LUSAKA YOUTHS IMPLORE PRESIDENT LUNGU AS CHAIRMAN OF IDC TO SAVE THE ZAMBIAN GOLD

_Below is the full statement by Zambian Youth Against Apathy_

As the Zambian Youth Against Apathy (ZAYAA), we wish to first thank the Lusaka mayor for creating an enabling environment for a youth movement like ours to interact and sensitize our fellow Lusaka residents freely and without incident. To the mayor we say: Your work is not easy but keep up with your patriotic intuition. We have your back and we know we speak for many of the city’s residents because we live with them.

The public outcry over the Joint venture between ZCCM-IH (through CGCZ) & Array Metals has compelled us as to take a stand, register our concerns and to make an appeal to elected decision makers to provide us with a lasting solution to the historical problems surrounding our mining policy as a nation.

As ZAYAA, we believe that His Excellency Edgar Chagwa Lungu, in his capacity as the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Chairman can save our Gold.
We also believe that God has deliberately blessed us with the huge gold deposits at such a time so that we can have this very healthy and necessary debate that will in the end disillusion all our citizens like a slap in ones face does. It seems that as a people we have learned to overlook the fact that what is fair is fair (especially in trade). We also seem not learn and appreciate the fact that only intelligent exploitation of our God given natural resources can save our country from a total economic collapse. By intelligent exploitation, we mean such shrewd and prudent management or resources as we have seen Botswana manage its diamonds.

Our neighbors across the border have showed us how shrewdly managed local resources can change the fortunes of an entire country. Botswana built its economy around diamond mining and through consistency has delivered tangible results to its people. Botswana with a population of 2.3 million and a GDP of close to US 19 billion, has a per capita GDP of around US 7,800. This compares with Zambia with a population of 17 million and a GDP of about US 24 billion, translating into a per capita GDP of around US1,300. That means the average mo Twsana is 6 times richer than the average Zambian. 6 times!

The difference here is about ownership and a deliberate plan to empower locals. The mining policy of our neighbors dictates strictly that Botswana owns 50% of all mining assets and shares half of all profits with no negotiations. Zambian ownership of copper mining shows a total different picture:
Mine
Foreign
ZCCM-IH

Kansanshi (FQM)
80%
20%

KCM
79%
21%

Mopani
90%
10%

Chambishi Metals
90%
10%

Chibuluma
85%
15%

CNCM Luanshya
80%
20%

Copper Trees
84%
16%

Lubambe – Chililabombwe
80%
20%

NFC
85%
15%

We desire to see a different approach for exploitation of our gold. Many local investors can clearly raise the $2.4m that Array Metals brought to the Joint venture with ZCCM-IH. They were just overlooked in bad faith and that is disheartening. Zambians should have the right of first refusal. It’s the kind of attitude ba Kapwepwe referred to when he warned that ”if we are not careful, our colonizers will return as investors…”

To our fellow youth, you have been called before to champion political party agendas and you showed up. You have been called before to be used as tools of violence and you showed up. You have even successfully provided security for Zambians in dangerous environments like political rallies and fully attended soccer matches that have potential for a stampede. Today we are calling to something much more – patriotism. Today your country needs you more than ever. Your assignment is to protect the newly discovered gold deposits and Zambia’s economic future by demanding that our government calls in experts and technocrats to help re draft our entire mining policy to the best benefit of all Zambians.
We are saying WAKE UP and be really relevant-lead your country. WAKE UP and protect your God given resources. WAKE UP and learn from our past mistakes. We can not approach gold mining, processing and trading with the same mining policy that failed our economy and couldn’t fully capture the benefits of our copper or cobalt mining for instance. WAKE UP sleeping giant WAKE UP! Demand a different policy and approach to mining that should be stenciled on the presidential directive for Zambians to seek local solutions to local problems in all sectors of our economy because such solutions have a direct impact on our economy.

Stand with us and we assure you, you are not being Xenophobic. You are not against foreign investments or foreign trade. You just want to see fair trade that makes business sense and translates in our own economic growth.

If President Lungu himself once referred to the current leadership as ‘a leadership that has not been inherited from our past,but has been borrowed from our future’…if the president himself has directed every Zambian to advocate for and seek local solutions across all sectors of our economy, then what defense have you allowing foreign entities to benefit more from your birthright? Aren’t you tired of trading your birthright for a bowl of soup?
To our president, the government and the Industrial development corporation, we say: ZAYAA still believes in those PF ethos that were founded on patriotism and pro poor policies. ZAYAA supports the presidential directive to seek local solutions because of their direct impact on our economy, and finally, we are of the conviction that it is not an accident that our nation has discovered huge gold deposits amidst a national debt crunch and the biggest health pandemic of our time. Rather, it is a signal from God that he has not abandoned us in hard times. That if we shrewdly interpret God’s signals and apply ourselves as a country while in hardship, all our adversities will surely come to pass.
We therefore appeal that government considers re visiting our mining policy, in pursuit of a more patriotic policy that prioritizes local investments. For instance, mining licenses could be made unavailable for foreign companies intending to partner with government unless they are partnering in a minority shareholding capacity. Botswana is a good benchmark for such a policy.

Lastly but importantly, concerning the newly discovered gold deposits, our position is as follows: If this Zambian gold won’t benefit Zambians significantly, then don’t dig it. Leave it in the ground until we are ready to make better sense of it.
We believe that sustainable collective prosperity should be the goal for Zambia from now onwards.
God bless our country.
Remember stay home safe and to sanitize.

Chikumbutso Zulu
ZAYAA SECRETARY

THE PF AGREES WITH MILES SAMPA DEFER WITH MINISTERS BANDA AND NONDE.

PRESS STATEMENT FROM PATRIOTIC FRONT SECRETARY GENERAL DAVIES MWILA

👉*It is unacceptable that investors should travel hundreds and thousands of miles within and across continents to come and compete with Zambians in cutting hair and selling chickens and airtime at the market? This must never be the case as it is detrimental to the growth of local businesses.

LUSAKA. Friday, May 29th, 2020.

INVESTORS MUST RESPECT LOCAL LABOUR LAWS AND OUR PEOPLE MUST REFRAIN FROM TAKING THE LAW INTO THEIR OWN HANDS

1. PATRIOTIC FRONT IS A PRO-POOR PARTY AND WE ARE FRIENDS OF THE WORKING CLASS

*The Patriotic Front is by design, by objective and by practice a Pro-poor party. We are friends of the working class.

*Therefore, when our people are laid siege in very trying environments by their foreign employers and their contact with the outside world restricted for weeks on end without even having an opportunity to see their families…our hearts feel their pain.

*When Foreign Investors reportedly begin to engage in racial discriminatory practices that remind us of what our forefathers went through during the colonial period, our pain turns into a passionate defense of our proud African identity.

*However, our passion should not turn murderous. For in defending the pride of our Africaness, we lose our basic human identity when we take the life of another human being- no matter the race.

2. WE CALL FOR ZAMBIAN WORKERS NOT TO TAKE THE LAW IN THEIR OWN HANDS

3. WE CALL FOR INVESTORS TO RESPECT THE COUNTRY’S LABOUR LAWS AND THE TRADITIONAL VALUES THEY HAVE FOUND IN OUR COUNTRY

*When in Zambia, the Zambian way overrides the foreign way. That is the bedrock of our co-existence as

* “Ichalo bantu.” The Zambian nation is its people. Any racial abuse of any Zambian by any foreigner on Zambian soil is an affront on our entire nationhood. It is inexcusable anywhere in the world.

*While we strongly call on our people not to be violent against any foreign investors, we are equally calling upon all foreigner nationals to treat our citizens with dignity while striving to co-exist in unity. Our co-existence must never be characterised by derogatory and racial double standards on either sides.

4. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE TRADE AND INDUSTRY MUST COME OUT CLEAR ON BUSINESSES RESERVED FOR ZAMBIANS

*Patriotic Front wants businesses for Zambians clearly stated in subsidiary legislation and this is a clarion call we are making to the economic cluster and Ministry of Commerce in particular.

5. THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR MUST ALSO BE SEEN AND PROVED TO BE ACTION ORIENTED IN ENFORCING COMPLIANCE AND GENERALLY SERVING INTERESTS OF ZAMBIANS. THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR MUST BE PROACTIVE NOT REACTIVE IN ENFORCING LABOUR LAWS AND PROTECTING ZAMBIAN WORKERS AGAINST EXPLOITATION FROM FOREIGN INVESTORS.

By Dr. Nevers Mumba
President – New Hope MMD

I approach this subject in my three capacities. As a DIPLOMAT, as Former VICE PRESIDENT and as a PASTOR.
China has been a partner of Zambia since independence. As a young man growing up in Chinsali, we grew up with Chinese people as they built TAZAMA 1,700 pipeline from Dares Salaam to Ndola. (52 years ago)
They later built TAZARA from Dare-salaam to Kapiri Mposhi. They intermarried.

1. Relations should be based on Mutual benefit to both peoples.(Diplomat)
2. Must be based on equality as all men are created equal and justice must be for all.(Pastor)
3. Leaders must listen to the governed as they lead them.(VP)

Zambia / China policy must change now. Government is implicating the Chinese population in Zambia. When Zambians are attacked in China. The Zambian Government is mute. When a Chinese calls a Zambian a foreigner in his own country, the Govt is mute. When a Chinese ill treats a Zambian, the Govt is mute. When a Chinese kills a Zambian, the Govt is mute, but when a Zambian challenges a Chinese for ill treating Zambians, he is made to apologize.

In Public Policy this picture is lethal against a sitting Govt. It shows that the decision makers in such a government are eating off the hands of the Chinese. This perception must change now. The behavior of the PF government not only angers Zambians but puts the lives of Chinese in Danger. Once Zambians feel that their government is standing with foreigners and not them, they are tempted to take the law in their own hands.

Mr President, from a Public Policy point of view. The Zambians have concluded, rightly or wrongly that your government has been financially compromised by the Chinese concerned and in the process you have surrendered the entire Zambian population to Chinese domination. The statements from the ministers of Labor and local government have cemented this unfortunate position.
Last year, a Chinese national called Kenyans monkeys and within hours, the Presidency directed that the Chinese be deported within hours.

Having served as Pastor for 41 years, as a Diplomat and Vice President, I wish to propose as follows:
1. That the government immediately deports the Chinese national who used racist remarks against a Zambian.
2. That the government interrogates, in a public manner those Chinese accused of oppressing and abusing Zambians in places of work and thereafter take decisive steps to protect Zambians from further abuse.
3. Remove all notices written in Chinese from all public places and replace them with English.
4. Call for an emergency bilateral meeting with China through their embassy to discuss matters that could injure the future relations between our two countries. We must demand for mutual respect and equitable reciprocity.
5. Insist that only Chinese with needed professional qualifications be allowed to work in Zambia.

I call on all Zambians to send a strong message to the Government that our policy must be Zambians First.

WE are a cursed country, says Ackson Sejani.

He says the hiring of Lazard Freres of France, on a US $5 million three-year contract, to advise government on liability management of the country’s debt stock is a case of “advising incompetent leaders in Africa becoming a major industry by some smart western boys”.

“Lazard will tell [President Edgar] Lungu to stop borrowing, something that he has heard before. They will tell him to observe discipline. They will tell him that authoritarian tendencies scare away investors and behave Mr President,” Sejani said. “All these he has heard from Zambians on many occasions but he prefers to spend $5 million to hear the same things being said by Lazard. We are a cursed country!”

He said incompetence, arrogance and lack of vision were a costly cocktail to any country.

“This is particularly so in our country Zambia. Every sensible voice has been heard trying to advise Mr Lungu’s government to borrow responsibly because our debt was becoming unsustainable. Instead of paying attention to these voices Mr Lungu arrogantly poured scorn on them and declared that he will continue to borrow and nobody will stop him,” Sejani noted.

“We have just been commemorating the Africa Day where the feeling continues to be that we are not yet truly free until we achieve economic independence as well. In fact, if anything at all, colonialism is coming back to us in a new form.”

He said part of the reason for “this neo-colonialism” is the sheer greed, incompetence and corruption of post-independence African leaders. “A leadership that is corrupt and mismanages their resources. A leadership that over borrows but fails to properly invest in productive ventures such as agriculture, mining and tourism. Instead they borrow for consumption and to fund political schemes designed to perpetuate their stay in power,” Sejani said. “Because of the above they fail to pay back their debt because it was unprofitably used. Because of this they will start surrendering their prized assets including land upon which our independence struggle was based. Incompetent leaders bringing back the colonialists. They will take our land away and some will be brought back to advise us on how to manage our debt and on how to run our country. This is the case of LAZARD, the French company Mr Lungu has hired to advise him on how to govern and manage the debt. Advising incompetent leaders in Africa has become a major industry by some smart western boys.”

He regretted that 56 years after independence Zambia still needed to call back the colonialists to “tell us how to run our affairs”.

“So here we are! We must borrow more money to hire Lazard to come and tell us not to over borrow. To come to tell us not to misuse our natural resources such as mukula and gold. To come and tell us not to use borrowed money on buying opposition councillors, luxury jets, bill 10 and other corrupt and unproductive ventures,” lamented Sejani. “When Hakainde Hichilema and others sing about these issues daily we arrogantly turn a deaf ear. What kind of leaders are leading Zambia now?”

On Wednesday, secretary to the treasury Fredson Yamba announced that Freres was picked against five other competitors.

“…The proposed contract amount for the best evaluated bid is a maximum of US $5,000,000 which is negotiable by mutual agreement, and payable based on work done over a period of three years,” stated Yamba. “…As we have done in the past, the government of Zambia intends to use the services of the financial advisors in line with signed agreements with lenders; multilateral, bilateral and private. I take this opportunity to restate that the government has no intention of unilaterally restructuring debt without consulting creditors. We will respect agreements and diligently use market-based instruments in our debt management.”

Other bidders were Newstate Partners, Potomac Group, Deustche Bank and Rothschild & Company, Absa Bank and Barclays Bank PLC, and White Oak Advisory Limited.

By Oliver Chisenga
ANDREW Banda says it is totally irresponsible for Independent Broadcasting Authority director general Josephine Mapoma to request the UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema to be using recorded radio programmes in a country where freedom of speech and association is enshrined in the constitution.

Banda, the former first secretary at the Zambian mission in Italy, recalled that his organisation, the UPND, had warned on many occasions that the violence perpetuated by PF against his party would one day engulf the citizenry and the media itself.

He noted that the violence had been promoted through hate speech by President Edgar Lungu himself, ministers Davies Mwila (defense), Christopher Yaluma (commerce), Professor Nkandu Luo (livestock), and PF deputy secretary General Mumbi Phiri, media director Sunday Chanda, Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba (GBM), among others.

“The happenings in Isoka and Chinsali make very sad hearing and reading for a democracy like ours which used to be adored globally. What is so special about Muchinga Province that we the UPND should be using recorded programmes when we have not done so in the rest of the country? In any case, we are not permitted to have meetings and phone-in programmes are the only way we can interact with the people of Zambia,” Banda said.

He noted that Mapoma, by implication, was protecting known criminals who had been sponsored by a known senior cabinet minister who hails from that region. He said the same minister was even cited in the last commission of inquiry on voting patterns and violence in the 2016 general elections as having been involved in sponsoring violence.

“This same minister is a member of parliament in that particular area. I wish to quote an expert whose motto is ‘who dares wins’. This is the motto we may have to adopt to defend ourselves against sponsored PF thugs. Zambians at large may have to do the same in order to defend themselves. If you dare us, we too, will dare you and we shall win. After all we are in majority. Isoka and Chinsali are in the same area where a helicopter carrying senior members of our party, Hon Mutale Nalumango, Mrs Maureen Mwanawasa, Felix Mutati and others was nearly brought down in 2015 presidential by-election in Shiwang’andu district by known PF cadres who were sponsored by a known serving minister in this government,” he said.

Banda lamented that the violence was happening again in the same area, leaving him to conclude in all honesty that it was the same minister behind the said nonsense.

He said regrettably, President Lungu has never done anything about the violence because he condones and believes in it. He said the solution to stopping all the aforementioned ‘nonsense’ was to arrest, prosecute, and jail the perpetrators if found wanting.

“I therefore wish to appeal to all members of our party and sympathizers to do the following…do not fear any one as we move forward to August 2021 elections, ‘Never walk alone’ . Defend yourselves using any means available if attacked by PF thugs. Continue mobilising our party the same way PF are doing despite the prevailing situation without fear or favor,” Banda said.

Further, Banda sternly warned the police that if they do not do their job professionally as the country heads towards August 2021 elections, they would start taking cover even where there was no cover. He added that the police would be scampering in all directions like their colleagues in Zimbabwe and Malawi due to the strength of “People Power”.

“The police must also be reminded that Zambians had lost confidence in them during the gassing period due to lack of professionalism and ended up taking the law into their own hands. This may happen again. Zambians may wish to be reminded that in the 1990-91 first multiparty democracy campaigns in Zambia, overzealous UNIP vigilantes, some of them who are still alive today, in order to appease Dr Kaunda who was president then, went on rampage attacking, injuring and in some cases killing innocent citizens that were perceived to be enemies of the One Party state type of governance. For example, in some in parts of Eastern Province, people’s houses and granaries were burnt to ashes by these same overzealous vigilantes.”

Banda recalled that the same happened in the 2010-11 general elections where overzealous “Die hard MMD cadres” went on a rampage attacking, injuring innocent souls and in incidences lives were lost.

“Unfortunately, all this was being done to appease the leadership then. One of the “MMD Die hard’, for confidentiality’s sake, I won’t mention his name is currently serving a 30 year jail sentence at Mukobeko maximum prison for manslaughter and is a close ally of one of the most mischievous and brutal ministers serving in this current government and is still behaving in the same thuggery manner without being checked by the appointing authority,” Banda said.

He noted that the PF were behaving exactly in the same manner the MMD did.

He said that is what happens when a political party is exiting power.

Banda warned Muchinga Province PF chairman Alex Simwelu, the Mpika district commissioner and their sponsors that when the time comes, they would have to account for their actions.

“If they go into hiding, we will smoke them out like Suddam Hussein did. Suddam ran away and hide in a hole after it became hot in Iraqi and yet he was one of the most powerful men in the world. Where is he today? The same will happen to Simwelu and his masters when time comes. I wish also to appeal to media houses to join hands with the rest of us in order to liberate ourselves from this authoritarian PF government by doing their work without fear or favor,” Banda, a senior member of the UPND said.

Further, Banda reminded President Lungu that a lot of atrocities have taken place in the country since he assumed power and he had done nothing to stop all carnage because he was a beneficiary himself.

Banda advised that he should himself take responsibility for what may happen now and as the country moves towards the August 2021 general elections.

UPND RIPS PF LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT AND CAUTIONS COUNCILLORS NOT TO FALL PREY TO THEIR MONKEY TRICKS

… quality leadership in Manyinga and Kabompo impresses top party leadership.

MAYINGA – 28/05/2020

United Party for National Development deputy chairperson for Local Government and Housing Brian Ndumba says time is ripe for Zambians to consider regime change in light of the sufferings they have been subjected to by the ruling Patriotic Front government.

And Mr Ndumba says it’s political naivety for the Patriotic Front to be buying opposition UPND councillors to cause by elections instead of utilizing the resources for developmental programmes.

“The Patriotic Front government has not only mismanaged the economy but subjected the majority of Zambians to untold poverty and misery. Buying’ opposition political party councillors will not fix the problem they have brought upon this country,” Mr Ndumba said.

Mr Ndumba, a local government expert, said this when he addressed councillors and party officials from the sister districts of Maninga and Kabompo.

“In the mind of PF, the two provinces (Weastern and North Weatern) have become ‘ripe’ for harvesting councillors deemed unprincipled. But why should some councillors fall prey to PF manoeuvres when the youngest UPND councillor in Northern province rejected an offer straight from Edgar Lungu’s lips?

Mr Ndumba told the gathering that President Hakainde Hichilema is grateful to all the councillors who have been steadfast and resisited PF abuse of the Local Govenment sector.

He encouraged them to remain steadfast saying “without doubt, the tone across the nation is that UPND is forming government come 202, so be part of the victoriousteam,” said Ndumba.

And the North Western province strongman Colonel Grandson Katambi informed the gathering that the intra-party elections underway were a constitutional requirement and not meant to destroy what the party members have built.

“After the 2016 elections, the party went down and became very heavy on the shoulders of very few dedicated individuals.There are some people here in Manyinga, and in Kabompo who held on to the UPND from the ruins of stolen victory in 2016 upto todate. We value and respect you all for your outstanding work,” Col. Katambi said.

Mr Ndumba assured the councioand party officials that once in office, the UPND shall run an effective PEOPLE FIRST Local Government system.

UPND MEDIA TEAM

KAIZER Zulu has contended that the failure by his assault victims to serve the amended writ of summons and statement of claim is gravely prejudicing his interest and that of his allies to defend themselves in the matter they have been sued for assault and kidnapping.

This is in a matter where Bernard Nshindo, Sengelwayo Jere, Saul Masikoti who are qualified surveyors and businessmen, and Mason Mweemba, a driver, have sued Zulu and his acquaintances Mpange Kachingwe, Raffiq Rashid, and Bella Mwanza, a Director of Chita lodge Limited seeking among other claims damages for assault, false imprisonment and kidnapping, on allegation that they were photographing his speedboat at Chita Lodge in Kafue.

The four, who have also cited Chita lodge limited in the matter, claim that Zulu accused them of wanting to assassinate him when they allegedly captured his speedboat over which he manhandled them whilst firing gun shots in the air and pointed a pistol to their heads and threatened to kill them.

According to an affidavit verifying facts for an order to dismiss the matter against Zulu, Kachingwe and Rashid, Zulu said he and his co-defendants asked the court to set aside the originating summons on grounds that it was irregular and defective as it did not contain an electronic and physical addresses of the four complainants as required by the rules of the court.

Zulu said on December 4, 2019, the High Court registrar gave the complainants a seven-day ultimatum to amend the writ of summons and serve the same on the defendants.

He stated that himself, Kachingwe and Rashid have not been served the amended writ of summons and statement of claim therefore they cannot enter any appearance or defense to the said writ of summons.

“On April 15, 2020, myself, the second and third defendants conducted a search on the file in the principal registry through our advocates and discovered that the plaintiffs have proceeded to file and apply for a default judgment against myself, the second and third defendants when in fact they never served the amended writ of summons,” Zulu said.

He stated that the complainants never filed any affidavit of service whatsoever to show that he and his co-defendants were served any amended writ of summons and statement of claim.

He added that on April 27, 2020, they filed a notice to serve the amended writ on them within 14 days as required by law but the plaintiffs have failed and neglected to serve the said amended originating process on them.

“The failure by the plaintiffs to serve the amended writ of summons and statement of claim is gravely prejudicing the interest of myself, Kachingwe and Rashid who are desirous to defend themselves in the matter but have not received the amended originating process,” stated Zulu.

“In the premises, this is a proper case that the court should dismiss the action against myself, Kachingwe and Rashid.”

By Sara Imutowana Yeta II

It goes without saying that Lungu has destroyed the economy.

They say numbers do not lie.

When he came into power in 2015, petrol was K7.60 per litre but today petrol is more than K17.00 per litre.

One US Dollar was K6.45 but today one needs K18.00 to buy a Dollar.

Mealie meal was K68.00 but today the same product sells at K170.00.

Lungu found the National Debt at $4.7 Billion but today the debt is close to $12 Billion and unsustainable.

The inflation quickened from 7.81% in 2015 to 15.7% in 2020.

In simple terms, the economy has collapsed; and all sections of society are in distress.

Therefore, it only requires common sense to understand why people want a president who will fix the economy; improve living standards, create jobs, fight corruption, reduce poverty, improve government’s finances, develop science-driven policies, professionalise the civil service, and influence economic growth, business confidence and good application of public resources.

These are some of the economic issues Bally as well has been highlighting in his economic recovery discourse making the notion that “Bally will fix it” resonate with people from all walks of life.

Therefore, Bally’s promise to be a responsible president and ‘fix it’ addresses the obvious gaps and weaknesses in the economy that people on their own have identified and want to be fixed to enhance economic growth and welfare values.

Besides, the notion that “Bally will fix it” is not from without as stated by cynics but based on people’s understanding of Bally’s competency.

Bally’s widely admired success story observable through his diverse and multinational businesses shows that he has competence or standardised requirements to fix the economy.

Many people believe that “Bally will fix it” because he has a rare combination of management knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to fix and manage the economy.

Some people would agree with me that our broken economy needs a manager as president to fix it by developing sound government and sectoral policies, plans, controls, and to direct resources to achieve the objectives of national policies, an economic area Bally is well qualified.

Bally has also technical competency that can be utilised to fix the economy. He has sufficient economic knowledge, and good at planning and organising that would make it easy for his team to achieve maximum economic results.

Who does not know that Bally has administrative competency reinforced by his formal education?

As a result, Bally has a range of organisation knowledge, can easily follow rules, procedures and guidelines, and perform to the expected standards set out by government as he is doing in his business and political leadership.

It is lack of administration competency in the current regime that has made the economy collapse therefore Bally’s administrative proficiency makes him the right person to manage or direct the affairs of government if the country is to come out of the current economic disorder.

It is not out of naivety that people are excited that “Bally will fix it.”

People are now aware than any other time that Bally has a gift of ethical aptitude needed to fix the economy. They have seen for themselves that Bally has moral standards guiding him in his decision-making activities.

This is the reason all types of wild accusations thrown at him such as selling mines and the lower Zambezi National Park do not stick.

Therefore, to come out of the current economic mess, we need a leader like Bally with knowledge and action that defines right and wrong behaviour to fix corruption and abuse of public resources.

Lack of ethical competency in the sitting regime has made corruption thrive and kill the economy.

Therefore, people believe that Bally’s ethical competency will help to fix corruption because he is committed to high ethical standards, knows the rule of law, passionate about acting on public ethics and values, and good at promoting ethical practices and behaviours needed to curb extortion, bribery, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, and embezzlement rife in government.

Bally’s ethical competency is precisely what the economy needs to tackle criminal enterprises such as drug trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering.

Not only that, Bally has productive competency making him produce desirable results in his business and political party he is leading.

This is the type of competency we need in leadership to fix the economy.

His productive aptitude means that it would be easy for him to develop professionals and make use of their knowledge and skills to deliver the economic results unlike what is happening now where professionals have been replaced by cadres.

When people say, “Bally will fix it”, it is not that they are not thinking of how difficult it is to fix the economy and not aware of the extent of damage Lungu has caused to the economy, instead people’s thrill is based on evidence of Bally’s personal ability. Both in business and political field Bally has demonstrated that he can manage operations, and has necessary ‘people skills’, communications and management skills that would make it easy for him to operate effectively in the government environment.

Thus, his personal competency makes people believe that “Bally will fix it”.

To fix our economy, we need a president with competency and a vision to lead himself, government, and the country.

NEW YORK-(MaraviPost)-Tupac Shakur was killed on the night of September 7, 1996, after he left the venue of the blockbuster fight between Mike Tyson and Bruce Sheldon.

Rapper Tupac Shakur tragically died on September 1996, after being hit with multiple gunshots at the intersection of East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane in front of the Maxim Hotel.

The murder of Tupac Shakur continues to draw the attention of hip-hop fans to this day and many believe that a number of facts were suppressed by the officials in order to draw a close to the Tupac murder mystery.

Interestingly, Tupac Shakur reportedly celebrated with Mike Tyson before he was killed and the duo briefly enjoyed Tyson’s victory over Bruce Sheldon in 1996.

Some video footage of the incident recently made the round and showcases Mike Tyson celebrating his victory alongside Tupac Shakur.

Tupac killed: Mike Tyson and Tupac celebrate moments before rap icon was killed

Mike Tyson locked horns with Bruce Sheldon in a WBA Heavyweight Championship fight on September 1996 and went on to deliver one of the finest performances of his professional boxing career.

The PPV event was billed as “Liberation” where Mike Tyson defeated Bruce Sheldon with a vicious first-round knockout.

However, what caught everyone’s attention was Mike Tyson celebrating his victory with Tupac Shakur post the fight. Mike Tyson and Tupac Shakur were close friends at the time, and Tyson continues to talk about their friendship to this day.

It turned out to be an unfortunate night for Mike Tyson and hip hop fans after Tupac Shakur was brutally murdered moments after the fight.

Tupac killed: Mike Tyson and Tupac’s friendship

Mike Tyson has never opened about the murder of his close friend, Tupac. However, Mike Tyson did say in an interview that he would want to have just five seconds in the boxing ring with Tupac’s killer.

It has been 23 years since Tupac Shakur’s demise, and Mike Tyson continues to reminisce about the days he spent with the legendary rapper.

Mike Tyson is currently 53 years old and is planning a return to the boxing ring. A few days ago, ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ spoke about Tupac and stated that he is still hurting from the incident.

Mike Tyson also spoke about his time in prison and the visits he received from Tupac back then.

Tyson then went on to reveal that he still visits his friends in prison; people who are currently serving life sentences.

Source: republicworld.com

By Agness Changala-Katongo

Harry Kalaba has asked Health minister Dr Chitalu Chilufya to step aside and pave way for investigations to be a conducted thoroughly because his name is in tatters and it will only take the courts of law to repair it.

And Kalaba says he is hoping that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) are going to effect the arrest and let Dr Chilufya exnorate himself to the due process of the law.

On Tuesday, the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) confirmed that it had recorded a warn and caution statement against Dr Chilufya.

In a press release, ACC corporate Affairs officer Jonathan Siame stated that Dr Chilufya was being investigated on alleged possession of property suspcted to be proceeds of crime.

Siame stated that investigations in the matter were on going but the commission would not devulge futher details as it may jeopardize the investigations.

Speaking with Daily Revelation on ACC revelations, Kalaba, the Democratic Party president said if a minister was found wanting, they should face the temerity of the law and hoped that the appointing authority this time around would act in accordance with the precedents that had been set before by his colleagues.

He said if a minister was arrested, he should pave way for ACC and other investigative wings to carry their work professionally.

“Where a minister has been arrested, a minister must be able to pave way for ACC and other investigative wings to carry their work professionally as opposed to what we are seeing now. Honourable Ronald Chitotela was arrested by the ACC, taken to court and was still flying the flag. You make the process of the law academic, you make governance a mockery by doing things like that because even when Chitotela could have been acquitted and exnorated by the courts of law, people still remain with doubts,” Kalaba said.

“So you don’t help the person, a person remains with a rock hanging around the neck because people don’t think that he was exnorated fairly so.”

Kalaba said it was his hope that Dr Chilufya, would be allowed to leave office and step aside.

“He can either wait to be kicked out or even yourself, because your intergrity has been dragged into question. You can choose to step down. When I saw that things were not running well in Government, I didn’t wait to be fired. I resigned on my own accord,” Kalaba said.”
“It should be the same thing with Dr Chitalu. Let him step aside whether he is fired or not. Let him step aside and pave way for the investigations to be carried out thoroughly because right now, his name is in tatters and it would take the courts of law to repair it.”

He also expressed gratitude to the ACC for working fearlessly in a very hostile environment.

Kalaba further said, the persuance of ministers should not be an academic exercise.

“We are very greatful to the Anti Corruption Commission for working very fearlessly in an environment that’s very hostile like this. Politically hostile. We just hope that this persuance they have on these ministers will not be academic. We hope that they are going to effect the arrest and let Chitalu Chilufya exnorate himself to the due process of the law,”

Kalaba charged that there should be no shortcuts because there can’t be laws in the country for the rich and the poor.

He said if Dr Chilufya doesn’t allow the due process of the law to take its course, everybody would question his integrity.

“Otherwise everybody, will know that he is corrupt, he is not clean and it would be difficult for him to aspire for any higher office and peope would doubt if he should continue being our health minister with that kind of a track record,” said Kalaba.

I won’t support stupidity and mediocrity in the name of loyalty.

Chanoda Ngwira wrote…
ARE WE REALLY INDEPENDENT OR IT IS SIMPMY ON PAPER

Of late i have been viewed as an opposition person though they have not tagged a party yet though I obviously know they would say it is UPND since I came from there. My decision to speak truth against the wishes of many scrap metals we call leaders has cost me business, security and other things. My decision to call a spade not with another name but a spade has made me unpopular amongst some low caliber gentlemen and women we call leaders. That’s not even an issue to me anyway.

Supporting stupidity and mediocrity is what they call loyalty and respect to some these rascals we address as leaders simply because they got voted into office and subsequently appointed by a good Presdident in President Lungu who they have taken advantage of because of his good heart which unfortunately to them is weakness.

I must state here and now that President Lungu has had a tough time because he has people short of leadership qualities who unfortunately he has kept for this long. Some of these leaders have contributed to his dimming popularity among Zambians and they seem to have no conscious at all to realise that. In short, the Presdient has been taken advantage of, this truth am sure he knows.

Some of these office holders do not even understand their roles hence making different mistakes at different levels and intervals. All they are good at most of them is preparing for their retirement through day light thieving, this they are good at doing and when faced with the law, they want to use every available excuse to run away.

Fellow Zambians, it pains me to see a situation where we have chipante pante kind of Governance mainly because we can not be independent in the actual sense. It hurts me to realise that we are still a colony to so many countries because of greedy by these scavengers we have put in office and unfortunately they got appointed I do not know how, maybe due to the good heart of our President.

How on earth would you for instance make the Mayor of Lusaka Miles Sampa apologise for doing what Joyce Nonde and even himself Banda could have been doing? Are we a cursed nation? Dr Banda had the guts to reprimand a good soul in Miles Sampa simply because of Chinese? What’s wrong with some of these leaders? Are we independent or it is only on paper?

To Hon Miles Sampa, you did us proud and many Zambians applaud you. You chose to be a good representative unlike some of these known retards who have their eyes focused on corruption and thieving. Be proud of yourself, you are not weak, you are actually strong. Keep it up and may you live long.

The Author is 2021 Chasefu Constituency Aspiring candidate.

GOVERNMENT Parliamentary Chief Whip Brian Mundubile says UPND members of parliament secretly phone him to express their support for Constitution Amendment Bill Number 10 of 2019 because they fear speaking publicly will get them kicked out of their party.

And Mundubile says the continued resignations of UPND councillors in Western and North-Western provinces is a protest by residents in these areas against the opposition party’s stance on the bill.

Commenting on claims by the UPND that the PF was buying off councillors from opposition strongholds, Mundubile said councillors were resigning of their own will because they were opposed to the UPND’s undemocratic style of leadership.

“We are in a democratic dispensation. But the challenges some political parties are having is that there is no internal democracy in their parties. There is no freedom of expression in these political parties. This has frustrated a number of politicians. Not so long ago, we were talking about Bill 10 where I came out very clearly that over 60 per cent of the UPND MPs are in support of the Bill. It’s not a rumour; UPND MPs directly come to speak with me to say, ‘can you please phone our president, please make him understand that there is nothing wrong with this Bill.’ But then I tell them to say, ‘this is your president’ and they say, ‘in our party, if I speak, that’s the end of me!’ So, there is a lot of internal pressure within the UPND. So, even some of these councillors, who are resigning, they want to express themselves, but then they fear that they won’t be adopted. So, this is where they just say, ‘we are going to walk away’,” Mundubile said.

“So, this is a lesson, it’s a lesson to all of us. But if you look at Article 60 of our Constitution, it talks about the need for parties to hold elections regularly because if you are a party that positions to take over power and you are not holding regular elections, how are you going to be democratic when you take over power? What we are seeing is that there are undemocratic tenets in some political parties where people can’t speak! I gave an example of Bill 10, most people must have wondered, there is what we call a three-line whip. When I issue a three-line whip to my party officials, they just have to follow. But the moment that my colleague, Honourable Jack Mwiimbu for the opposition issued a three-line whip, after which they also physically restrained the MPs from attending the session where Bill 10 was introduced, what does it say? Because by disobeying his three-line whip already, that member is as good as gone! But then, all this just goes to show you that their members really wanted to support Bill 10.”

Mundubile insisted that MPs were people’s representatives who needed to be allowed to represent their electorate without interference from the party they belonged to.

“If you are an MP, you are a people’s representative. I don’t go to Parliament to represent my views; I go to Parliament to represent the views of the people of Mporokoso. When you talk about a Constitution, a Constitution is not a party matter; it is a document of conscience. The reason why, as the overall Whip of the House, I did not issue a three-line whip is because I understand that the Constitution is a document of conscience where an MP, based on the instructions that the people in his constituency have given him, should come and vote in that line. But the moment you turn a document of conscience into a political aspect, a lot of frustrations happen,” he said.

And Mundubile said opposition councillor resignations in Western and North-Western Provinces was a protest by the electorate in those areas against UPND’s stance on Bill 10.

“When you have MPs from Western Province, North-Western Province supporting Bill 10 and they are criticized by their political party, and following that criticism, a number of councillors begin to resign, you see the connection; that’s a protest. Then someone comes up and says, ‘these councillors are resigning because they have been paid.’ But what will be their answer when elections have taken place and UPND has lost that particular election? It’s clearly a protest, the people of Western Province are protesting because, remember, issues to do with Bill 10 also hinge on issues to do with chieftainships. The powers of the Barotse have been taken away and only Bill 10 can restore that power. So, some of those people are saying, ‘but we want the power of the Barotse Royal Establishment to be reinstalled through Bill 10.’ If someone goes against that, councillors are resigning,” Mundubile said.

“If councillors were being paid to resign, then UPND should have been winning those by-elections. But UPND is losing those by-elections. So, the writing is on the wall, those people in these areas are protesting against the decision that UPND took to go against Bill 10. So, councillors, being representatives of the people, are simply resigning. You are going to see what is going to happen soon, there are almost 10 by-elections that have been created.”

Meanwhile, Mundubile said it was regrettable that the country was losing a lot of resources to by elections caused by UPND’s lack of intra-party democracy.

“It’s very sad that UPND must continue to be undemocratic and, thereby, creating these by-elections this way. We are not happy! These by-elections are very expensive. The lack of democratic tenets within UPND is creating expensive by-elections. Had they not been conducting their party politics the way they are, we wouldn’t have those 10 to 15 by-elections and this country could save a lot of money and use it in other productive sectors. But because of being undemocratic, councillors are protesting and they are resigning. So, you can justify the resignation of these councillors to say, ‘councillors are being bought,’ what about the voters? Were the voters also bought? So, we want to call upon the UPND to restrain them from the temptation of being undemocratic in the way they conduct their politics. We are tired of these resignations because they are affecting our economy badly,” said Mundubile.

PATRIOTIC Front media director Sunday Chanda has insisted that 2021 presidential hopeful Kelvin Bwalya Fube remains expelled from the ruling party and that failure to serve him with an expulsion letter was just a technicality.

And Chanda has advised Bwalya to write to the central committee of the party to find out if the amnesty that was extended to former members applied to him.

Recently, KBF insisted that he was still a member of the PF because he never received any expulsion letter.

But commenting on this in an interview, Chanda said the party had pronounced itself on Bwalya’s matter to the effect that he remained expelled from the PF until he sought readmission through the party secretary general’s office.

“My advice to comrade KBF would be to write to the secretary general and understand whether that amnesty applied to him or not; whether it’s a case of him applying for readmission to the party or not. Failure to serve him with an expulsion letter was a technicality and whether or not that technicality could hold and whether or not that’s a defense he wants to count on remains something that only he should be able to do. But ordinarily, I think he has to put everything to rest and the only way that he can do that is by raising those issues to the secretary general and the central committee to see whether or not his issues can be resolved and what his status looks like,” Chanda said.

Chanda said such technicalities were common.

“Technicalities also happen with court processes, you would find that there are instances where there is a common and someone would contest that they were never served with a summon. Sometimes it’s also to do with issues of delivery and sometimes it could be that a person who is not entitled to receive summons or letters of expulsions probably received it. So there are a number of things and we could all speculate but that’s just a technicality. And whether or not he was served with the letter becomes an issue that only himself could argue and the only way he could do it is not by giving statements in the media but by following procedure because the only office that offers such letter is the office of the secretary general on behalf of central committee,” Chanda said.

“So he needs to just follow up with that office especially that there have been statements from the secretary general that comrade KBF remains expelled from the party. It’s only right that he follows up so that he understands the status of his membership with the party. If he finds that indeed he was expelled and then he says that there was an amnesty then it will be a question of whether that amnesty had applied to him or not. If that amnesty was there but didn’t apply to his case then he has the right to apply to the central committee for readmission into the party. The procedure is very clear and comrade KBF having been a long standing member of the party understands procedure and how these processes ought to go.”

Asked to comment on KBF’s concern that he was required to apply for readmission and wait for three years before he could be given any party role when it was not the same for other returning members, Chanda said that was up to the central committee’s discretion.

“You need to understand that the starting point for a member who leaves or a member who is expelled, there is one situations that would happen that this particular member would have to apply for readmission. Of course the party constitution is very clear that such a member would have to wait for three years before they can be given any official role to play in the party. However, the constitution also places prerogative and discretion on central committee to waiver and they can exercise that discretion as in the case of GBM, also in the case of other people who had left and had to come back. So that question really is a matter of discretion,” said Chanda.

“That’s why I am saying that the best thing for comrade KBF to do would be firstly to write to the secretary general and raise his concerns. If he has not been served an expulsion letter, let him raise that matter in a very former way to say that he has noted the sentiments and announcements to the effect that he was expelled and that he remains expelled from the Patriotic Front. He can also raise the issue that he has not been served with an expulsion letter, that is assuming he has not been served, and again that’s a technicality. Then let him also find out if the amnesty he referred to applies in his case. Once that has been done then it will be up to him to decide whether he has to apply for readmission into the party or not”. -ND

27/05/20
Chingola

1. All influencial MCC members and those vocal PF members have gone mute, and not defending the party. Where is; Given Lubinda, Nkandu luo, Jean Kapata and many more? Can it be that they are not happy with what is happening? Notice one thing, all true/original PF members are quiet and not saying anything.

2. Only MMD members like Bowman and Dora have been defending the so called PF. I guess they talk to defend their interest. These guys used to beat us during campaign but today have become our bosses. When Dora Siliya called President Sata a mad man, she was Information Minister and today she holds the same position.

3. The PF has adopted the same methods of campaigns; spending alot on materials/money to buy votes, violence, faking of defections and distracting journalists. Any media house accommodating the views of the opposition will be perceived to be fighting the Government of the day.

5. Look at the composition of the cabinet, MMD members have taken most of the influencial ministerial positions and not the PF true/original members. The PF has been swallowed by the MMD shark.

6. Out of 22 members of parliament in the copperbelt, 5 are PF originals/ greens and 17 are all MMD members and that includes Bowman, Malanji, Chiteme and so on.

7. The same way Dora Siliya behaved towards the media in the MMD is the same way she is behaving to sink the Government. Even that time she spoke with confidence that MMD was winning the 2011 elections but lost to PF. Except they have managed to regain their position.

8. The corruption which made the Zambian people to kick out the MMD has continued even worse in this Government.

9. The suffering of the PF members like any other Zambians have deepened now. The same way you suffered in opposition, you are still suffering even the more. Where are the jobs? Atleast money is there but in the pockets of a few ministers. Notice something, every minister is spending money in their constituencies. Giving mealie meal and the like.

10. Winning bye elections to decieve people that they are still popular.

Believe me or not, the PF members are not in charge of Government. The party is hijacked by the MMD. The true PF is the NDC now.

Issued by;

George Sichula
NDC Copperbelt provincial Chairman

PF ABUSING LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE COMMISSION TO EMPLOY THEIR CADRES IN UPND DOMINATED COUNCILS

…as the party urges its councillors to look forward to working properly under a UPND government next year.

IKELENGI – 26/05/2020

The Patriotic Front is using the Local Government Service Commission to employ their cadres from other regions in the UPND dominated and controlled local authorities.

UPND Ikeleng’i Council Chairperson Andrew Musesa said all party controlled local authorities are unable to employ lowly placed staff such as drivers, council police and cleaners as the PF is using the Local Government Service Commission to employ PF cadres from other regions at the expense of the local people.

Mr Musesa said PF founding president late Michael Sata must be turning in his grave seeing how the sector he loved with a passion has been wrecked by his party with abuse of authority taking centre stage.

He said his council is still waiying for a expressed a response from the Local Government Comissioner following a letter of complaint againist a council police officer who was transfered from Kapiri Mposhi district to Ikelengi.

“We have no fear to employ local people who are qualified to serve in different portifolios under Division IV in the Council because we have the mandate from the electorates to effectively manage the institution on behalf of the people. We are comforted that everyone in Zambia is looking foward to changing of government as they are fade-up of the antagonistic approach by PF. They are employing cadres who do not respect us as their allegiance is to the PF and its leaders, ” said Mr Musesa

“Ee wrote a letter of protest to the Local Government Comissioner following the transfer of a council police officer from Kapiri Mposhi to Ikelengi. And can you imagine, the Local Govenment Service Commission has employed mechanic who has no idea about mechanics and the council vehicles are repaired elsewhere” added Mr Musesa

Earlier, UPND Ikelengi District Chairperson Peter Chicheli, a veteran politician, stated that the people of Ikelengi and Zambians in general do not love party president Hakainde Hichilema becaue of his riches, but his sound mind, good character and having a party manifesto that is most suitable for the country is what has attracted them to him.

And UPND Local Government and Housing Deputy Chairperson Brian Ndumba told councillors that ‘being a civic leader was not a small responsoblity.’

He urged all councillors to use their authority well, focus on personal growth and most importantly serve their communities with integrity.

Also in attendance at the Ikelengi meeting was the area Member of Parliament, Elijah Muchima.

Mr Ndumba thanked Honourable Muchima and Mr Chicheli for building a bridge of leadership and strong friendship on which the party shall depend to deliver the UPND in 2021.

UPND MEDIA TEAM

HOT FM BOSS, OSCAR CHAVULA WRITES

Are we bewitched?

As a young boy in Nkana East Kitwe, I saw ba Kagem (kajamu) bring Bella (Emerald) to Some Senegalese I knew every Friday like clock work, they bragged over buying good pieces cheaply… They would collect and take to them Geneva after every few months.

They would return to Zambia loaded to the tooth buying Peugeot’s 504 from show rooms in Lusaka while ba kajamu only enjoyed ama stone wash jeans and lovish parties with gungstas. This went on for years as ba Kajamu continued enriching foreigners.

Today, the biggest emerald company in Zambia is owned by a Senegalese who ministers pay homage to with every visit they make to the copperbelt. He came as a teacher but has amassed so much wealth before our very own eyes, he has built countless villas in his homeland (Senegal), he has several villas in every financial capital of the world and laughed at our stupidity at every turn.

The Ministry of Mines and ZCCM – IH is clueless about the realities that are on the ground. Today if you go to mumbwa not far from Lusaka, you will find droves of Chinese digging and collecting gold quietly… They have done this for close to 10 years, nobody bothers them at all and all the locals dig for them.

Successive governments have completely neglected to empower Zambians, nothing is ring fenced for Zambians, Never! We find ourselves not just disempowered but preference is given to foreigners who careless for Zambians or Zambia.

Name One Zambian who is wealthy from our natural resources and I will name Ten foreigners who came here with nothing but have amassed great wealth on the back of Zambians who they are now locking up in warehouses to make cement for export.

Being a foreigners in your homeland is what we have become! It’s ridiculous and unacceptable.

The difference between me and the next Ching or foreigner on the road is resources chapwa, not commitment, not discipline or focus. I can say without equivocation that I can out perform any Ching around… all things being equal. A man paying 33% p.a in interest for finance can never be compared with a man paying 0.25 p.a interest. CEEC is an endless scam, employees and politicians gather their friends and relatives every time there is a cent to hand out.

We are not asking for hand outs but birth right opportunities. Is that too much to ask surely?

FORMER finance minister Ng’andu Magande says Zambia’s debt will be difficult to write-off because most of it was borrowed from the “streets”.

And Liuwa UPND member of parliament Situmbeko Musokotwane says writing-off Zambia’s debt would be a challenge as several of Zambia’s creditors are profit-making entities.

In an interview, Magande argued that writing-off Zambia’s debt would be difficult because government borrowed from the capital markets rather than financial aid institutions, such as the World Bank, which would have been easier to negotiate with.

“I have never negotiated for people to write-off debts; I have negotiated for government and practical institutions to write-off debt so. I did not go to hunt for people to help me because the World Bank is one of the banks that government owns so, I just went straight there because that is a government institution. The African Development Bank (AfDB) is a government institution, some of the people working there are even Zambians. Now, this debt, the government went to borrow in the streets; we call this is open capital markets. They went to borrow money from people they don’t know so I don’t know how they are going to negotiate? I don’t know how they handling the matter,” said Magande.

“The debt that Zambia had when I was Minister, most of it was from institutions that you owned. The debt that is here, now, is from private people who are not known; it is from the capital markets. So, there is a big difference between the two of them; you are negotiating with institutions that are yours. It’s like government having borrowed money from Zesco, they would know who the MD is. But when government goes to borrow from somebody in the streets, they go and engage you as a private person to say, ‘go and look for people who have money and you tell them I found 20 people who want to lend you 20 billion and they get that money…’ they obviously have to renegotiate with those people.”

And in a separate interview, Musokotwane said the people whom Zambia owed expected their money back.

“It will be hard for people to write-off debt. Remember, those debts are a way of them doing business. In other words, everyone who lends money to Zambia does so because they where doing it for business. So, they expect to earn something from that money in the name of interest, which we normally call it. On top of that, they expect to get their money back on the capital they provided. So, it will not be an easy thing to make everyone agree that, ‘we lent you US $100, now you can pay us only US $60′, it will not be easy. But if they push hard, and more importantly, if government can demonstrate that they have put measures that gives hope for the future,” Musokotwane said.

“Some of those people, who lend money to Zambia, especially the Government of China, through its institutions, has lent quite a bit of money to Zambia. The Chinese government’s mindful that they have to maintain a relationship between Zambia and itself, and also given the amount of pressure that the Chinese government is receiving from the international community to do something about the debt crisis that has raided Africa. It may be possible that the Chinese government may do something about reducing the debt.”

Musokotwane cautioned that pushing for debt write-offs from local commercial creditors, like banks, might cripple their operations.

“For the local banks, we have to be careful, including institutions like NAPSA, because if you say, ‘Absa Zambia, Zanaco, we owe you K100 million, but we are going to pay K60 million, write-off the K40 million…forget about it, you will never be paid.’ If we do that, then we are also shooting ourselves in the foot because the money these local institutions lent to our government is money that’s deposited there by Zambian depositors,” said Musokotwane.

“So, if we say, ‘we are not going to pay back’ that is another way of saying to the bank that, ‘when your depositors come and ask for the money, you will not be able to pay them back because we have not paid you back.’ So, we must be very careful in the manner we treat the local banks because we don’t want to bankrupt them because of our borrowed state. It also means that the same banks’ ability to lend, since you have depleted them of resources, their ability to lend to local businesses will shrink because you have not paid them.”

Array Metals Limited, a company which has signed a partnership for the supply of gold to Consolidated Gold Company Zambia Limited (CGCZ), a joint venture between ZCCM-IH and Sudanese Karma Limted, has been mining in Mumbwa without a licence as it only holds an exploration licence, it has been learnt.

Ministry of Mines data seen shows that Array Metals Limited was granted an exploration licence over a mining cadastre in Mumbwa on June 25, 2018, which expires on June 24, 2022.

It is almost two years since the grant of this exploration licence but to date, no exploration works have been done by Array Metals, instead, it is carrying out mining works without a licence.

The company further has no geological team and has never submitted quarterly reports to the Ministry’s Geological Survey Dept, thus being in default of the Mines and Minerals Act and in breach of the grant of the exploration license which does not allow a company to mine.

With this background, the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) would be expected to suspend Array’s exploration license for commencing mining without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and a license.

Additionally, Array Metals, which was represented by its vice-chairman Chris Rugari during the signing of the gold supply partnership, has no site office and no exploration team, further bringing into question the aspect of whether or not ZCCM-IH conducted a due diligence as they should.

Further, data presented by Array Metals with regard to quantities of gold expected to be mined does not tally with their activities as no exploration has been done.

The Ministry of Mines has made efforts to explain the gold ore supply partnership between Array Metals and State owned ZCCM-IH through a joint venture with a foreign company owned by Sudanese businessmen, claiming that they have the money to develop the gold sector.

However, ZCCM-IH seems more liquid than the so-called foreign investors picked for the gold deal as the state institution lends most of the IDC companies money like ZESCO as much as $30 million.

Why and how ZCCM-IH decided to pick on a small unknown Sudanese company to raise money for gold operations with ZCCM-IH is something unclear to Zambians, despite efforts by the Ministry of Mines to explain the unusual partnership.
ZCCM-IH chief executive officer Mabvuta Chipata did not pick up his phone when phoned several times for his comments and did not respond to messages either. On the other hand, Array Metals’ Rugari asked one of our staff to call him back later but did not pick up when more attempts were made to get his comments.

PEESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

26/05/2020

ZAMBIAN MINISTERS AND MP’S TURN THEMSELVES INTO SELF STYLED DONORS AFTER IMPOVERISHING THEIR CITIZENS

As Rainbow Party, we are surprised and disappointed to see the current ministers and MP’s abandon their main duties of giving service to the people and turn themselves into self styled donors.They have enslaved and impoverished their own citizens so that the citizen can beg for donation from them . As a party ,we find this conduct so retrogressive and unfortunate.
We believe the people of Zambia voted for MP’s so that they can represent them well and not to donate to them.And the ministers were appointed to make policies that are conducive to the citizens so that the citizens can make a living without begging a minister or mp.But you the MP’s and ministers have diverted from your core business and turn yourselves into self styled donors who is finding joy to donate to your own ministries and constituencies.What kind of reasoning is this bwana Minister/Mp?You are supposed to be a parent but you have turned yourselves into donor machines or bonanza.How can a parent donate to his or her own child ( citizen).Its a taboo.

We have a country where minister’s/ Mp’s who have plenty of money to donate while the government is failing pays to buy panadol in the hospitals. What kind of conduct and behave is this? How can you the Mp/ minister feel happy to see your own citizens begging from you and you have no shame? In Zambia if you can’t worship or beg a minister or mp….you will never have a constract or get employed or get a loan from CEEC.This is the country you have created bwana Mp/minister.

As a party, we challenge the Mp’s/minister’s to stop this father Christmas(Bonanza machine) you have turned into and return to the core duties of providing a service to the people. Zamibans don’t need your selfish donation which is aimed at enslaving and impoverishing them but they need a conducive environment where anyone can find a living without begging for a donations from you.The Zambian people are not vulnerable to need your donation. These are people that gave you jobs which you have abandoned and become self styled donors.

Lastly, we want to appeal to the people of Zambia that you have an opportunity to redeem yourselves from slavery of the newly self styled donors hiding as leaders.Its time you support the Rainbow party under the able leadership of cde Wynter M Kabinba and team that have an economic agenda that places the locals as number one investor in all major economic activities. It will take you to stand up and join hands with our party to liberate yourselves from these impoverishment that have been created by the people you voted as leaders. Don’t make a mistake in 2021 to vote for these slave masters who have found joy to see you begging for handouts. Vote for Cde Wynter Kabimba and the team that shall restore your dignity that you deserve.

Humphrey kabwe
Deputy National Spokesperson
Rainbow party
0966271644

OPEN LETTER TO REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT DR.EDGAR C. LUNGU.

Your Excellence Edgar Chagwa Lungu
President of the Republic of Zambia
State House

Att : HE Dr Edgar C Lungu

RE: Zambian Gold

Your excellence, I wish to draw your attention to the ongoing debate regarding the alliance between ZCCM-IH and Karma Limited that culminated into the formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle in Consolidated Gold Company Zambia (CGCZ) in favor of Karma Limited at 55% : 45%.

Your Excellency, as you are aware, our country is going through various challenges which we should have avoided or better prepared for as a country. Our Currency has depreciated by more than 300% since January 2015. Unemployment in the general population is a staggering 42% with youth unemployment at 50%. The country’s sovereignty is threatened by the unrestrained contraction of debt without due regard to the lines of the contracts nor properly done business and repayment plans. Not only is most of the debt unnecessary and ending up in pockets of those walking the corridors of power, contraction of loans is free for all for your administration making it difficult for Ministry of Finance to know the actual agreements of the loans and the total amounts as anyone can contract loans and commit the people of Zambia to a lifetime of bondage to liquidating the loans which hardly benefited them.

While God has heard the cries of the Zambian people with discovery of gold deposits, we have gone ahead to start mining the gold despite not having a well-structured strategic and implementation plan as a government which protects the interest of Zambians and safeguards this important national assert.

While all Zambians are expecting the gold industry to be a game changer your office goes ahead and partners with a firm which is foreign on face value for a paltry $3.5 million, ransoming the future of the youth and the Zambian people.

Your Excellence, I urge you to have a heart for the people of Zambia not only in words but in action too. The people of Zambia including myself voted for you as we trusted that you were in a better position to administer our resources responsibly on our behalf. We voted for you believing you were going to reduce inequalities unlike what we have seen where those in leadership and their friends have amassed wealth which does not correlate with their incomes, while the rest of the people have been made poorer than they were in January 2012.

Your Excellence, its time your administration delivered the resources back to the people of Zambia. You owe it to the Zambian voters and the people who gave you the decorum and authority over them to cancel and reverse the rampant theft of the resources by revoking the gold processing contract. As Democratic Party we are watching the development with interest and are ready for any possible action.
Zambians deserve a chance to own their economy. The hardworking Zambians deserve a chance to take ownership of the private sector economy. In the same manner that you have been destroying Zambian companies, we expect you to build the Zambian companies as well. We expect that government will facilitate US $3.5 million dollars for Zambian equity partners. Your office has already set precedence as you went to China to borrow money for Top Star a Chinese company to be operational in Zambia on our debt. If Government cannot source those funds then at least allow the Zambian people to raise the funds and become the partners.

We hope you can create a last-minute legacy by doing the right thing this time around.

I pray that the good Lord will prevail upon you and prompt you to do the right thing in the interest of the people of Zambia.

Have a blessed day and God bless the people of Zambia.

I thank you.

Harry Kalaba
President
Democratic Party.
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FORMER president Rupiah Banda has asked the MMD leadership to return to his custody of over 300 vehicles that he had placed at the service of MMD during the 2011 general elections campaigns.

When contacted for comment, Banda said he does not want to be dragged into politics.

The demand by Banda has been taken as a blow to completely shutter the Nevers Mumba led MMD, a party that sponsored and supported him in government before he lost to PF’s Michael Sata in 2011.

Banda had put up the most expensive campaign with a massive fleet of vehicles, chitenge materials, bicycles, and was accused of corruption.

After he lost, the PF government impounded close to a hundred motor vehicles on suspicion that they were procured using public money.

All the vehicles, some of which are just shells, are registered in the MMD’s name.

Nevers Mumba, the current MMD president put up a spirited fight to have the party vehicles released and once that was done, Banda is believed to have sponsored the illegal convention in Kabwe that purported to elect Felix Mutati as leader to replace Mumba.

However, the High Court last year declared Mumba the right MMD leader and annulled all decisions that were made at the Kabwe convention.

During Mutati’s time at the MMD secretariat, The Mast has learnt that Banda asked Raphael Nakacinda, who was the faction’s national secretary to handover to him 26 motor vehicles, in accordance with their agreement.

Some of the vehicles were sold to individuals and some were given to a prominent Lusaka lawyer.

But when Mumba won back the MMD legal battle in court in November 2019, party operatives were instructed to track and retrieve all party vehicles.

The operatives found some of the vehicles sold to individuals, among them businessman Valden Findlay.

An insider told The Mast, that MMD national secretary Elizabeth Chitika-Molobeka wrote to Banda telling him that the handover of party vehicles to him was done illegally as there was no party authority for such action.

Chitika-Molobeka requested the former head of state to confirm the vehicles that were released to him for the party’s central organ to make a decision.

However, Banda wrote to MMD asking them to hand over to him all the vehicles he gave MMD in 2011.

“I write to inform you that His Excellency, Mr Rupiah Bwezani Banda, Fourth Republican President has directed that in view of the continuing complaints by some of the persons that were recipients and, or custodians of his motor vehicles which are subject of the ongoing correspondence…in spite of his earlier efforts at putting this matter to rest amicably, all motor vehicles that he had placed at the service of the MMD party for the purposes of the 2011 general elections, be returned back [sic] to his custody with immediate effect without exception,” reads a letter seen by The Mast and written by Banda’s deputy administrative secretary Chibeza Mfuni and which was copied to Inspector General of Police Kakoma Kanganja. “It is the expressed wish of His Excellency, President Banda that this retrieval exercise will not be hampered or interfered with by any party. In the meantime, by copy of this letter, the Inspector General of Police is advised to ensure the security and protection of all the property including motor vehicles that were given to other persons by President Banda according to his wish and to the personnel that has been mandated to carry out this task in his behalf.”

Banda’s letter, The Mast has learnt, has unsettled Mumba’s leadership, many of whom are convinced the former party president has been the central figure destabilising the party.

The insiders said Banda had refused to help Mumba source funds to pay to Registrar of Societies at the time the former ruling party was threatened with a deregistration.

“This latest move has confirmed reports we are receiving that he still wants to contest elections. We are being told of increasing graffiti RB2021 in the Woodlands area. This cannot be coincidence,” said source.

When contacted to confirm his demand, Banda said, “No no no, you know something my brother, I left politics a lot time ago, the ones who have told you let them give you the details.”

“They are just dragging me into politics and I don’t want. I don’t want at all anything political within MMD itself or in the country. I want to enjoy my retirement and I will be available to you as an elder statesman, to advise you that if you do this this is what will happen to you because it has happened to me before, so I do not want to comment on that. Let them give you the details, thank a lot my brother,” said Banda.

On the other hand, Chitika-Molobeka said, “Thank you very much Speedwell for the inquiry. We have a lot of respect for our former president, His Excellency Rupiah Bwezani Banda. He was our president of the party and president of the republic, and for some of us we had a relationship with the former president, so we have a lot of respect.”

“However, I can confirm that on the 14th of May 2020 we received a letter from the former president’s office. This letter was signed by Mr Chibeza Mfune, who is the deputy administrative assistant to the former president and in his letter he informed us that the former president would like to have all the motor vehicles that he had placed at the service of the MMD for the purposes of the 2011 general elections and that these vehicles should be returned to his custody with immediate effect without exception,” she said. “It’s true we have received this letter. If you want to confirm, you can pass through our secretariat and look at the letter. For now, that’s all I can say. If there is anything else, the party will make a decision.”

Another source hoped what Banda said, that he does not want politics and wants to enjoy his retirement, was true.

The source said Frederick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa, all purchased or sourced vehicles for the party and none ever returned to ask for them like Banda was doing.

Prominent Zambian Lawyer and 2021 presidential aspirant, Kelvin Fube Bwalya, popularly known as KBF has reiterated that he is a bonfide member of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF). Mr. Bwalya has also maintained his resolve to contest the party presidency at the forthcoming party general conference slated for this June or July, saying he qualifies to stand for the post of president of the PF, just like any member of the party.

He said he would not be drawn into a fight with his elder brother, President Lungu, who he so much respects. Mr. Bwalya also commended President Lungu for opening up the race for party presidency and all other elective positions. This, he said, is as it should be for a party subscribing to democratic tenants. He urged all Patriotic Front members and his supporters at large to remain calm and focused on the general conference.

On his purported dismissal from the party, Mr. Bwalya said the party cannot expel a member for simply expressing personal political ambition to contest an elective position in the party structures. This, he said, was provided for in the party constitution. He was speaking in a live Muvi TV interview dubbed Blunt Talk.

In response to questions suggesting that he had been expelled from the PF and therefore would not be allowed to contest for the position of party president, Mr. Bwalya said he has never received an expulsion letter from the Patriotic Front to that effect. “I genuinely believe I am a member of the Patriotic Front. They claim that they expelled me, I have never received a letter of expulsion from anybody. We are not running a kangaroo court, we are running a ruling political party. That is not how you run a political party. You do not expel people simply because one member says I want to be President of the party. It’s not a crime for a member of the party to indicate intention to stand for a political position in the party, not even in the constitution of the PF.’’

“The President of the Republic said members are free to stand, and I give credit to him, he is on record and said it’s my democratic right if I want to stand. “The Secretary General of the Patriotic Front also said it’s okay, there’s an amnesty- everybody who left the party or everybody who was expelled should feel free to come back. Mind you, my party doesn’t have membership cards. If it was a question of going to buy a membership card, I would have done that. But for me I took their words, this is what they wanted, they wanted unity back in the party. So I am here,” he said.

And reacting to earlier comments made by Patriotic Front Deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri that Mr Bwalya was not a member of the Patriotic Front as he had been expelled and that should he want to return to the party, he would have to re-apply and wait three years, he said “I have never insulted the leadership of the Patriotic Front. Some people left the Patriotic Front, insulted the leadership of the Patriotic Front, came back, you don’t give them three years you want to give me three years? What crime did I commit? Why are you going back on your words?
“You said there’s an amnesty, for everybody to come back. I can’t fault the President, he has been quiet on this matter,” he said.

Mr Bwalya went on to state that he did not commit any crime and believed there are people trying to build differences within the party.

“I am prepared to suffer the inconvenience of insults and being degraded so that every Zambian enjoyed good life.