A REVIEW OF PRESIDENT HAKAINDE HICHILEMA’S 1 YEAR IN OFFICE

By Sean Tembo – PeP President

PART 2: MINING

1. Although it is a sector of the wider Zambian economy, mining is so important to this nation that it deserves to stand alone when reviewing the performance of an administration in office. When Mr. Hakainde Hichilema was in opposition, he was not clear about the specific reforms that he would implement for the mining sector, once elected into office. He only said that he would improve the mining sector. So perhaps a good starting point to reviewing his performance for this sector is to look at the key challenges that exist and assessing what he has so far done to resolve these challenges.

2. From our standpoint, the biggest problem which this country faces with regard to the mining sector is the lack of adequate benefit. The nation does not get the full value from the minerals that are being mined. There are four main ways in which Zambia is supposed to benefit from her mining sector. That is tax revenue, forex earnings, employment creation and empowerment of local suppliers and contractors.

3) Tax Revenue – as a nation, we need to collect as much tax revenue as possible, so that we can use this money to diversify our economy into other sectors like the way Dubai used oil money to diversify the city into a tourist destination and world trading hub. However, the mines have consistently and continuously dodged from paying their fair share of tax to this country. They achieve this tax dodging using two main tricks; transfer pricing and exaggerating the cost of procured capital equipment. Instead of selling our minerals to independent third parties at the ruling prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME), they create sister subsidiary companies abroad where they sell our minerals at discounted prices using complex derivatives such as options. The end result is that the sales value which they record in their financial statements is far lower than the actual sales value. Secondly, when they buy equipment for mining, they do not buy from independent third parties at fair value, but buy from their own sister subsidiary companies abroad at inflated prices such that they claim higher capital allowances locally than what they are entitled to. A combination of these tax dodging schemes means that most mining campanies in Zambia declare perpetual tax losses for decades and therefore do not pay a single ngwee in corporate tax. Meanwhile they continue operating, they continue extracting and exporting our copper and other minerals, year after year. While mining companies and their shareholders become richer, the Zambian people, the owners of the copper, become poorer.

4. Generally, there has been very little political will among successive Governments in Zambia to address the issue of tax dodging among mining companies. This has largely been because of the huge sums of money involved. I mean, we are talking about billions of dollars in tax revenue leakages per annum here. Therefore, every President that is elected into office, ends up being offered a few hundred million dollars into an untraceable offshore account, in return to not doing anything about the tax dodging antics being practiced by the mines. Very few Presidents of Zambia have had the backbone to resist the bribes offered by mining companies. Our expectation was that President Hakainde Hichilema would have the backbone to confront the mines and make them pay their fair share of tax so that as a nation, we can also pay our bills such as buying medicines for hospitals, subsidizing fuel prices, paying farmers on time for their crops etcetera. But alas, President Hakainde Hichilema decided to do the exact opposite. He decided to give the mines a defacto tax holiday by making mineral royalty tax (MRT) a tax-deductible expense for purposes of computing corporate tax. The total effect of this defacto tax holiday is that the little which the mines used to pay previously has now further been diminished. The President’s argument is that the tax holidays will attract more investment into the mining sector. But what about the Zambian people? When are they going to begin to benefit from their minerals?

5. Forex Earnings – The second key benefit which this country is supposed to get from the mining sector is forex earnings. being the largest export sector, the mining industry must contribute the most to our forex needs, but they don’t because they don’t remit the gross proceeds of mineral sales. What should happen is that when the mines sell our minerals, which is done in a foreign currency such as US dollars, the payment for those minerals should come to a Zambian bank. If a particular mining company needs to remit payments to foreign suppliers, those payments should be made from the Zambian bank. At the end of the quarter or financial year, if the company declares a dividend, then they can pay out the dividend from the Zambian bank after remitting the appropriate withholding tax (WHT) to ZRA. That would ensure that we have abundant forex in our banking system and it would make the Kwacha to appreciate. It would also address the issue of tax evasion among the mining companies. However, what actually happens is that when mining companies sell our minerals abroad, they keep the money abroad and only bring back a few dollars at month-end to meet their local obligations. Late Former President Michael Sata tried to change this, but l guess he died too early. Currently, President Hakainde Hichilema has not expressed any appetite to change the status quo. He seems to be happy to use Bank of Zambia foreign reserves to mechanically support the Kwacha. When you look at the quarterly BOZ reports, you will note that about US$200 million has so far been used to support the Kwacha exchange rate in the past 10 months. But the question is; why deplete our foreign reserves to support the exchange rate when we can make the Kwacha to stand on its own by compelling the mines to remit the gross proceeds of their mineral sales back to Zambia?

6. Employment Creation – being the largest sector in our economy, the mining industry has a duty and obligation to employ our people, but most of the high value jobs are given to foreigners and only low level jobs are given to citizens. Even when Zambians are employed, they are given a fraction of the salaries given to expatriates. Most of our Mining and Meturlagy graduates from UNZA and CBU end up selling hardware at Town Center because the mines cannot employ them. If the particular mining company is from Canada, then the majority of it’s senior personnel will be from Canada. If the mining company is from India, then the majority of it’s senior personnel will be from India. And so on and so forth. But if mining companies based in Zambia cannot employ Zambians, then who will? All that needs to be done is for the Immigration Department to give these mining companies employment quotas. If their annual turnover is less than US$100 million then they can only employ two expatriates. Turnover of between $100 million and $400 million they can employ three expatriates and so own and so forth. Why should an Engineer from South Africa be given a job when an equally qualified UNZA engineer is selling K5 cabbages at Soweto market due to lack of employment? We expected President Hakainde Hichilema to address this matter but with his romance with the mines blossoming, it is unlikely that he would ask them such awkward questions.

7. Support to Local Suppliers & Contractors – Zambian suppliers and contractors are sidelined in preference to foreign suppliers and contractors, mostly from the country of origin of the particular mining owner. This suffocates our economy. As the biggest sector of our economy, mining is supposed to support other sectors such as manufacturing. When our mines were owned by Government through Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM), Ndola was a manufacturing hub of the nation. That is because the industries in Ndola were supported by the mines. But now, there is no manufacturing hub in Zambia because the mines buy their supplies from abroad, usually from their countries of origin. Most have even shamelessly relocated their supply chain centers from Zambia to Johannesburg, Toronto, New Delhi and Shanghai.

8. Indeed, what these mining companies are doing to Zambia is not investment but exploitation. They first exploited this country by buying our mines for a song. They have continued to exploit us by refusing to pay a fair share of tax, by refusing to bring back the dollars after selling our minerals, by refusing to employ our people and by refusing to support our local suppliers and contractors. After violating this country in every way possible, we hoped that the new President would stand up to the mines and demand what is due to us. But alas, he decided to romance with them. As part of the romance, President Hakainde Hichilema has further decided to gift the mines with a defacto tax holiday. Instead of the mines struggling with complex tax dodging schemes, the President has essentially legalized tax dodging. How happy the mines must be. And how sad the Zambian people are.

///END

SET 13.08.2022

Immediate-past Muchinga Member of Parliament Howard Kunda has charged that praising the UPND Government that it has done well in its first year in office is doing a de-service to the nation.

Mr. Kunda, who served as Muchinga MP from 2012 to 2021, said it is even difficult to tell whether or not the UPND Government has set a base to make Zambia more prosperous.

The former Chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee questioned what the UPND Government has done in the last one year to improve the living conditions of the people.

Mr. Kunda said many Zambians are going to bed hungry because of the high cost of essential goods and services.

“I think that to sum up everything in one statement, that is that they have done well in the first year of governing this country? I think that the UPND government found first of all the debt which has been a problem in that we have been failing to even pay back, that is why they have opted to borrow so that they can bury the debt. To say that the UPND have done well I think we will be doing de-service to our nation. I think they have just come, one year in office and they have a mandate of five years. As they run the affairs of the country we have to be there to check the perimeters,” he said.

“What have they done on for example the much talked about issue of the living conditions of our people, the food security of our people, the expense that each one of us has to incur to have three meals which should be the minimum but we are finding sad situations where people sometimes are sharing meals that you will eat tomorrow, I will eat today. That should be unacceptable and as a person I think that is why I have given myself to check on this government so that we can speak for our people because if we sit quiet then we will be doing de-service to our nation. So, there are a lot of areas I have seen that we need to check, we need to talk about,” Mr. Kunda said.

He continued:”The other issue is the mining sector where the government has decided to give tax holidays. I think that we have so much debt, why can’t we use that money which we are now giving these multinational companies freely. Why are we giving away free money to these mining corporations when we have poverty in this country, when we have people going hungry? Going for a day without putting anything in your mouth.”

Mr. Kunda, however, said the UPND has done well to increase Constituency Development Fund and to provide free education.

“There are other things that I can refer to that they have done well. The issue of free education but again it is about implementation. The issue of the CDF being increased from K1.6 Million to K25.7 Million, I think it is also a good thing and it is also about implementation. Are we able to expand? Have we built capacity to handle this kind of money? Those are the questions but from the pronunciation I think that it is well received. In terms of fighting corruption, I think that yes just by word of mouth that you are fighting corruption is a good thing but again it is about implementation. “

“We have not seen convictions of those being alleged to have been corrupt. So we need to see convictions, we need to see the results then we can say indeed they are fighting corruption but again it is also an issue where we are just seeing politicians being followed by we know that in this country the culprits are those tasked to handle money. Those are Permanent Secretaries, the directors, those running the government. The permanent secretaries are the controlling officers. There is nowhere a politician signs were so they should also be followed,” Mr. Kunda said.

He said the UPND government should be checked regularly to ensure that it works for the people of Zambia.

“I think it is too early to say whether or not the government has set a base to make the nation more prosperous. We are seeing a lot of people going hungry, going without food. A bag of mealie meal is just skyrocketing. They promised the Zambian people that a bag of mealie meal will be K50. Even writing on boards that the fuel will be reduced but what have we seen? The fuel is going up. Even if they can argue that fuel price has started coming down but the fact is that was fuel 20 something Kwacha? No, it was at K17 per litre. So we are only going to start praising them when they bring prices of fuel to K16 then we will say now the base has been provided for greater things. I think that we need to talk about these things so that the government can wake up to the reality of why it is there. It is there for the people of Zambia period so they need to work for the people of Zambia,” Mr. Kunda said.

MUMBI Phiri should be freed immediately until police have tangible and irrefutable evidence against her, Our Civic Duty Association (OCIDA) has demanded.

OCIDA chairperson Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu, in a strongly worded statement, says the incarceration of the former Patriotic Front deputy secretary general and her co-accused, former president Edgar Lungu’s barber Shabby Chilekwa, in a murder case for six months without trial was one clear illustration of abuse of human rights and demanded for her immediate release.
And The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has said there is need for the country to ensure speedy trial of detained suspects.

LAZ President Lungisani Zulu said persons accused of various offences should not deprived of their liberties and must therefore be presented to court as soon as possible.

Archbishop Mpundu said perhaps, as many people were speculating, was it a case of revenge against Ms Phiri who instigated the arrest of President Hakainde Hichilema when he was in the opposition, leading to his 127 days of detention without trial.
Archbishop Mpundu said they would want to believe this could never be so, as President Hichilema’s clarion call since becoming President had been elimination of abuse of human rights.

“So what is going on?” he asks. Archbishop Mpundu said OCIDA, like other governance institutions, was concerned with what was now becoming evident that the new dawn administration was not fully committed to eliminating abuse of human rights.
“The UPND administration is not fully committed to eliminating abuse of human rights,” he said.

Archbishop Mpundu who is also former Lusaka Archbishop said even the Chief Justice Dr. Mumba Malila expressed concern over this matter of Ms Phiri’s prolonged detention without court appearance.

Archbishop Mpundu said while in opposition the UPND strongly and rightly condemned abuses of human rights, and promised to curtail this behaviour when elected into government.

He said OCIDA therefore demands the immediate release of such prisoners as Ms Phiri, until the Police have tangible and irrefutable evidence against her.

Archbishop Mpundu said this was truly an indictment and a blemish on the new administration’s record so early in their attempt to run this country under the rule of law.- Daily Nation

Vanessa Bryant leaves courtroom in tears after barman tells jury how an off-duty police officer showed her photos of Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s dead bodies
On Thursday, August 11, after a bartender was asked to describe pictures of Bryant and his daughter Gianna’s lifeless bodies, the late NBA player Kobe Bryant’s widow broke down and left the courtroom.

After learning that images of her deceased husband and kid were circulated among officers, Vanessa Bryant filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department for invasion of privacy.

The 41-year-old basketball superstar died alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles in 2020.

Vanessa Bryant leaves courtroom in tears after barman tells jury how an off-duty police officer showed him photos of Kobe and Gianna Bryant
On Thursday, Vanessa Bryant became emotional when Victor Gutierrez, a bartender, was asked if he had seen the body of her daughter.

Luis Li, Bryant’s lawyer, in his opening statements on Wednesday played jurors CCTV footage of an off-duty sheriff’s deputy drinking at a bar and showing the photos to Gutierrez, who shakes his head in dismay.

The lawyer then showed an image of the men laughing together later.

Li described firefighters looking at the phone photos two weeks later at an awards banquet, and showed the jury an animated chart documenting the spread of the pictures to nearly 30 people.

As she heard Gutierrez being questioned, Bryant reportedly cried, stood up and her attorney asked the presiding judge permission for Bryant to leave the court room.

‘You don’t have to ask my permission,’ the judge said.

Bryant did not return for the remainder of Gutierrez’s testimony.

The jurors were shown surveillance clips from the bar on January 28th, 2020 – two days after the crash.

Gutierrez described wincing at the photos and then admitted that he told the condition of the victims’ bodies to five sets of people.

One person he recounted the photos to was Ralph Mendez, who later filed a complaint against the deputy who initially showed Gutierrez the photos.

‘I was in disbelief, disappointed, disgusted and angry,’ Mendez said.

‘Being in the position he is – I felt he has the public’s trust riding on his shoulders and when he showed photos of the victims he betrayed the public’s trust.’

Li said the mobile phone pictures shot at the scene by a deputy and fire captain were ‘visual gossip’ viewed ‘for a laugh’ and had no official purpose.

‘They were shared by deputies playing video games,’ Li said.

‘They were shared repeatedly with people who had absolutely no reason to receive them.’

A lawyer for the county defended the photographs as an essential tool for emergency service workers seeking to share information .

‘Site photography is essential,’ Jennifer Mira Hashmall said.

During the defense’s opening statement, Hashmall told jurors the fact the pictures have not appeared in more than two years shows leaders in the sheriff’s and fire services did their jobs.

‘They’re not online. They’re not in the media. They’ve never even been seen by the plaintiffs themselves,’ she said.

‘That is not an accident. That is a function of how diligent they were.’

According to TMZ, Bryant cried frequently during her lawyer’s presentation.

Odds on favorite, Karim Benzema and his former teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo have been nominated for the 2022 Ballon d’Or, but there is no place on the shortlist for Paris Saint-Germain duo Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Messi has won the award a record seven times more than any other player in history but does not make the list for the first time since 2005.

The Ballon D’or organizers say ths winners of the awards will be announced at a glitzy ceremony in Paris on October 17.

Messi did not make the list despite scoring 11 goals in 34 matches for Paris Saint-Germain last season.

His team-mate Neymar is also not on the list. He played just 28 times for PSG last season in an injury-hit campaign. Also, remarkably, Kylian Mbappe did not make the list.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is on the list after scoring 18 goals in 31 matches for Manchester United last season.

The favourite for the 2022 Ballon d’Or, Karim Benzema’s 44 goals powered Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid side to La Liga and Champions League triumph last season.

Following Real Madrid’s Super Cup win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night, Benzema suggested he was able to take his game to another level after Cristiano Ronaldo left the Liga club.

Last season’s Premier League joint top goalscorer Mohamed Salah is included, after also providing the most assists last season, despite Liverpool falling just short of the title. He is joined by team-mates Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, Fabinho and Darwin Nunez. Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son are Tottenham’s representatives.

See full list of nominees below…

Thibaut Courtois (Real Madird)

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Rafael Leao (AC Milan)

Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)

Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)

Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)

Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

Luis Diaz (Liverpool)

Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)

Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)

Casemiro (Real Madrid)

Heung-Min Son (Tottenham)

Fabinho (Liverpool)

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Mike Maignan (AC Milan)

Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)

Phil Foden (Manchester City)

Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)

Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund)

Luka Modric (Real Madrid)

Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)

Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)

Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)

Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

UNZA DON SALUTES HH

By Diana Chansa

12th August, 2022 -Lusaka

SOCIAL Policy Lecturer at the University of Zambia (UNZA) Ntazana Musukuma Mutungwa has praised President Hakainde Hichilema for his numerous achievements in just a year of being in Office. Mutungwa has described the one year of UPND in Government as ‘a success story’.

“Many accused HH of overpromising but he’s delivered beyond expectation,” said Mutungwa.

He applauded President Hakainde Hichilema and his Administration for hiring 30, 476 teachers and 11, 276 health workers terming the move as ‘unprecedented in the history of Zambia’.

“As if that was not enough, HH has managed to reduce the yearly practicing licence fees for Nurses and Midwives from $23 to $6. These are positive developments in the health sector,” said Mutungwa.

The UNZA Lecturer further nodded the gigantic uplift of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) from K1.6 million to K25.7 million.

“As a scholar who specialised in Fiscal Decentralization and Service Delivery and a former Senior Local Government Officer for Lusaka and Eastern provinces, I pat HH at the back for the high jump in CDF. What the President is saying in that action is that he seeks devolution in Local Government Administration and subsequent empowered-communities, ones that are enabled to make their own decisions pertaining to issues affecting the people at the grassroot. The President is fostering local autonomy,” said Mutungwa.

“On the economic front, HH within just a year has reduced the inflation rate from 25.6% in August 2021 to 9.7% as at July 2022. He has made the Zambian Kwacha the world’s second best performing currency. It was the world’s worst performing currency in 2021 August. Those who were there before HH collapsed the economy but Bally is laying benchmarks for economic recovery and subsequent Social Development,” he said.

Mutungwa, who happens to have a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and Sociology from UNZA, further stated that the best we Zambians can do is to support President Hichilema as he clearly means well for this country.

“All well-meaning and right-thinking Zambians should rally behind the development-oriented President in HH. This is time for development not campaigns. Those in the habit of perpetual politicking should desist from the vice and support the President. He’s doing the right thing. Let’s accord him legitimacy as he stirs Zambia towards a better society, one where the quantitative and qualitative standards of living of the people are improved,” said Mutungwa.

“Look, HH is building Africa’s largest nickel mine, which will make Zambia Africa’s largest nickel producer. He has also opened a fruit factory, which will create 900 jobs and partner with 1, 500 rural farmers. I’ve no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Zambia is destined for greatness under the able leadership of His Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema,” said Mutungwa.

The UNZA Lecturer observed that the refusal by the President to draw salaries one year down the line is an indication that he is there to perform the top job not for mere pay but from a real desire to serve.

“HH has refused to get salaries for 12 months now since he was elected President on August 12, 2021. This tells you he is not there to champion his personal interest or play politics of the belly but to be a Bally with a vision of making the lives of all Zambians better. Let those with eyes see and those with ears hear,” said Mutungwa.

“Ironically, while HH refused to draw salaries, he increased the salaries of civil servants by 12% in February 2022. Now, that’s a mark of great leadership!” charged Mutungwa.

He adds, “Politics aside, HH as Head of State in one year is a success story indeed. The list of great achievements is endless. Remember that Bally and his New Dawn Administration have provided free primary education to all. In Social Policy, we perceive this as a great gift to the poor, vulnerable and marginalized. There were many disadvantaged people out there who could not afford to take their children to school before August 2021 but have enrolled their children in school today because of the free education policy -courtesy Bally Vision.”

“I was born and bred in Chawama Compound. I know what it means to be poor. I understand the immense joy in the heart of a poor person when they receive goods and services for free. HH has touched lives. Like he puts it: he was born and brought-up in a village, benefited from free education and now he gives it to those that pray daily for it. He has emphathy. To many, he is prayer-answered,” said Mutungwa.

“Let’s also not forget that HH has paid most retirees their outstanding pensions. This is something which those before him failed to do,” he said.

Furtheremore, Mutungwa, who also happens to be former PF Media Coordinator and 2021 Chawama Constituency Parliamentary Aspirant bemoaned the culture of brutality that had developed in the country prior to 12th August, 2021 and has since commended President Hakainde Hichilema for returning the country to law and order.

“PF became a party of brutal thugs who thrived on cadrism, lawlessness, insults, intimidation and disrespect. There was no law and order. There was just the rule of cadres and the party in power. There was a different law for PF and their cadres and a different law for the rest of society. Pabwato were above the law but today all that is over and there is now a breath of fresh air -kudos to the great leadership style of President HH,” says Mutungwa.

Adding, “HH has completely eradicated cadrism in all bus stops and stations across the country. People can now walk freely in party regalia of their choice without being victimized through beatings and stripping of outfits to replace with ruling party material.”

“Also, HH has restored freedom of speech as well as freedom of the press. People like Sean Tembo who were beaten badly and left paralysed under PF rule of ‘commandos’ and ‘nato’ forces are now free to say whatever they want without anyone bothering them. We all saw how media houses like Prime TV were shut without just cause during PF reign but today the Mast are free to write whatever they want without anyone closing them down. There’s indeed something special about President HH and UPND,” said Mutungwa.

On the day marking a year of UPND in Government, the UNZA Lecturer has a special message for His Excellency Hakainde Hichilema, President of Zambia:

“Well done Your Excellency Sir! Keep it up. From me, it’s an A+.”

Indeed, we are praying that Zambia continues on this positive trajectory with the New Daw Government.

God bless President HH. God bless Zambia. God bless you all.

One Zambia, One Nation.

Former Muchinga Province Mayor and Provincial Patriotic Front(PF) Treasurer Thomas Mutale has hailed the United Party for National Development (UPND’) s good governance record within one year in power .

Mr Mutale has also praised President Hakainde Hichilema for the various socio-economic developments that he has initiated just within one year as head of state.

Mr Mutale told ZANIS in Chinsali yesterday, that the UPND government under the leadership of President Hichilema has recorded a good number of developments in almost all the sectors of the economy.

He mentioned the provision of bursaries and scholarships through Constituency Development Fund (CDF) which he said has enabled many young people in the country and the province to access tertiary education.

Mr Mutale added that the free education and the employment of over 40 thousand Zambian citizens in both education and the health sectors is a milestone which the Zambian citizens should be proud of as it will remain a history in the country.

“For the first time in the country we have seen a huge recruitment of civil servants which has never happened with these other past governments since Zambia got independence,” Mr Mutale said.

The former Mayor added that in just one year, people’s lives have been changed in many ways.

He further challenged other political parties to emulate what the UPND has done saying politics of just talking should not be entertained instead politicians should focus on what the people want and implement various projects if they want to win the people’s hearts.

And a senior citizen has described the UPND as a party for the people.

Agness Mwansa said the UPND has already fulfilled most of its campaign promises to the Zambian people.

“On 24th August this year, the UPND will be turning one year in office with the massive development done so far,” she said.

She said the recent involvement of the young people in the National Census of Population and Housing is a plus as most young people are not employed.

“The act will help young people raise some money once they are paid and I’m sure most of them will invest the money in various businesses which will help them be busy instead of indulging themselves in bad habits,” Ms. Mwansa said.

Ms Mwansa added that given more time the UPND will develop the country as this is evident from what the party has implemented so far since August 2021 when they were voted in.

She further called on residents to support the UPND government as it continues to implement its party manifesto.

President Hakainde Hichilema was sworn in as Zambia’s seventh President on 24 August 2021, after winning a landslide victory.

By John Masuku

By shutting down the internet on August 12 election day in Zambia, the government of Edgar Lungu thought that it had found a tactic to stop people from sharing information on how others voted in different parts of the southern African country.

But Sam Phiri, a CMDS fellow and lecturer in the Department of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Zambia thinks that by taking such drastic action, Lungu’s Patriotic Front (PF) administration was actually shooting itself in the foot, eventually paving way for voters, mainly youngsters, to bring to power five-time election loser Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND).

The Zambian presidential and parliamentary elections brought a tight race between one of the country’s richest businessmen Hichilema and incumbent Edgar Lungu. Hichilema, who won after five unsuccessful runs, used his humble origins as a cattle herder and his entry into the corporate world as a finance, property, healthcare, tourism and ranching entrepreneur to appeal to the electorate.

Lungu had been in power since 2015 when he took over the presidency after the death in office of Michael Sata. He needed a constitutional court approval to run again after the expiry of his second term, as Zambia’s constitution states that anyone who has been elected president twice cannot be re-elected for a third time.

The internet restrictions were imposed three days before the elections, when authorities in Zambia intentionally blocked access to popular social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The shutdown frustrated many, as it affected their ability to send and receive information about the election, while also disrupting their lives, work, education, and relationships.

The restrictions remained in effect while the votes were being counted, leading Phiri to argue that the shutdown may have been part of “a ploy of stopping the results from being leaked, as these were made available to the political party monitors at constituency level before they were ‘verified’ by the electoral commission headquarters and thereafter announced to the whole nation.”

Civil society organizations took the election management body to court, bringing an end to the internationally condemned practice of internet closure and violation of rights with a court order.

Phiri says that the internet blackout dealt Lungu and his former ruling party a heavy blow. “The impact of the shutdown may have worked against the PF,” he said. “Voters already on the queues to the booth felt frustrated that they could not talk to their colleagues in other parts of the country. They could then have decided to vote against the party.”

He described tempering with the internet as a terrible miscalculation.

“How do you suddenly take away Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter from the youth and expect them to support you? A serious blunder indeed.”

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) regional delegation that monitored the elections was equally appalled by the shutdown.

“The throttling and subsequent internet disruptions in Zambia on the day of elections are deplorable, given that elections are at the core of the exercise of democracy and respect of citizens’ rights. […] Internet access equates to access to information and to the realisation of the right to freedom of expression,” said Golden Maunganidze, MISA regional chairperson who also chairs the MISA Zimbabwe board.

Restricting the internet was not the only way the government meddled with the media.

In the run-up to the poll, the government had closed privately owned Prime TV, a popular and critical channel, with the regulator, the Independent Broadcasting Authority, arguing, ”the cancellation of the license is necessary in the interest of public safety, security, peace, welfare, or good order.”

The Carter Center electoral expert mission to Zambia also noted some misinformation tactics on government-controlled information outlets.

“The repeated broadcast of disinformation and political content by the online accounts of state-owned media contributed to the unlevel playing field, advantaging incumbent President Edgar C. Lungu,” it wrote.

Phiri described the August Zambian plebiscite as “a social media election” observing that “new campaign methods were used by all parties, including mis-, dis-, and mal-information campaigns. The youth registered to vote and they voted in large numbers. They voted for hope, the promise of jobs and free education. All these aspirations were widely discussed on many social media platforms.”

Music, as a popular traditional storytelling tool in African communication also played a huge part in upping the gear of the election campaign. According to Phiri, what stood out prominently was the use of musicians by Lungu’s losing PF party in projecting their messages.

Zambia has a diverse media environment, yet it remains polarized along party lines. The elections only added to the divisions, with “a noticeable increase in hate speech, misinformation, and cyberbullying through various media channels. The election coverage by the public broadcaster, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), was perceived by some stakeholders as biased in favour of the ruling party,” said the African Union Election Observation Mission.

Phiri agrees. “Government media insulted the opposition, promoted ethnic sentiments against the Tonga people who mainly hail from Zambia’s Southern Province where the opposition leader (now president) Hichilema has his roots.

What we had in Zambia, during the elections, were media funded from public money but not accountable to the public and not owned by the public as such.”

He added: “As for the private media: these were more independent as they sought to investigate some of the flaws of the governing political party. On the other hand, one private newspaper, The Daily Nation, acted as if it was part of the government media.”

Phiri was generally disappointed with the standard of election coverage.

“It was generally poor and not issue based. Sadly, lack of safety was of concern with some journalists being beaten by contesting political party activists.”

Nigel Nyamutumbu coordinator of the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ) who was part of the MISA regional delegation expressed similar sentiments: “Unfortunate reports of harassment of the media by various agents should be investigated and culprits brought to book. There is need to strengthen the media capacity to mainstream gender in electoral coverage and provide more coverage to female candidates as part of the media development agenda.”

As expected among newly elected African leaders when entering office, Hichilema, in his victory speech, promised a free media operational environment.

“The UPND government is not there to shut down Prime Television … (Prime TV), sorry about what happened to you. Shutting down media houses will not happen under our administration, you will operate as a business, you know your obligations as a business. But no political hand will be there to shut down your business.”

But only time will tell.

John Masuku is a Zimbabwe-based broadcast journalist/media trainer and Executive Director of Radio Voice of the People (VOP). He is a fellow of the CEU Democracy Institute’s Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS) in Budapest, Hungary. John can be contacted at jjwpmasuku55@gmail.com or via Twitter at @john_masuku.

12 August 2021

Several users from Zambia have taken to Twitter informing the general public that WhatsApp has been restricted in the country amidst ongoing general elections today.

The president and parliamentary elections culminate in a face-off between current President Edgar Lungu and opposition Hakainde Hichilema.

Internet monitoring organization Netblocks further corroborated these reports, adding that multiple internet providers in Zambia had restricted access to the American social messaging platform. Some of these networks include Zambian government-owned Zamtel, Airtel Zambia, Liquid Telecom and MTN.

Just this week, reports circulated that the Zambian government had threatened to shut down the internet if Zambians “failed to use the cyberspace during this year’s election correctly.” The reports say the government intended to go through with its plans from Thursday, the polling day, till Sunday, when vote counts are expected to have ended.

However, the Zambian government, via its Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary, Amos Malupenga, came out to deny the reports, calling them “malicious.” Nevertheless, he mentioned that the government would not tolerate abuse of the internet and if any mischief occurred, there would be no hesitation to take appropriate measures.

“The government, therefore, expects citizens to use the internet responsibly. But if some people choose to abuse the internet to mislead and misinform, the government will not hesitate to invoke relevant legal provisions to forestall any breakdown of law and order as the country passes through the election period,” Malupenga said.

Zambia isn’t the first African country to witness this during an election as social media restrictions and internet shutdowns are now a recurring theme for most African states.

Countries like Cameroon, Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Guinea, Togo, Benin, Mali and Mauritania have faced social media restrictions and internet shutdowns during elections. A handful of others like Chad, Nigeria and Ethiopia, on the other hand, have experienced similar restrictions for unrelated events.

Most governments argue that they carry out social media restrictions and internet shutdowns to maintain security during elections; however, it’s glaring to see the process as a means to curb the spread of vital information among voters and the media within and outside the country.

Today’s event shows that despite denying reports about an imminent internet shutdown, the Zambian government is heading in that direction by first cutting off WhatsApp. While writing on the WhatsApp restriction, Netblocks also reported that the Zambian government has proceeded to restrict other social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Twitter.

Still, internet users in Zambia are now using VPN services to bypass the restrictions on WhatsApp and these other social media platforms. Yet, it remains to be seen if the government will enforce a full internet shutdown.

Dear Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu,

12 months ago today, I happily voted for you, I happily asked many others to vote for you, we did just that and went home very happy for doing the right thing.

Your Excellency, voting for you was the most exciting thing I must say, I do not regret having voted for you, infact, I would vote for you again and again. I always feel good and nice knowing that I did the best thing, voting for you was so fulfilling. Sir, you gave me the reasons why I voted and still would vote for you.

>>You never promised Heaven yet you started taking us there

>>You never promised us that we shall have massive dicongestion projects, yet you dicongested Lusaka massively

>>You never promised the Zambia Police and Zambia Army good houses, yet you gave them decent and good houses

>>You never promised us Hospitals, yet you gave us great hospitals across the nation

>>You never promised us level one Hospitals, yet you gave us level one Hospitals

>>You never promised us Universities, yet you gave us Universities

>>You never promised us Schools, yet you gave us Schols

Your Excellency, the list can go on and on.

ON THE OTHER HAND

>>You are not like them who promised the rule of law, yet they are breaking the very law they swore to uphold and protect

>>You are not like them who said Caderism will end yet, it has not ended, one year down the line

>>You are not like them who promised us money, yet the money exchange hands within themselves

>>You are not like them who promised to fight corruption, yet they are fighting your associates and your party leaders

>>You are not like them who promised cheaper procurement yet they have doubled and even more on the prices of many goods and service procured for example the 100 million scandal at Ministry of health

>>You are not like them who promised to end tribalism and nepotism, yet they are busy focusing on selected regions regards appointments and development

>>You are not like them who promised us cheaper fuel, yet they have increased fuel to over 20 kwacha per litre

>>You are not like them who promised cheaper fertiliser, yet they have bought too expensive fertiliser from their associates

>>You are not like them who promised to embrace those in the streets yet they are chasing booth owners

>>You are not like them who promised transperence, yet they have dark corner meetings in the lower Zambezi to sale this country to imperialists through establishing Military bases

>>You are not like them who promised Cheaper mealie meal and other goods and services, yet mealie meal is getting expensive and the cost of living is rising everytime.

The list can go on and on.

Sir, happy one year Anniversary since imperialists got power from you and handed it over to their puppets.

Sincerely Yours,

Proud voter for you

Chanoda Frackson Ngwira

Where was Minister Masebo when Magwende committed The alleged crime?

By John Phiri

Zambia is a very funny country because most of its population operates without conviction or any kind of loyalty to ideology, group or personal relationship.

Before you think we are advocating adherence to personal friendship regardless, read up to the end of this article.

There are two simple questions that have arisen following the sacking of Dr George Magwende from his job as Permanent Secretary in charge of Administration, at the Ministry of Health, and his subsequent “interrogation” at the Anti Corruption Commission.

The first one is where was the Minister of Health when Magwende was doing what he is accused of having done without following procedure?

This is not a frivolous question. Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo is credited with personally having halted the process of acquiring essential drugs for public health facilities because she did not like the personalities behind companies that were in the process of being contracted to supply.

She then ordered that a fresh tender be advertised, a decision that has to date resulted in the government struggling to meet demand for drugs in public health facilities.

The persistent shortage of drugs had its consistent whistleblower, Dr Brian Sampa, who ensured the shortage of drugs was a news item nearly every week, until state agents engineered his ouster from being President of the now moribund and compromised Resident Doctors Association of Zambia(RDAZ).

President Hakainde Hichilema, instead of taking objective action to verify whether or not there has been a shortage of drugs in public health facilities, instead went to the Ministry of Health Headquarters to endorse the seemingly untouchable Masebo’s mismanagement of affairs at the Ministry.

He could not as much as bring himself to censure Masebo in any way for the shortage of drugs which Ministry of Health senior officials attributed directly to her refusal to allow supply of drugs by companies on her personal blacklist.

So, how does a Minister who cancelled a drugs procurement tender fail to have noticed such things as the $100 million prefab health facilities contract?

Second question: is this the same Magwende who was fired from the Prisons and Correctional Services for being perceived to have helped Hichilema during the time of his detention at Mukobeko Maximum Prison on trumped up charges of treason?

For those of you who have forgotten, here is a reminder of the story in 2017:

“CHIPOLOPOLO team doctor George Magwende has been dropped from his position almost three months after Zambia Reports first reported the scheme.

On August 24, 2017, Zambia Reports revealed that the Football Association of Zambia was set to sack Magwende for allegedly ‘kissing’ UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema at Mukobeko Correctional Facility where he operated as Senior Assistant Commissioner in charge of health services. Magwende was retired from his post at prisons that August.

The physician was one of only two Zambians holding a diploma in sports medicine, a qualification mandatory for all national team physicians.

Magwende was allegedly seen talking to opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema at Mukobeko Maximum Prison.

Sources stated that the brief meeting between Magwende and Hichilema led the Patriotic Front government to retire the former from the Zambia Prisons service in national interest.

All this would be funny if politics was not so ruinous of young professional careers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

John Phiri is Former Editor In-Chief of The Times of Zambia Newspaper. The views expressed herein are solely his.

President Hakainde Hichilema has lost sight of real enemies…as he focuses on destroying PF says Antonio Mwanza

11th August 2022

President Hakainde Hichilema has lost focus by making the former ruling party PF as the enemy while his real enemy remains in plain sight—the Zambian voters says Antonio Mwanza.

Mwanza, the PF Comms Director warned that by the time President Sammy Hichilema wakes up from his PF obsession, it will be election day and he must prepare to pack because Zambians will rise against him.
“The opposition to President Sammy is not PF, it’s the people of Zambia that he lied to in order to get elected and they are as follow:”

• The university students at UNZA and CBU who he lied to that he would give them meal allowances the day he is elected, it was a lie

• The youths that lined up for low paying temporary census jobs they never got at the expense of UPND youths, that was a lie

• The old ailing mothers that are getting less monies from selling pamela´s (mealie meal in small plastic bags) and ´ballies´ that was a lie
• The poor farmers that were told the bag of fertiliser and seed would reduce but have instead doubled, those are his enemies

• The parents he lied to about free education but have schools that can’t afford tissue and chalk etc, those are his enemies come election day

• Mwanza said President Sammy Hichilema may speak fast and well but, “when people are hungry Pamala pali empty, its hard to convince them.” Those are his enemies.

Mwanza said Hichilema Sammy´s lies have finally caught up with him and rest will be decided on election day that will be determined the number promises Sammy Hichilema fulfils or fails to keep.

The PF Media Director said, it is shame, the amount of lies Hichilema has told and keep telling Zambians but remained confident that Zambians have known that the Zambian President and h9s party are liars.

Mwanza was speaking during a live interview recorded for 5FM in Lusaka on Thursday.

Mwanza also told the interviewer to stop acting like a UPND cadre that aways seeks to excuse the UPND mistakes and heaping all the blame on PF.

Source: 5FM Radio for the full interview

BY-ELECTIONS FOR KABUSHI AND KWACHA CONSTITUENCIES SET

Elections House, Haile Selassie Avenue, PO Box 50274,
LUSAKA. 11th August, 2022

Notice is hereby given to the general public that the Electoral Commission of Zambia has prescribed Thursday 15th September, 2022 as the date on which to hold the Kabushi Constituency and Kwacha Constituency by-elections in Ndola, and Kitwe City Councils respectively of the Copperbelt Province.

The polls will take place from 06:00 hours to 18:00 hours. Nominations for the said by-elections will be conducted on Thursday, 25th August, 2022. The vacancies in Kabushi and Kwacha Constituencies have arisen after the nullification of the elections for the respective Constituencies.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia would like to further announce the suspension of continuous registration of voters in Kitwe and Ndola with immediate effect due to the scheduled by-elections in line with Section 12 of the Electoral Process Act No. 35 of 2016. The voter registration exercise will resume on 16th September 2022 after the polls.

Aspiring candidates in the by-elections should lodge completed and attested statutory declaration and nomination papers subscribed before a Magistrate, Local Court Magistrate, Head of a Government Primary or Secondary School, Principal of a College, Commissioner for Oaths, Election Officer or returning officer on Thursday, 25th August, 2022 between 09:00 hours and 15:00 hours.

Male aspiring candidates for the Parliamentary by-election will be required to pay Fifteen Thousand Kwacha (K15,000), while Female and Youth aspiring candidates are expected to pay Thirteen Thousand Five Hundred Kwacha (K13,500) nonrefundable nomination fee.

All Candidates in the by-elections must also present certified copies of their Grade 12 Certificates, as a minimum academic qualification or equivalent. In view of this, the Commission wishes to advise aspiring candidates who may wish to contest in these by-elections that failure to comply with these requirements shall render the nomination papers null and void.

Media personnel and Registered Non-Governmental Organisations wishing to monitor/observe the elections are advised to apply for accreditation in the respective districts which will take place from Monday 22nd August to Wednesday 24th August 2022, for Nominations and Monday 12th to Wednesday 14th September 2022 for the Polls.

Accreditation for participating political party officials/representatives of candidates wishing to monitor elections in the districts shall only be up to a maximum of 10 members per political party. Please note that only a maximum of 5 accredited members per political party/candidate and two accredited representatives of NGOs shall be authorised to represent their respective political parties or NGOs at the Collation Centre (Totaling Centre). Only five (5) senior officials of any participating political party/candidate with Electoral Commission of Zambia accreditation will be allowed to accompany aspiring candidates into the Nomination Centre during the filing of nominations.

The rest of the supporters should remain outside the 400 meter parameter from the Nomination Centre in accordance with the law. Note that the campaign period for these elections commences on Thursday 25th August, 2022 after 15:00 hours and will end at 18:00 hours on Wednesday, 14th September, 2022.

All political parties/candidates are expected to adhere to the provisions of the Electoral Code of Conduct that is contained in the schedule of the Electoral Process Act No.35 of 2016.

In addition, not more than two (2) political party members/candidate representatives per participating political party/candidate shall be allowed to witness counting of votes at the Polling Station.

GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE US$100 MILLION YAMENE BABA

…..you can’t use Dr. Magwende as a sacrificial lamb, Mourinho

Lusaka…. Thursday, August 11, 2022 (Smart Eagles)

Zambians must be told the truth, a US$100 million deal cannot go through without the approval of Cabinet which is headed by the President, PF Media Director Antonio Mourinho Mwanza has said.

Mr Mwanza said former Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary in charge of Administration George Magwende should NOT be used by government as sacrificial lamb.

He said when he featured on 5FM’s ‘Burning Issue’ that the Permanent Secretary cannot write to the Secretary to the Treasury to ask for US$100 million without the approval of Cabinet.

Dr Magwende had his contract terminated with immediate effect by President Hakainde Hichilema on Sunday.

“……today, within 11 months, baba (they have stolen) US$100 million, they can’t account for it. And I look at Dr Mangwende, I feel sorry for that comrade for simple reasons. First of all, Zambians must be told the truth. A US$100 million deal cannot go through without the approval of Cabinet which is headed by the President,” he said.

“The Permanent Secretary cannot write to the Secretary to the Treasury to ask for US$100 million without the approval of Cabinet, without the approval of the line Ministry. The people who are supposed to be held accountable for this US$100 million yamene baba, it has to start with Cabinet, which is headed by the President. Iyi US$100 million yamene mwaba in 11 months, inayenda kuti? Who approved it?”

Mr Mwanza has however encouraged the former PS to tell Zambians the truth when the matter goes to court.

“What role did the ministry of finance play? What role did the ministry of health play? What role did the Secretary to the treasury play? You can’t use Mangwende as a sacrificial lamb. And I just want ukukoselesha umunandi Magwende, ba Magwende nga mwaya ku court, tell the Zambian people the truth,” he said.

“You were a junior officer in the group, an implementation officer, a permanent secretary employed by the President on a contract of three years. A very junior officer, you don’t make policy, the policy is made by government officials, Cabinet. You don’t approve government expenditure; it is approved by cabinet.”

Mr Mwanza also bemoaned the alleged scandals at the Ministry of Agriculture.

“Ku ministry of agriculture kuli ma scandal. Those scandals are too huge, ma scandal ya fertilizer. Imagine fertilizer is US$1,000 per metric ton yet they go and give their own friend fertilizer ya US$1,407 per ton, badyamo ma US$407 per every bag that they are selling, single sourced,” he said.

“Single sourced without going through the normal procedures of the tender. And now we are even hearing that more scandals ya fertilizer yabwela. Mind you, this is August, they haven’t even finished selecting people who will supply fertilizer.”

CHAMPION MUZALA SAMUKONGA’S HUMBLE & INSPIRING STORY.

By Miles B. Sampa, MP (11.08.2022)

Born in 2003 in one of the hardcore compounds of Lusaka called Ngombe. It’s a densely populated area and historically used by early white settlers and colonizers for their cattle (Ngombe) grazing.

Later Ngombe farmland grew into the current unplanned human settlement of mostly self made single roomed houses next to each other and with now formal road paths. Inside these homes is an average family of 6 children and only the tough get to survive atleast economically.

Elizabeth Phiri a Chikunda arrived in the 80s from Mambwe district in Eastern province to visit her sister in Ngombe and so did Moses Samukonga a Luvale from Chavuma in North Western province to visit his brother. They would later meet in the paths of Ngombe and fall in love and later married. They have 7 children and the name of their first born is Muzala.

Muzala’s family has generally been struggling to make ends meet and mostly depends on meagre income from daily sales from the mother’s street vending of vegetables mostly rape, tomatoes and onions . His father makes a bit of money sometimes from piece works installing dstv decorders. They live in a rented 2 roomed house and it became inevitable for alternative bed space to be found for Muzala as he grew older.

Muzala would then spend the day with his parents but go sleep at a Cousin’s house nearby. His cousin Wilson Mutupa played semi professional football with Buffaloes and Riflemen FC and would have spin off sporting influence on Muzala. He would take him along to training sessions and a feel of playing fields along the way.

Muzala started his school at Chamba Valley primary past the nearby stream he would have to cross walking daily to and from school. As in most compounds, most kids played football but he would excel at athletic related sports. This started to formalize even more when he enrolled at Munali secondary school. He would win every schools sprinting contest and soon identified into the Zambia junior athletes national team. His first win was in Kenya at a juniors international event.

Early this year Muzala qualified for the Africa games and won the 400M race at the Mauritius championship. He then participated in the Oregon, USA World championship and finished in the top 10. Then the big one came in Birmingham Commonwealth games in August 2022 when against all odds with 50 meters to finishing line, the eagle spirit in him manifested. He ‘flew’ from behind to surpass favour top 2 in the world from the UK and Jamaica. He beat them all by 1 second better to clock 44.66.

It was so much the last 10 seconds of the race that he fought to win from his heart. Mpakafwe come what may. Indeed where there is a Will, there is a way. While his body said no ‘we are tired’, his heart and mind said ‘yes we can’. Turned out his heart and mind won as his body gave up. He had to use a wheel chair out of the running track to the dressing room. His body however rejoined the heart and mind back in the stadium some few hours later to pick up the gold medal.

Exceptional story this one is out here to motivate all be it youths, old, male or female that regardless of all odds, where there is a Will, there is a Way.

May Muzala live to win more championships and also inspire our youths to aim high. When they achieve, Zambia shall also hold hands to support as they are doing today in appreciation of Muzala.

Yes is just ordinary boy from Ngombe compound. If he can do it; many out there can do it be it in sport or some other talent that they may have.

Muzala is yet to write his grade 12 exams as he dedicated his time fulfilling his athletes schedules this year which have been hectic.

Congratulations to Muzala, his parents, his coach, Zambia athletics association, the sports council and Zambia in general.

Together We Can
MBS11.08.2022

Ryan Giggs’ ex-girlfriend, Kate Greville sent him their sex videos weeks after she accused him of ‘blackmailing’ her, a court has heard.

Jurors in the former-Manchester United star’s domestic assault trial had previously been told about an incident in Dubai in 2017 in which Giggs is accused of throwing Ms. Greville naked out of a hotel room.

Ms. Greville, 38, described the Wales manager ‘lovebombing’ her when their affair started. She said she saw him as her ‘knight in shining armour’ who would rescue her from an unhappy marriage.

But as time went on, Ms. Greville told Giggs’s trial, he became ‘two different people’, and by their final months together he was ‘pretty much relentlessly awful’.

Jurors had also been told how a friend of Ms Greville had noticed bruises on her arms following the alleged assault, which at the time she had dismissed as ‘sex bruises’. She later told the police the marks were the result of an assault, which Giggs denies.

But Chris Daw QC, representing Giggs, asked about a message from Ms Greville sent three weeks after the alleged incident in the Middle East.

The message read: ‘Good morning, babeeee. OMG this is amazing. Our sex is out of this world.’

It was followed by messages from Ms. Greville asking to meet him later that day, adding ‘it’s a long story’ but that one of her work colleagues had a problem with her ex-boyfriend who had hacked into her social media and police had been called.

Mr. Daw asked why was she asking Giggs about the harassment of a woman, if he was ‘such a terrible abuser of women’, as she claimed.

Ms. Greville replied: ‘Because at that point, it had not got to the point it had, not got the to extremities of what we discussed yesterday. It was gradual, it was subtle at that point it was not as bad as it was in 2019.’

By October 2017, Ms. Greville had agreed to come back from the Middle East to live in Manchester and work for the hospitality company owned by Giggs and his former team-mate Gary Neville.

She had a ‘six-figure’ salary from the firm and rented an apartment in central Manchester, returning to the UK in January 2018.

Mr Daw suggested previously the couple had a long-distance relationship but now the dynamic had changed.

Ms Greville has told the court she returned to the UK thinking she would be in a relationship with Giggs, but he instead became more distant.

Mr Daw said in January 2018, Giggs had to be interviewed for the job of football manager of the Wales national team and he therefore had a lot of work to do to prepare.

Ms Greville said: ‘The work situation was not the reason for him not paying me much attention. There was obviously other things going on in his life as well.’

The court heard the couple had reconciled in May 2019, but by then Giggs had deleted their sex videos.

He then messaged Ms Greville: ‘Do you still have our naughty videos?’
To which she replied she had ‘most of them’, before Giggs asked her to resend them to him, the court heard.

Mr Daw said to Ms Greville: ‘This is just six weeks after you say he was threatening to blackmail you with sex tapes?’

Ms Greville agreed and confirmed she had sent him ‘a number of such videos’.

Asked why she had sent them, she told the court: ‘Because we were back in a relationship.’

And on whether she had concerns that similar issues may arise between the couple in the future, Ms Greviile said: ‘I thought he had changed and he was in a different place. This was the same cycle of things. He promised he would change.’

Mr Daw QC also asked why she had not told her friend and business partner Elsa Roodt about the alleged assault in Dubai when asked.

Ms Greville, sat behind a curtain shielded from Giggs and the public gallery, said: ‘I was embarrassed and I didn’t want to admit it.’

Mr Daw said: ‘It was a bruise caused by rough sex that the two of you enjoyed a lot.’

Ms. Greville replied: ‘That bruise was not caused by rough sex.’
The court also heard how a few days after the alleged Dubai incident Ms. Greville messaged a photograph of herself to Giggs.

The message read: ‘Tan is coming along nicely. My sex bruise is coming along nicely too!!’

Mr. Daw added: ‘The truth of it is you did from time to time get bruises from sex.’ Ms. Greville said: ‘Not that I recall.’

Confirming that she had not reported the alleged assault to police in Dubai, she said: ‘No, I didn’t admit to the assault because I was embarrassed but I told Elsa we had argued.

‘I was later to work, visibly shaken and very upset which was evident that day. I tried to play down the bruising on my arm.’

Giggs is in on trial accused of controlling and coercive behaviour against his ex-girlfriend between August 2017 and November 2020.

He is also charged with assaulting Ms Greville and her sister Emma. He denies all charges against him and is on trial at Manchester Crown Court.

By David Chishimba President – Association of Unemployed Youths

We all want prices of goods and services to reduce, so that the cost of living can also reduce, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of others. The economy is interconnected, hurting one sector has ripple effects on other sectors.

I have seen the saga among Taxi and bus drivers and authorities and the general public unfold after the Energy Regulation Board announced the reduction of fuel and diesel by K3.56/litre and K3.14/litre respectively followed by an announcement by Road Transport and Safety Agency’s(RTSA) directing taxi and bus drivers to reduce fares by K7 for intermine and Peri urban areas, K5 for local routes and 14% for intercity bus fares.

This has sparked debates for those who are for the reduction and those who are against. What I have gathered so far is that the Argument for those who are for the reduction is centered around the fact that taxi and bus drivers are quick to increase fares when there is an increase in fuel prices but always drag their feet when the time comes to reduce prices. For those who are against the increase, their argument is that the increment just doesn’t make sense. For example for some routes, when fuel was at K17/litre the fare was at K11,
Now that fuel is at K23, the government wants the fare to be at K9, which economically doesn’t make sense.

Others argue that this should be a lesson and the government should come up with a standard for reviewing fares proportional to petroleum products reviews.

After seeing this deadlock, I took the liberty of reviewing both the increments of fuel and fares starting from February, 2022 because that’s when the the review of the price for petroleum products was changed from 60 days cycle to 30 days cycle. The 60 days cycle has been in place from 2008 until February, 2022. The rationale behind the 60 days cycle was that it took 60 days for petroleum products to be transported via TAZAMA pipelines to reach Zambia and later on filling stations. So the price would remain unchanged for the next 60 days.

The price for petroleum products is determined by the trading of the Kwacha against the dollar and the pump price. The cycle has been changed to 30 days so that consumers can benefit from the gains made by the gain in the country’s currency or the reduction in the pump price which would otherwise not be enjoyed over the 60 days cycle.

That said, let’s look at the increments and reductions of fuel and diesel from February this year and see if we ca make sense of it.

28th February, 2022 – Increment
Petrol – K2.12/litre – From K19.84 – K21.96
Diesel – K2.61/litre – From K18.93 – K21.54
BUS FARES
Intermine – K3
Local routes – K1.5
Intercity – 10%

31st March 2022 – Increment
Petrol – K4.54/litre – From K21.96 – K26.50
Diesel – K4.68/litre – From K21.54 – K26.22

BUS FARES
Intermine – K5
Local routes – K2
Intercity – 15%

30th April, 2022 – Reduction
Petrol – K2.35/litre – From K26.50 – K24.15
Diesel – K0.58/litre – From K26.22 – K25.64

BUS FARES
Intermine – K0
Local routes – K0
Intercity – K10

31st May, 2022 – Increment
Petrol – K0.8/litre – From K24.15 – 24.95
Diesel – K0 – K25.64

BUS FARES
No increments

30th June, 2022 – Increment
Petrol – K1.80/litre – From K24.95 – K26.75
Diesel – K2.37/litre – From K25.64 – K28.01

BUS FARES
Intermine – K3
Local routes – K1.5
Intercity – 10%

31st July, 2022 – Reduction
Petrol – K3.56/litre – From K26.75 – K23.19
Diesel – K3.14/litre – From K28.01 – K24.87

BUS FARES
Proposed Reduction
Intermine – K7
Local routes – K5
Intercity – K14%

MY PROPOSAL
I took the average increment for 3 significant months which are February, March and June for both fuel and diesel.
Average Increments
February – K2.37/litre, March – K4.61/litre, June – K2.09/litre.
The average Increment for the three months gave me K3.02/litre

I also took the average increment for taxi and bus fares for the 3 months which gave me K2.17. I then divided the average increment of petrol and diesel by the average increment of bus fares which gave me K0.72. This means that for every K1/litre increment of fuel and petrol, local routes were increased by approximately K0.72 ngwee.

For example average increment for February, 2022 was K2.37/litre this multiplied by K0.72 gives K1.71. Rounding this off gives K1.5 as bus fare increment for local routes which coincides with the increment in that month.
So for the month of August the bus fare Increment should be:-
K3.35 X K0.72 = K2.41 ~ K2.5 for local routes.
I used the same formular to calculate for intermine and intercity fares. Therefore the taxi and bus fares should be;

Intermine – K4.05
Local routes – K2.5
Intercity – 10%

I know the government is eager to reduce thq cost of living, but it should do it the right way.

Victory is certain.

Lungu should manage PF transition not Lubinda, says Kafwaya

By Kombe Mataka

PF presidential hopeful Mutotwe Kafwaya says it is Edgar Lungu’s responsibility to manage the transition and not handpicked acting party leader Given Lubinda.

He argues that former president Lungu has the substantive mandate to manage things until either “PF elects another substantive president or his mandate comes to an end in 2025”.

“We know that most people are worried about what they perceive as a leadership crisis in PF. The truth is, there is no such a crisis. Former republican president Edgar Lungu is also the elected president of PF. He still has the mandate from the Patriotic Front members. As such, thinking that there is a leadership crisis is a misplaced idea,” Kafwaya said in a statement. “After losing the power to govern the nation to UPND, president Lungu decided to appoint Hon Given Lubinda as the acting president of the PF. This was so as to ensure that ECL stayed clear of active politics. As things stand, many people including myself are jostling to replace president Lungu as PF president. In the process, some people think we are in a crisis, which is certainly a fallacy.”

He opined that it is Lungu’s “responsibility to manage the transition and not Hon Given Lubinda”.

“This is because, while president Lungu appointed Hon Given Lubinda, we as PF elected him. Therefore, he has the substantive mandate to manage things until either (1) PF elects another substantive president or (2) his mandate comes to an end in 2025,” Kafwaya suggested. “Emmanuel Mwamba, Mutotwe Kafwaya, Chishimba Kambwili, Brian Mundubile, Christopher Kang’ombe, Bowman Lusambo and all other presidential hopefuls and their respective supporters should continue encouraging the general membership that we do not have a leadership crisis. We have both a substantive president and an acting president. We wish our party well.”

Reminded that the party did not hold an elective conference last year, he said the congress was conducted in line with the constitution.

“We had a convention in 2021 in line with the constitution where members were elected. The president was also elected. So those members and the president was also elected. So those members (of central committee) and the president, we have mandate up to 2025. So the reason we have to go to the convention as PF is just to elect a president that is all and for the fact that president Lungu has taken a back sit. Now that does not mean we have no president. He was elected by us just last year,” explained Kafwaya. “So he is still the president until we elect a new one or until his mandate finishes in 2025 and in that perspective, those of my colleagues who are thinking we have a leadership crisis must cease to think in that fashion. The election we held to elect the president and members of the central committee was in line with the constitution. The criticisms which followed were just political. It is not a lot of positions that have people in an acting capacity. It is only two positions which is that of the president and acting secretary general. I think the wisdom of president was that whoever is president appoints their own secretary general.”

Press Statement

ONE YEAR ONLY: HH HAS PERFORMED BEYOND EXPECTATION – ZEHEST

11th August 2022

Zambian Empowerment Hub for Entrepreneurship and Skills Training (ZEHEST) congratulates President Hakainde Hichilema and the new dawn administration for there tireless efforts as they clock one year in office.

ZEHEST notes with gratitude that the Nation has noted the progressive change it was looking for.

We note that in order to boost the economy, government should place emphasis and allocate funds to agriculture and local manufacturing.

This should include value addition in the agriculture sector because it will position Zambia strategically to advance intra Africa trade.

This is possible given the various bilateral agreements that President Hakainde Hichilema has signed with neighbouring countries.

ZEHEST believes that the agriculture sector has potential to create jobs and employment given the challenge that emerged from the census recruitment.

We are confident that value addition in the agriculture sector would increase Zambia’s international profile and competitiveness in the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement.

ZEHEST notes that with almost a year of being in office, the New Dawn Government has performed beyond expectation.

This is because Zambia has seen increased domestic resource mobilisation, increased flow of investment and stability of the Kwacha against the Dollar.

ZEHEST encourages Government to ensure that the reduction in fuel prices and bus fares should reach other sectors in order for most citizens especially those in low earning brackets to experience the relief.

We affirm that the social sector spending and entrepreneurship development would be key.

ZEHEST calls for entrepreneurship because it is there to stimulate economic activity towards raising our GDP.

This should focus in key sectors like agriculture, technology, and services sectors.

We conclude that social sector spending be towards addressing the high cost of living and fight against poverty.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

ZEHEST is a youth led think tank Non- Governmental Organization (NGO) working around Entrepreneurship, Environment, Governance and Empowerment programs, projects and policies.

Clarence Muzyamba
Executive Director
+260977404322
zehest@hotmail.com

CHAMPION MUZALA SAMUKONGA CITIZENS APPRECIATION FUND
(K52,047 total raised thus far)

A. Airtel Line
1. K120 Mupeta Chilekwa
2. K20 Kaunda James
3. K50 Musonda Catherine
4. K100 Nabuleze Chakawa
5. K10 Lesa Mubanga
6. K100 Mulenga Ray
7. K5 Zulu Richard
8. K50 Goma Margaret
9. K100 Nkoma Alized
10. K20 Katota Ntenje
11. K20 Kakoma Kevin
12. K102 Mweemba Kevin
13. K50 Banda Alfred
14. K50 Nguni Jacob
15. K500 Phiri Elliot
16. K500 Tope Franchescar
17. K1000 Mwaba Sydney (Dr)
18. K100 Mulenga M. Henry
19. K20 Zulu Steward
20. K100 Nacidze Mercy
21. K200 Chisenga Mwape
22. K20 Zimba Fanwell
21. K15 Nalumino Namakau
22. K100 Chishimba Kennedy
23. K50 Kapamba Oliver
24. K20 Mweene Mutinta
25. K300 Fwelu George
26. K12 Muntinta Charity
27. K30 Simpukile Hildah
28. K50 Nyirenda Florence
29. K50 Chisenga Martin
31. K10 Zulu Susan
32. K150 Banda Natmbose
33. K100 Mbewe Stella
34. K20 Mwendapole Benson
35. K10 Sianenga Patson
36. K100 Mukubesa Kumbi
37. K100 Hamufuba Moonga
38. K30 Chinkwa Yvonne
39. K100 Lochi Harrison
40. K10 Mtonga Timothy
41. K10 Lungu Natasha
42. K20 Chisenga Mike
43. K50 Tembo Dorcas
45. K500 Trevor Misheck
46. K100 Muwongo Martha
47. K24 Kakoma Kelvin
48. K20 Mwaba Tobias
49. K105 Liyambila Chiwota
50. K100 Muyambango Pumulo
51. K50 Songwe Hellen
52. K20 Mbulo Francis
52. K50 Chituta Suzyo
53. K30 Lupupa Mutale
54. K20 Kalunga Chongomena
55. K10 Mulenga Haggai
56. K100 Sakala Samuel
57. K100 Nyaulungi Happy
58. K100 Chanda Tarcisio
59. K25 Malama Njovu
60. K105 Mulauli Moses
61. K50 Simwiinga Simbirai
62. K50 Chibale Dan
63. K50 Makasa Everisto
64. K200 Malunda Jackson
65. K50 Mudolu Morton
66. K100 Mukubesa Kumbi
67. K100 Moonga Hamufuba
68. K200 Siakanga Hobert
69. K150 Situmbeko Mubila
70. K5 Sakala Isiah from Matero
71. K300 Luwaile Mathias
72. K10 Musengwa Kennedy
73. K20 Muchaila Kaji
74. K10 Mukuka Lukonde
75. K200 Muleya Manyando
76. K10 Mubita Erick
77. K30 Kangaleshi Gardner
78. K50 Lungu Arthur
79. K30 Chipasa Sudden
80. K20 Kabuta Ireen
81. K50 Chisenga John
82. K50 Mupila Elvis
Sub Total: K6,708

B. MTN Line
1. K50 Chiwala Jack
2. K105 Unkown ( 22-08-08, 13:33)
3. K200 Mwanza Dallon
4. K100 Kanyanga Joseph
5. K50 Chiwale Jack
6. K300 Mumeka M. Charlotte
7. K500 Cheelo Choolwe
8. K150 Assabu Theresa
9. K50 Mulobe Taulo
10. K500 Mwenya Davies
11. K1000 Ziwa Levison
12. K100 N’gona Morgan
13: K20 Mulwanda Walter
14. K50 Kapeta S. Hazel
15. K100 Anonymous
16. K100 Muyambago Pumulo
17. K100 Kabwe Mulenga
18. K20 Kabali Kaite
19. K20 Lemon Chewe
20. K50 Derby Chiyonkomena
21. K200 Berke Bridget
22. K10 Conrad Mubanga
23. K50 Steven Simukoko
24. K50 Kukunya Brighton
25. K30 Mwewa Dickson
26. K5 Kaulembi Chingandu
27. K150 Rasfort Meleki
28. K30 Regina Mwiya
29. K50 Ndumba Ndumba
30. K750 Farai Mwanamakambo
31. K100 Nicholas Shiliya
32. K154 Thunes Inbound
33. K100 FNB eWallet
34. K20 Broadway app
35. K50 ETumba
36. K20 Mumbesiti Lillian
37: K50 Absa NFS
38. K15 Phiri Andrew
39. K100 Mulenga Kabwe
40. K150 Airtel NFS
41. K50 Madubansi Mainza
42. K105 Nsama Joshua
43. K10 Chela Rodrick
44. K50 Airtel NFS
45. K200 Ndeke Luka
46. K100 Mwila Paschal
47. K20 Masaiti Judith
48. K50 Chilufya Paul
49.
Sub Total: K6,339

C. WORLDREMIT
1. K500 Josephine
2.
Subtotal K500

D. OTHER PERSONAL PLEDGES
1. Banda E. Jay, MP K5000
2. Chisenga Jean, MP K1,500
2. Chonde G. Saka, MP K5000
3. Mwila Golden, MP K2000
4. Sampa B. Miles, MP K5000
5. Zulu Munir, MP K5000
6.
Sub Total: K23,500

E. COMPANY PLEDGES
1. K10,000 Sampay MasterCard
2. K1,500+Dinner with Parents +1 ACE Hotel, Salama Park, Lusaka.
3. K3000 Shakti Engineering, Ndola
4. K500 MFS Africa Ltd
5.
Sub Total: K15,000

Grand Total Thus Far: K52,047

‘Flying’ Muzala appreciation fund is still open for more contributions until Friday 12th August, 2022 at 12hrs when the final grand total will be made.

Contribute on
MTN : +260964007007
Airtel: +260979697332

For direct pledge, please call, text or Whatsup on either numbers above.

If wish to donate but remain unanimous or name not disclosed, please indicate so via text or otherwise.

May the hand that giveth be blessed. Contribute to the young man if able🙏🏽.

Zikomo to all that have contributed thus far🙏🏽

Together We Can
MBS11.08.2022, 6am

The jurors in the rape trial of Manchester City player Benjamin Mendy were today quizzed on whether they knew five other stars.

The names of Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Riyad Mahrez and John Stones – who all either play for or previously played for City, were read to the panel of jurors at Chester Crown Court being selected for the trial.

The potential jurors, selected from a pool of 38, heard the list of people who may be witnesses or could be referred to during the trial and were asked whether they had any connection to them or knew them personally.

They also heard the names of the complainants and were asked if they had any connections to Manchester City, Manchester United or police forces before 12 were selected for the case.

Mendy denies eight counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of attempted rape. All the offences relate to seven women.

He will go on trial along with his co-defendant Louis Saha Matturie, 40, who has also entered not guilty pleas to all charges he faces.

Matturie, of Eccles, Salford, denies eight counts of rape and four counts of sexual assault, relating to eight young women.

Judge Steven Everett, Recorder of Chester, told the jury this afternoon: ‘There are 22 counts or charges, if you are feeling overwhelmed by that I can assure you will be having a lot of assistance on how you will approach that.

‘Don’t feel daunted or overwhelmed by that. This trial could go through to November’

Earlier Judge Everett told the jury: ‘Maybe you have heard their names. Some of you will be aware of the fact Mr Mendy is a professional footballer who plays football for Manchester City.’

All the offences are alleged to have taken place at his home address and span between October 2018 and August last year.

His alleged offences span July 2012 to August last year.

Mendy has played for Manchester City since 2017, when he joined from Monaco for a reported £52 million.He was suspended by the club after being charged by police.