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Government calls for modernization of higher education

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“The RUINS“ University of Zambia student residence

Government has called for urgent renewal, revitalization and modernization of high education in the country.

Education Deputy Minister Clement Sinyinda says the failure to address the three issues would make it difficult for higher education and graduates to synchronize with the current national expectations and needs in the country’s economy.

Mr. Sinyinda says the country needs a higher education that will stand up to acceptable international benchmarks in scope and quality.

He was speaking at the launch of the Private Universities Association of Zambia in Chisamba today.

Mr. Sinyinda said there was need for both private and public universities to strive to offer higher education that fits the needs and aspirations of the country.

“Universities must therefore examine carefully the status of programmes they are  offering and how or what they hope to contribute in our current social and economic context,” said Mr. Sinyinda.

He appealed to both public and private universities to set clear standards and benchmarks in the degree programmes they offer.

The Deputy Minister emphasised the need for universities to also set standards in course content, performance and examinations against which external reviews would be conducted.

Mr. Sinyinda added: “Today university students need strong academic support to access knowledge, to enable them perform better and achieve higher. Modernized libraries with internet, Wifi; and online access to journals, books, and specialized publications are very essential in today’s academic and student life.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Sinyinda has expressed concern at the quality of hired lecturers and the conditions of employment in some of the private universities.

He said there was need for the Private Universities Association of Zambia to seriously address the qualitative issues inorder to enhance the image of the member universities.

Mr. Sinyinda noted that some individuals and organisations have ignored government regulations on establishing Private Schools and have gone ahead to set up schools illegally.

He said Zambia’s legal provisions on private participation in the provision of education are clear and must be followed by all private players in the education sector.
Speaking earlier, interim president of the Private Universities Association of Zambia, Professor Dickson Mwansa said the launch of the association is of great significance in the country’s higher education and government’s efforts to increase access and inclusion in higher education.

Prof. Mwansa said the nation’s demand for higher education is justified by the urgent need to revitalize the economy for growth and sustainable development.

He said the diverse range of economic activities in the country, requires the development and provision of requisite high level skills and competences to drive the economy.

“As our country’s economy grows and gets more complex, there is need for high-level skills-skills in critical analysis, quality and effective leadership in all sectors, strategic planning and management, policy-making and problem-solving,” noted Prof. Mwansa.

Prof. Mwansa assured that private universities in the country will aim to provide higher education that will respond to the needs and challenges facing the country.

The association will among other things, ensure quality of education in all private  universities in the country.

ZANIS

International Hockey Federation (FIH) to promote hockey in Zambia

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The hockey world governing body is planning an initiative to endorse the sport in the African country.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) was presented with 20,000 Euros by BDO, an international accounting network, who is the sponsor of the Dutch Hockey Federation.

The FIH will use that money to lay a new hockey pitch in the African country of Zambia to promote the sport there.

Speaking on the occasion, FIH president Leandro Negre said, “The International Olympic Committee is working on a multi-purpose sports centre in Lusaka, Zambia. The FIH will work closely with the IOC for the hockey pitch initiative.

“Our intention is to increase the awareness of the hockey in that region and also to boost the recruitment of young African hockey stars,” he added.

Paul van Elten of BDO said, “We are delighted to lend our support to this important project. We have a responsibility to our communities and we encourage our people to be involved in them. We aspire to create hope for a better future where currently hope does not exist.”

The sports centre is slated to officially open in April this year. The FIH will then handover the responsibility of the pitch to the Zambian Hockey Federation (ZHA).

[espnstar.com]

Stigma and bureaucracy drive maternal deaths

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Parity Zulu, 17, constantly recited a Biblical verse asking God for protection from her persecutors while her mother ferried her to hospital following complications from the teenager’s illegal abortion.

Her mother, Margaret, was unaware that her daughter had paid K350,000 (US$74) for a back-street abortion three days earlier. “All the way to the hospital I asked my child what happened. She wouldn’t tell me. Then she began to sing Psalm 57, a cry for help. I began to suspect she was aborting a pregnancy,” she told IRIN.

At the hospital’s emergency admission desk, Zulu’s medical condition was immediately apparent to Nurse Serephina Moonde. “I can tell a botched abortion as they come in through the doors – on average I see up to ten new patients a day. Women and young girls coming in, bleeding – sometimes we can save them; other times, like in Parity’s case, it’s too late – their wombs are rotting and they have lost too much blood.”

Moonde said she had seen the results of the horrific methods women sometimes used to induce abortion: drinking crushed glass boiled with coca-cola, inserting crudely sharpened wooden sticks into the cervix, taking heavy doses of anti-malaria tablets, and even ingesting poisons such as battery acid.

Zambia’s maternal mortality rate of 591 per 100,000 live births is one of the highest in the world, according to the 2008 Demographic Health Survey (DHS), the most recent.

One-third of maternal deaths are thought to be the result of abortion, but a shocking statistic is that 80 percent of the women who die from abortions are under the age of 19.

Abortion law

The Zambian Termination of Pregnancy Act 1972 is based on British colonial legislation, which permits abortion when continuation of the pregnancy can be proved to be detrimental to the mother, or the child, or both.

The law states that those wanting a termination must seek the consent of three physicians, but this requirement may be waived, if the abortion is deemed an emergency, to save the woman’s life or prevent grave permanent injury to her physical or mental health.

In 2009 the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in the capital, Lusaka, the country’s largest medical facility, recorded 5,295 abortions, of which 5,246 were a consequence of incomplete abortions; 31 women died as a result of complications.

Only nine terminations of pregnancies were performed at UTH in 2009, according to the provisions of the law, down from the 2008 figure of 126 legally performed terminations.

Dr Peter Mwaba, UTH’s managing director, told IRIN that the hospital was a place of last resort, and the statistics did not include women seeking help for complications from an abortion at other public or private clinics.

He said many women did not have access to effective contraception, and there were gender inequalities as well as deeply entrenched stigmas around abortion, which contributed to women practicing self-abortion or seeking other unsafe procedures. Women seeking to terminate pregnancies were also making use of the greater availability of a variety of drugs at pharmacies and private clinics.

It was the attempts to procure abortions this way [unsafely] that brought on the complications – it was basically guesswork, and that was why women arrived at hospitals “half dead”, he said.

Holo Hachoonda, a clinical director at the Planned Parenthood Association (PPAZ), told IRIN that many health practitioners did not understand the abortion law, and were reluctant to provide these services.

“People still do not see abortion as a right backed by law. They still also have not gotten used to the thinking that a woman has rights over her own body, and can make decisions about something like abortion,” he said.

Mary Beth Jones, 46, decided to seek an abortion after falling pregnant with her fifth child. At the clinic she was asked why, as a married woman who had no health issues, she wanted an abortion. Had she had committed adultery?

“They wanted me to tell my husband, go through couple counselling, etc. I also felt they were judging me, and I was afraid that there would be no confidentiality, as we were being lumped together like naughty children and lectured. I can imagine how horrible it must be for a young girl seeking an abortion,” she told IRIN.

Jones resorted to a herbal remedy from a traditional healer to induce a miscarriage. “I haemorrhaged so badly I ended up in hospital and had to have my womb removed. Needless to say, I am now a divorcee.”

Religious barriers

In an effort to improve the efficacy of the Act, in June 2009 the government launched the Standards and Guidelines for Reducing Unsafe Abortion Morbidity and Mortality in Zambia, for interpreting the 1972 legislation.

The guidelines provided for abortions to be performed in the interests of a women’s physical or mental health; nurse practitioners had been trained to provide medical abortions and first-trimester abortions; women no longer had to stay overnight in hospital after the procedure. Family planning services, including abortion services, have been extended throughout the country.

However, the biggest challenges to abortion are the deeply held religious views that think girls engage in sex when they should not, and see abortion as a sign of promiscuity.

Zambia’s more than 11 million people are predominantly Roman Catholic, but conservative evangelical churches have grown considerably in recent years; in combination these represent a formidable degree of social disapproval of terminating pregnancy.

Suzanne Matale, Secretary-General of the Christian Council of Zambia (CCZ), the Catholic Church’s mother body in Zambia, told IRIN that life began at conception. “There are no grey areas, no room for discussion. We condemn abortion. It’s an absolute no-no.”

Government spokesman Ronnie Shipakwasha, a Pentecostal church elder, told IRIN the abortion law would not be touched until there had been wide consultations with medical authorities, policy-makers and religious bodies.

He did not provide a timeframe, and there has been no call for this dialogue; he said the law, read in conjunction with the guidelines, was sufficient to ensure safe abortions.

“We just need to make this information available,” he said. “We are a Christian country, so the church’s teachings on morality are a major factor in how we deal with the issues of abortions.”

[IRIN]

Consumer Driven Products Vs Sales Driven Products

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Street vendors selling their wares outside Shoprite Suppermarket

By Wesley Ngwenya This week I want to talk about consumer driven products and sales driven products. As a consumer of many goods and services in the country, I cannot help it but notice how much companies in the country force their products on consumers. Or using what I call the sales driven products approach. This approach focuses on sales and is designed by the company prior to the launch of the product. However, the consumer driven approach tests the market first and develops a strategy according to the demands of the consumers.

While Zambia boasts with so many local fast moving consumer products there seems to be little understanding in the marketing strategy. Little wonder why so many of these products come on the market and eventually experience a natural death. Could it be that the manufacturers of these products have little understanding of the market? Or is it that the products were probably not the best fit for the market? I think really it is a combination of these reasons.

Those companies that have developed and designed their products around the needs of their consumers have experienced a long lifespan on the market. They have constantly continued to consider the consumers. While a sales driven approach is rigid, a consumer driven approach is more flexible. Its products adapt with the market. It is dynamic because it operates with consumers who have dynamic needs and are in dynamic markets.

Sometimes all a company has to do is to change the packaging of the product. While in one market the packaging may be appropriate, in another it may not be. Recently, I have been consulting with companies that are launching new products here in Zambia. One company’s product is tea while the other is detergent powder. Both of these companies are optimistic about their products’ success here in Zambia. In order to penetrate the market the companies had to change their packaging to better meet the needs of the consumers here in Zambia especially their pockets.

It is therefore not surprising that consumer driven products fair well than sales driven products. The tea and detergent powder, for example, were very popular products in their home countries. Consumers knew these products very well and bought them in supermarkets. However, here in Zambia these products did not fair well—hence the different approach. Here in Zambia, they had to compete with some of the big brands on the market especially the detergent pastes. We therefore found that packaging the tea and detergent powder in very small packages did the magic.

Once this was done everything changed for my clients. They suddenly had a new clientele at their table—the lower end of the market. This is actually where the money is because of the numbers. Wholesalers, retailers and little tuntembas were able to order the products and sell them in numbers. The price was very attractive so were the profits. The lower end of the market in Zambia love to buy in small doses. Think about the success of the tujilijili industry in Zambia. It is all about a consumer driven product. The packaging did the magic for the hard liquor companies.

It is not only the manufacturing industry that has had to use the consumer driven approach. Mobile companies, here in Zambia, have been on top of the game in driving mobile subscriptions towards them. The companies that have not only focused on sales but have taken consumer needs into consideration continue being the leaders in the industry. Similarly, those that have focused only on sales continue lugging behind.

Consumer driven products are not necessarily easy products to design. They are time consuming because of the effort in investing in research and consumer behavior. They can be complex and costly too because of the different approaches used. Unlike sales driven products that only need smooth talking salespeople, consumer driven products need skilled salespeople. It needs personnel who better understand marketing and consumers. This means that the company has to invest in attracting good paid personnel. In turn this can raise the price of the product.

I am really looking forward to a time in our industry when companies will save their money and invest it in understanding their consumers. We seem to be having some kind of universal format of communicating to our Zambian market which should not really be the case. The Zambian market can be segmented in various forms. Understanding the ever changing consumer needs in our market is fundamental. Until next time. Adios. [email protected]

86 Cases of cholera reported in Lusaka

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The Ministry of Health Spokesperson Dr. Kamoto Mbewe has revealed that 86 new cholera cases have been recorded in Lusaka province.

Dr. Mbewe said currently Lusaka has 241 cases of cholera under treatment.

He said Copperbelt province has recorded 8 cases bringing the number to 11
under treatment at various cholera centers on the Copperbelt.

Dr. Mbewe said southern province recorded one new case which is under
treatment.

He said this in a telephone interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today.

Dr. Mbewe explained that previously cholera was only confined to three
provinces namely Lusaka, Copperbelt,and Southern Provinces but that 13 new
cholera cases have now been recorded in Luapula province.

“Previously Cholera cases were only being recorded in three provinces
namely Lusaka, Copperbelt, and Southern provinces but the ministry has
recorded thirteen new cholera case in Chiengi district of Luapula
province,” Dr. Mbewe said.

Dr. Mbewe stated that the ministry was working hard with its cooperating
partners in addressing the cholera epidemic.

He said the ministry through the National Epidemic Preparedness Prevention
Control Management Unit (NEPPCMU) had been carrying out massive
sensitisation programmes in the affected areas to educate people on the
prevention of cholera.

The Ministry of Health has recorded a total of 1,474 cholera cases since
the beginning of the rain season in October last year.

ZANIS

Zambian Gets $1 Billion Loan From China

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Zambia’s government was granted a $1 billion concessional loan by China for various development projects, Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati said.

The loan follows a visit to China by Zambian President Rupiah Banda last week, Mutati said in an interview today in the capital, Lusaka. In addition, China provided a grant of $10 million to be used to complete a stadium being built in the northern town of Ndola, he said.

[Bloomberg ]

2009 KCM/FAZ Football Awards

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Here are is the winners list of this years KCM/FAZ Football Awards.

2009 KCM/FAZ FOOTBALL AWARDS

Best Player: Patrick Kabamba (Zanaco)

Top Scorer: Patrick Kabamba (Zanaco, 20 goals)

Best Coach: Fighton Simukonda (Zesco United)

Best Team: Zanaco

Best Young Player: Mukuka Mulenga (Kabwe Warriors)

Most Disciplined Player: Simon Bwalya (Power Dynamos)

Best Referee: Bernard Chabala (Mufulira)

Creative answer to call of nature and charms in Gwembe

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Inmates at the Gwembe Police cell have been sharing a twenty litre container to relieve themselves, after the toilet system got blocked several years ago.

A check this morning found a yellow container that has been cut in half balancing on top of the toilet pan and is used as a lid for the blocked toilet as well as for answering the call of nature.

IT was further confirmed that the inmates empty the used container in a nearby ditch, about 15 metres from the police station, accompanied by an armed officer.

The container is emptied and rinsed with plain water once or twice a day, depending on the frequency and number of inmates at a given time.

Gwembe Police officer- in-charge, Tundwe Chisanga confirmed that the problem had been on- going for over several years now and attributed the sad situation to lack of funding and inadequate office space for the police department.

The squared police cell that is about 2 metres wide poses a health hazard to both inmates as well as police officer due to the stench that emanates from the blocked toilet and the over-crowding.

Gwembe District Commissioner, Raymond Nampindi said his office was not aware of the unhealthy situation as the matter was not brought to his attention.

Mr. Nampindi who then visited the police cell to have a spot check was moved by the pathetic condition in which inmates were in and promised to rectify the problem next week.

And Gwembe Administrative Officer, Matthias Fundi has appealed to well-wishers to help supply the police cell with disinfectants to ensure inmates stayed in a healthy environment.
Mr. Fundi said the small size of the police cell put inmates at risk of contracting contagious diseases.

“It is a sad situation. All of us are potential culprits. Anybody can be pushed in a cell – even on false accusations. Some senior officers have been pushed in there and when they came out, they wanted to resign. It is not a good place,” he said.

In another development, a 33 year old man of Lumuno village in Gwembe today displayed at the district administration office, charms that where discovered in his house earlier this week.

Staywell Hamoonga displayed the charms in the full view of the District Commissioner, the Administrative Officer and other government staff.

Hamoonga narrated that he was forced to seek intervention from a Zionist prophet after seven years of torment.

He said the charms were used on his wife in the night each time they go to bed.

Hamoonga disclosed that the two pieces of bones that were rapped with human hair, beads, 17 needles, and a mirror glass were responsible for his unsatisfying sexual relationship in their marriage.

Hamoonga who is a security guard at Gwembe clinic said that he fears for his life and plans to leave the village.

Baboons halt Itezhi-tezhi ZNBC signal

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A group of baboons has tempered with the Zambia National Broadcasting Cooperation (ZNBC) receiving dish inItezhi-tezhi district disrupting television signal.

The incident happened barely two days after ZNBC restored its television
signal to the district after more than one month without signal.

Itezhi-tezhi Acting District Commissioner (DC) Hampende Hichilema
confirmed the incident to ZANIS in interview that the baboons descended
on the ZNBC installation on Saturday morning and disturbed the dish.

“The incident happened on Saturday when a group of baboons were playing
around the dish and in the process they moved the dish from its position
and some cable to the LNB got disturbed” he said.

A check at the ZNBC dish by ZANIS revealed that the dish was slightly
moved off its position and some rods supporting the dish were bent.

The Acting DC has asked ZNBC to provide protection of the satellite dish
to prevent further damage of the installation by the baboons.

Meanwhile Itezhi-tezhi residents have asked ZNBC to urgently restore the
signal to Itezhi-tezhi.

One resident Mukubulo chilufya appealed to ZNBC to treat the loss of the
signal to the district with urgency so that the district is not left in the
dark in terms of information and current affairs.
ZANIS

Nakonde border closed after riot

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The Nakonde border in Northern Province has
been temporarily closed following a riot that erupted this morning leaving
three vehicles damaged.
The riot was started by Tanzanian traders conducting business on the
Zambian side when a combined team of Nakonde council and Zambia police
tried to move them from vending on an undesignated area.

The fracas that started at about 10:30 hours this morning has left both
Zambian and Tanzanian customs gates closed.

All officers and clearing agents at the border scampered for safety as
police fought with the irate Tanzanian nationals.

Nakonde District Commissioner (DC) Billy Silwimba confirmed the
development to ZANIS and described the riotous behavior by the Tanzanian
nationals as unfortunate.

Mr. Silwimba said normal business is expected to resume any time soon
adding that the confusion has been sorted out and what is remaining is for
the two authorities, the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) and their Tanzanian
counterparts to resume normal operations.

Mr. Silwimba assured importers and the local people not to panic as the
situation was now under control.

Meanwhile an eye witness told ZANIS at the border that the riot was
started when the combined team tried to disperse the Tanzanian nationals
who sale various merchandise on top of the TAZARA under bridge tunnel which
is on the Zambian side.

The irate Tanzanians started throwing stones and all sorts of objects on
the combined team of council and state police who pounced on them and
confiscated their goods.

Three newly imported vehicles which include a Toyota Hiace mini bus were
damaged in the process before a reinforcement of police officers from both
TAZARA and general duties arrived on the scene.

Heavily armed police officers have since been deployed to keep vigil and
DC Silwimba says officers will remain patrolling the area for some time.
ZANIS

Mpulungu man, 48, defiles girls

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Mpulungu, Mar 10, ZANIS – Police in Mpulungu have arrested a 48-year-old
man for allegedly defiling two girls aged 10 and nine respectively.

Both police in the area and the parents to the girls have confirmed the
incident.

Mothers to the defiled girls said their children were defiled last
Saturday afternoon as they were returning from a church programme at the
local Catholic Church.

They said the girls had stopped over at their friend’s home to play.

The mothers said it was at the friend’s place where the two girls fell
prey to the alleged defiler.

The man, who has been identified as Alex Mukuka of Muzabwera village,
allegedly lured the girls into his house after pleading with them to sweep
his room.

He defiled the two girls while the third girl, upon hearing the cries of
her friends managed to run away for safety.

They said according to the girls’ testimony, Mukuka threatened to beat
them up if they ever narrated the event to their parents or to any other
person.

The mothers said to cover up for his offences, Mukuka got some water and
cleaned the children’s private parts.

But when the children, who are from two separate families reached their
homes, told their parents about what Mukuka has done to them.

The parents then reported the matter to the police who in turn arrested
him and remanded him before he appears in court.

By press time, the parents who were found at the police station with their
children were still awaiting a medical report and laboratory test results
from the hospital.

The results of the medical report will ascertain among other things,
whether there was penetration and if the children had been infected with a
sexually transmitted disease (STD).

In another development, the Mpulungu magistrate court has sentenced a
25-year-old man to six months imprisonment with hard labour for stealing a
Black and White television set and a radio cassette.

Mwansa Mumba of Muzabwera village in Mpulungu was sentenced today after
he was convicted of burglary and theft contrary to section 301 (a) and 272
of the penal code, CAP 87 of the Laws of Zambia.

Particulars of the offence were that on the night of 25 February, 2010,
Mwansa Mumba did break and enter the dwelling house of Kunda Sikalumbi with
intent to steal therein and did steal from there, one Black and White TV
set, a radio cassette and many other items all valued at K990,000.

The court heard that the property belonged to the owner of the
house,Sikalumbi.

In mitigation, Mumba, who had pleaded guilty to the charge, asked for
lenience from the court, saying he was born alone in his family and had no
one to help him.

He said currently, he was looking after his parents who were aged and
might go through untold misery if he was sent to prison.

But in passing judgment, Mpulungu magistrate court Miyato Muyambango said
he had taken into account the fact that Mumba was a first offender who was
entitled to leniency.

He however noted that the offence of burglary and theft was a very serious
one, adding that such offences were very common in Mpulungu.

He said he was sending Mumba to prison to help him reform and learn to
respect other people’s property in future.

Mumba was then slapped with a six months prison sentence which he would
serve with hard labor with effect from the day of arrest.

ZANIS

Chinese visit pays off for Zambia

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Commerce minister Felix Mutati (L)

ZAMBIA has secured a concessional loan of US$ 1 billion from the government of China for investment in development projects in hydro power, housing, road infrastructure and other sectors.

Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Felix Mutati said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday, in addition to the US$ 1 billion, the government of China agreed to give Zambia a grant of US$10 million for use of whatever purpose needed for the completion of the Ndola stadium.

Mr Mutati said Zambia was able to secure the US$1 billion because it was the first African country, with a high powered delegation to visit China after the Forum for Africa China Cooperation (FOCAC).

“We were the first among the African countries to make a presentation to China for various projects amounting to US$1 billion. The various projects are in power sector development for the two hydro power stations, housing, road infrastructure and other sectors. It’s because of the president going to China that we have been able to secure a loan of US$1 billion,” Mr Mutati said.

Zambia was able to secure the funds following the Cooperation FOCAC meeting in Egypt in November last year.

During the FOCAC meeting, China made pledges on its cooperation with Africa including a provision of US$10 billion in concessional financing for various projects in African countries.

Further, he said China pledged to set aside US$1 billion to support small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs).

Mr Mutati said it was to the advantage of Zambia to be among the first countries to seek the funds saying as a result, the nation was able to access US$1 billion, which other countries might not be able to get.

The insinuations that President Rupiah Banda’s visit to China was a sheer waste of time and resources were unfortunate considering the benefits that Zambia was set to achieve.

“There was merit for Zambia to go to China as quickly as possible and agree on the framework of accessing the resources to ensure quick delivery of goods and services,” Mr Mutati said.

He said he was particularly happy that President Banda accepted to go to China and meet his counterpart Hu Jintao who directed his government that he would want the issue of Zambia accessing the funds to be addressed expeditiously.

As minister, he said, the presence of Mr Banda in China made his work and that of the other ministers easier as the two heads of State were able to hold talks at higher level.

In addition to the funds, Zambia was able to sign memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with commercial institutions in China.

One MoU was signed between Zambia and China Non Ferrous Metals, which was currently developing the Chambishi Multi Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ) to also develop the Lusaka sub-zone.

“They will start the implementation of the Lusaka sub-zone as soon as the rain is over and they pledged $300 million,” Mr Mutati said.

He said that the Government signed an MoU with China Africa Development Fund that has appointed Zambia as the regional office on the continent.

Zambia signed another MoU with Beijing Gold Common Mining Investment Company to deal in the construction industry.

In the Government’s delegation to China, there were representatives of 50 Zambian companies that were able to secure joint investment ventures with their counterparts in China.

One such Zambian business entity was Biomass PLC, which managed to enter into a joint venture with Walhan Kaida for the development of bio-diesel using jathropha.

“The initial investment for this project is US$400 million and this is purely private sector investment,” Mr Mutati said.

As such, he said, politicians should desist from complaining that the president’s visit to China was a waste of resources and time, saying the move has proved to be beneficial.

It was Government policy to attract investment not only from China but other countries saying next week, a delegation would be sent to India to lure investors from that country.

[Times of Zambia]

My evacuation to SA was mere PR, says Sata

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PARTIOTC Front president Michael Sata has said late president Mwanawasa’s decision to evacuate him to South Africa for treatment after he suffered a heart problem was a public relations gimmick.

Mr Sata said in an interview on Tuesday that Dr Mwanawasa thought he (Mr Sata) had already died and the decision to send him for treatment would have been a mere formality.

He claimed that Dr Mwanawasa was trying to play public relations so that people could think his Government had flown Mr Sata for treatment when he had already died.

Mr Sata was reacting to former National Energy Sector and Allied Workers Union (NESAWU) General Secretary Yotam Mtayachalo who accused the PF leader of being hypocritical for saying Dr Mwanawasa had wanted him to die in jail.

Mr Mtayachalo said the PF leader was being ungrateful for accusing Dr Mwanawasa of wanting him to die in jail when he had saved his life by sending him to South Africa for treatment.

Mr Mtayachalo said in Ndola on Tuesday that it was unfortunate that Mr Sata who was full of praises for Dr Mwanawasa after having his life saved by being evacuated to South Africa for treatment, could now insinuate that the late president wanted him to die in jail when he was incarcerated over the case involving a motor vehicle.

Mr Mtayachalo said it was hypocritical for Mr Sata to accuse the late president of wanting him to die in prison when the PF leader had been on record praising Dr Mwanawasa for having served his life.

He said Mr Sata’s inconsistent statements were making it difficult for Zambians to be convinced that he would make a good leader if elected president.

Mr Sata was on Tuesday quoted in The Post newspaper as having said Dr Mwanawasa would have arrested him if he was corrupt when he was in Government but further went on to say the late president wanted him to die in prison but could not succeed.

“The biggest problem with Mr Sata is his high level of inconsistency. If you look at his statement, he is saying Dr Mwanawasa would have arrested him if he was corrupt when he was in Government and the same Mr Sata is saying Dr Mwanawasa wanted him to die in jail, what then was he doing in jail? Why was he arrested and put in jail during
Dr Mwanawasa’s reign? One cannot go to jail and at the same time claim that he is too clean,” he said.

Mr Mtayachalo said it was now clear that Mr Sata was panicking as evidenced by the various unclear statements he was issuing with the aim of clearing his image by featuring on various radio stations since several allegations against him were exposed.

But Mr Sata said Dr Mwanawasa ignorantly saved his life because he was told that the PF leader was actually already dead.

“Yes Mwanawasa saved my life ignorantly because he was told that I was already dead and he was told by some people that I would actually not even survive the flight to South Africa. Dr Mwanawasa just wanted to play public relations.

“You see even my priest, Father Chilinda also came to Care for Business Hospital where I was admitted with the aim of administering the last olive oil on me because he was also told that I was already dead but I told him that I was not going to die,” Mr Sata said.

He claimed that even Dr Mwanawasa himself confirmed to him that he was told that the PF leader was actually already died. “What I am saying is the truth. There is nothing I can lie against the dead. How many times did Dr Mwanawasa send me to jail?” he said,

[Times of Zambia]

Chief Macha castigates disrespectful Government leaders

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Chief Macha of the Tonga people has taken a swipe at some government leaders for their alleged lack of respect for traditional leaders.

Speaking in Choma today during an inception workshop on Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Chief Macha said it was disappointing that some government leaders had failed to accord the traditional leaders the respect
they deserve.

He said traditional leaders are important in facilitating any developmental process and therefore, deserve to be respected. He regretted that some government leaders, among them Ministers and Permanent Secretaries, had a negative attitude towards chiefs.

The visibly annoyed chief said while 13 chiefs from Lusaka and Southern provinces had traveled to Choma to attend the workshop organised by the Ministry of Local Government, it was shocking that the minister and
permanent secretaries themselves were conspicuously absent.[quote]

Chief Macha, who is chairperson of the district joint programme monitoring team on sanitation, said he expected the minister or the permanent secretary to be present at workshop which he said was important in
uplifting the lives of the people through proper sanitation.

Chief Macha said some politicians only recognized the influence of chiefs when they were in trouble. “Very soon it will be an election time and you will see government leaders coming on their knees before the chief. This culture is bad. Chiefs are more permanent than the political leadership which can be hired or fired by
the appointing authority,” he said.

The traditional leader said there was need to affirm meaningful involvement of traditional and civic leaders in sanitation through the concept of CLTS.

Chiefs Macha cited lack of capacity in local authorities to manage water and sanitation programme as a hindrance.

He urged government to scale up CLTS by ensuring that the programme becomes a national programme.
And speaking earlier, Ministry of Local Government Senior Engineer in the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme, Marjory Lusaka, said

government has adopted the Community Led Total Sanitation programme to help address the low sanitation coverage. Mrs. Lusaka said government envisages attaining an increase of 50 percent sanitation coverage by 2011 among the rural population.

Currently, the sanitation coverage stands at 13 percent and CLTS has been identified as the answer to the problem.

The workshop, which was organized by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, in conjunction with UNICEF and other cooperating partners, has attracted 13 chiefs from Lusaka and Southern provinces to officially launch

CLTS as an official government programme after being piloted by UNICEF in the past years.

ZANIS

UTH records increased accident injuries

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The University Teaching Hospital (UTH) has recorded an increase in the number of road traffic accidents compared to the previous week.

Public Relations Manager Pauline Mbangweta said the hospital has recorded 90 road traffic accidents this week as compared to the 71 cases that were recorded last week.

Ms. Mbangweta could however, not say the reason behind the increase in road traffic accidents.

She told ZANIS in a telephone interview in Lusaka today that the institution has recorded a total of 275 cases of injury.

She said among these cases, 90 were as a result of road traffic accidents, 12 were domestic accidents, 33 were accidental injuries, one was a gunshot while 130 were various injuries.

Meanwhile, Ms. Mbangweta said the institution has recorded 20 new defilement cases this week.

She said the number of defilement cases has increased this week as compared to last week’s 18 cases of defilement.

ZANIS

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