs until the water reticulation system is improved.
And some people talked to by ZANIS in the area said the supply of water by the new company is worse than was the case with the council.
They said LRWSSC should not rely on customers for capital but that it should first improve the system. They said they are willing to pay the new tariffs once the system is improved and have since called on the new company to provide a good service to its customers.
Luapula Rural Water Supply and Sewerage Company took over from the local council in January this year in a bid to improve the water reticulation system.
President Rupiah Banda has urged Zambia and Namibia to remove all barriers that constrain economic trade between the two countries. President Banda said Namibia and Zambia should use common infrastructure such as the Katima Mulilo Bridge to the fullest to develop strong trade relations between the two countries.
The president was speaking during a State Banquet held in his honour by his Namibian counterpart, Hifikepunye Pohamba at State House in Namibia Wednesday night.
He said because of the historical ties that existed, Zambia and Namibia had continued to work closely in organisations such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the Commonwealth, among others.
The president said there was need to use these organisations to highlight problems the two countries faced and help find solutions.
Mr Banda reassured the government of Namibia of Zambia’s commitment to further expanding the bilateral relations and cooperation between the two sister nations for the mutual benefit of the two peoples.He mentioned that one of the areas that required further cooperation was education where the two countries could develop exchange programmes at institutions of Higher learning level.
Mr Banda said Zambia would move fast to develop the Walvis Bay Dry Port which, with the completed Katima Mulilo Bridge would boost trade and transportation of goods and services between the two countries. The president also said Zambia was in the process of expanding the power sector adding that the completion of the Caprivi Power link Inter-connector would make it easier for the two countries to share power.
Mr. Banda said Zambia and other SADC member states have collaborated closely to mobilise resources from the International Community to help the region develop regional projects in transport, energy and other infrastructures. He also called on African countries to collectively emphasise the issues of hunger, poverty, civil strife, unsustainable debt and unfavourable trade practices at all international organisations.
Mr Banda said Zambia and Namibia envisage an African continent free from poverty and armed conflict but it was however saddening to observe that the continent was yet to enjoy total peace and stability. “ Africa continues to be afflicted by many challenges such as conflicts situations prevailing in some parts of the continent, including SADC which need resolution,” President Banda said.
He said there need for Zambia and Namibia to continue supporting continental and international initiatives aimed at restoring peace and stability in some trouble-torn African countries. Mr Banda also urged the international community to provide the necessary support to the African Union (AU) and member states and governments to enable them resolve these conflicts.
He however, said the Great Lakes Region has evolved from turbulence to relative peace, stability and development owing to the commitment of the leaders in the region who agreed to collaborate under the framework of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
President Banda, as chairperson of the ICGLR, urged members of the International Community and the group of friends not to reinvent the wheel by proposing new projects but to finance the already existing programmes identified by the ICGLR member states.
“Cooperating partners should therefore continue to assist in consolidating the new found peace and cooperation among members of the Great Lakes Grouping,” the president Banda said.
And speaking earlier, Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba hailed Zambia for the political, material, and moral support it rendered to the people of Namibia during the struggle for national liberation waged by SWAPO. President Pohamba also expressed profound appreciation for President Banda for his personal contribution to the liberation of Namibia especially when he served as Permanent representative of Zambia to the United Nations (UN) and also as President of the UN Council for Namibia .
He said Namibia will remain grateful for the support received from the sisterly people of Zambia adding that their generous contribution was instrumental in the achievement of freedom and the independence 20 years ago. Mr Pohamba said Zambia and Namibia needed to make extra efforts to improve trade co-operation, to enhance people-to-people contacts and to continue strengthening government-to-government cooperation in the areas of health care, education, information, communication technology, agriculture, tourism and development of infrastructure.
He said for SADC and other regional economic communities in Africa , regional integration was a core strategy to accelerate economic growth and improvement in the living conditions of millions who face hunger, diseases and insecurity.
Mr Pohamba reaffirmed Namibia ’s commitment to pursuing the two countries’ common objectives towards deepening regional integration in the SADC Region.
He explained that the consolidation of regional integration required the two governments to work purposefully to counter challenges of human trafficking, organised crime and drug trafficking.
He added that these threats could undermine meaningful and beneficial regional integration and could also pose a threat to regional security.
President Pohamba also said as members of the African Union Committee of 10 on United Nations Reform , Namibia and Zambia had a duty to work together towards a meaningful reform of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council.
He further stressed the need for the two countries to impress upon members of the international community to honour their commitment for the attainment of the Millennium development Goals (MDGs).
President Banda is today expected to inspect the Zambian Dry Port in Walvis Bay and meet Zambians living in Namibia in Windhoek later in the evening.
PF spokesperson Given Lubinda confers with UPND vice president Richard Kapita during a press briefing in Lusaka
The opposition Patriotic Front PF has described the release of the Draft Constitution to the public by the National Constitution Conference NCC as a mockery.
The NCC on Tuesday released to the public the Initial Report of the Conference,the Draft Constitution, and the Summary of the Resolutions of the Conference, giving the public 40 days in which to make their observations and contributions towards the draft constitution.
But PF Spokesperson Given Lubinda observed that the rush to release the draft document to the public has not been done in good faith but merely to justify the huge expenditures National Constitutional Conference has incurred during its deliberations.
Mr. Lubinda told QFM in an interview that the NCC has spent colossal amounts of money deliberating over recommendations of the Mung’omba Constitutional Review Commission.
He also stated that it is clear that the whole process of the NCC has been marred with a lot of inconsistencies that has led to the failure by the delegates to come up with a people driven legal document.
He added that Zambians expected so much from the NCC that the huge resources invested in the process have not yielded anything to meet the expectations of the people after making progressive recommendations to the Mung’omba CRC.
And Forum for Progressive Politics (FPP) have welcomed the newly launched draft constitution. FPP Secretary General Charles Kafumbo said the forum was happy with the 40 days given to the public to make submissions which would be considered in the final document.
He said the period given was long enough for people to read and understand the document but expressed worry that very few were likely to submit because they had no access to the document especially in rural areas.
He said the decision by Government to allow the District Commissioners’ offices to avail the draft constitution to the public would disadvantage the rural community who could not manage to travel to a district to access the document. Mr. Kafumbo noted that Government should have taken the document to all constituency offices, if the rural community was to fully articipate in the exercise adding that the process would not yield desired results failure to avail it to people at the grassroot level.
He observed that the National Constitution Conference (NCC) process has cost the country huge sums of money which he said could only be beneficial if all citizens added their voice to the document. He stated that at the stage the document had reached it was irreversible as huge public resources had already been spent saying Government should be prepared to spend even more to let every Zambian access the document.
He said Government should consider printing more copies and also translating it into local languages to enable more people
to read it. In another development, Mr. Kafumbo said the voter registration was faced with low turn out because of lack of information on the exercise to the community.
He said people in the community did not know where to find the centers adding that Electoral Commission of Zambia should do more publicity in the community. He said the people in the community could not afford to buy a newspaper in order for them to ascertain the centres saying advertising in the papers would only reach selective individuals.
He advised ECZ to use the vehicles they have been given to sensitise people in the community as the only way to improve voter registration turn out. But when contacted for a comment, ECZ Public Relations Manager Cris Akufuna said the commission is doing everything possible to publicise the exercise around the country.
Editor’s Note
Due to many requests, LT has created a link for people to download the full Draft Constitution Document as it is not clear on where to download it from the NCC website
Use the link below to download the 301 page Draft Constititution report
By Kim Lungu This is the year 2010 and women all over Zambia have made great strides in proving that they are capable of doing a mans job and do it even better.However the most callous boss a woman can have (at times) is another woman.Just like the character played by Merly Streep in the film The Devil Wears Prada.
It seems that many successful women have major unresolved issues that they feel the need to take out on those who work for them, especially if that individual is of the same gender.
For example Last week my sisters 4 year old kid broke his arm whilst at school.The school called my sister at the office telling her to get to the school quickly.She was in the middle of a meeting with her boss whom I shall call Mrs Banda.
Mrs Banda’s first response was ‘why can’t your husband go there? We have a lot of work to do here’.After an awkward silence she said ‘ ok go but get back here quickly’.
My nephew was taken to hospital and admitted.He was in so much pain that my sister did not even think to leave his side.The next day a driver from work came to the hospital to pick up my sister.My sister and the medical staff attending to the boy could not believe this. Especially that the boy was soon to go to threatre.
My sister called Mrs Banda to explain the situation but the response she got was-
‘I thought I told you to get back to the office yesterday. Besides there are nurses in hospital to look after your son’
This is just one example of how unreasonable and uncaring female bosses can be.
Women are by nature caring and nurturing but in the office they seem to want to mimic the classic male boss—tough and authoritative. In trying to do so they over do it and come out almost inhuman. With their cool veneer and imperial demeanor, these bosses don’t show much interest in their employees. Ultimately, they lose out in terms of motivation and retention of employees! People want to work where they are known and valued, and they give more when they are.
Lusaka province MMD chairman William Banda surveys defectors from opposition Zambia Empowerment and Development party during a meeting in Lusaka
The Movement for Multiparty Democracy, MMD, has demanded for a complaint in writing from any concerned stakeholder calling on the party control or discipline its Lusaka Province Chairman William Banda.
In a telephone interview with QFM, MMD National Chairman Michael Mabenga expresses ignorance about complaints by some stakeholders over the conduct of Mr William Banda, stressing that the party is not aware of any complaints about the MMD Lusaka provincial chairman being a danger to national peace.
He says those complaining about Mr. William Banda should write to the MMD explaining what they want the party to do.
Mr. Mabenga who kept on diverting from the questions accused the QFM reporters of reading out the questions to him instead of explaining what they wanted from him.
Mr. Mabenga failed to give the party’s stance on the matter, accusing the reporters of being indiscipline, almost turning the interview into a misunderstanding.
He also insisted that he be given the names of those complaining about Mr. William Banda conduct.
But when given some names of political parties and Civil Society Organizations that have been calling for the disciplining of Mr. Banda, Mr. Mabenga challenged those complaining to put their complaints in writing.
He says the party will only act when it receives written complaints, and not through the media.
Recently, MISA Zambia appealed to the MMD leadership, including President Rupiah Banda, to check Mr. William Banda’s excesses, describing him as ‘a senior cadre with a reputation of thuggish behaviour dating back to his days as Lusaka District Governor, under the former ruling party, UNIP’.
And several other Civil Society Organizations and most Political Parties have been calling for President Rupiah Banda to control Mr. Banda on grounds that his political style has become a recipe for anarchy in the country.
THE Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has revised rates of allowances for officers participating in the voter registration exercise.
And the ECZ says the continuous mobile voter registration is expected to gain momentum.
Solwezi Municipal Council town clerk Jim Zya confirmed the upward revision of allowances, saying the commission has adjusted the allowances following concerns from the field officers.
Mr Zya said town clerks, council secretaries and provincial local government officers’ allowances have been increased from K1.3 million to K4.5 million per month.
He said the commission has also increased allowances for assistant technical registration officers from K2.8 million to K4.5 million per month.
Mr Zya also said monthly allowances for assistant registration officers working in rural and urban areas have been increased from K2.3 million and K1.8 million to K4.5 million and K3.8 million, respectively.
He said the ECZ wrote to provincial local government officers, town clerks and council secretaries notifying them that rates have been revised following discussions with the Ministry of Finance and National Planning.
Mr Zya said discussions for allowances for Zambia Police officers attached to the exercise are still ongoing and will be communicated as soon as revised rates are finalised.
He urged the officers to remain committed to duty, saying there is no need to delay the exercise as their concerns are being addressed.
ECZ began the continuous mobile voter registration exercise on Monday with some centres registering low levels of potential voters.
In some parts of the country, the programme could not take off because of confusion arising from demands to be paid allowances.
Some police officers have also been reported to have refused to accept the K1 million monthly allowances in the voter registration exercise offered by ECZ, claiming the amount was too little.
And ECZ public relations manager Cris Akufuna said the first day of such a national exercise usually has hiccups.
Mr Akufuna said in response to a press query that it is the hope of the commission that the turnout will improve in due course.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Voter Apathy has called on civil society organisations to help in sensitising the public on the importance of registering as voters.
AVAP executive director Bonny Tembo said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that civil society organisations can play a role in sensitising the community on the importance of the continuous voter registration.
“As civil society organisations, we can play our role in ensuring that most members of the public are sensitised whenever we have an opportunity to do so,” he said.
THE price of maize at some markets in Lusaka has reduced drastically following an influx of cheaper supplies from farmers who are selling the commodity far below the K65,000 floor price recommended by the Food Reserve Agency.
The farmers are selling their maize for an average of K45,000 per 50kg bag to millers and traders in Lusaka.
A check conducted in Lusaka yesterday showed that the farmers were selling maize at K900 per kilogramme.
One trader at Soweto Market said some millers were buying the grain at prices as low as K850 per kilogramme as some farmers were desparate to sell their maize.
In other food prices, kapenta bought from Mpulungu in Northern Province and beans imported from Solwezi were going for K45,000 per five kilogramme package.
Kapenta bought from Siavonga and other varieties of beans were going for K35,000 per five kilogrammes.
The high price of beans imported from Solwezi was attributed to high transportation costs of the commodity from the source.
A 10kg bag of potatoes was going for K35,000 for bigger potatoes and K15,000 for a five-kilogramme bag of medium-sized potatoes, while a five-kilogramme bag of groundnuts was pegged at K15,000.
For some varieties of vegetables, rape was going at K1,000 for a small bunch. Cabbage was selling at between K2,000 and K3,000.
Chief Government Spokesperson Ronnie Shikapwasha says Republican President Rupiah Banda deserves to be given credit for taking time to watch the Fifa World Cup games in South Africa.
Lt. Gen. Shikapwasha said the President has been working very hard for the country and deserved some relaxation by taking time to watch the world cup game involving Brazil and Ivory Coast.
He said President Banda has worked so hard to grow the economy, and that condemning his trip to South Africa is unfortunate.
Gen. Shikapwasha told QFM that it is surprising that Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata is condemning Presidents Banda’s visit to South Africa. He added that the President has worked extra hard in keeping the nation’s economy afloat and his trips outside should not be politicized.
He said Zambians should debate real issues and not trivial issues that do not add any value to the growth of the nation.
[ QFM]
Lucky Msiska has said he is satisfied with what he has seen today in Zambia’s training match against Nkwazi.
Zambia came from behind to beat the Faz Super Division team 2-1 at Edwin Imboela stadium in Lusaka.
“We were one-down in the first half but we came back strongly after the break with two goals,” Msiska said on Wednesday evening after the training game played on the eve of the teams departure for Botswana.
Msiska said the 22-man team leaves for Botswana by road tomorrow ahead of Saturday’s friendly against their hosts in Gaborone.
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.
The Foundation for Democratic Process FODEP has observed the launch of the National Constitution Conference NCC draft constitution gives hope to Zambians that the 2011 tripartite elections will be held under a new constitution.
FODEP information officer, McDonald Chipenzi has, however, criticized the failure to translate the draft constitution into local languages.
He said though the launch of the draft constitution is a positive step by government in the promotion of good governance, it would have been good if the draft constitution was translated into local languages to enable more people the opportunity to go through it.
Mr. Chipenzi has also bemoaned the 40 days period for people to go through the draft constitution and make contribution which he has described as insufficient.
He said Zambians need enough time to be able make meaningful contributions.
Meanwhile, Mr. Chipenzi has called on Zambians to take advantage of the launch of the draft constitution and make contributions.
He said this is an opportunity that Zambians cannot afford to miss and should give their very best in contributing to the constitution making process.
[ QFM ]
PF Leader Michael Sata (left)
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.
