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Magistrate Chinyama oders Chiluba to Stand Trial

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chiluba1.jpgMagistrate Jones Chinyama has today, Thursday, ordered former President Frederick Chiluba to stand trial on corruption charges, rejecting his lawyers’ arguments that he was too ill to be prosecuted.

“I am of the view that we should proceed with this matter to help all the other parties involved and also considering the period of time it has taken since the matter was last heard,” Magistrate Chinyama said in a ruling issued in Lusaka.

Chiluba , 64, who suffers from a heart condition, is accused of stealing state funds while in office. His trial has been stalled since May 2006 due to concerns about his health.

Magistrate Chinyama said Chiluba’s trial should go ahead after receiving a recommendation from doctors who evaluated him after he was admitted to a Lusaka hospital last week. Chiluba, who had collapsed at home, was discharged on Tuesday.

Doctors have advised Chiluba to return to hospital for treatment as well as travel to South Africa for a medical review within the next month.

Chiluba has been receiving treatment at a Johannesburg clinic since last year.

The charges against him stem from an anti-corruption campaign launched by his successor, President Levy Mwanawasa. Chiluba has described case against him as a political witchhunt.

Kanganja to lauch HIV/AIDS impact assessment report

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Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Joshua Kanganja is tomorrow expected to launch a report on the Impact Assessment of HIV and AIDS on three ministries conducted by the University of Zambia (UNZA) at a cost of about US $ 100,000.

The research which is part of the capacity assessments in the public sector was
executed by the Public Service Management Division (PSMD) and implemented  by a team of UNZA Researchers under the Vice Chancellor’s Committee on HIV/AIDS as
government’s response to the challenge of HIV/ AIDS, governance and poverty.

National AIDS Council (NAC) Public Relations Manager Justine Mwiinga told ZANIS in
Lusaka today that the University of Zambia Vice- Chancellor’s Committee on HIV/AIDS
had the overall responsibility to ensure coordination and technical conceptualization of the process and outputs of the reaserch.

Mr Mwiinga also disclosed that the contract had attrcated the sum of the US$50,000
and an additional costs of US$50,000 was paid for the follow-up strategy development
processes for internal and external mainstreaming in the three line ministries.

He noted that HIV/AIDS  is a major development issue requiring quantification and
judicious management and planning, as countries and economies grapple to recover
from its profound effects.

Mr Mwiinga further said that the impact assessment was conducted by NAC on the
ministries of  Education and Health under the auspices of PSMD and the United
Nations Development Programmes (UNDP).

He said studies have been conducted utilizing various methods and approaches to
assess the impact of HIV/AIDS.

The core team of researchers had comprised of Dr. Mary Shilalukey- Ngoma, Dr Mubiana Macwangi, Dr. Alasford Ngwengwe, Dr. Philimon Ndubani, and Mr. Jolly Kamuwanga.

ZANIS

Mpulungu Constituency rejects Sikasote

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The MMD in Mpulungu constituency has joined their colleagues in other parts of Northern Province who have resolved to reject their Provincial Party Chairman Grievas Sikasote for allegedly causing confusion and divisions in the party in the province.

The Mpulungu constituency officials are also calling on their district party chairman Edward Chele to step down.

The two embattled party officials are accused  of being among others allegedly going
round the party structures in the province to dest ABILISE THE PARTY INCLUDING
FIGHTING AGAINST Provincial Minister Lameck Chibombamilimo.

This is according to a statement released to ZANIS by the constituency leadership.

Mpulungu constituency Chairman George Tembo and Acting Council Chairman Gerald
Sikazwe also told ZANIS today, Cheela was also a supporter of an opposition party  and therefore not a true MMD member.

They  said the party leadership in the district would not rest until the two officials step aside and relinguish their leadership.

Some members of the MMD Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) have expressed similar views in the recent weeks in which they accused their Provincial Chairman of double standards.

Acting Provincial Information and Publicity Secretary Chrispin Mulenga said recently
that the party in the province was suspicious about the conduct of Mr. Sikasote
branding him an “outcast” in the party.

Mr. Mulenga accused the Provincial Party Chief and others he did not name of having
hatched plans to de-campaign Mr. Chibombamilimo whom they allegedly do not want and want removed.

Chele is also reported to have suspended some members of the party in Mpulung as
means of creating for himself, a conducive environment to destablize the party to
ease infiltration into the ruling party of the opposition.

In a letter dated May 11, 2007 to the district and Constituency committees which was
also copled to the MMD National Executive, PEC and Minister of Local Government and
Housing among others, they have voweled never to work with him and are calling on
him to step aside.

The party leaders have passed a “vote of no confidence’ in Mr. Chele for being part
of the group that was earlier known to be inciting people to rise against President
Mwanwasa.

Sikasote and Chele are also accused of organizing some traditional rulers to become
discontent with President Mwanawasa leadership and to sign a petition against him
over matters of Mpulungu Harbour.

Chiefs Nondo and Chinakila are said to have already apologized to the President in
their letter dated April 12, 2007.

They have since declared the suspensions slapped on some of the councillors null and
void calling the suspensions” baseless”.

The party leaders have re-affirmed their total support to President Mwanawasa and
the MMD.

ZANIS

Mulongoti calls people enlighten themselves with constitution contents, not mode of

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Chief government spokesperson Mike Mulongoti has challenged Zambians to enlighten themselves with the contents in the constitution than the mode of adoption.

Mr. Mulongoti says the contents in the constitution are paramount to the people to
debate on if they are to know the defects that the current constitution has.

He explained that it is the collective wisdom of Zambians that will make aconstitution that will   stand the test of time.

Mr. Mulongoti, who is also Information Minister, was speaking in Mufulira at the council chamber when he addressed stakeholders on the proposed government constitution roadmap.

He called upon the civil society to actively participate in constitutional matters  so that they explain to the people about what is expected of them.

Mr Mulongoti said government has proposed the roadmap that has been translated from
recommendations of the Mung’omba Constitution Review Commission which will not cause wrath on the people.

The minister noted that people advocating for the adoption of the constitution through a constitute assembly have not considered some defective clauses in the current constitution that need to be addressed before the process of enacting the
new one is done.

He said clauses, such as Articles 62 in the current constitution, which gives power
to the Parliament to legislate over constitution matters will be transferred to the
constitute assembly (CA).

He said the government is not comfortable with the CA because there is no guarantee
that the assembly will be a representation of the people.

The Chief Government Spokesperson said government has asked the people to be
realistic in their demands for the CA and not being emotional.

He charged that the people must support the roadmap suggested by government of 87
weeks because of the hurdles that have to be looked at and it is not its wish to
rush through the process.

Mr. Mulongoti advised the people not to worry about the period to enact the new
constitution because it is meant to benefit the young who are future leaders and not
president Mwanawasa.

He said the comment that the President made not to vote for the CA was not to rise
emotions of some people but that he is concerned with the process that the civil
society is proposing.

And Mr. Mulongoti has said government will not allow the view of people who do not
accommodate the other people’s views.

He said the debate is of national interest and people must be allowed to exercise
their rights to participate in the discussions.

I have no apology for LAZ – Mulongoti

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Information and Broadcasting Minister Mike Mulongoti says he shall not apologize to the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) over remarks attributed to him in a tabloid news paper where he is quoted as describing lawyers participating in the constitutional process as ”quacks”.

Mr. Mulongoti said this in Mufulira today during a meting held with stakeholders over the constitutional making process.

The information minister said he was neither afraid of facing LAZ in any law suit because he was merely expressing his opinion, adding that LAZ should accept that it had problems within its circles.

He added that LAZ should arrive at  maintaining its integrity and professionalism which was questioned by some of its members before the annual general meeting where Elijah Banda was elected as president.

Mr. Mulongoti added that the integrity of LAZ would always be in contention unless
some of its members changed their attitudes and approach over constitutional matters.

The Chief Government spokesperson said he was not the first one to issue such
disparaging remarks against LAZ but that he was merely adding to what members within the association had actually put on record.

The Information Minister added that LAZ should not think that it was the only competent body that had the monopoly over the constitutional making process and
should thus desist from speaking on behalf of the silent majority.

In today’s Post News Paper edition, LAZ President Mr. Banda said the legal fraternity had been taken aback by the remarks attributed to the Information Minister and have demanded for an apology from him.

ZANIS

CEC to boost power to mines, list shares

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Copperbelt Energy Company (CEC) will spend $60 million to increase power supply to  copper mines by 40 percent and plans to list on the Lusaka bourse, a senior executive said on Wednesday. Hanson Sindowe, the executive chairman of CEC, told Reuters that the firm was upgrading its power distribution equipment and machinery, which was over 50 years old, to maintain supply to the copper and cobalt mines in the the country.

“We will spend $60 million between 2007 and 2010 to upgrade our system because of rising demand of electricity from the copper mines,” Sindowe said in an interview. He noted that power demand was rising after the opening of new mines on the CopperBelt and North Western provinces.

“Our total power supply capacity is 550 megawatts and this will go up by 40 percent in the next two to three years,” he added.

Major new mining projects include the Konkola Deep Copper Mine Project (KDMP) and the Lumwana copper mine, which plans to start producing 165,000 tonnes of copper starting in 2008.

The KDMP, which is part of the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and is also expected to come on stream in 2008, will raise KCM’s total annual output to more than 500,000 tonnes per year from the 2007 target of 200,000 tonnes of finished copper.

Sindowe said a new power sub-station would be built for KDMP, which will become the largest copper mine in the country.

Part of CEC’s upgrade-releated investment will be used to modernise power lines that connect Zambia and the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

CEC operates a 800 km powerline that supplies electricity to copper mines and acts as a reserve line for Zambia to import power from the Congo during a crisis. The firm purchases electricity from state power utility Zesco.

Sindowe said the CEC also planned to float 20 percent of its shares on the Lusaka Stock Exchange and award a five-percent stake to its employees through a separate share ownership programme and a 1-percent stake to a community trust.

CEC, which plans to expand its 320-person workforce, has applied to the Securities Exchange Control (SEC) and the LuSE to list 20 percent of its shares on the bourse by August, he said.

“The listing should take place between July and August. Currently we are dealing with various requirements for the listing and a prospectus should be ready soon.”

The Zambia Energy Corporation (Zam-En), a consortium of local and foreign businesses, owns 77 percent of the CEC shares and will have a 51-percent stake following the CEC listing on the bourse.

The state-run ZCCM-IH will keep its 20 percent stake in CEC and minority Zambian shareholders will divide the rest.

FAZ HANDS NKANA HEAVY STADIUM BAN

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Nkana FC have been banned from playing all their remaining competitive home games for the next 13 months until July 2008 following crowd trouble at their Wusakile home ground on May 25 in a week 14 fixture against Kalewa.

The ban was handed out today following Nkana’s appearance before a Faz disciplinary committee in Lusaka.

The ban is also the second meted on Nkana in a space of the three years they have been campaigning in division 1 north since being demoted form the top-flight for the first time in 2004.

In passing judgment, Faz has handed Kalewa the 3 points from that game in which the Ndola club was leading 1-0 deep into the 4 minutes of time added-on at the end of the 90 minutes.

Nkana have also been fined K1 million for the fracas.

It the longest stadium ban Faz has handed to any club in recent memory that will overlap well into next season.

There was no immediate statement as to whether Nkana would appeal the ban.

Last Fridays match suffered two stoppages; the first one coming just before the hour mark.

It all started after striker Morgan Kapembwa’s 58th minute equalizer was ruled out for off-side by referee Maurice Changwe as Nkana fans rained missiles onto the pitch.

Moreover, the pre-match build-up at the stadium was marred by shenanigans from the hosts who delayed letting Kalewa entry into the stadium, dressing room and pitch.

And deep into injury time of the match, Nkana fans rained more debris onto the pitch as mayhem reigned and a pitch invasion ensued.

The chaos left referee Changwe with choice but to abandon the game after the match officials were attacked but were saved from abuse thanks to the quick reaction by police officers and club officials at the stadium

Nkana’s blighted hooligan history in division 1 begun in early 2005.

On March 15, 2005 at Wusakile, Nkana fans attacked referee Bernard Chabala after a late 90th minute equalizer from Konkola Blades defender Wellington Mujembe in a match that was abandoned after a pitch invasion with the team’s level at 2-2.

It was the third incident in a space of a month in that year involving Nkana’s notorious “12th man” at Wusakile.

On April 2 of that year, Nkana hooligans beat up referee Tryson Phiri in Nkana’s 1-1 draw at home in a league game against Tazara Express.

A week later, Nkana players accosted a referee in their 1-0 away loss to Forest Rangers in another league fixture at the same venue.

ZAMBIA NATIONAL TEAM WEDNESDAY UPDATE

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Zambia national team arrived on the Copperbelt at midday, today from Lusaka as the countdown begins to Saturday’s 2008 Africa Cup qualifier against Congo-Brazzaville at Konkola stadium in Chililabombwe.

Nine out of the ten foreign-based players are in camp with the exception of striker Collins Mbseuma.

The striker from Maritimo in Portugal is due in tomorrow morning and will fly directly to Ndola before driving up to Chililabombwe to join the rest of the squad.

Attacking midfielder Christopher Katongo is the latest foreign-based player to arrive after landing on Tuesday in Ndola.

The team will spend the day in Kitwe today before leaving for Chililabombwe at 08:00 hrs tomorrow morning.

Defender Joseph Musonda has been ruled out of Saturday’s game due to a stomach aliment he suffered last week and has been give a weeks off to rest.

And Congo are due in on Thursday on a charter flight but no time has been furnished to Faz as to when they will arrive at Ndola Airport.

Arriving on the same day will be the Zambia Under 23’s Olympic Games football tournament Group B qualifier opponents Cote d’Ivoire who will also land at Ndola Airport.

The two sides’ face-off at Nchanga stadium in Chingola on Sunday, June 3.

TEAM:

GOALKEEPERS: George Kolala (Zanaco), Charles Chileshe (Nchanga Rangers), Kennedy Mweene (Free State Stars, South Africa).

DEFENDERS: Clive Hachilensa (Free State Stars, South Africa), Patrick Masosa (Green Buffaloes), Billy Mwanza (Lamoteville Golden Arrows, South Africa), Kennedy Nkthani (Both Zanaco), Mark Sinyangwe (Nkana FC), Elijah Tana (Al Jezzera, UAE).

MIDFIELDERS: James Chamanga (SuperSport United, South Africa), Rainford Kalaba (Zesco United), Felix Katongo (Clube Desportivo 1º de Agosto, Angola), Noel Mwandila (Green Buffaloes).

FORWARDS: Songwe Chalwe (Moroka Swallows, South Africa), Christopher Katongo (Brondby, Denmark), Ignatius Lwipa (Zanaco), Collins Mbesuma (Maritimo, Portugal), Jacob Mulenga (Chateauroux, France), Enoch Sakala, Jonah Sakuwaha (Both Zesco United).

HIV/AIDS claims 135 teachers in Kasama

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About 135 teachers in Kasama District are reported  to have died from HIV/AIDS related ailments from 1998 to date.

Kasama District Education Board Secretary Savior Mutila disclosed this today when
the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Technology paid a courtesy
call on him.

Mr. Mutila told the Parliamentary Committee led by Mazabuka Member of Parliament
Gary Nkombo that the district had not been spared from the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

He, however, said the situation was slowly changing for the better as most teachers
and their families were now willing to be put on Anti Retroviral Therapy.

Mr. Mutila disclosed that as a result of this positive change of attitude towards
ARVs, the district has only lost two teachers this year due to the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the District Education board Secretary has bemoaned the dwindling grants
channeled  to the district saying this was affecting the implementation of the free
Education policy in the district.

Mr. Mutila told the committee that the declining levels of funding had been
compounded by the late release of the funds.

He also disclosed that his office was unable to monitor the use of grants in far
flung schools because of lack of reliable transport.

Other members of the parliamentary committee are Mporokoso Member of Parliament
Maynard Misapa, Chimbamilonga  lawmaker Brian Sikazwe, Chilubi Member of Parliament
Obby Chisala and Emmanuel Munaile of Malole.

Prostitution curtailed in Mongu

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The local authority in Mungu has reduced levels of prostitution in the district.

Mongu Mayor Charles Akende says the council managed to reduce prostitution levels by
strictly regulating the operations of bars and night spots in the district.

Mr. Akende said prostitution levels which were on the increase last year have since
declined due to stringent measures put in place by the council.

He explained that the council has managed to scale down the levels of prostitution in the area by working with the police and other stakeholders.

Mr. Akende said the adherence by some bar and night club owners to the terms of operation has seen less people engage in the vice.

Meanwhile, Mr. Akende has appealed to the Constructor who is to work on the
Mongu-Kalabo road to consider employing the youths in the district.

Mr. Akende said the move would deter many youths from engaging in bad vices such as
beer drinking, smoking and prostitution.

He observed that unemployment forced some youths in the district to engage in bad
vices such as prostitution.

And Mr. Akende has assured Mongu residents that the local authority was working
tirelessly to address the many land wrangles being faced in the area.

He announced that the Council has embarked on a programme to recruit qualified land
surveyors and staff.

Mr. Akende however maintained that the council would not rescind its decision of
charging K10,000 per month on every undeveloped plot in the district.

He said the move was aimed at encouraging people to develop their land.

Mr. Akende said it was unfortunate that some people were acquiring plots which they
failed to develop.

Government to enact new constitution through legitimate body – Mulongoti

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Chief Government Spokesperson Mike Mulongoti says government prefers to enact the new Constitution through a legitimate body like Parliament and not the Constituent assembly which had a lot of impediments.

Mr. Mulongoti, who is also Information and Broadcasting Minister, said it would take
87 weeks for the government to enact the new Constitution through Parliament which
was cheaper and a less time-consuming road map unlike the Constituent Assembly that
some people and stakeholders were advocating for which could even take five years.

He further said government preferred to tackle certain clauses in the constitution
that could be amended through an indaba without incurring the wrath of article 79 to
ensure that the new Constitution was enacted by Parliament and not the Constituent
Assembly.

The government has already set aside K200 Billion for all the process to ensure that the Zambian people enacted the Constitution in a more decent and somber manner.

Mr. Mulongoti said this in Kitwe today during a live radio programme on the government Constitution review process carried by the Catholic owned Radio
Ichengelo.

He said there were a lot of problems in following the enactment of the Constitution
through a Constituent Assembly to the latter as it had a lot of impediments which
most of the Zambia people did not understand.

The minister noted that the majority of the Zambian people did not know the implications of adopting the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly and that
the advocates of this process were not helping Zambians as they were not telling the
truth.

He further said if the referendum failed to identify eligible voters by 50 per cent,
then the entire process would be thrown in disarray and chaos which would be a waste
of national resources and time.

The minister also wondered what would happen to the entire process if parliament
refused to accept the document and recommendations by the Constituent Assembly.

Mr. Mulongoti added that there was need for government to give direction to the
nation by allowing parliament to operate normally and enact the Constitution as
required by law to avoid the nation being thrown into chaos.

He said government was more than ready with various stakeholders and to amend
certain articles in the Constitution to ensure that the nation moved forward and
adopted a new constitution within the desirable time frame.

And speaking later in an interview with some members of press Chembe Member of
Parliament, Mwansa Mbulakulima, said the enactment of the Constitution through a
Constituent Assembly meant that Zambian’s had passed a vote of no confidence in
their members of parliament.

Mr. Mbulakulima wondered how the same people who had voted for them as their sole
representatives could today turn around and render them irrelevant.

He said the people who would sit on the Constituent Assembly would not have the
authority and legality that was given to the members of parliament.

He appealed to Zambians to trend carefully and ensure that the constitution was
enacted by Parliament.

PRO’S HIT LIST

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DENAMRK.

Striker Christopher Katongo scored Brondby’s second goal in the 52nd minute on Sunday in the 6th placed clubs 2-0 home win over 10th positioned AC Horsens.

Katongo played the full 90 minutes.

FRANCE.

Striker Jacob Mulenga did not play in Chateauroux’s final Ligue 2 game of the season when they lost 2-1 away to relegated Tours on Saturday.

Chateauroux finished 7th on the table.

SWEDEN.

LJUNGSKILE: Defender Edwin Phiri played the 90 minutes for 11th placed Ljungskile in their scoreless home draw with number 6 Mjallby on Sunday.

ORGRYTE: Striker Boyd Mwila started for Orgryte on Thursday before being substituted in the 64th minute in the 3rd from top placed clubs 1-1 home draw with BK Hacken who are just a slot above tem on the table.

Mwila was not on target.

ZAMWA gives motherly hand to rural AIDS fight

SINCE the advent of HIV/AIDS, war has been waged against the eradication of the disease by several countries, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and to some extent, individuals.
And on NGOs that have taken a unique approach towards the fight against HIV/AIDS, is the Zambia Media Women Association (ZAMWA) targeting the rural populace.
ZAMWA undertook a project in four rural communities to build capacities within the communities where women bear the brunt of the HIV/AIDS because they are mothers, care givers and wives who also have to look for food and feed families.
According to ZAMWA chairperson Margaret Chimanse, the objective of the project was to mobilise the remote rural communities, and create a critical mass, in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The other objective was to work with remote rural communities in order to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS, and enable them to identify and analyse HIV/AIDS issues.
To advocate for pro-poor and HIV/AIDS sensitive policies and practices, strengthen the capacity of community media in addressing issues of HIV/AIDS and to network with the community health neighborhoods and the home based care in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Other objectives included identifying community-based programmes that would address the problems of those that have been affected by HIV/AIDS and to lobby Government institutions, churches, and non-governmental organisations so that they would get involved in the community based programmes.
Ms Chimanse added that the project high came on December 1, “World Aids Day,” when she published stories in the print and electronic media of the struggles of rural women and their basic needs to continue the fight; these were stories of brave women who put in their time voluntarily with no resources to help those who were sick in their communities.
Ms Chimanse said apart from reporting on the HIV/AIDS issues, ZAMWA carried out education campaigns in the communities, and encouraged them to intensify the fight against HIV/AIDS.
She said ZAMWA also felt that while reporting and educating people on HIV/AIDS, the media could, together with other organisations, participate in research, advocacy and lobbying. Further, the media would be able to influence policy changes in the interest of fighting the disease.
Ms Chimanse explained that in Lufwanyama, one of the communities that were visited, was women home based care givers that were crying for a CD 4 count machine.
“The stories were similar in Monze, Kapiri Mposhi and the outskirts of Chipata were women here asking for support from the Government, NGOs and the donor community,” she said.
While poverty may be seen to have contributed to the spread of HIV/AIDS in the rural areas, Ms Chimanse said that the opposite is also true.
She added that HIV/AIDS has contributed to the high poverty levels in the villages. And many people who are infected and eventually die from AIDS are those who are in the physically active group of people.
“As livelihood in the rural areas largely depends on hard work on the land, a number of breadwinners have died, leaving untold misery to their children and aged parents,” Ms Chimanse said.
And former Health Minister Angela Cifire commended ZAMWA for the fight against HIV AIDS saying it was gratifying to see the stance women in the media were taking.
Ms Cifire urged ZAMWA to double its efforts in the fight against the disease in the rural areas because of the vulnerability found there.
She, however, noted with pleasure the increased participation of female journalists in the fight against HIV/AIDS through their various skills.
“There has been an increase in the participation and I would like to see more coverage on sensitising the women in the rural areas on the disease, from women in the media,” she said.
In many instances even those who are in urban areas are taken to their villages once they are terminally ill, and once they die, it is their aged parents that are left to look after their grandchildren. As a result there are so many households where orphans are being taken care of by aged grand parents.
The poverty levels of such households are also high because the aged no longer have enough energy to be able to work on the land and take care of their grandchildren.
Consequently, these children are not able to attend school, resulting in an increase in illiteracy levels in the villages.
According to ‘The Initiative’ magazine, a publication of the Maureen Mwanawasa Community Initiative July to September 2006 edition on women economic empowerment, this is crucial to a country like Zambia where women face a lot of disadvantages due to cultural and educational barriers.
MMCI has in the past five years endeavored to reach as many women as possible throughout Zambia and the strategy has yielded many positive results enabling women to put food on the table and send children back to school and pay for medical facilities.
Empowerment projects have also benefited families that have either been directly or indirectly affected by the HIV/AIDS.
About 52 per cent of the Zambian population comprises women. Women contribute a lot to the economic development of the country at both household and national levels.

 In rural areas they participate greatly in agricultural production for domestic consumption, as well as in other labour intensive tasks essential for household survival, such as fetching water and firewood.

They have a primary responsibility of ensuring household food security, health and nutrition of their families.
Despite women being central to the promotion of health, their position in the rural society is not fully appreciated. Men due to traditional and cultural beliefs sometimes subject them to exploitation.
With the advent of HIV/AIDS, women and girl children are the most affected groups of the population. Mothers and daughters workload has increased drastically since they are the ones providing nursing care to the families that have been affected.

Sometimes they are forced to change their lifestyles and abandon what is dear to their lives such as employment just in order to take care of the terminally ill.

Girls who are attending school are also subjected to the same, to the extent of abandoning school.
All this is because people who are suffering from AIDS need continuous care by someone. It is the mothers and the girl children who have to walk long distances to fetch the water and perform other domestic chores that are necessary for the sick as well as the rest of the family.
The challenges of poverty are huge and special attention needs to be given to poverty that is brought about by the disease and to the women who have no means to fight this social ill.

Pro-poor policies should be developed to help and sustain those who are less privileged. It calls for communities to come together, the Government, civil society and the private sector to develop solutions to this ill.
“ Women are working together and collaborating with each other to ensure that they get a stake in the development agenda and participate effectively.”
“This is largely because of the tireless efforts of women NGOs who have helped sensitise the women and communities on various spheres of community and civic participation and these NGOs have built capacities in women that help them analyse issues and understand that without women’s enhanced participation there can be no real development,” Ms Chimanse said.
She commented that the real issue was not bridging the gap between men and women but to ensure there was equal access to resources, education, training and governance to ensure that women also enjoyed their human rights because women’s rights are human rights.

State clarifies concerns on Constitution

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GOVERNMENT has said not all recommendations of the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) will enable Zambia have a Constitution that the citizens desire.
Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Mike Mulongoti said this at Civil Society Elections Network (CSEN) workshop to conduct a postmortem of the 2006 elections in Lusaka yesterday.
Mr Mulongoti’s remarks followed concerns from Zambia Democratic Conference (ZADECO) national chairperson, Langton Sichone, who said Government’s stance on the Constitution was divisive to the nation.
Civil society organisations and political party leaders who included United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema attended the workshop.
Mr Mulongoti said as a result of the realisation that the recommendations of the CRC would not enable Zambia have a Constitution that is desired, the Government had for sometime now been agitating that some parts of the Constitution be amended without necessarily amending other clauses.

He said the Constitution had clauses that could be amended without referring to Articles 79 and 62. For instance, he said, to include the 50 plus one vote clause did not require amending Article 79.
If the stakeholders had agreed to amend such clauses, the Constitution making process could have reached an advanced stage.
Mr Mulongoti who is also Chief Government spokesperson, said the Government like civil society organisations and other political parties was concerned with the constitution making process.
He said the Government had discovered that most opposition leaders were emotional when it came to the issue of adopting the Constitution.
And when opening the workshop, Mr Mulongoti commended the initiative by civil society organisations and political parties saying such gatherings were a move in the right direction.
He said there were several issues facing the nation that required the attention and engagement of all stakeholders.
Civil society had managed to conduct a number of activities on the Zambian electoral process and the need to contribute to the sustainability of the democratic governance.
Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) executive director, Lee Habasonda, said such discussions would help resolve most of the problems that Zambia was facing.
He said it was important for stakeholders to know where they went wrong and what should be done particularly in the electoral process.
He, however, said Zambia’s electoral process had its own merits and demerits, which he said should be resolved.
He advised the media to give equal coverage to all political parties during the run up periods to elections.
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) regional director Kaitira Kandjii said electoral laws in Africa did not recognise the role that the media could play in the electoral process.
“Media should be catered for as an important player in the electoral law. It plays an important role in the electoral process,” Mr Kandjii said.

Schoolgirl (18) gives birth in class

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AN 18-year-old grade nine pupil at Kikombe Middle Basic school in Solwezi yesterday gave birth to a baby boy in a classroom.
The pupil was helped to deliver by female teachers around 09:00hours, the period meant for geography lessons.
School manager, Jersey Liswaniso, who confirmed the incident, said the girl started bleeding during class and the class teacher asked the rest of the pupils to go out and called for female teachers.
After the bleeding persisted, Mrs Liswaniso was called in, who after interviewing the girl with other female teachers helped in the delivery.
Mrs Liswaniso said the school authorities were not aware that the girl was pregnant.
She always wore a jersey to conceal her pregnancy but teachers thought she was doing it to beat the cold.
“A member of staff here rushed the pupil and her baby to hospital, while her parents were notified. This has never happened at this school before,” she said.
Solwezi General Hospital authorities could not state the condition of the girl and the baby, referring all queries to the ministry of Health spokesperson, Canisuis Banda in Lusaka.