Loan Sharks – BOZ Must Act!
By Dickson Jere

The amount of emails and inbox messages I have received in recent weeks is unprecedented following my snippets on loan sharks and Court Judgments. I never realized how BIG this problem is – it is very big in our society that people are losing properties everyday to these loan sharks. The Chinese seem to have found a niche in this market!

You see, most of these loan companies are legally registered and operate under the Money Lenders Act of Zambia. They are not really under the direct supervision of the Bank of Zambia (Central Bank) like commercial banks and micro finance institutions. Ideally, money lenders were envisaged to be small time “kaloba” people in our communities to provide “small change” kind of transactions. But now, it appears, even big companies who are supposed to be registered as Micro Finance Institutions with BOZ have opted to go under the Money Lenders route, which has no much supervision. But yet they provide huge monies and sit on a lot of properties as collateral than even the big micro finance institutions. And people are getting duped and losing money and properties through unorthodox lending mechanisms.

Even though genuine money lenders with ethical conduct still exist in Zambia, some have gone rogue. The modus operandi is similar. It works like this;

1. Ask the borrower to sign Contract of Sale of his or her property but it is supposed to be “collateral” as it where.
2. The borrower is further asked to sign off the Deed of Assignment for the property as part of the sale in case of default but then it was supposed to be “collateral”.
3. Change the amount and interest from Kwacha to Dollar and lump the borrower with huge “interests”

Many a borrower have signed off these documents without really understanding the implications. These, by any standards, are legal documents which require assistant of the lawyer to really understand them but desperate borrowers just sign them off!

You see, these days banks require that a borrower or any third party mortgage should come with a letter from law firm that clearly states that the borrower has “sought independent legal advice and the documents and it’s implications have been explained” to him or her. This is meant to safeguard the bank itself from accusations that it made a borrower sign documents which was not clearly explained. But this is not the case with the money lenders.

The principle of “collateral” has always been clear. Once the borrower has defaulted, the lender ought to go to Court and obtain an Order for Foreclosure and Sale. And that sale should be done on “open market” where various bidders tender and the lender is not allowed to participate. Lenders are conflicted!
This is normal transaction. But now a new concept of sale of properties has emerged to undo the tedious collateral disposal mechanisms.

BOZ should intervene urgently in this matter! Make interim rules on borrowing while waiting for the legislative intervention. The financial market is being distorted! A parallel lending market with unorthodox collateral system is slowly developing. This must concern BOZ.

Brian Mwale-The Judicial Complaints Commission -JCC- has handed over two reports to President HAKAINDE HICHILEMA.

And JCC Chairperson VINCENT MALAMBO says there is need to send a strong message that corrupt Judges belong to the jungle and not society.

Presenting the report to President HICHILEMA at State House today, Mr. MALAMBO said one of the cases dealt with presents a clear failure of the judicial appointments where the complaint was already known before ratification of a named judge.

Mr. MALAMBO however stated that the commission is not certain if the committee dealing with appointments of Judges knew about the complaint.

He noted the need to introduce a transparent and merit based system when appointing judges by inviting a broader based participation.

The JCC Chairperson said the public can play a key role at ratification stage by assisting with information to enhance integrity and transparency in the Judicial System.

He said personal qualities, conduct and image of judges are the only true foundation upon which confidence on their works is based.

Mr. MALAMBO said the two reports are a culmination of works that commenced on January 19 after reviewing complaints from a citizen with hearing taking place between February and April.

He said hearings took place in camera as required by the constitution.

Mr. MALAMBO thanked the complainant for their willingness to take the matter to the JCC and appearing before it as required.

He added that the public have a vital role in the fight against corruption which they must resist, report and must be protected against possible reprisals by those who are powerful.

And receiving the report, President HICHILEMA said the Presidency will act according to constitutional provisions with advice from his legal advisors, Justice Minister and Attorney General.

President HICHILEMA said were need arises, he will get back to the JCC for clarity to fully understand as Zambians are anticipating to hear the next step.

He expressed delight with the commission for submitting the reports and executing its mandate despite being new.

President HICHILEMA assured the JCC of the executive’s support especially confirming that no one is immune to oversight including himself.

The President said the Executive will continue to assure the JCC to exercise their constitutional mandate when called upon and will not interfere with their operations.

He further implored the JCC to hear all complaints expeditiously and only determine their merit when tabled.

President HICHILEMA said speed is important in dealing with such cases as justice delayed is justice denied.

He encouraged ordinary citizens to come out in the open as government works on rooting out corruption.

ZNBC

·
By Larry Mweetwa

POLICY SHIFT CONSIDERATIONS THE NEWDAWN GOVERNMENT SHOULD URGENTLY REVIEW-MY SUBMISSION TO PRESIDENT HH7

Your Excellency Sir, here are my major policy concerns and I pray Chipo Mwanawasa will take note of this.

1. Most of the businesses in Zambia 🇿🇲 have to be reserved for citizens only and this happens in many countries especially Botswana such as ( hair salons, bricks 🧱 moulding, Barber shops and many other small businesses), a foreigner can’t come all the way from china to start a car wash.

2. There should be a deliberate policy for any investor to partner with a local citizen not only paper but this should be implemented to perfection and life style of locals must change

3. When it comes to citizens empowerment, most youths have no corrateral to support their applications such as houses etc, so only the rich will be favoured. In USA and other Nations for example if I want to start a drug manufacturing company, my Pharmacy degree or medicine should be sufficient to access funding. Kindly can you look into this

4. Kindly revisit ZRA tariffs which are chocking citizens, for example If I buy a car from Japan for K100,000, ZRA will charge me close to K50,000 in duty. This is so unfair because politicians are given weavers to import their cars for free. In Botswana you only pay 11% but for zambia it’s 47% of the cost price.

I think this is extremely unfair to tax citizens in a chocking manner and no wonder a lot of vehicles are packed at ZRA Depots because citizens failed to raise money to clear goods and eventually accrued port fees etc.

What they do in Botswana is that you can have your car bonded and keep it even at your house but you can’t drive it until you raise required funds to clear it thereby saving space at port office and avoiding demurrage charges. Not what is happening now where your car has to remain at Nakonde boarder as you come to hassle for money in lusaka.

5. Export permits for Maize in the past regime was only given to GBM and friends, please can you allow us to form cooperatives from DUNDUMWEZI and Export Maize or mealie meal direct to Congo not where by people like GBM utacizyi akujata plough are the ones making money out of our sweat .

I can go on talking more and more but there are so many policies Mr.President that are affecting citizens but for today I will just leave it here.

THIS IS NOW PERSECUTION AND NOT A FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

5th May, 2022

What President Hakainde Hichilema through the Anti Corruption Commission(ACC) has today done to Hon. Bowman Lusambo is sadistic and a traversty of justice. Why does the President acts contrary to what he preaches? HYPOCRISY!!!

It is absurd that the ACC can claim that they don’t know whether or not, Hon Miles Sampa and Hon Davison Mung’andu are Members of Parliament. What kind of buffonery is this? Do these officers at ACC have any personal conscience or they are under remote control or are under a spell!

Any officer at that high level who doesn’t know that Miles Sampa and Davison Mung’andu are representatives of our people in Parliament must IMMEDIATELY RESIGN! They don’t deserve to occupy the offices they are occupying!

With such ignorance at ACC, the country is in trouble and no one who appears before the ACC is safe!

Hon Miles Sampa and his Chama South counterpart, Hon Davison Mung’andu were today brought before Court as Hon. Bowman Lusambo’s sureties. But the ACC told Hon Lusambo’s lawyers that they do NOT know the suerites and rejected the letters saying they needed to verify with the National Assembly whether it is indeed true that Miles Sampa and Davison Mung’andu are MPs. This is clearly wanton and excessive abuse of the law and the court processes.

We have said time and again that this crusade is not about corruption, no, it is about revenge, persecution and fixing political scores and we have been vindicated.

Mr Hichilema is so obsessed with his bitter desire to fix PF members and kill PF. But we have word for Mr. Hichilema, badala power comes and goes and the very things you are doing to others shall be done to you when you leave that office. Let go of your anger and bitterness; you are in that office to serve the people of Zambia and not to punish your perceived political enemies.

I want to end by dedicating Ephesians 4:31 to the President: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”

Issued by
Hon. Nickson Chilangwa, MP, MCC, AIH
Secretary General
Patriotic Front

PF BRANDS ARRESTS OF MEMBERS AS BLESSING IN DISGUISE

…. It’s not the best thing that we would have wished for but they have made us strong – Hon Mundubile

Thursday, May 5, 2022 (SMART EAGLES)

While some UPND members are celebrating the opposition party members’ arrests, PF is seemingly beaming at the same as it insinuates that the ‘persecution’ is a blessing in disguise.

Speaking when he featured on 5FM’s ‘Burning Issue’ today, leader of the opposition in Parliament Hon Brian Mundubile disclosed that the said arrests have made the party stronger.

He said the arrests are not just about PF and individuals but Zambians.

“The arrests of party members have made us stronger. It’s not the best thing that we would have wished for but if you see now the resolve of most of the members, each time a member is arrested you look at how many members come to offer support,” he said.

“We didn’t see this in the beginning but slowly I think every member of our party now knows it’s not about PF anymore, it’s not about individuals anymore. It’s about Zambians. So our concern now is where our country is going. That is why if it is the PF member who is arrested, it is not the PF members alone who come to offer support, we have members and presidents of other political parties coming to offer support.”

Meanwhile, Hon Mundubile indicated that he asked that he discontinues serving as the party Legal Chairperson because he has a very demanding responsibility as leader of the opposition in Parliament.

He lamented that a lot of things were going wrong in the country.

Hon Mundubile however stressed the need for Parliament to ensure that they put this government on the right truck

“As you know now as a country we are going through a lot of things. The high cost of living, the political persecution, governance issues, so we really have to up our game as Parliament to ensure that we try and control those our friends in the executive so that they can govern using the rule of law, they begin to observe human rights, there are so many things that are going wrong,” he said.

“And I think many other institutions of governance have been compromised so far. The voice of the NGOs is totally quite these days….we haven’t heard much from our cooperating partners. The Judiciary I think they are doing a great job so far. So as Parliament we have also to ensure that we put this government on the right truck. Clearly if we left things to continue in a manner as we have seen them, we may have no country to talk about not too long from now.”

FORMER Tourism minister Ronald Chitotela has asked the Lusaka Magistrates’ Court to dismiss the two counts of unlawful possession of property charges he is facing because he cannot be prosecuted as he entered a consent agreement with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

And Lusaka magistrate Jennifer Bwalya has granted Chitotela K20,000 bail while sureties are bound in the sum of K200,000 in their own recognisance.

Chitotela is charged with two counts of being in possession of property suspected of being proceeds of crime.

It is alleged in the first count that between May 1, 2017 and October 30, 2018 in the Lusaka, Chitotela jointly and whilst acting together with another person unknown did possess property No. 3270/M, valued at K380, 000 property reasonably suspected of being a proceed of crime.

In count two, Chitotela is alleged to have between November 3, 2017 and December 5, 2017 in the Lusaka received K500,000.00 from Veil Construction Limited through RKC Travel and Guide Limited account number 62489001398, property.

But before he could take plea, Mr Chitotela’s lawyers Andrew Kombe and Benjamin Mwelwa, raised a preliminary issue.

The lawyers argued that the two counts which Chitotela was charged with were the subject of a consent settlement pursuant to section 80 of the ACC Act no. 3 of 2012.

Mr Kombe submitted that the consent agreement that was entered between ACC and Mr Chitotela indicated that count one and two in the current indictment were counts two and nine of the previous case where the accused and ACC entered a consent settlement.

“Your Honour, we are taken aback as to why the ACC would indict the accused person on the same charges where a consent settlement was made,” he said.

Mr Kombe wants the court to determine whether Mr Chitotela could still be tried on charges which were a subject of the consent agreement.

But the ACC, through its lead prosecutor Martin Mayembe, urged the court not to entertain the application but order for the matter to proceed to trial.

He said Mr Chitotela did not undergo trial in the matter where a consent agreement was entered and as such, his application was misplaced and should be dismissed.

“There was no trial in the matter and the accused person never took plea in the matter,” Mr Kombe said.

The defence lawyers also applied for bail which magistrate Bwalya granted.

Meanwhile, the State applied that Kombe should recuse himself from representing Mr Chitotela as he was a potential witness in the case.

Ruling has been reserved to May 18.

(Mwebantu)

IT IS NOT TRUE, GOVT DOES NOT OPERATE LIKE KANTEMBA

……Mundubile on Bally’s stance that some suppliers will not get their money because they only supplied air to the govt

Thursday, May 5, 2022 (SMART EAGLES)

Leader of the opposition in Parliament Brian Mundubile has argued that it is not possible for one to supply “air” to the government instead of the actual goods as required in the contract.

This follows President Hakainde Hichilema’s sentiments where he said the New Dawn Administration will not pay some contractors who got their tenders from the PF regime because they supplied air to government.

The Head of State said that to imply that some suppliers did not supply the goods and services they were contracted to supply.

Mundubile however argued that the system under which government operates makes it impossible for suppliers to get money from government and not deliver the required services.

He said this when he featured on 5FM’s ‘Burning Issue’ today.

“First of all, you understood the state of the economy and you crafted your message on how you are going to improve the economy. When you are given to govern all you are saying is we are sealing the loop holes. Which loop holes are you sealing? We have heard a lot of statements that are disturbing,” he said.

“For instance, one of them that attracted my attention, I tried to ignore it for a while but I thought it needs clarification. When we were told that these people were supplying air, they won’t get money because they were supplying air. The question that arises is who received that air? Because when goods are supplied to the government there is a procedure.”

Mundubile wondered why the officers who did the paper work for the alleged deals were not being arrested.

“My young man Kaira is vilified to have supplied air and he is not going to be paid. But there is no reference to any civil servant who has been arrested for receiving air and completing documents as if you have received goods but its air. It can’t be one sided. Where are those officers (involved in the act)? Have they been arrested? Zambians must not be taken for granted. Governments run on systems. There is no time where government suspends systems. Government is not run like kantemba around the corner,” he said.

“So if an impression is created for instance that one can just go in and pretend to have supplied something then picks money from government, that is not true. and this is what has caused problems for some of the civil servants under the New Dawn Government.”

Mundubile also wondered if there was proof there was fraud in the procurement process under the PF.

“We had a Deputy PS in Western Province who went to the Bank and just withdrew K200,000 and began to give it out. Why? Because the leaders were making irresponsible statements and gave an impression that you can just get government money and give it away. That never happens but someone did it under the New Dawn Administration because they used to hear their leaders say no they were just getting government money and give it to the people,” he said

HH CALLS FOR END OF RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR.

President HAKAINDE HICHILEMA has called on the Russian and Ukrainian Governments as well as the international community to find ways of ending the ongoing war between the two countries.

President HICHILEMA says the ongoing war is of great concern to the Zambian Government as a proponent of peace.
He has encouraged all countries to work together to bring the war between Russia and Ukraine to an end as no development can take place in the absence of peace.

The Head of State made the call when He received letters of credence from Russia’s Ambassador to Zambia AZIM YARAKHMEDOV at state house in Lusaka today.

President HICHILEMA said Zambia and Russia have enjoyed cordial relations that date back over a long period of time and that the country is committed to consolidating the ties in many sectors.
And Mr. YARAKHMEDOV said Russia will continue to enhance relations with Zambia in fields such as military, technical and culture.

The other envoys who presented their letters of credence to President HICHILEMA are AHMED SAADI, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Algeria, ABADI NURELDIN ABDELRAHMAN NURELDIN, Ambassador of the Republic of Sudan, MARIA PAVLORA TZOTZORKOVA KAYMAKTCHIEV�Ambassador of Bulgaria, ATTILA GYORGY HORVATH and Ambassador of Hungary with residence in Pretoria.

Others are JORGE FELIX RUBIO CARREA, Ambassador of the Republic of Peru with residence in Pretoria, EMMA REBECCA DUNLOP BENNETT, and High Commissioner of New Zealand with residence in Pretoria, LOVELL FRANCIS, High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago with residence in Pretoria and CLAUDE MOREL, High Commissioner of Seychelles with residence in Pretoria.

President HICHILEMA urged the diplomats to explore Zambia and invite citizens from their respective countries to come and visit.

He also urged the diplomats to interact with Zambian citizens in their tours of duty to enable them have a better understanding of the country’s cultures as they enhance people to people relations.

(ZNBC)

MATERO MP MILES SAMPA WRITES:

Alexander Bwalya Chikwanda aka ABC (1938-2022)

As a teen I just used to read or watch ABC of UNIP and MMD on a black and white TV in our Matero family home. It was Michael Chilufya Sata that was a relation to my mother and would visit us periodically. In my later years and through him, I would meet ABC as my grandpa.

Soon after University I got hired as a trainee manager(MDP) at the Barclays and now ABSA Bank. Got selected amongst few other fresh graduates by the Human Resource Director Paul Smith and the Managing Director (MD) was a Mr Ian Knapman. It turned out that some of the Board Members of the Bank were a Mr Bruce Munyama -ABM; Chairman(MHSRIP) and Mr Alexander Bwalya Chikwanda-ABC (MHSRIP). Blue eyed ‘boys’ I thought to myself. Soon they would prove me wrong by making a radicle decision to the British owners of the Bank and appoint a first black MD of the Bank Mrs Margaret Mwanakatwe.

Grandpa ABC would years later narrate to me how in preparation of the new Barclays Board after him and ABM reach the nearing retirement age, they surveyed and head hunted a certain Mr Hakainde Hichilema to come onto the Barclays Bank Board and under study ABM as a member and associate Chairman. It all came to pass.

About 2004 the Lusaka Golf Club had leadership wrangles and Trustees namely ABM, ABC and David Phiri-DAR (MHSRIP) were requested by the High Court to run the club in the interim. They approached me as then a Treasurer of a Bank to be their club interim Treasurer. We would together run the club for about 4 years. I played golf with them periodically but most times would be extended meetings in the late hours inside the club house. I bonded with each one in a personal special way.

Mr David Phiri introduced me to the chimbuya lane with ‘iwe kuipa monga mbuye wako’. ABM we got so close he even asked me to be on the Board of his planned RIMO motel Golf estate in Kafue.

Grandpa ABC was a very strong background supporter and fundraiser for PF and Michael Chilufya Sata (MCS) in opposition. The two had mutual historical love and respect for each other. ABC told me how in the 80s MCS surprised him by building, without his knowledge or consent, a house in Kasama for his mother. ABC was potentially about only person that would make MCS change a stance both while in opposition and as a republican President.

End of part 1

LUSAKA magistrate Nthandose Chabala has granted Kabushi PF member of parliament Bowman Lusambo a K20,000 cash bail with two working sureties.

Magistrate Chabala ordered that Lusambo’s sureties should be based in Lusaka and bound in the sum of K20,000 but in their own recognisance.

She also ordered Lusambo to provide proof of his residence by way of a utility bill.

In granting bail, magistrate Chabala said Lusambo was facing the allegations before court which he denied.

She therefore, said she would not allow the state to adduce affidavit evidence which they wanted to produce in the matter before trial.

However, magistrate Chabala said Lusambo should remain in custody until he meets the bill conditions.

Lusambo’s lawyer Makebi Zulu applied for bail pending trial.

He argued that his client was of fixed abode and not a flight risk.

He submitted that Lusambo has not breached his bail conditions in other cases which are before court.

But the State prosecutors led by Daniel Ngwira objected and asked that they adduce evidence by way of an affidavit.

After he was granted bail,

the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) officers still took him back to the cells where he will be detained until all the paper work is finalised and signed by the magistrate.

Earlier, Lusambo pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to interfere with a witness.

The offences he is facing are contrary to Section 112 (1) (b) as read with section 389 (1) of the Penal Code Cap 87 of the laws of Zambia.

It is alleged in count one that Lusambo on a date unknown but between February 1, 2022 and April 30, 2022 in Lusaka in order to obstruct the due course of justice did endevour to dissuade or prevent Cosmas Kapula Chalusa to give evidence as a witness before a court of law.

Allegations in count two and three are that Lusambo between April 1, 2022 and April 30, 2022 in Lusaka in order to obstruct the due course of justice did endevour to dissuade or prevent Ernest Sumani and Mundia Mataa to give evidence as a witness before a court of law.

Lusambo told the magistrate that he understood the charges he was facing but pleaded not guilty.

Trial has been set for June 27 while Lusambo would be expected to appear for mention on June 6.

(Mwebantu)

By Scoop Reporter

IT pains me that some of us were crushed by the Patriotic Front (PF) Government and kicked out of fuel haulage business on accusation that we were supporting the UPND, Freestone Enterprises proprietor Allan Lupenga has said.

Speaking to the Scoop yesterday, Mr. Lupenga said the PF was the most intolerant and ruthless regime to have ever ruled this country since independence and that it messed the lives of most Zambians who were thriving in business as long as they were accused of being opposition.

He recounts how some years back, his fleet of tankers were not registered after he voiced out against the mega sale of land in Ngabwe district where he is also a traditional leader.

“I had been running this business for a long time. Even under PF, I was running the business and never had issues with anyone but the moment I voiced out against the sale of land in Ngabwe where I come from, that is where the problem started.

“Despite meeting all the requirements, I tried to register my eight tankers over 10 times, but I drew a blank. I was given endless excuses until somebody openly told me that they would not register my tankers because they believed I was UPND,” Mr. Lupenga said.

He says he was forced to give his tankers away to his friends who were connected to the PF by registering them in their names but that this too did not help him.

“I had no way out but to give the tankers to some of my friends who were staunch PF supporters but where business is concerned, some of us Zambians are not honest and that is how I lost the business,” he says.

He is now into farming and ranching where he is doing well but says losing a flourishing business is a drawback and has cautioned politicians not to be vindictive but treat every Zambian equally even when what they stand for may not be in their best interest.

“The sin I committed was to speak for the people in Ngabwe. How do you protect people who sell 36, 000 hectares of land where the villagers live and when someone speaks out, you align him to the opposition? Yes, they squeezed me out of bushiness but it was not the only one who suffered.

“I had employed a lot of people and once the company went under, they too lost their jobs, their livelihood as they were thrown on the streets. I am thriving, but has the PF cared to know what happened to those who lost jobs as a result of its intolerance?” he asked.

(Allan Lupenga on the right in the picture)

ACC ARRESTS FREDSON YAMBA FOR CORRUPTION

The Anti-Corruption Commission has arrested former Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba for corrupt practices involving over US$33million.

Mr Yamba, 62, of Lusaka has been arrested and charged with one count of willful failure to comply
with applicable law and procedure relating to procurement contrary to Section 34 (2) (b) of the
Anti-Corruption Act No. 3 of 2012.

In 2018, Yamba did not follow procedure when he authorized an advance payment of US$33,750,000.00 to China Energy Engineering Group – Hunan Electric Power Design Institute Co. Ltd for the construction of FTJ Chiluba University in Mansa and Kasama under the Ministry of Higher Education. The said money was paid to the contractor but todate no university has been constructed.

In the same matter, the ACC has also arrested Joseph Phiri, an architect at the Ministry of Higher Education, for attempting to fraudulently facilitate a payment amounting to US$ 29,186,169.09 to China Energy Engineering Group–Hunan Electric Power Design Institute Co. Ltd.

Mr. Phiri, 57 of Lusaka has been arrested and charged with one count of fraudulent facilitation of payment contrary to section 34 (2) (a) as read together with section 40(2) of the Anti-Corruption Act No.3 of 2012.

Phiri, being an Architect at the Ministry of General Education and Project Manager for the construction of FTJ Chiluba University in Mansa and Kasama, in 2018, did attempt to fraudulently facilitate a payment to China Energy Engineering Group–Hunan Electric Power Design Institute Co. Ltd by signing and issuing an Interim Payment Certificate No. 2 valued at US$ 29,186,169.09 with an inflated sum of US$7,578,772.41 for goods purportedly supplied when in fact not.

The Commission is also pursuing Joseph Ngulube, a Quantity Surveyor at the Ministry of Higher Education in relation to the same matter.

Mr. Joseph Phiri has since appeared in Court and has been granted bail by the Court while Mr Yamba is expected to appear in Court soon.

Timothy Moono
CHIEF CORPORATE AFFAIRS OFFICER

Meet Noel Nkhoma

How a seasoned Banker rose from lows of selling chickens and eggs to running the country’s fastest growing Micro Finance outlet

“I was fired when I was on a work trip to Hong Kong, infact when I was connecting from London to Hong Kong, I found my Secretary’s missed calls but I didn’t return them not until I landed in Hong Kong that is when she broke the news that I was one of the ten Directors along with Miles Sampa who had been fired,” Noel Nkhoma narrates.

This was December 10th 2010 and Mr Nkhoma was Director of Corporate Banking and Marketing at Finance Bank which was considered a hugely successful story in the Zambian corporate circles.

The Bank founded by Dr Rajan Mahtani had grown to become the country’s largest commercial bank by branch network and Mr Nkhoma was one of Dr Mahtani’s trusted lieutenants.

“Imagine, moving from a place where you never even knew the price of fuel because the bank paid for our fuel to now start monitoring how many litres you would manage to top up at the filling station,

In his 25 years at Finance Bank, Mr Nkhoma had risen from a bank clerk to an Executive Director, the only Black Zambian to hold such a position in the bank at the time.

He was also serving as President of the respected Economics Association of Zambia which made him highly visible in the media as he issued commentary on economic and business issues.

Mr Nkhoma, with his fine business suits was by any measure a high flyer until his world seemingly came crushing down.

The Bank of Zambia seized Finance Bank from its shareholders in 2010 for what it called legal violations and questionable loans.

Dr Mahtani called the seizure politically motivated.

So for Mr Nkhoma, he says what followed was a period of serious readjustments and recalibration.

“When I was on this flight back home from Hong Kong, I could feel a sense of sympathy towards me from fellow passengers who had heard about what had happened to Finance Bank.

What was interesting is that when I called my wife telling her that I have lost my job, she had not heard then and her first response was, so what will happen to the children and their education.”

“So the office grabbed the keys to latest Range Rover the office had just procured for us as Directors. I had to call for an urgent board meeting of the Economics Association of Zambia and tendered in my resignation. The other board members wanted to convince to stay saying I had not done anything wrong but I told them I would rather sacrifice myself than see an organisation that largely depended on donor funds suffer, so I left EAZ and started a private life,” he said.

I thought, there is no way I would allow those Zambians to see me mopping floors here when back home in Zambia, Noel was a star.

“It was really a private life because even my phone which was constantly ringing when I had the bank job suddenly stopped ringing, the people I thought were my friends simply ran away. I moved back to my farm and started selling chickens and eggs at Mtendere Market and Independence stadium market.”

“I remember what Fred M’membe told me just when I lost my job, he said “Noel, you may have to give up some of the fancy lifestyle you have become accustomed to,” and so I followed that advice and I stopped drinking from fancy hotels and I started drinking from Kaunda Square with my old friends.”

Mr Nkhoma said, “ My wife Alice one day just told me do anything that can make us survive and I had to go into chicken business.”

Mr Nkhoma shared that reverting to manual job was not difficult because had done some odd jobs in the past.

“After leaving Munali Secondary School, my first job was in an abattoir. So I know how to slaughter a cow and get it ready for sale. When I went to the U.K for my postgraduate Diploma, I had to work as a cleaner at McDonalds near the Piccadilly train station.”

He said he had to quit that job when one day as he was busy mopping the floor, a large group of Zambians who had just landed from a Zambia Airways morning flight were walking past McDonalds chatting away in Bemba.

“I thought, there is no way I would allow those Zambians to see me mopping floors here when back home in Zambia, Noel was a star. So I quit that job and luckily got another job as a waiter in a job at Kings Cross. For the duration of my stay in the U.K I survived on tips because my wages from my bar job was so low.”

He added, “When I was selling chickens and eggs at Mtendere Market, I would hear people talk behind my back ‘Siba Nkhoma baja, what has happened?”, I didn’t mind much because all I wanted was to get by.”

“She says, you are a still very energetic and smart. You know banking very well. You were at Finance Bank for many years. Why don’t you set up something of your own? I asked her, so where do I get the money from to set up a bank?”

Mr Nkhoma admits that the period after losing his employment was a stressful one and that he only managed to pull through with the support of his ‘solid’ wife of 27 years.

“My wife is solid. She was always encouraging me. And my neighbour at the farms Reverend Rex Nalumango, the husband to former Deputy Speaker Mutale Nalumango offered spiritual and moral support during an otherwise difficult period.”

“So I continued selling chickens and eggs and I would do anything from feeding the birds, picking the eggs, cleaning them, loading them unto the van and driving the van to the market. So I couldn’t even turn on the air con in the van because I couldn’t just afford fuel.”

“Imagine, moving from a place where you never even knew the price of fuel because the bank paid for our fuel to now start monitoring how many litres you would manage to top up at the filling station,” he recollects.

Mr Nkhoma said the key turning point in his life came when one day his wife sat him down and encouraged him to get back to doing what his knows best.-Banking.
“She says, you are a still very energetic and smart. You know banking very well. You were at Finance Bank for many years. Why don’t you set up something of your own? I asked her, so where do I get the money from to set up a bank?”

Mr Nkhoma said that discussion marked the transformation in his life as together with the wife, they managed to set aside K70,000 (K70 million unrebased) to launch Better Now Finance Limited.

“So 70,000 was our initial capital but today we have mobilised and grown the firm and we are now sitting at US$5 million in market valuation.

Mr Nkhoma said BetterNow Finance Limited where he currently serves as Chief Executive Officer plans to issue a corporate bond and list on the Lusaka Securities Exchange in the near future.

“We are currently the fastest growing microfinance institution in Zambia, we have opened several branches over the last few years and we will soon be opening our Kitwe branch,” he said.

Mr Nkhoma encourages young Zambians to venture out into entrepreneurship as a way of creating jobs.

“Sometimes I feel I actually delayed, I should have left the bank much earlier,” he says.

He honesty, passion, commitment, sacrifice, dedication and focus are some of the key ingredients to success.

We now have institutional investors who have pumped in money and we are probably the only microfinance that is able to pay dividends year in, year out. So young entrepreneurs should seek to keep their word.”

“As BetterNow Finance, we have grown our working capital because people have been able to trust our word. We now have institutional investors who have pumped in money and we are probably the only microfinance that is able to pay dividends year in, year out. So young entrepreneurs should seek to keep their word.”

He added, “Sometimes I say to myself, a man without a past cannot be reliable guide into the future. If you don’t change nothing, nothing will change. I have experienced the worst that one can possibly experience in the sense that it is at that time you realise that actually manual work does pay.”

“It is something you call an induced transformation. Its not something you have prepared for or volunteered and I think this is something that we Zambians should start to think about. When we are in these offices, we think we have arrived,” he said.

Mr Nkhoma said young people especially should realise that in life, nothing is permanent except change.

Mr Nkhoma’s three children have all excelled in their education.

Source: Mwebantu Trendsetters 11

Justin Bieber has revealed he suffered a ‘little bit of an emotional breakdown’ after tying the knot with Hailey Baldwin and realizing marriage wasn’t going to ‘fix’ all his problems.

The 28-year-old singer opened up about his struggle during a recent interview with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden, shared via People. According to Bieber, when he tied the knot with Baldwin in 2014, he had an “emotional breakdown,” as his marriage didn’t solve the problems that he initially expected it to.

“I remember when I first got married, I hit a little bit of an emotional breakdown because I thought marriage was going to fix all my problems and it didn’t,” he explained. “It just kind of was a reflection of like: ‘Man, you’re a bit of a hypocrite.’”

He noted that he had been a hypocrite by expecting Baldwin to “do something” that he was not doing, which he said ultimately encouraged him to do some self-reflection.

“You want your wife to do something that you’re not doing and it’s like, it’s hard sometimes to look in the mirror and really have to realise, man, maybe you’re not the person that you necessarily thought that you were,” he continued. “And that’s just a result of trauma and life circumstances.”

Justin Bieber reveals he suffered

The Honest singer then went on to describe his “faith journey” and how his “relationship with Jesus” allowed him to “not be so hard on [himself]”.

“Just the idea that I’m forgiven and that he’s walking me through this journey and day by day, I get to just get better and better and not be too hard on myself,” he continued.

Bieber also shared his hopes for other people to form a strong bond with God, like he has, as he believes that it can motivate people to “get back up” when life gets hards.

“I think that that’s ultimately what’s going to encourage the people of the world of like, it’s discouraging out here sometimes, life smacks you in the face and it can be hard to get back up,” he said.

Bieber said that once he realised that God is “compassionate” and “loving,” it “changed everything” for him.

“When you can have a perspective that God is not an angry dude, he is a loving, considerate, compassionate God who knows what we’re going through and just wants us to be the best versions of ourselves,” he added. “That for me in that perspective has really changed everything, man.”

Bieber has previously opened up about his mental health and marriage, detailing how the two can impact each other. During an interview with GQ last April, the Stay singer noted how relationships aren’t always easy, as he was dealing with a lot of “trauma” during the start of his marriage.

“The first year of marriage was really tough,” he explained. “Because there was a lot, going back to the trauma stuff. There was just [a] lack of trust. There was all these things that you don’t want to admit to the person that you’re with, because it’s scary. You don’t want to scare them off by saying: ‘I’m scared.’”

However, Bieber said that their relationship changed once he started believing more in his marriage, as he has continued “creating” memories with his wife.

“We’re just creating these moments for us as a couple, as a family, that we’re building these memories,” he added. “And it’s beautiful that we have that to look forward to.”

Oversight Institutions have lost Independence and Autonomy

By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

Many people have expressed concern at the content of the last press conference held by Republican President, Hakainde Hichilema.

At this briefing the President spent time discussing among other things, individuals.

He constantly referred to “a clique of thieves” and their alleged manouvres.

He also discussed Patriotic Front Acting President Given Lubinda, Acting Secretary General Nixon Chilangwa, MCC for Information and Publicity, Raphael Nakacinda, former Minister of Infrastructure, Ronald Chitotela( by reference) and former Lusaka Province Minister, Bowman Lusambo.

The President discussed cases under investigations or active in court making his comments about the said individuals prejudicial.

Other than Lubinda and Chilangwa, those mentioned have since been arrested.

It is clear that President Hichilema’s pledge to let the fight against corruption be professional and independent from his office, has been reneged and abandoned.

We should have paid attention as soon as Government reorganized the structure and placement of oversight Institutions of the State under State House.

Concerns and alarm bells were raised when this reorganization placed especially the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Protector, under State House.

The Law Association of Zambia has been on record demanding to free the Anti-Corruption Commission from being controlled or being seen to be controlled by State House.

Between 1980 and 2012, the President had a strong hand in directing the fight against corruption as the law had allowed him to control the Commission and make regulations associated with the fight against corruption.

The earlier Anti-Corruption (Disposable of Recovered Property) Regulations, 2004 is one example of a presidential hand in directing the fight.

In the ACC 2012 Act, under President Michael Sata, he showed political will by removing the President from making regulations and gave the Commission an autonomous status, which was later confirmed by the Constitutional Amendments in 2016.

There was a recognition that the Presidency used these institutions to wage war against perceived political opponents.

Pteviously, State House officials also shielded themselves from being investigated by the very institutions they have under their control.

Infact the changes were seen to bear fruits when State House Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda and Special Assistant for Politics, Kaizer Zulu were summoned by the ACC and formally investigated on allegations levelled against them.

This autonomy and functional independence of the ACC has since been lost.

As soon as President Hakainde Hichilema took office, he placed the Anti-Corruption Commission back under State House.

In a Gazette Notice No. 1123 of 202, it formally put the ACC, the newly created Anti Financial and Economics Crimes Commission, Office of the Public Protector, and the Judicial Service Commission among other institutions, directly under his Office.

Cabinet Office justified the re-organisation as done for “administrative purpose” only.

WE WILL NOT REVEAL OUR SOURCE OF LEAKED PHONE CONVERSATION — KBN CEO

By Macdonald Mayaba

KBN Television Proprietor, Kennedy Mambwe has vowed that his media organization will never reveal the identity of their sources in the leaked phone conversation believed to have been between two state officials planning to undermine democratic proposes.

His station came under pressure from the state in January after it published a leaked phone call that implicates State House Aide for Politics, Levy Ngoma and Home Affairs Permanent Secretary, Josephs Akafumba.

The duo is heard on the conversation scheming on ways to bar a Democratic Party candidate from contesting the Kabwata by-election earlier this year.

Neither Akafumba nor Ngoma have publicly denied the allegation and Mambwe is surprised the state’s focus of investigation is on the source of the recording as opposed to the crime that the duo committed against democracy.

Mambwe disclosed this when he participated in Tuesday’s Digital Round Table organised by the Internews Network Zambia under the Open Spaces Project with support from USAID in Lusaka as part of the World Press Freedom Day Celebrations.

The discussion included Chapter One Foundation Executive Director, Linda Kasonde, International Media Lawyer, Joan Barat, UNZA Lecturer of Law, Dr. O’brien Kaaba and Caroline Kalombe of the Zambia Zambia Media Women Association, (ZAMWA) themed Journalism under Surveillance.

Byta FM’s Macdonald Mayaba reports that Mambwe said his editorial team published the conversation because it was in public interest and sought to undermine democratic processes.

Journalists are permitted to protect the identify of their sources with credible, but often sensitive information in public interest that is relevant to completing a report as long as they follow editorial guidelines.

And an International Media Lawyer, Joan Barata has called on the law makers to review existing laws are clear and targeted as opposed to being too general to implicate journalists in their line of work.

Barata also stated journalists should feel free to carry out their duties without feeling state operatives are monitoring their conversations.

PF PUSHES FOR THE ENACTMENT OF ACCESS TO INFORMATION LAW

3rd May, 2022

The Patriotic Front (PF) joins the rest of the world in commemorating and celebrating World Press Freedom Day. 3rd May acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. This day is also meant to remind governments of the need for the enactment of necessary media laws to guarantee freedom of the press and press freedom. Today is also a day to pay particular tribute to journalists that have died in their line of duty in a quest to expose the truth and bring to light the real condition of the people.

The 2022 theme for the day is “Journalism Under Digital Siege”. The theme is intended to highlight the multiple ways in which surveillance and digitally mediated attacks endanger journalists and journalism.

The Patriotic Front has been an ardent believer and a strong defender of press freedom and freedom of the press. Through out its existence, the Party has worked closely with the media to ensure that journalists and media houses have the necessary support to execute their duties without fear of repression.

As we commemorate 3rd May, we wish to bring to the attention of Government and all relevant stakeholders the following issues:

1. THE ENACTMENT OF THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL

As an ardent believer and strong defender of media freedoms, the Patriotic Front stands ready to support the enactment of the long-awaited Access to Information Bill.

A lot of research and consultation has been done on this Bill and we beseech the UPND Government not to renege on their promise to enact this piece of legislation. There should be no further delays as this Bill has extensively been discussed and debated of the years.

The Access to Information Law is not for the benefit of the media alone but it is for the benefit of the entire nation as this will enhance transparency and accountability on the part of those who have been interested with the mandate to govern our country. Further, it will enhance democracy and good governance as it equips citizens with the vital information that’s necessary for them to make informed decisions.

2. SCRAP OFF VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT) ON PRINT MEDIA

The UPND Government introduced a 16% Value Added Tax(VAT)on Booklets and Newspapers effective January 1, 2022.

This measure is stumbling block to the growth and sustainability of the media as it is making the business of running a print media extra costly at a time when the print media is facing tremendous pressure from online platforms that carry news on the go. Most people are getting their news through social media making it very difficult for the print media to thrive because the time most of their stories are out, the following day, social media has already scooped them, rendering such stories stale.

With the continued rise in the cost of doing business, most print media houses are finding it hard to meet their daily running costs. We therefore call upon the UPND Government to scrap off VAT on the print media in order to reduce the cost of running these organisations and save jobs for our youths who are mainly the employees in such organisations.

3. RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM

While we defend the right of journalists and the media to report news we strongly believe that the media has the responsibility to report truth and not spread propaganda. As the fourth pillar of democracy and governance, the media carries a heavy burden to ensure that their reporting is factual, balanced and devoid of malice or propaganda. The media owes it to the people to report the truth and not malign innocent citizens through lies, malice and propaganda.

We therefore call upon all journalists and media houses to desist from yellow journalism and all forms of malice and propaganda and to ensure that they execute their duties in conformity with their professional ethics and media etiquettes.

With the advent of social media, lies and propaganda have become a way of reporting. Social media news feeds make spreading lies easier. A 2019 Reuters Report stated that 61% of Irish media consumers are concerned about what is real and what is fake on the internet. This is a worldwide phenomenon. Social media is far reaching, meaning these lies can spread globally at supersonic speed and the damage caused to innocent lives, reputations and careers of people can be irreparable.

We therefore reiterate that our media must endeavour to carry themselves in a responsible manner to protect the peace and safeguard the unity of our nation.

On the other hand, we wish to caution the Government to desist from the temptation of using the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act as a tool to muzzle, intimidate and silence opposing voices; that is not the intention and the spirit of this Act, thus it should not be abused by politicians to perpetuate wrong doing and stifle freedom of speech.

4. PLIGHT OF THE MEDIA AND THE NEED FOR SPECIALISED TRAINING

It is an open secret that the salaries and conditions of service for many of our scribes especially those in the private media are not very favourable. Secondly, it is evident that many media houses and journalists lack investigative tools and are not adequately trained in specialised fields such as Finance, Legal, Economics etc hence a lot of commentary and reporting by some media houses and journalists lack depth and understanding with regards to such particular issues.

There is therefore an urgent need for all media houses to invest in specialised training of their journalists as well as to address the unfavourable working conditions of their journalists to enhance the quality of reporting and avert bias and probable corruption.

Happy Press Freedom Day.

Issued by
Nickson Chilangwa, MP, MCC, AIH
Acting Secretary

SOLWEZI.

TUESDAY-03/05/2022

THERE IS A LIMIT TO WHAT WE CAN TAKE, OPPOSITION PF AND IT’S SURROGATES MUST BEHAVE AND STOP INSULTING THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT.

We have noted with concern and utmost disgust, deliberate, well planned, thought out and persistent insults targeted at the head of state Mr. Hakainde Hichilema.

Opposition Patriotic Front PF must not take the olive branch of unity and reconciliation the Republican President has decided to offer since assuming office for a weakness.

We are aware that in a bid to try and shift focus and attention from the many corruption cases that the former ruling party was involved in, they have continually engaged in dirty tribal talk to push an agenda of splitting this country on tribal lines.

The PF must not at any time think we have forgotten how they ruled this country.

We have deliberately chosen peace, civility and the rule of law. This should not in any way suggest that we have forgotten how:

1. Glazier Matapa was murdered and later followed to the grave site to disturb the funeral procession.
2. We have not forgotten how the President was raided at night like a common thief and later detained for 127 days.
3. We have not forgotten how Chibulo Mapenzi was shot in cold blood in broad day light.
4. We have not forgotten how Vespers Shimuzhila was murdered in her hostel room at UNZA.
5. We have not forgotten how our hospitals were supplied with expired Condoms and other drugs.
6. We have not forgotten how our people were hounded out of markets, stations and many other trading places.
7. We have not forgotten how you closed radio and TV stations that did not support your thieving ways.
8. We have not forgotten how you issued NRCs to underage children in a bid to rig elections.
9. We have not forgotten how you cut off the entire country from Internet connection on voting day.
10. we have not forgotten how Government jobs and contracts where a preserve of your cadres and relatives.
11. We have not forgotten how Lawrence Banda was murdered in cold blood.
12. We have not forgotten how bloody and violent all elections were under your charge.
13. We have not forgotten how you mismanaged our treasury.
14. We have not forgotten how cadres became more powerful than the defence and police system of the state.
15. We have not forgotten how innocent girls were undressed in broad day light during youth day celebrations.

The list goes on.

As UPND in the North Western Province we are closely monitoring this unfortunate trend of people insulting the President at will.

Moving forward, we shall shall not take lightly anyone found wanting on this front.

You will have yourselves to blame should you be in conflict with both the law and the UPND.

We urge the Zambia police to protect the Presidency or allow us to help them maintain law and order.

Many countries in Africa have seen massive genocide because of careless tribal talk and we shall not allow anyone to split this country because of their selfish political ambitions.

Issued:
Emmanuel Samapimbi
Information and Publicity Secretary,
North Western Province
UPND.

THE WAR IN PF HAS JUST BEGUN

The Scoop Editorial: May 3, 2022

BELIEVE it or not, there may be no general conference for the Patriotic Front (PF) unless the current strategy from its acting president Given Lubinda and his followers changes. This is why in our editorial comment the other day, we categorically stated that “when and if” the general conference will take place.

Do you have any slightest idea why Lubinda abrogated the PF constitution by increasing the number of Members of the Central Committee to 72 and still intends to make it 80 by appointing 8 more? Listen, at the Convention, a new Central Committee is supposed to be ushered in. A new president is supposed to be elected.

If a new Central Committee is supposed to be ushered in, why waste time appointing new people who will only serve one month or so before another committee comes in? What is their role within this short time? Is it possible that the new PF president will appoint the same people to serve under him? No!

So, here is the issue. Former president Edgar Lungu’s invisible hand is very much at work. The whole issue is to put an unpopular PF president who will be answerable to Lungu and this will further weaken the PF as the main opposition political party.

By 2026, PF members will have bruised each other like male buffaloes fighting for mating rights. By the time the country will be goes to the polls, most PF members, especially presidential hopefuls, will be licking their wounds. Hold on, we will come to this issue later. Let us look at the glaring bleach of the PF constitution to facilitate for this.

Article 57(7)(b) of the PF constitution on election of Members of Central Committee says no person shall be eligible for election as a Member of the Central Committee unless he/she is a member of the party for at least five years. For how long has Raphael Nakacinda been in the PF for him to be in the Central Committee? It doesn’t matter because he is Lungu’s boy.

To show you further how the PF abuses its own constitution to favour the desire of a few individuals, on March 30, 2021, Charles Kakoma resigned from the UPND to join the PF. Exactly 12 days later, on April 11, 2021, he was appointed to the PF Central Committee. And who justified his appointment? It was Brian Mundubile, the same one who has been frozen out now because of harbouring presidential ambitions.

Mundubile justified Kakoma’s appointment by relying on Article 70 of the party constitution on national council and standing orders which provides that regulations and Standing Orders approved by the National Council shall be read as part of this Constitution and may be amended, rescinded or altered as provided in the Constitution.

We know that the PF constitution may be amended by the general conference of the party provided a notice of the proposed amendment has been circulated to members of the national council not less than one month before the meeting, according to Article 70.

The last PF General Conference was held from 10 -11 April 2021. Was the constitution amended to allow toddlers in the party like Kakoma to be appointed to the Central Committee less than two weeks after joining? If so, where is the amended constitution that Mundubile was talking about? Why has it been kept a secret if at all it exists?

But you see, they say Karma is a bitch. The same wrong things that Mundubile lugubriously defended have come back to devour him. Today, newcomer Nakacinda is in the Central Committee making decisions for the party while he is not. Kakoma would have been in the Central Committee had he not decided to run away while Mundubile is outside the wire whining.

Why was Mundubile dropped from the Central Committee yet he has fervently served the party for such a long period of time? Because he is a presidential hopeful and is an independent-minded man, these are the people Lungu doesn’t want.

He deals with stooges. Lungu and Lubinda’s relationship stems back to the UPND days when both were members. So, he would rather work with the devil he knows than angels who may be difficult to control. This is part of the bargaining process to which most of us are not privy. We will not go into detail because we still want to go and sleep on comfortable beds.

Is there any chance that Chishimba Kambwili and Emmanuel Mwamba could still stand as presidential candidates despite not having been members of the PF for five years as stipulated by the constitution? Yes. How? By first amending the constitution at the next General Conference as we stipulated above and reducing the time-frame to accommodate them.

Will it be done? Olo one day! Why? Because Mundubile, Kambwili, and Mwamba think independently and have more following than Lubinda and his bloated illegal Central Committee combined and cannot agree to work as stooges for anyone.

So, what is the way forward? The appointment of an illegal and bloated Central Committee is for endorsement purposes. Next month, we may be told that the party does not have money to go to the General Conference after which an announcement may be made that Lubinda or someone else who is controllable has been endorsed by the same bloated committee to be party president ahead of the 2026 general elections.

If this does not work, planning for the general conference will go ahead but then, the three Mailoni Brothers we have mentioned above will be nowhere near because, firstly, they will not qualify to be part of the General Conference and secondly, they will not be eligible to file as presidential hopefuls. Will the conference then go ahead? Probably not because there will be serious confusion. The three have the numbers capable of disrupting the conference.

Is Mundubile, Kambwili, and Mwamba planning to form a new political party? No! These want to fight the PF from inside. Just ignore some social media lies you were fed with the other day because they have no aorta of truth in them. The trio will cause serious havoc inside PF.

So, the endorsement route is the most probable. This is not something new. Lungu himself was never voted for as PF president throughout his entire life.

On November 30, 2014 he went unopposed after other presidential hopefuls could not make it into the conference due to unprecedented violence. No vote was cast. It was voting by raising hands. Sylvia Masebo remembers that day like yesterday as she was clobbered blue-black when she, as PF chairperson for elections, attempted to annul the election of Lungu at the last minute. Gunshots were fired.

On April 11, 2021, he was again endorsed by over 2,000 delegates as PF president after the Central Committee led by Davies Mwila previously endorsed his sole candidature saying they already had a party president ahead of the 2021 elections and there was no need to accommodate others and subject him to a vote.

We smell another endorsement from this illegal but bloated Central Committee very soon but there will be casualties on the way. The PF had a chance of making it and coming back stronger given the fact that the political environment is not as hostile as what they presented to opposition political parties when they were in power but greed is what will kill them.

If the PF is not careful, they will push themselves into extinction sooner than UNIP and MMD combined because they have maintained their thuggery, arrogance, tribal, and regional politics and they think that is what will resuscitate them.

The tribal story actually is one of the many evils that got them booted out of power but people like Nakacinda do not seem to have learnt anything from that episode. For now, we will keep watching from the terraces and see the drama unfold.- The Scoop Newspaper

PF Presidential hopeful Bizwell Mutale says the former ruling party can never be rebranded not even to be resuscitated for another breath in a Zambian Political lifetime.

Mr. Mutale says the new recycled non-performing Member of Central Committee appointed Party Acting President Given Lubinda is a final nail in the coffin.

He said the agenda of making sure that the Patriotic Front is dissolved and deregistered as an active political party in Zambia, has now come to light.

Mr. Mutale who is also PF mobilisation Committee Member said the grassroot members have stopped existing in the minds of the Central Committee as they are being ignored, a repeat of the candidate adoption mistake by the party in 2021.

He said that he is very concerned with the cartel working culture in the Patriotic Front, a signal that the former ruling party is completely gone and there is no return in any form.

Mr. Mutale said the Patriotic Front Party under the leadership style of Given Lubinda is dead and its time to pack the bags and stop dreaming of 2026.

He said the new cartel headed by Mr. Lubinda has risen to divide the PF deeper, shut the doors and send the party to its knees adding that the non-performing team of so-called Member of Central Committee is a new final team of PF Oblivion.

Below is a full statement

PATRIOTIC FRONT PARTY ACTING PRESIDENT HON. GIVEN LUBINDA HAS PUT A FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN-PF REST IN PEACE

By BIZWELL MUTALE-NATIONAL MOBILIZATION COMMITTEE MEMBER:

I have followed the unfolding events of Patriotic Front-Members of Central Committee with serious concerns and interest, the culture of working relationship between the Members of Central Committee and the Patriotic Front Members and their Party Structures has completely been driven apart and ignored.

The leadership of Hon Given Lubinda, the Acting Deputy President of Patriotic Front Party who forced the Patriotic Front Party President Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu then, to sign a letter of his appointment as the Acting Deputy President of Patriotic Front without a Central Committee Consultation and approval of his appointment Party Structures.

Patriotic Front Party was Seriously Humiliated in 2021 General Election to the UPND Party that formed the new Government now and it recorded first ever unexpected loss as a sitting Government in Power, the People Spoke widely to reject Patriotic Front Party Government, under his watch Hon Given Lubinda who was then, sitting as the Member of Central Committee and National Executive Committee the Highest making decisions body for the entire PF Party, failed to accept the failure of the entire MCC and he chose to be a leader now proven to be a disastrous leader and continued to drive the Party in non-rebrand mood.

The Current Central Committee has been rejected and asked to step down to allow the Party Rebranding and gain the confidence of the PF members and Members of the Public. The most unacceptable behaviour that brought Patriotic Front Party to Lose Election and booted out of the office, it has continued, now under the watchful eye of Hon Given Lubinda whose agenda is to destroy and send Patriotic Front into Oblivion.

Patriotic Front Party has just completed itself, to confirm to the Patriotic Front Members and the Members of the Public that, it can never be Rebranded not even to be resuscitated for another breath in a Zambian Political lifetime what a send-off.

The new recycled non-performing Member of Central Committee appointed by Patriotic Front Party Acting President Hon Given Lubinda, it’s a final nail in the coffin, Patriotic Front Rest in Peace.

The agenda of making sure that Patriotic Front Party is dissolved and deregistered as an active political party in Zambia, has now come to light and the master minder has continued to cartel very successful and the feelings of the Members, that has believed in this Party have been ignored. The grassroot members at this point they don’t exist completely ignored. This is a repeat of the Candidate adoption mistake made it was not a mistake it’s a planned move
I’am very concerned with this issue of working in a cartel group style, circle systems has continued and it’s a big signal to confirm that Patriotic Front has completely Gone its over, there is no Return back in any form by any means the dream ends here and now.

I want to assist the Acting Deputy President Hon Given Lubinda to confirm that Patriotic Front Party under his leadership style its time to Pack the Bags and stop dreaming for 2026. It will not be rebranded and revitalised in any form; the Party has a lot of members that can turn this Party Around 100% but the Cartel of Destruction the same Cartel that Operated towards the General Election has continued. Segregation, tribalism, greed, infighting, selfish, betrayal and regional cartel.

There is nothing that has changed or that will change looking at the current situation in the Patriotic Front Party, we are sinking, too many lies and fake Pretences in PF Political stance, its over and will not return or exist ever again, into a real-life PF it’s time to accept the reality and turn the new Chapter, process it and move on game over.
The existence of PF was living in denial, and it has continued to do so, due to the cartel that thinks, it can take the will of the Patriotic Front Member and the member of The Zambian Public for Granted. There are still some people who have continued to relate themselves that, we came with H.E. President Michael Chilufya Sata MHSRIP, making themselves to be more relevant than the others, even feel better than the Family of the Party Founding Father.

This kind of PF Politics is over, PF need to focus on the realistic, some were PF Members to work and build the Party around the Country, while some were members of PF just Fattening their stomachs at the expense of the deserving members of the PF, talking rubbish and blackmailing people whom they don’t even know about and cheating the President while embezzling funds from him with false Pretence.
There are many reasons this PF Party has got to this stage and it’s no longer rumours’ its factual. There was an internal backstabbing and tribal alignment, friends Pocket alignment in terms of operations resources and Presidential appointments, this was highly controlled by the internal tribal cartel, the President did not have much Power, this one and that one we are not together (ABA TATULIBONSE), now the same cartel today in cooking oil and water, the new Cartel headed by Hon Given Lubinda has risen to divide the PF deeper and shut the doors and send the Party to its knees good bye.

Patriotic Front Youth and women were used only when needed and no support, and not even allowed to meet or be greeted by the President. The Cartel will surround the President when on the tour like he is an egg, there were few Police Security near The President and more Cartels became the Security of The President, these are high ranking Ministers, Member of Parliament, State House Staff that were members of the Cartel headed by The Secretary General Hon Davis Mwila then.

This incapacitated the President to get to meet the Local Police officials, Government officials, PF Party Official at Provincial level, District and Constituencies officials, I was meeting these people and they briefed me their concerns and I gave it to the President. This was not a standard operation it was cartel operation, now it’s a check mate new cartel Hon Given Lubinda is running the new error of finishing what was left of PF.

The non-performing team of so-called Member of Central Committee; it’s a new final team of PF Oblivion send-off.