All Zambia’s nine provinces have been earmarked for new mining projects as strong demand and high prices on the international market trigger a scramble by investors for minerals deposits, according to Mines Minister Kalombo Mwansa. In a special Television Zambia broadcast late Tuesday, Mwansa said projects amounting to billions of dollars of investment would commence around the country over the coming year.

Tentative mineral exploration across the country by a clutch of investors revealed vast mineral deposits, the exploitation of which would require massive local and international investment, he said.

Chongwe district in Lusaka province, Mkushi in Central province, Petauke in Eastern province and Munali Hills in Southern province were examples of areas where new deposits had been found, he said.

To date, some 3 billion dollars have been invested in Zambian mining, mostly in copper, amid projections that figure will rise to around 4.5 billion dollars within the next two years.

The discovery of uranium in North-Western and Southern provinces augured well for the economy, projected to grow by an average 7 per cent over the next three years, said Mwansa.

Albidon Zambia Ltd and Australia’s Equinox Minerals Ltd have discovered substantial quantities of uranium and copper deposits at their operations in north-western and southern Zambia respectively.

The government of President Levy Mwanawasa has been praised by investors for its sound fiscal policies and tough line on corruption.

The country’s roads and communications network, however, require upgrading to enable the movement of goods and services in and out of mining areas.

North-Western Railways announced this week it had secured 250 million dollars in financing from Britain, South Africa and the United States to build a rail link to the northern Copperbelt region.

© 2007 dpa – Deutsche Presse-Agentur ( copyright by monsters and critics .com)

Former President Frederick Chiluba has filed court papers rejecting a British judgement ordering him to pay back $58 million to the country’s Treasury in a graft case, his aide said on Tuesday.

Chiluba’s spokesman Emmanuel Mwamba said the former president had asked the Lusaka High Court to set aside a judgment delivered by British Judge Peter Smith which ordered him to reimburse funds allegedly stolen during his 10-year rule which ended in 2001.

“Dr Chiluba has filed documents asking the court to set aside the judgement because of irregularities in the manner it was delivered,” Mwamba told Reuters.

Chiluba said in his court filing that enforcing the judgement would be against public policy in Zambia because it was delivered without him being heard and that it was obtained “through fraud”.

“The principles in which the judgment was obtained were contrary to the principles of natural justice. The prosecution of the case and the registration of the judgement arising therefrom are in violation of the right to a fair trial,” Chiluba in a court affidavit.

Zambian prosecutors sought to have the case heard in a British court in hopes of recovering properties owned by Chiluba and other defendants in Britain and other EU countries.

Chiluba said Zambia law had been flouted by the government which brought a British civil graft case against him when he was still facing criminal prosecution in a Zambian court for theft of $488,000 in public funds.

Chiluba has appealed together with two Lusaka businessmen Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu, whom he is jointly charged with in the $488,000 case.

Chiluba declined to appear before Judge Smith when the case was being heard in London after arguing Smith had no jurisdiction to determine Zambia legal cases.

He said in his affidavit that he could not travel to London because he was under travel restrictions from the government.

“It appears the attorney general deliberately chose England specifically to make it difficult if not impossible for us to participate and effectively defend the claims against us,” Chiluba said.

Chiluba has in the past argued that the British case was essentially fraudulent and promoted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa in an effort to make a point about graft in Africa.

Zambia will allow 100,000 tonnes of additional white maize exports this year bringing the total to 350,000 tonnes, Agriculture Minister Ben Kapita told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.

The move comes after the country recorded surpluses in the last three agricultural seasons, Kapita said.

“We are going to export 250,000 tonnes from this year’s stock and 100,000 tonnes which should have been exported to Zimbabwe but was kept after Malawi undercut us on the price.”

Kapita said the maize was ready for export to countries with food deficits, but he did not identify the countries. In the past, the country has exported to Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kapita also said Zambia had started to prepare for the 2007/08 farming season with the distribution of subsidised fertiliser and seed to 125,000 small-scale farmers set to start soon.

The 125,000 farmers will be less than the 210,000 farmers who benefited from government support in 2006 because some farmers have become self-sustaining after receiving initial government assistance.

“The government is downsizing the number of farmers getting help because some of them have graduated from the fertiliser support programme. Most farmers are now able to buy their fertiliser from the private sector,” Kapita said.

Last week, Kapita said Zambia’s 2006/07 maize output declined 4.4 percent to 1.36 million tonnes compared with output for 2005/06 due to floods which destroyed the crop in 41 of the country’s 72 districts.

Kapita said Zambia would keep 250,000 tonnes of maize in strategic reserves compared with a surplus of 160,000 tonnes the previous year.

Northern Province Minister Lameck Chibombamilimo has dismissed as false recent media reports that Zambia’s only port in Mpulungu will soon turn into a white elephant if no measures are taken to improve it to international standards.

Mr. Chibombamilimo, who is also Mpulungu Member of parliament, said to the contrary a lot of positive development has  taken place from the time Mpulungu Harbour management took over the running of the port from government.

The Minister told ZANIS in Kasama that the current investor at Mpulungu Harbour has
so far invested billions of Kwacha in the Procurement of modern equipment to enhance
operations to the country’s only port.

He added that the new equipment has enhanced the shipment of goods at Mpulungu Port to the Great lakes Region as evidenced by the docking of five ships at the harbour
every week.

Mr. Chibombamilimo also said as a result of the increase in business activities at
the Harbour, government was now collecting more revenue from goods  entering the
country.

The Minister further expressed confidence that Mpulungu Port would be able to
compete favourably with the new port being constructed on the Tanzania side once the
development plan being put in place by Mpulungu Harbour management was implemented
fully.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chibombamilimo has called for partnership between the Government  and Mpulungu Harbour Management on the possibility of acquiring a permanent Ship for Mpulungu Harbour to avoid dependence on Ships from neighbouring countries for the movement of goods.

He further appealed to government to consider constructing a r always line from
Nseluka to Mpulungu to increase inflow and outflow of cargo at Mpulungu Port.

ZANIS

TWO of Second Republican President Fredrick Chiluba’s co-defendants Aaron Chungu and Faustin Kabwe have appealed against the London high court judgment in which they have jointly been found liable to have defrauded Zambia of billions of Kwacha.
According to the judgment, Mr Kabwe and Mr Chungu who are directors of Access Financial Services, a company linked to the looting of the public funds, each owe the country $27 million.
Attorney General, Mumba Malila, said in an interview yesterday that the duo filed in notices at the London Court of Appeals on Thursday.
Mr Malila, however, said their action would have no bearing on the execution of the judgment in which they have been ordered to pay back 85 per cent of the money that was misappropriated from the Government’s ZAMTROP account during Dr Chiluba’s 10 year reign.
“Despite the appeal the judgment is capable of enforcement,” he said.
This was in the case in which the Attorney General had instituted civil proceedings against Dr Chiluba and 19 others in the London high court, which found them liable of defrauding the country billions of Kwacha.
Mr Malila has since obtained a freezing injunction to prevent Dr Chiluba and his co-defendants from gaining access to their assets in England and Zambia.
On whether Dr Chiluba had challenged the registration of the London high court judgment in Zambia on June 13, Mr Malila said: “We do expect a response but to my knowledge such an action has not yet been taken but we are ready for the challenge when it comes.”
Any application to set aside the registration should be within seven days while execution on the judgment would not be issued until the seven days expires.
Dr Chiluba’s other co-defendants include former Zambia Intelligence Security Services (ZISS) director general Xavier Chungu, former ambassador to the US Attan Shansonga, former Permanent Secretary at the ministry of Finance Stella Chibanda, Cave Malik and Company, Congolese businessman, Raphael Soriano, also known as Katebe Katoto and Francis Kaunda.

MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba has appealed to members to avoid factional meetings that are likely to be misconstrued as campaigns for the party presidency.

In an interview in Lusaka yesterday, Dr Kalumba advised them to heed President Mwanawasa’s directive to stop the debate on his succession for the sake of unity in the party.

“There is a good reason why the President directed as he did, there is discipline in the party and all members must obey the leadership. I do not wish this meeting (by Western Province politicians) to give rise to panic and finger pointing,” Dr Kalumba said.

Some prominent people from the Western Province are alleged to have met on March 4, 2007 to identify a leader to succeed President Mwanawasa.

Dr Kalumba said he had spoken to senior members of the party who were reported to have attended the meeting, among them MMD national chairman, Michael Mabenga, who assured him that this was not a matter that should alarm members.

“The national chairman assured me that he would not be party to any attempt to create regional factions and that he did not subscribe to the objectives of the meeting,” Dr Kalumba said.

He said although it was understandable that people in different regions would be sitting in caucuses to consider their political options, President Mwanawasa directed that the debate over his successor should be halted.

“My appeal to our members is that they should avoid associating themselves with meetings likely to be misconstrued as being campaigns for the party presidency,” Dr Kalumba said.

He said as members, the people of Western Province would have an opportunity at the right time to consider their political options like any other province.