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“Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined]…”
(I Peter 5:9, AMP)
TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria
The very moment you first feel fear, you have to resist it. You have to act against it. If you make the mistake of dwelling on your fears and start thinking about all the reasons why you can’t do what God is telling you to do, then it won’t be long before you develop a negative mindset that will keep you stuck where you are.
In the Bible, when God told David to go fight Goliath, it says that David moved quickly toward the battlefield. In other words, he didn’t think about it. He didn’t allow fear to grip his heart and talk him out of it. He just did what God wanted him to do.
So many people today are just sitting on the sidelines of life. They have tremendous potential on the inside, but they keep letting the enemy talk them out of doing what God wants them to do. Every time they get a vision of victory for their life, the enemy brings fear; and they just swallow his lies hook, line, and sinker. Don’t let that be you! Instead, obey quickly. Resist fear and boldly embrace every blessing the Lord has in store for you in 2010!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
” Father God, today I choose to resist fear. I choose Your Word. I choose Your love. I believe that with You, all things are possible. Thank You for giving me the power to live in victory in every area of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
TN Holdings will “soon” be investing US$250 000 in Zambia in a development that will culminate in the launch of TN Medical Aid Fund in Zambia.
TN Holdings group chief executive Mr Tawanda Nyambirai confirmed the developments.
He added that the opening up of shop in Zambia is now at an advanced stage and the group is awaiting the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) approval, which is set to come any time “soon”.
“We will be launching our medical aid scheme in Zambia and we already have a management team in place. We intend to invest US$250 000 subject to RBZ approval and the Securities Commission,” said Mr Nyambirai.
He added that TN Holdings has already held meetings with Zambian medical authorities and the country’s securities commission respectively.
The latest developments come after the diversified company got off to a good start after 4 847 shares exchanged hands at 6 cents on its maiden trade on the local bourse, having opened at 2,3 cents.
Mr Nyambirai said he is happy with the acquisition of Tedco despite concerns in the market over the rationale of the transaction.
“There is talk that we bought a shell from Simba Mangwende (Tedco chief executive), but that is not true. What we have done is we have bought ourselves into the ready market through Tedco’s existing clientele and properties,” added Mr Nyambirai.
The listing of TN Holdings was completed through a reverse takeover of Tedco Limited by TN Holdings Limited resulting in the change of name to TN Holdings Limited.
Mr Nyambirai also said the new entity would exploit synergies between the furniture manufacturing and retail concern.
“We intend to create shops that sell world-class furniture and offer world-class banking services provided by our strategic partners, all under one roof,” he said.
Stockbrokers note that those with TN Holdings shares are not likely to sell in the near future.
“The price is quite good, looking at the last price Tedco traded, last week.
“However, we can say the counter is liquid, we are not going to see much change in terms of the movement of the shares as the price is likely going to revolve around that price,” said one stockbroker.
Tedco has one of the largest distribution networks in the retail industry comprising of Zimbabwe Furnishers shops, Sleep Eezy and Radio Limited.
On the other hand, TN Holdings has TN Asset Management (a financial advisory company), TN Financial Services, TN Medical Benefit Fund and TN Bank.
South Korea began the new year on a negative note, as it was trashed 4-2 by Zambia Sunday (KST).
The Huh Jung-moo’s side allowed two goals early in the first half to midfielders Felix Katongo and Rainford Kalaba in its first friendly of 2010 in Johannesburg, South Africa, but it cut the deficit to one on a Kim Jung-woo goal in the 34th minute.
However, the African side, which failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup finals in June, extended its lead to 4-1, as forward James Chamanga and midfielder Noah Chivuta found the target in the 58th and 71st, respectively.
Koo Ja-cheol, who will have a trial with Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League (EPL), added the other goal of the night for the Red Devils, but it was not enough to turn it around.
Dropping the match, which Huh hopes will help his team prepare for their match against Nigeria in the group stage, the Taeguk Warriors have compiled a record of 14-13-3 since the manager took the reign of the team.
I wish to comment on discrepancies in the reported levels of poverty in Zambia following a recent Zambia Daily Mail report in which the Director of Central Statistical Office (CSO) is quoted as having said that the poverty level in Zambia had declined from 68.1% to 59.3% between 1996 and 2006.
It is regrettable that, over the years, there have been serious discrepancies in the reported levels of poverty in Zambia. In this regard, I wish to cite a few of such reports, which may be paraphrased as follows:
Times of Zambia (October 2005),“Poverty Levels Drop to 68 p.c.,” by Times Reporter: Poverty incidence in Zambia has dropped from 73% in 1998 to 68% in 2005, a CSO survey has revealed. According to a statement released by CSO director Buleti Nsemukila, the preliminary results of the Living Conditions Monitoring Survey of 2004 revealed that the incidence of poverty in terms of head counts had reduced by 7%.
Times of Zambia (November 2009), “Poverty Levels Go Down,” by Times Reporter: Zambia recorded reduced poverty levels from 80% to 64% midway through the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP), according to Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane.
Zambia Daily Mail (January 2010), “Poverty Levels Drop,” by Nancy Mwape: Zambia’s poverty level has declined from 68.1% in 1996 to 59.3% in 2006, CSO director Efreda Chulu is quoted as having said this at a press briefing in Lusaka recently.
There is clearly a need for the government to create an autonomous “Bureau of Statistics and Archives” to replace the CSO so that it can freely and independently collect, process, maintain, and publish essential data and information about our country. The Bureau should also assume complete responsibility over the operations of the National Archives of Zambia.
Such a Bureau is necessary if we are to forestall the potential for fudging and/or manipulating of vital data and information. The autonomy of the Bureau could also lend a great deal of credence to the data and information published about the country. There is perhaps no other way in which leaders in the MMD, the ruling political party, are going to exonerate themselves from suspicions that they are trying to fudge national statistics for political gain.
MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba during a press briefing in Lusaka
THE MMD has said it is disturbed by Patriotic Front (PF) national youth secretary Eric Chanda’s statement that he and the opposition party are now a physical and political security of the Roman Catholic Church.
MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba said in a statement in Lusaka yesterday that the Roman Catholic Church was a rational church which had survived ages of social tests since its founding.
Dr Kalumba said the MMD denounced the threats against Father Mwewa by whoever perpetrated them and hopes the law would take its course.
He said the ruling party was at pains to understand the orchestrated encirclement of the Roman Catholic Church in Zambia by the PF.
Dr Kalumba said if the PF had taken over control of the Catholic Church this way, Zambia should be informed by the Catholic archbishop Telesphore Mpundu who the MMD respected and believed to be a national church leader.
He said there were many non PF Catholics countrywide and regretted to imagine church doors being manned by PF cadres every Sunday adding that this matter was too serious to ignore by the church hierarchy and the offer by the opposition party should be rejected.
Dr Kalumba said the security of the church priests was the responsibility of the State and all Church members.
He also said Follie Tembo had been appointed MMD provincial executive deputy chairperson for Eastern Province in an acting capacity subject to confirmation by national executive committee (NEC) taking over from Philimino Banda who had been re deployed to other duties.
OPPOSITION Patriotic Front (PF) Kalulushi Member of Parliament (MP) Anson Simama has advised fellow MPs against attacking mining investors but instead develop a cordial relationship with them because they were partners in development.
Mr Simama said he would never behave like some of his fellow opposition colleagues who were always attacking mining investors in the media when they are supposed to dialogue and resolve various issues so that they work together to improve the lives of people in their areas.
He said investors in the mining industry or any other sectors were partners in development and so it was imperative that MPs developed a cordial and warm relationship with them, instead of attacking them in the media on issues that could be resolved through dialogue.
Mr Simama was speaking in an interview on Thursday after meeting Chambishi Metals chief executive officer Derek Webstock to discuss matters of how the company could help the community in various ways through its corporate social responsibility.
Mr Simama, who had also visited Chibuluma South Mine last week said his interest was to create and develop a good relationship with mining and other investors in the constituency so that he could work together with them to improve people’s lives.
“I don’t want to gain political mileage by attacking or insulting people in the media, but I want to gain political mileage by doing things that would improve people’s lives.
This is why I am meeting mining companies in the constituency to discuss matters of how the company could help the community in various ways through its social corporate responsibility,” Mr Simama said.
And Mr Simama has said he was happy that the meeting with both Chambishi Metals and Chibuluma South Mine were successful and the two mining companies were eager to work with him to improve the lives of the people.
He said both companies were involved in community projects that aimed at improving the health, education and other sectors in their areas.
He said Chibuluma South Mine was involved in the provision of Free Anti-Retro-Viral (ARVs) in the community, the Roll-back malaria programme and maintained its workers even in the face of the global economic recession.
Chambishi Metals was among other things supporting St-Nicholas School in Chambishi where it had spent more than K5 billion on its maintenance and was planning to expand it.
SIX Chiefs of the Kunda speaking people of Mambwe District of the Eastern Province are this month expected to meet and discuss the way forward of how they can deal with Patriotic Front leader, Michael Sata over his recent statement that Chipata-Mfuwe Road was leading to a game park.
Senior Chief Nsefu said yesterday that all the six Kunda chiefs would be meeting to discuss the way forward on how they could deal with Mr Sata.
Chief Nsefu said all Kunda traditional leaders in the area felt that Mr Sata insulted the people of Mambwe District because of his statement issued recently.
“Right up now we are contemplating on the date when we can meet as traditional leaders of Mambwe District but we are meeting this month in order to discuss the behaviour and the statement of Mr Sata,” he said.
He said among the issues to be discussed would include the banning of Mr Sata not to visit Mambwe District for his political meetings.
Chief Nsefu said Mr Sata should be chased whenever he visits Mambwe District because of the recent insults against the people of Mambwe District.
Meanwhile, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has advised the PF leaders to keep quiet because they had run out of ideas.
Reacting to PF leaders’ outbursts on the construction of the Chipata-Mfuwe Road, Authentic Advocates for Justice and Peace general secretary Laiford Mwanza said yesterday that his organisation was disturbed by utterances by PF leaders.
Mr Mwanza said in a joint statement also signed by information and publicity secretary Josephat Changwe that Mr Sata and his youth secretary Eric Chanda had issued uncalled for statements on President Rupiah Banda’s directive on Chipata-Mfuwe road.
“In our perspective, PF leaders seem to have run out of ideas and the best they can do is keep quiet and spare people’s ears from the political ranting,” he said.
Gunmen yesterday fired on a bus carrying Togo’s football team to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, wounding players and reportedly killing the driver.
The attackers machine-gunned the vehicle after it crossed from the Republic of Congo into Angola’s oil-rich territory of Cabinda.
Rebels who have been fighting for the region’s independence later said they had carried out the attack.[quote]
The organisers of the tournament, which starts on Sunday, say it will go ahead.
The Angolan government called the incident an “act of terrorism”.
The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (Flec), which said it carried out the attack, has fought for independence for several decades, but entered a ceasefire in 2006.
In a statement quoted by Portugal’s Lusa news agency, the group said: “This operation is only the start of a series of targeted actions that will continue in all the territory of Cabinda.”
Togo is due to play its first cup game in Cabinda on Monday. The Confederation of African Football confirmed that the tournament would go ahead as planned, despite the violent attack.
Angolan Sports Minister Goncalves Muandumba said security for the competition would be stepped up to guarantee “all the conditions necessary for the success, tranquillity and security of the people and their belongings”.
Nine people, including at least two players, were wounded during the shooting, reports said. Central defender Serge Akakpo was among those hurt and back-up goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale was also reportedly injured.
The team’s communications manager was among those seriously wounded in the shooting.
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was also on the bus but is unhurt. Speaking to the BBC, he described the incident as “one of the worst experiences of his life”.
“I’m still under shock,” Mr Adebayor said. “I was one of those who carried the injured players into the hospital – that is when I realised what was really going on. All the players, everyone was crying, calling their mums, crying on the phone, saying their last words because they thought they’d be dead.”
The bus was travelling to Cabinda from the squad’s training ground in the Republic of Congo when the shooting happened.
Football’s highest governing body, Fifa, said it was troubled by the incident.
“Fifa and its president, Joseph S Blatter, are deeply moved by today’s incidents which affected Togo’s national team, to whom they express their utmost sympathy,” the body said in a statement.
Competition officials said they had not known that the Togolose team had decided to drive directly to Cabinda.
They said they had expected the squad first to fly to the Angolan capital, Luanda, and from there to Cabinda.
Shot ‘like dogs’
The head of the Togolese football federation told AFP news agency that the driver had died.
Togo striker Thomas Dossevi told France’s RMC radio that several players were “in a bad state” after the attack.
“We were machine-gunned, like dogs,” he said. “At the border with Angola – machine-gunned! I don’t know why. I thought it was some rebels. We were under the seats of the bus for 20 minutes, trying to get away from the bullets.”
Togo’s first game in the tournament is due to be against Ghana on Monday.
But midfielder Alaixys Romao told RMC the team was likely to pull out of the 16-nation cup.
“No-one wants to play,” he said. “We’re not capable of it.
“We’re thinking first of all about the health of our injured because there was a lot of blood on the ground.”
Super Eagles celebrate a goal against Ireland during an international friendly in LondonThe Super Eagles of Nigeria left Durban, South Africa, for Angola on Friday after a 0-0 draw against the Chipolopolo of Zambia in a friendly encounter. The Eagles had been in Durban preparing for the Africa Nations Cup to be held in Angola.
The 2010 edition is Nigeria‘s 16th participation in the championship with two titles to show for the effort. In 1980, Nigeria won its first title in Lagos after beating Algeria 3-0 in the final. Late Best Ogedegbe, Christian Chukwu, late Aloysius Atuegbu, Segun Odegbami, late Muda Lawal and Adokiye Amesimaka are some of the players who did Nigeria prod at the time.
But the defence in Libya ended in disaster as Nigeria was ousted in the first round. With coach Adegboye Onigbinde in charge of the team in 1984, the Green Eagles reached the final in Cote d‘Ivoire but lost to Cameroun by 3-1.
It was another silver medal in 1988 as Cameroun beat Nigeria again in Morocco. At Algiers ‘90, the host, propelled by Rabah Madja, beat Nigeria 5-1 as Clemence Westerhof tasted the bitter pill of leading the Eagles. But the team reached the final again and had to settle for another silver medal after losing 1-0 to Algeria again.
At Senegal ‘92, Abedi Pele and the rest of Ghana‘s Black Stars team stopped Nigeria in the semi final, but the Eagles took solace in avenging past defeats in the hands of Cameroun by beating the Indomitable Lions 2-1 to lift the bronze medal.
But the long awaited second title came two years later as Nigeria captured Africa in Tunisia 1994 after beating Zambia 2-1 in the final. It was sweet victory for the Eagles who also capped the golden era with a ticket to represent Africa in the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
As the continent awaited the Eagles to hit South Africa in 1996 and defend their crown, Nigeria paid the price of military rule as the nation withdrew from the championship because of differences in policy with South Africa. The consequence was damning with the stars of the era eclipsing the scene because of further sanction of two year-ban on Nigeria.
When Nigeria returned in 2000, it co-hosted the year‘s edition with Ghana and reached the final. But as it was in 1984 and 1988, Cameroun was superior as the Lions once again took the crown from Nigeria. It was the third time Nigeria was losing the title to Cameroun and it also signaled the gradual collapse of Nigerian football as the Eagles settled for bronze in the next three editions.
It got worst in Ghana 2008 as Nigeria struggled to reach the quarterfinal before losing to Ghana in Accra.
Perhaps the coming of Shaibu Amodu would end the drift after he led the Super Eagles to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The qualification was however earned in the hard way because of poor display against the opponents. But Nigerians could once again see the Eagles play swift football with the coach promising a better outing in Angola.
According to the Amodu, the Eagles had little time to prepare for romantic football during qualifying series and so all efforts were geared towards winning.
He said, ”Nigerians love good football but we could not do that in the qualifiers because we were after the results. In Angola, there will be plenty of beautiful football.”
The 1974 and 1994 African Nations Cup runners-up will be looking to go one better when they travel to Angola.
Chipolopolo will be looking to lift the trophy for the first time having made 13 appearances at the tournament but currently stand a lowly 90th in the Fifa world rankings and 19th in the Africa standings.
However, they eased through the second round qualifiers topping a group which included Togo, Swaziland and Eritrea.
In the third round, which also served as the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, they were pitted against Algeria, Egypt and Rwanda. The two North African giants, Algeria and Egypt, were left to battle it out for a trip to South Africa while Zambia had to fight it out with Rwanda to make it into the continent’s showpiece.
A win against Rwanda and two draws were enough to ensure they made it for a 14th trip to the AFCON. One to watch: Collins Mbesuma
Collins Mbesuma holds the record for the number of goals scored in a single season in the South African top flight when he bagged 35 goals in all competitions while with Kaizer Chiefs.
His goalscoring prowess saw him attract European interest and it didn’t come as a surprise when he joined English outfit Portsmouth.
However his stay on the South Coast mustered just four league appearances and a loan spell with Portuguese side Maritimo shortly followed.
The 25-year-old joined Bursaspor before consistently poor time keeping, something that has meant to have been a problem throughout his career, brought about an end to his time in Turkey and the frontman returned to South Africa, joining Mamelodi Sundowns and then Moroka Swallows.
Mbesuma is a powerful striker who packs a mean shot and he will be looking to prove he is not a flash in the pan having been left out of the Zambia squad for the 2008 AFCON for being ‘unfit’.
Coach: Herve Renard
Renard took over the role as coach in 2008 despite possessing limited experience.
His most notable job had been the assistant post with Ghana under Claude Le Roy although Renard did coach French third division outfit AS Cherbourg before taking over Chipolopolo. This is the first time he has ever been charge of a national team.
India will increase credit lines to Africa to $5.4 billion until 2012 from the current $2.15 billion, and will also boost technical and economic support to the continent, it said on Friday.
A delegation led by Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari also signed deals with Malawi to assist the southern African country develop its agriculture, mineral resources and small to medium enterprise sectors.
“The India-Africa forum summit which took place in 2008 has given a new thrust to India’s engagement with Africa, as reflected by increases in exiting credit lines to Africa from $2.15 billion to $5.4 billion up until 2012,” the delegation said in a statement.
“India has also earmarked a grant of $500 million to Africa in the next 5-6 years as well as an increase in the technical and economic cooperation training slots … to African countries.”
Ansari is on a tour of three Africa countries that took him to Zambia earlier in the week, where India approved a total of $125 million in credit, part of it to finance a key power project. He is due to visit Botswana at the weekend.
On Friday Ansari said India had substantially increased its technical and economic cooperation (ITEC) slots for Malawi to a value of $40 million in 2009 from $5 million.
So far, he said, the southern African state had utilised an Indian line of credit of $30 million for projects in irrigation, grain storage and tobacco threshing.
Official data shows that Malawi’s bilateral trade with India has nearly doubled to an estimated $79.7 million in 2007/08 from $43.2 million in 2003/04. (Reporting by Mabvuto Banda; editing by Toby Chopra)
A traffic policeman attending to a motorist at a roadblock
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Local fisherman on Zambezi-Kafue River intersection near Kiambi Lodge, Lower Zambezi
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man of the moment...Director of Public Prosecutions Chalwe Mchenga (l) listens Justice deputy Minister Todd Chilembo after launching a lift at the ministry of justice
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Ministry of Science permanent secretary Sherry Thole inspect goods manufactured by students at Lusaka vocational training college during a familiarisation tour
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MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba announcing the suspension of Gabriel Namulambe in Lusaka
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President Banda in-coming commissioner of the Electoral Commission of Zambia Judge Esau Chulu shake hands during a swearing ceremony at State House
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Tourism minister Catherine Namugala and United Nations Development Programme country co-ordinator Macleod Nyirongo during a press briefing on the Copenhagen climate change summit
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Zambia's Ambassador to Sweden Anne Mutambo present oath documents to President Banda at State House
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Chief Justice Ernest Sakala inspect a guard of honour during the of High Court session in Lusaka
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This is how they buckle up...Chief Justice Ernest Sakala inspects a guard of honour during the of High Court session in Lusaka
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Left, right...President Banda escorts vice president of India Hamid Ansari from State House
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Kalimba Reptile Farm, Lusaka Zambia
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Inside one of Lusaka's Fish markets
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Salted dry fish for sale
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Some of Lusaka's construction workers in Chalala, Lusaka
PARAMOUNT Chief Mepezeni during the Nc'wala traditional ceremony
PARAMOUNT Chief Mpezeni of the Ngoni people in Eastern Province says he intends to summon Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata to his palace if he does not apologise over remarks that the tarring of the Chipata-Mfuwe road will benefit animals more than people.
Mr Sata is alleged to have accused President Banda of favouring the construction of the Chipata-Mfuwe road which leads to a game park where animals live at the expense of equal development of all provinces.
Chief Mpezeni said the remarks Mr Sata made over the commissioning of the road are demeaning and retrogressive to national development.
He said in an interview yesterday that it is important for Mr Sata to apologise to the people of Eastern Province and President Banda, failure to which he would summon him to his palace.
“I have read in the papers and I can confirm that I am just waiting for an official complaint from chiefs who live along the Chipata-Mfuwe road before any action can be taken,” Chief Mpezeni said.
He said hundreds of people live along the road which President Banda commissioned.
“What kind of leadership is Mr Sata going to bring if he continues to use such abusive language?” the chief asked.
He said much of the food which Mr Sata enjoys comes from Eastern Province despite the poor state of roads.
The chief said President Banda’s commissioning of the Chipata-Mfuwe road will help boost the agricultural sector in the province.[quote]
“Eastern Province has good soil for agriculture although the poor state of roads discourages many farmers from transporting their produce.
“ It is very unfortunate for someone who is aspiring to be a leader of the nation to utter injurious and demeaning remarks to people from whom he will be soliciting votes next year,” he said.
Chief Mpezeni advised Mr Sata to humble himself if he wanted to become a good leader in society.
But Mr Sata has clarified that he never likened the people of Eastern Province to animals.
“I can never compare human beings to animals because I have respect for them. All I said is that even if the road is built, preference will be given to animals because people will be displaced to pave way for the road construction,” he said.
Mr Sata said many roads in Eastern Province have been in a deplorable state for many years and that it is important to also give them attention.
Other chiefs in Eastern Province have also demanded an apology from Mr Sata.
GOVERNMENT is hopeful that the ban imposed on local airlines by European Union’s international operational safety audit will be lifted this year following a number of safety measures put in place.
Communications and Transport permanent secretary Dominic Sichinga said Government is working to ensure that the blacklisting of Zambian operators into the EU market is lifted this year.
In an interview, Mr Sichinga said the problem that resulted in banning of local airlines flying into the European Union zone was the inadequate capacity of safety staff.
He said Government is aware of the challenges facing the aviation department and is committed to addressing them.
He said Government has increased funding to the Department of Civil Aviation and embarked on training personnel to ensure that the safety of travellers is not comprised.
Mr Sichinga said his ministry is seeking more funding from the Treasury to train more people to undertake safety measures.
“We are sending personnel from the Department of Civil Aviation to train abroad and locally. We are also working with the private sector to ensure safety standards are maintained together with officers from the Department of Civil Aviation,” he said.
He said the three million euros pledged by the EU to support the department and Government efforts to ensure that local airlines comply with safety standards is part of the goodwill from co-operating partners.
“We are very hopeful that the ban will be lifted this year. It’s a process that takes time but we are working closely with the Department of Civil Aviation,” he said.
Mr Sichinga said the emergency operation safety standards carried out by National Airports Corporation Limited (NACL) at Lusaka International Airport last week was one of the safety preparatory measures in line with the international operational safety audit.
The emergency preparedness plan exercise caused panic in Lusaka as some residents rushed to the airport following reports that a plane had crashed.
The airport was a hive of activity as relatives of some passengers rushed to the airport in panic, after word went round that a plane had crashed.
A Mockery of Justice is probably a wrong title for the 288-page latest release by Richard Lazalous Sakala, a former Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations for Zambia’s second President Frederick Chiluba.
The book should have been titled A Fall from Grace as the author ably chronicled his life from driving an E260 Mercedes Benz to his prestigious office at State House to being “squashed in the back of the truck” with over 200 prisoners as one of the suspected “plunderers” of national resources.
The book is divided into six parts, each with sub-chapters of his experience as an “enemy of the State” following his eviction from State House after the 2001 general elections which saw the end of President Frederick Chiluba’s 10-year reign.
Sakala was one of the key players at State House and his book is full of reminders of how the anti-corruption crusade was started and later hijacked in the process by a group of lawyers and journalists who were initially against the election of President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, SC.
Sakala names these people in the book.
It is a book depicting a Head of State – Mwanawasa – under siege, held to ransom in exchange for political favours and economic licences.
“The President was forced, for political expediency, to accept an offer he could not refuse. Post Editor Mmembe and his lawyers and business partner Mutembo Nchito offered him ‘leadership’ of the ‘anti-corruption’ campaign, which they had enhanced using secret information from the Zambia Security Intelligence Services…” Sakala begins the book in his preface.
The author’s former boss, Chiluba, who opened the foreword, attacks from another angle, describing the anti-corruption crusade under his successor as a Western-sponsored scheme.
“This book is an effort to provide an objective critique to the paternalistic politics of so-called donor governments which have continued to dictate the pace of political and economic development of their former colonies,” Chiluba says in the typical style of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
“The so-called crusade against corruption is basically the pursuit and perpetuation of politics of calumny to force regime change in the Third World.”
A seasoned journalist in his own right, Sakala is a former president of the Press Association of Zambia (PAZA) and director of the once prestigious Africa Literature Centre in Kitwe which trained a chain of Zambian and other African journalists.
Using his journalistic background, Sakala takes on The Post newspaper, accusing the publication of throwing ethics out of the window, preferring to settle scores.[quote]
For example, Sakala questions the logic of Fred Mmembe’s travel to London to testify as a State witness in a case against Chiluba but at the same time wanting to pretentiously pose as an objective journalist when covering the same case.
“The journalism profession on the other hand demands a high professional ethic that should ensure moral neutrality, accuracy, truthfulness, fairness and balance,” Sakala lectures to The Post newspaper.
“The Editor of The Post as a prosecution witness cannot be expected to serve an impartial and objective role given their own commercial as well as personal interests. Sadly, the public cannot distinguish when The Post is posturing for self-interest and when it is genuinely presenting an objective fact – this being the result of professional compromise.”
Away from The Post, Sakala attempts to show in the book a number of glaring financial irregularities in the Taskforce, including the lack of tender procedures when awarding contracts.
“The Taskforce has been prosecuting cases concerning non-adherence to tender board procedures and yet the audit report is replete with cases where it abused the system,” Sakala writes.
He, for instance, gives an example where a UK firm was awarded a contract for a monthly fee of US$90,000 but the figure was revised to US$150,000 without the approval of the then Zambia National Tender Board.
The firm eventually was paid a whopping US$2.4 million! The book details several other irregularities which qualify to be called scandals of the Taskforce.
Further, the book chronicles the fights within Government over the legal status of the Taskforce – he uses documents and inside sources – to reveal that current Vice-President George Kunda, SC, was against the Taskforce being legalised as a distinct institution.
But, according to the book, he was overruled by Mwanawasa despite him being the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs at the time.
At most times, Kunda was not privy to the work of the Taskforce as he was completely sidelined. The Taskforce was answerable to the donor community and, occasionally, to the President.
It is public knowledge that the author was sentenced to a jail term of four years with hard labour for abuse of authority and theft of a motor vehicle.
Sakala argues his innocence even now and blames Zambia’s legal system for his sentence. He equally blames the judges and the tedious legal procedures, which he said cannot guarantee justice for a man without a lawyer.
Sakala writes: “I found to my dismay that using lawyers was not only expensive but very frustrating. The legal fraternity has created for itself a structure and framework that bears little resemblance to reality, the multiplicity of forms, submission procedures and archaic language seem designed to dissuade any ordinary person from seeking redress.”
Sakala then turns to the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), accusing the body of abdicating its responsibility of providing counsel on key issues of national importance.
For instance, he tabulates how the former director of public prosecutions (DPP) Mukelabai Mukelabai (late) had sacked Mutembo Nchito from prosecuting him but the DPP was overruled by Mwanawasa even when it was clear that Mukelabai was not subject to the direction of any authority.
And LAZ kept quiet when the Constitution was being mutilated. Thus a sub-title of the book is – “Rule without Law Legacy 2001 – 2008” – the term served by Mwanawasa.
The book is well thought-out although written for a Zambian audience with current affairs acumen. It is easy to read for those who follow events reported in the Zambian media.
In fact, many passages and references in the book can only be understood by ardent readers of The Post.
For instance, some names drop without giving background of what they did for them to appear in the book. On one instance, Dora Siliya’s name appears as an example but the author fails to give background as to who Dora Siliya is and what she is alleged to have done for her to be used as an example.
The book is worth reading for those interested in Zambia’s public affairs. It is a fair account of a man who enjoyed much influence when he was at State House but was reduced to nothing by the very system he once worked for.
