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Zesco United technical advisor Andre Mtine has resigned from the club just a year and half after joining the 2008 Super Division champions.
Mtine said today that he was leaving Zesco on personal reasons to concentrate on his non-football business.
He said this weekend’s match against Green Buffaloes whom Zesco host in a Week 7 game at Kafubu stadium in Luanshya will be his last.
“I would like to inform the chairman and other officials of Zesco United football club that I am stepping down from my position for professional reasons,” Mtine said.
Mtine thanked the Zesco executive including the technical bench led by Fighton Simukonda for the support.
The former Roan united and Forest Rangers technical advisor arrived at Zesco in January 2009 together with Simukonda following former coach Wedson Nyirenda to take up another lucrative appointment with Zanaco.
Zambian Breweries PLC is upset with Faz for letting the Under-17 team to use beer branded training bibs.
The clear beer monoply is not pleased after Under-17 players during practice session were pictured in Thursday’s edition of The Post newspapers’ sports page spotting branded training bibs baring the name of a popular lager of South African origin.
The Under-17 are in camp preparing for this Saturdays CAF Under-17 Cup qualifier against Uganda that will be played at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka with the hosts trailing 2-0 from the first leg played a fortnight ago in Kampala.
ZB corporate affairs director Chibamba Kanyama said in a press statement released on Thursday that his company took great exception in using minors to advertize alcoholic beverages.
“We have observed that some members of your junior national soccer teams have been spotted dressed in attire bearing our beer brands during training sessions,” ” Chibamba said in his statement.
“We are obviously not privy to details as to whether this is being done with your sanction or is just a case of isolated incidences by members of the said teams.
“We would be grateful if you could ensure that any show of our alcoholic beverage brands at any of your events in future is STRICTLY NOT associated with people below the legal drinking age.
“Further, our commercial communication will not incorporate images of people who are, or look as if they are, under the legal drinking age.
“This is the more reason we have restricted ourselves and channeled our support to the Football Association of Zambia through the senior national soccer team which is predominately made up of persons that are above 18 years.”
Lazarous Kapambwe, representative of the Republic of Zambia to the United Nations talks to students at West Orange High School on Wednesday April 21, 2010.
Logan Svitzer was sitting in his U.S. history class here when his cell phone rang. He answered, but didn’t understand the person on the other end and hung up. He subsequently received a text message, which he ignored. Then the phone rang two more times.
Annoyed by the disruption, Svitzer’s teacher, Robbin Sweeney, grabbed the cell and called back the number. On the other end was a man saying he was Lazarous Kapambwe, the Zambian ambassador to the United Nations. Sweeney was certain it was a prank or a con.
But after 10 minutes on the phone, Sweeney became convinced Kapambwe was telling the truth. Kapambwe was urgently trying to get a hold of a fellow diplomat from Sierra Leone to discuss a proposed reform of the UN Security Council. But the phone number he had stored in his phone was one digit off.
“He was eloquent and apologetic, and he had a vast knowledge of Zambia,” Sweeney said. “I made a deal with him. I said, ‘Since you’ve taken up so much of my class time, why don’t you come speak to my school?’”
That was in the fall. Today, Kapambwe went to the school to make amends. He spoke to about 300 students, encouraging them to consider careers in diplomacy.
“I apologize for what happened, but nothing happens without a purpose,” he said. “Many of you are about to graduate. Today I hope I will recruit a few people into diplomatic service.”
Kapambwe spoke cheerfully about his home country of Zambia, which he described as a peaceful place that boasts 74 languages. Zambia, which is landlocked by Tanzania, Zimbabwe and other larger countries, is about the size of Texas and has about 13 million residents, Kapambwe said. Zambia is also home to the Victoria Falls, a renowned tourist spot.
Zambia has also had its share of internal strife.
“You remember how in your country you were fighting for your independence? Well, we had the same problems,” Kapambwe said. “We were under colonial rule until 1964, and for a poor, new country, diplomacy through the United Nations can mean life or death.”
As for the confusing phone call last year that eventually brought Kapambwe to West Orange, they can now laugh about it.
“I learned that anger and annoyance at a wrong phone call will never get you anywhere,” Sweeney said. “Maybe a wrong call can make you a new friend.”
Ballot papers for the forthcoming Mufumbwe and Milanzi parliamentary by-elections have arrived in the country from South Africa.
the electoral materials arrived at the Lusaka International airport aboard a Zambezi Airlines flight at about 19:30 hours last night.
the boxes contain 418 books for the Milanzi and 424 books for Mufumbwe.
And electoral commission of zambia(ECZ) electoral officer Lawrence Mulenga told ZNBC that stakeholders will be at ECZ tommorrow to verify the consignment.
Mr. Mulenga said political parties and other players in the electoral system will verify and inspect the serial numbers and quantity of the materials.
He also disclosed that all the electoral materials will be dispatched to Milanzi and Mufumbwe on friday in readiness for polling day on Thursday next week.
Three political parties in each of the by-election are contesting the two vacant seats.
In Mufumbwe, the ruling MMD has fielded Mulondwe Muzungu, UPND is fielding Eliot Kamondo while Stephen Kamwengo is standing on the UNIP ticket.
The seat fell vacant after the death of MMD area member of parliament Misheck Bonshe, who was also home affairs deputy minister.
And in Milanzi, Whiteson Banda is the MMD’s aspiring candidate, UNIP has fielded Musa Banda while Albert Banda is standing on the PF ticket.
The by-election follows the death of MMD area MP, Reuben Chisanga Banda.
Western province minister Richard Mwapela welcomes President Rupiah Banda to Lealui for the Kuomboka ceremony at the weekend
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President Rupiah Banda and First Lady Thandiwe are ushered at Lealui Palace by Western province Minister Richard Mwapela (r) and western Province Deputy Permanent Secretary Seth Muleya (l)
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Finance minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane looks at a traditional hat with ministry of Education deputy minister Clement Sinyinda during Kuomboka ceremony at Lealui
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President Rupiah Banda listen to traditional drummers with King Lubosi The Litunga of the Lozi people during Kuomboka Ceremony in Lealui.
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King Lubosi The Litunga of the Lozi people chats with President Banda during Kuomboka Ceremony in Lealui
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King Lubosi The Litunga of the Lozi people chats with President Banda during Kuomboka Ceremony in Lealui
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President Rupiah Banda with King Lubosi The Litunga of the Lozi people of the Western Province during Kuomboka Ceremony at Lealui
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President Rupiah Banda emerges out of the Nalikwanda and is helped by paddlers at Lealui
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President Rupiah Banda with the King Lubosi of the Lozi people of the Western Province during Kuomboka Ceremony after his arrival in Limulunga
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President Rupiah Banda and First Lady Thandiwe during Kuomboka Ceremony at Limulunga.
Chambishi Copper MineFour big Chinese firms have signed an agreement with Government to set up business investments worth 100 million United States dollars at the Chambishi Multi facility economic zones.
The four Chinese companies are Shandong Shifeng Group, Xiang Guang Group, Guanteng Group of China and Albetter Albronze Limited which is a subsidiary of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Company (CNMC).
Signing on behalf of the firms CMNC vice president Dr Tao Xingua said that their interest to invest in Zambia follows President Rupiah Banda’s recent state visit to China to solicit for viable investments from the Chinese Government.
And speaking at the same function Director of Finance in the Ministry of Commerce,trade and industry Siazonga Siakalenga who signed on behalf of the Zambian Governments said that Zambia is confident that investment of the four companies would attract more investments from other states.
The four companies would be the first to express interest in setting up businesses at the Chambishi MFEZ leaving 52 more places for investments.
[QFM ]
The Supreme Court sitting in Lusaka yesterday restored Zambezi Portland Cement Limited directors – Antonio Ventriglia and Manuela Ventriglia as directors of the company, taking over from Lusaka lawyer, Robert Simeza who was operating it in receivership.
This was in a matter in which the two directors had appealed against the High Court’s refusal to grant them an injunction restraining Mr Simeza and Eastern and Southern Trade and Development Bank from taking over the operations of the company.
In a judgment yesterday, Supreme Court Judge Lombe Chibesakunda sitting with Hildah Chibomba said the court was satisfied that there was need for an interlocutary injunction to be granted to the appellants to protect company property.
“We have considered the arguments advanced by both parties in their heads of arguments; first we agree that there was evidence on record that the appellants were still directors of Zambezi Portland Cement Limited using the authority of Avalon Motors Limited in receivership going by the evidence on record.
“We are satisfied that the learned trial judge based his rejection to grant the appellant an injunction on his conclusions which were not supported by any evidence on record. He concluded wrongly that the appellants were to be punished because they had failed to disclose the facts that they ceased to be shareholders; so he misdirected himself,” Ms Justice Chibesakunda said.
The court held that there were two main contentious issues, which were to be dealt with at trial stage concerning the bank and Mr Simeza who were the first and second respondents respectively.
Ms Justice Chibesakunda said the first was whether or not the first respondent was right to appoint the second respondent as a receiver at that stage and secondly whether or not there was a breach of the loan.
The respondents had argued that the PTA Bank, which secured the loan, could not be sued because it enjoyed diplomatic immunity.
But the Supreme Court stripped the bank of its immunity and said it could be sued.
[Times of Zambia]
Police in Senanga have arrested a 30 year old man for allegedly raping his 60 year old mother. Western Province Police Commanding Officer Vael Muzwenga confirmed the incident to ZANIS in Mongu yesterday.
Mr. Muzwenga said the incident happened on Tuesday around 17:30hrs when the named mother went to look for her son who had been missing from home for some time. He said the woman eventually found her son in a cassava field and persuaded him to go back home.
Mr. Muzwenga said that after the conversation, the mother left her son in the field and went to a stream to take a bath. He said it was at the stream that the son allegedly attacked and raped her.
Mr. Muzwenga said the woman later reported the matter to police and the suspect has since been arrested and will appear in court soon.
[MUVI TV]
PUTTING 90 per cent of people’s money into Patriotic Front (PF) councillors’ pockets is a damning indictment on a political party that premises its election message on putting more money into people’s pockets.
This is a party whose leader, Michael Sata, has, since his first Republican presidential election race in 2001, been promising that if elected into power, he would put more money into people’s pockets.
Today, Zambians know that the pockets Mr Sata has been harping about are PF councillors’ pockets!
This is what Mr Sata probably meant when he declared after the 2006 presidential electoral defeat that his party would run the councils.
Following that year’s defeat in which he was presumably headed for victory, Mr Sata sought to save face by declaring that despite losing the presidential race to incumbent Levy Mwanawasa, the PF’s victory was in getting the majority of local government seats.
The 2006 presidential battering was a rude awakening to the PF leader who had campaigned against the MMD’s Mwanawasa on a populist platform of delivering in 90 days what Zambians had lacked for 42 years.
A tough one, this one was!
In his characteristic bravado, Sata claimed that despite failing to wrest the presidency from Mwanawasa, he had gained control of the management of local government and, with that, the PF would prove within 90 days at local level what it could demonstrate on the national front if handed the Republican presidency.
[pullquote]‘It is difficult to understand how, for instance, out of K124 billion, the Lusaka City Council could spend nearly half of the amount— K55 billion— on personal emoluments, while service provision and infrastructure development receive only K27billion or 22 per cent of the total 2008-2009 budgetary allocation.’[/pullquote]
It has been more than 40 months since the Sata declaration was made and if the performance of PF-controlled councils is to be the basis of deciding who should be in State House in 2011, Zambian people will have no difficulties making their choice.
Mr Sata’s 2006 declaration has since not been recanted, and what every Zambians still believes is that the PF is running most of the councils in the country.
Running councils is one thing, running them effectively is quite another, and running them scandalously is simply unforgivable and a self-inflicted electoral defeat.
So much has changed since 2006— president Mwanawasa has since crossed over to the opposite side of life, Mr Rupiah Banda is the new Zambian President since November 2008, Mr Sata is yet again trying his luck at the slippery Republican presidency and Hakainde Hichilema has changed from a gentleman to an insulting commentator.
While there has been so much change, certain things have remained constant, and these include the scandalous running of councils by the PF.
At his Press briefing held at the Copperbelt Energy Company (CEC) guest house in Kitwe two days ago, President Banda made a startling revelation of how self-interest has become the norm for PF-run local authorities.
The president singled out Lusaka, Kitwe, Ndola, Luanshya and Chingola councils whose levels of expenditure on personal emoluments would scare any sane person and raise serious questions about the PF’s ability to run the country if, by large slices of luck, they were elected into Government.
It is difficult to understand how, for instance, out of K124 billion, the Lusaka City Council could spend nearly half of the amount—K55 billion—on personal emoluments while service provision and infrastructure development receives only K27billion or 22 per cent of the total 2008-2009 budgetary allocation.
In the case of the Chingola council, only two percent (K202 million) of the K13.9 bn allocated in 2008 went towards service provision and infrastructure development while K3.2billion went to personal emoluments.
The scenario is not different in Luanshya, Kitwe and Ndola where 47 per cent, 50 per cent and 70 per cent respectively went towards personal emoluments in the 2008-2009 period.
Ironically, these are the same councillors who have been in the forefront demonising President Banda’s administration.
The president was, therefore, in order when he briefed the nation at his conference that it was unacceptable, or indeed immoral, for the PF councillors in the said councils to put self interest before service provision.
This can only be interpreted as a deliberate ploy, as Mr Banda, observed, to incite the residents to revolt against a government which is doing its very best to improve the citizens’ lives.
It is now clear that instead of selling the party’s policies to the electorate, the PF has found it more convenient to reverse the MMD’s development initiatives by holding back money meant for development and spending it on themselves.
Many are times when residents have complained against poor service provision, and the PF and their United Party for National Development (UPND) partners have been the first to point an accusing finger at the MMD Government.
With the president’s revelation, Zambian people now know the truth and when he calls for accountability, he should not be accused of politicking or victimising opposition parties.
Local authorities, regardless of their political affiliation, are supposed to partner the central government in taking development to the people.
They should never be the ones top stifle development in the name of opposition politics.
If that were the way opposition parties conducted themselves in the United States of America, Europe and other advanced democracies, there could have been no development to write home about.
Mr Banda was, therefore, right when he said at the Kitwe Press briefing that service provision was a shared responsibility between the central government and local authorities who are closer to the people.
It then goes without saying that the income collected from people in the form of taxes, rates and rents should go back to the same people through service provision and infrastructure development.
These monies should never be channelled to political activities as the case now appears with the PF which is denying people development in their respective localities.
It is further appalling to learn that the PF-run councils have conspired to reveres the empowerment policy that was initiated by the Frederick Chiluba administration.
Astronomical taxation has become the in thing in these councils that have devised methods aimed at frustrating house owners and people who bought houses under the empowerment policy.
Even if Mr Sata no longer likes Dr Chiluba, are there no better methods of fighting the man than letting innocent people suffer?
Unrealistic rates, rentals and other taxes can only worse the plight of residents who are already struggling to survive.
The councils are further delaying issuance of title deeds to people who benefited from the empowerment policy.
President Banda’s anger is understandable.
“By delaying to issue title deeds, councils are frustrating Government efforts to empower our people. This is a direct fight with me and my Government, and I will not allow councils to win,” President Banda said.
These PF-run councils collect a lot of money through various taxes including property taxes from mining companies and other entities but this money does not go back to the people.
The councils cannot even work on township roads, claiming that that is the responsibility of central government through the Road Development Agency (RDA), and yet the RDA’s mandate is trunk roads.
The councils collect parking, and market levies but still fail to maintain markets and put decent road markings.
The PF councilors’ sole interest in is to scandalously put more money into their own bottomless pockets and blame President Banda’s administration for the councils’ failures.
This time they have been caught napping, and they just have to explain how they intend to run the country if they can disastrously fail to run councils.
PF Roan Member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili (L)
INCARCERATED Roan Member of Parliament (MP) Chishimba Kambwili has been evacuated from Thompson Hospital in Luanshya to Ndola Central Hospital (NCH) where he is expected to receive specialist treatment.
And Kambwili has filed an application for bail pending appeal in the Luanshya magistrates court.
Ndola chief resident magistrate, Kelvin Limbani is today expected to preside over the bail application in the Luanshya magistrates court.
Kambwili’s lawyer, Derrick Mulenga of Derrick Mulenga and Associates confirmed the development yesterday.
“The chief resident magistrate will hear Mr Kambwili’s bail application tomorrow (today) at 14:30 hours,” Mr Mulenga said.
In the ground of appeal, Kambwili argues that his conviction was not supported by the weight of evidence.
And Kambwili’s family has threatened to sue Luanshya’s Thompson Hospital doctor Peter Mulenga for allegedly acting unprofessionally by discharging the MP from the hospital while he was still experiencing blood pressure and sugar level complications.
Kambwili, 44, was yesterday afternoon evacuated from Thompson Hospital to Ndola Central Hospital where he was readmitted after being discharged from the Luanshya hospital on Saturday.
A Times reporter found Kambwili, who was confined to a wheelchair, being aided to move by some male nurses on his way to the admission ward.
NCH public relations officer, Sheona Chalimbana yesterday confirmed that Kambwili had been admitted to the hospital’s male high-cost ward.
She said the jailed MP would be treated just like any other patient admitted to the hospital.
“Doctors will do a medical check up and they are expected to give a full report on their findings tomorrow,” Ms Chalimbana said.
Kambwili’s older brother, Peter Mutale said the family would sue the doctor, who allegedly prematurely discharged the MP, and also request the Medical Council of Zambia to investigate the alleged unprofessional conduct of the doctor.
He alleged that the Government wanted to eliminate the MP despite chief Government spokesperson, Ronnie Shikapwasha’s denial.
“General Shikapwasha is not being truthful about the manner in which the Government is handling my brothers’ treatment and what the Government intends to do to him,” he said.
But Copperbelt Province Minister, Mwansa Mbulakulima said the Government had nothing to do with Kambwili’s incarceration and reminded his family to take time and reflect on what had led to him being convicted by the court.
Meanwhile, Patriotic Front (PF) Copperbelt Province youth vice-chairperson, Elias Kamanga said PF youths would stage a public demonstration over the manner in which some medical doctors at Thompson Hospital had treated their MP.
On Friday last week, Mr Limbani sentenced Kambwili to 15 days simple imprisonment and also fined him K10,000 for conduct likely to cause the breach of peace.
Mr Limbani, however, acquitted Kambwili’s three co-accused because he did not find the evidence against them exhaustive.
A SWEDISH HIV/AIDS ambassador has said combating the pandemic should not attract competition that is based on financial gains.
Lennarth Hjeimaker said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that the competition should be based on how best the spread of HIV/AIDS could be stopped or at least minimised.
He also urged poor countries to generate their own resources to supplement what the international community puts in the efforts to prevent further spread of HIV/AIDS, care and treatment.
“There is no disease that has attracted so much discrimination and stigma like HIV and AIDS. It is, therefore, important that we tackle HIV/AIDS from the prevention point of view because the disease is a complex one, and yet there is too much competition for the money,” he said.
Making it compete for financial reasons either in itself or against other diseases like malaria would not be healthy.
Mr Hjeimaker, who is from the ministry of foreign affairs in Sweden, is in Zambia for a three-day Sweden – Norway HIV/AIDS group workshop on
“Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment, and Care for Africa – How Can We Can Make it Happen”, taking place at Lusaka’s Intercontinental hotel.
He said while in Sweden, HIV/AIDS infections were not as high as in many African nations, Sweden decided to put HIV/AIDS high on its agenda.
While HIV/AIDS was a medical ailment like any other disease like malaria, it was different because of its complex nature.
“There is need to talk about issues like sexual equality, men having sex with men (MSM), sexuality, sex workers (men and women), etc. Talking openly about these issues will certainly help and everybody must be involved.
“We need a broader approach that is all-inclusive. The Church leaders, political leaders, the youth, faith-based organisations (FBOs), and many others. Only then can we deal with this complex issue,” said.
Issues of HIV/AIDS should not be simplified by saying AIDS is only a medical problem and yet it was a complex issue that desires working together among bilateral, multinationals, civil society, and Zambia
He said his role as Swedish ambassador on HIV/AIDS was to promote dialogue with people, Government leaders, civil society, business community, youths and schools on how best “we can work together.”
VATICAN Ambassador to Zambia Archbishop Nicola Girasoli
VATICAN Ambassador to Zambia Nicola Girasoli has said utterances by individual members of the Catholic Church and some clergy in Zambia should not be misconstrued as representing the official voice of the church.
Archbishop Girasoli said approximately 30 per cent of Zambia’s population were Catholics and it was impossible that such a large population could hold a uniform opinion on any issue.
The pronuncio said the Catholic Church in Zambia was not interested in any human or political power but the aim of the church was to march in solidarity with the people and to proclaim the gospel.
Achbishop Girasoli was speaking at his residence yesterday during the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI.
“In Zambia, almost 30 per cent of the citizens are officially declared Catholics. This means that it is impossible to have among such a large number of Catholics in Zambia uniformity of thinking and of speaking on the so many social and human issues that Zambian citizens are facing.
“Unfortunately, very often the single voice of one of our Catholic member or one member of the clergy is confused with or taken as the official voice of the Catholic Church in Zambia. Of course different points of views with which we may agree or not are always welcome and are an enrichment for democracy and a support for a fruitful dialogue in society so we respect the opinion of everybody,” Archbishop Girasoli said.
It was important for the Zambians to realise that the Catholic Church officially spoke through the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) and through the Vatican Embassy for matters related to the church and the State.
He said the church in Zambia was not concerned with indicating to Zambians what they should do or not do, but that the main goal was to serve the Zambians by sharing their sorrows and their hopes and help them, regardless of their religious affiliation.
He said the Catholic Church was serving the people of Zambia through 220 schools, a university and 69 health institutions throughout the country.
Achbishop Girasoli hailed the relations between the Vatican and Zambia which he said had been solid for 45 years.
Education Minister Dora Siliya said the Catholic Church in Zambia had for years championed the cause of the poor, spoken on behalf of the voiceless, fought for social injustice and assisted in the education and health sectors, among other services.
Ms Siliya said the Government shared the same values with the Catholic Church, particularly in areas of reducing poverty, creation of employment and the provision of social services.
“We will therefore continue to cooperate with the Catholic Church as well as to ensure peace, stability and security in the country which are a prerequisite to any meaningful development,” Ms Siliya said.
Movement for multy Party democracy (MMD) has disclosed that Kafulafuta Member of Parliament Goerge Mpombo is not a member of the party.
MMD chairperson Michael Mabenga said that Mr. Mpombo was officially expelled from the party and that whatever statements he is making about the Party is personal and does not represent the MMD party.
Mr. Mabenga charged that Mr. Mpombo is not patriotic member of MMD and that he just came in the party from the United Party for National Development (UPND) because the late President Levy Mwanawasa was related to him.
The MMD Chairperson said there is no way MMD could to keep a member who keeps defaming the President of the party and its members.
Mr Mabenga said that the conduct of Mr Mpombo is an embarrassment to the MMD.
He has since urged Mpombo to stop masquerading as MMD NEC member.
( QFM )
SITTING tenants at Itawa Flats and Chinese Housing Complex in Masala Township in Ndola have expressed happiness at President Rupiah Banda’s directive that the houses should immediately be sold to them at fair and reasonable prices.
And some tenants in the defunct United Bus Company of Zambia (UBZ) houses in Ndola said President Banda’s intervention to also sell them the houses came at a time most of them had lost hope.
Itawa Complex Tenants Association chairperson, Brian Kafwimbi said the tenants were happy with the directive to sell them the houses.
“We hope the city council will heed the presidential directive to sell the flats quickly at a fair and reasonable price.
“We will not allow a situation where tenants are evicted by some councillors and council officials who may wish to buy the houses themselves like it has happened before in some parts of the country,” he said.
Mr Kafwimbi said the tenants would settle all the rent arrears before buying the houses and would not tolerate any form of harassment.
Some tenants in the former UBZ houses in Northrise in Ndola said President Banda’s intervention was timely because most of them had lost hope.
The tenants’ representative, Ketty Moyo said most of the house owners who were former UBZ employees had died of depression-related illnesses after losing their jobs and failure by the company, which was liquidated in the 1990s, to pay their terminal benefits.
Ms Moyo said the tenants had over the years been victims of harassment by some civil servants who openly said that they wanted to buy the houses since the tenants were not capable of buying them.
“They have been hiking the prices for most of the houses which were first pegged at K22 million in 1996. In 2009 another offer putting the price at K115 million was released by the Ministry of Finance,” Ms Moyo said.
Luanshya Mine Houses Sitting Tenants chairperson, Clement Kapolyo said he had been expecting Government’s intervention over the differences among Roan Antelope Mining Corporation of Zambia, Grant Thornton and the former miners who disagreed over the high prices offered for the dilapidated houses in Luanshya.
“As former miners we are confident that President Banda, the father of the nation who we have already written to, will see to it that we also benefit from the gesture which is part of the implementation of the Government’s Housing Policy. It is our prayer that the mine houses will be sold to us,” he said.
At a Press briefing in Kitwe on Tuesday, Mr Banda ordered that the Ndola City Council-owned Itawa Flats, which have more than 200 housing units and the Chinese complex, with more than 100 houses, as well as all the housing units belonging to the defunct State-owned UBZ be sold to sitting tenants without fail.
He said after listening to the cries of the tenants who were paying substantial amounts of money in rentals for the houses which were in a deplorable state, the Government, under the home empowerment programme, had decided to sell the housing units.
Mr Banda said he was still studying requests from some former miners on the Copperbelt to have the former Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines-owned houses sold to them.
The president also directed the Lands minister to ensure that title deeds for the former mine houses that had already been sold be issued by August this year.
[ Times of Zambia ]
Faz on Tuesday dropped the bomb by unveiling the legendary Lucky Msiska as assistant to the Zambia bench for the sides Sudan 2011 Orange CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers.
The former Zambian midfielder returns to the bench the second time after a previous brief stint in 2005.
He will be assisting CHAN team head coach George Lwandamina and Wedson Nyirenda should Zanaco be agreeable to his appointment to help with Zambia’s two-match CHAN qualifying matches against South Africa next month.
However, for some insiders spoken to, Msiska second coming looks like the makings of a long-term move as Zambia searches for a permanent replacement to Herve Renard.
Speculation in press circles have been swirling for the last fortnight that the Belgium-based Msiska was a potential candidate for the job although he had not made an official application for the Zambia post.
And now following his inclusion in the CHAN squad it is seen as possible chance for Msiska improve his chances of making a possible short list for the senior job when Faz official beings its quest to recruit a new coach.
“Don’t rule out Msiska on the list of coaches,” a highly placed source said.
Meanwhile, with the next World Cup qualifiers two years away, it will be difficult for Faz to convince corporate bankrollers to commit to a big paycheck to Zambia’s next coach as they did for Renard who was hired in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup thus Faz recent announcement to headhunt from a shortlist of four.
And so it looks like Faz are going bargain hunting as qualifiers for the 2012 Africa Cup to be jointly hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea loom five months over the horizon.
Zesco United technical advisor Andre Mtine has resigned from the club just a year and half after joining the 2008 Super Division champions.
