IN ALMOST A YEAR, UPND HAS DONE NOTHING- FORMER PF SG MWILA.

FORMER PF secretary general Davies Mwila says his party did a lot while in government but it was still still voted out of power, and the same can happen to UPND which has actually not done anything.

Commenting on Transport and Logistics Minister Frank Tayali’s remarks that Zambia would be a paradise in the sub-region and on the continent owing to the new dawn government’s programmes, Mwila said talking about promises would not help the UPND.

“People want to see real things. They want to see the price of fertiliser coming down, they want to see the price of mealie meal reduce to K80 at least. If they are talking about promises, that will not help them. I can tell you that we were in government as PF for 10 years and we saw how the reaction was from the Zambia people. We did a lot and we were removed, what about them who have not even done any roads? It will be a disaster for them. Let them continue talking about theories but let them go on the ground and hear what is prevailing,” he said.

“They should know, what are the complaints by the people? Honeymoon is gone. They have to tell us what they have done and not what they will do. What are they going to do? They are already in government. They wanted power. Former president Edgar Lungu handed over power peacefully to them and they have to take advantage and ensure that they deliver the promises to the Zambian people. That is what Zambians are waiting for. Which paradise are they talking about? Do they know what they mean? It is like saying Zambia will be like London, is that possible looking at the way they are moving or running this country?”

Mwila said the UPND should know that they were now in government and not in opposition.

“Those are politics and Zambians are tired of promises. It is high time they start putting food on the table because the Zambian people have said they will not eat theories. People want to see the actual things like roads and schools. Moreover, they want the government to improve the living standards of people. The economy as at now is very bad and the people of Zambia are complaining because everything including commodity prices is high. So people are crying and the government must come in to help people. If Tayali and his people will continue promising people, I think we are not going anywhere. I think this is the time that our leaders have to know that they are now in government and not in opposition,” he said.

“They need to start implementing what they promised the people of Zambia because time is running out. It is almost a year but if you ask them what they have done, it is nothing. There is nothing apart from reducing caderism but if you look at the trend caderism is coming back. They have not paid much attention to that. Look at the cadres who went to the Magistrate court. They have started playing to the gallery. They mobilised people to go and protest in Chililabombwe that they want Vedanta but who really wants Vedanta? It is the same people who organised people in Luapula to go and protest about FTJ University. Those are things that we have been through and we expect them to bring new things, not what PF was doing. Those are the things they condemned us for.”

Meanwhile, Mwila said the UPND government was actually recruiting teachers and health workers based on the schools and hospitals left by PF.

“Where have they started constructing roads? They are doing the recruitment of teachers and they are using the schools that we left. They are recruiting nurses and doctors and they are using hospitals and clinics that we left. So it is high time they are told that they have to start implementing what they promised the people of Zambia and not theories. Zambia will never be paradise looking at the trend and at the pace they are moving. Ask them where they are going to get the money to do the roads. They are dealing with Britain and America who are broke and do not have the money. Who is going to give them money to build roads, hospitals, clinics, secondary schools and universities? Zambia will never be paradise as long as the UPND continues running this country. Let them be practical,” said Mwila.

(Diggers)

ZNBC SHAKE UP: Grevazio Zulu Primed For DG; Kalani Muchima Eying Same Post… PF Strongman, Kennedy Bwalya, Transferred To Livingstone

Seasoned ZNBC journalist Grevazio Zulu is among the top contenders for the position of Director General at the national broadcaster.

Grevazio has crafted his own niche and many conservative senior citizens, and independent voices view him as a mature, consistent and professional scribe who has not easily aligned himself with the politics that engulf the institution and therefore deserves the appointment.

It is also believed that Grevazio has a favorable rating with his peers and the union at the institution which is crucial to harmonizing the operations.

However, the long serving journalist who is prominent for the Sunday Interview is being threatened for the top spot by UPND cadres like Kalani Muchima who have been frequenting State House to secure the appointment.

Muchima has been holding a series of meetings with State House Director of Communication Clayton Hamasaka so he could be appointed to the top position.

Other than a few UPND packages which were seen as fearless by the now ruling party, Kalani does not have a credible history of holding senior managerial position to handle the pressure and scale of responsibilities that come with being ZNBC DG.

Many believe should Kalani get the top ZNBC position, the culture of the institution staying the way it has always been is highly likely.

Kalani has a humble journalism pedigree with most of his experience at Prime TV being a junior reporter.

Other than Kalani, Grevazio is facing stiff competition from Diamond TV Chief Visionary Officer Costa Mwansa.

President Hakainde Hichilema has not hidden his affinity for Costa often describing him as a creative and industrious journalist behind closed doors.

President Hichilema is equally impressed with how Costa has transformed Diamond TV into an attractive and impressive media house having only been a Muvi TV employee less than 10 years ago.

But President Hichilema does not want to pick or influence the appointment of Costa and would rather the Jackson Kalala led board do an independent job to appoint the new ZNBC DG.

There are other positions vacant at ZNBC which include Director of Programmes previously held by Rose Chumpuka. Chumpuka had an extremely close relationship with fifth Republican president Michael Sata. There has been no explanation as to why her contract was not renewed.

Another position vacant is that of Director of Finance and Director Human Resource.

In the newsroom, Kennedy Bwalya – a well known PF strongman at Mass Media – is lucky to survive the chop.

However, he will no longer parade his green heart in the newsroom but has been given an opportunity to reform with an appointment as Head of the ZNBC Office in Livingstone.

Recently, civil society leader and lawyer Linda Kasonde remarked, “Grevazio Zulu is undoubtedly one of the best journalists that Zambia has ever had. He’s very understated yet cuts through to the crux of the matter. The past few years must have been mind-numbingly boring for him as all his interviews were with politicians and civil servants trying to advance a particular policy or government view point as opposed to real newsmakers. Last week’s Sunday Interview was very refreshing. The fact that someone like Pilato who is independent and opinionated was allowed on the show hopefully signals a return to what the Sunday Interview used to be about – good journalism. More of this please ZNBC! Well done Grevazio! Well done Pilato!”

MWEETWA’S TRIBALISM

ABOUT DIVIDING THE COUNTRY

By Sean Tembo – PeP President

1. A few days ago, Southern Province Minister; Cornelious Mweetwa announced that he is not happy with the teacher recruitment process for Southern Province because he feels that it was infiltrated by people who come from outside the province. According to the Minister, only people who come from Southern Province need to apply for teaching jobs in the Province.

2. Most people might not understand or appreciate how divisive such a Government policy is, but we are tearing apart Zambia. One inch at a time. The full implications of this stupid Government policy might not be seen today or tomorrow, but it shall surely be seen soon.

3. President Hakainde Hichilema continuously sings about the motto of One Zambia One Nation, but his actions and those of his Government are very far from uniting this country. To the contrary, he is dividing this country at a faster pace than any of his 6 predecessors ever did. Indeed, with their current mindset, President Hakainde Hichilema and his New Dawn administration are a danger to the peace, unity and national security of this country.

4. To an ordinary resident of Southern Province, Cornelious Mweetwa’s statement means that there should not be a Government worker in the province who comes from another province. Obviously the common way that Southerners will be able to determine if particular civil servants in the province are from within the province or not, will be by looking at their surnames and also whether they can speak the local language.

5. It will only be a matter of time before Southerners start feeling that their job opportunities in the civil service in the province, have been taken away from them by people from other provinces. And who is to know how they will express their anger and frustration towards the teachers, medical personnel etcetera who do not come from within the province? These civil servants might be harassed, assaulted or even killed.

6. If, God forbid, civil servants coming from Northern or Eastern Province are harassed, assaulted or killed in Southern Province because of the inciting words that were issued by Minister Cornelious Mweetwa, what do you think would be the reaction by the people of Northern or Eastern Province towards civil servants that come from Southern Province who work in their area?

7. Before you realize it, such acrimony will spread beyond civil servants to just ordinary citizens who have settled in other parts of Zambia, away from their places of origin, and then it will spread to the metropolitan cities of Lusaka and Copperbelt, and then it will spread to our security and defense wings, and then we shall destroy our beautiful country while singing the One Zambia One Nation hymn, but not practicing it.

8. Suffice to mention that the UPND Government policy that only people coming from a particular province can be employed in that province, is unconstitutional and flies in the teeth of the constitutional declaration of Zambia as a unitary state. Even for countries with a federal government system like the United States, a citizen who is a resident of one state can freely travel to another state and get a Government job there. So why should Zambians from other provinces be prevented from getting a job in Southern Province?

9. By now, most reasonable Zambians have realized that President Hakainde Hichilema and his Government are a bunch of naive and incompetent people, as far as national governance is concerned. But it’s one thing for President Hichilema to be naive and incompetent in running the economy, and quite another thing for him and his Government to divide and inflame this country because of their naivety and incompetence.

10. President Hakainde Hichilema should immediately suspend his Government’s stupid policy of preventing Zambians from other provinces from applying for and getting a civil service job in Southern Province. If the President cannot see that this is a stupid policy, then perhaps it is not the policy that is stupid.

/// END

SET 07.06.2022

JUNE 30, MONTH OF BIG DECISIONS

By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

The month of June is a month of big decisions for the New Dawn Governmnet.

The indirect subsidy on fuel subsisting since last year is expected to come to an end this month-end.

Government has to decide whether to extend the tax waiver on petroleum products and conitune to lose revenue or abandon the initiative.

The IMF Deal also comes up for determination this month-end. The success or failure of this deal has immediate impact on the national budget and its performance.

Here are some details;

1. FUEL PRICE- The Statutory Instrument No2 of 2022, ( Customs and Exercise (Suspension)( Fuel)Regulations 2022) that extended the suspension of collection of taxes of petroleum and diesel will expire on June 30th.

Government has to decide whether to extend the tax waiver or lift it.

Government loses upto $41.4million per month by foregoing the collection of these taxes.

Government also spends $26million on meeting price differential of the world market and exchange rate fluctuations.

To mitigate this loss, government introduced monthly price review.

Government also subsidises uniform pump pricing across the country.

2. IMF Board to determine Zambia’s case- In December 2021,the IMF team reached a Staff-level Agreement with the Zambian authorities on a new arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for 2022-2025 for $1.4billion.

The staff-level agreement is subject to IMF Management and Executive Board approval and receipt of the necessary financing assurances.

The IMF Executive Board is expected to determine Zambia’s case on 30th June 2022.

CHALLENGES

Reports of large scale corruption or imprudent use of public resources as demonstrated by the $50million fertiliser scandal, the ZESCO wooden poles deal, the opaque process in the fuel sector, all pause challenges to the securing of the IMF Deal.

Government has pledged to shift public spending away from inefficient public investment and poorly targeted subsidies, towards greater investment in health and education and the delivery of more social benefits.

To this effect, Government pledged to reform the FISP Programme by reducing expenditure from 2.8% GDP to 1%. It is yet to be measured what the adverse social-economic this decision will impact the Agriculture sector and rural communities.

Government also pledged to abandon all direct and indirect subsidies.

This was not done especially the petroleum sub-sector Government lost anticipated revenue by this action.

On subsidies on electricity, Government ZESCO has applied to the ERB to revise the charges and fees on new electricity connections.

ZESCO is yet to apply for revision of its tariffs.

CONCLUSION

Zambia had committed itself to an ambitious economic reform program, pledged to engage creditors of its foreign debt, committed to reforming debt management and pledged to promote debt transparency by strengthening and revising the Loans and Guarantees Act.

Government was also expected to reform public procurement rules and regulations central to ensuring value for money and the transparent use of public resources, improve the efficiency of public expenditures, and halt the accumulation of arrears.

It is yet to be seen how much has been achieved as the IMF Deal comes up for approval as for example, subsidies in the fuel sector were maintained during this period despite the pledge to drop them.

I CAN’T LEAVE POLITICS IN THE HANDS OF SELFISH PEOPLE, AM NOT DONE YET I WILL BE BACK – SAYS EDGAR LUNGU.

EDGAR LUNGU SAYS HE IS NOT DONE WITH HIS POLITICAL JOURNEY.

By Prince Kaliza Jnr.

Former President of the Republic of Zambia, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu says he is not done with his Political Journey.

Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu says very soon, he will notify his people the next move in his Political career.

Speaking to this Journalist today in an Interview, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu says Politics won’t be left to selfish individuals alone.

The former Head of State says he has received alot of petitions from people that he should consider not taking taking a break from Politics.

He says the people have submitted what they want him to do and he will notify them his next move once he is done with consultations.

“People have written to me, both from the PF party and ofcourse ordinary Zambians. They have submitted their concerns and I have taken note. Zambia is for us, and if needed in service, what do you do? That is why I said I’m not yet done with my political journey, soon I’m notifying you my people the next move and desicion” he said.

“Politics is about the people. Are the people happy? If people are not happy then they will complain to us. We have heard them, we took care of them but certainly we can not leave Politics to few selfish individuals” he added.

“For now, let us wait until we notify our people the decision we are going to make. We are consulting our family,Friends, business partners and the people themselves. Once we are done, then we will come to this table and say our decision is A,B,C and D” he said.

There is a growing suggestion from Patriotic Front Members that they want former President Edgar Lungu to be a Presidential candidate on the Patriotic Front ticket in 2026.

To God & Country!
CREDIT: PRINCE KALIZA JR

Members of Parliament will soon become some of the highest paid workers in Zambia if their demands for a 20% pay rise goes through.

As Parliament reopens tomorrow, the MPs who currently receive an average of K50, 000 want their monthly salaries to go up by 20%.

They also want their sitting allowances to increase to K3, 000 per sitting from the current K1, 500.

The People’s Representatives are also demanding that their Car Loans allocation be increased to US$120,000.

They also pushing for increases in other benefits such as Fuel allowances.

Some MPs interviewed defended their demands on account that the cost of living has gone up.

And sources at the National Assembly have confirmed that the MPs have called for a Caucus at which they hope to agree on the next course of action if their demands are not met.

The Caucus will take place at Parliament Building on Tuesday morning before Parliament opens later in the afternoon.

The sources revealed that during last sitting, Petauke Member of Parliament Emmanuel J. Banda was tasked with presenting the petition to Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane which was signed by all opposition and Independent MPs demanding for a higher pay.

“The MPs feel that petition was largely ignored and they believe it never received any attention from the President and now in this sitting, they want to put it as Agenda Item No. 1 and they will not relent until their demands are met,” said the source.

The source said the MPs are planning to conduct a silent protest in Parliament if they do not get their demands addressed.

“They plan to be keeping silent when in the House so that there is no debate whatsoever as a way of making the Executive respond to their demands. What is interesting is that the current Ministers of Finance and Home Affairs (Jack Mwiimbu) were in the forefront pushing for a salary increment in the last Parliament before the August 2021 elections, it would be interesting to see how they will conduct themselves on this matter this time around,” the source said.

Outspoken civil society activist Laura Miti has denied allegations that she is being paid to promote gay rights in Zambia.

Despite denying the allegations, Ms. Miti has said Zambia should decriminalize gay sex in Zambia.

Featuring on ZNBC Television’s Sunday Interview, Ms. Miti said she cannot receive money to champion the agenda she does not believe in.

Ms. Miti, however, said Zambia should stop jailing people over gay sex.

“I am not pushing for gay rights. Let me speak about this, you know to have gay rights you have to put them in the constitution. I don’t think we should. I don’t think we are ready. I don’t think you push a country to put in their constitution what generally they are not ready for because that constitution becomes academic. And if you look at western countries, it took them hundreds of years to get to the point when they could put gay rights in the constitution so I don’t think Zambia and Africa to a large extent is ready for that,” Ms. Miti said.

“My point is, we must not put people in jail. That is the only point. Let’s make small movements and the small movements for me are that you cannot break down hotel rooms. Just think of all the people we have gotten in prison. They had private relationships. It is them two consenting adults doing whatever they do. Gay rights currently illegal just like apartheid was legal. You see what I mean, apartheid was legal, and does that make it just? So all I ask for is that they should not be put in jail. That is the only thing. We should change the law and not make this criminal. Let’s decriminalize it,” Ms. Miti said.

The activist insisted that she does not pursue wealth in her life.

“My response to being paid to push an agenda is that anybody who says you have been paid to say something usually has a price themselves and it is very sad. I just think to myself if you think I have been paid it means you could be paid. You know what I mean; you could be paid to say something you don’t believe in. I could never be paid to say something I don’t believe. You know if I was being paid I would marvelously be rich. Luckily for me I don’t pursue wealth, I don’t pursue wealth. I don’t wanna be rich but even if I wanted to be rich I don’t just have the kind of money so I genuinely believe that we should not have people sitting in jail. That is my only issue. We should not have people sitting in jail, arrested over having sex,” she said.

Ms. Miti said Zambia should direct its energy to fighting rampant non consensual sex.

“Let me tell you what I think we should be dealing with which really breaks my heart. You know right now the sex problem we have in the country is non consensual sex. In this country, young girls and even girls of the age of consent routinely have sex they do not want because they are looking for a job, because they are trying to enter police, because they are trying to get any of these hierarchical institutions. You have young girls 10, 11, 12… of living in homes which are probably of not their parents. Raped by their parents, raped by their uncles. Issues being resolved at home. Do you know why? Because as a country we believe that heterosexual sex, we seem to understand man. We have so many broken people over non consensual sex. Last week, someone came into my inbox and she named a human resource manager of a huge private company in Zambia who has pushed her to have sex with him unless. Otherwise she won’t get the job. What I am saying is that as a country we are very myopic. These issues that are affecting us like extreme poverty, we are not discussing them,” she said.

On the same TV Show, Ms. Miti called for the quick enactment of the Access to Information Law in Zambia.

She further said the proposed amendment of the Public Order Act should be tabled in the next session of Parliament

ABOLISH FIXED BANKING CHARGES AND RETHINK THE DEFINITION OF A DORMANT ACCOUNT

Those days when the banking sector was dominated by foreign nationals as MDs, the complaint was mainly that these foreigners don’t understand or have no interest about Zambians. Today, all the top performing banks are managed by Zambians, respected bankers. Take the two reds, the blue and green banks for example together they account for more than fifty percent of total revenue generated in the sector and they all headed by Zambians. I hold accounts with two of them so I m speaking from experience. This is not a complaint it’s an observation.

On charges for example, I see a monthly bank charge read MONTHLY MANAGEMENT FEE K110, K150. On the other I see a MONTHLY MAINTENANCE FEE K195. Now imagine I have banked with one bank from 1997 that is 25 years and I always pay K110 for merely holding an account. Another one same K195 monthly for merely holding an account with them. The point I am stressing is that if I left K10,000 in my bank account in January by December I will find about K1,350 gone, deducted. My appeal is that yes during the 1990s when there was no online banking, inter branch was the order of the day, batching of transactions with calculators with slips, clearing of cheques was manual were banks used to exchange physical cheques, the fixed charge could be justified. But today, technology has evolved, most tasks are now done by clients not banks. My appeal therefore to the leading top banks is lead the way abolish these monthly fixed charges across all accounts. Banks should only charge based on activities. If I draw cash, I send an ewallet, I do a ddacc, a swift transaction yes I must pay but charging for merely having an account with a bank is outdated banking, it’s arm chair banking ( nawikalafye impiya shileingila). The two red banks, the green and blue can influence this, if they abolished fixed bank charges across all accounts, the rest will follow. There is no justification today to maintain a monthly management or account maintenance fee as I have pointed out technology has changed and Zambian MDs please go to your boards at end of this Q2 and seek to abolish these “punishable fees” that have no basis. We are now the ones in charge of these banks not foreigners so let us spearhead changes that benefit Zambians in the banking sector. Farmers, marketeers, SMEs all want to keep money in banks, but these fixed monthly fees drives them away. You are free as Banks to charge any activity based charges.

My second appeal is that Banks must rethink a definition of a dormant account. For example, if I have two accounts with a Bank say two Kwacha accounts or one Kwacha and one USD. Then I am just using one of them the other one I have just kept some savings there for a rain day. How can a bank declare my savings account that is not active dormant and take it to unclaimed balances when the other account is very active? I have experienced this with one Bank in the last one month and one of my friends had one of his account closed based on the same reasoning. Yes I agree if a person has only one account and it’s dormant for say six months I have no issue if that account is declared dormant based on BoZ regulations. But where a client has multiple accounts and say one is very active and the other is not but well funded a bank wakes up and declares a well funded account dormant and closes it then there is a problem. So Banks please rethink on this one, your systems should look at the client overall not individual accounts. It’s simple with latest technology it can be done. Again you big Banks managed by Zambians lead the way on this score. My experience on this one was with one of the top three Banks not a small Bank and I was shocked when I got a call from my personal banker telling me that one of your accounts will be declared dormant, make a transaction on it. I said why, coz I am very active on the other two accounts, how can you declare a savings account dormant when it’s well funded?. Ati no it’s the system. OMG it was very embarrassing to say the least. Who runs the system? Who programs the system to do this? It’s us human beings. Let us reprogram these banking systems to stop doing these unreasonable acts. Zikomo

Chola Mpasa

A woman allegedly tracked down her boyfriend at a bar with an Apple AirTag and killed him by ramming him over three times with her car after she saw him with another woman.

Apple AirTags are coin-sized devices that can be attached to keys, backpacks, purses and other items to help people track them down via iPhone if they’re misplaced.

According to the Indianapolis Star, Gaylyn Morris, 26, allegedly hit her boyfriend Andre Smith (pictured above), also 26, with her vehicle around 12:30 a.m. on June 3 in the parking lot of an Indianapolis pub called Tilly’s in Indiana, US.

Lady tracks boyfriend with AirTag and kills him after finding him in a bar with another woman

‘Officers arrived and located Mr. Smith laying on the ground underneath a vehicle,’ Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release.

‘It appeared he was struck by the vehicle. Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD) Engine Company 6 responded and unfortunately pronounced the Mr. Smith deceased at the scene.’

A witness said Morris had told her about how she tracked down Smith with an AirTag, according to a probable cause affidavit for Morris’ arrest.

She also said she was in a relationship with the victim and thought he was cheating on her with another woman, the Indianapolis Star reported.

After arriving at Tilly’s bar, Morris allegedly grabbed an empty wine bottle and swung it. The bottle did not hit the other woman because Smith caught it but later three of them were asked to leave by staff.

The report says witnesses later saw Morris pulling forward and clipping Smith with her car in the parking lot.

‘And he went down, at which time… [Morris] then backed over him and then pulled forward and hit him for the third time,’ the probable cause affidavit states.

As of Sunday night, June 5 Morris is being held behind bars in the Marion County Jail and was preliminarily charged with murder, according to online jail records.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will assess the charges and whether any additional ones are to be filed, local authorities said.

The suspect is scheduled to appear in court for the first time on Tuesday, according to Law and Crime.

IN ZAMBIA, EVEN THE POOREST FAMILIES FIND TIME AND MONEY TO COORDINATE A FUNERAL OF A RELATIVE BUT NOT MONEY TO FORM A FAMILY BUSINESS

By Dr Lubinda Haabazoka

Everyday we speak about Zambia participation in the economy. But have we ever had a chance to study why it’s very difficult for Zambians to graduate from selling tomatoes on the streets to owning a tomato processing plant?

In order for Zambia to develop, we need to harness and support Zambian businesses. When I say Zambian businesses I don’t necessarily mean black Zambians. I mean all Zambians of all races, gender, black, white, ebony or green.

It’s very important for a nation to harness Zambian entrepreneurs because these people make money in Zambia, bank money in Zambia and retire in Zambia. They produce the most stable GDP because their profits remain in Zambia!

When you look at Kenya, Tanzania and even Nigeria, you will find that the locals are huge business people groomed and supported by governments. In Nigeria, there was even a government program of creating billionaires! In Zambia that must be a taboo!

The first stop we need to make is to ensure that small businesses that are younger than 5 years pay only 6% tax! A lot of exemptions should also be made in terms of fees paid to both central and local government.

Government should also get its act together and collect only one tax from businesses. Then they should go and share between Napsa, NHIMA, ZRA, Skills level, local authorities and many other people that collect such fees from companies. Compliance in itself in Zambia is very expensive! I would like to commend ZRA for the efficiency in tax collections in the recent years but honestly a company cannot be speaking to 10 different agencies for licences when all these agencies represent one central government! Let one authority collect one fee and give businesses a break!

In Zambia, we frustrate businesses and discourage them from growing because we don’t care about the struggles of the business person but we are just interested in choking them with both administrative and economic barriers of doing business.

Mindset is also very important. Colleagues why are we so jealous of successful people aii? Our Zambian mindset is such that we like investigating wealth but not poverty. When you go to Kenya, they celebrate their own millionaires. When you go to Nigeria, they love Dangote. Today we have big Nigerian banks operating in Africa but look how we stressed Matani here in Zambia? The man had to run away from finance bank instead of government giving him loans to open up branches world wide!!!!

We also need to learn to work in partnerships. Maybe we need to change our education system because in Zambia we have very unhealthy competition! From primary school, kids are made to pass number 1,2,3…50! Imagine how bad kids feel when they pass number 41 and the friend is number one. You develop hatred for high flyers just in kids. By the time that child is 30 years, anything that looks like hard work and success will have to be pulled down!!! Remember there can only be one number 1 in a class so them group three pupils are in the majority. In classes we even group pupils as group 1, group 2 and group 3! Because of this phenomenon, Zambians can’t work in business partnerships coz we hate each other, too jealous and when your partner is doing great all you want is to bring their name into the mud! The only advantage is that God has other plans for man!

So we need to have a meeting as a nation and decide what we want to achieve! You can’t have a nation of high tempers on political matters and no interest when it comes to business. But when your friends succeed in business you want to come and bring it down, make it difficult to do business and many other spanners!

When you go to Kenya, helicopters are flown by every Jim and jack. Here in Zambia mmmm don’t even try! The guy who bought a Bugatti was investigated! So how can you now create role models? People would rather hide their wealth or not make any wealth at all because society judges rich people harshly!

Colleagues to be poor in some way is a sign of laziness. Don’t even hate on me for this statement! When a person really wants money, they can get it. Look at the boys pushing wheelbarrows in town! That’s an initiative. So society should harness those guys and graduate them to riding tricycles and carry goods around town! That’s how helpful societies operate! For some people though, they want to work, they have ideas but no capital and help! They are not lazy! They really want to work! Those people we should help as a society from taxes collected from those with surplus!

We should not be spending time on Facebook waiting to pull down the next successful guy! Let’s work bane, change the mindset, make lives east for ourselves! A state is an agreement between people! How we want to live that how we should create it. So how about discussing real issues to improve ourselves?

We can’t continue like this. When are we going to get rich?

A country is only good when it can solve its own problems!

The struggle continues…

The Ministry of Finance in May released K9.3 billion towards the ongoing implementation of the 2022 National Budget.

Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said that 9.2 billion of the total release was domestically financed while 76 million Kwacha was foreign.

Dr Musokotwane said that of the released funds 646.5 million Kwacha was channelled towards the countrywide supply of drugs and medical supplies to avoid interruptions while public hospitals and universities got 29.2 million Kwacha for operational expenses.

He says women and youth empowerment programmes under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) were given K 2.8m.
The Minister states that primary and secondary schools are funded on a quarterly basis hence grants for the second quarter were disbursed in April to facilitate the smooth implementation of the free education policy in the second term.

Dr Musokotwane further reveals that Food Security Packs and the Social Cash Transfer Programme got K1.50m and K169.3m. Other sectors that have benefited are road funds with 741.4 million Kwacha which involves payments to over 700 micro, small and medium scale contractors and suppliers of services in the road sector.

In a statement to the media in Lusaka, Dr Musokotwane said this has cleared all arrears to contractors.
The Minister also noted that K368.8m was released to dismantle liabilities for goods and services previously supplied to the Government, of which 1-hundred million Kwacha went towards payment of personnel-related arrears for public service officials, some of whom were owed for more than 5 years.

And Dr Musokotwane said K2.4bn was released for debt service of which K433m went to external debt service for multilateral creditors while Salaries for civil servants and overseas allowances for employees in missions abroad got K3.91bn.

Meanwhile, Dr Musokotwane has expressed delight that consultations for the 2023 National Budget and the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework are progressing well.

He said the positive feedback from stakeholders and the public to the Ministry’s invitation to participate in the formulation of next year’s national budget and the MTEF for 2023 to 2025, is encouraging and demonstrates the resolve by Zambians to help shape the direction of economic policy and the national development process.

So far the Ministry of Finance and National Planning has held participatory consultations in Luapula and Northern Provinces with nine other meetings set from June 6 to 22 in seven provinces.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT

SUBJECT: ABOLISH MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND MEDIA

To describe and justify its functions and existence, the Zambian government says, “As a focal point for national information gathering and dissemination, MIBS has a major responsibility to co-ordinate and facilitate the operations of the media …”

For starters, no single ministry must be designated with the responsibility to gather information generated in every other ministry and government department. Each ministry can and does generate and disseminate information to identified audiences. This is the reason why each of them has a public relations officer with the same responsibility.

My suggestion is that disband the Ministry Information and Media and distribute the officers therein to the PR offices of other ministries. The current staff levels of normally one officer in the PR office does not reflect the importance of communication in an information age. Each ministry must be staffed with officers whose skill sets should reflect modern communication strategies that range from traditional to social media and other media arts.

Instead, the office of the Secretary to Cabinet must host the office of the Chief Government Spokesperson at the level of Permanent Secretary. Under this officer should be a staff compliment with communication and policy analytical skills that can study communication trends in the country and beyond and identify communication opportunities.

Working closely with the media team at State House and Public Relations Officers in various ministries and quasi-government bodies, the Chief Government Spokesperson can strategize effective ways of gathering and disseminating government information. Under this office shall fall the Zambia National Information Services, ZANIS, which is the technical and PR wing of government.

It is not the duty of the office of the proposed Chief Government Spokesperson to speak on policy issues that can be handled ably by line ministries. Instead, this officer will be communicating cabinet decisions and clarifying overall government policy. Alternatively, this officer could facilitate the engagement of the Secretary to Cabinet directly with the media from time to time. Otherwise, his or her task will be that of the face and voice of the Zambian government.

Under the office of the Chief Government Spokesperson should be several units that together define communication and media arts. For instance, there should be a department that deals with traditional media; social media; literary works such as books, book writers, publishing houses, along with film production, artforms such as sculpture, painting; and libraries, etc. Each of these media arts are potential forms of communicating any kind of information and message that government may desire.

Through film for instance, the government of Turkey has promoted anti-terrorism messages; through film, the government of South Africa has shared the various strategies that were employed in the struggle for freedom. Through sculpture, several countries in Europe have told the various aspects of their countries’ history. There is so much that communication is and what it can do to promote the Zambian identity and unity.

In case someone is worried about the media without a government Ministry: yes, only then shall the media achieve a self-regulatory framework. For the public broadcaster, ZNBC, the BBC model and how its board of governors is selected is a very good model to borrow. Don’t worry about the Independent Broadcasting Authority, IBA. There are sufficient examples around the globe to secure its independence and professional conduct.

Mr. President, you were elected on the promise of a new governance environment. The media space is one area you must not leave untouched. Disband the Ministry of Information and Media and end the temptation to interfere with media operations and their independence.

Kellys Kaunda
MA in New Media, Governance and Democracy (University of Leicester)
Former MISA-Zambia Chairperson

5th June 2022

“My Marriage Is Only 3 Weeks But I’m Asking For Divorce” – Lady Cries Out
He was a lovely gentleman when we first met. He performed what was expected of him and said what was expected of him. When he asked me to be his girlfriend, I was overjoyed.

He spends a lot of time on the road because he is a driver. As a result, I treasured every moment we got to spend together. I treasured those times because they weren’t something I experienced every day.

I didn’t get to pay attention to certain things because we didn’t spend a lot of time together when we were dating. There were warning indications. I simply didn’t do anything with them.

He wouldn’t answer some phone calls in my presence, for example. And the times when I got too close to his phone and he freaked out. I had no intention of reading it, but the way he held the phone against me made me suspect.

Instead of paying attention to my gut, I dismissed it. “Things are fine,” I told myself. The ghosts I see are all in my head. They can’t possibly be real.”

I was ecstatic when Kojo asked me to marry him.

We didn’t spend a lot of time together when we were dating so I didn’t get to pay attention to certain things. The signs were there. I just didn’t make anything of them. Like how he wouldn’t receive certain phone calls in my presence. And the instances where he freaks out if I went near his phone. I never had the intention of going through it but the way he guarded the phone against me made me suspicious. Instead of listening to my instinct, I brushed it off. I told myself “Things are good. The ghosts I see are in my imagination. They can’t be real.”

When Kojo asked me to marry him I was over the moon.

I took him home to my family and they endorsed him. He introduced me to his family and they welcomed me with wide-open arms. They came to see my family and performed the knocking rites. His mother and his aunt really liked me. They called to check up on me regularly and I dared to think we were friends. Anytime Kojo’s sketchiness with his phone came to my mind, I banished it immediately; “Come on, his mother loves you. He is marrying you. He loves you so what do you have to fear?”

That’s how I silenced my doubts. We got married and later signed in court. Even after marriage, I still didn’t see any change in him. He still answered certain calls away from my ears. He guarded his phone as if it held the secrets to the universe. I decided to approach things with patience.

I couldn’t touch his phone but I could see the screen sometimes. I observed that the phone calls he ignores or goes away to answer belong to one particular number. I read his body language when the calls came through. He tenses up at first but then he answers and walks away from me. Sometimes, I stood somewhere he wouldn’t see me and watched him talk on the phone. He was often relaxed and chatty with the person as though I’m the one he was talking to.

I asked myself, “Since I am here who is he talking to?” I pushed away the thought that my husband might be cheating on me. After all, our marriage was too new for him to start cheating on me. One day, we were together when that particular number called again. Before he answered the call I asked “Who is that person calling you? I’ve observed that number. It calls you too often to be ordinary.” He said, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” He then walked out to receive the call.

know what you are talking about.” He then walked out to receive the call.

I got furious but I controlled myself. I knew it was just a matter of time before I found things out for myself. “A woman will know if she wants to know,” someone said that a few days ago.

One day, the number called again. Luckily for me, I was sitting in a place where I could look directly at the screen. Within a few seconds, I had engraved the number in my mind. I quickly dialed it on my phone and saved it.

After he finished talking to the number, I also called. The voice on the other side was a woman, just as I suspected. “Hello,” she said. I didn’t waste time on pleasantries. I went straight for the kill; “Hello, please who are you? And what’s your relationship with Kojo?” She answered confidently, “He’s my husband. Is there any problem? Who are you?” I responded, “I’m Kojo’s wife.” She didn’t believe what I said and I also didn’t believe her when she said my husband was her husband.

I said, “If you’re serious about what you’re saying then prove it.” She answered, “Don’t worry. I will send you a photo of our marriage certificate. I don’t know why you want to claim a man who is not yours.” Later, she sent me a photo of their certificate. It is true.

They are married. They’ve been married for eleven years while ours was only three weeks old. I called her again on the phone and we talked. She told me they have been trying to have kids but nothing had worked. Kojo’s family put a lot of pressure on him to take another wife but he refused to heed his family’s advice.

I was devastated. It hurt that he lied to me. It hurt more to find out that he only married me to make babies for him. He didn’t marry me out of love. He only needed someone to give him kids.

I felt foolish. I thought of how his family embraced me and asked myself, “So were they all part of the charade? I trusted them so why would they do this to me?”

I called his mother and asked her between sobs; “Why didn’t you tell me your son was already married? Why did you lie to me?” She tried to calm me but I wouldn’t hear of it. I kept asking questions after questions but she had no answer to any of them.

When Kojo came home, I rushed to him with the evidence. I asked the same questions I asked his mother. He didn’t act surprised. It looked like someone must have told him before he came home. He hasn’t said a word to dignify my questions.

I have been crying for days now. I know I shouldn’t have been too trusting of him but it’s not altogether my fault. I am not the one who married two women without telling either of them. This is not on me. I feel the urge to hurt myself but I won’t do it.

I will pick up the pieces of my life and move on. I know that I will be fine. I just feel so ashamed and betrayed right now. I don’t even know how I’m going to explain it to people without feeling stupid.

I have asked my family to return their drinks to them. Looking at what’s at hand, I don’t even think our marriage was valid in the first place. That notwithstanding, I have called for the annulment of our marriage.

His mother and his aunt are telling me not to be hasty in my decision to leave their son. Kojo himself hasn’t said anything to me. I hate the fact that he manipulated me with his lies so there is no way I am staying with him. I will heal and then I will give myself another chance to love again.

ZAMWORTH INFRASTRUCTURE DEAL AND AG

I have difficulty appreciating why the former Attorney General Likando Kalaluka is being maligned for stating that he can’t remember what happened with the purchase of the Minstry of Infrastructure building unless he is availed the documentation.

Fairness demands that Mr Kalaluka should have been availed the document to refresh his memory. Its not easy for anyone who deals with hundreds of correspondence to remember every document he or she signed years ago.

What I know is that the job of any Attorney General, even the current one, is to advise Government and not private persons. If Attorney General Kalalula advised the Ministry of Infrastructure on the contract of sale and on variations of the special conditions, I don’t see how that would be wrong if Government took up the burden to pay Property Transfer Tax for purposes of reducing the cost of the purchase price of the building during negotiations.

However, Governement must be encouraged to inquire into the purchase of the building but beginning to crucify people in a court of public opinion without availing them the information to reflect and give an informed position is unjust on its own.

Am as shocked as everyone that Government has incurred interest of $25 million due to contractual breaches on payments. This is where I support President Hichilema who frowned upon contracts which had punitive clauses that have robbed the country of millions of money in interests. This culture has to come to an end.

One contractor once told me the reason why Governement purchases things like paper which costs K90 at K250 is because Govt does not pay on time. So usually a business would have to factor in the profits that would have been made due to delays in Government paying. This is understandable and makes business sense.

However, am against the idea of contracts where government is penalised for delayed payments of down payments. Inflated purchase price is draining the treasury of much needed resources. Already the story of the chartered plan at an inflated cost by the Ministry of Youth, this is how Government loses money. The Ministry of Youth and Sport has not learnt anything at all from the past

Free Andsen Zulu, a great injustice has been committed in our land!

” It is a perfectly legitimate and fair comment to say that Hakainde Hichilema is an antiChrist, in Zambia, a country which has declared itself a Christian nation.”

By Azwell Banda

It is impossible for Jesus Christ to be happy with magistrate Chrispine Hampungani for jailing Andsen Zulu for 12 months, for saying that Hakainde Hichilema is an antichrist, a non-believer in Christ.

Such an assertion is perfectly logical, especially in a country that has declared itself to be a Christian nation. In the Holy Bible Jesus Christ categorically says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person, such as Hakainde Hichilema, to enter the kingdom of God.

Therefore, it is a perfectly rational belief to assert that Hakainde Hichilema is an antichrist, an unbeliever in Jesus Christ.

Intimidated by being arrested and detained by the police, bullied and overcome with fear by finding himself in court accused of having defamed a popular president, representing himself, Andsen Zulu foolishly perhaps, hoped that not wasting the court’s time and quickly admitting to the charge would see him reprimanded at the most, and lightly punished, for his comments.

It is in such cases where magistrates and judges and all judicial officers are expected to be extremely careful, they do not permit a suspect to unwittingly incriminate themselves, when in fact the facts before the court do not amount to a crime! But magistrate Chrispine Hampungani was having none of this caution: the poor man was swiftly jailed for an incredible 12 months!

Perched right on top of the preamble of our Constitution, is the declaration that Zambia is a Christian nation: “WE, THE PEOPLE OF ZAMBIA: ACKNOWLEDGE the supremacy of God Almighty; DECLARE the Republic a Christian Nation while upholding a person’s right to freedom of conscience, belief or religion.”

It is God Almighty, and not money, we acknowledge to be supreme. And yet Andsen Zulu, precisely because he has no money, could not buy an experienced and clever lawyer to argue his case against Hakainde Hichilema, who is a rich man and the President of Zambia, has been swiftly dispatched to prison, obviously to also frighten all poor people without money not to say anything presumed negative or defamatory, against Hakainde Hichilema.

Leviticus 19:15, clearly says “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbour.”

Magistrate Chrispine Hampungani has gone down in our history books as a magistrate who sent a poor worker to jail for saying something perfectly rational and defensible, against Hakainde Hichilema.

This magistrate has sent shivers down the spines of all those who may wish to express, on any platform including social media and newspapers, any criticism against Hakainde Hichilema.

By this one totally unchristian treatment and judgement of Andsen Zulu, magistrate Chrispine Hampungani has struck a lethal blow upon a most sacred of all rights, the right to free expression, a corollary of the right to free conscience and free thought; the very essence of the right to life.

We are alive because we think. We prove that we think by expressing our thoughts. To murder free speech is therefore to threaten human life itself. Why did the magistrate ignore the Bible by which our laws and dispensation of justice must also be tempered?

For the avoidance of doubt, the Holy Bible is rich with evidence which supports the assertion that it is impossible to be a Christian and a rich person at the same time.

Other systems of faith, morality and humane ideologies have also come to the same conclusion – that it is impossible to serve two masters at the same time, for either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. The Holy Bible is more explicit and it bluntly says: “You cannot serve God and money”.

Andsen Zulu was not only well within his constitutional rights in a self-declared Christian nation to assert that Hakainde Hichilema who is rich, is an antichrist, but, as I must assume he himself is a Christian, it is also his duty to alert others to this fact, the fact of a rich president who certainly is headed for hell, unless he sells all that he has, and gives it all to the poor, because only then shall he have wealth in heaven; and then of course he can follow Jesus!

The law of defamation of the President is an ugly piece of our colonial legacy which every opposition leader since Kenneth Kaunda has promised to repeal when in opposition and quickly ignored this promise when in power; for it is a great lethal law to shield the President from criticism and exposure of weaknesses.

It also helps perpetuate our backward attitude to politicians who only yesterday were begging for votes and upon being elected, suddenly become removed from their origins as vote beggars and thence must be treated like loyalty in a republican democracy.

This obnoxious law facilitates the perpetuation of ignorance, fear and impotence (taken together mistaken for respect of the President) among the public of a person they have made President of the country through the ballot. It promotes sycophancy, fawning and ingratiating fake adulation of the President by his followers who are usually parasitic on this person, and it is clearly unconstitutional as it is not a law of general application and it kills democracy. It stunts the development of a vibrant democratic culture of a freely thinking and talking citizenry. In this day and age of social media, it is a useless piece of legislation incapable of consistent enforcement. It must be removed from our statutes.

This law itself, reads, “Any person who, with intent to bring the President into hatred, ridicule or contempt, publishes any defamatory or insulting matter, whether by writing, print, word of mouth or in any other manner, is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years.” That is all. There are no definitions of the key words: intent, hatred, ridicule, contempt, defamatory or insulting. Obviously, there are English judgements a clever defence lawyer can use to argue in court; Andsen Zulu, a mere driver, had absolutely no way of knowing this.

This law is a powerful weapon for any president against real and imaginary opponents and critics, for the choirs of a reigning president, and for the police and magistrates and judges wanting to catch the eye of a reigning president: any criticism of the president can be presumed to have been uttered or published with the intent to bring the President into hatred, ridicule or contempt.
Has magistrate Chrispine Hampungani opened wide prison doors for any expression of negative thoughts about Hakainde Hichilema? Maybe not. Has Hampungani emboldened Hakainde’s zealots and choirs in and outside the police to harass anyone expressing a negative opinion against Hakainde Hichilema? Yes. Andsen Zulu could not have been a more perfect gift to these enemies of free speech and democracy.

Barely a year in office, Hakainde Hichilema and his UPND choir are fast resurrecting and inventing new ways of protecting and shielding Hakainde Hichilema from negative commentary and perfectly well-earned criticism.

The police have already defended the practice of being summoned in some remote part of Zambia, away from one’s location, to answer charges and attend court sessions. Almost a year in office, Hakainde Hichilema and his government have not produced a road map to deliver on their promises to deal with aspects of the Constitution and laws abhorrent to our Republic and its fledgling democracy. Hakainde’s government though, has not wasted time signing a Staff Level Agreement with the IMF (a very complex epoch defining matter which should have been transparent and involved the whole country, and whose full details are still a secret), amending tax for rich miners, removing VAT exemptions from newspapers and cooking oil, removing fuel and electricity subsidies, removing export duty from several food stuffs, removing import duty from agricultural equipment and machinery and creating conditions for the re-entry into Zambia by Anglo American Corporation, among other things favourable to himself and his friends both in Zambia and abroad.

It is a perfectly legitimate and fair comment to say that Hakainde Hichilema is an antiChrist, in Zambia, a country which has declared itself a Christian nation. Zambia has fast slid into a country whose future now begins to look darker than the Patriotic Front days. It is time to defend our human and constitutional rights, from the fast-creeping anti-democratic, prefeudal practices, now on full display every day.
Free Andsen Zulu from jail, he is an innocent worker! He is blessed because he is poor and his is the true kingdom of God, so says the Bible.

Comments and unrighteous insults welcome at: banda.azwell@gmail.com.