Minister of Education Douglas Syakalima has announced that the advertisement for the recruitment of a record 30,000 teachers will be placed in the electronic and print media on 5th,6th and 7th April 2022.

In a ministerial statement to parliament on the recruitment of teachers, Mr Syakalima said that Zambia Postal Services Corporation (ZAMPOST). will commence receiving and delivering applications in all districts by 5th April 2022 and conclude delivery by 15th April 2022.

Mr Syakalima said that the recruitment of process has been decentralized to the district level in line with government policy on decentralization and that applicants will therefore be required to apply to the district education board secretaries’ offices in the districts where they wish to be employed through the ZAMPOST.

Mr Syakalima said that upon receipt of the application, ZAMPOST will send an SMS notification to the applicant as proof of receipt, adding that in order to allow for transparency, ZAMPOST will capture all applications received and create a database, explaining that the database and the applications will be delivered to the district human resources management committees at the respective districts who will open and undertake the selection process.

Mr Syakalima said that the provincial consolidation and validation committees will review the submission from the districts and submit reports to the national consolidation committee, before the Teaching service commission reviews and approves the consolidated and validated lists of selected candidates from 9th to 15th May 2022, stating that that district deployment of officers to respective schools will be conducted between 13th to 30th June,2022.

Meanwhile, the Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) has welcomed the progress the government, through the Teaching Service Commission, has made towards the recruitment of 30,000 teachers provided for in the 2022 education budget.

Coalition Executive Director George Hamusunga said that the announcement by the government that the recruitment process will be decentralized gives the coalition confidence that the process will be completed in good time.

Mr. Hamusunga is also happy with the measures that the government has put in place to ensure the recruitment process is transparent and free of corruption by involving institutions such as ZAMPOST for receiving applications, the Zambia Police, Anti-Corruption Commission and Drug Enforcement Commission to provide oversight in the recruitment process.

Mr. Hamusunga said that this is very important because previous efforts to decentralize the teacher recruitment exercise to district level have been unsuccessful and that the decentralized recruitment of teachers is the hallmark of teacher retention in the schools.

Mr. Hamusunga added that that teachers must be recruited and deployed to schools that are as close to their place of residency as possible to mitigate against the prevailing housing crisis for teachers which encourages the migration of teachers deployed in rural areas back to urban areas.

And Mr. Hamusunga is therefore urging the Teaching Service Commission to consider the need to bridge the current huge gap for Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) teachers which is affecting performance in these subjects as evidenced from the 2021 grade 12 results.

By Daily Star Reporter

As it anticipates Zambians to be hit hard by commodity price increment following fuel price upward adjustments, the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) has disclosed that the cost of living at household level in Lusaka has skyrocketed to K9, 049.25 for the month of January.

JCTR’s Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket (BNNB) survey has indicated that there has been K689.45 increase in comparison to the December, 2021 basket that stood at K8, 359.80.

In a statement issued to the media today, JCTR Executive Director Alex Muyebe said the BNNB for Lusaka has continued to rise since January 2022.

Muyebe attributed the rise to the recent trend in the national inflation which has been on the decline.

“According to the Zambia Statistics Agency Zambia’s inflation rate for March has declined to 13.1 percent from 14.2 percent recorded in February driven by the base effect, which compares inflation in the corresponding period of the previous year,” he said.

“The Zambia Statistics Agency reports that the food inflation decreased to 15.3% in February 2022 as compared to 16.0 percent in February 2021. The non-food inflation decreased to 10.3% in February 2022 from 11.8% in February 2021.”

And Muyebe said the fuel pump price adjustment by almost K10 between December 2021 and April 2022 and the resultant adjustment in the commodity prices is inevitably going to hit hard on the majority of the Zambian people whose incomes are already very low.

“In the midst of this, Government has urged citizens to be extra resilient because it is aggressively working towards stabilizing and ultimately lowering fuel pump prices and improve the general economic welfare of Zambians,” he said.

“It is yet to be seen if what Government is pointing to as its key commitments such as delivery on Constituency Development Fund, rolling-out of social cash transfer programme, implementation of free education programme, payment of salary arrears for local government employees, recruitment of health and education workers will be enough to cushion Zambian households from the pangs of the rising cost of living when the fuel pump prices still remain very high in the short term. What does Government say to a poor household in Chibolya compound which is not a beneficiary of any of the above listed programmes and yet it now has to pay more for food and other basic necessities?”

WE ALL DESERVE SECOND CHANCES: THE CASE OF THOSE FIRED NURSES

I’m very disturbed to hear that the nursing students who where captured dancing in school uniforms have been expelled and black listed.

Every institution has rules and ethics and we cannot argue with that but the rules of natural justice entails that we must be willing to give people who commits wrongs a second chance especially if such a wrong is a minor one such as having a little fun like the young nurses did.

It therefore suddens me to see how quick people are willing to vilify others and condemn them to perpetual condemnation as of they themselves have never made errored in life.

Growing up is a process that sees people make mistakes and learn from the mistakes . A foolish person is one that does not learn from their mistakes. We need to develop a culture of forgiving others esp young people who are discovering life.

As a young politician i have suffered before at the hands of self proclaimed messirs who would jump at any mistake i would make in my leadership and those who would try to condemn us eternally equally had made mistakes that elders before them forgave them for as being part of the learning process.

A young person must not be Afraid to live and make mistakes but young people must be quick to learn from their mistakes.

Christ says let he who has not sinned be the first to cast the stone at the woman who has been caught committing adultery but little did they forget that some of those who picked up stones where the ones who even used to sleep with her for her to be called a prostitute. Its called hypocrisy.

I want to appeal to the authorities at chilonga nursing school to immediately rescind the harsh decison on the erring nurses. Its only right that we give those young people a second chance to learn from their errors in judgement.
Besides they were jst having some fun. There too many pressure in life we need to be relieving ourselves of the stress we go through everyday.

Binwell Chansa Mpundu
NKANA MP
UMWINA NKANA

WHAT HH HAS DONE IN JUST 8 MONTHS OF BEING A PUBLIC WORKER: FEEL FREE TO INDICATE WHAT PF DID IN 10 YEARS OF THEIR RULE

For reminder’s sake, let me take this time to mention a few things that our capable government has done so far.

– Health workers recruitment is going on (11, 200)

– Teacher recruitment is beginning next week (30, 000)

– K805 Million CDF fund released.

– Retirees have been paid off their monies.

– Paying off all the 15,000 TAZARA workers which the PF government failed to do in 10 years time.

– Paying off all the 128,000 pensioners which the PF government failed to do in 10 years time

– Paying off all the 34,000 council workers who were not receiving salary every month which the PF government failed to do in 10 years time.

– Paying off all the 258,000 farmers who supplied maize to F.R.A

– Releasing the money for equalization fund for 2021 for all the 116 councils countrywide which the PF government failed to do.

– Releasing of the 2021 CDF for all the 156 constituencies which the PF government failed to do in 7 years under President.

– Freedom of expression is there for anyone to see

– Freedom of movement is there for anyone to see

– The freedom of assembly the PF is enjoying today

– No public order act to victimize anyone

– Media freedom is there for anyone to see

– Separation of powers is given to the three organs of government

– No cadrism in the markets and bus stations

– No police brutality

– Cabinet has been reduced

– Presidential entourage has been reduced by more that 90%

– Recovery of stolen national asserts and monies are underway

– Unification of the country is 100% implemented

– Negotiations over Zambia’s debt servicing default are things of the past

– Political party members can now put on their party regalias without fall victims

I simply mean, why can’t we give the New government some time to fix our country.

A country is not managed the way we manage makeup on our bodies, 11 years of mess is not today, such mess needs a methodical approach and that’s what exactly the new dawn government is doing.

Complaining instead of helping our president won’t help us, the president needs time and he is a human just like each and every one of us, let’s render our support to him.

President Hakainde is not one person who celebrates someone’s downfall or celebrating seeing someone suffering.

Better days are coming and we shall party together soon.

Stay blessed Zambia. One Zambia, One Nation.

By: Chadrin Nseemani

By Alexander Nkosi

John’s net salary is K20,000. He has a total debt of K500,000, whose monthly repayment is K15,000. He has a child whose monthly medical bill is K5000, he has to spend this amount to save his child, hence his entire salary is exhausted on two items only. He has to borrow for rent, food, groceries, clothes, water bills, electricity bills, transportation etc. He is in a deep debt trap. What’s worse is that the amount he spends on debt repayment keeps growing and soon it will reach K22,000 and his monthly income won’t be enough to cover debt only.

Lenders don’t trust John because of his reckless borrowing. John has a farm with fish ponds, borehole, poultry and piggery housing structures. Huge debt has made it difficult for him to invest and make the farm productive. People are even afraid of renting his farm facilities as they fear this farm might be grabbed by people he owes.

There is a a firm called Financial Management Institution (FMI) that supports people manage finances, tackle debt and provides loans at flexible rates. However, it requires that individuals address the underlying problems that got them into debt. These conditions include: shifting to a cheaper house, bathing cold water, eating porridge for breakfast, applying vaseline, shifting children to cheaper schools, wife cutting hair to avoid saloon expenses, stopping paying school fees for distant relatives, stopping sending money to relatives, no DSTV in the house, using candles to cut down on electricity bill, stopping jumping on buses and start using bicycles and walking where possible, and significantly cutting down on food and groceries budget.

These measures are so painful. Some people have ended up sliding into depression. Kids get depressed too and their development and performance at school might get affected, relatives feel bad and curse you for abandoning them. Friends laugh at you and wonder how this FMI program will make you better if it inflicts so much pain.

The advantage is that if you can implement these measures, FMI will talk to people you owe and help you restructure your loans. FMI is a credible institution and lenders and people who want to invest on your farm trust it. FMI will also help you have access to cheap and flexible loans so that you can avoid kaloba. It will also lend you some money at very low rates.

FMI negotiates with lenders and brings down your monthly repayment to K5000, freeing up K10,000. The measures you implement also help you lower monthly expenses and hence. People are now ready to rent some facilities at your farm as they feel their investments will be safe now that you are on an FMI program. This earns you monthly rent. Since you are now spending less on debt service and bringing in some income from some facilities rented at your farm, you are able to slowly start investing on some projects at your farm using facilities that are not on rent. Overtime, you start running those facilities on your own. You build your own house, take your children to better secondary schools, buy a car, start supporting relatives and continue on a steady path of financial growth.

People who don’t support FMI program argue that there is no need to go for FMI program since you have a farm with fish ponds, borehole, poultry and piggery housing and all you need to do is to use local solutions. They give examples of people that have gone into depression due to FMI program. They further argue that you don’t need to let out any farm facilities, just invest in all of them and make them operational. However, they don’t explain how you are going to run the business if you have to pay K22,000 every month in debt repayment. They further don’t explain where capital will come from since everyone is afraid of giving you money without collateral. They don’t realise that for the farm business to be successful, you need to address the debt issue. Addressing it though through painful measures helps you build a strong ground to invest in your farm as demonstrated above.

When people are faced with this situation, they sacrifice, they don’t start jumping on taxis, rent expensive houses, eat pizza every week, buy Peruvian hair etc. I don’t understand why logic changes when dealing with the country. With USD12.9 billion foreign debt, K189.7 billion domestic debt, K46.9 billion domestic arrears, and a domestic revenue of K98.9 billion where K78.6 billion goes to debt service- in seven months people want low tax rates, jobs, economic empowerment, cheap fuel and electricity, cheap goods and services?

Criticism is good but more than criticism, what we need is critical analysis with solutions. Let us have alternative solutions that explain how we are going to tackle debt, lower cost of production, lower cost of living and implement only local solutions that grow the economy and create jobs. A country does not stop running and wait for local solutions to produce results for us to spend. Hence let critics provide immediate and detailed solutions.

Thank you

ABOUT THE CALL TO REINSTATE THE EXPELLED SEXUALLY CAPTIVATED NURSES OF CHILONGA MISSION NURSING SCHOOL.

Dear Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba,

First and foremost,

…… “If there’s a sector that has been highly populated by unprofessional people in Zambia, it’s the public sector, or government institutions if you like”……

Sir! I read your article on your Facebook page where you’re calling for Chilonga Nursing School and the General Nursing Council of Zambia to rescind their decision to expel the Nurses in question and to bar them from further practicing the Nursing Profession in Zambia or indeed anywhere in the world.

Sir, as much as you sound clever, wise, defensive and articulate in your appealing and defensive article, I feel that you lack proper understanding and insight of Nursing as a profession and the law that governs it. If you understand the profession and its rules and regulations very well, then you’re being rather unjust, dishonorable and detrimental to the Nursing Profession and Zambia’s health professional system and that alone hauls your honour and integrity as a politician, former ambassador and probably as someone who’s aspiring for a higher public office.

Eye-sighting an individual who served in the PF government where law was pocketed and merely written words on paper step to the fore in the manner that you’ve done surely speaks volumes and leaves much to be desired and reminds me of the times when PF criminals could commit all sorts of atrocities without any form of punishment being meted out on them, not even an arrest or expulsion from the Party or government position.

Surely your Party PF was popularly known for its lawlessness, tolerance for criminalities and lack of respect for human rights and I feel these practices have highly inspired you to overlook the law that governs the Nursing Profession thus the proposal for the relaxation of the punishment imposed on the wild Nurses who caused massive psychological and emotional destruction on our society and on the Nursing Profession.

Sir! Your article suggests that those who break the law by committing crimes and abrogating the law must not be punished or made to serve the appropriate and actual punishment that’s according and equivalent to the crimes or offenses they commit, instead, must be forgiven and given at least a lesser punishment in order for them to reform and become good citizens of Zambia. Which for me is the worst unprofessional way of handling issues and it’s highly detrimental to our health system in Zambia.

Ambassador Mwamba, do you reckon the law really forgives as you’re suggesting in your well grammared English article? Don’t you think your call to have these sexually captivated NURSES reinstated comprises the Nursing Standards, quality of service and promotes lawlessness, misconduct, nuances and further abrogation of such Nursing Standards. Such actions also allows other Nurses greater leeway in following suit by doing the same things that these Nurses did.

Sir, some things, rather processes are better just left to operate and hap as they should be in order to maintain and strengthen the standards of the Nursing profession. That’s to say, when one goes out of the way of the profession, we must allow the law that governs such a profession to take its course because that’s the only way of standardizing and maintaining Nursing as a profession.

Ambassador Mwamba, this your mentality coupled with that of those NURSES are what has made government institutions to be occupied and managed by extremely unprofessional people who in my view don’t even deserve the job.

Any reasonable and 5 sensed person will agree with me that a staggering 75% of government workers in Zambia are extremely unprofessional and 25% of them don’t even have qualifications and are half baked and only doing what they do because of their monthly salaries. No passion or love attached to their jobs and they can do anything they want because they know Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba will understand and will eventually not do anything about it.

Every person has a right to choose from variety of careers such as music, dancing, football, Business and Finance, Education and Training,
Government and Public Administration, Health Science, Information Technology and when one chooses Nursing, they need not to conduct themselves like a Musician or a Circular dancer or indeed a hoe in a Night Club. Nurses should be nurses and not public corrupt dancers.

Let professionals be professionals for the sake of improved quality health services and a professional workforce.

If there’s a sector that has been populated with unprofessional people in Zambia today, it’s the public sector.

End

Castrol Kafweta Jabari

By Kombe Mataka

COMPLEXION of the country will change in five years due to the disbursement of the increased Constituency Development Fund, says permanent secretary for special duties at Cabinet Office Nicholas Phiri.

Phiri said, when he featured on Diamond TV Live Programme, that the government would deliver on the disbursement of CDF in full.

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development on Wednesday disbursed K805 million to all the 156 constituencies for the first quarter.

“Even in this particular disbursement, there are some people that were thinking government will not disburse. Even the K25.7 [million] they are people who are saying it is not going to happen. It is a systematic plan that we are following. If there will be challenges, we will come and it always happens in project planning. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan,” he said. “We as government are now making decentralisation real. It means that the local people must set their own priorities and the local people start right at village, ward, constituency level to the top. This is an agenda we must support. We will have teething problems but let us learn through the ropes and perfect the process.”

Phiri said all constituencies are going to receive the same amount of money, K25.7 million. “However, practically we also know that the spending power or absorption rate of these authorities is not at the same level, even the project needs are not uniform. So if you are going to say, we will spend money standard every quarter, the same amount of money without looking at their burn rate, what you risk doing there is to push in money where there is no capacity to spend,” he said. “…I think given the amount of work that we had, in view of the increased allocation, we are satisfied with how the timing, the scheduling and disbursement has been made so far.”

Phiri said the government opted to review the CDF operational guidelines following the huge increase of the fund from K1.6 million to K25.7 million yearly to promote prudent utilisation.

“The genesis of the CDF was not supported by any form of legislative framework. This was some time back in 1998. It started as a fund for what they called micro projects compensating the discrepancy in infrastructure development in the rural areas and the urban areas. So if you look at the guidelines that started with the micro projects they were not elaborate. In 2016, CDF Act was amended to conform with the Constitution. What the laws did was to provide the legal framework for the CDF and not the operational procedures,” said Phiri. “…The process of identifying which projects to do were not very clearly elaborated. That is why you saw that in most cases the members of parliament got so involved in identifying these and in some instances got themselves untangled in CDF scandals. Now when the amount was increased to what it is now, last year, it was not feasible that the same guidelines that regulated the K1.6 million were going to be applicable now because the increase came with an elaborate structure which was in three legs.

“EDUCATION NEEDS FACELIFT; TOP POSITIONS SHOULD BE OCCUPIED BY PhD HOLDERS”

ANALYSIS BY JEFF SAMPA

CHANGE is the only aspect of life meant to be constant.
It’s a project, initiative or solution that is introduced in an organisation to improve the way work gets done, solve problems, or take advantage.
Change can also be said to be a systematic approach to dealing with the transition or transformation of an organisation’s goals, processes or technologies.

In an organisation such as the education sector, change should be coupled with proper placement. This makes employees happy and reduces absenteeism and labour turnover.
Proper placement increases morale and efficiency of the employees and builds a good relationship with the employer. It enables the employer to assign a specific rank and responsibility to an individual based on their qualifications.

The reason why the employer must value formal qualifications is that they provide an objective, externally validated form of assessment of knowledge and skills.
The employer must develop a trend of benchmarking. This is a practice of comparing and measuring the performance of an organisation’s products, services or process against those of others.

The education sector has seen many gallant young men and women exit the ministry after attaining higher qualifications due to lack of recognition and misplacement by the employer.

Many have become mere hustlers who move from one university to another in the name of part-time lecturing.
They are treated as misfits, threats and a source of intimidation by the lowly qualified supervisors in the sector on attainment of such higher qualifications.
This is so because as a country we have chosen to be static when it comes to pre-requisites for our managerial positions creating space for any Jim and Jack to rise to any position through nepotism, tribalism, political cheer-leading and corruption.

Why should influential positions like DEBS, PEO, SESO and directors have a bachelor’s Degree as their pre-requisite?

The Ministry of Education, being a provider of education services and the mother of all careers and ministries, should set standards that can be emulated by other sectors.
The world currently faces dynamic challenges that require forcused thinking to be able to survive.
It’s, therefore, imperative that we raise the bar higher in the Ministry of Education so that we are able to utilise the dormant knowledge kept buried or neglected.

There is no way someone with a degree can supervise someone with a master’s degree or better. This ought to be thought through carefully. People advance in their studies in order to update themselves with the current knowledge and skills.
So you can’t have a PhD holder being supervised by someone less qualified.

That is why in universities someone with a bachelor’s degree lectures diploma students, master’s degree holder lectures bachelor’s degree students and a PhD holder lectures all. This shows respect for the knowledge levels and there is harmony in their operations.

My request to the New Dawn government through cabinet office is that, going forward, positions such as DEBS, SESO, PEO and director should be occupied by PhD holders.

These positions must be free from political influence, nepotism, tribalism and corruption. The move will attract intellectuals we lost to hustling because they couldn’t fit in a diluted system where the bottom took the upper positions.

Such a project will also help our system do very well when it comes to policy formulation, implementation, interpretation, revision of the curriculum, and there will be a well-researched feedback system where reports from these ranks to the permanent secretary will be evidence-based, not aimed at covering failure.
It’s high time we started managing our think tanks with great caution as a ministry.

The author is an educationalist

Credit: Zambia daily Mail

NDOLA – LUSAKA DUAL CARRIAGEWAY TO GO UPTO LIVINGSTONE

The Ndola – Lusaka dual carriageway will now be extended to the country’s tourist capital, Livingstone, reports Asa Manda for Zambian Eye.

Infrastructure and Urbana Development Minister Charles Milupi has disclosed saying the UPND New Dawn Administration is in hurry to link up the country to it’s neighbors for trade.

The project will however be done on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. He has disclosed this today following a meeting held in the week with a delegation from the South West Chinese Business Association of Zambia led by their president, Xu Zongping.

Milupi in a statement below obtained by Zambian Eye said:

We are grateful that a few days ago, a delegation from the South West Chinese Business Association of Zambia led by their president, Xu Zongping, paid a courtesy call on us at Infrastructure House in Lusaka, and among the issues discussed is the government’s PPP financing model in the development of strategic public infrastructure.

In our engagement, we indicated that the New Dawn government is in a hurry to develop this country, and that on the infrastructure front, we want to open up roads that link Zambia to her neighbours so that we foster trade among our people.

For example, we are excited that paperwork for the construction of a dual carriageway between Lusaka and Ndola is already underway. But now what we want is to extend this dual carriageway from
Lusaka to Livingstone. So, the Lusaka-Livingstone Dual Carriageway Project is on the cards.

We further indicated that your government is anxious to improve connectivity by opening up strategic roads that link Zambia with her neighbours, such as the Solwezi- Kipushi border road in the North-Western Province, which links Zambia with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We also want to link the Eastern Province with Mozambique by reconstructing the Katete- Chanida border road. The Zambia- Angola is also another project that we are looking at as we do not have a road that links Zambia and Angola.

However, we notified the Chinese delegation, that for us to achieve these objectives and ensure the desired outcomes, your government needs partners who will be able to embark on infrastructure projects through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. This is because currently your government has limited funds to channel towards the construction of infrastructure but is anxious to deliver various projects through the PPP financing model.

On her part, Ms. Xu informed us that her association, which is a conglomerate of various companies, is excited with the New Dawn’s development agenda.

She said some Chinese companies have been in Zambia for over 20 years and want to contribute to the development of Zambia by partnering with the government and put up adequate infrastructure.

Ms. Xu said one of the Chinese companies will soon submit a proposal to construct the Solwezi – Kipushi Border road through the PPP model.

On Deception, Lies And Hypocrisy!

…the increase in the cost of fuel has NOTHING to do with the Russia-Ukraine war.

By Dr. Canisius Banda.

Lusaka – 2nd April, 2021.

Zambia is now a de facto 51st State of America. The IMF has taken over. Acting ultra vires, our government has swapped our sovereignty for DEBT relief/management. Zambia is a pilot project. It is NOT being run by Hakainde HICHILEMA. It is being run by the West through their agents, some of whom are now at our own State House.

The increase in the cost of fuel has NOTHING to do with the Russia-Ukraine war. It has everything to do with the IMF. It is a product of the now extant and active master-puppet relationship at play in the governance of Zambia today.

Now read the following:

‘…They [Hakainde and group] are playing with fire. They are lying about the war. In fact, they are ABUSING [deception and lies] the Russia-Ukraine war, using it as a disguise for compliance. The global price of oil has gone down drastically from a high of almost USD140/barrel to under USD110/barrel today [31 March 2022].

Further, the US has just offloaded a massive amount of oil onto the global market from their strategic reserves, and are forcing OPEC to release and produce more. The truth about Zambia’s pricing is that there was a “MINIMUM COST REFLECTIVE PRICE ” agreed upon with the IMF which has NOT been reached yet. See?

Truth.

In keeping with April Fools’ Day, Hakainde HICHILEMA and group are merely pulling wool over citizens eyes.

Fooling Zambians. These are not Russia-Ukraine war induced prices; they are the EFFECTS OF THE OF SUBSIDIES DEMANDED by the IMF for Zambia to qualify for its obnoxious, and deadly programme [hypocrisy]. Yes, we are headed for crazy tough times.Social unrest will soon occur.

Fuel is a universal input in domestic and economic activities. This behaviour of theirs, without suitable coping mechanisms, will lead to a spike in inflation and drastic rise in cost of living, inevitably eroding the quality of life of the majority of the already impoverished Zambians.

Truly, we must brace for desperation, more suicides, and social chaos even riots. It is insane that a PERSON and PARTY elected to lead a country and lower the cost of living actually increases it immediately upon being elected, without even a thought to alternatives/coping mechanisms…’

Further, note that the old stock at service stations has NOT been exhausted completely.

So this stock, bought to be sold at K21.96 per litre for petrol will now sell at K26.50 per litre.

Isn’t this cheating? What does the Consumer Protection Agency of Zambia say about this?

This then is the truth about this government, which has now, ultra vires, surrendered our sovereignty without the sought permission from citizens.

IS NAKACINDA A THREAT TO HH? IS SEEMS SO

The Candidates’ Comment

Is Raphael Nakacinda is becoming a deadly thorn in the eyes of Hakainde Hichilema – politically? A close analysis of events point out that, in Nakacinda, President Hichilema is seeing a political problem that needs to be addressed.

A myriad of foolish charges that Nakacinda is currently facing at the hands of the State are so illustrative. Hakainde knows that Nakacinda has the necessary character and mentality to tame UPND and reduce them from what they think they are.

It is perhaps why the former ruling party, the Patriotic Front (PF) has planted Nakacinda as their mouthpiece to verbalize topical issues affecting the people. He is quiet articulate and emerges as a vivacious orator who seem to be well versed with affairs at any time.

Anyone who has lived long enough to witness Zambia’s political chronicles since 90s will agree that, even the arrests on various charges that Nakacinda is subjected to by Hakainde’s administration, are part of the necessary ingredients needed for Nakacinda to walk in the big shoes that some have walked into before reaching their political apex.

This is not to brandish some political Public Relations for Nakacinda but to illustrate his political posture.

Zambia lacks vibrant and radical political figures. Traces of such traits are beginning to show in people like Nakacinda. His political moves seem to be embedded in climbing the ladder using potency of his own making.

But Nakacinda faces an anthill. No matter how he may seem good at what he is doing, he cannot be the only reason why PF will once again become relevant. Nakacinda is surrounded by elements that are adding little or nothing to his party. And when we look at PF, we contend – and we know we are not the only ones who think so – that, Nakacinda is wrongly placed in PF.

Here is the problem of why he is heading nowhere if nothing is changed about his party.

His club, the Patriotic Front is currently detested for its sins by the people. Whether one likes it or not, the PF is still a rejected party and the approval ratings for Hakainde and UPND are still high, regardless of any hurdles they may face in discharging their mandate.

Although the PF are preaching about rebranding, very few is coming out of that process. The PF Secretariat is absolutely dead just like their structures. Their members are lost just like their followers and sympathizers. Although the party has functional temporal leaders in various positions, the biggest miscalculation about all this has been failure by the PF to diagnose their problems correctly. They are sharing positions but their institution is weak and this is the correct problem. Those positions cannot be strengthened with a weak institution. A party must organize its Secretariat first, which in this regard, is the key pillar of any political institution.

The PF Secretariat has failed to re-organize itself. The mere changing of a Secretary General, from Davis Mwila to Nickson Chilangwa has conveyed no difference or improvements. Chilangwa is totally in confusion and knows not what to do. In fact, Davis Mwila was better off than the current SG.

From the look of things, the Secretariat is so engrossed in dishing out positions. It seems occupying positions is their prime focus than anything else. But if PF is going to tick once again, it has to revive its Secretariat in haste. The biggest part of this revival must be getting the old folks behind the scenes and fronting the new political heavyweights on the front. People are damn tired of the same faces for crying out loud.

At the moment, there is yet to be a personality in political circles overall, in the eyes of a millennial, who can defeat Hichilema, who, without doubt, has altered the political environment and raised the bar to suit his advantages.

If PF can front more people like Nakacinda, and put behind the scenes people like Given Lubinda and all these old politicians, then, they have a chance to play competitively in the field Hakainde has created to suit himself.

The United Party for National Development (UPND) has said that various energy reforms are being applied in order to reduce fuel prices and make the sector more viable.

UPND Energy Committee Member Noel Nkhoma has said that it is expected that prices of fuel will come down by June this year.

Mr Nkhoma explains that as part of reforms, the government announced that it will no longer participate in the supply of oil but will be a regulator to encourage more private sector participation and in turn influence reduced prices.

He says the government has also invested in fuel reserves to ensure that the country has enough stocks to cushion it from external factors that influence price increments.

He says the current fuel prices being experienced are being influenced by various factors which include the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Mr Nkhoma explains that Russia is among the largest distributors of oil in the world and some distributors have taken advantage of the current crisis in that country to hike prices.

He says the UPND is in line with the party manifesto and is implementing long-term measures that will benefit the economy.

Mr. Nkhoma says the removal of fuel subsidies was done because it was not beneficial and it has left the government in a 700 million dollars debt to oil companies.

Speaking during a media briefing in Lusaka today, Mr Nkhoma said the UPND administration inherited an economy in distress and is determined to reboot the economy.

And UPND Energy Committee Chairperson Charles Kaisala said the pricing model by the Energy Regulation Board – ERB- to review prices every month is done to ensure major determinants of prices are considered.

Meanwhile, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency(SACREEE) has said that Zambia is one of the few countries in the region that has significantly achieved energy efficiency through the introduction of energy-saving lighting measures.

SACREEE Lead Renewable Energy Expert Readlay Makaliki says that Zambia has cut down on energy wastage resulting in savings for both individuals at the household level and the heavy power consumers such as mines and industries.

Mr Makaliki has however called on regulatory agencies to ensure strict compliance with Statutory Instrument number 16 of 2016 which banned the importation and manufacturing of non-energy saving lighting appliances.

Speaking at Skills for Energy in Southern Africa (SESA) media training, Mr Makaliki wondered why imported incandescent bulbs that consume a lot of power are being openly sold on the market contrary to the law.

And Ministry of Energy Principal Energy Officer Brian Mainza said Zambia has a lot of untapped potential in renewable energies such as wind, solar and geothermal which needs to be developed.

Open Letter To Hon. Sylvia Masebo, Minister Of Health.

Lusaka – 31st March, 2022.

Dear Ba Mayo Ba Masebo,

RE: The Expulsion And Blacklisting Of Chilonga School Of Nursing And Midwifery Students.

I hope and trust that this message finds you in perfect peace despite the many challenges and pressures of your very sensitive Ministry!

The main reason I have written to you, is over the issue of the expelled and blacklisted students from Chilonga School of Nursing and Midwifery in Mpika District. What was their crime? Dancing in the OPD while in full uniforms!

According to the Nurses and Midwives Act No. 31 of 1997, the disciplinary action taken against the four students is too grave. Why do I think so? Part II of the Professional Code of Conduct for Nurses and Midwives states that “Ensure that no action or omission on their part or within their sphere of responsibility is harmful to the interest, condition and safety of clients.” My thinking is that the dancing action was in no way harmful to the interest, condition and safety of clients in the hospital.

Under Part IV of Disciplinary Code For Nurses and Midwives, “Unprofessional behaviors bringing the professional integrity in disrepute” such as “Consuming alcohol while in prescribed uniform” prescribes ‘Caution’ in the 1st Breach while ‘Erasure’ is prescribed for the second and third offenders. Can the dancing action be compared to consumption of alcohol and drugs that can endanger human life?

Such dancing, even more graphic than that, is very prevalent during Nurses’ Day and no one bothers about it. Those young ladies have probably seen their seniors, serving nurses drinking alcohol like fish and dance in similar manner and no superior takes offence.

My plea to your office is please intervene in this case. Those young ladies were probably just behaving their age. They were having their time. They were probably expressing their happiness and delight about their career path. The path of serving humanity. Let the management at Chilonga School of Nursing and Midwifery show their parental love and attributes by embracing those young ladies and mould them into professionals they shall be proud of!

All they needed was counselling to help them ‘act’ their profession. Let not that harsh punishment be the reason why their future would not be realised and fulfilled. Please Hon. Masebo, kindly prevail in this matter so as not to derail their studies. Let these young ladies be restituted in the shortest possible time.

Looking forward to seeing these ladies graduate soon!

Your patriot,

Percy Mwale (Mr.)
percymwale@gmail.com

©2022 Eagle One Zambia, Inc.
Journalism for social change

HICHILEMA HAS SOLD ZAMBIA TO FOREIGN INTERESTS

HICHILEMA HAS MESSED UP THE PRESIDENCY AND HAS DESTROYED EFFICIENCY IN CIVIL SERVICE

…Prince Chanda..✍🏾🇿🇲🦅🙏🏾
It’s a curse to be a patriot and be led by an unpatriotic individual whose allegiance is in foreign powers.

It’s a a load of a burden to have a nation led by an incorrigible leader who cannot listen to divergent views and do the right thing in the interest of a nation for the larger common good. Today Hichilema cannot pay civil servants because ZRA is underperforming, while Hichilema himself is wasteful with limited resources, the little being collected is being used to maintain Hichilema at his community house, duplicating costs, paying for his informal security detail while maintaining formal security at state house, moving him daily to and from his house, things we warmed him about, his pride and ego couldn’t make him listen never to temper with ZRA structure which was well performing under Dr Kingsley Chanda, for him there was nothing he appreciated even what was to work for him he destroyed.

Hichilema opted to listen to a self confessed demon from Nigeria to say he must fire all who served under PF, he went into state house as UPND leader and ever since he has chosen to act that way instead of being head of state.

His useless praise singers are now lost and in deep waters. Hichilema has not only betrayed Zambia, and Zambians , he has equally betrayed his loyal supporters, those we expected to be taken care of are abandoned and left outside to rot while he embraces his businessmen and children of the rich for decent jobs.

Unschooled courageous youth who protected him from many things from PF regime are now useless , they have no papers to work with him. Some he has sent to black mountain to die slow with those toxic substances going by how they are doing things without protective equipments.

A traitor like Hichilema surely needed to be President for ungrateful citizen to learn that by any standard , Hichilemain and his government would never match that of ECL. If Hichilema arrogantly doesn’t fire the Taxman Dingani Banda, the effects of Hichilema and Dingani Banda will affect the entire country and hinder service delivery by new dawn.
I remain Hadliner 🇿🇲

By Masuzyo Chakwe

NEVER trust politicians 100 per cent but at most give them 60 per cent while holding on to 40 per cent to avoid frustrations and hypertension, says GEARS Initiative Zambia executive director MacDonald Chipenzi.

During the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions and civil society organisations’ leadership workshop held in Lusaka on ‘promoting and protecting the democratic civic space, freedoms and rights in Zambia’, Chipenzi said it was time to unite in advocating review of the current legal regime that impedes and potentially threatens democratic and civic space, freedoms and rights in Zambia.

He said the initiative by the ZCTU and Solidarity Centre to forge partnerships with the civil society in promoting trade unions and civil society coalition building had come at “no better time than now when the opposition political parties are weak after the 2021 general election outcomes”.

“With the former ruling party [Patriotic Front] being in opposition with teething issues such as corruption and abuse of office, the partnership between trade unions and civil society will be key in offering credible checks and balances to the new dawn government,” Chipenzi said.

He said the coalition building would go a long way in ensuring the new dawn government does not to sleep but always alert in doing what is good for the common man and woman.

Chipenzi said civil society were and had been ready to protect and promote the democratic, civic space, freedoms and rights in Zambia.

“The civil society and trade unions coalitions is not new as it was demonstrated during the campaign for a people-driven constitution and on Bill 10. The declining democratic spaces in other parts of the world does not mean Zambia is immune from the same but alert trade unions and civil society through these coalition building initiatives are key to stop any slide to undemocratic tendencies,” said Chipenzi. “This initiative will help build a strong voice on identified common problems, causes, for the common man. The use of NGO forums in provinces and districts under the auspices of the Council of NGOs in Zambia will be key to achieve the intended objectives of the initiative.”

And ZCTU secretary general Cosmos Mukuka said although the two organisations pursue different agendas, both champion the improvement of mankind and society as a whole.

“It is our considered view that through our combined strategic efforts, we can score a lot of successes and contribute positively to the livelihoods of the people we strive to represent. This workshop marks the beginning of our journey towards building and strengthening partnership in tackling priority areas of common interest,” he said.

Mukuka said the trade union movement was convinced that the relationship would go a long way in protecting the democratic space in the country and promoting the participation of workers and ordinary citizens in the various areas of governance.

“While we have a duty to consistently defend the welfare of our members, socially, economically and politically, we are also aware that the civil society on the other hand has generated a large variety of voluntary organisations seeking to advance public interest issues, in part, as a response to social problems created or aggravated by globalisation,” he said.

Mukuka however, said cooperation between trade unions and civil society organisations would depend, in the first place, on shared objectives and equally importantly, on the way the organisations approach issues of legitimacy, transparency, accountability and management.

He said in a globalised economy and society, it was imperative that social movements form partnerships to effectively tackle issues, such as dealing with transnational corporations, the growing informal economy, advancing a broader social and political agenda among others.

Mukuka said it was a foregone conclusion that cooperation between trade unions and the civil society world, would jointly lead to a powerful impact on social and political events.

He said there was need to restore the protection of those who had been weakened by transnational capital flows and ensure equal redistribution of public services and social programmes.

Mukuka said trade unions had realised that women represent a growing share of the labour force and the issue of introducing affirmative action programmes sits high on the agenda of some civil society organisations which are championing women’s rights and empowerment.

“This is one area the two will relate very well so that trade unions can continue to introduce affirmative action programmes within union structures and moving women’s demands to the top of the bargaining agenda,” he said.

Mukuka said the coalition between trade unions and civil society organisations would enable them tackle broader social, economic and political concerns which they would otherwise neglect as being “someone else’s concern”.

He said issues that were traditionally under the labour movement, such as employment, conditions of work and wage levels were concerns of a multitude of civil society organisations.

“Today we pledge that as a combined force, we are going to take our advocacy campaigns to a whole new level,” said Mukuka.

UPND PROMISES ARE GENUINE AND SOLID – NALUMANGO

VICE President W.K Mutale Nalumango has told Members of Parliament to pride in free education and Community Development Fund as that will make it easy for them and the local people to deliver development in the constituencies.

Responding to Matero Member of Parliament Miles Sampa, who wanted to know whether the promises made by UPND prior to August 2021 elections were genuine.

Ms Nalumango told Parliament that the UPND government has not back-tracked on its promises and will continue to better the lives of citizens as can be seen with the promises implemented.

She later appealed to Members of Parliament to engage their constituencies and share the good policies that have been implemented by government as that provides an opportunity for them to make their life better.

“Go and share the good news in your constituencies, about free education because those people who failed to go to school have re-entered that social Cash transfer has just not been increased to K400 but that it has also been streamlined meaning that all those eligible are
now receiving and that is irrespective of party affiliation,” said Ms Nalumango.

She also reminded the Members of Parliament to tell their people that retirees who have not been paid for a long time have now been paid attributing that to the vision of President Hakainde Hichilema of making life better for all.

Madam Nalumango said the UPND New Dawn Administration’s focus is the people of Zambia and the environment they live in.

Adding that government will continue to monitor the situation and that it is working tirelessly to stabilise the economy so that it can implement more of its good polices.

Meanwhile Ms Nalumango says the suspension of Patriotic Front (PF) Members of Parliament (MPs) from the National Assembly last month for 30 days for breaching parliamentary privileges was precedented.

Mrs Nalumango told Parliament that in the courts of law precedent makes law.

She said that is why the chair of the Speaker of National Assembly should be respected at all times for the Speaker to make the right decision.

The Vice-president said if the Speaker is not respected, wrong precedents can be made.

Mrs Nalumango said suspension of the 38 PF members was precedented because the MPs departed from their own decision.

Last month Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Attractor Chisangano, who suspended the MPs said action had been taken in the wake of the behaviour the 30 MPs exhibited when they protested against the budget debate on head 101 in December last year, thereby disturbing parliamentary proceedings.

The suspension was effective 15th March 2022.

@ The Falcon

UPND Alliance partners have dismissed reports that cracks are emerging in the group because most alliance members have not been given jobs in government.

The Alliance partners have reaffirmed their resolve to continue supporting President Hakainde Hichilema and his administration in bringing development to Zambia.

Alliance Spokesperson Daniel Shimunza says the enemies of the UPND administration are trying hard to cause disunity and confusion by peddling lies aimed at destroying the Alliance.

He said Zambia is in safe hands of the UPND Alliance administration at the moment and the Alliance partners remain committed to the values and principles upon which it was founded.

Speaking at a media briefing this morning, Dr. Shimunza said the current administration will ensure that it cleans up the mess in the country that was caused by the PF government who are also going round peddling lies that the new dawn Government has failed.

And in a statement read for him by Dr. Shimunza, All People’s Congress party leader Nason Msoni who is said to be hospitalized has dismissed allegations that he wants to leave the alliance.

Mr. Msoni who recently cried foul over the unfair sharing of positions in government said leaving the alliance will be the biggest betrayal to the Zambians especially at a time when the country is in capable hands of President Hichilema.

Yesterday, Movement for Democratic Change Secretary General Lucky Mulusa has predicted a fall of the Alliance.
Mr. Mulusa says from the conduct of the UPND, who are the main Alliance player, he does not see any future in the Alliance.
In interview with Hot FM News, Mr. Mulusa said the UPND are sidelining alliance members in most decisions and appointments.

But Governance Activist Isaac Mwanza has described as premature, the outbursts by UPND Alliance Member Nason Msoni that he has been sidelined in government appointments.

Mr. Mwanza says although it is the expectation of many politicians when they go into alliances to receive favours once they form government, Mr. Msoni should be mindful that many original UPND members have not yet been given jobs and have not taken the route he has taken.

He has reminded Mr. Msoni who is the All People’s Congress Leader that the UPND Alliance was voted into government by 2.8 million Zambians who are also very expectant.

By Darious Kapembwa

GREEN PARTY president Peter Sinkamba has jumped to the defence of former foreign affairs minister Joseph Malanji, saying the latter owned Gibson Hotel way before he was elected member of parliament.

Gibson Hotel is a subject of corruption investigation as law enforcement agencies pursue Malanji.

And Sinkamba says the state’s loss of damages paid to senior chief Mukuni’s wife Veronica, the state’s loss of Dora Siliya bike’s case and President Hakainde Hichilema’s treason case are lessons of how tax payers’ money could be lost in form of damages to poorly investigated cases.

Malanji was last week arrested by the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) for alleged corruption involving K10 million and US $700,000, with his hotel situated on the Kitwe-Chingola Road being part of the investigation.

The DEC has since seized Malanji’s two helicopters currently parked in South Africa which are due to be brought back to Zambia.
Commenting on the development, Sinkamba described the state’s decision to seize the helicopters as irrational.

“Those of us living in Kitwe know too well that he owned the hotel long before he was first elected as member of parliament. Most importantly, there is need to be mindful always that damages are minimised in the event that the State loses the cases,” he said.

“We are however worried with the issue of the two helicopters where the law enforcement agencies announced a few days ago that they are making arrangements to go and fetch them from South Africa where they are packed.

We think that this decision is extremely irrational for two reasons. First, because of the costs involved to move them from there to Zambia. This is likely to be colossal to be borne by the State. Second, it is the parking and maintenance costs, once the helicopters will be in State hands, then it takes full responsibility for these costs.”

Sinkamba explained that some aircraft manufacturers had their own preferred dealers to service their fleet.

“Some manufacturers require that only their certified experts are authorised to service their fleet. So, this may entail periodic bringing into the country experts for such service. Third, it is dry costs. Once the helicopters are in the hands of the State, then from day one, the bill starts running on a daily basis,” he cautioned.

“The assumption will be that the helicopters would have been hired daily, but for the State having taken possession of them, it is not clear how long the cases will take. So, these costs could run in millions of kwacha, if the State lost the cases.”

Sinkamba advised those in authority against carrying on with ‘ni ndalama za boma (its state money) mantra in apparent reference to the money lost in failed anti-corruption fights in the past.

“In my mind is the manner in which previous regimes high-handedly handled cases only to lose them, and the state was condemned to damages. For example, in the recent past, we saw how the Dora Siliya case was handled only to lose it. Damages will follow. We also saw the case of former Intelligence chief Xavier Chungu, only to lose. Damages will follow,” said Sinkamba.

“Additionally, we saw how the so-called treason cases of President Hakainde Hichilema and senior chief Mukuni’s wife were handled. Damages will surely follow. Now, we have Honourable Joe Malanji’s cases involving the Hotel in Kitwe and helicopters. We hope that the law enforcement agencies will rethink how they handle the helicopters’ recovery. Let sanity prevail, not emotion and playing to the gallery.”

PF DISTURBED BY NEPOTISM AND QUESTIONABLE APPOINTMENTS IN GOVERNMENT

….as the former ruling party vows to continue defending democracy and the separation of powers.

LUSAKA, Friday, April 1, 2022 (SMART EAGLES)

THE Patriotic Front (PF) has questioned some of the appointments made at various institutions which among them include the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Human Rights Commission (HRC).

Speaking in Lusaka today, PF Chairperson for Information and Publicity Raphael Nakacinda said the likes of Musa Mwenya and Laura Miti who have been appointed as ACC Chairperson and HRC Commissioner respectively have a reputation of publicly sympathising with the UPND.

Hon Nakacinda said to make matters worse, Mr Mwenya’s position on the fight against corruption has not been consistent.

He said Mr Mwenya has been more like a mouth piece for the UPND from opposition even into Government by castigating the Patriotic Front

He said similarly, Laura Miti has carried the tag of being an activist and a UPND sympathiser.

“We are not sure if Mr Mwenya is going to rise above his misgivings by being removed as Solicitor General and acting Attorney General. Those are some of the concerns. Madam Laura Miti has advocated for the UPND in so many ways. From the time we moved out of Office with all the things we have gone through, her opinion has been different.”

Hon Nakacinda said what is obtaining is that the appointments have been made from community house without the involvement of the Ministers mandated by law to make such appointments.

“The appointments made so far not only at ACC but ZNBC Board – most of these Boards that have been put in place, have been appointed from the Community House without input from the Ministers in charge by law to make such appointments,” he said.

Hon Nakacinda has wondered if the appointments made are meant to lay the ground to ensure that justice does not prevail in matters involving perceived Government opponents..

“They touch Human Rights Commission which is supposed to be the voice on the abuse of Human Rights and also the judiciary… we are watching and seeing these appointments and we are hopping the Zambian people are watching too.”

And Hon Nakacinda said the Patriotic Front party will continue defending democracy and ensuring that separation of powers is not eroded.

ON DECEPTION,
LIES and HYPOCRISY
[The truth about fuel prices]

By Dr. Canisius Banda

Zambia is now a de facto 51st State of America.

The IMF has taken over.

Acting ultra vires, our government has swapped our sovereignty for DEBT relief/management.

Zambia is a pilot project.

It is NOT being run by Hakainde HICHILEMA. It is being run by the West through their agents, some of whom are now at our own State House.

The increase in the cost of fuel has NOTHING to do with the Russia-Ukraine war.

It has everything to do with the IMF.

It is a product of the now extant and active master-puppet relationship at play in the governance of Zambia today.

Now read the following:

‘…They [Hakainde and group] are playing with fire. They are lying about the war.

In fact, they are ABUSING [deception and lies] the Russia-Ukraine war, using it as a disguise for compliance.

The global price of oil has gone down drastically from a high of almost USD140/barrel to under USD110/barrel today [31 March 2022].

Further, the US has just offloaded a massive amount of oil onto the global market from their strategic reserves, and are forcing OPEC to release and produce more.

The truth about Zambia’s pricing is that there was a “MINIMUM COST REFLECTIVE PRICE ” agreed upon with the IMF which has NOT been reached yet.

See?
Truth.

In keeping with April Fools’ Day, Hakainde HICHILEMA and group are merely pulling wool over citizens eyes.

Fooling Zambians.

These are not Russia-Ukraine war induced prices; they are the EFFECTS OF THE OF SUBSIDIES DEMANDED by the IMF for Zambia to qualify for its obnoxious, and deadly programme [hypocrisy].

Yes, we are headed for crazy tough times.

Social unrest will soon occur.

Fuel is a universal input in domestic and economic activities.

This behaviour of theirs, without suitable coping mechanisms, will lead to a spike in inflation and drastic rise in cost of living, inevitably eroding the quality of life of the majority of the already impoverished Zambians.

Truly, we must brace for desperation, more suicides, and social chaos even riots.

It is insane that a PERSON and PARTY elected to lead a country and lower the cost of living actually increases it immediately upon being elected, without even a thought to alternatives/coping mechanisms…’

Further, note that the old stock at service stations has NOT been exhausted completely.

So this stock, bought to be sold at K21.96 per litre for petrol will now sell at K26.50 per litre.

Isn’t this cheating?
What does the Consumer Protection Agency of Zambia say about this?

This then is the truth about this government, which has now, ultra vires, surrendered our sovereignty without the sought permission from citizens.

Aluta continua!
Indeed the struggle continues!!

PF IS MERELY ON LEAVE FROM GOVERNING SAYS ITS ACTING PRESIDENT

…as he challenges government to tell Zambians which middlemen are stealing k11 on each purchased Litre of Fuel!

LUSAKA, Friday, April 1, 2022 (SMART EAGLES)

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) party Acting President Hon Given Lubinda says there is no justification for the price of fuel in the country to be over K26.

Hon Lubinda said the international fuel prices today, are $110 per barrel which could translate to roughly under K17 per litre in Zambia.

“I have said this before that if we were stealing K3 at a fuel price of k15, now that the price of fuel is K26 tell us who is stealing the K11.

“They told us that they will reduce the middlemen, have they done it? Instead, they have even closed Indeni which was supposed to be getting cheaper crude oil to come and refine it in Zambia.,” he said.

Hon Lubinda said the Country is being Governed by business people whose interest is not to serve the citizens.

He said this is why a foreign company has been contracted to supply ZESCO with Poles when that can be done in Zambia.

Hon Lubinda was speaking in Lusaka today, when he went to show solidarity to Hon Raphael Nakacinda who appeared before the Lusaka Magistrates Court in a matter were he is alleged to have defamed the President.

Hon Lubinda said from what has transpired, it is clear that the State is not ready to proceed with the matter.

He said it is important for the state to only prosecute when it is ready to do so. He has wondered how many Zambians will be living on police bond or bail.

“What every ordinary thinking Zambian would have expected from President HH was that he would make it clear that ‘I have been against this law so I would not want it to be applied in my name.’ He has allowed this case to take off when he himself was against the law which arrests people on the grounds of defaming the President. This is playing double standards,” he said

Meanwhile, Hon Lubinda said the party will certainly form Government in 2026.

Hon Lubinda said the party is just on leave from Governing and is building towards becoming the only alternative in the country.

He has since hailed the unity exhibited by PF Members in good and bad times.

CALEB FUNDANGA ELECTED AS ZRA BOARD CHAIRPERSON

THE NEW ZAMBIA REVENUE AUTHORITY (ZRA) BOARD has elected former Bank of Zambia Governor Dr. CALEB FUNDANGA, as Board Chairperson. The Board, at it’s first seating, also elected Ms. NANA MUNSANDA MUDENDA (Law Association of Zambia representative) as Vice Chairperson.

The Government appointed the new Board for the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) on 14th March 2022, pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 (1) of the Zambia Revenue Authority Act Number 321 of the Laws of Zambia. The previous Board was dissolved on 6th December, 2021.

The other Board members are:

1. Ms. VALERIE A. NAMBEYE, Member (Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountant representative)
2. Ms. GRACE NEO LIKANDO, Member (General public representative)
3. Ms. VENUS HAMPINDA, Member (Bankers Association of Zambia representative)
4. Mr. ALAN NYIRENDA, Member (Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry {ZACCI} representative)
5. Dr. DENNY KALYALYA, Member (Bank of Zambia representative)
6. Mrs. MUTINTA MUSHABATI PENSULO, Member (Ministry of Justice representative)
7. Mr. WILLIES CHIPANGO, Member (Ministry of Finance and National Planning representative)

In a congratulatory message to the new ZRA Chairperson and his Vice, the Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr. SITUMBEKO MUSOKOTWANE, MP, has reiterated the need to develop remedial strategies to address the low compliance levels across several tax types.

He has asked the Board to strengthen the measures being administered by ZRA in domestic resource mobilization, through enhanced usage of electronic platforms and increased compliance surveillance – to curb smuggling and tax related fraud.

Dr. Musokotwane has directed the Board to oversee that ZRA services at border areas improve and high-efficiency performance sustained so that delays, long cues, and appearance of confusion and disorder come to an end.

The Minister has also re-emphasised the Government’s expectation for the Board to address tax related frauds by guiding ZRA to enhance tax payer engagements, to showcase the benefits of paying taxes, and to increase automation in order to collaborate tax information, and reduce administrative inertia and fraud.

Dr. Musokotwane has further tasked the Board to timely develop an action plan that addresses the challenges in tax administration and ensures that ZRA attains the revenue collection target of above 21 percent of GDP over the medium term.

He has restated the Government’s resolve that fiscal sustainability through enhanced revenue collections is restored; over and above the expenditure rationalization measures that are already being implemented. ZRA is pivotal in attaining this objective.

Issued by:

MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND NATIONAL PLANNING

ADDRESS:
P.O. Box 50062, Chimanga Road, Lusaka

TEL:
+260-211-253512/253786/252121/250544

TWITTER:
@MOFNPZambia

EMAIL:
treasurybriefs@mof.gov.zm

These are the moments people must say well done, can you say well done to us – Nalumango

April 1, 2022

By Daily Star Reporter

While boasting about the free education being implemented, Vice President Mutale Nalumango has said “ushitasha mwana wandoshi.”

Nalumango said during her question time in Parliament today that UPND is a caring government.

She said the New Dawn Administration is working adding that government cannot clean up everything at the same time.

Vice President said added that government has done so many unprecedented things while there was no money in the treasury.

“Surely madam Speaker, Ushitasha mwana wandoshi. Madam speaker, these are some of the things that have been done even though even though we found the economy was really biting. There was no money in the treasury and yet to do these things, colleagues think its magic.No its that calculation you saw you referred to there. These are unprecedented,” she said.

“This is the government that is working. We cannot clean up everything at the same time. Progressively, you will see. I know my Honourable member for Matero is listening carefully because he does believe that these things have happened despite difficulties. With the floods that came, we had to look after the victims. These are the moments people must say well done, can you say well done to us.”

Other than free education, the Vice President boasted of other programs such as the social cash transfer which she said has not only increased but that almost all eligible citizens will benefit.

She charged that only those affiliated to the PF used to benefit when the opposition party was in power.

Nalumango also boasted of government having been able to pay retirees who had for a long time not received their benefits.

“Those people that failed to go to school because of fees have reentered school as we talk. That is love for the nation. You go and tell them, social cash transfer has not just increased, it has it has streamlined, colleagues were paying according to political affiliation, many of us saw it, that is reality,” she said.

“An old woman, nothing, a younger woman something. What is that? This time it is going to almost all the eligible and it will continue to grow. It has grown to K400. Those are the stories you go and share, the good news that you go and share in your constituencies. You even remind them that in the long time. retirees had not been paid in this country. And this government the new dawn has paid retirees.”