Vice President Rupiah Banda has urged unionized workers at the Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ) to be on high alert in order not to allow vandalism of infrastructure and property to take place at the company.

Mr. Banda said workers at the company were obliged to protect infrastructure and
property from being vandalized even when the company was undergoing serious
operational problems.

He said this in Kabwe today when he addressed scores of unionized workers of RSZ.

He said government was concerned about the welfare of the workers at the company and
hence its plans to offer it to another investor.

“I can assure you that with your support, we can go the distance together. Let
vandalism not take place while you are looking,” he said.

Mr. Banda who was on a conducted tour of various industries in Kabwe today, said
government was grateful with the support it received from the RSZ workers.

“We are happy that workers are looking at this issue in this company with a fair
observation,” he said.

Earlier, Railway Workers Union of Zambia (RWUZ) General Secretary James Kapyanga
said workers had suffered more after the company was concessioned into private hands
than before.

Mr. Kapyanga, who wept in front of the Vice President when he presented his
petitions, said the union was in full support of the decision by government to
repossess the company before finding another investor to run it.

“We urge government not to relent in this issue but to go ahead. This (RSZ) is a
very important tool in the development of this country.

He said government should visit and inspect the main workshop before equipment which
is kept there was vandalised.

The scores of workers chanted solidarity slogans in support of government intentions
to repossess the company.

The Vice President in the company of Deputy Ministers for Mines and Minerals
Development and for Commerce, Trade and Industry Maxwell Mwale and Dora Siliya
respectively, toured shafts the two mines and agriculture industries in the
district.

Central Province Minister, Sydney Chisanga, Permanent Secretary Denny Lumbama and
Kabwe Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman, Wilfred Wonani and several other
officials also accompanied Mr. Banda on his tour.

A civil society organisation wants government to consider instituting bureaucratic reforms in public institutions in order to effectively fight corruption.

Forum for Leadership Search Executive Director, Edwin Lifwekelo, said his organisation has observed that most corrupt practices perpetuated in publicn institutions are due to the cumbersome bureaucracy in the system.

Mr Lifwekelo told ZANIS in a statement that reforms are necessary to curb corruption
that involves people paying low level bribes to junior civil servants in exchange
for quicker service.

“We have observed that most coruption in Zambia is as a result of inefficient administration by a cumbersome bureaucracy that leads people to pay low level bribes
to junior civil servants to get land tirtles, passports, national registration cards and other official documents like drivers licences,” He said

Mr Lifwekelo is, however, confident that the passage of effective freedom of information legislation and its implementation would help boost accountability and subsequently help stop corruption.

Meanwhile, the Forum is happy with the spirit of dialogue exhibited by political leaders who attended yesterday’s inter-party talks.

Mr. Lifwekelo said dialogue should be embraced by every peace loving Zambian because
it is necessary to national development efforts.

Vice President Rupiah Banda says Kabwe town has great potential to compete for investment by aggressively marketing its resources to potential investors.

Mr. Banda says Kabwe is a major agricultural district through its production of
maize, tobacco and cotton which it supplies for various industrial and manufacturing activities.

He says government is aiming at reviving the economic base of the district whose
bottom  line is job creation for its people.

He said government has a vision of uplifting standards of living through poverty
reduction among the people in the district which had over the years been regarded as
a ghost town.

He said this during the luncheon with Kabwe Chamber of Commerce and Industry in
Kabwe this afternoon.

Earlier, Mr. Banda toured industries that included mines and Lusemfwa Hydroelectric
power station among others.

KCCI Chairman Mr. Wilfred Wonani urged politicians to desist from using unpalatable
language because it scares away investors.

Mr. Wonani said the chamber is ready to work with the government of the day and the
civic leaders to ensure that economic activities are revived in the district.

The first ever summit of political party presidents opened in Lusaka today with a call on the country’s political leaders to build consensus on the nations constitution making process.

President Mwanawasa in his capacity as the president of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy, MMD, attended the meeting held under the auspices of the Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue.

Speaking at the opening of the summit, ZCID summit chairperson Justice Frederick
Chomba regretted that the country has for too long paid attention to politics of bickering and sectarianism at the expense of national development.

Justice Chomba charged that utterances by political party leaders in the recent past
clearly indicate that there has been no consensus on major national issues such as the constitution making process.

He said failure by political leaders to reach consensus on the enactment of a new constitution has surprised many, as there is an all round agreement that the Chiluba
constitution of 1996 is so flawed that it needs to be replaced.

“However, since 2003 divisive, acrimonious and cacophonous utterances have continually been made, deafening the ears of the masses,” he said.

Justice Chomba pointed out that the lack of consensus on the constitution making process has resulted in increased poverty levels and coupled with diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

He said the current woes the country was facing are due to insignificant development
achieved in the social, political and economic sectors.

“These calamities are happening because there has been too much politicking in negative terms. One can justifiably say that the maladies have made our political independence pale into insignificance and our independence has become meaningless especially to people at grass-root level,” he charged.

“I want you to know that twenty two million eyes are focused on you, expectantly hoping that you will pave a way to a new Zambia in which you will work closely to eliminate the obstacles which have propelled you to operate at cross purposes,” he added.

He reminded the party presidents that the meeting they were attending was not meant
to espouse sectarian political agendas but to collectively plan the future of the country and to lay a solid foundation for posterity.

Justice Chomba stressed that the success of the summit will mean progress for the
country and that failure will only spell doom and an uncertain future for the nation.

And ZCID board chairperson Katele Kalumba told the summit that the idea of a Constitution that will stand a taste of time stems from perceptions that past efforts to come up with an acceptable Constitution have not been satisfactory.

Mr. Kalumba, who is also MMD National Secretary, said therefore, it is important
that all stakeholders be specific and clear about the nature of the agreements and
disagreements surrounding the Mungomba Constitution recommendations.

He said there is need for political leaders to refine their thinking and secure a
common understanding if the quest for a constitution that will stand the taste of
time will be achieved.

Other political leaders that attended the meeting include Patriotic Front president
Michael Sata, United Liberal Party leader Sakwiba Sikota and UNIPs Tilyenji Kaunda.

All People’s Party president and National Democratic Party leaders Kenny Ngondo and
Ben Mwila were also present at the summit

The Forum for Development and Democracy, FDD, the United Party for National
Development, UPND, and the New Generation Party were all represented at the meeting
by their party stewards.

Zambia has so far undertaken four Constitution Reviews beginning with the Mainza
Chona Commission of 1972, the Mvunga Commission of 1990, the Mwanakatwe Commission of 1993 and the Mungomba Constitution Review of 2003.

In all these efforts, the question of constitutional legitimacy has been a critical
issue.

ZANIS

President Mwanawasa  says the aim of launching the “Make Zambia Clean and Healthy Campaign is to improve the health and living environment for every one.

He said the programme is aimed at helping and facilitating the making of all homes,
communities, villages , towns and cities clean.

Speaking when he launched the Make Zambia Clean and Healthy Campaign  on both radio
and television this evening, President Mwanawasa said for some time now ,most
communities, towns and cities have not been as clean as they  should be.

Mr. Mwanawasa  attributed the state of the environment now to inadequate clean and
safe water supply and sanitation services, inappropriate personal and food hygiene
practices.

He added that the low knowledge levels by many people concerning basic health and
hygiene matters has also contributed to  the environment not being as clean as it
should be.

The President  said  because of the environment not being clean, people and children
are exposed to high levels of malaria, Dysentery, Cholera and other infectious
diseases.

The result has been that our people and children have been exposed to higher levels
of malaria, Dysentery, Cholera and other infectious diseases  with the attendant
suffering and pain for individuals and families, said Mr. Mwanawasa.

He said the “Make Zambia Clean and Healthy Campaign ” is a government backed
multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary campaign that hopes  to include all sections of
society in an on-going effort to achieve a cleaner and healthier environment.

The President has since directed  all government line ministries, provincial and
district administrations, local authorities, statutory bodies and other public
institutions to fully participate in the programme.

The President observed that clean streets, markets, restaurants, houses, bus
stations and other public places would  help prevent diseases and make such places
pleasant  and  enjoyed by every citizen.

“Let us develop and implement activities in our homes, communities, work places so
much that we can together make a difference and banish cholera, dysentery and other
infectious diseases to the past.

The Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (CSAWUZ) has called on judiciary workers to report for work on monday saying government has already released the money for housing allowances.

CSAWUZ Regional Secretary, Elphas Munakaila says government has released K3.8 billion to pay judiciary workers their 40 per cent housing allowance arrears.

Mr Munakaila told ZANIS in an interview this evening that government released the
money today.

He said there is there is therefore no need for the workers to continue the strike
as government has already attended to their  concerns.

Mr Munakaila assured the workers that they would be paid their money within the
course of next after all bank transaction.

Judiciary workers in Lusaka yesterday  vowed to continue with their strike action
even after assurances that the Ministry of Finance and National Planning had
approved K3.8 billion to pay them their 40 per cent housing allowance arrears,
dating back to 2003.

The workers, who were addressed at the Lusaka Magistrate Court complex  by their
union leaders said it was not the mere approval of the money that would make them
resume work but actual payment of the housing arrear.

Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia (CSAWUZ) Long Acres Branch
Chairman Elphas Munakaila and Judiciary Union Chairman Peter Mwale addressed the
workers yesterday.

DONORS have urged Government to adopt the constitution through a constituent assembly because the majority of Zambians have demanded it.Speaking during the country review portfolio meeting between Government and the World Bank at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka yesterday, Minister of Finance and National Panning, Ng’andu Magande, said donors also pledged to fund the CA.

“Just two days ago, donors questioned our constitution roadmap whether it was the right one or not and they also appealed to Government to adopt the constitution through a CA because so many non-governmental organisations are calling for adoption through the CA,” Mr Magande said.

He said Government was not against the people’s will but that some of the demands from the civil society were out of context.

But he complained that money given to NGOs was not accounted for properly.

“My concern is that when donors give money to NGOs such as Emily Sikazwe’s Women for Change, they don’t ask how that money is being spent and where it has been taken but when the same money is given to me, I have to be accountable to the Zambian people,” he said.

The minister said some NGOs’ unpopular demands were the reason Government was introducing the NGO Bill when Parliament resumes sitting next month.

He said the aim of the NGO Bill was to regulate their operations to ensure they were operating within the law.

“We want to be in control. This is the reason we are taking the NGO Bill to Parliament when it resumes. They can’t just be demanding things from Government at the expense of funding from foreign taxpayers,” he said.

But in response, World Bank out-going country manager, Ohene Nyanin, said the issue of the constitution-making process was entirely a sovereignty matter that could be handled through dialogue.

“Just yesterday (Tuesday), all donors were called to State House and the issue of the constitution came up but the feeling of many donors is that the matter could be best handled through dialogue and extensive consultation, but above all it was a sovereignty matter,” he said.