By CIC.

LIVINGSTONE MAYOR AT WORK…

LIVINGSTONE STREET VENDORS REMOVED FROM THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT.

The Livingstone City Council in collaboration with Security Wings swung into action this morning and removed street vendors from the Central Business District (CBD).

Livingstone City Council Deputy Director of Public Health Gregory Banda said the local authority and other stakeholders have been sensitizing the street vendors on the need to move to the Livingstone City Market which is a designated trading place.

Mr Banda said the market provides good sanitation for the traders adding that there is need to enhance measures so that the city does not record any case of Chorela which has been recorded in some parts of the country.

He said this in an interview with Zambezi FM news during the cleaning exercise .

He said the local authority will enhance collaboration with other stakeholders to ensure that the traders remain in the market and do not return on the streets.

And Chairperson of the Keep Livingstone Clean Campaign Benjamin Mibenge said the moving of the street vendors to the city market is for the benefit of all residents as any disease outbreak will affect everyone.

Mr Mibenge said the cleaning exercise is done every last week of every month and that there is need for every citizen to take part in the exercise for a better Livingstone.

CIC PRESS TEAM

Jeff writes

MR PRESIDENT, YOU’RE MIXING DEMOCRACY WITH CRIMINAL ELEMENTS; CHILUFYA TAYALI IS SUCCESSFULLY RECRUITING A HUGE ONLINE FOLLOWING WHO BELIEVE HIS HATE SPEECH PREMISED ON ETHNICITY.

Sabbatical greetings to you and your family Mr President.

I humbly wish to register one area that requires your EMINENT decisive action. It will be very unwise of me to remind you that you hold that office of the president because our laws say so.

You are tremendously doing well in the area of development and your presidency is equal to non since 1964. However I respectfully hold the view that you are exposing the country to some elements of genocide in future when your presidential term expires.

You are mixing DEMOCRACY with CRIMINAL ELEMENTS. We have Mr Chilufya Tayali who has successfully recruited a HUGE online following who are believing his hate speech premised on ethnicity. Mr. Chilufya Tayali is day in day out dividing the country right in front of your eyes whilst you are trying your best to unite it.

Okay Mr President answer me this question, who will forgive you someday if this country goes on fire based on these tribal evangelists?
Without using political undertone, I plead for a straight forward answer without beating about the bush.

Mr President kindly, be attentive to the feelings of the injured citizens through this marginalisation. Yourself as a head of State, you have enough security for you and your family.

It pains to be ostracized in your country where you didn’t choose to be born in. Remember, every good thing you are doing now can vanish within the twinkling of an eye when there is an insurrection.

The penal code should not be for decorations Mr President. Hate speech is criminalised in our statute. If Mr Kajoba and Honorable Mwiimbu are failing, (which of course successfully have) must be excused without further delay and pave way for men of Wasakaza Ng’uni and Shapa Wakung’uma’s calibre.

If I had a way of convincing your judgement, I would have advised you to put Shapa Wakung’uma to be our Inspector General of police.

President HH we DON’T want the Zambia we are building collectively now to become imatongo (desolate) please. Yourself being my servant, I want to demand for one service to be done immediately; that service is the immediate elimination of tribal talks. I vow not to forgive you in future if my children will be homeless because of your present negligence on matters of national security.

You are endangering the lives of many after your term of office Sir, can you act NOW.

The immediate past regime entertained these crimes and do you also want to seem to join hands with the former’s divisive elements? A big NO to this.

Act now Sir.

PRESS STATEMENT
(For immediate release)
28th January 2023

KAMBWILI AND KALABA ARE HARD-CORE TRIBALISTS , THEY SHOULD BE LAST TO TALK ABOUT TRIBALISM

We note with serious concern the irresponsible divisive tribal remarks by Mr Chishimba Kambwili and Mr Harry Kalaba over Anthony Bwalya’s redeployment to Tanzania as Deputy Ambassador.

Mr Kambwili and Kalaba should be the last ones to talk about tribalism as they ran a government of regionalism, starting from the cabinet to the lower staff in the Civil Service.

All of them having been former Foreign Affairs Ministers, ran diplomatic missions which were ridden with tribalism, corruption and sub-standard personnel and saw nothing wrong with it. Why do they want to be heroes of their own mistakes, wrong planning and inefficiency?
Kambwili’s governance ideals lacking intellect which excludes some tribes stinks to say the least. His hatred for Southerners, Westerners, Central ), Northwesterners, Lusaka and Copperbelt dwellers must be dismissed and rubbished with the contempt it deserves.

The question is, does he ever think that these regions can ever vote for him when they know very well that he hates them?
Before the 2021 General Elections Kambwili, uttered all thoughts of tribal hate speeches with a hope of attracting the Northern circuit vote, but the Bemba speaking groups proved to him that they are independent-minded, sober citizens who can easily distinguish quality from chauff and true Zambians who practice the principle of ONE ZAMBIA ONE NATION.

In case Kambwili has forgotten, with all his tribalism, Edgar Lungu got 49 percent of the votes in Northern Province, while Hichilema got 51 percent.

This goes to demonstrate that the Bemba people which Kambwili and Kalaba wants to use believe in unity of purpose.
Zambians have not forgotten the ethnic cleansing witnessed in all government institutions under the PF’s Kambwili and Kalaba, in which some tribal groupings could be retired in national interest.

As a result of the divided state in which the country was left , Zambians went for polls in 2021 to stamp out tribalism by removing the PF.
It is evident to all that when President Hichilema was elected, the first thing he did was to come up with a balanced cabinet, which these two irresponsible citizens have never talked about.

Further, President Hichilema went into ensuring the recruitment process of teachers and nurses, among others had a national character.
Our surprise is that, Mr Kambwili and Kalaba want to run the country even when they are not in power; they want to decide who should be appointed where and who should maintain which position.

They want the UPND government to run like the PF government with nepotism and pettiness.
We want to remind the two irresponsible opposition leaders that government is so vast and people can hold any position and still remain part of government unlike under the PF where they fired citizens for merely coming from particular tribes.
The New Dawn government has never tied any tribe to a specific positions.

Government runs an ethnically balanced system without allocating specific positions to tribe as Mr Kambwili and Kalaba think; Thus citizens, irrespective of their tribe can run various government positions so long the entire government system upholds unity of purpose and national character.

We also want to remind them that it is the President’s prerogative to appoint or redeploy. President Hichilema did not consult them when he appointed Anthony Bwalya as Presidential Spokesperson and so it is completely out of question for them to question the President on who to redeploy.

Mr Kambwili and Kalaba (who runs his party in the social media, wants government to freeze certain positions for specific tribes; we cannot take that kind of cheap propanganda.

As a party in power, we remain committed to embracing all citizens regardless of their ethnicity.
We urge Mr Kambwili and Kalaba to give space to the head of state to govern.
As we congratulate Mr. Bwalya on his well-deserved redeployment, we want to also applaud the New Dawn administration for seeing it fit, based on proven merit, to send our brother, Anthony, into the foreign service. Given that President Hakainde Hichilema is pursuing a path of Economic Diplomacy, the calibre of Zambians to be deployed into the foreign service is expected to be very high. For the sake, of the nation, we will not compromise on that.

We affirm that going by the way he accounted for himself, both before the 2021 General Election and as the presidential spokesperson, Anthony Bwalya meets the calibre of people expected to drive Zambia’s economic agenda at the country’s missions abroad. Tanzania remains one of our major economic partners.

So, for these two individuals who only see tribe where the President Hichilema-led government sees proven merit, our word of advise is that they should just join the New Dawn in correcting the mess they created in our foreign missions. What they are actually confirming is that they were appointing people to serve as diplomats based on their ethnicity. In short, they are revealing who they really are – self-confessed hardcore and unrepentant tribalists.

No amount of malicious propaganda will stop UPND from further reuniting this country and rebuild Zambia’s dented image abroad through high-calibre appointments to the foreign service, without looking at one’s name or where they hail from. On this, President Hichilema has raised the bar very high.
Issued by:
Batuke Imenda
UPND SECRETARY GENERAL

SITIFUNA MBONJE NA NJALA

….hunger is looming in Zambia because of Government’s inefficiency – Greyford Monde

Lusaka, Friday, January 27, 2023 ( Smart Eagles )

A former Cabinet Minister has noted that hunger is looming this year because of Government’s inefficiency.

This is due to the late distribution of farming inputs and the persistent shortages of mealie meal which has resulted into the increase of the commodity Price.

Patriotic Front Presidential Candidate Greyford Monde said when there is hunger peace cannot prevail.

“It is not good to have violence, it is bad not to give people food. Yes sitifuna ma mbonje, but again tifuna pamala bayanganepo. Sitifuna Njala,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hon Monde says there is need to change the perception that Politics is a game of “dribbling”.

Hon Monde said Politics must be an arena for providing solutions and not lying, insulting or Violence.

He has noted that what was condemned under the PF regime is what the UPND is practicing.

Hon Monde said what was bad under the PF must be described as bad in the UPND Government.

He said the PF members have been bringing to light various issues affecting the nation because they want Government to correct the situations.

“We are not being envious when we come here. We just want the Government to perform to the expectations of the Zambian people. “We do not want to wait until bakangiwa. We want to tell them that they must provide fertiliser early. We want you to immediately deliver inputs early,” he said.

He has bemoaned the manner the UPND has been handling the farmer Input Support Programme.

“I was hopping that the UPND being the owners of this Farmer input support programme to strengthen it. But they have reduced the beneficiaries. When Zambians were voting, we were sure that there would be 3 million beneficiaries,” Hon Monde said.

He has also charged that the UPND has delved away from their 10 point Manifesto and Detached themselves from what is transpiring on the ground in which people want prices of commodities to be cheap.

By Veronica Mwale

Kitwe -28th January, 2023

HON. MATAMBO ASSURES COPPERBELT RESIDENTS OF BETTER DAYS AHEAD

Copperbelt Province Minister Hon. Elisha Matambo has assured residents of the Copperbelt province that all the promises made by the Republican President Hakainde Hichilema and new dawn government will be fulfilled and that better days are coming ahead.

Hon. Matambo said President Hakainde Hichilema mean well for the people of the Copperbelt and the entire country further assuring them that the cost of living and the employment opportunities are some of the issues receiving necessary attention by the government going forward.
The Copperbelt Minister was speaking yesterday at YAR FM Radio Station in Kitwe when he appeared on the programme called “The State of Affairs “.

Hon.Matambo who is also United Party for National Development (UPND) Copperbelt Province Chairman took time to explain many achievements made by the new dawn government ranging from employment of more than thirty thousand teachers and thousands of health workers under just one and half years .
He also explained to the listeners the package in the increased Constituency Devepment Fund (CDF) and many other achievements made so far.
“As a government we are determined to improve the welfare of our people on the Copperbelt and Zambia at large .”He said.
On road infrastructure ,the Minister assured the residents that Chibuluma road will be done this year and it will be a concrete road and first of its kind in the country.
He further assured the Copperbelt Province residents that Chingola -Kasumbalesa road will also be done and works will start as soon as the rains reduces.
Other roads on the cards according to UPND Copperbelt strong -man includes Ndola -Mufulira and Mufulira -Mukambo roads respectively that will create more job opportunities for youths in the province.

Hon.Matambo also disclosed that the Vehicle Electric Battery(EVs) industry signed between the Zambia government and Democractic Republic of Congo (DRC) is coming to the Copperbelt in Ndola poised to create thousands of jobs for the youths in the province and rekindles hopes of glory days of Ndola as industrial hub of Zambia.

The minister took time to touch on the issue surrounding Mopani Copper Mine and Konkola Copper Mine(KCM) which he said President Hichilema and the Zambian government are working tirelessly to unlock the mining sector…adding that alot of things are going on behind the scenes and soon the lasting solution will be found.

“Give time to the government, we are your servants count on us soon and very soon the mining industry will be unlocked .”He said
Meanwhile, many callers who participated on the Radio Programme praised the New Dawn Government for many achievements made so far especially the free education policy, increased CDF ,employment of teachers and health workers among other achievements.

However some radio callers urged government to work towards reducing the cost of living and escalating meali meal prices on the Copperbelt province and beyond on which the copperbelt province minister said government is committed to reducing the cost of living including meali meal prices.

CIC PRESS TEAM
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Former Lusaka and Copperbelt Province Minister Hon. Bowman Chilosha Lusambo has labeled IMF as crooks who are incapable of transforming the country’s economy.

Hon Lusambo said IMF has put the country in distress adding that a lot of lives were lost in the past due to what IMF did to the mining sector.

He said this when he featured on KBN TV’s “State of the Nation” yesterday

Recently, President Hakainde Hichilema boasted that his administration is the one that gave IMF conditions on which the bailout package should be based.

Speculations from stakeholders however suggest that the opposite is true as some attribute the high cost of living the country is grappling with to the IMF conditions.

When asked if he was calling IMF crooks, Lusambo exclaimed “yes! They are crooks. Me I have worked with them. Kaunda tried, he came back running. Chiluba tried, they destroyed our economy. Chiluba went back to China, Kaunda went back to China. Mwanawasa eve straight he just went to China. Rupiah Banda straight, he went to China, Mr Sata straight, China, Mr Lungu straight China.”

“When we wrote that letter, we took that letter to her officer here in Lusaka. We received a reply from her. and the reply we received was shocking because we wanted to find out something. We told her that abanobe kuno balefisa. Twebe fili my agreement. Aisalanda ati aba lingila kumweba ni government yenu. Twaisamweba Situmbeko Msokotwane mu Parliament, twebe, afilwa. Twakonkela again Situmbeko, twebe, afilwa. And we told President Hakainde Hichilema that those boys and girls in Washington that there is nothing they will do to turn around the economy because they are just crooks. We know them.”

Following the recent visit by the IMF Managing Director, Ms Kristalina Georgieva and US Secretary of the Treasury Ms. Janet Yellen, Lusambo fumed at the duo and said their visit was a talk show.

“Those guys are crooks. When they came to Zambia, knowing that we want to know the agreement content, they have not even mentioned about that. We don’t know the content of the agreement and can’t just start speculating about our country. This is our country. The people in power we just gave them an opportunity to preside over our affairs, why should we guess? They are supposed to tell us,” he said.

“That Yellen when she came here, first of all, she came for a talk show. She came for, we can call it fashion show. There is nothing tangible which they came to do. Tell me what they have done. Just to tell the people that no your government is on the track, not today but tomorrow you’ll see the benefit. You Ellen, do you know the suffering of our people in communities? You don’t know.”

Hon Lusambo blasted the IMF saying they don’t have integrity, especially to Zambians.

“And you come here you start talking about things like talk show. We don’t eat talk shows. We know those people, IMF from Kaunda’s time, Chiluba, if it was Chiluba worse. And what they are supposed to do those guys when they came, they are supposed to apologise first of all to the people of Zambia that we came through Kaunda, we failed you. We came through Chiluba, we failed you. And we have failed you with the Hakainde Hichilema government,” he said.

“IMF are crooks and they are not even supposed to be our spokespersons. They don’t have integrity, especially to the Zambian people. People died through depression as a result of what IMF did to the mines.”

Hon Lusambo also insisted that President Hichilema needs to pay China an official visit if he is to succeed with his economic recovery program.

“What the President is supposed to do is let him pack his bags, asende ba pilot na gulfstream he should go to China. The problem which we have, international relations needs someone who can understand them nicely. Ulya mwaiche Kakubo, the Kapiri boy, he has no capacity to advise the President on international relations,” he said.

By Kasebamashila Kaseba
HOW COSTA MWANSA COULD DISMISS, REFUTE, IGNORE THAN COURT SUE AND POLICE REPORT FALSE ACCUSERS

I have followed from a distance and admired the rise of journalist Costa Mwansa from the bottom of Muvi TV in about 2008 and to the top of Diamond TV in about 2016.

He built his reputation and personal brand through barrage of criticism and rumours that one of his critics, the Sunday Times of Zambia Television Column, recognised him as one of the most improved journalists.

However, he recently appeared on Hot FM in a poor balancing act of being a media owner and media worker or practitioner.

He featured on Hot FM “Red Hot Breakfast” as a media owner to bash “fellow” media workers.

Apart from the poor balancing act of media owner and media worker, he seems to thrive as an owner when the media especially the media workers seem to strive both under the PF and the UPND.

He also seems self-contradictory as a media owner fronting some media owners betraying the media workers and public interests for personal interest, like Prime TV Shawa.

IBA ruled that at its ban of Prime TV and other media owners also realised in 2020.

Mwansa knows Prime TV Shawa as media owner and cameraman is without proxies and would dismiss or sue Mwansa for being celebrity and proxy.

He also knows that media owners associations could sanction or sue media workers for forming similar media workers association or labour union or complaining about conditions, pay and NAPSA contributions.

I didn’t admire or pity Mwansa in his current troubles of reported sex scandai as proxy of media owners and traitor of media workers or snake charmer bitten by his snakes.

Diamond TV owner Bokani Soko of Ferd Jere & Company law firm knows very well that his client Prime TV Shawa is a jealous and insecure competitor as opposed to a cooperator.

Shawa associates with other media owners in their faces as he negotiates with their media workers in the backs of media owners.

How do I pity one who sees himself as a media owner or ally who has to report to the police or sue false accusers he didn’t need to dignify with police and court actions than ignore or dismiss with the contempt it deserved.

He is like some litigious or forum shopping media owners when the media workers are victims of bad media laws meant for media owners.

For example, Diamond TV owner and lawyer, for whom Mwansa is a proxy, has endured so much bad press without resort to litigation, as media worker-cum-owner Mwansa.

Otherwise, there are public figures that have handled bad press or defamation better than Mwansa.

Even HH repeal of defamation of the Prresident law could have been a public relations coup if it were strategically handled.

At least HH has changed the landscape of the litigious with frivolous and vexatious charges.

For example, in 1997, when Nevers Mumba just joined politics in addition to religion, with opposition of the Christian nation declarer politicians, at one media engagement, a journalist asked or accused him, of fathering a child or children out of wedlock.

He answered that as a man of God, he believed in securing all vulnerable children, orphans and street children that he would have wanted to take care of his children out of wedlock.

That answer was the end of story or false accusation.

In 2018, when Mike Mulongoti accused EL of being a Malawian alien, he was accused of neglecting his illegitimate children.

Mulongoti admitted he had a child or children out of wedlock he had already secured.

That was the end of accusation.

In 2004, Michael Jackson among others, was offended by rapper (colleague) Eminem’s song.

Jackson complained to Eminem without Eminem’s apology.

Jackson didn’t sue Eminem as generally expected to.

Instead, in 2007, Jackson seized the opportunity to buy the company holding Eminem’s catalogue.

Jackson died in 2009 still holding the rights.

Mwansa could fare better as media than law; a worker than owner.

THERE IS NO REASON PF CAN FAIL TO UNITE AFTER CONVENTION

…it is the only party with strong structures, not even UPND can compare – Hon Lusambo

Lusaka, Friday, January 27, 2023 ( Smart Eagles )

Today if we went for elections, PF would win, former Lusaka Province Minister Hon. Bowman Chilosha Lusambo has said.

And Hon Lusambo said he does not see any reason why the PF should fail to unite after the convention which is scheduled to take place in March.

He said during the “State of the Nation” program on KBN TV yesterday that despite a big number of the PF presidency contenders, all those eying the position know that only one person will get the top job.

Hon Lusambo stressed the need for all the contenders to support whoever will scoop the party presidency at the convention.

“Coming to PF, I don’t see any reason why we should fail to unite. And the eight people who have shown interest to be considered, remember we only have one position of presidency. They are all ambitious but they just have to know that only one person will be allowed or will be elected to be president of the party,” he said.

“So the rest are supposed to support that particular individual. it is not all about the presidency. We have other positions in our political party which one can occupy and add value to the growth of the party and to the growth of development in our country.”

Hon Lusambo said PF is very united and strong.

Asked for his opinion regarding Hon Miles Sampa’s past experience with the party, Hon Lusambo said he knows that the contender learnt a lesson from his past decisions.

“So the party position of presidency, that is not the end of the world. We want to encourage them that at the end of the day we just need one. But I can assure you that PF is very united and strong actually. Today if you went for elections, PF will win,” he said.

“I know that Miles has learnt a lot of lessons because where he went, he came back and he wants to be considered as president of the party, if he wins, well and good. If he fails to manage to win, he just has to support the candidate who will be elected.”

Meanwhile, Hon Lusambo said the only political party in Zambia with strong structures is the PF.

He said the UPND beat PF in elections due to other factors but they don’t have structures.

“We have my elder brother Kambwili, he is there, I have my uncle GBM, I have my elder brother Chilufya Chitalu, my friend Mutotwe Kafwaya, a lot of them. The only political party in Zambia today with strong structures is PF, not even UPND. UPND doesn’t have structures,” he said.

“PF we have structures. They (UPND) beat us in an election because of other factors, not the structures. It is not true. we can move from here to Mpongwe, all the structures for PF are active and strong. We can go to Kabushi, Kalulushi, Chambeshi, you go to Chililabombwe, you go to Chingola…you just whistle, they will come, they will do the head count, you will know that okay the structures there are intact. So PF is the only party in Zambia with structures from the sections up to the Central Committee.”

KAMBWILI DEMANDS TO KNOW HOW MUCH HAS BEEN SPENT ON HH’s 30 FOREIGN TRIPS …. including how many have died from crippling load shedding

PF presidential aspirant Chishimba Kambwili has challenged the Ministry of Finance to tell Zambians how much taxpayer’s money has been used on President Hakainde Hichilema on the 30 international trips he has undertaken in just one year and five months of being in office.

Kambwili also demanded that the UPND administration tell Zambians how many people have died in hospitals on account of the crippling 8-hour daily load shedding crisis citizens are enduring on account of continued energy exports to foreign countries, and that Zambians must be told on the exact megawatts being exported.

In a video posted to his Facebook Page, Kambwili said Zambians will lose confidence in politicians if they were not consistent and lead to apathy during election time.

He said on September 23, 2019 at 05.29 pm, President Hichilema while in the opposition tweeted that the office of the President must cut out foreign trips as the economy was in distress and that the rise in fuel prices was one of the reasons why the austerity measures must be seriously implemented to keep the economy under control.

“My dear brother, President Hakainde Hichilemam what has changed?” Kambwili asked, and that the factors then were still the ones obtaining now.

He said the price of fuel which Hichilema talked about in the tweet was still high even today and therefore the more reason why austerity measures must be observed even today.

“Mr President you have taken 30 international trips in one year seven months … In the last two weeks you would have taken three trips together with the pending trip to Senegal at the expense of the taxpayers,” he said, adding that the same President called his predecessor Edgar Lungu as “kamwendo munjila” for taking so many international trips.

He said President Hichilema did not just condemn president Lungu but also the late former president Rupiah Banda that the foreign trips were unnecessary to a certain extent, something he said was true.

Kambwili said he served as the first Foreign Affairs minister under late president Michael Sata and that the head of state then did not take a foreign trip outside the country in the seven months after assuming office, arguing that there was a lot to do in the country and that if Kambwili insisted on having him travel outside he would have rather have found another Foreign Affairs minister as some trips could be undertaken by the minister and Vice-President or even ambassadors.

He said Sata was consistent over what he promised voters since he too condemned president Banda for travelling too much.

“Our President I think this is now becoming embarrassing. No matter how much Foreign Affairs want to sugarcoat the importance of these meetings, country men and women I have been to most of those meetings, in fact more often than not heads of states are represented by prime ministers and vice-presidents most of the time,” Kambwili said, and urged UPND members to advise the President quickly. “So ba Presient nasheniko ukwenda. Abantu balechula… http://dailyrevelationzambia.com/kambwili-demands-to-know-how-much-has-been-spent-on-hhs-30-foreign-trips-including-how-many-have-died-from-crippling-load-shedding/

America, the Bull in the China Shop
…time for President Hichilema to holler at Beijing

In the first week of January, I had a great sit down with a hard-nosed young interviewer from Diamond TV named Andrew Mwansa to review the year 2022 in current affairs.

Andrew is no spring chicken, so his questions come hard and fast, this time around we were discussing international relations, inevitably, the United States or ´Uncle Sam´ as I like to call it comes up, just like China, which I like to call the Dragon.
During our discussion live on TV, I said the UPND government under President Hakainde Hichilema missed the memo by not engaging the People´s Republic of China right from the beginning when they assumed office in August 2021.

The reason I advanced was simply that, you cannot put off a meeting with your single largest creditor, in our case China whom we owe about US$ 6 billion, regardless of your love or affinity for the west. Our total foreign debt stock is about US$15 billion.

This is because, he who pays the piper calls the tune and, it is just good diplomacy for you to engage the second largest economy in the world, set to become number 1 in a couple of years, some experts say less than a decade from now.

The long history we (Zambia) share with China was another reason I advanced for the current administration to rekindle the love with the dragon.

Remember in the 70´s, shortly after colonial independence from the United Kingdom, we were thrown under the bus by the ´Rhodesians´ who loved apartheid we hated and fought.

The apartheid regime, favoured by the west closed our sea transit point to South Africa via Zimbabwe, we had to build a railway line called Tazara or Tanzania Zambia Railways using Chinese money (US$500million) when the west laughed us out of the door. China was poor then, but they still rose to the plate to help us.

The saying goes, ´those that don’t learn from history risk repeating it.´
The above is the reason I said, still insist or advice now, as an ordinary citizen of Zambia, with some acumen of diplomacy and communication that President Hichilema should pick up the phone and ask his big brother in Beijing President Xi Jinping.
Let them have a cup of te or cha and iron out our US$6 billion debt because it’s the China in the Bull Shop right now, get Uncle Sam out of the way, don’t get me wrong, I love Uncle Sam and the Dragon on the same level, I am a diplomat.

I was speaking to my brother and mate brother Joe Chilaizya who was Charge D Affaires in Beijing for Zambia for a long time, he told me the US has muddied the waters by ´condescending´ China over the debt to Zambia.
He said, “Zambia should engage China at the highest level or they will get nothing from China going through Uncle Sam in form of the US Treasury or IMF it wont work.”

Having spent substantial time in both Beijing and Washington DC, me, myself personally, I agree with brother Chilaizya, President Hichilema must travel to Beijing like yesterday.

He will be surprised how the trip will positively turn out in his ´work after work after work´, policy, as President Edgar Lungu (number six) did in infrastructure unmatched with the dragon.

Ignoring China in the era of the Thucydides trap is tantamount to burying our heads in the sand.
The proverbial lips of the righteous teaches many while fools die for want of wisdom according to the good book, the bible.
China means well for Zambia, as the US does, ignore them at your own peril.

My forthcoming book ´The rise of China in Africa, Zambia story ‘will offer further insight on this issue, look out for it on Amazon.
Having worked as a senior Zambian envoy in Berlin and actually studied International Relations, penning a thesis on the issue at university in Germany, I believe I have some views that could help answer some questions on our table today, even across party lines. God bless you folks as the dragon roars side by side with Uncle Sam.

Make that Beijing call now Mr President because the IMF deal you love depends on it. Sometimes you must eat humble pie.

Amb. Anthony Mukwita 26.01.23.

By Sishuwa Sishuwa

They were clad in decent clothes. They spoke very well, in tongues I could readily understand. They were the kind of people that inspired trust. And trust them I did.

They followed me. They came to my compound, a slum. Just like my fellow community members, I lived in a shack made of cardboard and worn metallic sheets.

I had a wife and four kids, the only evidence of my creativity. It was a single roomed shack partitioned in the middle by a filthy piece of well-worn cloth, not the kind of environment to raise kids under.

I had no electricity. I had no running water. Being unemployed, you wouldn’t want to know just how I was managing to fend for my family. It is a horror story, my shameful secret.

They followed me because I had value. They knew it was me with the power. They were looking for employment and knowing that their dream would not come true without me, they came to persuade me. They were very good at it, those people.

They told me that they would change my life. They said that they would put me and my family in good housing. They said that they would help me educate my kids and safeguard my health. They said that they would create millions of jobs and that one of them would be mine. I was enthused.

Then they talked about water. Just like I had known all my life, though I had none, they said that water was life. They said that it was unacceptable for me to live the way I was. I agreed with them.

When they looked at my kids, they noted that they were malnourished and stunted. This, they promised to change. It was the deplorable conditions under which I lived to blame, they said. Then they explained that it was the leaders of my community, the leaders that I had earlier put in place that had created these deplorable and inimical conditions.

It was then that they showed me pictures of just how the leaders to blame looked and lived. Whereas I was suffering from adult malnutrition, my leaders were bloated with fat. Then I saw their cars. One of their cars could have financed my life for decades, I surmised. When I saw their palatial houses, anger began to well up in me.

Then they said that what I had seen contrasted with my life was the very picture of corruption. They explained that it was this corruption that was the cause of my sorry existence. I nodded. Then they asked me if I wanted my life to change for the better. I vigorously nodded. Then they asked me if I was ready to get rid of this corruption which was robbing me of my life and that of my family. I told them I wanted to do it there and then. To me, that was urgent. Wait, time would soon come for your action, they assured me.

All you must do is mark here. They showed me a piece of paper with someone’s photo, a symbol I did not recognise and an empty box at its end. They said on a day coming soon, I should just mark where they had shown me, and corruption would be over. I felt good.

They said that with just that one decision of mine, my life would be transformed for the better. They said that my poverty would then become history.

Later, someone told me that the piece of paper that they had shown me was a ballot paper. This person said that what they were asking me to do was vote for them. They had come to ask me for my vote. Oh, that is easy, I thought to myself.

That is how they convinced me to vote out the allegedly corrupt leaders of the day and vote them into leadership instead.

On the appointed day, eager to have my life changed, I woke very early, and I cast my vote for them. That is how I put them in power.

Time passed. Then more time passed but things stayed the same. They even got worse in some cases. I lost one of my kids to diarrhoea.

Then one day, I suddenly opened a door that was ajar, slightly open. I do not know why I did that, I just did it. I must have heard some cries of pain coming from there. I now remember. That is what made me open that door. It was instinctive. Shrill cries of anguish were issuing from there.

When I walked into the room, I found them all there, their backs turned away from me, huddled over a table, fussing over something.

At the sound of my footfalls, they all turned their heads and faced me. We all froze.

What I saw then I had never seen before. It was a sight of utter horror. They had blood on their lips. They looked frenzied, as if possessed with demons. Their eyes were red, as if aflame with some sick passion. They did not look human.

At the table lay a child, his belly slit open, his bowels all over his body, fresh blood flowing from it. It was apparent to me there and then that I had stumbled upon a devilish feast, a feast I was not supposed to witness. One of them had the still throbbing dead boy’s heart in his hands, ready to sink his avaricious teeth into it.

Noting that I had found them out, they eventually looked sheepish. It dawned on them that I now knew who they really were. This paralysed them. They just stood there as if pillars of stone. Then something strange suddenly happened. Their robes fell off their bodies. What was revealed frightened me to my bones.

They were wolves. Then they began to howl. That is when I went for the door.

It was then that I woke up.

It was the rain falling through my shack’s roof that was dripping on my reed mat as I slept that I first noticed. My threadbare bedclothes were quickly becoming wet.

Then quickly, I woke up my wife and kids. We then got pots and placed them beneath the leaks in what was our shack’s roof. It was not yet dawn. We did not sleep that night.

As we huddled together for comfort that rainy night it was then that I realised just how poor I really was. I cried. No one noticed that I was crying. They concluded that it was merely rainwater on my face. It hurt me so bad that I could live the way I was and yet others lived better, at that time soundly asleep.

Ba sakalanyongo. It was a record playing at some late night bar in the neighbourhood. That eerie sound wafted into me like a balm. I wondered just whether my wife and remaining kids were also able to hear it. It was both an incriminating and enlightening sound.

Nothing had changed. I was still the poor man I had been all my life. My life was actually falling apart.

Ever since that day, I have never slept again.

I am now awake.

Former Kabushi Member of Parliament Bowman Lusambo says he is not shocked that the High Court threw out his petition in which he sought nullification of the election of United Party for National Development – UPND Bernard Kanengu as Kabushi Member of Parliament.

Mr Lusambo who is also the former Lusaka Province Minister mentioned that he is aware that some government officials were allegedly being threatened hence, not working freely.

“Am not shocked and disturbed with the outcome of the Ndola High Court’s doing, as a politician am not worried and am not shocked because I know what is going on in the country where officers in government are being threatened, as they don’t want them to be independent and work freely, they want them to be controlled, that as a Zambian, and former Member of Parliament for Kabushi Constituency and former Minister of this country, am worried because we need to protect the Constitution of our country, we need to protect in short the rule of law, democracy which our forefathers fought for and also we need to protect the human rights,” he explained

He added that the issue at hand is the fact that he was prevented from re-constenting the Kabushi parliamentary seat.
“As a former Minister, and former lawmaker am very worried because what we took to court, we went to court with facts, we were not befishing because we didn’t go to court to fish, we went to court with facts and we expected the court to preside over these facts, we didn’t go to court to lie,” he said

“The issue at hand is the issue to do with prevention, where you prevented to stand in Kabushi constituency during the by-elections? My answer is yes, why am I saying yes, am saying yes because the issue at hand was presided over the Constitutional Court where they said that nullification does not amount to disqualification that was enough and this judgment came in March, and we went to Kabushi in August and we told the court that the Electoral Commission of Zambia error, and this issue at hand is this, so we went to the High Court because that is where the matters to do with petition of an election is supposed to go to, so from the High Court we go to the Constitutional Court,” he added

Mr Lusambo alluded that their predict in the High Court, they where 100 percent on the firm ground because they were talking about things which are there, things which can be seen, adding that he is not comfortable with the judgment passed by the Ndola High Court neither does he accept it.

“The Chief Executive Officer of the Electoral Commission of Zambia came to reaffirm what we told the court, so we are very surprised that we had that type of judgment,” he said

Mr Lusambo has since assured that the case is still ongoing as they are going to the Constitutional Court, as this is a direct and straight forward case, adding that this case only needs about two hours to preside over and a verdict is given.
On Tuesday January 4th 2023, the Ndola High Court ruled that a by-election in Kabushi Constituency was legally held.
High Court Judge Ruth Chibabuka said as shown in the petition, the alleged contraversion indicated that the by-election Mr Lusambo had the election voided at the basis of the rejection of his nomination papers.

Meanwhile, Mr Lusambo said that he will support any presidential candidate capable of ensuring victory for the former ruling party the Patriotic Front – PF in the 2026 general elections.

“For me I will support any candidate I will see fit that this candidate will take us back into the government,” he said

By Chimwemwe Mwanza

For the optimist, 2023 couldn’t have started off on a positive note. For sure, it’s not often that an African country gets a high value US official to set foot on their doorstep. You got to hand to the incumbent head of state, he bagged a rare feat – got one of the most influential global political figures to visit Zambia. As the serving Secretary to the US Treasury, Janet Yellen is a woman of impeccable credentials. For the record, she is the first female to head the US Treasury – in addition to her previous stint as chair of the US Fed Reserve.

Yellen’s visit certainly cast a rare spotlight on Zambia’s economy and by extention the country’s political trajectory. It was a vote of confidence in the leadership, to borrow a common political phrase. To those in doubt, her visit signaled the US’s clearest intent to dislodge China’s dominance in Africa. Put it this way, there is no better way of flexing your political muscle than cajoling one of your adversary’s most indebted countries into submission – bringing them into your corner. For now, Yellen’s visit to Zambia translates into a simple geo-political matrix on the scoreboard. It’s Joe Biden 1 and Xi Jinping 0.

But how long will the Zambia and US bromance last? Is US support consistent enough to help the country out of its current economic morass? It’s impossible to pierce through such a crystal ball for a definitive answer. However the fluidity of US’s political terrain makes it difficult to guarantee its long-term economic support to Zambia and the continent at large. Off course, one might argue and correctly so that Democrats have long maintained a positive view of Africa with President George Walker Bush ranking as the only exception to Republican’s hostility to the continent.

It’s Bush Jnr’s commitment to helping eradicate the spread of HIV-AIDS that led to his government pumping billions of aid into the continent. Then the mop-haired one from Mara Largo came on the scene. Donald Trump’s characterisation of Africa as a shithole of poorly run countries best illustrates the fluidity of US-Africa relations. Even more worrying, the gravitation of conservative US politicians towards the Make America Great Again movement (MAGA) – an inward looking brand of politics that seeks to elevate US interests above all else, places much doubt on the US’s long-term interests in the continent. Mind you, Trump might just return to the White House in January 2025.

Unlike the US, China has been an all-weather friend to the continent and its relations with Zambia dates back to six decades. It has been the cornerstone upon which Zambia’s industrial policy was built. For example, the 2 075 km long TAZARA railway line linking Zambia to Tanzania’s port city, Dare Salam was built by China. The 2 115 km long TAZAMA pipeline through which crude oil is pumped from Tanzania to Ndola’s Indeni refinery – now under care and maintenance was built with aid from China. Mulungushi which for long had been Zambia’s poster child for clothing manufacturing excellence was built by Chinese – the list of its economic interventions to Zambia easily makes for a catalogue.

Hate or love China, you can’t talk of Zambia’s current infrastructure boom or economic standing without mentioning China. For context, it is Zambia’s single biggest creditor accounting for US$6 billion of Zambia’s foreign debt estimated at US$16.3 billion. In 2021, China accounted for nearly US$3 billion of Zambia’s total exports of goods and services valued at US$11 billion while exports to the US in the same fiscal year were too negligible to quantify.

Be careful who you go to bed with, so goes a popular refrain. This reminds of a catchy line from a famous 90’s song, ‘ngawayikata akapya, akakale waposa’ loosely translated as a warning to those that tend discard their wives for a new flame. While President Hakainde Hichilema needs the US and the West to help him win a congeniality contest, his posture certainly places Zambia in an awkward position. The country can’t afford to be a pawn in the Sino-US geo-political tension. There is surely enough middle ground for Zambia to occupy in this stand-off.

The 2022 UPND report card
Forget the impact of torrential rainfall and flooding which has characterised the grain belt, it’s the lack of farming input that has riled the farming community. Fertilizer is in short supply and if and when available, it is beyond affordability of the peasant. Add Loadshedding to these challenges, the forecast for 2023 looks grim.

Barely two years in power, the euphoria that swept the UPND to power has dissipated – displaced by the proverbial stench of buyer’s remorse. For clarity, the dictionary defines buyer’s remorse as a feeling of regret after making a choice or decision. Sadly, those that care to complain about the unbearable cost of living, the untimely delivery of farming input or government’s inability to secure consistent supply of medicines to health centres are condemned to sermons about the ineptness of the former governing Patriotic Front (PF).

It seems that blaming PF has now become the UPND government’s default response to its own disasters. While true that, PF zealots looted the Ministry of Agriculture through dodgy tendering and procurement deals, aggrieved farmers will be the first to attest that they often received farming input timeously. Hence, it’s easy to forgive those that keep peering into the rear view of history for solace. As they say, nostalgia is almost always a default option to sanitising economic hardship.

Most disappointing, the notion that the new government would be led by an exemplar of stellar democratic tenets is proving an illusion. Prior to the outcome of the 2021 August Presidential elections, who would have imagined a UPND led government desecrating our constitution or even worse breaking into parliament to steal opposition seats? As if sticking a middle finger to protesting constitutionalists, the President rewarded one of the masterminds of this robbery with a cushy posting to the Electoral Commission of Zambia.
It isn’t helping that the civil society which effectively thwarted the PF’s attempt to manipulate the constitution through adoption of the now infamous ‘Bill 10’ is now in a virtual comatose. And by the way, what has happened to the once vibrant Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) that successfully fought former President, Frederick Chiluba’s ill-fated attempt to amend the constitution so he could run for a third term?

Economic outlook for 2023
‘We have achieved so much in a short period than the PF achieved in 4 years.’ Is this statement born out fact Mr President? You see, one can’t be an invigilator, assessor and candidate to their own exam. This desperation for credit is characteristic of politicians that are tone deaf to the collective voice of the suffering masses. It’s even more worrying when politicians opt to embrace attenuated accountability. This kind chooses to pontificate their victories while downplaying their failures. But you can’t have your cake and eat it to borrow President Hichilema’s words, ayikona man.

Free education, new recruits in the both the education and health sectors, count as the biggest wins of the UPND thus far. And credit is duly given. However, will Zambia register meaningful economic growth in 2023 that could help absorb the unemployed masses? Tough one. Meanwhile, nearly 63% of analysts polled at the just ended World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos are predicting a mild recession in the global economy and Zambia is likely follow this trend.

While inflation has tanked to low levels, economic fundamentals on the ground provide a worrying picture. There is just no liquidity in the economy to spur growth. And staring into the gapping tax hole enlarged by generous tax breaks dolled to global mining companies, Zambia’s social safety net is too stretched to the borne and won’t help curb rising poverty. You hope not but 2023 could just be a year of suffering.

About the Author: Mwanza is nothing but a patriot. For feedback contact: kwachaone@gmail.com *Best wishes for 2023 to you all that have followed and helped to enhance our writing over the years.

HH IS SOLID AND BEYOND POLITICS OF TRIBAL SENSATIONALISM

BY SIKWINDI SITULA.

Listening to Chishala Kateka on “the hot seat radio programme” last Tuesday left me laughing on how difficult politics can be when challenging a solid leader.

Well, but tribal remarks cannot go without a clear repudiation and so is her many inconsistencies, whereas I choose, for this moment at least, to pay particular attention only to what she referred to as “reverse tribalism”—which she suggests, is a dogma of the UPND.

I do not know where Chishala Kateka gets her statistics from but if there is a section of the nation that has been highly disadvantaged when it comes to appointments in this administration, it is the Tonga people—and we have a lot of really smart Tonga people whose surnames are honesty and hard-work.

I do not need to be Tonga to share in their footsore, but I feel the Tongas need to be given more than their due regard throughout our changing political dispensations especially that they were ostracized in the previous administration (regime).

They need a good share of recognition too insofar as they have immensely contributed to this nation in many ways.

So, the sun typified the Greek and the moon? just anything and anybody I suppose. But to choose to consort with ethnicity for political gain by vilifying Tongas the second time and more? This is unacceptable.

You see, a nation in concert with herself through all of her ethnic beauty, such as ours, should make all of us to choose our politics well and far from the detriments of tribalism and even chauvinism.

It is therefore folly for a once promising political leader, such as Chishala Kateka, to choose a brooding of ethnicity over that of sober engagement.

Certainly, the weak always run to the muffles of tribal sensationalism indeed. They dig tribal enclaves on account of a poorly dug-in means of survival.

The truth is that President Hichilema is far beyond politics of tribal sensationalism. He is a victim of such and related chauvinistic ways and I’m sure he detests this.

Addressing you Madam President, I suggest you move on to challenge President Hichilema on the forefront—on his policies, politics and all other ways of genuine political engagement.

I do not think that any politician worth their salt will defeat President Hichilema by employing illusionary politics of division.

Clearly, our politics have been re-engineered for the better under President Hakainde Hichilema’s leadership and the bar is still rising under his leadership.

Of course, not a single ethnic group should have their way in bullying others into submission and not a single one considered small should have reason to coil back and accept being excluded from the full enjoyment of their citizenry rights and responsibilities. There are no more than equal beings here now.

Even those from tribes considered very small can have the ambition to lead too and may Zambia just have the best man or woman irrespective of tribe, creed or colour.

It does not matter how much we try to foment ethnic divisions and force our way into making our ethnic language a lingua franca for all to follow a particular social and political imposition with a view to bring all this to a political dirge with unsubstantiated claims.

The bottom line is that, now there is hope for building a true nation of equals—“the beautiful Zambia of together people”. One of citizens who are committed to serving one and the other with love, dignity and respect—yes, with dutiful ways of supplying love to one another without denigrating any single one ethnic group whatsoever. But this also calls for the full application of equitable ways of getting the long desired equality.

If you employed all your relatives and friends for decades, then what is likely to happen is obvious—Only those regions with the highest number of job holders will cry where those perpetually kept without jobs have utterly no reason to cry other than decry your brutal ways.

Perhaps the politicians in the opposition must stop the politics of “burning a barn to merely roast an egg in it”.

But there is not a single day when logic will satisfy illogicalness with facts that can dissolve illogical reason.

Times have changed and they continue to change at a supersonic speed.
We all need to adapt or suffer being outpaced…

@ The Falcon

I WAS MISUNDERSTOOD FOR COMMENTING ON REGIONAL VOTING IN ZAMBIA

…I am NOT a Tribalist – Dr. Chishimba Kambwili

Lusaka, Thursday, January 26, 2023 ( Smart Eagles )

I have never been and will never be a tribalist, PF presidential Hopeful Dr. Chishimba Kambwili as said.

Dr Kambwili lamented that when he talked about tribal voting prior to 2021 elections, a lot of people called him a tribalist.

He however explained that Zambia needs all the tribes in the country if it is to develop.

The potential PF Leader said this when he addressed the media at his residence in Lusaka today.

“When we are talking about politics, let’s not bring in the issue of tribe. We should never bring in the issue of tribe because in this country we need each other. We need the people of Southern Province, we need the people of Western Province, we need the people of Northwestern Province, we need the people of Central Province, Copperbelt, Northern, Luapula, we are all Zambians,” he said.

“And our prime concern must be to unite all the regions through our motto One Zambia One Nation. When there is a problem, let us face the problem and not bring in the issue of tribalism. During the last elections when I spoke about regional voting, tribal voting, people started calling me a tribalist.”

Dr Kambwili also gave a list of how many people of other tribes got married to his siblings.

“I have never been a tribalist and I will never be a tribalist. For your own information, four of my brothers and sisters are married to Tongas. My young Chisanga married a Tonga, my young sister Sampa who is the last born is married to a Tonga, my young sister Lombe is married to a Tonga, my elder brother pastor Kambwili’s first wife was Lozi so we believe in diversity of tribes,” he said.

“So to label me as a tribalist is unfortunate… I don’t want to encourage demeaning any tribe in this country because in diversity we can succeed.”

And commenting on the reassignment of the former Presidential Spokesperson Anthony Bwalya, Dr Kambwili said if it would be unfortunate if the speculations that the basis of Mr Bwalya’s reassignment is on tribal lines are true.

He said no single person in the country has ever chosen to be born in the tribe they are born.

“I have seen on social media people speculating, that it is his tribe… if it is that we need to avoid that because we need all the tribes in this country. And we need to work together as 73 tribes of Zambia. So I hope and trust that it has nothing to do with tribe. If it has to do something with tribe, please, let us stop it,” he said.

“Bembas, Tongas, Kaondes, Namwangas, Nsengas, Kundas, whatever tribe, we all need each other. And in life, you don’t choose to be born Bemba, you don’t choose to be born Lamba, we just find ourselves being born in those tribes.”

By Mwiba E. Mwiba
A Good Governance and Disability Rights Activist

SHOULD TRIBE BE THE TALK WHENEVER SOMEONE FROM THE NORTHERN BLOCK GETS FIRED OR REDEPLOYED TO SOMEWHERE ELSE?

It is really sad that most politicians in Zambia have for a long time been using the notion of tribe to advance their political agenda. What makes it even more sad is that these political leaders are very much aware of how tribalism can be deadly to a society, but they decide to have it as a tool to advance their political interests.

It is a well known fact of how the immediate past government, the Patriotic Front, sidelined other ethnic groups in the appointment of ministers, permanent secretaries and other senior government officials.

Even then, when the Patriotic Front was in government, its senior government officials peddled lies of the dangers that would come with the ushering in of the United Party for National Development into government. They de-campaigned the main opposition political party on tribal lines, without considering how so much unfair they were in their political appointments, where over 90% of government appointments were drawn from the northern block.

Against all odds, the United Party for National Development was ushered into office by the Zambian people. This brought in some fresh air never experienced in the country’s political space in a decade of the PF being in government. Among them was that ministers, permanent secretaries, commissioners and other senior government officials appointed were drawn from across the ten provinces of the Republic of Zambia.

The foregoing assertion is going to be substantiated with some practical example of those who were appointed in different government institutions. This is because a well balanced appointment of cabinet ministers is there for every Zambian citizen to see and judge for themselves.

When the Republican President, Hakainde HICHILEMA appointed Gilbert phiri as Director General of the Anti-corruption Commission, before being appointed as Director of Public Prosecution, none of these opposition political party leaders congratulated him on his appointment.

When Mary Chirwa was appointed Director of the Financial Intelligence Centre before being appointed Director General of the Drug Enforcement Commission, they were quiet. None of them commended the President for having recognised Mary Chirwa’s hard-working character through that appointment. Instead they tried to bring her down through propaganda.

When Dingani Banda was appointed as Commissioner General of the Zambia Revenue Authority, none of the opposition political leaders congratulated him for his well deserved appointment.

Patrick Kangwa was recently appointed as Secretary to Cabinet. This was a man who worked with the former government, the Patriotic Front. Even then, the Republican President overlooked that and decided to work with him. None of those accusing the government of being tribal have so far congratulated the highly experienced man for his well deserved appointment.

When Chileshe Kangwa and Chama Fumba, alias Pilato, were appointed as Permanent Secretaries for the Ministry of Sports and Arts, in spite of the two men’s vast experience in the arts industry, the people who today are labeling this government being tribal could not congratulate them for their deserved appointment. They were quiet.

When Moses Jere was appointed as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, they were quiet, not even one congratulated him.

When Elias Munshya, who is Ushi, was appointed as High Commissioner to Australia they were quiet. This is one man with a very rich curriculum vitae. None of them congratulated him for his well deserved appointment.

The foregoing examples and many others not mentioned did not attract any positive comment from the opposition political parties.

So now the question is, should the talk only be there when someone from the southern block is appointed or when someone from the northern block is redeployed or demoted?

Should the talk only be there when someone from the northern block is being investigated by the Law Enforcement Agencies for corrupt practices? This already shows how tribal those advancing this narrative are.

We really feel for the youth, the future leaders of this country because very few of today’s politicians are worthy drawing inspiration from. Very few of them have the interest of this country in their hearts.

We would like to state, in conclusion, that the opposition political parties should offer credible checks and balances to the government. They should desist from spreading information meant to divide the people of this country. We encourage them to move beyond tribal lines in their politics, as this is not adding value to the country’s political space. If this will help, let them take a break from active politics so that they can go and have an introspection of themselves. Let them go and reflect the kind of Zambia they would want to leave behind for their children. Maybe that quiet moment will help them come back as inspiring figures to the young men and women of this country.

PRESIDENTIAL DISCRETION

By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

The news of Anthony Bwalya being removed from State House and re-assigned to become Deputy High Commissioner at the Zambian Mission in Tanzania, was received with shock and has attracted various comments and interpretations.

We must admit that the battles regarding Anthony are long-standing as we saw during the transition period in August 2021 where various spokespersons for the President emerged.

However, Anthony won the initial battle and was appointed as Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations.

This was not for long!

We heard a new tussle had energed with Clayson Hamasaka, a long-standing media associate with the UPND and President Hakainde Hichilema.

Soon a special-purpose position was created for Hamasaka as Director Media at State House.

Anthony was soon being refered to as “Presidential Spokesperson”, as an official title, a position that doesn’t exist at State House.

Anthony’s earlier position of State House Special Assitant, is a senior position equivalent to the Deputy Secretary to Cabinet in ranking and in establishment.

A debate emerged whether Bwalya was demoted and therefore the action was out of a disciplinary case or he was being victimised.

These appointments, transfers and reshuffles are at the discretion of the President.

I have therefore chosen to discuss the President’s discretionary powers.

Discretion is at the core of Executive Powers of the President.

This discretion, which gives the President freedom to decide how to implement policy initiatives, shapes policy from choosing infrastructure development, direction of trade and investment , to the shift in foreign policy, to education and public health policies.

The President also appoints various constitutional and other officers and chooses who to pardon from the convicted prisoners.

IS PRESIDENT ABUSING HIS DISCRETIONARY POWERS?

It is this discretion that attracts concerns and calls to either rein in or expand the Presidents’ discretionary powers.

Is the President using these discretionary powers to promote national unity? To promote inclusion and reducing the gap of the marginalised or reduces social inequalities?

Is he using these power to foster policies that reduce poverty, promote the well-being of people and the development of the country?

OR

Does the President use these powers to increase nepotistic or tribal or regional hegemony? Does he use these powers to exclude others? Is he sowing seeds of discord and disunity in the exercise of his powers?

The Constitution intended for these powers to be used to unite the country, to be used to the benefit of the country, to the benefit of the largest number of people while protecting the minority, and to the development and advancement of our country.

We need to interrogate and establish if the President has abused these powers in the exercise of his discretion, in the policies he is fostering and in the appointments he makes.

CONCLUSION

So is Anthony Bwalya’s apparent demotion out of failure to work, incompetence or a case of disciplinary?

If so what has the President done to resolve other similar cases? What has the President done to the crisis at Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Labour, and Ministry of Health? ZESCO?

What has he done with the continued failure in the implementation of his flagship projects and policies such as the Constituency Development Fund ( CDF) and Free Education?

Why has he not acted? With reported large-scale cases of corruption at Ministry of Health, ZESCO, Ministry of Agriculture?

So if he appears to quickly cane only one official out of the many corrupt and incompetent officals surrounding him, then he is abusing his discretionary powers.

President Hakainde Hichilema was forced to fire Anthony Bwalya from State House after it was discovered that he had over US$ 600,000 in his offshore account.

The funds are believed to have been a bribe Mr. Bwalya received for facilitating an investment deal between the Zambian government and a Saudi Arabia entity.

Sources very close to Mr. Bwalya disclosed that President Hichilema was made aware of the information during his recent trip to Dubai.

“This information surfaced a few weeks ago and the President instructed that he does not want to see Anthony anywhere near him and this left Cabinet office in a limbo,” the sources said.

“Very close friends advised Tony (Anthony Bwalya) to see the President and just confess and ask for forgiveness but it was too late.”

The sources said Mr Bwalya ended up meeting Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet Oliver Kalabo seeking his intervention.

“It appears it was Mr Kalabo’s idea not to sack him him but suggested redeployment and this is how Mr Bwalya ended up being sent to Tanzania,” the source said.

And in a Facebook post, Mr Bwalya confirmed his sacking.

He has since thanked President Hichilema and the people of Zambia, for the opportunity to serve, and that he is now looking forward to the new assignment.

“We have been re – assigned to go and serve the Republic, and the people of Zambia, at our mission in Dar Es Salam, as Deputy High Commissioner.As Zambia continues to pursue our rapid economic reconstruction agenda for more jobs and business opportunities for all, we must continue to invest in mutually beneficial relationships with countries in the region and beyond,” he said.

Mr. Bwalya said the President and the new administration have made so much positive progress since assuming leadership.

“The economy is on a clear path to growth, the new CDF model is delivering phenomenal economic development possibilities and opportunities for people in the communities where they live, while thousands of our children now have a real opportunity to attain basic education – thanks to the free education policy.”

He said In order to consolidate our push to deliver improved livelihoods for all through trade and investment, we must leverage economic diplomacy to open up new markets, while expanding existing trade and investment channels with other nations.

“With Zambia being open for business, we have a duty and responsibility to identify and harvest economic opportunities present in other countries, and work towards translating these opportunities into jobs and incomes for our people here at home.”

Source: goldenstar newspaper

ZAMBIA IS NOT A PROFIT MAKING VENTURE – KAFWAYA

…as he adds that Zambia is a service provider to its people

Lusaka… Thursday, January 26, 2023 (Smart Eagles)

PF hopeful presidential candidate Hon Mutotwe Kafwaya has castigated the New Dawn Administration for burying their heads into the highly praised IMF program to sort out the economic challenges that the country is grappling with.

Hon Kafwaya said the IMF is an institution based on profits adding that Zambia is not a profit making venture.

He wondered why the IMF is tying their help to the debt.

The potential PF president said this when he featured on 5FM today.

“IMF is an institution which is based on profits. Zambia is not a profit making venture. Zambia is a service provider to its people,” he said.

“And then you say we are looking to IMF. And how do you solve debt by borrowing further for God’s sake? If IMF was happy to solve our problems, why should they insist that we must borrow from them for us to be on their program?”

Hon Kafwaya said the UPND government has just made the debt level in the country escalate.

He said the UPND has nothing in terms of infrastructure development to point at if they are to claim that they built anything out of the debt.

“So what program is that? Increasing our debt? … come and borrow money from us then we will help you. If you borrow from China you’re in trouble, you borrow from India you’re in trouble. It is going to two years now there is no IMF solution. You could have heard in the assembly there the minister saying no ba PF mwalifilwa ukukongola kuli ba IMF ifwe natukongola,” he said.

“You have just made the debt become bigger. And unfortunately, you are not building anything from that debt.”

Hon Kafwaya suggested that government ought to use home grown solutions to sort out the economic challenges.

He also said that there is a lot of money that goes into the treasury from the toll gates.

“How many toll gates are there between here to Ndola? We have got three toll gates… how much money goes into the treasury from these toll gates? It’s a lot of money. Let us be patriotic,” he said.

And Hon Kafwaya denounced all the things that are retrogressive in the governance of the country.

“Where you see tribalism my friend, it is bad for our country. Where you see corruption, it is bad for our country. Where you see malfunctioning institutions, they are bad for our country. When you see lack of service delivery when the government should be delivering services, it’s bad for our country. Where you see children going to school hungry because food is so expensive, it is bad for our country,” he said.

We want ba teacher baleya nabekuta. Abana ba sukulu nabena nabekuta elo mwachita deliver free education.

You can’t be saying free education when pupils are hungry. Even the President has said in newspaper today that people think better when they have eaten. When people have eaten that is when they think straight. But what are the people going to eat when you have increase mealie meal prices?

OUR ADVICE TO HH: EYES ON THE BALL, SIR.

This below was not tribalism according to PF and now when your government tries to correct this abnormality which became normal under PF and your government ensuring justice and efficient service delivery, then, they cry wolf! Wolf!

All citizens of this country are equal and the educated must share knowledge with the public on the need for the respect of all citizens.

Citizens under this government are lucky that they just get moved from one office to another without being fired. During PF, they would fire them alongside their unborn children.

Our advice is that this government must just focus on delivering development and anyone standing in their way, be it Tonga, Bemba, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Kaonde, Nyanja must be kicked out.

We actually look forward to some more top government officials being kicked out for many failures.

No one should be immune to being fired, suspended or redeployed on grounds that you are Tonga or Bemba or Judas Iscariot. Zambians voted to have a fair share of their country not some lopsided PF reasoning.

Mr President, Sir. If he or she is Tonga and stealing or making you look bad, kick them out and if he or she is Bemba and making you look bad, kick them out and what you have done sir by starting from your office, shows that those who have been committing crimes by abusing you and your name will have to act in the interest of the majority Zambians who voted for you going forward but if they don’t change, sir kick them out especially that you said: 2023 is for action.

NB: Zambia is not short of people to work as Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, CEOs, MDs and all. Just go to Eastern, Northern, Luapula, Muchinga, Copperbelt, Central, Lusaka, North Western, Western and Southern provinces, you will find them.

By Veronica Mwale

Chambeshi-26th January, 2025

PF WILL NEVER BOUNCE BACK TO POWER, UPND POLITICALLY CONTROLS COPPERBELT PROVINCE CHARGES HON. MATAMBO

United Party for National Development (UPND) Copperbelt Province Chairman Hon Elisha Matambo has charged that politically UPND controls the Copperbelt province and that PF will never come back to power.

He said UPND as the party now has 11 members of parliament, four for the independent while Patriotic Front(PP has been reduced to only seven Members of Parliament(MP) on the Copperbelt.

Hon Matambo was speaking yesterday in Chitwe ward in Chambeshi and Kantanshi constituency in Mufulira respectively when he met hundrends of UPND party officials on his continued party mobilization drive on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia .
He said the ruling party is now in charge of the copperbelt province politically and urged party officials to maintain and continue mobilising the party starting from the wards, and branches.

“If there is any one who thinks PF will bounce back it will never happen .” Charged Hon Matambo.
The Copperbelt Province chairman also told the gathering that petition that was before court for Joe Malanji of Kitwe and Bowman Lusambo in Ndola against two UPND parliamentarians was thrown out two days putting everything to rest.

He also called on all those who left the party because of various reasons to come back because UPND is one big family for everyone.
“Please come home this is your party and we must continue believing and moving in one accord.” He said.
The UPND Copperbelt strong -man said President Hakainde Hichilema is aware of all problems the people of copperbelt were going through… adding that the Republican President is on top of things to turn round the economic glory days of the Copperbelt Province.

On fertilizer issue ,he said going forward the disbursement of farming input in the next farming season will be done according to the expectations of the people as the distribution for the next farming season will begin in few months time.

Hon Matambo encouraged all party officials to heighten and re-invigorate effort to maintain and Woo more voters while educating citizens about many achievements the New Dawn Government under President Hakainde Hichilema has done under one and half years since President Hichilema was ushered into office.

Hon. Matambo who is also Copperbelt Province Minister welcomed hundrends of defectors from PF and other political parties.
Grace Nakaonga a difector in Chambeshi from Patriotic Front (PF) said she decided to ditch the former ruling party because there was nothing left any more.

She said PF is dead and encouraged those still remaining in the party to dump the party for United Party for National Development (UPND)
Ms Nakaonga praised the UPND policy so far citing free education policy, empowerment opportunities for the youths, women and the vulnerable as key to uplifting living standard of all citizens.

Another difector Shadreck Chikondo hailed the UPND government for driving the agenda of developing the whole country without segregation .

He said PF is gone further adding that… the boat has since sunk beyond retrieval.
Meanwhile, from Chambeshi town, the UPND Chairman proceeded to Mufulira where he held another party officials meeting where hundrends turned up to listen to UPND Copperbelt province Chairman.

In Mufulira he continued preaching the message of good will of the UPND party in government and the need to continue galvanizing the party from the grassroots especially branches and wards.

He implored all party officials to bring everyone on board and soldier on with this movement for the betterment of the party.
“Mufulira you are a great district continue mobilizing you are great team.” He said.

He assured and instructed the party officials to go flat out and explain to the people adding that Ndola -Mufulira -Mukambo road and several other roads on the Copperbelt will be done.

The UPND Copperbelt Province Chairman is on the mobilisation tour of the party on the Copperbelt Province meant to bring back the unity while cementing the grip on the grassroots.He was accompanied by several party officials.

CIC PRESS TEAM