Nigerian vice president Yemi Osinbajo yesterday declared he would run for the nation’s top job next year when incumbent Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to step down.
He becomes the latest figure from the two main parties to join the race to lead Africa’s most populous country and biggest economy.
First elected as Buhari’s deputy in 2015, Osinbajo made the announcement after months of speculation on whether he planned to succeed his boss.
In a statement, the 65-year-old senior lawyer and former university teacher said his years of stewardship under Buhari had made him the best man for the job.
“Which is why I am today, with utmost humility, formally declaring my intention to run for the office of the President… on the platform of our great party, the All Progressives Congress,” Osinbajo said.
He promised to continue with Buhari’s policies and programmes, including huge projects of new roads and railways.
A key issue ahead of the February 2023 election is security, with Nigeria’s armed forces battling a jihadist insurgency in the northeast, violent criminal gangs in the northwest and separatist tensions in the southeast.
Osinbajo joins an array of aspirants from the ruling APC to vie for the party’s ticket.
APC leader and former Lagos Governor Bola Tinubu has already announced he would run. Osinbajo served under Tinubu as justice commissioner in Lagos for eight years.
Other APC aspirants are Transport minister Rotimi Amaechi and Yahaya Bello, the governor of central Kogi state.
The ruling party is expected to choose its flag bearer by June and the candidate will face whoever emerges from the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Former vice president Atiku Abubakar, 75, who has run five times for president, last month announced he would run again on the PDP platform.
An unwritten rule of Nigerian politics is that the presidency is expected to “rotate” between the mostly Muslim north and the predominantly Christian south in bid to share power more equally.
After Buhari, a Muslim from the north, completes his two terms next year, many southerners say the presidency should rotate back to their region.
Ukraine claims Russia deployed “chemical agents” in an attack on Mariupol citizens, causing soldiers and residents “dizzy and unable to breathe.”
As a result of the “unknown substance,” troops defending Mariupol’s port city are reportedly suffering from respiratory failure, dizziness, and other symptoms.
According to unsubstantiated accounts from the city’s Azov regiment, the unnamed agent was dumped on the southern city – which has suffered some of the bloodiest combat since the war began – by a Russian drone.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss responded to the claims by saying that if Russia deployed chemical weapons in its invasion of Ukraine, it would be a “callous escalation.”
On Twitter, she wrote: “Russian forces may have used chemical agents in an attack on the people of Mariupol, according to reports. We’re working with partners to confirm specifics as soon as possible.
“Any deployment of these weapons would be a callous escalation of the conflict, and we will hold Putin and his dictatorship accountable.”
It comes only hours after the UK Ministry of Defence warned Vladimir Putin that in order to retake Mariupol and break the Ukraine deadlock, he may resort to employing lethal “phosphorous bombs.”
The Ministry of Defense warned that Russian soldiers have previously employed the devices in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
“Russian troops’ earlier use of phosphorous munitions in the Donetsk Oblast enhances the prospect of their future use in Mariupol as the battle for the city intensifies,” the Ministry of Defense warned late Sunday.
When employed as a weapon, white phosphorus is used for nighttime illumination or to create a smokescreen, but it produces severe burns.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, has previously accused Russia of employing the toxin.
The Azov regiment of Ukraine’s far-right said: “In the city of Mariupol, Russian occupation troops employed a deadly material of unknown origin delivered by an enemy drone against Ukrainian military and civilians.
“The victims are suffering from respiratory failure… the consequences of the mysterious drug are still being investigated.”
Ivanna Klympush, a Ukrainian MP, tweeted on Monday evening: “Russia used an unknown substance in #Mariupol 1.5 hours ago.
“Victims suffer from respiratory failure and vestibular ataxia. Probably chem.weapons!
“This is the red line beyond which the despotic economy must be destroyed.
We demand a complete ban on all fuels from #RU as well as heavy weaponry from 2UA right now!”
The claimed attack occurred just hours after a pro-Russian commander in Donbas seemed to advocate for the use of chemical weapons.
They said Russia will “smoke the Ukrainian moles out of the subterranean,” according to official media.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Parliament has received allegations of Russian soldiers firing “nitric acid” in the Donetsk region, according to the Ukrainian Parliament.
Residents were advised to use “protective face masks drenched in soda solution,” according to the report. It’s unclear whether the two instances are connected.
Vadym Boychenko, the mayor of Mariupol, says the city has seen more than 10,000 dead so far.
Since the invasion began in late February, the port city has seen some of the most violent fighting.
Mr. Boychenko further warned that the death toll could reach 20,000, and that Russian soldiers are bringing cremation equipment into the city to dispose of dead.
For close to a week now, we have been subjected to a legal discourse around the Nolle entered by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Lillian Siyuni, SC in the criminal case of Milingo Lungu, the former KCM Liquidator who recently resigned his position.
Now we have a fierce battle between the DEC boss and the only lady with authority to authorise or not authorise prosecution of Milingo Lungu and any other criminal matter.
Reading some revelations in the Editorial of News Diggers Edition No. 1183 about the possible settlement after a nolle was entered, there appear to be something more than what meets the eye.
In all this discussion, it is the DPP herself, whose professional image is being damaged at the local and international plane because of the nolle she entered. On the other hand, the events are boasting the image of the new DEC Chief, Mary Chirwa, without appreciating what led to the DPP to enter a nolle prosqui in the matter she has re-opened.
Ms Siyuni has no legal obligation to provide reasons for entering a nolle or refusing to give permission to prosecute any criminal matter. However, this is a matter of public interest which has potential to ruin her reputation.
But maybe, just maybe, Ms Lillian Siyuni is that person with integrity and capable of standing upto some settlement which made her enter a nolle while politicians are doing the usual thing they are good at: deception.
There is nothing strange about settlements or bargaining in criminal matters. They happen even in the civilised world such as the United States of America, involving prosecutors and accused persons represented by lawyers. But these settlements in the US are done by honest parties, people with integrity who don’t backtrack as long as they all met their obligations.
In Zambia, we have seen criminal settlements executed by the office of the DPP, who is the only authority to stop any criminal prosecution. We saw one such settlement in the treason case of President Hakainde Hichilema and others. A lot of work was done by visiting former President Obasango, the church and finally the Commonwealth Secretary General. This settlement led to a nolle entered in favour of Mr. Hakainde Hichilema and others. Parties acted honestly with each other.
I also had a brief chat with late President Kenneth Kaunda who briefly explained how his retirement from active politics was some form of a settlement but that is a story for another day. I am not good about writing books but probably, such information will one day come out in future.
What about Milingo Lungu? Was his resignation attached to some form of settlement which was revealed by the media and government is simply acting dishonestly by u-turning from that deal after he met his obligation?
Because of public interest and the potential that this ongoing battle will damage the career standing of the Director of Public Prosecutions, it is important that Ms Lillian Siyuni must speak out on her decision making process leading to the nolle. Otherwise, after she is hounded out of office as DPP, she won’t remain in the same standing, especially if she decides to pursue a career outside the country.
So the DPP cannot remain mute at a very crucial time like this. The Attorney General himself cannot remain mute while the DPP is being prosecuted in the court of public opinion. Mr. Milingo and his lawyers should also know that remaining mute is damaging the career standing of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The big questions are: what does the Attorney General, the DEC Director and the ACC Director know about this deal? Zambians are yearning for the truth of what really happened for that nolle to have been entered. DPP must speak out. AG must speak out. Lawyers must speak out.
It is clear, now more than ever that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Lilian Siyuni is doing everything in her power to protect those who have plundered the resources of Zambia from the previous regime of the Patriotic Front.
It is clear, even for a blind man to see, that Siyuni is acting in a way that undermines the policy direction of the government, that she by virtue of being that office, works for.
Forget the fact that sh was appointed in the previous regime of the PF. The PF is gone now and there is a new government in place. The UPND government.
This government has set out on an ambitious fight against corruption that has seen a number of arrests made. Now if the DPP, as some of the contents of the letter she allegedly wrote to Mary Chirwa, the Director General of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) shows here, is angry at the fact that the DEC decided to re-arrest Milingo Lungu, the provisional liquidator of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), after her office entered a Nolle Prosequi in this high profile case where he is accused acquiring property reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime amongst other charges that are of public interest, then clearly Siyuni is working to undermine the government of the day.
If Siyuni and her office did not have the decency to inform the DEC that they had decided to enter a Nolle Prosequi in this case, why then must she be angry that the DEC did not inform her office of it’s decision to arrest Lungu? In any case and as far as we are concerned, there is no need to for the DEC to inform her of it’s decision because the DEC is not a branch of her office hence it’s terms if reference are clear on what it’s mandate is — which is to arrest perpetrators of crime and ensure that they are taken before a court of law to be tried.
With this back ground, it is clear that the DPP has an unknown agenda but, from the looks of it, is meant to protect certain individuals from facing the law and for justice to take it’s course. The DPP is also undermining the government and by virtue, the President.
It is therefore incumbunt that the UPND government takes keen interest in what is going on at the National Prosecutions Authority (NPA) were the Director of Public Prosectutions sits. If action to remove Siyuni can be taken, then let it be done because it is evident now that she is not working in unison with law enforcement agencies and the government hence there is no need for her to continue in that position.
We also encourage Siyuni that if she feels and believes that what is currently going on goes against what she believes and stands for, then the best thing will be for her to resign rather than continue to have a tag of war with the powers that be and in the end, things may just end up getting messy.
Zambia faces power blues …as China pulls plug off Kafue Gorge Lower project
12th April 2022
Zambia´s aspirations of becoming a net exporter of electricity in the region have been ground to a halt after the biggest financier of its ambitious expansion programme China decided to stop funding the US$2.3billion project started by President Edgar Lungu. This has raised deep concern from ZESCO insiders especially engineers who hoped the increased generation of power over time would to the following:
• Reduce power outages in Zambia • Help increase production in the mining industry • Help increase agriculture production and • Ear huge amounts of money from exporting power to neighbouring countries such as South Africa, Namibia, Democratic Republic of Congo and others “All this dream is shattered now after the government of President Hichilema just chose to blatantly and rudely ignore the importance of China when he assumed power,” an insider said. To those that do not know about the Kafue Gorge project it involved the following between China and Zambia following good relations President Lungu enjoyed with President Xi Jinping administration. • China would provide a total of five (5) power machines to increase electricity for Zambia • The total cost is US2.3 billion Zambia was to pay, regarded as concessional without ties like IMF or the west does • So far China has provided three power machines with the capacity of producing 150 megawatt’s each, if you multiply that by five, that will bring the total to 750 megawatts • But now only three are installed and two are abandoned or dumped by China and wont happen again.
CONSEQUENCES
The consequences are that the power generation drive President Edgar Lungu started that has seen a major reduction in Zambia power loses could return. The money Zambia was going to gain from exporting power to neighbouring countries is not going to be forthcoming. The question therefore is, with austerity measures the IMF has imposed on Hichilema´s government, how will they pay China back its US$2.3 billion?
ZESCO CEO Victor Mapani in the meantime—who was stopped from giving himself a K2.8 million personal loan and buy 25 luxury vehicles—has no clue how to get the state energy company out of its current black hole. Mapani´s crowning glory is that he boasts to have the ability to do no wrong in the eyes of Hichilema who trusts him the way he trusts his wife to run the company.
The worst case though is if Zambia cant pay China US2.3 billion, how will they even access a meagre US$1.3 billion from the IMF? At the bottom of this according to insiders is Hichilema´s decision to treat China like trash and cosy with junior western diplomats, forgetting who funds Zambia the most.
It is shocking to see the whole Republican President and his entire government machinery move all the way from Lusaka to Northern Province at a huge cost to the national treasury just to go and campaign for a simple WARD by-election at a time when our people are going through tremendous economic challenges, and at a time when government has literally got no money to waste on such unnecessary trips.
Mr Hichilema promised the people of Zambia that once elected, he would not be wasting their hard earned taxpayers’ money on unnecessary expenditure such as the trip he is undertaking today but like he has reneged on most of his campaign promises, he has continued to recklessly deplete the national coffers on his unproductive voyages and adventures with no any sense of concern or care for the suffering masses.
The entire Government and its machinery has shifted to a tiny ward of Lukutu which has less than 1700 registered voters at the expense of poor Zambian taxpayers. There are 4 helicopters, over 50 government vehicles, numerous Cabinet Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, District Commissioners and countless Senior Government officials that have gone and are camping in Lukutu. They are wasting man-hours campaigning for UPND in Lukutu Ward while amassing hefty allowances and other incentives at the expense of poor taxpayers who are suffering and are in dire need of some breathing space from the prevailing excruciating economic challenges.
Why is Mr. Hichilema wasting taxpayers’ money on such unnecessary trips; does the man care that there are no medicines in the hospitals; does he even know that the majority of the people in Lukutu Ward who depend on farming have not received fertiliser from his failed Government; why can’t he use the huge amounts of public resources that he is wasting on electioneering and campaigning to uplift the lives of the people of Lukutu by giving them agro-inputs?
Contrary to the electoral code of conduct, the UPND are using and abusing government resources campaigning in the Lukutu Ward. They have flooded the ward with lots of government vehicles which they are disguising as personal motor vehicles by removing or hiding the number plates. This behaviour is criminal and must be stopped forthwith. These are the same things that the UPND were accusing the PF of doing yet they are the worst culprits.
We have observed a number of government trucks heading to Lukutu, it seems the President has finally opted to give the great people of Lukutu the fertiliser which his government has up to now failed to deliver. One can only wonder, of what use will that fertiliser be, looking at the fact that farming season has already come to a close.
Last February when Mr Hichilema realised that they were losing the by-election in Kabwata Constituency, they quickly duped the voters by reducing fuel prices by K1; we hope that he will do the same by reducing the price of fuel by atleast K4 so that the people of Lukutu in particular and the people of Zambia in general may atleast get some relief and breathing space from the escalating prices of goods and services and the crushing high cost of living they are currently burdened with.
For us as PF, we are happy to note that Mr. Hichilema has realised that the UPND have lost popularity and they cannot win even a simple WARD election without the heavy involvement of the President, his entire cabinet and the entire state machinery getting heavily involved. This is clearly a show of no-confidence. The UPND are fully aware that things on the ground are bad; the economy has collapsed, people have no money, the cost of living is escalating, the prices of essential goods and services are beyond the reach of many Zambians and the jobs they promised the youths are nowhere to be found.
This is a government in crisis; they have no economic plan and they are failing to provide any direction or hope on how they will solve the many challenges our people are facing. They are panicking, hence these desperate manoeuvres by the President to spend so much time and waste so much money and human resource going to campaign in a simple Ward election.
We want to remind President Hichilema that his primary and only objective should be to help provide solutions to the numerous socio-economic problems facing our people. This is not the time for cheap politics and blame-games; our people are under so much economic stress and they need a government that can give them hope and economic direction not a government that is hellbent at killing multi-party democracy and turning the country into a defacto one-party state. So Mr. President stop these wasteful expenditures and focus on delivering your campaign promises.
Issued by Hon. Nickson Chilangwa, MP, MCC, AIH Acting Secretary General Patriotic Front Acting
BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, has come under pressure to delay demands for debt interest payments from Zambia to prevent the crisis-hit African country’s finances from spiralling out of control.
Anti-poverty campaigners said BlackRock, which manages $10tn (£7.68tn) of assets, was among the private sector lenders that had refused to reduce the interest rate or delay payments on Zambian bonds, unlike governments and international agencies that hold the country’s debts.
The charity Jubilee Debt Campaign said it estimated the asset manager, which holds $220m of Zambian sovereign bonds, could generate $180m for clients, mostly in its index-linked exchange-traded funds, if the debts were paid in full.
“This would represent a 110% profit on what we estimate BlackRock paid for the debt,” the charity said.
Zambia, which has cut health and social care spending by a fifth in the past two years to balance its budget, has seen its debts soar in recent years to fund infrastructure projects, many to help the country supplement drought-affected hydropower plants.
Solar energy projects have made the country almost self-sufficient in electricity, but the high cost of borrowing and the Pandemic crisis has crippled the country’s finances.
Further loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have been tied to commitments to end fuel subsidies to households and businesses, pushing the inflation rate above 20% last year.
Of Zambia’s external debt, 46% is owed to private lenders, 22% to China, 8% to other governments and 18% to multilateral institutions.
China is among the government lenders to agree a longer debt repayment schedule that private lenders, including banks, have so far resisted, the Jubilee Debt campaign said.
The Zambian government has already defaulted on loans from commercial lenders and could default on further loans, risking it becoming a pariah on international debt markets.
Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the charity estimates Zambia’s bonds have had an average face value of 59 cents on the dollar, and the average interest rate on its bonds is 8.1%. The southern African country applied for a new G20 debt relief scheme at the start of 2021 but has not yet had any debt cancelled.
Tim Jones, the Jubilee Debt Campaign’s head of policy, said BlackRock had bought Zambian bonds at rock-bottom prices when it was clear the country was already in trouble.
He said: “It is unfair for BlackRock and other lenders to make massive profits out of Zambia’s debt crisis. If BlackRock refuses to cancel Zambia’s debt, then the UK and other G20 countries should support Zambia to stay in default on BlackRock.”
Isaac Mwaipopo, a member of the Zambia Civil Society Debt Alliance, said: “Zambia’s debt crisis is preventing people getting access to healthcare, education and other social services.
“We urgently need all of Zambia’s lenders, including BlackRock, to agree to cancel debt so we can recover from the pandemic and the economic crisis we face. Loans were given at high interest rates, and have been trading at low prices, so it is only fair lenders agree significant debt cancellation, rather than making mass profit out of the Zambian people.”
Sign up to the daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk Negotiations on the debt restructuring are due to take place later this month. G20 finance ministers are scheduled to meet on 20 April, during the IMF spring meetings, to discuss the progress of the debt relief scheme, known as the common framework.
Zambia, Chad and Ethiopia applied last year for debt relief under the common framework, which the IMF said has yet to be agreed, partly because it requires private creditors to participate “on comparable terms to overcome collective action challenges and ensure fair burden sharing”.
A BlackRock spokesperson disputed the charity’s estimates of potential gains, saying there had not been any significant increases in the firm’s holdings of Zambian debt since September 2020 “other than as required to ensure the funds remain near or at the benchmark”.
They added: “The money invested in bonds by asset managers is predominantly the money of ordinary people saving for retirement. None of the money is the asset manager’s. Any decision on restructuring these bonds must therefore be balanced against the duty of the asset manager to protect the savings of the millions of people whose money was lent to these countries, while at the same time recognising the difficult circumstances they are facing from the challenges posed by the pandemic.
The spokesperson said the firm had “no discretion” to sell bonds held in index funds, “so it is in our clients’ interests for these countries to thrive and succeed”.- theguardian
APOLOGIES TO ECL: “SIR, ON BEHALF OF THE 2.8M THAT NEVER BELIEVED IN YOUR REIGN, WE ARE SORRY!”
Hon.Munsanje UPND Member from Chilanga Wrote;
I write this epistle from the deepest of my heart in representing my fellow doubting Thomases then, who tended to be the 2.8m that stood against your Leadership.
Mr. President, when you were in office, we were flashed with Mr. Calculator man who tended to miscalculate the method of lowering fuel prices. Because of our fear for maths, we believed his K5 answer.
He later, went on and calculated how he could lower the cost of living and doing business. Because we never looked at how he jumped into riches, we took him seriously and gave him 2.8m votes against your 1.8m.
Mr. President, what surprises us most is that on 13rd June 2013 when the then President MCS decided to remove fuel subsidies, he stood firm and denounced the move. Even when you (ECL) assumed Presidency, he rubbished fuel increase.
Today, he doesn’t even want to be told and at his own peril, he increases fuel claiming that he is removing the already removed subsidies. He also claimed that us farmers will be buying a bag of fertilizer at K100 but today, it is at K900 when you left it at K700.
Sir, the increase of fuel has increased all foodstuffs. Not just that, it has also increased bus fares and now, we are tending to forget how our family members look like. Don’t talk about hunger because a meal a day is hard to have nowadays. Kapamela kanadura nako!
Mr. President, I don’t know how this message will reach you but in whatever ways that it will reach, on behalf of the 2.8m Praise Singers, I am sorry for having rubbished your good reign. I am sorry for not giving you my vote!
Because we took your advice then lightly, by June this year, on command, these guys are again claiming removal of subsidy for their planned fuel increase. Sir, we are sorry!
UPND Government won’t see heaven for having lied to us during the daylight Sir! President ECL, surely, you ruled us better than aba Bambi!
Rating agency Fitch has warned that disagreements and prolonged negotiations with some official and private creditors over Zambia’s debt might push the eventual IMF deal into 2023.
It says the timelines issued by the Zambian government for the final IMF approval within first half of 2022 is optimistic.
It says Zambia has just conducted an IMF/World Bank Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) which will be the basis of discussions within the creditor committee.
The rating agency added that the outcome of the creditor committee will be enshrined in a memo of understanding (MOU) outlining a proposed debt treatment.
“Zambia will then approach its private creditors to negotiate debt treatment on comparable terms. The government’s announced timeline anticipates the formation of the creditor committee, agreement with private creditors, and final IMF Board approval of the ECF all within 1H22. Fitch believes that this timeline is optimistic,” it said in a note to investors.
It stated that disagreements among official creditors or prolonged negotiations with private creditors could push the date of an eventual agreement back into first half of 2022 or 2023.
“Fitch believes that a sizable debt treatment will be necessary to bring Zambia’s debt to a level deemed sustainable by the IMF and Zambia’s creditors. Total public sector stood at 108% of GDP at end-2021 and we expect it to fall below 100% by 2023, as Zambia narrows its primary deficit. However, we forecast debt to increase to just under 500% of government revenue in 2022, above the ‘B’/’C’/’D’ median of 328%.Of this amount, USD14.7 billion (59% of GDP) is external debt,” it said.
It says, “Eurobonds account for USD3 billion of Zambia’s debt, a high percentage of debt compared to other countries going through CF restructuring. The possibility of Eurobond holders rejecting the MOU’s terms brings risks to the timeline. Zambia has an additional USD4 billion in contracted but undisbursed debt, which is not included in the debt stock. Fitch expects about half of this contracted debt to be negotiated away.”
The ‘CCC’ rating reflects that the government has continued to service its local-currency debt and has not announced any plans to restructure domestic debt as part of the CF.
Domestic banks and other institutions hold the majority of outstanding domestic debt; although the stock of non-resident investment increased in 2020 and 2021 and is now 28% of the total.
A domestic debt restructuring could create additional liabilities to the government, making it counterproductive.
However, the domestic debt stock is large at ZMW197 billion (48% of GDP). The size of the necessary overall debt treatment, as well as the size of the necessary fiscal adjustment, mean that sizable risks to domestic debt will persist.
And Fitch Ratings has affirmed Zambia’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘RD’ and has also affirmed the Long-Term Local-Currency (LTLC) IDR at ‘CCC’.
“The ‘RD’ rating reflects that Zambia has not serviced the bulk of its outstanding external debt since failing to make a Eurobond interest payment in October 2020. Subsequently, the government announced that it would stop servicing all of its external debt, excluding some priority project loans, and applied for debt relief under the G20 Common Framework (CF). In December 2021, the government reached staff-level agreement on an IMF programme, which clears the way for convening of an official bilateral creditor committee to discuss potential debt treatments.”
It says the affirmation of Zambia’s ‘CCC’ LTLC IDR reflects that the government continues to service its local-currency debt.
And on the foreign reserves, Fifth says a combination of higher copper export receipts and financial account inflows have improved Zambia’s international reserves position.
“We forecast reserves to reach USD2.9 billion, or 3.6 months of current external payments (CXP) at end-2022, up from 3.4 months of CXP at end-2020. If the IMF Board approves the ECF, disbursements from the IMF and other multilateral lenders would further bolster reserves.”
“However, higher import prices will contribute to a narrowing of the current account surplus in 2022 and the eventual resumption of debt servicing will contribute to falling reserves in 2023.”
Fitch expects real GDP growth of 3.3% in 2021 and expect medium-term growth of approximately 3%.
“Inflationary pressures will increase along with high global commodity prices, as the government has ended its explicit fuel subsidy as part of its IMF programme. However, fuel prices are still regulated by the government and the government could delay hiking fuel prices, with resultant losses falling on its balance sheet.”
It says the government will also face higher costs for its fertiliser subsidies through the Farmer Income Support Programme.
“The need to tighten monetary policy would put additional pressure on domestic government borrowing. The government’s increased call on domestic debt markets have crowded out private sector credit, which we forecast to remain in negative”.
THE argument that it is hard to remove a DPP from office is neither here nor there as past evidence is abundant to effect that an appointing authority when determined to disappoint the DPP has been done without much drama.
Art 180 (7) of the Constitution of Zambia says …the Director of Public Prosecutions shall have regard to the public interest, administration of justice, the integrity of the judicial system and the need to prevent and avoid abuse of the legal process
The question to be answered is, has the current DPP lived up to the demands of the provisions in Art 180(7)?
YES, the DPP can leave office by retirement, removal and/or resignation. YES, there is a process to remove the DPP in Zambia.
Art 182(3) is instructive that the Director of Public Prosecutions may be removed from office on the same grounds and procedure as apply to a judge
Art 143 and 144 provides how a judge can be removed which also apply to the removal of the DPP and the grounds and procedure for the removal.
The grounds on which the judge and DPP can be removed from office are mental or physical disabilities, incapable of performing, incompetence; gross misconduct; or bankruptcy.
Art 266 defines gross misconduct to mean— (a) behaviour which brings a public office into disrepute, ridicule or contempt; (b) behaviour that is prejudicial or inimical to the economy or the security of the State; (c) an act of corruption; or (d) using or lending the prestige of an office to advance the private interests of that person, members of that person’s family or another person;
Art 270 of the Constitution states thus; In this Constitution, unless a contrary intention is expressed, power to appoint a person to hold or act in an office includes the power to confirm appointments, to exercise disciplinary control over the person holding or acting in the office and to remove that person from office
…we can play politics after wrongs are corrected – Nevers
By Charles Tembo
MMD president Nevers Mumba says the UPND government must not be allowed to fail.
He says the last ten years took Zambia in a forbidden direction.
“The new government must wrestle to turn the trend back to a prosperous path. We all need to play our part and make it work. We can play politics after these wrongs are corrected but not now,” he urged.
Mumba is on a consultative national tour and on Saturday arrived in Mansa, Luapula Province.
“Luapula was one time a thriving, prosperous province, creating and providing jobs to the people of the province. Mansa batteries, Kawambwa tea, a thriving fishing industry and an impressive agricultural outfit. The quality of life of the Luapula people was reasonably comfortable. We however cannot say the same today. Life has become unbearable for many of our brothers and sisters in the province. The question is, can Luapula live again? We believe it can and it shall,” he said, in a Facebook posting. “It is for this reason we have advanced the idea that the current UPND government must not be allowed to fail. The last ten years took Zambia in a forbidden direction. The new government must wrestle to turn the trend back to a prosperous path. As MMD we have chosen to partner with development efforts being made by our colleagues in government.”
He said the MMD leadership has chosen Zambia above politics.
“Zambia must recover from the last ten years of economic retardation. Every Zambian must rally together to end the economic decay that characterised the last decade,” Mumba said. “The debt soared from $3 billion in 2011 to $27 billion in 2021. The kwacha fell from the rate of K3.50 in 2011 to K23.00 to $1.00. The foreign reserves fell radically as well. It is fair to state that almost all economic indicators slumped into the red. It will take extraordinary diligence and skill to turn the economy around. We all need to play our part and make it work. We can play politics after these wrongs are corrected but not now.”
Mumba has invited “colleagues in the Patriotic Front to also cooperate in bringing the economy back home”.
FORMER home affairs minister Stephen Kampyongo has reminded the UPND that they were voted in office to “fix” the problems of citizens and not to fix citizens themselves.
He also disclosed that unlike the bragging UPND,
the IMF and PF failed to agree on the issues of price of fuel, electricity and the price of farming inputs.
“We didn’t fail. We were just resolved that what they wanted us to put in the deal, we could not agree because we had been on that route before. ‘Tighten your belts’, we had been there in MMD’s time,” Kampyongo said.
Speaking when he featured on Radio Mano FM in Kasama on Saturday, Kampyongo who is Shiwang’andu PF member of parliament accused the UPND of pleasing foreign investors at the expense of Zambians.
“There is no government which tells the people to sort their problems on their own. Yes, indeed the price of fuel on the international market has gone up. I think by now it is at [US $] 92.2 per barrel, which is an increment of two per cent but what resources do we also have? It is copper. The mineral we mine in this country. It is now at $11,000 per metric tonne. So we can’t say we don’t have where to look at all. These are ideas we are giving. We were in office,” he said.
“We can’t rejoice in the suffering of Zambians. Who can rejoice? Here where we all are when you woke up people are asking for help from the little that you have. Everyone is affected and it is not like we are rejoicing when the cost of living has become unbearable. There is no medicine in hospitals. No one is happy. The government must figure out how to help the citizens. We have a record high of copper prices on the international market so as we are buying fuel at a high price, why can’t we also sell copper at a high price? This can give us something to work with. Now it is like they want to please the mining investors. We told them to manage the mineral royalty tax well because it is where we also benefit from. That is what God gave us.”
Kampyongo urged President Hakainde Hichilema to think critically on possible solutions to the prevailing economic and social challenges.
“What we need is for them to think critically. President Hakainde was saying [former] president [Edgar] Lungu did not know what he was doing. He said ‘when I come into State House, in the morning the dollar will lose its power, by afternoon, the kwacha will appreciate and prices of fuel will go down’. So it is better he comes back and tell Zambians that ‘I didn’t deliver on my promise’. If we get a lot of money from minerals, we can subsidise fuel for our citizens,” he said.
“This is the fixing the government was promising Zambians. It is not to fix people. Like my colleague said about the mines, us (PF) we were resolved even this thing they were calling IMF, which they were bragging that we sealed the deal while we failed. We didn’t fail. We were just resolved that what they wanted us to put in the deal, we could not agree because we had been on that route before. ‘Tighten your belts!’ we had been there in MMD’s time. What was difficult over the IMF and PF failing to agree was the issue of the price of fuel and the price of farming inputs. What we call FISP programme and price of electricity. These three things are the ones we failed to agree on. We told them, us (PF) we have people that farm. Vulnerable farmers. We said fertiliser was expensive for our small-scale farmers. But our friends did it quickly. They signed and started celebrating.”
He said with an IMF deal fuel prices would continue to escalate.
“Now with that package, the price of fuel will never come down. Input distribution should go up to March in Kasama surely? Here people have even rejected the inputs and asked government to come and pick them up. You can get frustrated. Even the price of electricity will increase very soon. There is no medicine in hospital. Minister [Health Sylvia Masebo] you have worked in many regimes; we were telling you there was no medicine. Can sickness wait for medicine? It is today, I was hearing that medicines came in on Thursday, and it will be distributed in five districts. So we were not lying when we said there was no medicine,” said Kampyongo.
“We are not frustrated. Politics is like a game of football. This one passes on to another. Today one can be on top, the other day another…Tomorrow PF can come back. It is the people who will say. So government must pay attention.”
According to Vatican News, Pope Francis received in audience Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized him to promulgate decrees concerning various causes showing richness in examples of limitless charity and heroism in the face of violence.
Bishop Mazzieri, a member of the Friars Minor Conventual, originally from Italy was also a missionary. Mazzieri became Bishop when Ndola became the Apostolic Vicariate in 1949 and served until his retirement in 1966.Bishop Mazzieri is buried at St. Theresa Mission in Ibenga, Mpongwe District.
Below is the full report by Vatican……….
A lay saint and two martyrs of Nazism soon to be raised to the altars
Pope Francis authorizes the promulgation of decrees recognizing a miracle attributed to an Italian layman, the martyrdom of two Italian priests who died during the Second World War, and the heroic virtues of seven new Venerables, including two missionary bishops and three laywomen. By Alessandro De Carolis
Pope Francis on Saturday received in audience Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized him to promulgate decrees concerning various causes showing a richness in examples of limitless charity and heroism in the face of violence. The first decree regarded Blessed Artemide Zatti, an Italian layman, originally from Boretto in the Po Valley where he was born in 1880.The family emigrated to Argentina when Artemide was 17 and settled in Bahia Blanca. There the young man met the Salesians and entered the Congregation as a professed member, but he came down with tuberculosis. When he recovered he chose not to become a priest but to dedicate himself to the sick in order to fulfill a vow he made to Mary Help of Christians. He offered this service for the rest of his life at the Hospital of Viedma as vice-director, administrator, and nurse, and was appreciated and esteemed by his patients and their families, until he died of cancer in 1951.Zatti’s miracle
Pope St. John Paul II beatified Artemide Zatti in 2002. The miracle recognized on Saturday for canonization dates back to 2016 with the healing of a Filipino man from Tanauan Batangas, who suffered near fatal severe ischemic stroke, worsened by heavy bleeding. His family did not have the means to pay for his operation and brought him home on 21 August. However, on 24 August, he suddenly removed the nasogastric tube providing him with nourishment and oxygen, asked for something to eat, and in the following days, resumed his normal life. It was his brother, a Salesian coadjutor in Rome, who, on the same day he was admitted to hospital, had begun to pray for the intercession of Blessed Artemide Zatti.
Martyrdom of two priests The stories of martyrs and future Blesseds Fr. Giuseppe Bernardi and Fr. Mario Ghibaudo highlight their courage and faith to the point of offering their lives, in the face of a brutal hatred shown by their aggressors. After the armistice of 1943, the town of Boves, in the Italian province of Cuneo, was at the crossroads of German forces and the struggle of the partisans. On 19 September, after a clash in which one man died on each side and two soldiers were taken prisoner, German Major Peiper threatened to destroy the town if his two captured men were not released, along with the body of the one who was killed.
Fr. Giuseppe Bernardi and another person successfully mediated the situation, and obtained what was requested from the besiegers, but they did not keep their word. The German major then gave the order to attack and took the priest and another person, Antonio Vassallo, into an armored car and forced them to witness summary executions and setting fire to homes.
It is at this time that at around 4:30 pm the vicar of the parish, Fr. Mario Ghibaudo, died. After saving the girls of the orphanage and others, he visited someone who had been hit by German machine gun fire to give him Last Rites, but he was in turn shot down by gunfire and mutilated by a soldier. Around 6 pm, Fr. Bernardi and the other man were taken to a courtyard, executed and set on fire.Heroic Virtues
The decrees signed by Pope Francis on Saturday also recognize the heroic virtues of seven Servants of God, currently considered Venerable by the Church. Spanish Bishop Martino Fulgenzio Elorza Legaristi, born in 1899, a member of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, worked in a Peruvian territory entrusted to him, marked by poverty. He often visited local parishes, going by foot, horseback or by canoe. He began the construction of a cathedral and new churches in the villages, and also took part in the first Sessions of the Second Vatican Council. He died in Lima in 1966.Bishop Francesco Costantino Mazzieri, a member of the Friars Minor Conventual, originally from Abbadia di Osimo (1889), was also a missionary. In 1930, he felt the call to evangelize far from Italy, and was sent with six confreres to what is now Zambia, in the district of Ndola (then Northern Rhodesia), a British colony at the time. For 36 years, he gave witness to pioneering evangelization that helped the Church grow despite the difficult and impervious conditions. He chose to reside in the rural area of Santa Teresa (Ibenga-Zambia) and his humility, and together with his great charitable sensitivity, he worked heroically taking care of lepers. He was loved by the people and died in 1983, always remembered for his personal holiness. The new Venerables also include foundresses of religious institutes.
Lucia Noiret (born in 1832 in France) founded the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus under the protection of St. Joseph. After her novitiate with the Sisters of Charity, she was transferred to the Italian city of Imola as an educator in a facility for poor girls and orphans. When the Superior General decided to recall the religious, Sister Lucia, on the advice of the Bishop of Imola, Luigi Tesorieri, remained to serve at the facility. Several young women joined her and this was the first group of the future congregation. She died in Imola in 1899.Casimira Gruszczyńska was born in 1848 in Kozienice (modern-day Poland), where she spent her entire life until her death in 1927. She made a vow of private chastity at the age of 10, which she renewed at the age of 21 with the permission of the parish priest during a Mass at the parish church. The following year, her mother died and the future foundress devoted herself to visiting the sick and teaching catechism to children. In 1875, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Heart of Jesus, but when the Czarist regime decreed the dissolution of religious institutes on the territory of the Kingdom of Poland, members of the Congregation went into hiding, continuing to work discreetly without the recognition given by a religious habit. In 1882, she founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Afflicted, dedicated to the care of the sick and suffering, subject to the Rule of the Franciscan Third Order, which she directed for 45 years. In 1922, Pope Pius XI awarded her the medal “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.”Two of the three laywomen recognized as Venerable are of the same age.
Aurora Calvo Hernández-Agero from Spain, born in 1901, lived in Béjar all her life. From a deeply Christian family, her brother was a priest and she wished to become a Discalced Carmelite, but the need to care for her elderly mother prevented her from entering the contemplative life. She worked as a catechist and strove in every way to deepen her inner life with intensity and care, consecrating herself to the Virgin Mary and showing a great passion for spiritual exercises. She died of a pneumonia in 1933.Rosalia Celak was born in 1901 in Jachówka, Poland. At the age of 17 she took a private vow of chastity, and at 23, she left for Krakow where she stayed for a year with an elderly woman helping her with housework. While still in Krakow, the following year she began to work as an orderly for the sick in the surgical department of St. Lazarus Hospital in the same city and, after about two months, she was transferred to the department of skin and venereal diseases. In 1927, she entered the Poor Clares of Krakow, but her weak health did not allow her to remain there and the following year she returned to her work in the hospital of St. Lazarus, gaining the trust and respect of all. In the final period her life, her faith grew strongly in mystical union with Jesus. She died at the age of 43 in Krakow in 1944.Twenty years older is the third laywoman whose heroic virtues have been recognized. Maria Aristea Ceccarelli was born in Ancona, Italy, in 1883, into a family that did not appreciate her. Her mother, illiterate, had a closed and very harsh character, while here father was violent, a gambler and alcoholic, taking an aversion to Aristea. The girl grew up in a world of loneliness, psychological and material poverty. She suffered from hunger and cold, and started work at a young age as a seamstress at 6 years old until she was 11, when she started working in a restaurant. Her parents force her to marry Igino Bernacchia, and the two agreed to live with her in-laws, where Aristea did domestic work and also worked in the bakery, butcher store and family grocery store. Her father-in-law and husband were also abusive and, unfortunately, in 1902, she suffered a serious and painful illness that led to the removal of her right eye. Aristea found comfort in constant prayer, and when her husband’s work meant that they had to move to Rome, she entrusted herself to the spiritual guidance of two Camillians, living her mission in hospitals, particularly at the Umberto I Sanatorium, among those suffering from tuberculosis, especially children, and visiting the sick in their homes, consoling them and helping them materially. She died in Rome on Christmas Eve 1971.
Kindly take note of the letter below that sheds more light on Pope Francis decree over our First Bishop of Ndola diocese – Bishop Francis Mazzieri OFM conv By Friar Angelo Paleri, OFM Conv.
Ghana’s dancing pallbearers have sold their famous coffin dance meme as Non-Fungible Token or NFT for over $1 million.
The sale of the meme was led by the Ukrainian advertising agency, Zlodei Advertising. The agency said it sold it at an NFT auction for 327 ETH (ether), which is equivalent to $1,047,806. Dubai-based 3F Music came out on top in the bidding round. This means 3F Music is now the official owner of the Coffin Dance meme.
The New Voice of Ukraine reports that at least $250,000 from the sale will go to support Ukraine through the international charitable foundation Come Back Alive. Also, $500,000 will go to the stars of the viral video and the creator of the meme while the advertising agency will receive $250,000.
“We negotiated for a long time – almost a year-and-a-half… For the last few months, we have been actively working on the concept, which was changed due to the outbreak of war. But the result is really cool. We are happy to share this success, even more,” the creators of the Coffin Dance token said on Facebook.
“We have almost no profit from our popularity before. All meme videos were monetized by the music label. We need your support for further creative development, as well as help from Ukraine. We can do a lot if we finally have the resources to develop our creativity, this will also give an ever-increasing value to our world fame put up for auction,” Benjamin Aidoo, the leader of the group, added.
The dancing pallbearers went viral in 2020 amidst the pandemic and attracted both local and international interest. Their coffin dance meme served as a warning message for people to stay indoors in order to stop the transmission of the virus and to save them from death.
The meme was even shared by former U.S. President Donald Trump on his official Facebook page, which mocked a controversial statement made by his Democratic rival, Joe Biden.
“Our dance has always been cheerful, and we have tried to give a smile to this world amid the difficult time. We do not consider death to be something good. It is very bad. And throughout our dance, we are trying to heal the soul and hearts of loved ones and relatives,” explained Aidoo.
The Warsaw government panel has claimed that Russia was behind a 2010 plane crash that killed 96 including the Polish leader Lech Kaczynski.
The latest report today released by the special commission alleges that the April 10, 2010 crash was caused by an intentional detonation of planted explosives.
The plane crash killed Mr. Kaczynski, the first lady, and 94 other members of the government and armed forces as well as many other prominent Polish figures.
Commission head Antoni Macierewicz today told a news conference that their deaths were caused by an ‘act of unlawful interference by the Russian side.’
Mr. Macierwicz, who in 2015-2018 served as defense minister in Poland’s right-wing government, added:’The main and indisputable proof of the interference was an explosion in the left-wing ? followed by an explosion in the plane’s centre.’
Russia was behind 2010 plane crash that killed 96 including Polish leader Lech Kaczynski, Warsaw government panel claims
And he denied that there were any mistakes made by Polish pilots or crew members, despite there being bad weather at the time of the crash.
The new report repeats numerous previous allegations made by the commission, appointed by the government whose key figure is the main ruling Law and Justice party leader, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin of the late president.
Yesterday, Polish President Andrzej Duda stood at Pilsudski Square to place a candle at the monument to the victims of the plane crash. It was part of the ceremonies commemorating the 12th anniversary of the crash.
Russia was behind 2010 plane crash that killed 96 including Polish leader Lech Kaczynski, Warsaw government panel claims
Today’s new report comes as Russia’s war unleashed on Poland’s neighbouring country Ukraine rages on and amid current tense relations between Moscow and Warsaw.
Poland is supporting Ukraine in its battle against Russia and is calling for tough sanctions on Moscow after its February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that they have contacted the family of a 14-year-old autistic fan who had his phone smashed by Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
The former Real Madrid star was seen in footage knocking a phone out of a boy’s hand as he headed towards the tunnel after Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park on Saturday.
According to Mail Online, Merseyside Police have contacted the family of the 14-year-old Everton fan as they conduct an investigation into the incident at Goodison Park
Manchester United have reportedly decided not to punish the player after he apologised for his ‘outburst’ and invited the boy to watch a match at Old Trafford.
The Sun reported that the club have accepted the Portuguese superstar’s apology on social media and are no longer investigating the incident.
Despite the club dropping their own investigations, Merseyside Police are looking into the incident and have appealed for more information.
It comes after a mother claimed her autistic son was ‘assaulted’ and had her phone smashed by the 37-year-old.
Sarah Kelly claimed son Jacob Harding’s first trip to watch Everton was ‘ruined’ by the alleged altercation which happened as United left the pitch after the match.
Miss Kelly, from Upton, Merseyside, said her 14-year-old son was left with a ‘bruised’ hand after the phone was knocked from his grasp by Ronaldo, as the boy tried to film the United star’s leg wound.
She said: ‘We were right by the tunnel where they came walking past — my son was there videoing them all. And then he lowered his phone because Ronaldo had pulled down his sock and his leg was bleeding.
‘He lowered his phone to see what it was — he didn’t even speak. Ronaldo then just walked past, with a terrible, terrible temper and smashed the phone out of my son’s hand and carried on walking.’
Miss Kelly took pictures of what she said was Jacob’s bruised hand and smashed phone screen.
The 36-year-old added: ‘You can see by the bruise that he’s made contact. I was crying, I was shook up, Jacob was in complete shock — he’s autistic and he’s got dyspraxia as well, so he didn’t really digest what was happening until we got home. He’s really upset and it’s completely put him off going to the game again.
‘Ronaldo’s a big player. My son’s always been like “Ronaldo’s going to be there” — he’s an icon. I’d understand if Jacob was waving it in his face but he wasn’t near his face, it was down by the floor checking his injury. He’s an autistic boy and he’s been assaulted by a football player, that’s how I see it as a mum.’
The husband of late Nigerian gospel singer Osinachi Nwachukwu has been arrested days after her death in hospital in Abuja.
Peter Nwachukwu, a lead singer at the Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Abuja, rose to fame in 2017 with ‘Ekwueme,’ a song she did with Prospa Ochimana.
Peter Nwachukwu was arrested after her family formally filed a complaint of “culpable homicide against one Mr Peter Nwachukwu who is a husband to the deceased
“He is now in our custody. The younger brother of the deceased reported the matter and we have commenced investigation,” Abuja police command spokeswoman Josephine Adeh said.
The deceased singer’s elder sister, Ms. Favour Made, alleged in an interview with Vanguard that Osinachi was kicked in the chest by her husband Nwachukwu.
Ms Made said in the interview that her family had tried unsuccessfully to make her walk away from the marriage because of domestic violence.
“When the man kicked her on the chest, she fell down and he took her to the hospital but he did not even tell us,” Ms Made told Vanguard. “It was her friend who lives in Ebonyi state that called her twin sister, because Osinachi has a twin sister, to ask, ‘did your sister tell you that Peter hit her on the chest? the sister then told her no.
“It was the hitting on the chest that killed her. My brother had to ask doctor what killed her and doctor said that there were clusters of blood on her chest.”
A few gospel singers who worked with Osinachi Nwachukwu also accused her husband of domestic violence.
“One time in a studio, this man slapped her just because she wanted to record the song in Igbo against his will. She does not do anything on her own,” a gospel Frank Edwards said on Instagram Live.
“She would say, please beg my husband. She was at his mercy. I didn’t know the intensity of what she was going through; I didn’t know how somebody would be jealous of the wife he claimed to love.”
HH’S TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY: UNDER PF, THERE WERE NEVER SUCH UPDATES BUT PF THUGS AND CADRES WOULD JUST BE EMPLOYED LIKE SECRET LOVERS
PRESS STATEMENT: UPDATE ON THE RECRUITMENT EXERCISE OF THE ELEVEN THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY – SIX (11,276) HEALTH WORKERS IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH
MONDAY, 11TH APRIL 2022 MEMBERS OF THE PRESS
I AM PLEASED TO UPDATE YOU THE MEDIA AND THE NATION AT LARGE ON THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS OF THE 11,276 HEALTH WORKERS.
I WISH TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT SO FAR THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION HAS SUCCESSFULLY APPOINTED AND ESTABLISHED HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES IN NINE PROVINCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE DISTRICT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SUB COMMITTEES HAVE ALSO BEEN ESTABLISHED. THE TENTH HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES IN WESTERN PROVINCE SHALL BE ESTABLISHED THIS WEEK.
THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION HAS ALSO DEVELOPED AND SHARED GUIDELINES WITH THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES AND SUB COMMITTEES AT PROVINCIAL AND DISTRICT LEVELS RESPECTIVELY. THIS IS IN THE SPIRIT OF IMPLEMENTING THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REFORMS THAT CALL FOR EQUITY, INCLUSIVENESS, FAIRNESS AND MERITORIOUS APPOINTMENTS TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE.
DEAR COLLEAGUES, THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REFORMS ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED TO PROMOTE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE.
MEMBERS OF THE PRESS IN LINE WITH THE NEW DAWN GOVERNMENT’S INTENTION TO ENHANCE OWNERSHIP, EQUITY AND INCLUSIVENESS, THIS RECRUITMENT PROCESS HAS BEEN DECENTRALIZED AND HAS COMMITTED TO ENSURE THAT PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ARE CONSIDERED. I MUST MENTION THAT THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH HAS ENGAGED THE ZAMBIA AGENCY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES TO ENSURE THE ACTUALIZATION OF THIS COMMITMENT. ADDITIONALLY, A MULTI-SECTORAL APPROACH WAS ADOPTED INVOLVING KEY STAKE HOLDERS AMONG OTHERS, CABINET OFFICE, PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGEMENT DIVISION, MINISTRY OF FINANCE, ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION, SPECIAL DIVISION, EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA, CHURCH MOTHER BODIES AND YOU THE MEDIA.
INCLUDED ALSO, ARE THE HEALTH SECTOR UNIONS, THAT IS, ZAMBIA UNION OF NURSES ORGANIZATION, ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH UNION OF ZAMBIA, BIOMEDICAL UNION OF ZAMBIA, HEALTH WORKERS UNION OF ZAMBIA AND ZAMBIA NATIONAL UNION OF HEALTH AND ALLIED WORKERS.
FURTHER, A CONSORTIUM OF HEALTH PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS COMPRISING, ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, BIOMEDICAL SOCIETY OF ZAMBIA, ZAMBIA SOCIETY OF PHYSIOTHERAPY, PHARMACEUTICAL SOCIETY OF ZAMBIA, ZAMBIA MEDICAL LICENTIATE PRACTITIONERS ASSOCIATION, ZAMBIA ASSOCIATION OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENTISTS, CLINICAL ANAESTHETIST ASSOCIATION OF ZAMBIA, ZAMBIA OPHTHALMOLOGICAL SOCIETY AND BIOMEDICAL EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATION OF ZAMBIA HAVE ALSO BEEN ENGAGED.
MEMBERS OF THE PRESS AS YOU ARE AWARE, THE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF HEALTH WORKERS INITIALLY CLOSED ON FRIDAY, 1ST APRIL, 2022. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE OUTCRY BY THE PUBLIC ON THE NEED TO HAVE AN EXTENSION, THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION EXTENDED THE ADVERTISEMENT PERIOD BY THREE DAYS FROM WEDNESDAY, 6TH APRIL, 2022 TO FRIDAY, 8TH APRIL, 2022. THE RECEIPT OF APPLICATION LETTERS BY THE DISTRICTS HAS SINCE CLOSED EXCEPT FOR THE OPTOMETRY TECHNOLOGISTS WHICH WILL CLOSE ON TUESDAY, 12TH APRIL, 2022.
I WISH TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE DISTRICT HEALTH OFFICES AND PROVINCIAL HEALTH OFFICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE RECEIVED AN OVERWHELMING RESPONSE. SO FAR, A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT SHOWS THAT THE VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS HAVE RECEIVED AN ESTIMATED ONE HUNDRED AND NINE THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED SEVENTY-SEVEN (109,777) APPLICATIONS BROKEN DOWN AS FOLLOWS;
PROVINCE. TOTAL NO. OF APPLICATIONS RECEIVED CENTRAL 11,354
COPPERBELT 19,778
EASTERN 9,232
LUAPULA 7,013
LUSAKA 21,301
MUCHINGA 5,918
NORTH – WESTERN 7,781
NORTHERN 6,428
SOUTHERN 13,269
WESTERN 7,703
GRAND TOTAL 109,777
KINDLY NOTE THAT THESE NUMBERS WILL INCREASE WHEN THE VARIOUS DISTRICTS AND PROVINCES ACCOUNT FOR ALL APPLICATIONS RECEIVED FROM THE EXTENDED PERIOD AND THE ADVERTISEMENT OF THE OPTOMETRY TECHNOLOGISTS.
MEMBERS OF THE PRESS AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND IN VIEW OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REFORMS, THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS WILL BE CONDUCTED AS FOLLOWS;
1. DATA CAPTURING – 13TH TO 20TH APRIL, 2022 ALL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SUB COMMITTEES AT DISTRICT AND PROVINCIAL LEVELS WILL UNDERTAKE DATA CAPTURING OF ALL APPLICATIONS RECEIVED.
2. SCREENING, SHORTLISTING AND SUBMISSION OF SHORTLISTED APPLICANTS – 21ST TO 30TH APRIL, 2022
a. AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL, THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SUB-COMMITTEES SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SCREENING AND SHORTLISTING OF ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS FOR APPLICATIONS RECEIVED.
b. FOLLOWING THE SCREENING AND SHORTLISTING PROCESS AT DISTRICT LEVEL, THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SUB-COMMITTEE SHALL SUBMIT RECOMMENDATIONS OF SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES TO THE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE AT PROVINCIAL LEVEL.
3. VALIDATION AND RECOMMENDATION OF SHORTLISTED APPLICANTS – 1ST TO 6TH MAY, 2022
THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE AT PROVINCIAL LEVEL SHALL VERIFY, VALIDATE AND RECOMMEND SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES TO THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH HEADQUARTERS FOR ONWARD TRANSMISSION TO THE SELECTION BOARD COMPRISING MINISTRY OF HEALTH HEADQUARTERS, PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGEMENT DIVISION AND THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION.
4. PROCESSING OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SHORTLISTED APPLICANTS – 9TH TO 19TH MAY, 2022 THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, SUPERINTENDING OVER THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH HEADQUARTERS AND PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGEMENT DIVISION SHALL FURTHER VERIFY, VALIDATE AND SELECT SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES FROM THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES.
5. PUBLICATION OF SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES – 22ND TO 24TH MAY, 2022 THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION SHALL PUBLISH A LIST OF ALL SUCCESSFULLY SELECTED CANDIDATES IN BOTH THE PRINT AND DIGITAL MEDIA.
6. ISSUANCE OF APPOINTMENT LETTERS AND REPORTING – 26TH MAY TO 25TH AUGUST, 2022
a. THE APPOINTMENT LETTERS OF ALL SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES WILL BE COLLECTED AND DISTRIBUTED TO THE APPOINTEES BY THE RESPECTIVE PROVINCIAL HEALTH OFFICES AND DISTRICT HEALTH OFFICES.
b. THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES WILL BE EXPECTED TO COLLECT THEIR APPOINTMENT LETTERS AND REPORT TO THEIR STATIONS WITHIN THREE MONTHS FROM THE DATE OF ISSUANCE OF THE APPOINTMENT LETTERS.
MEMBERS OF THE PRESS I WISH TO ASSURE THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ANTI – CORRUPTION COMMISSION WILL CLOSELY MONITOR THE RECRUITMENT EXERCISE IN LINE WITH THE ANTI – CORRUPTION ACT NO. 3 OF 2012 TO ENSURE STRICT ADHERENCE TO THE SELECTION CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES. THE SPECIAL DIVISION (OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT) SHALL ALSO BE PRESENT AT THE DISTRICT AND PROVINCIAL LEVELS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE TO THE LAID DOWN RECRUITMENT GUIDELINES.
THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION SHALL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE UPDATES TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC ON THIS IMPORTANT UNDERTAKING.
I ALSO WISH TO ASSURE THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE RECRUITMENT EXERCISE SHALL CONTINUE IN THE SUBSEQUENT YEARS UNTIL THE BACKLOG IS CLEARED. I THANK YOU.
It is clear, now more than ever that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Lilian Siyuni is doing everything in her power to protect those who have plundered the resources of Zambia from the previous regime of the Patriotic Front.
It is clear, even for a blind man to see, that Siyuni is acting in a way that undermines the policy direction of the government, that she by virtue of being that office, works for.
Forget the fact that she was appointed in the previous regime of the PF. The PF is gone now and there is a new government in place. The UPND government. This government has set out on an ambitious fight against corruption that has seen a number of arrests made. Now if the DPP, as some of the contents of the letter she allegedly wrote to Mary Chirwa, the Director General of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) shows here, is angry at the fact that the DEC decided to re-arrest Milingo Lungu, the provisional liquidator of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), after her office entered a Nolle Prosequi in this high profile case where he is accused acquiring property reasonably suspected to be proceeds of crime amongst other charges that are of public interest, then clearly Siyuni is working to undermine the government of the day.
If Siyuni and her office did not have the decency to inform the DEC that they had decided to enter a Nolle Prosequi in this case, why then must she be angry that the DEC did not inform her office of it’s decision to arrest Lungu? In any case and as far as we are concerned, there is no need to for the DEC to inform her of it’s decision because the DEC is not a branch of her office hence it’s terms if reference are clear on what it’s mandate is — which is to arrest perpetrators of crime and ensure that they are taken before a court of law to be tried.
With this back ground, it is clear that the DPP has an unknown agenda but, from the looks of it, is meant to protect certain individuals from facing the law and for justice to take it’s course. The DPP is also undermining the government and by virtue, the President.
It is therefore incumbunt that the UPND government takes keen interest in what is going on at the National Prosecutions Authority (NPA) were the Director of Public Prosectutions sits. If action to remove Siyuni can be taken, then let it be done because it is evident now that she is not working in unison with law enforcement agencies and the government hence there is no need for her to continue in that position.
We also encourage Siyuni that if she feels and believes that what is currently going on goes against what she believes and stands for, then the best thing will be for her to resign rather than continue to have a tag of war with the powers that be and in the end, things may just end up getting messy.- Koswe
The sudden intensified claims that the Patriotic Front will bounce back into power is founded on personal feelings of those who pontificate this notion.
PF is behaving as if this is the first time when we have a former ruling party in opposition. We have precedent to much of what is happening in PF today. Both UNIP and MMD went down the drain, to a land of no resurrection, while on the same path where PF is today.
Ever since PF lost power, there has never been any genuine and constructive diagnosis of the reasons why they lost. Yes, we all know the things in public domain but beyond that, these elements have not addressed the exactly cancer.
For example, if you say people rejected arrogance among leaders of this party, which leaders are they? What where they when PF was in power and what roles do they occupy in the party currently in the so-called rebranding? The very elements that were arrogant while PF was in power are the very ones in the leadership today saying they are rebranding. Perhaps, they have only changed attires. They have only taken off suits and are now wearing pajamas but they still remain the very arrogant characters at heart. The same arrogance which existed in PF while it was in power is the same which exist even now among few who have met in private rooms to share positions and roles of this and that. And when you look properly at most of these elements in leadership positions in PF, they influence no one and have no following anywhere. They are giving positions based on who is sleeping with who.
While they have magnified the rhetoric of bouncing back, there is no case study or any tangible research anywhere to back or support those empty and foolish claims. What they premise their providence for bouncing back are misfortunes of this country. Their every day prayer is for Hakainde Hichilema to fail. They pray every day that Zambians must suffer to the maximum so that; they begin to look less evil in the eyes of the people. When they see any meaningful improvements recorded by Hakainde’s administration, they frown and their demons get very upset. They say these things openly. They mock Zambians for choosing to vote them out of power in preference for Hakainde. And they can’t believe that a Tonga, whom they said was a Satanist, a tribalist, a privatization thief and a western puppet is the Republican President.
The fundamental strategy of the PF rests in the failures of Hakainde. If Hakainde fails, Zambians suffer and the PF will be very happy – they use this prayer as a basis to form their judgment of bouncing back. And their dull, ignorant supporters are every day scanning the news looking for any credible persons who say things that soothes their fetish of bouncing back. They are everywhere celebrating Sishuwa Sishuwa’s comment that PF can still bounce back. This is someone they once called a UPND cadre and wrote-off as stupid.
Of course, what they cannot discern from Sishuwa is a proviso to that sentiment, that, provided the PF deals with leadership, and if Hakainde fails, the former ruling party can still bounce back because it is a largest opposition by virtue of representation in Parliament.
But is there any indication that these elements will sort out their leadership wrangles? Just look at the composition of those who have lined-up themselves to replace Edgar Lungu – it is a Bemba contest. And since most of them – if not all – are too gluttonous and power hungry, once there is one winner, they are more likely to break-away, each going away with handful followers to form their own parties.
These Bemba chaps are the biggest problem in PF. We are not saying this because the Editor of The Candidates is a tribal cousin to Bembas. We are saying this because we believe it is the truth.- The Candidates’
PF MEMBERS HAVE NO INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE THEY ARE JUST MOURNING THE LOSS OF A CASH COW AT ZESCO – ROMEO KANGOMBE
“A clique of thieves which nearly sent ZESCO into oblivion has regrouped against the new management for removing corrupt middle men in the supply chain” ROMEO
United Party for National Development (UPND) Sesheke member of Romeo Kangombe has described the recent propaganda against power utility company ZESCO by Patriotic Front (PF) members as a “mourning of thieves.” Hon. Kangombe has wondered how all of the sudden PF members want to show as though they have the interest of the people and ZESCO as a company when in the actual they almost destroyed the company.
“ZESCO was almost sent into oblivion by clique of thieves which is now mourning the loss of a cash cow under the disguise of looking out for the interest of ZESCO. As opposed to improving the operations at ZESCO, PF used the institution to fund political activities and also sponsoring violence against political opponent. PF had 10 years in power why didn’t they invest in ZAFFICO to supply poles at ZESCO? instead they used ZAFFICO to smuggle Mukula tree out of the country, they never had any interest of the people. On moral grounds we don’t expect these people to be commenting on such issues because it’s like mocking the people.” Said Romeo Kangombe.
Romeo Kangombe has called on citizens to support the new ZESCO management in it’s quest to clean the mess which was left by the previous government.
“There is a lot of propaganda against ZESCO after removing a clique of thieves in the name of middlemen in the supply chain. ZESCO has in the past lost billions through inflated tenders and non delivery of services which were paid for. We need to support the restructuring that is taking place. The restructuring at ZESCO has exposed a number of weaknesses but some of these weaknesses are opportunities for people. There is an opportunity for people to invest in plantations of trees like pine and eucalyptus which are used to make logs or poles. The PF never told you this because they were comfortable stealing from the company.”
“We are also aware that these people have regrouped and registered companies using other people so that they can continue looting so urge public institution to make sure ther is due diligence before awarding of contracts is done” Said Kangombe.
POLITICAL scientist Neo Simutanyi says President Hakainde Hichilema should state clearly that he does not desire a government salary so that the allocation can be frozen for the next five years.
President Hichilema has not received his salary since he was elected in August 2021.
He says a salary has never been his motivation for seeking public office.
According to him, he has not received his salary because he simply didn’t pay attention as he has been too busy trying to better the lives of the people.
But Simutanyi said while it is commendable for the President to do that, the decision is not personal but a policy issue.
“While it is commendable that for the first time we have a Head of State who is prepared to work for Zambians pro bono, the decision not to receive a government salary cannot be a personal one. It is a policy issue. This is because salaries of constitutional office holders are fixed and approved by Parliament. President Hichilema should state clearly that he does not desire a government salary so that the allocation can be frozen for the next five years. That would enable the Ministry of Finance channel the funds to other needy areas, including the paying of hundreds of civil servants currently not on payroll because the government has no money,” he said. “But the idea that President Hichilema has been too busy to worry about his salary is most troubling as it suggests that as President all his needs are met by the State or his personal income is so high that the government salary is nothing in comparison. Whichever is the case, President Hichilema has exposed a serious contradiction in the remuneration of our heads of state.”
He noted that this has exposed that while the President has access to government salary, he may have access or receive donations in cash from well-wishers.
“Which is that, while they are entitled to a government salary, they may have easy access to government funds or receive donations in cash from well-wishers. In 1993 it was discovered that an unscrupulous individual was drawing President Frederick Chiluba’s presidential salary from a bank account in Ndola. We have also witnessed other former presidents either reducing their official salary or donating huge amounts of money to so-called worthy causes, schools, churches and health facilities or youth and women’s empowerment ventures,” he said. “In 2019, for example, former president Edgar Lungu took a 50 per cent pay cut and a year later demanded that his cabinet colleagues donate 20 per cent of their salaries to the government to help the government meet its debt obligations.”
Simutanyi noted that “all these decisions which was clearly unconstitutional”, was predicated on the assumption that cabinet ministers and senior civil servants received hefty salaries, which should be shared with the ordinary citizens.
“It was a cheap way of hoodwinking the Zambian people into thinking that our political leadership was empathetic to the plight of the Zambian poor. While I dare not question the morality of President Hichilema forgoing his salary, as the first Zambian president to do so, I am interested to understand, whether he has access to government funds outside his official salary. He may be a very wealthy man, by Zambian standards, but there are many wealthy heads of state in Africa who receive official government salaries. So the question of declaration of his assets, especially his commercial interests may not easily go away,” he said. “Zambians may wish to know whether their President has another way of earning an income other than his official salary. It will also be important for President Hichilema to pay special attention to his salary as unscrupulous individuals will begin to draw it since he does not need it – others will see an opportunity to pocket it, as was the case with Chiluba’s salary. But as far as I am concerned, President Hichilema should not shun his salary. It is his entitlement and he is at liberty to use it in any way he pleases, including donating it to charity.”
Simutanyi said not receiving the government salary gives the impression that “it is unnecessary; it’s too little compared to what he is worth or there are many other official revenue streams in State House that he can draw on”.
He said President Hichilema should come out clean on the matter.
“While I commend President Hichilema’s declared selfless service to our country pro bono, I am acutely alive to the temptations in that highest office given his extensive commercial interests. In the interests of transparency and in adherence to our Constitution, I will urge President Hichilema to come out clean and declare that he does not desire to receive a government salary during his presidency. Such a declaration should be followed by a policy pronouncement that will be gazetted by Secretary to the Cabinet to the effect that the salary of the President will be frozen on his instructions and the funds allocated to other causes,” urged Simutanyi.
“We don’t want to hear of a presidential slush fund or so- called presidential initiatives as another way of siphoning public funds to private pockets. It is my hope President Hichilema will raise the bar on probity and integrity in the office of President during his tenure.”
DID YOU KNOW THAT LOZIS HOLD THREE KUOMBOKA CEREMONIES EVERY YEAR?
By Paul Shalala
I too didn’t know this until a few years ago.
2006 was the first year I attended the Kuomboka Ceremony in both the Lealui Royal Village and the Limulunga Royal Village.
The next was in 2017 and I was convinced we only had one Kuomboka Ceremony in Barotseland.
However, a little research shows that we the Lozis actually have three Kuomboka Ceremonies in a calendar year.
This fact is not known by many Lozis, and worse off by many Zambians.
The most publicised and well attended is the Kuomboka Ceremony which is done by The Litunga.
It is usually the first one and officiated by the Head of State.
This year, President Hakainde Hichilema was here to accompany Litunga Lubosi Imwiko II on the long voyage.
Now that the festivities in both Lealui and Limulunga are slowly coming to an end, the focus now shifts to Nalolo District where the second Kuomboka Ceremony will be held.
The Litunga La-Mboela, the second most powerful leader in Barotseland, will also perform her Kuomboka Ceremony on 16 April.
She will move from her palace in Nalolo to a place called Muoyo which is on higher land.
The third Kuomboka involves Mboanjikana who is the third most powerful Chief in Barotseland.
He will also perform the Kuomboka Ceremony on 7th May in Kalabo District.
This is actually my own Senior Chief because Kalabo is my ancestral home, that’s where my mother and dad came from in Makomaland under Chief Mwanamambo.
Dad was from Singanda Village while mum comes from Silopu Village.
Mboanjikana will move from his Libonda Palace to Mulundano which is on higher ground.
Our three royal leaders move between the two palaces every year to escape the increasing water levels in the Barotse Flood Plains.
However, most people don’t know that after they move to higher ground they wait for water to recede.
And once it recedes, they go back to their initial palaces through a ceremony we call Kufuluhela.
However, Kufuluhela is not as well publicised as the Kuomboka Ceremony.
Barotseland at the moment does not have many industries and if it markets the other two Kuombokas and the Kufuluhela, it can bring the much needed revenue in the region.
What is needed is to expose these events, show how attractive they are and make them easily accessible.
Let the business community move in, put in the much needed infrastructure and all will fall in place.
QUESTIONS RAISED ON THE LITUNGA’S DECISION TO LEAVE BO WINA OUT ON EXCELLENCE WOMEN LIST OF BAROTSELAND.
Mama Inonge Wina wife to first Minister of Finance in 1964 Arthur Wina is the first woman to be Vice president of Zambia.
She was first appointed in 2015 when she served as PF National Chairperson and helped Edgar Lungu to secure the party presidency at the fierce battle to succeed President Michael Sata.
President Lungu after winning in that country’s by-election appointed her as Vice president of Zambia.
He then appointed her as running mate in 2016 election. She with him managed to win the election which then main opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema disputed.
She decided to run for the Central Committee of PF portfolio but announced her retirement close to 2021 election which Edgar Lungu who run with Prof Nkandu Luo lost.
Mama Wina also served as Minister after she won the Nalolo seat in 2011 under PF. It is the only seat won in 2011 in Western province.
This is the seat she previous held under the UPND in 2001. She together with Sakwiba Sikota who had served as Anderson Mazoka Vice president left UPND in 2005 after he (Sikota) lost the contest to succeed Mazoka to Hakainde Hichilema.
They went to form a party called United Liberal Party which went into an electoral pact with PF. She with Given Lubinda then left Sikota’s ULP and became PF members.
Before joining politics, Mama Wina was a woman Rights Activist. She headed an NGO called NGOCC.
Some political Commentators are wondering why she has not made it to the list of women from Barotseland or Western province who were awarded as Women of Excellence during the 2022 Kuomboka traditional ceremony held over the weekend.
See those awarded on the photo who include among others for Inspector General of Police Stella Libongani, current speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Muti and former Minister, Ambassador Dr Inonge Mbikusita Lewanika.
Russia has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato, arguing the move would not bring stability to Europe.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation”.
It comes as US defence officials said Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has been a “massive strategic blunder” which will likely bring Nato enlargement.
US officials expect the Nordic neighbours to bid for membership of the alliance, potentially as early as June.
Washington is believed to support the move which would see the Western alliance grow to 32 members. US State Department officials said last week that discussions had taken place between Nato leaders and foreign ministers from Helsinki and Stockholm.
Before it launched its invasion, Russia demanded that the alliance agree to halt any future enlargement, but the war has led to the deployment of more Nato troops on its eastern flank and a rise in public support for Swedish and Finnish membership.
Finnish MPs are expected to receive a security report from intelligence officials this week, and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she expects her government “will end the discussion before midsummer” on whether to make a membership application.
Finland shares a 1,340km (830 miles) long border with Russia and has been rattled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But Moscow has been clear that it opposes any potential enlargement of the alliance. Mr Peskov warned the bloc “is not that kind of alliance which ensures peace and stability, and its further expansion will not bring additional security to the European continent”.
Last week Mr Peskov said that Russia would have to “rebalance the situation” with its own measures were Sweden and Finland to join Nato.
And in February Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, warned of “military and political consequences” if the countries joined the bloc.
Despite the threats, both countries have pushed ahead with their bids and stepped up defence spending.
On Monday, army leaders in Helsinki announced a new plan to allocate €14m (£10.88m) to purchase drones for Finland’s military.
And last month Swedish officials said they would boost defence spending by 3 billion kronas ($317m; £243m) in 2022.
ECL, HH and their ministers of health have caused deaths in our hospitals: will they be prosecuted?
By Azwell Banda,
At the height of the campaigns leading up to the elections in August last year, the Patriotic Front (PF) got very used to mocking poor Zambians by brandishing bricks of kwachas at political rallies and meetings.
There are videos still in circulation of PF leaders dishing out money to entire audiences present at their meetings. The PF hosted a lavish, supper expensive modern national conference complete with the latest visual and sound systems. They bought a huge number of vehicles for their campaigns. Today, many of their leaders have been summoned before the police, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), and the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) to explain the sources of their wealth.
As Edgar Changwa Lungu and his minions were publicly living it large and brandishing money like confetti at a mad porn trillionaire’s wedding, Zambians were dying in homes, clinics and hospitals from treatable and curable diseases because of poverty and shortage of drugs and medical equipment in government hospitals and clinics. These poor Zambians had no money to buy medicines or to access private clinics and hospitals. Our clinics and hospitals had been turned into providers of drug prescriptions and referral centres to private clinics and hospitals.
It is a perfectly legitimate suspicion that some of the loot brandished by the PF and ECL came from the Ministry of Health criminal money fountain. For every death that happened under Lungu because of corruption and stealing in the Ministry of Health, Lungu and his relevant minister of health are actually guilty of wilful murder; they willingly and knowingly facilitated corruption and theft in the Ministry of Health, fully aware this would cause deaths in our clinics and hospitals. To escape this fate, they themselves used to fly abroad to expensive modern clinics and hospitals when they fell sick.
Nowhere else was the theft, plunder, fraud, corruption and their deadly effects more visible, than in the Ministry of Health, when Edgar Chagwa Lungu was President of Zambia. We have heard about faulty ventilators purchased for our hospitals during the pandemic.
In all countries of the capitalist world, nothing presents easier opportunities to steal government money than the government medicines and medical equipment procurement processes. Trillions of monies are poured by governments into the coffers of private, greedy capitalists to buy medicines for public health institutions every day. This is an endless fountain of easy money, for thieves. No government in the world has invented a full proof method to prevent some of the government money being stolen.
In Zambia, even during the time of Kenneth Kaunda, there was theft, corruption and fraud in the Ministry of Health procurement processes. Kenneth Kaunda fought this most primitive, savage and cruel crime by putting in place all sorts of systems including the government’s countrywide health information systems, a Medical Stores, and hospital and clinic kits, but he still lost the fight to thieves and the corrupt.
After 1991, under Fredrick Chiluba and the full privatisation of the public health procurement processes, the Ministry of Health became the most lucrative ministry, for thieves of all kinds, as people scrambled to form companies to participate in buying medicines and health equipment for the government.
Presentation of false business documents, falsifying invoices, overquoting prices, sourcing the cheapest low-quality drugs and medical equipment, sourcing from fake manufacturers, and sourcing expired drugs and equipment are all some of the ways by which “supper profits” are reaped off, from the people of Zambia. Ultimately of course the documentation may well be perfectly done but no drugs and equipment are delivered; meanwhile the money is paid to such fake suppliers. Corruption is the oil that greases this system.
The value chains of this criminal enterprise involve large foreign drug manufacturers and international drug procurement companies, logistics companies and yes, even agents of donor funding. The Zambian share of this global network and value chains of cruel, savage and deadly capitalist thieves is actually quite small, compared to the massive global volume of moneys involved. Deaths from treatable and curable diseases in homes, clinics and hospitals are some of the end results of this deadly capitalist value chain.
Under the PF, we lived through a period when donors got so fade up with the rampant theft and corruption going on in the Ministry of Health that some of them withdrew their donor funding, pending improvements in the system. Lungu and his minions today are still free and enjoying some of the possible proceeds from such crimes, and are working hard to bounce back into government so that they could reconnect to their money feeding schemes in government. Edgar Chagwa Lungu and his ministers of health need to be arrested for suspected manslaughter and or murder, on many counts. Our clinics and hospitals have medical workers who know patients who have died because of lack of medicines and medical equipment.
Seven months after forming government, HH and his choir in the Ministry of Health have ‘patiently and methodically’ done very little to change the situation in the Ministry of Health, but instead have stopped, we are told, paying invoices and procuring drugs for six months in order to replace the PF feeding schemes ‘methodically’ largely with their own people, we suspect.
It must be born in mind that as long as medicines are bought on behalf of the government by private individuals and companies whose sole objective is to make money, HH and his choir are simply replacing one money making greedy bunch of potential thieves, fraudsters and corrupters, with another. Capitalism is private greed for money, thieving and corruption.
In the period HH and the UPND have been in government, any life lost at home, in clinics and in hospitals because drugs and appropriate medical equipment were not available in the public health sector are a direct result of the dereliction of duty and irresponsibility of HH and his Minister of Health; both are suspects of manslaughter or wilful murders. They too need to account for the deaths they have caused.
During the ongoing pandemic, as many Zambians have been gasping for breath and dying from pandemic, many good honest workers in the Ministry of Health know how ‘business people’, government officials and politicians are conniving with health officials to steal money, drugs and lifesaving equipment from our public health institutions. Some of this disgustingly cruel behaviour is perhaps intensifying under HH and his UPND government. Much of it was perfected and happened under ECL.
We see in the goings on in the Ministry of Health for a long time now what capitalism is: capitalism is a pathological craving and pursuit of money by all means necessary, including killing poor sick people in clinics and hospitals by starving them of drugs and medical equipment. ECL and HH and their respective ministers of health are culpable of manslaughter and or murder, as the cases may be, and they must be made to account, for every death they have caused by their criminal handling of the drugs and medical equipment procurement processes for our public health institutions. The records and evidence are in our homes, clinics, hospitals and cemeteries, of patients who have died because they could not access government medical help.
Our inability to cause ECL and HH and their public officials account for the needless and preventable deaths they have caused is a measure of how much we value our lives, and especially the lives of Zambian workers and the poor. This would also be to promote impunity. All human life is sacred, entitled to respect and reverence, and is superior to money. Elected politicians are paid by Zambians to save their lives, not to kill them.
Comments and exquisitely excellent insults welcome at: banda.azwell@gamil.com.
ONLY 11 out of 25 Cabinet Ministers have declared their assets in accordance with the law.
The Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti has the highest net worth K380 million (about US$22million) followed by the Minister of Infrastructure, Housing Urban and Development, Charles Milupi, has declared the highest net worth among cabinet ministers of US$9,095,000.
Recently Ministry of Information and Media, Director of Media and Spokesperson Thabo Kawana claimed that all Ministers in the new dawn administration had declared their assets, but Information minister, Chushi Kasanda has not yet declared her assets as required by law.
Article 263 of the Zambian Constitution, Act No. 2 of 2016 requires that all persons holding public office declare their assets and liabilities before assuming or leaving office in the register submitted to the office of the Chief Justice.
And according to the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct, Cap 16 of the Laws of Zambia, all Members of Parliament, Cabinet and Speaker of the National Assembly must make annual declarations of their interests, assets, liabilities, and incomes 30 days after their first date of appointment and 30 days after every anniversary.
The Act states interalia that: 10 (2) An officer shall- (a) within thirty days after his appointment; and (b) within thirty days after each anniversary of his appointment to the office concerned; submit to the Chief Justice an annual declaration of assets, liabilities, and income in accordance with this section.
But according to information obtained by the Daily Nation Newspaper, only 11 cabinet ministers, the Vice President Mutale Nalumango, Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti, First Deputy speaker, Malungo Chisangano, second deputy Speaker Moses Moyo and less than 40 members of Parliament had so far declared their assets and liabilities.
Health Minister, Slyvia Masebo, has a total net worth of over K50 Million and declared total liabilities amounting to only K120, 000 officially listed as loans and interests.
Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Elijah Muchima, who is also member of Parliament for Ikelengi has declared his assets at a total net work of K182 million, liabilities worth K3, 705, 000. Mr Muchima also has 50% shares in Northwest mining venture, 30% in Fibolele Emerald Mining, 50% shares in Elisefano Limited.
And Justice Minister Mulambo Haimbe who is Lusaka Central MP, has a total net worth of K14.8 million which comprises various luxurious properties in Lusaka, including a block of flats; a dwelling house at Chilanga and another dwelling house at Ibex Hill.
Mr Haimbe declared liabilities of about K1million. Meanwhile Defense Minister Ambrose Lufuma has listed his total net worth of over K12.2 million (about US$706,000).
Minister of Water Development and Sanitation Mike Mposha who is Munali MP has net worth of K15.4 million with liabilities of K120, 154. 36 while Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane declared assets worth K116, 020, 000 with no liabilities.
Others are Energy Minister Peter Kapala who has a net worth of K57.2 million while Jack Mwiimbu who is Home Affairs and Internal Security Minister has a net worth K45.6 Million with liabilities amounting to K120, 000.
Elvis Nkandu who is Sports Minister has a net worth of over K1. 3 million while his counterpart, Agriculture Minister Reuben Mtolo Phiri has net worth of K17, 425, 000.
The Vice President W K Mutale Nalumango who is also the leader of government business has declared an impressive K18.2 million (about US$1.1million) in total assets.
Vice-President Nalumango’s declaration had no liabilities.
However, the cabinet ministers who have not yet declared their assets and liabilities are Information and Media Minister Chushi Kasanda, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Stanley Kakubo, Local Government and Rural Development minister Gary Nkombo, Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati. Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Elias Mubanga, Doreen Mwamba of Community Development and Social Services, Makozo Chikota of Fisheries and Livestock. Others are Minister of Toursim Rodney Sikumba, Labour and Social Security Brenda TambaTamba, Education Minister Douglas Syakalima, Frank Tayali Minister of Transport and Logistics.
Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Chipoka Mulenga has also not declared his assets and liabilities, Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Paul Kabuswe and Collins Nzovu of Green Economy and Environment.- Daily Nation
IS THE DPP’S OFFICE FAILLING THE INVESTIGATIVE WINGS OF THIS COUNTRY TO PROSECUTE CORRUPT INDIVIDUALS?…***
By Stembridge Sikalundu
Public embarrassment can be avoided especially when it involves govt institutions which operate on a system constitutionally empowered by sworn officers to work on behalf of the people of Zambia , just one critical case can compromise the confidence on the fight against corruption , the UPND leadership strongly campaigned against selective justice which they experienced during their time in opposition , providing autonomy to institutions of govt should not mean they can’t be checked on what they are doing wrong .
We always wish and remain hopeful of our professionally qualified persons that are appointed in the govt stream to undertake responsibility upon which mandates are given to efficiently provide deligence in duty and operations of the govt system .We are very anticipant to see the recovery of properties acquired using proceeds of crimes against the state , the govt is allocating a lot of resources to ensure there is a systematic approach by also relating institutions of govt like the DPP’S office and the investigative wings of govt which are introducing these cases against individuals , the ACC , DEC and the police are jointly in charge of these serious matters ,but it raises wide concerns when we see the office of the DPP entering a noll’es against Mr LUNGU ,the liquidator of KCM , who was later rearrested on other charges , it is unconfirmed whether the DPP’s office has written to question the rearresting of Mr LUNGU . We are wondering as a people why there is a conflict of interest between these govt institutions , is the DPP’s office failing the govt and the people of Zambia ?, or the investigation wings are not doing their job professionally ?.
There are a lot of serious public concerns on these matters especially from the DPP’s office , the properties which Mr LUNGU was charged for are very visible and the transactions which were made to shift funds from the KCM account to a private law firm is traceable, but the DPP’s office decided to enter a noll’e , the follow up to arrest Mr LUNGU comes at a time when the same money which was assumed to have been stolen discovered the bought property which he is charged for , how come did the DPP’s office has written to caution that they did not give instructions to arrest Mr LUNGU again . This is very interesting in any way we can look at , even though we would like people to remain innocent until they are proven guilty , institutions of govt should not be players in obstructing of justice on behalf of the people that need to be prosecuted . There are things of pictural interest given that the DPP herself is a bonafide legent of the PF party ,we are begining to offload allegations of conspiracy theories over these cases .
We have heard many PF members and their leaders mocking govt that they are still comfortable because their people are still managing the govt system , most of them have continuously told govt off to take these cases to court and they will always be victors , we saw all the delays the DPP’s office did in order to present the charges to one of the PF law makers and his wife , this confidence being exercised needs attention , is the office of the DPP colluding with the former masters ?, the president of the republic of Zambia has REAFFIRMED his commitment but he has said he will not interfere on what to do , but as things stand it is going to be very interesting to see these cases coming to logical conclusion if the bridges to these cases are being used as their defence .Money can buy freedom and it can be used to change right decisions upside down , what we are seeing is a dance song of different rythemes that is causing noise pollution .The UPND govt must observe with precision and intellectual indulgence to what is happening in this area of crimes committed against the state . God bless our great country Zambia .
If there is any constitutional office in Zambia that seemed jinxed is the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). Almost of all substantive DPPs in recent history have been hounded out of the office in dramatic fashion and yet it is the most protected constitutional office in Zambia!
Immediate past DPP Mutembo Nchito, SC, found himself in police detention in Chongwe police cell before he entered a nolle prosequi for himself in what we, in legal circles, described as a “legal selfie”. This was after President Michael Sata, who had appointed him died and President Edgar Lungu took charge. A tribunal was appointed that found him “wanting” but that issue remain unresolved as it is before the Constitutional Court.
And then, we had DPP Mukelebai Makelebai, who was equally hounded out of the office under President Levy Mwanawasa,SC, on the grounds that he was frustrating the fight against corruption. A lie was told that he met with former spymaster Xavier Chungu in Livingstone who was in trial for corruption. A tribunal was established that cleared him of the allegations but recommended his removal because public confidence was eroded in the office of DPP at that time. He went on to die in mysterious circumstances in South Africa.
Under President Rupiah Banda, we had Chalwe Mchenga as DPP. Upon change of government in 2011, The Post newspaper and others started a malicious campaign to hound Mchenga out of the office on unsubstantiated allegations. It took President Michael Sata to publicly stop the vicious attacks and had Mchenga appointed High Court Judge – straight from being DPP. Sata managed the process a bit better.
But then, we also had DPP Mebeelo Kalima under President Frederick Chiluba who was equally hounded out of the office. A tribunal was appointed to probe him but decided to call it “quit” before the tribunal could even hear the evidence.
And now? We have DPP Lillian Siyuni… History has the tendency of repeating itself – so we are told – but often we do not listen. Let those with ears hear!
United Party for National Development (UPND) Copperbelt Chairman Elisha Matambo has declared that the party will rule Zambia for a long period of time until Jesus comes.
During a party mobilisation meeting in Ndola’s Kabushi Constituency on Sunday, Mr Matambo, the Copperbelt Minister, said the people of Zambia will continue believing in the UPND for many years to come.
Mr Matambo said the New Dawn Government has achieved a lot in the last seven months it has been in Government.
He cited Constituency Development Fund (CDF) increment to K25.7 Billion, teacher recruitment, health workers recruitment and provision of free education as some of the UPND Government’s achievements.
Mr Matambo challenged UPND members to explain the New Dawn Government’s achievement since forming Government in August 2021.
He said the UPND must continue party mobilisation in readiness for future elections.
“We have come here for party mobilisation. We must mobilise the party continuously until the elections come. I am sending you my children to go and make branches. Go and make polling stations committees. Go and explain to Zambians what we are doing. I am sure Zambians are intelligent and want peace. If anyone wants to bring problems we won’t allow them because Zambia is a beacon of peace,” Mr Matambo said.
Mr Matambo urged the opposition to allow President Hakainde Hichilema to rule peacefully.
He said the opposition, especially the Patriotic Front should not make Zambia un-governable.
“You were saying he won’t rule Zambia but I used to ask if you were God. Allow President Hichilema to rule accordingly because the people of Zambia have given him the mandate. Let him rule in peace. You had your chance to rule for ten years. Why can’t you allow us to rule well. Let me tell you, the God that allowed him (President Hichilema) to win the elections, will allow him to finish his first term. Hakainde’s second term will be smooth and when he finishes the second term of office we (UPND)will pick another President because we are going to govern this nation well. The person to take over from President Hichilema will also win. Another five years will elapse and again Zambians will retain us in power, by the time you will realise ninshi ba Yesu nabesa,” Mr. Matambo said.
The UPND Copperbelt Provincial Chairman further warned PF members against personal attacks on President Hichilema.
Mr Matambo said PF members should not abuse the freedom of speech and assembly they are enjoying to insult the Head of State.
He charged that the PF should be apologising to the people of Zambia for its bad deeds when in Government instead of criticizing the New Dawn administration.
“We will not allow anyone to insult President Hakainde Hichilema. Dare us. Try to open your mouth and insult the President, you will see what will happen to you. We have been sleeping for so long. Stop insulting the President. I am telling all the ten provinces to ensure that no one insults the President Hakainde Hichilema in their localities,” he said.
Mr Matambo added:” We are not immune to criticism but do it in a constructive way and have limits. Let me tell you, if you want to make this country ungovernable you will have yourselves to blame. We stood the test of time when we were in the opposition. We faced pangas, we faced guns, and we faced everything so if you want to come out and destabilise the Government we will tie both your hands and legs with wires. Let the President rule without disturbances.”
During the meeting, Mr. Matambo received over 100 new members who said they were mostly from the PF.
He urged UPND members to welcome new members while asking the newcomers to respect people they have found in the ruling party.
THE Patriotic Front (PF) employed 160, 000 civil servants, so the new dawn administration should not be excited with the 41, 00 they intend to employ, Patriots for Economic Progress president Sean Tembo has said.
Mr Tembo said the new dawn administration should not portray this planned recruitment as a major score.
He reminded the government that from 2011 to 2021, the size of the civil service grew by approximately 160, 000, which translates to an average of an annual increase of 32, 000.
“So if the previous government was employing an average of 32, 000 civil servants per annum and the new dawn intends to employ 41, 000, what’s the major difference here, which an entire Republican President should be citing as a major accomplishment of his administration?
“It is also worth noting that the new dawn intended recruitment is unlikely to be an annual event for each of the next five years that they will he in power, but rather it appears to be a once off fiscal year event. I am very much doubtful that in the 2023 fiscal year the new dawn intends to recruit another set of 11, 000 health workers and 30, 000 teachers.
“Truth be told, we do not know how many civil servants the new dawn administration will employ in their five-year period in office. So far there is nothing to celebrate about their intended recruitment of 41, 000 civil servants for the 2022 fiscal year,” Mr Tembo said.
If we are to objectively ascertain, he said, whether the new dawn outperformed the previous regime in terms of civil servants recruitment, the best time to do that would he in 2026.
Mr Tembo also said however if on the other side the new dawn only hires 41, 000 this year then decide to effect an employment freeze thereafter, it means that by 2026 their accumulative total number of civil servants hired will only be 41, 000 which will be far less than the what the PF regime hired.
He said for now, it is premature to be over the moon celebrating the planned recruitment of 41, 000 civil servants.
“There is nothing monumental or worth celebrating there. Unless if one is really short of victories to celebrate, which appears to be the case for Mr Hichilema,” Mr Tembo said.
Ends.
He also said if Mr Hichilema achieved the planned constructing of Livingstone-Ndola dual carriageway, then he would have something tangible to celebrate about.- Daily Nation
WE REJECTED THE BULK SUPPLY AGREEMENT (BSA), CEC UNDERTAKING BECAUSE IT CAUSED ZESCO ALOT OF HARM
….. as Mundubile challenges UPND leaders pushing for the renewal of BSA to come in the open and declared ownership of CEC
Kelvin Sichizya
April 10, 2022 – The opposition in Zambia has categorically rejected the renewal of the Bulk Supply Agreement (BSA) under the Copper belt Energy Corporation (CEC) because such a contract which lasted 25 years nearly sent ZESCO into oblivion
The BSA, signed in the 1990s and lasting 25 years gave some people a leeway to buy power at 4 Cents per kilowatt hour which they later resold to the Mining Companies at 11 Cents for several years crippling the growth of ZESCO as a power company.
Leader of the opposition in Parliament Brian Mundubile, speaking on Lwansase radio yesterday said ZESCO continued making losses for 25 years until only about 3 years ago.
Mr. Mundubile who is PF Member of the Central Committee (MCC) and Member of Parliament for Mporokoso Central says the contract which was very “dirty” finally expired only a few years ago restoring relief in the power company but said the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND) wants to sign such a contract again.
“We know that some UPND leaders are interested parties and that the same ZESCO seems to be in a hurry to have the contract renewed” but be reminded that as the opposition, we reject it and we shall do everything possible in our power to stop it”
He said PF amended both the ELECTRICITY ACT and the ENERGY REGULATION BOARD ACT to stop such acts and liberalise such energy supply because it cuased ZESCO untold misery.
“We want those advocating for such an action to come out in the open and claim CEC as their own and therefore declare interest”, said the leader of the opposition .
He said CEC was not an advantage and that ZESCO remained static for a long time and could not grow.
Meanwhile Mr. Mundubile has asked the UPND government to tell the Zambian people what happened to 65 vehicles which the ruling party claims were bought for PF by ZESCO.
“The problem is that UPND is not telling people the truth” he said adding “if their investigations have proved otherwise, tell the people you accused PF wrongly.”
He said the problem with the UPND is the quick accusations against others but when they prove themselves wrong, they remain mute just to guard against their failures.
On ZAFICO and the ZESCO treated poles worth $30million, he urgued that the company had the capacity to produce the poles within 12 months, dismissing other claims as ” simply hidden agenda” and a deliberate ploy to deny ZAFFICO and youths an empowerment”
Mr. Mundubile wondered how a government could externalise such large amounts of money to foreign beneficiaries living out its own people out in the cold.
The law maker said, that was going to a perfect opportunity for the local company and for Small and Medium Enterprises some of whom were to take it as a “big starting point” into becoming big Ends
United Party for National Development (UPND) National Chairperson, Ms Doreen Mwamba says peace in the nation has been restored as a result of ushering the new dawn government into office by the Zambian people.
She says Zambians are now free to exercise their rights without fear of being harassed or intimidated like it was before the August 2021 elections.
And Ms Mwamba has called on Zambians to put God first, and politics second, adding that without God who guarantees peace, nothing tangible can be achieved.
She was speaking in Lukutu ward in Luwingu district during a church service where various political party leaders were in attendance and prayed peacefully together.
She described the moment as unprecedented, were the opposition and the rulling parties could meet, worship and interact without fear of political harassment or intimidation.
In attendance, was democratic party president, Harry Kalaba, PF leader of the oppsition and presidential aspirant, Brian Mundubile, PF Masaiti MP, Micheal Katambo among others.
They are in Lukutu for this Thursday’s local government by-election
Meanwhile, Ms Mwamba who is also Community Development and Social Services Minister has encouraged people of Lukutu ward to vote for Peter Chanda, who is standing on the UPND ticket.
She said the UPND developmental agenda is visible for all to see, hence the need to vote for their candidate in order to guarantee not only development, but peace as well.
And UPND campaign manager for the Lukutu ward by-election, Mr Elvis Nkandu echoed the importance of upholding peace in the nation devoid of politics.
He said UPND is here to develop the country under a peaceful environment and further urged the people to vote for a UPND councilor in order to continue on the same developmental trajectory.
Meanwhile, the opposition political leaders all expressed confidence that they will emerge victorious in Thursday’s local government by-election.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has announced saying Zimbabwe has fallen into hunger because the wartorn, Ukraine was feeding Zimbabwe before Russia invaded it.
Mnangagwa said ‘Zimbabwe will have to respond appropriately to the developments taking place,’ as “the ongoing conflict between them has reverberated globally, including disrupting world markets and supply chains, all against post-pandemic fragilities already afflicting the world.”
Somewhat criticising the invader, Russia, Mnangagwa said “a new world order is emerging, and Zimbabwe must respond appropriately and creatively, so it is not sidelined or placed on the receiving end of these fast-paced global changes.”
He continued voicing: “Our activities in the past two months, and going forward, should be understood from that broad, regional, continental and global perspective,” he said.
Despite being the world’s fastest growing cro economy from 1976, Zimbabwe today relies on Ukraine for among other things, wheat, and cooking oil produces.
Mnangagwa however also claimed Zimbabwe has equally been a victim of unilateralism where illegal sanctions were imposed by the West just as NATO was provocatively making an eastward expansion.
“Zimbabwe, itself already a victim of Western unilateralism, is in the full glare of all these global headwinds. Against NATO’s provocative eastward expansion in Europe, and Russian Federation’s robust response to that threat of encirclement by NATO, a new situation has arisen which requires that we re-map the world with a view to finding our own place and securing our interests,” he said.
“Like in the case of Zimbabwe which has endured more than two decades of illegal sanctions, the conflict raging in Eastern Europe has made many nations realise how powerful nations and global interests still function on old and archaic notions of “spheres of influence”, and that they will not hesitate to use unilateral economic coercion to bully independent-minded states unwilling to kowtow to their whims and interests.”
Mnangagwa said the situation called for great changes where nations engage, reach out for safe and gainful partnerships, transact internationally, relate or submit to global regulatory frameworks and institutions.
“Fortuitously, Africa had a premonition of this meltdown in world affairs, and had already embarked on a robust framework for continental free trade, underpinned by Agenda 2063.
This was a stroke of far-sightedness, indeed a new trajectory which must find justification and impetus in the ensuing global turbulence. Russia and Ukraine, the two nations in conflict, are big players in the global economy, principally in the key sectors of technologies, agriculture and energy,” he said.
Mnangagwa said the fact that Russia was now demanding payment in domestic currency, just as China was equally challenging the dominance of the United States dollar, demonstrated a shift in the global epicentre.
“The hitherto unchallenged currency and medium of international trade is being shaken as a key global player. Russia, demands payment in its domestic currency. The Chinese Yuan is also challenging dominance of the United States dollar. All this points to a shift in the global epicentre,” he said.
Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe has escalated its international engagements consistent with its policy of engagement and re-engagement coupled with its economic policies such as the National Development Strategy 1.
“The changing global situation, which is increasingly being shaped by conflict and unilateralism, enjoins us to look to ourselves, to our region and to our continent primarily.
“Beyond ourselves, our region and our continent, we face growing uncertainty which we can only offset through creative and responsive diplomacy,” he said.- State Media/Additional Reporting
South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday morning used his Presidential authority to order a cancellation of the notorious operation Dudula which aims at carrying out violent attacks against foreigners.
Ramaphosa was speaking 2 days after ZimEye revealed how the killing of foreigners is destroying the South African economy. Below is his full statement:
FIGHT CRIME, NOT MIGRANTS
Dear Fellow South African,
Twenty-five years ago, our new democratic Constitution came into effect. In adopting this Constitution, we affirmed our commitment to a society based on democratic values, social justice and human rights.
We were also making a complete break with our past. This was a past of race-based social engineering that manifested itself through influx control, job reservation, group areas and the dreaded dompas. When our forebears drafted the Freedom Charter in 1955, whose principles have been incorporated in our constitution, and declared that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, they were seeking a society free from ethnic chauvinism, tribalism, racism and sexism.
It is therefore deeply disturbing how the recent incidents of anti-foreigner sentiment in parts of the country echo our apartheid past.
We have seen people being stopped on the street by private citizens and being forced to produce identification to verify their immigration status. We have seen some political leaders making unscientific statements about immigrants to exploit people’s grievances for political gain.
We have seen marches being led on people’s homes and their dwellings raided for evidence of criminal activity. We have seen people being attacked, hurt and even killed because of how they looked or because they have a particular accent.
This was how the apartheid oppressors operated.
They said some people could only live in certain areas, operate certain businesses or take certain jobs. Under apartheid, black people were deemed suspects by default and stopped by police when found in so-called white areas. Black people were forced to produce a dompas and if they could not do so, they were jailed. We cannot allow such injustices to happen again.
The events in the Gauteng township of Diepsloot last week were a tragedy. In the course of a single weekend, seven people were killed, sparking protests. This loss of life is deplorable, as is the killing of a fellow African from Zimbabwe allegedly at the hands of vigilantes.
Crime is a serious problem in this country. It affects all communities and people are justifiably tired of living in fear of criminals.
Contrary to what is claimed by some anti-immigration groupings and individuals, the perpetrators of crime are both black and white, male and female, foreigner and citizen.
Crime, not migrants, is the common enemy we must work together to defeat.
We cannot defeat crime through incitement, violence, intimidation and vigilantism aimed at foreign nationals, and specifically nationals from other African countries.
We acknowledge many communities are frustrated by the apparent inability of the police to deal with criminals. Among the measures we are taking to capacitate the police is the recruitment of an additional 12,000 additional police officers.
We are also re-establishing community policing forums (CPFs) across the country. These forums bring communities and police representatives together to improve local safety and hold police accountable. Communities need to work with the police by actively participating in CPFs and reporting suspected acts of criminality.
Even as we intensify our fight against crime, there is no justification for people taking the law into their own hands.
At the same time, we recognise that illegal migration poses a risk to South Africa’s security, stability and economic progress. Illegal migration affects service delivery and places additional burdens on essential services such as health care and education.
Like any sovereign nation, we have the right to implement policies and measures that guarantee the integrity of our borders, protect the rights of South Africans and provide that all who reside in our borders have a legal right to be here.
Controlling migration is the responsibility of government.
No private citizen may assume the role of immigration or law enforcement authorities by demanding that foreign nationals produce identification. Under Section 41 of the Immigration Act, only a police member or immigration officer can ask someone to identify themselves as a citizen, permanent resident or foreign national. If these officers believe, on reasonable grounds, that the person is in the country unlawfully, they may be detained while an investigation into their status is conducted. When doing so, law enforcement authorities must respect that person’s rights and dignity. They may not do so in a manner that is degrading or humiliating.
Enforcement of migration legislation is a priority for government. We are working to ensure that syndicates perpetrating immigration fraud in collusion with corrupt officials are brought to book. This year alone, several people implicated in passport fraud have been arrested.
No private citizen or group has the right to enter businesses and demand its owners produce proof that their businesses are registered or legal. This is the competence of municipal, provincial or national authorities, including inspectors from the Department of Employment and Labour and the South African Revenue Service.
Like all other businesses, foreign-owned businesses must obey the relevant laws, including health and safety regulations, have all the required permits and licences, and pay the necessary taxes.
We are a democracy founded on the rule of law. Acts of lawlessness directed at foreign nationals, whether they are documented or undocumented, cannot be tolerated.
Attacking those we suspect of wrongdoing merely because they are a foreign national is not an act of patriotism. It is immoral, racist and criminal. In the end, it will lead to xenophobia, whose consequences we have lived through in previous years. We do not want to go back there because in the main the people of South Africa are not xenophobic.
I want to appeal to all South Africans, but particularly to younger South Africans who thankfully never experienced the true brutality and dehumanisation of apartheid. Let us not become like the ones who oppressed us, no matter how legitimate the grievance.
Let us work together to resolve our country’s challenges without resorting to violence or vigilantism. Let us resist those who want to exploit the problems of crime and unemployment for political gain.
Today, our anger may be directed at nationals from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria or Pakistan. Tomorrow, our anger may be directed at each other.
Let us heed the words of Martin Niemöller’s famous poem about the Nazis in Germany:
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out – Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Let us focus on defeating crime, no matter who commits it.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is more likely to relinquish power compared to former President Robert Mugabe if defeated in an election, NCA leader Professor Lovemore Madhuku has said.
Madhuku said this when he launched his 2023 election campaign at Matambudze Business Centre, in his home district in Chipinge on Saturday.
Madhuku argued that because Mnangagwa knew life both in and outside the presidency, it made him more likely to accept defeat in an election than Mugabe who only knew life as a President since returning from Mozambique in 1980.
“The late President was never for a minute led by another person since his return from Mozambique. For him, it was inconceivable that he could be ruled. However, the current president has had a president rule him for 37 years. He knows life as a president and life under somebody else.
“Therefore, we don’t expect him to refuse to be defeated,” argued Prof Madhuku.
He told scores of supporters that the NCA was going to contest council, Parliamentary seats and the Presidency in 2023 and said that there was no opposition that has the capacity to run the country alone.
Chipangayi in Middle Sabi is part of the area where Madhuku gave Mukonyowere villagers free legal service when they faced eviction from their land at the hands of greedy Government officials.
Madhuku appears to enjoy immense support in the area because of the empathy he showed.
“We are all agreed that ZANU PF has failed to give basics to the majority of the people in Zimbabwe over the past 42 years. Now, as NCA, we present ourselves to you to vote for us in the 2023 elections.
“We will have men and women up for council, national and presidential elections in each area of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Madhuku told the gathering not to be coerced into attending meetings of political parties.
“We are throwing our hat in the ring for 2023. Our message is clear on our strategy and programmes. We are ready to win the next elections,” he said.
Madhuku took the opportunity to set up local party structures after the meeting.
Fadzai Hama was elected the chairperson of the ward. Madhuku was accompanied by Vrande Jambaya who is a national executive member of the NCA. -Masvingo Mirror
Exim Bank of China freezes funding towards $2 billion Kafue Gorge power plant -Vixon Ncube
Have you ever wondered why the excitement of the coming on stream of the 750 mega watts Kafue Gorge Lower Power plant has suddenly gone quiet?
Well, new ZESCO chairman Vickson Ncube has disclosed that funding for the completion of the $2billion Kafue Gorge Lower project has been frozen. Exim bank of China is the official funder of the project.
Speaking during the ZNBC Sunday interview program, N’cube stated that the project funders of the 750 mega watts project which was expected to make Zambia a net exporter of electricity have frozen funding, with only one turbine brought into production.
The Kafue Gorge Lower Power plant which was to be completed by end of 2021 was to have 5 turbines, each producing 150MW, but only one turbine was brought into production, with the other four planned for launch by end of 2021.
Ncube stated that “there is no point of crying for the funders to unfreeze, to continue funding, so we have resorted to using our internal resources to complete the other four turbines”.
But with a change of government, from the Patriotic Front – PF to the United Party for National Development – UPNDs new dawn government in August 2021, analyst say the suspension of funding should be related to frosty relations between China and the new dawn government leaders.
The new dawn government is seen to be pro-western and have not given China the same enthusiasm. This may have compromised the historical and strong long term relations. It’s this diplomatic challenges that may have led to projects being funded by China and institutions from the east being put on ice.
When you check Zambia’s foreign debt stock, it’s easy to see how the about $3 billion funding from China was utilized with visible projects, while funding from Eurobonds which was also above $3 billion, there are limited visibility on how the funds were utilized.
Some analysts have even called for a forensic audit of the contraction and usage of Eurobonds. These funds seems not to have been allocated to specific tangible projects and therefore susceptible to graft.
Zambia has historically been a non-aligned country which has allowed the country to deal with both the East and the Western countries. This position is seen to be more strategic as the country risks to be turned into a geopolitical battleground that will result in Zambia being caught in the cross fire
Minister of Health, Sylvia Masebo says Government will procure medicines and medical supplies directly from countries that produce them.
She joins ZESCO Limited who made a deliberate decision to import wooden poles and electricity requisite supplies from Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The Minister of Energy has made similar pronouncements in relation to petroleum products.
This is, according to them, designed to cut middlemen, cut costs and serve government resources.
There is a concerted chorus against and the criminalisation of all intermediary businesses by government officials.
They are branded as middle-men, treated as exploitative entities against the State by the New Dawn Government.
INTERMEDIARY BUSINESSES
International manufacturing companies rely on business intermediaries to help their products reach other countries and consumers.
There are various types of supply chain intermediaries that include; wholesalers, retailers, agents, dealerships, and white Label Buyers.
They make it easier for buyers to find what they need, they help set standards, and they enable comparison shopping—efficiency improvements that keep markets working smoothly.
Therefore, the concerted efforts against intermediary businesses is happening in a country where the manufacturing and associated industries were exterminated by government implementing wanton liberal policies.
A highly urbanized country, with a growing industrialised base in Southern Africa, was reduced to an all import-dependent country by the implementation of wholesale liberal and privatisation policies.
Since then the manufacturing industry has been making a steady come-back with subsequent government crafting and implementing industrialisation policies in support of the sector.
BUY ZAMBIA CAMPAIGN
So instead of pushing a local supplier development plan that promotes skills and skills transfer, localisation of local content, manufacturing and training, this Government is determined to kill all forms of local development and the nascent manufacturing or assembly industry that has been emerging.
Infact , the “Buy Zambian Campaign, Buy Local” is mere rhetoric, placed in speeches designed to impress and not implement.
This Government has chosen to promote direct imports, externalise foreign exchange resources, and collapse any form of local manufacturing and suppliers’ development that has been taking place.
For example, in Zambia, various firms manufacture drugs under warrant or franchise, but Masebo is keen to destroy them.
Similarly, ZESCO Management has not demonstrated keenness to support ZAFFICO and Copperbelt Forest Company, or any company that would establish a pole treatment plant.
Similarly those “middle-men” with capacity to import, supply and deliver poles have been by-passed.
Infact, Minister of Energy, Peter Kapala says ZESCO will not participate in entrepreneurial development, job-creation, or empowerment schemes that promote local suppliers or entrepreneurs.
He said such programmes are political and ZESCO is not available for such schemes.
A GOVERNMENT KEEN TO DESTROY LOCAL INDUSTRY
I don’t know if this Government recognises that it provides the largest spend, other than the mines and a few firms in the private sector, their entire national budget is a spend on public service emoluments; and the provision of goods, works and services.
This is a large financial resource outlay.
Government and State-owned enterprises are part of the integral economy and can play a central national development role.
But this Government is keen to spend these resources abroad, provide jobs abroad, promote value chains abroad and destroy the local capacities that have been created over the years.
Their actions will decimate local industries and value chains that have been established as a recovery to the pre-industrialsed era.
I thought as a business man, President Hakainde Hichilema, who made his wealth from government, would foster a more favourable environment for the private sector.
Infact, in sectors where we want Government to cut middle-men, like the oil sector, they have promoted them, replaced the “PF” middle-men with the “UPND” middle-men.
Instead of establishing a solid plan to revive Indeni Petroleum Refinery and the TAZAMA Pipeline, they have abandoned the strategic national assets in preference for importation of petroleum products using trucks.
A difficult period for business entities and tough times lay ahead.
As every entrepreneur, every business that obtained contracts from government are treated as members of the former ruling party, Patriotic Front, who will NOT be paid for their goods, works and services, and need to be punished and bankrupted.
CAR DIARY: “SHE’S NOT JUST MY CHILD, SHE’S A ZAMBIA ARMY CHILD” …The girl who melted soldiers’ hearts – and the captain who couldn’t leave her behind!
“It’s a beautiful feeling, I’m in love,” says Captain Mwila Chansa.
Here’s is the full story about this Zambia Army Captain who adopted a child in the Central African Republic:
JACK ZIMBA
IN A flat in Lusaka, a little girl makes unsteady steps, her radiant face, shrill baby calls and yellow floral dress lighting up the room. Watching her every move is the girl’s adoptive mother, Zambia Army captain Mwila Chansa. She is a doting mother and is all bubbly as she talks about the little girl. She thinks one day she will become president of her country.
The little girl’s story does not begin in Zambia, surrounded by love, care and hope; a place where her future is guaranteed. The little girl’s story starts in a corner of Central African Republic (CAR), far, far away in a desolate, war-worn place called Birao, near the border with Sudan and Chad.
According to the United Nations, 41 per cent of children under five in CAR are chronically malnourished, and one-third of school-age children do not attend school, while between 6,000 and 10,000 children have been recruited by armed groups during the long-drawn civil war.
That is the world the little girl was born into. The little girl was born to a polygamous man with four or five wives and about 10 children, and a mother who did not live to see or hold her in her arms – she died just after the little girl was born, on November 5, 2020.
The little girl’s mother was carrying twins in her womb, but after her first baby was born, the woman had lost so much blood and had no more strength to bring forth her second child or to live. In a place like Birao, with no proper health facilities, such deaths can only be deemed inevitable. Birao, in Vakaga Prefecture (province), is where the Zambian peacekeeping mission to CAR is headquartered. Now in its seventh year of deployment, the mission has been one of the most successful in the war-torn country. It is also the only contingent in the history of the UN that has a special women-only team called Female Engagement Team or FET, a critical component in a deeply Islamic society.
One day when the FET was engaging the local women, teaching them how to garden, they noticed one woman with a tiny baby on her back that could not be consoled. She cried incessantly. The little girl, who was only six weeks old, was listless as a result of acute severe malnutrition. “Why don’t you breastfeed your baby,” one of the soldiers asked the woman, assuming her to be the mother. The woman, who was the little girl’s aunt, only answered in tears.
It was then that the soldiers learnt about the little girl’s heart-rending story. The troops swung into action, donating whatever food they could get hold of for the baby and her family. But even after that little gesture, they were haunted by the little girl’s pitiful image when they retreated to their barracks. One morning, after hearing about the little girl, nursing officer Caroline Chimwala decided to visit the baby. When she arrived at the poor homestead, she watched with teary eyes and a lump in her throat as a woman fed a light cassava porridge with nothing else but salt to the tinny infant. The woman had improvised a feeding bottle by putting the porridge in a plastic bag and then making a small hole to go into the infant’s mouth.
“I was touched. They say soldiers don’t cry, nurses don’t cry – that day I shed a tear,” she says. But the scene also aroused Capt. Chimwala’s motherly instincts, and she decided to take the baby as her own, although she knew the risk involved. With acute malnutrition, there was no guarantee the baby would live. “She didn’t have many days to live,” says the captain, who is an experienced midwife. She was haunted by the thought of how the community would react if the little girl died in her care, but she decided to give her another chance at life.
For the next few weeks, she became a dedicated mother, attending to the baby from the level one hospital at the army base. The hospital is only meant to cater for military personnel, but the captain and the medical team had to improvise a pediatrics wing for the little girl who was brought to the facility each morning till evening. Some nights, Capt. Chimwala would sleep with the little girl at the medical facility. It did not take long for the bond to grow. The little girl now became a familiar face in the Zambian camp, and was a darling of the troops who clamoured to give her affection. When the little girl was born, she was named Ousna Nassaldine, but one of the soldiers decided to call her “Thabo”, a Lozi name which means joy.
Within three weeks, Thabo had picked and she lived up to her name. KISSED BY A PRINCESS One Sunday afternoon in March last year, a few days after she arrived in Birao to begin her mission as legal officer, Capt. Chansa was introduced to Thabo and immediately fell in love with her. “She was such an adorable child; it’s hard not to love her,” says the 33-year-old lawyer, who is also a princess from the Kaputa chiefdom.
And one day, in the small chapel where the troops met for prayers, an emotional exchange happened. Capt. Chimwala, who had come to the end of her mission, handed over Thabo to Capt. Chansa. “I was so emotional, I cried,” says Capt. Chimwala. But she got an assuring promise from Capt. Chansa: “Madam, I’m going to bring this child home.” It was a promise she would keep, against all odds. Meanwhile there was uproar from the family and community when they heard Capt. Chimwala was leaving. “The time I was leaving, the whole family rose up and came crying to the battalion commander saying ‘please we don’t want this woman to go’,” recalls Capt. Chimwala. Let her go with the baby then, they demanded.
LEGAL BATTLE
The days and months that followed, Capt. Chansa found herself engaged in a legal battle she never prepared herself for – to become a mother.
She got support from her battalion commander at the time, Col. Paul Sapezo, who had his own personal attachment to Thabo. “I got so attached to Thabo, I still consider her as my child,” says the colonel. Capt. Chansa made several trips to the capital, Bangui, to plead with the courts to allow her to legally become Thabo’s mother, and she had only a small window before she could be allowed to travel with the baby to Zambia. Capt. Chansa says she got a lot of support from her family to adopt the child. Her father, who is Chief Kaputa, was keen to have Thabo brought to Zambia.
The adoption process was very technical, and everything was in French, a language Capt. Chansa was unfamiliar with. And Capt. Chansa had to bear exorbitant fees. “It was an uphill battle,” she says. Adding to the complexity was the novelty of her case. It was unheard of for blue helmets to adopt a child in a conflict zone where they served. There were many blind spots. But it was a battle Capt. Chansa was determined to win. “Leaving Thabo behind was not an option because we had created our own special bond,” she says. She went to a court in Bangui armed with written consents from Thabo’s family, community leaders, including the sultan of Birao, as well local government officials.
Now she had to convince the courts that bringing the child to Zambia was in her best interest. And in January, Capt. Chansa was granted the right to become Thabo’s legal mother by the magistrates’ and children’s court. “It was such a relief, because I was very anxious; I wasn’t too sure if it was going to be granted,” she says. But the legal battle was only the first hurdle; she now had to face the administrative hurdle of the bureaucratic United Nations and MINUSCA, as the UN mission in CAR is called.
One day she walked into the office of the chief legal officer of MINUSCA in Bangui – a judge from Morocco – to present her case. He was perplexed by the captain’s quest. What the captain was attempting was unheard of in the mission, but he still commended her for showing compassion on a little girl and gave her the green light.
But Capt. Chansa also had to inform the UN headquarters in New York and seek special permission to allow the baby travel on a UN plane to Zambia. Although she was told to expect anything, the UN granted her permission. Then she also had to write the Zambia Army Commander to seek permission to travel with Thabo back home. She was anxious fearing she might get a negative response from the commander. A week later, she received response from the commander in the affirmative. “I was in so much disbelief. I did not expect it at all,” says Capt. Chansa.
After obtaining legal documents, finally Thabo’s name was included on the manifest. “I think at that point, I realised this was meant to happen. God wanted this to happen,” says Capt. Chansa. On March 8, Capt. Chansa flew back to Zambia with Thabo in her arms. “I remember sitting with her on the aircraft and it was all like a dream,” she says. Capt. Chimwala is happy that Thabo is now guaranteed of a better life. “If you have been to Birao, you know that there is no future for any child growing there,” she says. For Col. Sapezo, Thabo represents the humane side of the mission in CAR, and the confidence it inspires in the locals due to the Zambian troops’ good track record.
KEEPING FAMILY TIES
Twice a week, Capt. Chansa video-calls Thabo’s family in Birao, she does not want her to lose touch with her country. “I believe that Thabo’s destiny is not in this country, I still feel that her destiny is for Central African Republic,” she says. “Her destiny lies in her country. Sometimes I even entertain the thought that one day she might end up being president.” The captain now has new duties as she learns the ropes of motherhood and relishing the feeling of being called “mama”. “It is a beautiful feeling. I’m in love,” she says.
She adds: “It’s a very unique feeling because I don’t have children, she is the first one.” “She is not just my child, she is Zambia Army child,” says the captain.
LUSAKA-BASED businessman, Valden Findlay, has demanded for an apology from a Zambian woman based in the United Kingdom, Ms Barbra Musamba, for an alleged defamatory statement she issued suggesting that he and former president Mr Edgar Lungu were plotting to kill and overthrow the Head of State, Mr Hakainde Hichilema.
Mr Findlay has directed his lawyers, Makebi Zulu Advocates, through the British High Commissioner to Zambia to write to Ms Musamba to withdraw the defamatory statement against failure to which legal action would be taken against her.
The letter indicated that there was a video that had gone viral on social media in which Ms Musamba stated that there was almost a coup d’etat which was championed by their client, Mr Findlay who was plotting with soldiers on how to overthrow President Hichilema.
Mr Findlay demanded that Ms. Musamba withdraw the allegations and undertake to desist from making such statements and allegations against him in the same manner and prominence she had put them.
And Zambia Republican Party President Wright Musoma said that it was unfortunate that Ms Musamba decided to make wild allegations that alleged Mr Lungu and Mr Findlay were planning to overthrow Mr Hichilema.
Mr Musoma said that if Mr Lungu was as bad as the political enemies were portraying him to be to the public, the man would still be president even today.
He said that it was shocking that someone would think that a man who willingly handed over power when he lost the 2021 would be plotting a coup d’état against a person he handed power to.
Mr Musoma said that Ms Musamba was bitter because President Hichilema had not given her the attention she needed, so she wanted to use the former Head of State to regain political relevance.
He also said the government and all Zambians should ignore people who issue hate speeches and wild allegations that are baseless.
Ends.
Mr Musoma said that people should let Mr Lungu rest and enjoy his retirement peacefully because dragging him into dirty politics was not good for a statesman.
He said that Mr Lungu was a good man and he should be appreciated whilst he was still alive.
Meanwhile, New Congress Party (NCP) president Peter Chanda has reported the alleged criminal conduct of Ms Musamba to the police and the British High Commissioner.- Daily Nation
