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Ministry of Technology, ASSECO sign MoU to digitalise ZAMPOST

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Ministry of Technology, ASSECO sign MoU to digitalise ZAMPOST

The Ministry of Technology and Science has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Polish ICT Company called ASSECO to invest 10 million Euros in digitalising Zampost and make it viable in the provision of digital services.

Minister of Technology and Science, Felix Mutati, said government , through Zampost and ASSECO, will create a joint venture company to oversee the digitisation transformation process.

“We are here to witness the beginning of the transformation of Zampost. Zampost will now be exposed to tested global technology, tested technology,” said Mr. Mutati.

The minister said the MoU will change the face of Zampost as it impacts the lives of Zambians in rural areas through solutions such as e-commerce and e-banking that will provide efficient and effective transactions.

He stated that government and ASSECO will sign a transactional contract to actualise the implementation of the project and achieve delivery.

Mr. Mutati further said the MoU will outline the road map to achieve the completion of the transaction.

He explained that the MoU is as a result of President Hakainde Hichilema’s directive that EU-Zambia partnerships should result in transactions that will help transform the lives of Zambians.

“We are responding to the directive by his Excellency yesterday that our colleagues who travelled all the way from Europe to Lusaka and Zambia should begin to leave some Euros in this country, because only money transforms lives. And therefore the Euros are beginning to drop and we are grateful to ASSECO,” he said.

Mr. Mutati said government is aware of the challenges that Zampost is facing.

He noted that the development will help address the problems and benefit not only Zampost but the entire country.

The minister said government is determined to advance digital transformation in the country that will change government operations and the provision of service delivery.

Mr. Mutati said the government is committed to connecting people in urban and rural areas and promote affordable and accessible services in a digital era.

And ASSECO Senior Director for International Business, Pawel Hansdorfer, said his company is committed to supporting the government in its efforts to digitalise its institutions.

Mr. Hansdorfer revealed that ASSECO is the sixth largest software company, with a workforce of 28,000 people and operations in more than 60 countries, of which 10 are in Africa.

He said ASSECO will develop new solutions to assist government institutions such as Zampost to develop new services that will bring new streams of revenue in a digital era.

“The main focus of our agreement is to develop new solutions and new services for Zambian Post, that Zambian Post should have the ability to open in a digital era new revenues for them,” said Mr. Hansdorfer.

He said the new digital solutions for Zampost will benefit Zambians in peri-urban areas as well as the government to promote connectivity among people.

Mr. Hansdorfer said ASSECO will commence the project before the end of the year to help resurrect and reposition Zampost in the digital era.

And EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, said he is delighted that partnerships are already being engaged between Zambia and EU businesses following the EU-Zambia Economic Forum.

He said he was looking forward to the actualisation of the contract and partnerships.

Mr. Wojciechowski said Zampost plays a critical role in providing connectivity in rural areas and the partnership with ASSECO will enhance service delivery.

Meanwhile, Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Elias Mubanga, said his ministry will strive to ensure that SMEs benefit from the MoU and drive the partnerships to actualise the projects.

Mr. Mubanga said the MoU with ASSECO is one avenue that will help in creating jobs in the SME sector for Zambians.

And Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga, congratulated the parties for signing a milestone MoU as a result of the EU-Zambia Economic Forum.

Mr. Mulenga said the development of striking deals and transactions is what President Hichilema wants.

He stated that such partnerships are central to helping the government achieve its objective of repairing the economy in order to improve the lives of Zambians.

The minister said Zambia needs strategic partners such as the EU to attain its economic transformation agenda, adding that the MoU between the government and ASSECO will provide benefits to Zambians.

DEC Arrests 9 people for unlawful cultivation and trafficking in over 767 Kilograms of cannabis

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DEC Arrests 9 people for unlawful cultivation and trafficking in over 767 Kilograms of cannabis

The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has arrested nine (9) people from various parts of the country for unlawful cultivation and trafficking in over 767 Kilograms of cannabis contrary to the Laws of Zambia.

DEC Public Relations Officer Mathias Kamanga has confirmed that the nine suspects arrested in Luapula, Southern, Muchinga and North Western Provinces are detained in police custody and will appear in court.

Mr. Kamanga said DEC has arrested Alex Chanda, a male aged 22 years of Daison Village in Nchelenge District in Luapula Province for trafficking in 3,261 balls of cannabis weighing 8.86 Kilograms.

“In Luapula Province, the Commission has arrested Alex Chanda, a male aged 22 years of Daison Village in Nchelenge District for trafficking in 3,261 balls of cannabis weighing 8.86 Kilograms. In a separate incident, the Commission has arrested Vincent Mwape, a male aged 57 years of Chabala Village in Chembe District for trafficking in 52 Kilograms of loose cannabis,” Mr. Kamanga revealed.

He disclosed that further the Commission has arrested Davis Kasongo, a male aged 36 years of Mwansabombwe Village in Chembe District in Luapula for trafficking in 22 Kilograms of loose cannabis.

“Another suspect identified as Sam Mwanakatwe Chiluba, a male aged 29 years of Chief Nsonga area in Milenge District has been arrested for unlawful cultivation of 10.2 Kilograms of fresh cannabis plants. Further the Commission has arrested Davis Kasongo, a male aged 36 years of Mwansabombwe Village in Chembe District for trafficking in 22 Kilograms of loose cannabis,” he said.

Mr. Kamanga added:”In Southern Province, the Commission has arrested Harry Bubala, a male aged 53 years of Kataba Area in Mazabuka District for unlawful cultivation of 610 Kilograms of cannabis plants and trafficking in 713 grams of cannabis.”

Mr. Kamanga said a 59 year old man of Chinsali District has been arrested for unlawful cultivation of 15 Kilograms of fresh cannabis.

“In Muchinga Province, the Commission has arrested Kenneth Bowa, a male aged 29 years of Chifumu Village in Chinsali District for unlawful cultivation of 35.6 Kilograms of fresh cannabis plants and trafficking in 8.6 Grams of loose cannabis. In a separate incident, the Commission has arrested Osward Siwakwi, a male aged 59 years of the same Village in Chinsali District for unlawful cultivation of 15 Kilograms of fresh cannabis plants and trafficking in 20 Grams of loose cannabis and 4.8 Grams of cannabis seeds,” he stated.

Mr. Kamanga concluded:”In North-Western Province, the Commission has arrested Elvis Kalinyongi, a male aged 35 years of Kewumba Area in Ikelengi District for trafficking in 8 Kilograms of loose cannabis. In a separate incident, Larry Sachandu, a male aged 28 years of Kachiza Area has been arrested for trafficking in 5.4 Kilograms of loose cannabis. The suspects are currently in police custody and will appear in court.”

Lusambo gets back his house as Court rules that warrant of seizure was irregularly issued to ACC

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Lusambo gets back his house as Court rules that warrant of seizure was irregularly issued to ACC

The Lusaka Magistrate Court has today ruled that the warrant of seizure on Kabushi Member of Parliament Bowman Lusambo’s house be set aside.

The ruling means that Mr. Lusambo can now take possession of the property located Lusaka’s Chamba Valley area.

The Anti Corruption Commission had on April 13th 2022 seized Mr. Lusambo’s property on allegations that the property was acquired from proceeds of crime.

But Lusaka Magistrate Albert Mwaba ruled that the document which was issued as warrant of seizure on 13 April, 2022, be and is hereby set aside.

Magistrate Mwaba stated that Mr. Lusambo’s lawyers had argued that the properties in question were already under a restriction notice issued by the Anti- Corruption Director General when the court issued the warrant of seizure in question and that the lawyer for the state never countered this issue, and thus, it goes without saying that a restriction notice was in force at the time the warrant of seizure was issued.

“From the definition of seizure under the Anti-Corruption Act no 3 of 2012, it is clear that both warrant and restriction notice have same effect. Therefore, applying for a warrant of seizure on a properties subject of a restriction notice was nothing but an abuse of process,” the ruling read in part.

Magistrate Mwaba charged the warrant of seizure was irregularly issued as an affidavit in support was not filed in court as required by law.

“To cap it all, the said warrant of seizure does not serve the purpose for which it was intended. And even if it did, it could still not be in order to have both warrant of seizure and restriction notice on the same properties in force at the same time,” he ruled.

“For the foregoing, the application to set aside the document which prima facie is warrant of seizure is allowed.”

Rural women prone to climate change

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Rural women prone to climate change

Women’s Life and Wellness Foundation Acting Executive Director Natasha Sakala has said Rural women are the most hit by effects of climate change.

SMrs Sakala said in the Lukolongo area of Kafue district after a community engagement awareness meeting on climate change, that  women feel the major impact of climate change because of their role in taking care of families.

She said women especially in rural areas where they  have to travel long distances to fetch water and collect firewood to prepare meals.

Ms. Sakala said there is a need to find ways of mitigating the impact of climate change on women.

“The work we are doing under this project is amplifying voices for women and young smallholder farmers. We are not limiting our work to farmers only but to women because they are the ones who   feel the greatest brunt of climate change,” she said

Ms. Sakala said creating an enabling environment for women to speak out and propose solutions to the effects of climate change could be one way of cautioning the impact on women

She noted that her organization is interested in establishing the challenges that women face in communities as a result of climate change and finding ways of alleviating them.

“We want to ensure that Climate Action speaks to the challenges that women face,” she said

And Lukolongo ward Women’s Clubs Chairperson Mary Dimba said women in the area are faced with a number of challenges that hinder them from contributing to economic development.

She said most women do have land where they can do farming activities and to the few that have land, they have no market to sell their products adding that as a result of this their products go to waste

She appealed to Women’s Life and Wellness to help the women in Lukolonga to find a market for their products.

“In this area, there are very few women that own land, we are appealing to you to help the women be empowered with land and for the few that have land, please help them to find a market for their product,” she said.

Bank of Zambia refused to pay ransom to hackers

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Bank of Zambia refused to pay ransom to hackers

The Bank of Zambia says it refused to pay ransom to a group known as Hive that was behind a cybersecurity breach that caused minimal damage to its systems last week.

Last week, the Central Bank disclosed that recent technical outages resulted from a cyberattack.

“All of our core systems are still up and running,” Greg Nsofu, information and communications technology director at the Bank of Zambia, told Journalists in Lusaka.

“The disruption, which affected some systems at the Bank such as the Bureau De Change Monitoring System and the Website, emanated from a suspected cybersecurity incident. We wish to advise that these systems have since been fully restored.”

“Not much sensitive data has actually been shipped out.”

Mr. Nsofu said, “So we pretty much told them where to get off,” confirming that it was someone affiliated with the bank who responded to Hive.

After suffering a ransomware attack by the Hive operation, the Bank of Zambia made it clear that they were not going to pay by posting a picture of male genitalia and telling the hackers to s… (well, you can use your imagination).

While the Bank of Zambia did not disclose the details of the cyberattack, BleepingComputer learned that the attack was conducted by the Hive ransomware operation, which claimed to have encrypted the bank’s Network Attached Storage (NAS) device.

However, instead of paying the ransom, the bank representatives responded to the ransom negotiation by making fun of the hacker’s ’14m3-sk1llz.’

They then proceeded to post a link to a dick pic while stating, “suck this dick and stop locking bank networks thinking that you will monetize something, learn to monetize.”

BleepingComputer has contacted the Bank of Zambia with further questions about this incident but has not received a response.

Software firm to set up 10m EURO company to transform ZAMPOST

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Software firm to set up 10m EURO company to transform ZAMPOST

Government has signed an MoU with ASSECO, Europe’s sixth biggest software company to set up a 10-million Euros joint venture company aimed at improving the operations of ZAMPOST.

Minister of Science and Technology Felix Mutati  says the MoU will see the digitizing of ZAMPOST operations.

He adds that the MoU is the beginning of transforming ZAMPOST which will have an opportunity of having e-Banking and Ecommerce.

Mr. Mutati who signed  on behalf of Zambia said the agreement is basically bringing to life President Hakainde HichilemaA’s call for partnerships with European companies during the official opening of the EU Zambia Economic Forum yesterday.

The Minister said government has set signing of the transactional contract by July as the MoU signed today outlines the roadmap for the completion of the transaction.

He said his Ministry is responding to the President’s call for partnerships and attraction of more investments from the EU.

And ASSECO Senior Director International Business Pawet Hansdorfer  said his company with an annual net profit of over 300 million euros is happy to support the digitization of ZAMPOST.

He said the move will enhance ZAMPOST’s revenue streams and communication.

Mr. Hansdorfersaid ASSECO which has presence in 61 countries looks forward to start work during the course of this year.

And EU Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski who witnessed the signing stated that improving operations of postal services is key to development.

He expressed happiness that Zambia has signed a partnership with ASSECO a Polish company and one of the major tech companies in Europe.

And Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Elias Mubanga said his Ministry is looking forward to seeing the projects taking off soon as government is in a hurry to develop.

He expressed optimism of many SMEs set to benefit.

Meanwhile Commerce Minister Chipoka Mulenga   expressed happiness that key transactions are already being secured barely 24 hours after President HICHILEMA’s call for partnerships with European companies.

Mr. Mulenga said technology has evolved hence Zambia cannot keep transacting in old ways.

He said the 10million Euros investments will not just improve the economy but will be key in job creation.

Mulyata calls for more investment in Lusaka

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Mulyata calls for more investment in Lusaka

Lusaka Province Minister Sheal Mulyata has called for increased investment in Lusaka Province.

She said this will create more jobs opportunities for Lusaka residents.

She said that government is focusing on creating an investment climate that benefits both investors and the country.

Speaking during the official opening of the 50th Hungry Lion store in the country, Mrs Mulyata noted that the new store is worth K 7 million.

She said that the store has been supporting the economy by sourcing most of its products locally.

The Provincial Minister commended the company for creating more than 1000 jobs to Zambians around the country.

Mrs. Mulyata added that Hungry Lion has created jobs for the youths for the past 20 years of existence in the country.

And Hungry Lion Board Chairperson, Charles Bota says the company has 1,250 workers dotted around the country.

 

Jay Rox and T-Sean are in “Sin City”

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Jay Rox and T-Sean are in “Sin City”

Jay Rox collaborates with T-Sean on the song ‘Sin City‘.

Music Video Directed by Jay Rox and OG Beejay.

Fashion’s Europa Cup Dreams Dashed

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Chipolopolo striker Fashion Sakala’s dream for debut European honours ended in disappointment on Wednesday evening after settling for second best in the 2021/2022 UEFA Europa League final in Spain.

Fashions club Glasgow Rangers lost 5-4 on post-math penalties after extra-time to Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt following a 1-1 draw in Sevilla.

Fashion barely played 27 minutes of the match after coming on in the 74th minute before doing an in-out in the first period of extra-time.

It was a huge disappointment for Fashion after Rangers failed to defend their domestic title that they relinquished to arch-foes Celtic with a game to spare and were left to also settle for a second place finish there too.

But Fashion has one more shot at silverware this season when Rangers play Hearts this Saturday in the Scottish FA Cup final.

Concourt stops Milingo Lungu’s court cases

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Concourt stops Milingo Lungu’s court cases

The Constitutional Court has stopped all criminal prosecution proceedings involving former Konkola Copper Mines provisional liquidator Milingo Lungu.

In a landmark ruling, the Concourt ruled to stay all criminal proceedings currently before the Subordinate Courts until constitutional matters raised are addressed.

Constitutional Court Judge Martin Musaluke said the provision of the law and the Constitution were clear in matters of this nature and therefore, the Constitutional issues raised should be addressed by the Constitutional Court before any matter could be dealt with by the subordinate court.

Judge Musaluke refered matters in Uganda where Constitutional matters were raised in a case of Charles Onyongo Obbo vs the Attorney General.

“This issue was equally addressed in the Ugandan case of Charles Onyongo Obbo v the Attorney General where the Supreme Court opined as follows, where a court refers a questions that arises in proceedings before it, it must await the decision of the question of the Constitutional Court, and “disose of the case in accordance with the decision.”

“Premised on the foregoing, I hereby grant the Petitioner’s application for stay of criminal proceedings before the subordinate court so as to preserve the integrity of the proceedings in this court were allegations of the breach of the Constitution have been raised,” reads in part Judge Musaluke’s ruling.

Govt determined to attract meaningful investment in Zambia – Mulenga

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Govt determined to attract meaningful investment in Zambia – Mulenga

The government says it will not relent in its quest to promote and attract trade and meaningful investment in the country.

Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga said his ministry is targeting to ensure that meaningful investments are realized in all sectors of the economy by creating a conducive business environment.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of the inaugural EU Zambia Economic Forum in Lusaka, Mr Mulenga said government is focused on implementing policies that will transform the economic landscape of the country.

“Today we see and witness another milestone being achieved in the quest to increase trade and investment in our country,” said Mr Mulenga.

He said the forum should signify the beginning of times that the EU and Zambia began doing business in a different manner.

Mr Mulenga said Zambia should not only focus on trade and investment but value addition that will give birth to industrialization in the country.

The minister said after the end of the summit, his ministry will engage the EU Delegation to Zambia to build on the gains of the forum.

Speaking at the same forum, AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Industry and Mining, Albert Muchanga urged Zambian businesses not to restrict themselves to the Zambian market that has only 18 million consumers but look at the African market that has 1.6 billion people.

Ambassador Muchanga said Zambia needs to mobilise resources and increase its share of global trade.

He said this can be attained through moving away from production and export of commodities to value addition.

Mr Muchanga said Zambia should take advantage of the Intra African Trade Fair as a vehicle for marketing Zambian products and creating business linkages.

He said the AU created the African Trade Observatory that shows market opportunities of all exports, imports and investments.

Ambassador Muchanga wondered why African countries only access about US$48 billion out of US$279 trillion dollars global investment funds and challenged the continent to change the narrative and access the funds to invest in their economies.

And EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski said there is need to strengthen the longstanding trade and investment relations.

Ambassador Wojciechowski said the EU is keen to support Zambia’s agriculture sector so that it can tap into the food gap created by the Russia –Ukraine war.

He said there is need to support small scale farmers in Zambia and the world to ensure food security in the country and the globe.

Ambassador Wojciechowski pointed out that according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) small scale farmers use about 12 percent of land to produce 35 per cent of the world’s food.

Mr Wojciechowski said there is need for Zambia to transform its economy to the global green model as it has sustainable benefits to the country and people.

The EU Zambia Economic Forum which runs from May 17 to 19 2022, is being held under the theme Economic Transformation through Green Growth.

ZAM appeals to EU to support local manufacturers

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ZAM appeals to EU to support local manufacturers

The Zambia Association of Manufacturers(ZAM) has appealed to the European Union to support Zambian manufacturers to access the European Market by removing all non-tariff barriers that are blocking access to the European Market.

The Association President, Ashu Sagar said the conflict in Ukraine has provided an opportunity for businesses to look for alternative sources in the supply chain, including the local market and has called on the EU delegation to assist the Zambian manufacturers to leverage on this opportunity.

“While we know that the recent changes in Europe regarding the crisis with war has woken us up to look for alternative supply chains from our region as well,” he said

Mr. Sagar said the European Banking Authority EBA provides an opportunity for free trade in the European market and has called on the EU to ensure that the provisions of the EBA are emphasized in all platforms and help the manufacturers add value to their products and resources as they go back to Europe.

He has further appealed to the EU to help build knowledge and skills capacity by Zambian businesses to help them produce quality that meets the standards of the European market.

“Let us look towards building capacity in knowledge of developing the products and the quality that is required in the European Union. If we look to trade with that kind of incentive when we build our economies, when we build from this forum we definitely must look at the low hanging fruit,” he added

Mr. Sagar said this during the Zambia Association of Manufacturers presentation at the on-going Zambia-EU economic forum in Lusaka yesterday.

Meanwhile, Bankers Association of Zambia President, Mizinga Melu said the financial sector is ready to provide financial support to the business community in the various sectors to enable them succeed and contribute to economic growth.

Mrs. Melu has thanked the president for facilitating the forum as it sets to build strong relationships between Zambia and the European Union, which she said is important for the growth of the economy.

“As you rightly said Mr. President, Zambia is open for business and indeed may I say the Zambia financial sector which I represent this morning is open for business to facilitate economic growth.

She says Zambia’s investor confidence has grown over time as evidenced by the positive engagements with International Monetary Fund IMF and other positive economic changes such as the stabilized foreign exchange rates and the reduced inflation rates.

Mrs. Melu pointed out five key areas of access including; access to affordable finance, long term financing, access to local and international market, access to skills and business development and access to Business to Business and Business to the Government as the critical access areas necessary to facilitate growth of the private sector and pledged support to the government on their economic transformation plan.

She was speaking when she gave a vote of thanks during the on-going Zambia-EU Economic forum in Lusaka yesterday.

Public urged to take advantage of Public Protector office

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Public urged to take advantage of Public Protector office

The Office of the Public Protector (OPP), has expressed happiness with the political will exhibited by government to address maladministration in the public sector.

OPP Public Relations Officer, Smart Kalaluka said this is a positive move considering the alleged rampant maladministration in the previous regime, which was not being addressed.

Speaking during a sensitization meeting for Heads of Government Departments in Mazabuka, Mr. Kalaluka said most people who were allegedly subjected to maladministration during the previous regime, were coming forward to register their complaints.

“People who claim to have been abused while seeking public services especially during the reign of the previous Government are now coming forward to register their complaints with us,” he said.

Mr. Kalaluka further said the Office of the Public Protector handled a total of 622 maladministration cases during the first quarter of 2022.

He explained that the OPP had intensified sensitization meetings and activities for people in both the formal and informal sector for them to know where to report potential cases, and which procedures to follow.

“A lot of resources are being channeled to address maladministration in public institutions. We are now going into communities to sensitise members of the public that they cannot just die in silence due to practices that subject them to injustice,” he said.

And Mr. Kalaluka called on officers in public institutions to operate within the confines of the law.

In accordance with the Public Protector Act Number 15 of 2016, the Public Protector’s Mandate is to investigate and redress grievances of maladministration in the public sector in order to improve administrative practices, good governance and enhance service delivery.

Unreliable energy supplies to affect COMESA region development

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Unreliable energy supplies to affect COMESA region development

COMESA Assistant General, Kipyego Cheluget says without adequate, reliable and affordable energy supplies, it is unlikely that desired social-economic transformation will be attained in the COMESA region.

Dr Cheluget has charged that in order to avert that, member States must therefore capitalize on regional integration which is one of the strong options that will facilitate countries to generate adequate economic growth, which in turn contribute to poverty reduction and wealth creation.

Speaking during the official opening of the session of the 8th meeting of the Programme Technical Steering Committee (PTSC) of the Project on enhancement of a sustainable energy market in Eastern Africa, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Region in Livingstone, Dr Cheluget said that energy was an enabler for economic development.

He said that trade in energy is just as critical and beneficial as trade in goods and other services.

The COMESA assistant secretary general said that energy trade allows all nations to benefit from comparative and competitive advantages and from the advantages of the economies of scale and scope.

“It is, therefore, critical for is to promote the development of our regional infrastructure projects such as energy. In this regard the power sector should be open for the private sector investment and ownership,” he said.

He said that the region is beginning to see significant improvements in the generation capacity in line with the expected coming on stream of major power generation projects in many countries of Eastern Africa-Southern Africa Indian Ocean region.

Dr Cheluget said that the main challenge for many Eastern Africa-Southern Africa-Indian Ocean countries is that generation capacity is not enough to cover bthe nations own needs and allow bfor cross border trade.

“Even though there are plans underway to improve bthe transmission capacity across borders, there is not yet enough capacity to secure an unimpeded trade across the countries and regions.

And Regional Association of Energy Regulators for Eastern and Southern Africa Chief Executive Officer Mohamedian Serif Elnasr said that the Eastern Africa- Southern Africa and Indian Ocean energy situation still shows how much work needs to be done to improve the situation.

Dr Elnasr said the improving the energy situation will ensure energy becomes a key enabler and game changer to doing business and increase the productivity of the industries.

Refusal by parents to allow children get Covid-19 vaccine worrying – Mulusa

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Refusal by parents to allow children get Covid-19 vaccine worrying – Mulusa

Solwezi Central Member of Parliament, Stafford Mulusa is worried with the low number of parents consenting to have their children vaccinated against Covid-19.

Mr Mulusa said it is sad that parents are refusing to have their children vaccinated despite having information on the benefits of the vaccine.

He said there is need to redouble efforts especially with the fifth wave eminent as the cold season approaches.

“I went around some schools just to check the situation, I must say it is worrying that some parents are refusing to have their children vaccinated despite having all the information,” Mr Mulusa said.

Mr Mulusa who is also government Chief Whip was speaking in Solwezi yesterday when he opened a Covid-19 vaccination campaign stakeholders meeting.

He said there is need for traditional and civic leaders as influencers and mobilisers to play their role in the campaign by creating demand for the vaccine.

“We need to create demand for the vaccination in our areas as traditional leaders and councillors and ensure that all eligible people get vaccinated, ”Mr Mulusa said.

He said since the re-launch of the vaccination campaign four days ago, over 4,900 people have been vaccinated bringing the total number of vaccinated people to 42,657 in the district.

Meanwhile, Solwezi District Maternal and Child Health Coordinator, Florence Mukoma said there is little ownership of the programme by traditional leaders.

Ms Mukoma said this is making it difficult to penetrate some areas and ensure people get vaccinated.

“One of the challenges we are facing is that there is little or no ownership of the programme by our traditional leaders,” she said.

Ms Mukoma said the fight against Covid-19 should not only be left to the ministry of health alone but that all stakeholders need to come on board.

And traditional leaders have pledged to use their influence to mobilize their subjects and ensure they are vaccinated.

According to Ministry of Health presentation during the meeting, since the roll out of the vaccination campaign in April 2021, 42,657 have so far been vaccinated in Solwezi district which translates into 40 percent of the eligible population.

Meanwhile, Kabompo District Health Promotions Officer, Florence Tembo says myths and misconception over Covid-19 vaccines have remained a challenge among community members during the vaccination campaign period.

Ms. Tembo said most community members believe that one would eventually die once vaccinated after a period of time.

She said the 10 days vaccination campaign has however given stakeholders an opportunity to correct the narrative.

Ms Tembo said this in an interview with ZANIS in Kabompo yesterday during a Covid-19 road show sensitization and mobilisation at Musamba market organised by the health office and its partners.

“The vaccination campaign which has reached day six is going on well as we pursue to reach the 70 percent target of vaccinated people aged 12 years and above.

“However the biggest challenge we have discovered is the myths and misconception that exist around the communities surrounding the Covid-19 vaccines,” she said.

Ms Tembo urged all eligible individuals to get vaccinated as the vaccines are readily available and safe saying vaccination is the only way to protect themselves and families.

She further appealed for all parents and guardians to work with community health assistants who have been sent out in the various wards of the district and quickly give consent for the vaccination of their children.

Meanwhile, speaking in a separate interview, Kabompo District Stakeholders Association Chairperson, Rodgers Chinyemba said that he and other community leaders have equally embarked on sensitization meetings which have so far proved to work.

Mr. Chinyemba said that stakeholders committee members have teamed up with different area ward councillors to deliver the Covid-19 vaccination campaign messages.

“We have equally teamed up with our civic leaders and been moving around their wards to deliver the Covid-19 vaccination campaign messages for children aged 12 years and above,” he said.

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