Government has disclosed that it will this year improve the working conditions of magistrates throughout the country.

And Government says it will improve the court infrastructure to facilitate a
conducive, effective and efficient administration of justice.

Justice Minister George Kunda said government is aware of the complaints by the
magistrates that their salaries are low hence the need to improve the working
conditions.

He said inadequacy of personnel especially at the magistrate level has continued to
affect the performance of the Judicature .

He said for a long time, the judiciary has been forced to operate below its
establishment of magistrates thereby negatively affecting the case disposal rate.

The Minister added that a backlog has been created at a number of stations
especially in rural areas where there are no magistrates.

The Minister said this in a policy statement in parliament on estimates of
expenditure for Judiciary that government will take in a bid to take justice closer
to the people by increasing the number of court houses.

He said the current court houses in a number of places have been in a state of
dilapidation adding that others have collapsed due to the heavy rains experienced
this year.

” This year’s budget provision has been made to construct court houses in each
province,” he said.

The Minister disclosed that government has initiated plans to turn the Venus
Theatre buildings in Kabwe into a courthouse which will house the High court and
Supreme court.

And Mr. Kunda said the judiciary has made headways in the transfer of staff from
the Public Service Commission to the Judicial Service Commission.

He said the exercise is scheduled to be completed by mid this year.

He said the move will complete the process of delinking the judiciary from executive
administration to an autonomous status.

Following the enactment of the Judicature Administration act of 1994, judiciary has
been undergoing restructuring .

Contributing to debates, Bangweulu MP Joseph Kasongo urged government to improve on
the working conditions of magistrates.

Mr. Kasongo who is also Patriotic Front (PF) MP expressed sadness that government
only attended to the needs of magistrates when they went on strike.

He also implored government to ensure proper accountability of the resources raised
from the operations in judiciary.

Chifunabuli MP Enerst Mwansa urged government to revisit the marriage act which he
said in its current state does not give protection to property once owned by the
deceased.

Chasefu MP Chifumu Banda accused government of paying attention to the grievances of
judges during election petitions.

He said improvement in conditions of service should cater for both magistrates and
judges.

He however commended the minister of Justice for increasing the number of lawyers at
the Legal Aid department.

Meanwhile government has disclosed that it has proposed to allocate more than K1
billion in the Trust Fund in this year’s budget so as to pay beneficiaries of the
deceased.

The Justice Minister explained that the Trust Fund had remained without funds due to
lack of accountability.

He said when the money was being transferred from Standard Chartered Bank in 2000,
not all the money was deposited into the Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO)
account.

He further added that some documents went missing in the process.

ZANIS

The Sinazongwe District National Union of Public Servant workers (NUPSW), has urged political parties to give  President Levy Mwanawasa  chance to develop the nation.

Mr. Macdonald Machona told ZANIS that political parties should concentrate on issues
that would assist in building the country’s economy.

He said the insistent on issuing disparaging remarks on the President would retard
development which most Zambians were yeaning for in order to reduce the poverty
levels.

“Fellow Zambians we appreciate the formation of political parties and indeed the
role you playing as political parties but  if we keep on insulting the head of
state we are depriving  development  to the electorates,” Mr Machona said.

He also said  Member of Parliament (MPs) were benefiting a lot at the expense of
electorates that ushered them into power.

Mr Machona noted that most of the political statements that politicians were giving
the electorates were not happening on the ground.

He disclosed that people have continued to experience economic hardships when their
chosen leaders were busy debating for an increment to their salaries in parliament.

“When are you going to bring development that you were preaching about?
ZANIS

Amnesty International has expressed disappointment over the latest stance taken by the Zambian government to maintain and uphold the Death penalty in the law books despite President Levy Mwanawasa refusing to sign any Death warrants.

 Amnesty International Zambia (AIZ) says despite the death penalty being a highly
contentious piece of legislation, the International human rights body was saddened
by remarks by Justice Minister George Kunda that the piece of legislation would
stay.

And AIZ Executive Director Charles Mulenga made the pronouncements in an interview
with the Zambia News and Information Services in Mufulira today.

Mr. Mulenga was reacting to remarks by  the minister of Justice in parliament a
forth night ago that the piece of legislation wont be done away with.

He observed that the punishment was not only inhuman but a cruel and humiliating act.

And AIZ says it shall soon hold workshops targeted at Members of Parliament meant at
educating and coercing the legislators on the need to abolish the act.

Mr. Mulenga however noted that the courts of laws should not be blamed for effecting
the penalty as they were merely following what was in the law books of the country.

In his argument in parliament, Mr Kunda submitted that the death penalty was
contentious and that is why it was amongst the terms of reference to the Mungomba
Constitution Review Commission(CRC).

The Minister said the majority of people submitted to the CRC then that the death
penalty should remain on the statute books.

ZANIS

PRESIDENT Mwanawasa has denounced politicians who have adopted a culture of politicking at the expense of national development.

Mr Mwanawasa said yesterday that political leaders who rarely spoke about issues that would uplift the living standards of the people should stop the practice.

“It is sad that most politicians rarely talk about issues affecting the people and how to revamp the economy.

Zambians should learn from their colleagues in the United States of America who always rally behind an elected government.

“When the elections are over they all rally behind the government and work together.

Here we become primarily preoccupied with the pull him or her down (PHD) syndrome until the next elections.

I want that culture of talking politics day in day out to go and concentrate on development,” he said in Livingstone.

He was addressing MMD cadres and Government officials who welcomed him at Livingstone International Airport.
Mr Mwanawasa pledged to revamp the country’s economy by the end of 2011.

“Government has so far acquired a $39 million loan from the international community to be used for the construction of roads in the country,” he said.

Mr Mwanawasa is in Livingstone accompanied by Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Ben Kapita, his counterpart at tourism, Kabinga Pande, MMD national chairman, Michael Mabenga, and some senior Government officials.

And activities in Livingstone’s central business district yesterday came to a standstill when residents, including school children from various primary schools, thronged Livingstone International Airport to grant President Mwanawasa a hero’s welcome.

The atmosphere at the seemingly quite airport was full of activities.

Acknowledging the overwhelming crowd that welcomed him at the airport, President Mwanawasa said he was happy to belong to the MMD and being its leader as well as that of the country.

“I shudder when I think of what could have happened had some other political leaders taken over the reigns of the country after last year’s tripartite elections.

“There was going to be pandemonium in the country had certain political parties been in power today,” he said.

Southern Province MMD chairperson, Daniel Munkombwe, Southern Province Minister, Joseph Mulyata, and former Southern Province Minister, Alice Simango, welcomed the President.

Meanwhile, President Mwanawasa has directed the leadership in the province to forward details of their accounts to his principal private secretary for the disbursement of money to be used in the mobilisation and strengthening of the party.

Daily-Mail

Youth ,Sports and Child Development minister Gabriel Namulambe has expressed disappointed with some provincial mobilizing officers for mobilising youths who are not vulnerable for the street youth rehabilitation programme.

Mr Namulambe has since directed the permanent secretary in the ministry of youth
,sport and child development Ambassador Bob Samakai to ensure that erring officers
are punished.

The minister was speaking at Chelstone’s Anglican Church today where 44 girls and
55 boys had been grouped for onward movement to Zambia National Serveice’s Kitwe
and Chipata camps respectively.

The minister who was speaking during the send off of the second group of street
kids after the first group left on Tuesday, the 6th of March.

”I am informed that one young lady here is married and the husband came to claim
her. I know there are many girls out there who need this help more instead of
picking on a married woman,” he said.

Mr Namulambe further warned officers not to frustrate government ‘s well
intentioned programmes.

”I am disappointed with one of your officers who out of negligence is getting us
wrong people. They are frustrating government’s programmes and are therefore
irrelevant . I f I was PS, I was going to punish this officer but I am a politician
who can only recommend to Ps what type of punishment,” the minister added.

Meanwhile ,a 24 year -old young lady of Mutendere township broke down after she was
left out of the group of girls going to Kitwe ZNS camp because her husband had come
to claim her saying he was not aware of her impending move.

The young lady who openly wept before the minister and the PS pleaded for inclusion
saying her husband always battered her and that all the four children she has had
with him are being kept by her mother because he does not support them.

She said that was why she felt she should go to the youth skills training centre so
that she could come out of there a self -reliant person.

However, her plea could not be heard as she was directed to report the case to
either the Victims support unit ,or the ministry of community development.

” The programme is meant for those who have no parents to look after them, or have
parents but are vulnerable, hence government’s taking up the responsibility to look
after them,” Mr Namulambe said.

The minister also appealed to the initiates to make use of the skills they will
acquire wisely.

He further urged them to change their behaviour and become role models to their
colleagues.

” I am your true friend as your minister as long as you behave yourselves. I want
one of you to be an instructor in the youth skills training centres under my
ministry,” the minister said to the applause of the youths.

This year, the ministry of youth ,sport and child development has sent the second
group of youths to Kitwe ZNS Camp (44 girls) and Chipata ZNS Camp ( 55 boys).

They are expected to be at the training centres for 18 months.

The National Energy Sector and Allied Workers Union (NESAWU)  has accused the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) of committing a serious breach of industrial agreement by failing to provide its employees with protective clothing.
Union officials in Northern Province say it is an offence for an employer to allowworkers to take risks by refusing to consider their safety and allow them to operate
in risky areas without protective wear.

Zesco workers in Kasama yesterday said they had not been receiving protective
clothing for over two years and accused their company of deliberately exposing them
to danger.
A union leader who preferred to remain anonymous also said some deaths in the power
company were as a result of workers being exposed to danger by management which had
not been providing protective wear to its employees.
The workers told ZANIS in Kasama that protective clothing was a condition of service
which their company was aware of and which they said was being deliberately ignored
thereby exposing them to dangerous situations.
They said while their colleagues in other provinces had continued to receive the
protective clothes, workers in the Northern Region had been ignored for some years
now prompting most of them to seek alternative clothing which was not recommended
adding that in the event of workers dying in circumstances that could have been
avoided, Zesco management would be held responsible.
The workers accused management of lack of responsibility and appealed to Managing
Director Rodney Sisala to immediately intervene and reverse the situation.
They also accused management of treating them differently from their colleagues in
other regions.
ZANIS