HH IS NOT RESPONSIBLE OF FUEL PRICE INCREASE

The Candidates’ Comment

The opposition in Zambia is busy deceiving Zambians that the increase in fuel prices is a result of President Hakainde Hichilema reneging on his campaign promise to keep such prices low.

This follows the increase of fuel prices as announced by the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) yesterday. Petrol was increased from K K19. 84 to K K21.96 and Diesel from K 18.93 to K21.54.

This is beyond the government of Hakainde. We want Hakainde to honor all his campaign promises just as much as many others want him to and we have to keep reminding him and his administration about these issues but let us do so with honesty.

The opposition is busy misleading Zambians that the increase of these prices is because Hakainde is failing to honor campaign promises. This is not true. Yes, he promised while in opposition that he will reduce the cost of fuel by K4 but that did not mean he said this country won’t be affected by global issues that could potentially cause prices to surge.

We know that this recent increase of fuel prices is being caused by the tension between Russia and Ukraine. Seven days ago, international media houses reported and predicted that oil prices would be affected given the tension between Russia and Ukraine. There is nothing that Hakainde and his administration can do about it. Even if Edgar Lungu was president today, this would have still happened. Even if there was a different person in state house, this could have happened. It is unfortunate that there are people who want to gain political mileage on issues that they know too well are beyond the control of Hakainde and his administration.

Our politicians must learn to be honest. Tomorrow, they will be the ones in power. If they are dishonest as they provide checks and balances to this government, clearly, they will be dishonest people even as they form their own governments. But if this country is to progress – which we believe is the interest of the opposition in whole – let us not cheat the people for the sake of making things difficult for the current administration. Whether we like it or not, the administration we have now is all we have for this moment. This is what God allowed us to have. Let them be condemned when it is their fault but let us not crucify them when clearly it is beyond their control.

THE MURDER CHARGE SLAPPED ON MUMBI PHIRI IS TOO HARSH

02/03/2022

As National Democratic Congress, NDC, we are appalled by the murder charge that was slapped on former PF Deputy Secretary General hon. Mumbi Phiri.

From the videos that were circulating, maybe the police decided that she could have known something about the crime and concealed it or never reported. We can not really say. But one thing we are sure about is that hon. Mumbi Phiri’s charge of murder is too harsh. Whether she was there or not at the crime scene, it is highly unlikely that she is the one who pulled the trigger to kill David Banda. And I am sure that this is one fact that the police have already established.

The justice system should not be used to settle real or perceived enemies. We all know that most PF officials have a very bad relationship with the UPND, having been at the helm of the PF leadership when certain injustices were done to a number of PF leaders, including president HH

But this is not time for sweet revenge by the UPND, but rather show that they are bigger and better than some of their oppressors that could have been behind their persecutions.

We do not want to see a vindictive government, and that is currently what the UPND is proving to be. Injustice, just like violence, begets more of the same, and there always has to be a time and leaders that come in power that bring that to a stop, regardless of how the system had failed them in the past when they wanted it to work for them.

Zambia is bigger than all of us and it is our desire to see a free, fair and just Zambia, where the rule of law will be upheld no matter who the suspect is.

So far, the continued instruction by the head of state to stop cadrerism has worked very well to significantly reduce cardrerism and one only wonders what what would have happened if that was not the case.

It is our hope that the head of state will also make it clear to the police to follow the law to the book and not be influenced by anyone, no matter the temptation. We are also always sure that the justice system is something we can continue to rely on as politicians. But sadly, the fact that murder is unbailable, hon Phiri will face Injustice no matter the outcome at the courts as she will continue to spend her nights in prison.

We call on President HH to continue emphasising professionalism and the rule of law no matter how political a case may be. And we have trust and confidence in our police and justice system that justice will prevail in this particular case after all this time we waited to find out what really happened in Kaoma.

Issued by;
Saboi Imboela
President- NDC

The International Monetary Fund has revealed that it shall not disclose details of the Staff Level Agreement it entered into with the Zambian government until it is tabled before the Executive Board.

IMF Mission Chief to Zambia Allison Holland who is based at the IMF Headquarters in Washington D.C said it is not the policy of the Fund to reveal details of the Agreement ahead of a Board discussion.

Ms. Holland stated that the IMF will however reveal details of the Staff Level Agreement once it is tabled and reviewed by the IMF Executive Board.

Ms. Holland said this in a letter dated February 23rd, 2022 addressed to Kabushi Member of Parliament Bowman Lusambo in response to a letter he wrote to the IMF Country Office demanding the full disclosure of the deal before it is signed by the Board.

On January 6th, 2022, Mr. Lusambo had written to IMF Country Representative Ms. Preya Sharma demanding that the Fund makes full disclosure of the contents of the Staff Level Agreement it entered into with the Zambian government.

“On December 6th, 2021, the Zambian government and the International Monetary Fund announced that they had reached a Staff Level Agreement on a new arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for 2022-2025 to help restore macroeconomic stability and provide the foundation for an inclusive economic recovery.
It is exactly a month since this agreement was reached and the people of Zambia do not know of its contents. On the other hand, the Zambian authorities who have refused to disclose the full contents of the agreement have gone ahead to institute wide-ranging sector reforms with constant reference to the agreement,” Mr. Lusambo wrote.

“We believe that it is only fair that you, the instigators of this agreement release the full contents of this agreement. Globally, there is a call for greater transparency in the manner in which multilateral and bilateral loans are contracted. Your Managing Director Ms. Kristalina Georgieva is on record demanding China to disclose the terms of the loans it has been disbursing to countries such as Zambia. It, therefore, follows that you should practice what you preach by causing to publish the Staff Level Agreement and stop the hypocrisy. We demand that this is done before the IMF Board convenes to approve the agreement.”

Mr. Lusambo added, “The Fund is reminded that Zambians have rejected any conditions to be imposed as part of an economic program. The memories of the 1990s Structural Adjustment Programme which crippled our economy are still fresh and Zambia does not have any grave spaces left,” he wrote.

And in a Facebook post accompanying the Letter, Mr. Lusambo said he decided to write to the IMF in his quest for increased transparency in public engagements.

“The specific demand is that the IMF Board should not proceed to approve the agreement until full disclosure is obtained,” he said.

“On December 6th 2021, the Zambian government and the International Monetary Fund announced that they had reached a staff-level agreement on a new arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for 2022-2025 to help restore macroeconomic stability and provide the foundation for an inclusive economic recovery. The Extended Credit Facility is in the amount of about $1.4 billion. The IMF says the economic program aims to restore macroeconomic stability and foster higher, more resilient, and inclusive growth,” he said.

“Away from all the flowery language and gobbledygook, it is a matter of concern that the Zambian government has not taken time to fully engage the Zambian people on the true contents of this Staff Level Agreement that it has entered into with the Fund. Unlike in past economic programs with the Fund, authorities through the Ministers of Finance were asked to submit a Letter of Intent to Washington D.C stating the country’s level of commitments. These Letters were published on the IMF website for all to see and scrutinize. Now the Fund in its own version of reforms does not demand any Letters of Intents anymore. The Fund through the Country Office and the Mission Teams merely prescribes a set of conditions for countries to sign in documents called Staff Level Agreements. Once they are signed, then the Management and the Board in Washington merely performs a formality by officially approving these Staff Level Agreements.”

“With everything that has been said and the supersonic speed at which the New Dawn administration is moving to restructure state institutions, it has become imperative that we call on the IMF to release the Staff Level Agreement it entered into with the Zambian government in December. Attempts to get the government to release the full contents of this agreement have failed. In Parliament, I queried Finance Minister Hon. Situmbeko Musokotwane to lay on the floor of Parliament the Staff Level Agreement and he failed,” he stated.

Mr. Lusambo’s added, “It now remains our solemn duty to push the IMF Country Office in Lusaka to immediately cause to publish the Staff Level Agreement entered into with the Zambian government. This should be done before the IMF Board convenes to approve the agreement. This demand is made in the interest of transparency and the need for full disclosure when engaging sovereign nations on matters that will impact directly on the lives of its people.”

“There is a global call for transparency around loan contraction and the Fund itself at the highest level has been calling on China to disclose the terms of its loan agreements with countries like Zambia as part of debt profiling. The hypocrisy with which the IMF approaches engagements with countries like Zambia should come to an end.”

“The IMF should be reminded that Zambians never voted for them in the August elections. They, therefore, do not carry any mandate to prescribe the economic future for Zambians over the next five years. The UPND Manifesto which was the basis of the social contract with the Zambian people did not promise harsh conditions for getting an IMF program and President Hichilema never said he will relinquish our economic sovereignty to the boys and girls from Washington. He told Zambians that he was a good economic manager who will fix the economy.”

He added, “President Hichilema told us he will use his economic management skills to engage all our creditors and secure debt restructuring in the first 30 days of his tenure. He never said he would run to Washington to help him talk to our creditors, moreover, we still have Lazard Freres, the Consultant he criticized when in opposition still offering debt advisory services.”

“In any case, Zambians have rejected any form of IMF conditions. The memories of the 90s Structural Adjustment Programmes are still fresh. We lost many of our people because Washington came and told us to sell off our companies indiscriminately without a fallback plan. It was during this period that Zambia’s entire industrial base which was built by President Kaunda was destroyed and has never recovered. We buried so many of our people and we are sorry this time around, our graves are full.”

He said, “Today, we are more enlightened and we will not sit and watch the UPND take us down privatization 2.0. The US$1.4 billion we are receiving from the Fund in exchange for our sovereignty is such a small amount that any pragmatic leadership can easily mop up from our domestic economy through a progressive tax regime for the mines and sealing off all channels for Illicit Financial Flows. Since the New Dawn government has decided to work with the IMF in darkness, we ask the Fund to practice what it preaches and what it demands from China; transparency, transparency, transparency.”

A Ukranian journalist who fled Kyiv has appealed to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia saying ‘World War III has already started’

Johnson while on a trip to Poland and Estonia on latest diplomatic mission against Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, was berated by a tearful Ukrainian journalist for failing to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

The journalist berated the West for failing to protect them from ‘barbaric’ Vladimir Putin.

The PM was accused of being ‘afraid’ to defend people as he took a press conference on a visit to Poland.

Daria Kaleniuk said at the press conference on Tuesday, March 11, said;

I PASSED THE BORDER A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO. I’M FROM KYIV. MOST OF MY FAMILY. MOST OF MY TEAM MEMBERS ARE STILL IN UKRAINE IN KYIV, IN LVIV. A WOMAN FROM MY TEAM IS NOW IN BILOZERKA. SHE IS THERE WITH TWO KIDS, AND RUSSIAN MILITARY IS OVER THERE AND SHE IS SO MUCH AFRAID THAT SHE WILL BE SHOT.

KHARKIV, THE CITY WHERE I WAS STUDYING WAS BOMBED TODAY, FULLY, THE DOWNTOWN SQUARE.

‘SO YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT THE STOICISM OF THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE. BUT UKRAINIAN WOMEN AND UKRAINIAN CHILDREN ARE IN DEEP FEAR BECAUSE OF BOMBS AND MISSILES WHICH ARE GOING FROM THE SKY.

AND UKRANIAN PEOPLE ARE DESPERATELY ASKING FOR THE WEST TO PROTECT OUR SKY. WE ARE ASKING FOR THE NO FLY ZONE. WE ARE SAYING RESPONSE THAT IT WILL TRIGGER WORLD WAR THREE.

BUT WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE MR PRIME MINISTER, TO OBSERVE HOW OUR CHILDREN ARE INSTEAD OF PLANES ARE PROTECTING NATO FROM THE MISSILES AND BOMBS?

WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE FOR THE NO FLY ZONE? WE HAVE PLANES HERE WE HAVE AIR DEFENCE SYSTEM IN POLAND IN ROMANIA.

NATO HAS THIS AIR DEFENCE, AT LEAST THIS AIR DEFENCE SHIELD THE WESTERN UKRAINE. SO THIS THESE CHILDREN WITH WOMEN COULD COME TO THE BORDER.

‘IT’S IMPOSSIBLE NOW TO CROSS THE BORDER. THERE ARE 30 KILOMETRES OF MINES. IMAGINE CROSSING THE BORDER WITH A BABY OR WITH TWO CHILDREN.

‘I’M SO GLAD THAT SAMANTHA POWER IS COMING HERE TO THE BORDER FROM THE POLISH SIDE. LET HER COME TO THE BORDER FROM UKRAINIAN SIDE AND SEE THAT.

‘BRITAIN GUARANTEED OUR SECURITY UNDER BUDAPEST MEMORANDUM. SO YOU’RE COMING TO POLAND YOU’RE NOT COMING TO KYIV PRIME MINISTER, YOU’RE NOT COMING TO LVIV, BECAUSE YOU ARE AFRAID.

BECAUSE NATO IS NOT WILLING TO DEFEND. BECAUSE NATO IS AFRAID OF WORLD WAR THREE, BUT IT IS ALREADY STARTED.

‘AND THESE ARE UKRAINIAN CHILDREN WHO ARE THERE TAKING THE HIT. YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT MORE SANCTIONS PRIME MINISTER BUT ROMAN ABRAMOVICH IS NOT SANCTIONED. HE’S IN LONDON. HIS CHILDREN ARE NOT IN THE BOMBARDMENTS. HIS CHILDREN ARE THERE IN LONDON.

PUTIN’S CHILDREN ARE IN NETHERLANDS, IN GERMANY, IN MANSIONS, WHERE ALL THESE MENTIONED SEIZED? I DON’T SEE THAT.

I SEE THAT MY FAMILY MEMBERS, THAT MY TEAM MEMBERS, I’D SAY THAT WE CRYING. WE DON’T KNOW WHERE TO RUN.

THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING. PRIME MINISTER.

Watch the video below

“NATO is afraid of world war three, but it has already started and Ukrainian children are there taking the hit.”

Ukrainian journalist Daria Kaleniuk breaks down in tears as she asks Boris Johnson “to protect our sky” and implement a no-fly zone. pic.twitter.com/nyoLaNsVmJ

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) March 1, 2022

By Daily Star Reporter

The National Democratic Conference (NDC) has made changes to the National Governing council to make the party more active and vibrant.

Party acting national spokesperson Emmanuel Malite told journalists at a media briefing held at the party Secretariat in woodlands Lusaka that the changes are designed at making the party active.

He said the party decision to make changes was arrived at the National Governing Council held this morning to replace Mwenya Musenga who was acting after Joseph’s Rikki Akafumba was appointed to the civil service as PS Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security.

Malite said the NDC under the new administration on the interim basis is not only happy with the performance of the new dawn administration but also committed to supporting the government.

He said the party will continue to support the alliance until the national executive committee decide otherwise.

“Among the changes made on the interim basis are: President George Sichula, Vice president administration James Wamunyima, Vice president political Joseph Chishala, National party Spokesperson Emmanuel Malite, NDC Secretary General Dr. Paul Mbulo, Media director Kirby Kaoma Musonda,” said Malite.

“The rest of the position remain the same since no position has changed from the initial.”

And Sichula said his task is to harmonise the party after the crisis when Chishimba Kambwili left the party to join the opposition PF.

He said the NDC is in government by virtue of being in alliance with the UPND.

He said the NDC expect to benefit from the alliance government as they have been in the Alliance from inception.

Sichula said the UPND Alliance government has allocated monies in constituencies under the CDF which all the people including the NDC will benefit from as these monies are meant for the community by using cooperatives and companies.

He said there are many ways in which the party can benefit from the government.

He said the job of the alliance partners is to support the position of the government.

He explained that the construction of the new team will make the party now active.

He said during the campaign in Kabwata by election, the party was silent not because it had no intention to support the new dawn administration.

He said the NDC will continue to support the alliance government and the prudent way of governance.

He advised other alliance partners to continue supporting the alliance government for the purpose of staying long in government.

He further directed the all the provincial activities to continue to supporting the government and not to attack them.

THE ZAMBIAN ECONOMY IS PERFORMING BADLY NOW THAN IT USED TO BE UNDER PF – AMB. MWAMBA

… says the cost of living as extremely gone up and Zambians are finding it hard to survive.

Lusaka … Tuesday, March, 01, 2022 (Smart Eagles)

PF senior member Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba says the Zambian economy is performing badly now than it used to be under the PF Government.

Speakig when he featured on ‘ Let the People Talk’ program on Radio Phoenix this morning, Amb. Mwamba said the cost of living has extremely gone up and Zambians are finding it hard to survive.

He said according to the JCTR’s recently published national food basket, the cost of living for a family of five has gone up to slightly over K9,000.

He said the New Dawn Government should have explained to the people of Zambia the consequences of signing the International Monetary Fund, IMF bailout package.

Amb. Mwamba said its not the duty of the opposition to explain to the people the contents of the IMF deal.

He said the IMF package has brought untold suffering among the Zambian people.

Amb. Mwamba adds that the recent fuel increment is one of the conditions contained in the IMF deal signed by the UPND Government.

” IMF bailouts have huge impact on people’s livelihoods. In any economy there is room for subsidies. The current fuel price is not cost reflective. During the oubreak of the pandemic the PF government suspended taxes on Petroleum products. And previous governments have been implementing the Uniform Pricing of fuel that is why fuel prices are the same in any part of the country. IMF has now imposed taxes on Petroleum products and these monthly price reviews, Government is just skirting around the problem and making the people suffer more ” Amb. Mwamba said.

” The IMF deals with you like a company. They are good on paper but have huge impact on people livelihoods. Government should have explained the consequences of the IMF deal to the people and not leave it to the opposition leaders to explain, ” He adds.

PF MPs INSTRUCTED TO SHUN HHS PLANNED MEETING

The opposition Patriotic Front has instructed its Members of Parliament not to attend a meeting called by President Hakainde Hichilema this morning.

President Hichilema was today scheduled to hold a meeting with all MPs at Government Complex whose agenda is yet to be made public.

PF Acting President Given Lubinda who chaired a meeting held at Ndozo Lodge in Chilanga yesterday instructed all PF MPs to boycott the meeting.

Mr Lubinda has since warned that the party will expel any MP who will attend the meeting because President Hichilema did not follow the right channels in summoning the MPs.

A highly placed source who attended the meeting revealed that the PF is unsettled that President Hichilema is now planning clandestine meetings with the opposition when Parliament has a clear provision for such meetings.

Over 45 MPs from the PF attended the meeting and Mr. Lubinda, Acting Secretary General Nickson Chilangwa and Leader of the Opposition Brian Mundubile addressed the gathering.

During the meeting, Mafinga Member of Parliament Robert Chabinga was identified as one of the moles in the PF who has been leaking information to President Hichilema.

“He was sternly warned that the party knows what he has been doing with President HH. He was even given a lift in the Presidential Chopper from President HH’s recent visit to Muchinga and he couldn’t deny it. He told that he should simply resign if he doesn’t want to respect the party’s position on the relationship with the UPND government,” the source said.

The source said MPs felt that the planned meeting with President Hichilema has not been organized in good faith and could be a trap to buy their support in Parliament.

“All the MPs were surprised that President (HH) has now started courting the opposition when this is the same man who instructed his MPs to be staging walk outs in Parliament because he didn’t recognize Edgar Lungu as President,” the source said.

The source added, “we have never heard of a sitting President meeting MPs outside the precinct of Parliament. We have a strong belief that he is up to no good. He needs to understand that in a democracy, there is a clear separation between the three arms of government.”

The source observed that the Executive should not be seen to be meddling in the running of other arms of government.

“If he can meet opposition MPs without even writing to the party leadership, what can stop him from meeting Judges because he wants to control everything including the Judiciary.”

The source stated that all the MPs including Mr. Chabinga committed themselves to adhere to the directive and stay away from the meeting

By Peter Sinkamba

THE HYPOCRISY OF EU ON MEDIA FREEDOM: EUROPE BANS RUSSIAN CHANNELS, RUSSIA TODAY AND SPUTNIK

The European Union always preaches freedom of the media is the fundamental right of various forms of media—including print, radio, television, and online media; that media needs to operate freely in society without government control, restriction, or censorship.

The EU, through its country reprentatives, and even Brussels, always attacks African and Chinese Governments when they control, restrict or censor media. In fact, when such happens in Africa or China, media freedom “champions” including the International Union of Journalists rise up to make all sorts of noises and lectures on media freedom as a fundamental right.

In fact, in EU, media freedom is purportedly a “fundamental right that applies to all member states of the European Union and its citizens, as defined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights as well as the European Convention on Human Rights”.

EU member States use charter and convention as the basis to condemn other countries when there is “a violation” of these statutes.

Additionally, the United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 to be World Press Freedom Day or just World Press Day, observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Human Rights Charter.

However, in direct contravention of the EU charter and convention,as well as the UN Charter, two days ago, the EU blocked Russian channels so “they will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union.”

This move is in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The EU banned Russian television channels Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik on Sunday.

“Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union,” said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. “So we are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe.”

It is now three days since the ban was effected. Meanwhile, all so called media freedoms champions are dead silent. Where is the UN? Where is the IUJ? Where are the regional and country media unions that make so much noise if such abhorable acts are done by African and Chinese Governments?

Hypocrites! Give us a break!

By Simon Mwewa Lane

MUTALE MWANZA IS A DISGRACE TO THE FEMALE GENDER.

She cried WOLF and I knew she would.

Her last post before deactivating her account said, “I hope I look this beautiful in my casket”…sending her followers into a frenzy.

Everyone was worried that this was a cry for help.

There was even a FASLE story that went around claiming that the VICE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE called Mutale to calm her down. I spoke to the Vice President’s office…they said no such thing happened. Nobody from the VP’s office called Mutale.

Then Chomba wrote an article calling for the arrest of Mutale for causing false “suicidal” alarm…and that’s when Mutale burst out of the gate with both guns blazing.

Instead of explaining why she said “I hope I look this beautiful in my my casket” She went on a War-Path to expose her friend’s husband’s alleged escapades.

Very few people caught what Mutale was actually doing. She was deflecting attention from her alarming “suicidal” post and switching the conversation to Chomba’s escapades.

Do you know which group of people does that? Manipulators.

Manipulative people are good at deflecting attention from an unresolved issue and then focusing it on a different unrelated matter. If indeed Chomba did any of those things, the fact is…that’s an entirely different conversation.

The conversation here is that Mutale alarmed her followers and she implied that she was suicidal. She hasn’t dealt with that at all…she has only managed to raise the topic of “betrayal between friends”

What was more appalling was Mutale’s use of insults.

My gosh there’s nothing more UNATTRACTIVE than a woman with a mouth FULL of insults…and there are young impressionable Zambian girls out there that follow Mutale and they will start insulting people in the same way that she does…Kabili she “inspires” them.

Chomba was wrong for talking about Mutale’s Son but as they say, “all is fair in love and war” Neither one of them were concerned about what they were saying about each other…they were saying anything and everything to destroy each other.

Then finally Mutale informs Chomba that her ex-husband from Kopala was coming to Lusaka with a truck load full of lawbreakers…implying that Chomba will be dealt with [ as if there are no laws in Zambia ]

Mutale Mwanza is not a role model…she’s just a beautiful thug.

SMLtv

The Voice Editorial: HH Has Put Many Loyal UPND Supporters “Ku Wire”

By Daimone Siulapwa

It is now clear that UPND President, Hakainde Hichilema has put a million Zambians who put him in power ‘ku wire’ to borrow the Kaponya language that means abandoning someone.

Politics is about numbers and it is also about giving and taking. If you take or receive support, you must be prepared to give back once you are in a position to do so and this applies to all players at all levels of the political system, these are the rules of the game. Otherwise we risk losing our support base.

If new UPND Alliance members who only come with a handful of supporters at the 11th hour where rewarded with key positions for merely, standing next to HH, brandishing the UPND symbol and shouting out the party slogan, what about the true loyal members and cadres who have been with the party for a decade plus years?

Of course we are not encouraging HH to engage or tolerate corruption, but in all fairness, when we accept the truth and face reality, in all political play-outs, loyal supporters must be rewarded for the risks they took and the persecution they suffered in the line of duty to make sure their political party attained power and this silent understanding can not be negotiated, this obligation must be met fair and square.

What HH needs to understand, in case he has forgotten is that, most of his very loyal supporters lost, their businesses, property, lives and means to earn a living by virtue of being UPND members, many will need help to reset their lives and it is the responsibility of the party to provide for such and opportunity now that they have acquired the political power they wanted.

By supporters we don’t mean those gluttonous privileged big belly demagogues who have always feasted on honey and milk on the expense of the real revolutionary soldiers on the ground, we mean the ordinary supporters in the communities who stood by the reds come what may, these are the people who needs to be rewarded.

Remember, the same courage and resilience they showed against the brutal PF regime, is the same kind of fierce resilience they will show against UPND come 2026 if they are not taken care of, this time they will have a much bigger score to settle, it will be the big fish reds against the small reds, who are in large numbers.

When we talk about loyal supporters, we are talking about the old lady in woodlands and all those known die hard supporters who stood their grounds publicly, put their lives on the line and fought the war through and through, and not those social media cowards who were hiding behind fake names and the sale outs who stood with their legs spread between two camps and came at the last minute to claim victory and positions of authority, what a tragedy.

Loyalty is a wonderful human quality and a necessary political one. No president would think of moving into the state House without known and trusted advisers, in the same way, loyal members who do not qualify for any political appointments or positions due to various reasons must also be taken care of in similar manner of financial reward.

As things stand now, it is important for those in the high offices of power to note that anger, hunger and discontentment is slowly brewing up among UPND supporters, they are waiting for instruction on which direction they should take to empower themselves financially, remember these are people who traversed the whole 10 years of the PF brutal regime disconnected from the business grid of the government to earn a living, they are now hungry for a piece of cake too.

Those now sitting in those air-conditioned offices and enjoying the tax payer’s money and the luxuries that come with it, must not quickly forget where they have come from and the foot soldiers who fought the bloody war, when they where busy sipping gin and juice at east park.

Remember the bigger war was fought on the ground and not in the boardroom or on social media.

While it is recommended that the UPND government has removed cadres off the streets, as a matter of urgency, they need to find a way on how they will fuse in their loyal cadres in the business mean-stream structures, as many cadres believe their live hood, for which they fought so hard for was removed under the feet when the new dawn government unceremoniously removed all cadres from all walks of life.

Remember no one told the UPND cadres that they would not be able to work the streets if they formed government, in reality they where meant to believe the reward of forming government for them was taking over the streets government, that has always been the understanding.

It was George Reedy, President Lyndon Johnson’s press secretary who said that, “The Office neither elevates nor degrades a man. What it does is to provide a stage upon which all his personality traits are magnified and accentuated.’’ The inauguration of HH as Zambia’s 7th president in August, 2021 provided him such a stage. His inauguration speech and other pronouncements which followed as he settled down in the highest office in the land plus all his campaign promises convinced his supporters that his 2.8 million votes were not a hyperbole.

At each swearing in ceremony of government office bearers, he committed himself to a new era in the way he was set to govern the country different from what he had constantly referred to while in the opposition as Lungu’s dictatorship and authorianism. His commitments were cast across all constituencies of voters without exception and the people’s antipathy against Lungu evolved into emotional love for HH. The 12th August, 2021 which became Lungu’s Waterloo became HH’s Victory-Day.

Lessons abound in the history and life of humans when societies have failed to objectively evaluate the character of rulers but instead believed only in their word of mouth substituting it for their deed. Robert Greene describes this as the “blind spot in human nature.’’ The last 5 months of the UPND government with HH as president seem to confirm how our country is still poorly equipped to evaluate the character of leaders unto whom we entrust our affairs of state.

In the seven years of Lungu’s reign the PF was guilty of several acts of intolerance of opposing views of those within its rank and file and also the opposition. But so it goes with the UPND, a party which promised individual freedom of expression as guaranteed by the constitution. It was, therefore, shocking to see UPND cadres storm a radio station in Mpika District in order to disrupt a programme by the opposition. To cover its embarrassment the first reaction from UPND was a denial of the party membership of those involved, even further claiming they could be PF cadres masquerading as UPND members. Really? This party disclaimer, ridiculous as it sounded was intended to maintain the party’s pre-election campaign image and promises.

The arrest of Raphael Nakachinda by Chelstone police, a PF senior official followed on the heels of the Mpika incident. While he was being interrogated by police, a horde of UPND youths went to the police station in protest with the aim of enforcing extra-judicial punishment on the suspect before he was even charged with the alleged offence. Social media showed pictures of senior PF officials running for their lives in all directions like a disturbed beehive. A UPND statement over the incident was that this was a group of PF youths who were displeased with the leadership and the goings-on in their party. Surely?

Come with me now to Kasama in Northern Province where UPND cadres clad in clearly identifiable regalia of the party beat up a defenceless and helpless female civil servant in her office. The horror of the incident prompted HH to speak. It is his reaction which was more telling than the brutality of his members, the president did not see this transgression by his cadres as an affront to the wide gender agenda. It was to him a mere act of violence. He urged the authorities in a general statement, not to allow youths to enter government premises to beat up people. But to do what?

The directive not to enter government buildings to beat up people reached Chembe District promptly. Its compliance came from the UPND deputy national youth chairman, one Chikote. A foreign mining investor operating outside a government building was not covered by the president’s directive and was, therefore, liable to the party’s mining inspectorate. Chikote’s eagerness to inspect the mining investment which he alleged was illegally in the area was thwarted by a contingency of alert police officers whom he threatened with dismissal and transfers because according to him, he only reports to the president as a member of the party’s national management committee. The body language of the police officers was patently visible. They never thought that they would ever again suffer the humiliation which was so commonplace under the PF. But here it was only five months into the term of office of the UPND in government. This is unbelievable, they must have whispered amongst themselves, since the president had promised an end to such impunity. Chikote and his goons were arrested by police. After his appearance before the party’s national management committee, Chikote was reported leading all UPND provisional youth chairmen who met HH at State House. Ok, so anarchy and impudence could still earn Chikote audience with the president with ease? What then was wrong with the likes of Innocent Kalimanshi in PF?

A liberal economy sustained by Foreign Direct Investment is the kernel of the UPND economic framework. Running a country is like running a business, HH was always heard as saying while in the opposition. If this be the case, the Kalumbila mine owners need an explanation from him for the misbehaviour of his cadres in Kalumbila District recently.
The UPND youths alongside their traditional leader who was clad in UPND regalia barricaded the road from Kalumbila into Solwezi in order to prevent the transportation of copper out of the district unless they were employed by the mining company. This must have seemed like a dream to the company. How in God’s name can such a thing happen under HH with all his fetishism to international monopoly capital? I want to end with Robert Greene’s quote from his book, The Laws of Human Nature, wherein he throws a caution:

“At all costs you must alter your perspectives. Train yourself to ignore the front that people display, the myth that surrounds them, and instead plumb their depths for signs of their character. This can be seen in the patterns they reveal from their past, the quality of their decisions, how they have chosen to solve them, how they delegate authority and work with others, and countless other signs. A person of strong character is like gold rare but invaluable.’’

I Write What I Like: Uncovering The Evidence On Master Pork’s Shady Dealings

By Diamond Siulapwa

Evidence has been unearthed that confirm our earlier suspicion that Master Pork has actually been buying 6 cut baconer pork from Winelands Abattoir in the Western Cape, RSA at almost double the price they are offering our famers here. What they have evidently done is to buy a lot of baconers from South Africa, while telling the local farmers they cant buy from them because the market is slow, thereby forcing our local pig farmers to accept lower prices.
By Daimone Siulapwa
About a week ago, on the 26th of November, Mater Pork released a statement on the impending reduction on the buying price of baconers from its local customers, citing a series of cooked up reasons.

As I indicated in my last write up, why is Master Pork buy the same baconers from South Africa at a much higher price than from the local farmers?

To understand what Master Pork is doing, we need to define what a 6 cut baconer is. A 6 cut baconer is the whole pig cut into 6 pieces and then boxed and frozen.

Evidence has been unearthed that confirm our earlier suspicion that Master Pork has actually been buying 6 cut baconer pork from Winelands Abattoir in the Western Cape, RSA at almost double the price they are offering our famers here.
What they have evidently done is to buy a lot of baconers from South Africa, while telling the local farmers they cant buy from them because the market is slow, thereby forcing our local pig farmers to accept lower prices.

I just one purchase, Master Pork bought approximately 25,000 Kgs of baconers at a price of R1, 400,000.00 (one million four hundred thousand rands). Add refrigerated transportation costs from RSA to Zambia of approximately UDS 6,500 (R103, 000) and this gives us the total cost of R1,530,000.00. Now lest add duty on pork of 40% coming R612, 000, giving us a total of R2, 142,000.00. Add excise duty of 5% coming to R107,000.

So the total import cost of 25,985 kgs baconers is approximately R2, 250,000, giving us a unit cost of R86 (Kwacha 97) per kg.
Even if Master Pork wants to claim that the cost of R1,285,393.98 is all they paid for 25,985 kgs, it still gives us the cost per kg of about R50 (Kwacha K56.30).

As earlier stated, as a consequence this has caused a ripple effect: small scale Zambian farmers have been pushed out of business, the prices of stock feed has gone up and the number of those employed in the pork subsector has kept on reducing thus reducing income in most households.

Zambian pig farmers, with the help of our government must help to sort this issues immediately before more of our farmers are condemned into poverty.

NEGATIVE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE RUSSIA- UKRAINE WAR ON ZAMBIA AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY.

By Alexander Nkosi

The Russia – Ukraine war will affect the performance of the global economy beyond soaring of crude oil prices. Crude oil prices rose to around $105 per barrel, the highest since 2014. This is just within days of the war. If this drags on and sanctions and disruptions in trade take full effect, a lot of things will be affected. Leaders and economic experts world wide have warned of hard economic times for the global economy:

Addressing the emergency Security Council meeting, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the consequences of the war will not only be devastating for Ukraine and Russia, but will have an impact we cannot even foresee in relation to the consequences for the global economy.

The USA President, Joe Biden, addressed Americans and warned that despite the fact that they will not send troops to Ukraine, the war will also affect the American economy. This is a country with a GDP of over USSD 20 trillion and has been building fuel reserves for decades for that needy hour.

Zambia is not an island, it is heavily dependent on imports: fuel, fertiliser, machinery and other inputs in production. Hence, if global economic giants are projecting difficult economic times, we should also brace for hard times as a country. It is a global crisis and war, depsite taking place in eastern europe has far reaching economic effects even on countries that are not taking part.

The new Zambian government has only been in power for 6 months and it inherited an economy with USD12.9 billion external debt, K189.7 billion domestic debt and K46.9 billion domestic arrears. It is practically impossible to change these economic fundamentals and cushion the economy from unforeseen external forces within such a short period of time. There is no magic wand in economic management, we deal with the real world where we have to go through a painful process and make huge sacrifices to get things right. This road is not always smooth. Sometimes you make two step forward and then three steps backwards when external forces hit you. What is important is to remain focused and not be drawn into panic borrowing which might end up with insignificant effect on reducing the pain but actually worsen the debt crisis and jeopardise debt restructuring and economic recovery.

We can engage government to revisit the monthly review of fuel prices to make it more predictable and enable businesses plan better but we should not dramatise this increase in fuel prices, it is actually way less considering the fact that this is the highest global crude oil prices have gone up since 2014. Also note that Zambia is still heavily subsidising fuel at current prices through tax suspension.

We need to be prepared and adjust positively like everyone else is doing world wide. If this war goes on, we should expect the global economy to be hit badly. Prices of fuel, fertiliser, machinery and other imported goods will go up. Zambia will spend more dollars on imports, hence when we see kwacha depreciate, we should be fully aware of how dynamics in the global economy are affecting this. When we see a sharp increase in prices of goods and services, we should understand the dynamics at play. When we see 2022 revenue and expenditure targets shifting, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, we need to understand the dynamics at play.

In conclusion, we are in this together, we need to work even harder and positively adjust so that we can pull through and continue on the path of economic recovery. This is a physical war to Russia and Ukraine but it is an economic war to Zambia and the rest of the world. To win, we need to adjust positively and engage our leaders positively.

Thank you.

For clarifications contact me on 0963190263 or email: alexnkosi2006@yahoo.com.

The Biden administration has announced further sanctions against Russia’s central bank, including a ban on Americans doing business with the bank and a freeze on the bank’s assets in the US as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Federation’s National Wealth Fund and the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Finance will also be targeted by the new sanctions.

The fresh penalties will take effect immediately, according to a senior Biden administration source who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to convey Washington’s thinking.

“We wanted to put these actions in place before our markets open because what we learned over the course of the weekend from our allies and partners was the Russian Central Bank was attempting to move assets and there would be a great deal of asset flight starting on Monday morning from institutions around the world,” the official said, on a conference call with reporters.

“Our strategy to put it simply is to make sure that the Russian economy goes backward. As long as President Putin decides to go forward with his invasion of Ukraine,” the official added.

The U.S. is also adding Kirill Dmitriev, another ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to the sanctions list as well as the direct investment fund Dmitriev heads. The Russian Direct Investment Fund, or RDIF, is officially a sovereign wealth fund but is widely considered a slush fund for Putin.

The official said the U.S. expects its allies to take similar steps in the coming days.

This comes after the U.S. and its allies announced over the weekend that they will impose restrictive measures aimed at preventing Russia’s central bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that may undermine sanctions.

“No country is sanctions-proof and Putin’s war chest of $630 billion in reserves only matters if he can use it to defend his currency,” a second senior administration official said Monday.

The U.S. and its allies have imposed a deluge of severe sanctions on Russia in recent weeks in a unified effort to keep economic pressure on the Kremlin.

More than 400 Russian mercenaries have reportedly been flown in from Africa to assassinate Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

A private militia known as the Wagner Group allegedly has orders from Vladimir Putin to take out Zelensky – and 23 other government figures – to allow Moscow to take over its eastern European neighbour.

According to the Times, the army-for-hire, run by oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin a close ally of the Russian president who is often dubbed ‘Putin’s chef’ – was flown in five weeks ago and is being offered a huge sum for the mission.

The highly-trained operatives are said to be waiting for the green light from the Kremlin to proceed, with their hit list also including Ukraine’s prime minister, the entire cabinet, mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko and his brother Wladimir – both boxing champions who have become iconic figures on the front lines of the capital.

However, the plans were rumbled after they reached the upper echelons of the Ukrainian government on Saturday morning, according to Mail Online.

It prompted Kyiv to declare a 36-hour ‘hard’ curfew, ordering everyone indoors so that soldiers could sweep the streets for Russian saboteurs.
Citizens were warned that they risked being ‘liquidated’ if they were spotted outside during the curfew hours, as they may be assumed to be the enemy.

A source with knowledge of the Wagner Group’s activities told the Times that between 2,000 and 4,000 mercenaries had actually arrived in Ukraine in January, but with different missions. Some were reportedly sent to the rebel-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east of the country – while the 400 tasked with taking out Zelensky headed to Kyiv from Belarus.

The group are said to be tracking Zelesnky and his colleagues via their mobile phones – claiming to know where they are at all times.

Another source claimed the killers-for-hire have been told to put on the brakes while Putin holds ‘peace talks’ with Zelensky this week.

But they have allegedly been informed that the Russian leader has no desire to reach a deal, branding the meeting on the Belarus border as ‘smoke and mirrors.’

APPLY RULE OF LAW TO GOVERN – MUNDUBILE

……..as Leader of the opposition in Parliament and Mporokoso Central law maker says most Zambians are living in constant fear

Kelvin Sichizya

February 28, 2022

An opposition Member of Parliament has challenged the UPND government to govern by the rule of law and stop intimidating Zambians whom he says have been living in constant fear since the coming of the UPND in government.

Leader of the opposition in Parliament Brain Mundubile has also called on the police to remain professional in their execution of duties and be able to advise the government leadership whenever it expects them to perform contrally to their profession.

Speaking in a telephone interview to radio Mano from Lusaka, Mr. Mundubile who is Mporokoso Central law maker and PF Chairman for Legal said the New Dawn government had continued to intimidate citizens using the “fight against corruption” advising the government to stick by the rule of law in governing the country as promised by President Haakainde Hichilema during his election campaigns.

He said Zambians were now living in fear in their own country.

And the leader of the opposition in Parliament has said while the opposition fully supports the fight against corruption, it does not support the illegitimate and un tendered for deals between the UPND government and Alpha Commodities in the procurement of fertilizers involving K50 million.

He said the procurement of the fertilizer was, in the first place , un tendered and that the fact that it was discovered to be of poor quality and low quantities is a clear example of corruption which the opposition was not prepared to support.

The Mporokoso Central law maker says, Alpha Commodities must surely be made to be answerable.

And Mr. Mundubile has slammed the award of compensation to Chief Mukuni’s wife, Ackson Sejani and others which he says was unheard of.

He wonders how a matter that was on Nole Pros qui could end up with compensations of K500,000 and K400,000 legal fees each person and said ” UPND needed to be pro – active ” in such matters.

Commenting on on going debates on Bigamy, the leader of the opposition said the New Dawn government has failed to explain adequately on the matter and appealed to the Church to continue speaking out about it.

He also said it had now become clear that the recruitment of 30,000 teachers and 11,000 health workers was just a political campaign gimmick as the UPND government had up to now not shown any signs of reality on matter.

Meanwhile, Mr. Mundubile has disputed perceived wrangles in the PF saying internal wrangles are not there.

He said people debating the matter regarding the PF Party Presidency were only exercising the democratic rights adding that “people may differ on social media, that is just democracy”, he said.

He also called for co- existence as Zambians and to play clear politics and said they needed to exchange ideas and not exchanging blows.

MR. PRESIDENT, YOU ARE KILLING THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN

The statement by President Hakainde Sammy Hichilema that people should stop complaining about OVERCROWDING in classrooms makes very sad reading and further exposes the fact that both the President and his Government are completely oblivious to the failure and adverse effects of their so called Free Education policy.

I write this, both as a qualified teacher, myself, and as a parent and guardian with several school going kids and I know firsthand the crisis that is currently obtaining in all government aided schools.

To begin with, the money allocated to support schools is inadequate. Secondly and most importantly, Government has failed to release the budgeted amounts; out of 2.1 Billion Kwacha, Government has only released a paltry 342 million Kwacha to fund schools. This is a drop in the ocean and all Government grant aided schools are struggling to provide the necessary teaching and learning equipment as well as to meet other financial obligations and provide services such as security, water, electricity, etcetera.

To come to the specific issue of overcrowding in classrooms that the President is talking about, this is how it is negatively impacting on the quality of education being provided by the current regime.

1. TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS

Mr. President, a crowded classroom does not allow for the teacher to have enough space and time to tender to each and every pupil hence making it difficult for teachers to effectively impact on pupils, especially those who are slow learners.

Teaching in a crowded classroom is stressful for the teacher, who has to adapt lesson plans to focus more on work that pupils can complete at their desks instead of group work or active projects that require more floor space.

In addition, teachers are demoralised due to too much work for less time and less space.

2 PUPILS’ BEHAVIOUR

Mr. President, it is hard for pupils to concentrate on a lesson in a crowded classroom. This results into poor grades and high failure rates.

Overcrowded classes are denying our pupils personal space and this is making it hard for them to focus on their lessons.

Additionally pupils are uncomfortable in overcrowded classrooms and this is often resulting into squabbles, noise making, even physical confrontations among them; further distracting the pupils from the lessons and making the learning environment toxic altogether.

3. TEACHING AND LEARNING EQUIPMENT

Mr. President, overcrowded classrooms are preventing our pupils from learning how to use science and technology equipment due to lack of both space and equipment, making the teaching and learning of practical subjects ineffective and almost impossible.

So Sir, instead of you glossing over the negative impact of your failed policy, it is prudent that you quickly engage all stakeholders and revisit your policy before it’s too late.

Let your Government deliver quality and not ‘quantity education’. Remember, schooling and education are not one and the same thing, they are different.

Let us strive to give our children quality education not mere schooling.

Issued by
Antonio M. Mwanza
PF Media Director

Hon. Bowman Chilosha Lusambo

UPND’s Free Education Policy is a Zero Sum Game

When the UPND government first pronounced its decision to offer what it called free education to all learners in public schools, almost the whole nation celebrated. We didn’t, instead we urged caution.

Having served in government, we were fully aware of the state of our fiscus and the harsh realities of funding our education sector. We even went to an extent of offering suggestions to the government to approach this policy in a gradual and scalable manner to allow for effective implementation.

The UPND government removed all manners of feeds payable to the schools including PTA fees which were essential in the smooth running of schools.

As we speak, most schools have not even serviced their utility bills, their support staff such as Drivers and General Workers have not been paid. Some Head Teachers and Head Mistress have now approached us requesting that we appeal to government to reverse this policy because it is killing the standard of education.

Schools are now broke, classrooms are over crowded, classroom populations are now ranging 120 per class with inadequate desks. Scenes of children sitting on the floor are now very common. Some staff toilets in some schools in Lusaka don’t even have toilet paper.

The K2.1 billion appropriated for schools in the 2022 national budget is a drop in the ocean. By removing user fees and grossly underfunding the schools, the UPND government is killing the education sector and the consequences of this maladministration will only become evident after 10 years or so years when the UPND government is long gone.

This government ought to be reminded that delivering free education goes beyond the mere removal of user fees. There is need to take care of both the hard and soft infrastructure for this policy to success.

The warning from the National Action for Quality Education in Zambia ( NAQEZ) that the unprecedented overcrowding in classes across the country is threatening the very essence of attending school and that the schools and teachers are now stunned and overwhelmed beyond measure and that the education system was clearly not ready for this policy confirms our fears.

When we first spoke about this issue, most citizens did not understating why we felt that the policy was counter productive for Zambia.

Now NAQEZ, whose members work in these schools are telling us that this free education is making the teacher/ pupil ratios in classes much more unhealthy, creating uncharacteristic environments for teaching and learning. They are also telling us that even the best teachers are failing to teach and that this is dangerous for Zambia because poorly educated people are very dangerous to society.

Shifting the funding to schools to the CDF is lopsided thinking because CDF will only be released in truncated format after meeting very tedious funding requirements making it difficult for schools to plan.

As it stands, Zambia risks raising a whole generation of people that are poorly educated but who thinks they actually went to school. This free education policy is a zero sum game that nobody wins.

B.C.L

28.02.22

AFRICA MUST RESPECT HERSELF IN ORDER TO BE RESPECTED – THE CASE OF THE RUSSIA/UKRAINE EVACUATION OF NATIONALS

By Dr Nevers Mumba

……We are only worth the value we place on ourselves.

I have listened to the statement by Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Kakubo with great relief.

Although late, the intervention by government to evacuate Zambian nationals is commendable. We have confidence and faith in God that every single Zambian in Ukraine shall return home safely.

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine reveals an aspect that should awaken all black skinned Africans. The discrimination against Africans in getting on the trains to leave Ukraine and the challenges faced when trying to enter countries of refuge like Poland should awaken something in all our African leaders.

An African has suffered segregation based on skin both at home and abroad. It’s when we face issues of life and death like in Ukraine that we realize that this status quo cannot be sustained.

Most of the Africans in Ukraine are students and are there legally. They must be protected under Ukrainian law, just like we protect any foreigner here in Zambia. They must have equal access to facilities that will guarantee them safety in the time of war.

Blaming Ukraine and Poland however, is not the answer. The answer is for our African leaders to demonstrate that we place value on each and every African wherever they are in the world. We must do more to demonstrate that we are the first governments to facilitate evacuation of our people. The world must see that we value ourselves and that we are ready to spend millions of dollars to bring one African back home safely. WE MUST DEMONSTRATE THAT WE BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE VALUE.

It may take a while for the world to recognize that Africans are equal in value to every other citizen of the world, but we first must demonstrate this by respecting an African life ourselves.

Just as the world stands ready to support under dog Ukraine against the world’s most formidable army, Russia, the world must also stand ready to support the marginalized Africans across the globe. This is called moral justice for all, but it starts with us.

Dr.Nevers Sekwila Mumba
Former Republican Vice President
President, MMD

Peter Sinkamba

TEST CASE FOR UPND GOVERNMENT: ON WHICH SIDE WILL GOVERNMENT VOTE AT THE UNITED NATIONS CONCERNING UKRAINE?

Yesterday, the United Nations Security Council called for a rare emergency special session of the 193-member General Assembly on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which will be held today, Monday, as western allies step up a diplomatic campaign to isolate Moscow.

A resolution convening the General Assembly session was adopted with 11 yes votes. Russia voted no, while China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstained.

Ten such emergency special sessions of the General Assembly have been convened since 1950, following the adoption of resolution 377A(V), widely known as ‘Uniting for Peace.’

The text gives the Assembly the power to take up matters of international peace and security when the Security Council is unable to act because of the lack of unanimity among its five veto-wielding permanent members.

In 2017, adopting three resolutions by recorded vote on the questions of Palestine and the Middle East, the General Assembly called for respect for the historic status quo at the holy places of Jerusalem and stressed the need to urgently exert collective efforts to launch credible negotiations on all final status issues in the Middle East peace process.

Through the terms of the text titled “Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine”, the Assembly reiterated its call for the achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East. By further terms, it also called upon Israel to cease all unilateral actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and called upon all States not to recognize any changes to the pre‑1967 borders and not to render aid or assistance to illegal settlement activities.

Also adopted was a resolution titled “Jerusalem”, in which the Assembly reiterated its determination that any actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem are illegal. Recalling the 2015 Security Council press statement on Jerusalem, in which the Council called for upholding unchanged the historic status quo at the Haram al‑Sharif, the Assembly stressed that a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the question of the City of Jerusalem should take into account the legitimate concerns of both the Palestinian and Israeli sides.

By the terms of a resolution titled “The Syrian Golan”, the Assembly declared that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan is null and void and demanded that Israel withdraw from the territory.

The question of Palestine was first brought before the General Assembly in 1947. By resolution 181 (II), the Assembly decided to partition Palestine into two states, one Arab and one Jewish, with Jerusalem placed under a special international regime. After the 1948 war, the Assembly by resolution 194 (III) of 1949 established the Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP) to help the parties reach a final settlement, while reaffirming the rights of Palestine refugees to return and restitution. UNRWA, a Palestine refugee agency, was established by the Assembly the same year.

In 1974, the question of Palestine was re-introduced in the Assembly’s agenda. Resolution 3236 (XXIX) reaffirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty, and the right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property. In 1975, the Assembly established the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. The question of Palestine and related issues have been the subject of numerous resolutions and decisions adopted by the Assembly’s regular, special and emergency sessions.

On 29 November 2012 the Assembly granted Palestine non-member observer State status in the UN. The relevant issues on the agenda of the Assembly and its subsidiary organs, such as the Human Rights Council include the right of Palestinians to self-determination, their sovereignty over natural resources, assistance, refugees, IDPs, UNRWA, human rights, Israeli settlements, peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, and Jerusalem, among others.

In the 2017 vote, the Zambian representatives to the United Nations were absent at a controversial General Assembly emergency session called at the request of Arab and Muslim states to vote on the condemnation of the decision by the United States of America to recognize Jerusalem as the future capital of Israel.

The voting took place after threats by the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, that Washington would remember which countries “disrespected” America by voting against it.

The United Nations General Assembly defied warnings from the United States and overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and calling on countries not to move their diplomatic missions to the city.

A total of 128 countries voted in favour of the motion, defying the threats — that were forcefully reiterated in an address before the vote by US envoy Nikki Haley — to cut aid to countries that opposed the motion.

Nine countries — the US, Israel, Togo, Micronesia, Guatemala, Nauru, Palau, Marshall Islands and Honduras — voted against the resolution.

There were 35 abstentions, including a number of countries that had been widely expected to support the move, such as Colombia, Mexico, Malawi and Rwanda.

Another 21 delegations, including Zambia and Kenya, were absent from the vote.

The then US President Donald Trump supported his Ambassador’s position and threatened to cut aid to countries that woul vote against the US position.

“I like the message that Nikki sent yesterday at the United Nations for all of these nations that take our money and then they vote against us at the Security Council, or they vote against us potentially at the assembly,” the Trump told members of his cabinet in the White House.

“They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us,” he said. “Well, we’re watching those votes. Let them vote against us, we’ll save a lot. We don’t care.”

After the vote the US ambassador to the UN, Haley, defended the administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying the US had the sovereign right to place its embassies where it wished, and warned that America — the biggest funder of the UN — did not take kindly to being disrespected and paying for the “dubious privilege.”

Repudiating the Resolution, Haley said “the decision does not prejudge any final status issues, including Jerusalem’s boundaries. The decision does not preclude a two-state solution, if the parties agree to that,” she said. “The decision does nothing to harm peace efforts. Rather, the president’s decision reflects the will of the American people and our right as a nation to choose the location of our embassy.”

“America will put our embassy to Jerusalem,” Haley stressed.

“That’s what the American people want us to do. And it’s the right thing to do.” No vote at the UN will make any difference on the American decision, she declared. But this vote will be remembered, she vowed, when America is being asked once again to make the single-largest contribution to the UN budget or when “so many countries come calling on us, as they so often do, to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit.”

The resolution, co-sponsored by Turkey and Yemen, called Trump’s recognition “null and void” and reaffirmed 10 security council resolutions on Jerusalem, dating back to 1967, including requirements that the city’s final status must be decided in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The resolution also demanded “that all states comply with security council resolutions regarding the holy city of Jerusalem, and not to recognise any actions or measures contrary to those resolutions”.

The rationale for repudiation of UN Resolution by the US was that the issues concerning Israel and Palestine should be resolved by direct talks between the two parties.

Now, in this case, Russian and Ukraine presidents have agreed to send delegations to meet for direct today near the border with Belarus.

For consistency, will the US and its allies use the same rationale they have used to vote against the Resolutions on Palestine crisis, where they advocated for direct talks instead of UN Resolutions?

Surely, as the saying goes: what goes around come around.

Let’s wait and see what happens.

As for the UPND Government, the question is: on which side will the Zambian Government vote? Or will you also be absent?

My advice: Just don’t go there. Be absent. Let the Russians and Ukranians sort the issues themselves.

ANTHONY BWALYA IS WORKING AGAINST THE PRESIDENT

1. It is shocking that Anthony Bwalya, the Spokesperson for President Hakainde Sammy Hichilema has continued on his path to deliberately put the reputation of his boss in public odium and disrepute by continuously spreading lies and falsehoods in the name of the President.

2. Today, Anthony Bwalya has opted to embarrass his boss by claiming that President Hichilema never condemned President Edgar Lungu‘s trips when he knows too well that President Hichilema and Anthony himself, when in opposition, roundly and strongly condemned the former President’s foreign trips. He knows too well that there are several tweets, Facebook posts, press statements, videos, including voice bites of President Hichilema condemning President Lungu on this score and to deny this is to actually a deliberate ploy by Anthony to put the name of President Hichilema in ridicule as social media has already started flashing previous screenshots and tweets of President Hichilema criticising President Lungu on foreign trips.

3. Clearly our brother needs orientation with regards to the functions, duties and responsibilities of a Presidential Spokesperson. A Presidential Spokesperson is literally the mouthpiece of the President; he communicates the President’s words, thoughts, policies and positions on national matters. So when Anthony speaks, it is the President himself speaking, therefore, Anthony must be careful not to be communicating lies, falsehoods and cheap propaganda as that reflects very badly on the President.

4. Brother Anthony must know that he cannot continue using propaganda as the standard operational procedure in executing his duties as the President’s mouthpiece. The office of the President is the highest office in the land and it must be carried with honour, truth and decorum; the office of the President cannot be reduced to a propaganda platform in the manner that Anthony is doing.

5. We all know that it is difficult to defend the numerous foreign trips that President Hakainde Sammy Hichilema has taken so far. In just 6 months the man has broken the records of all former Presidents and this is behind the backdrop of his incessant criticism and his promise to cut on foreign trips once elected. These trips are costly and a serous drain on the national coffers. To compound the wasteful expenditure, the President has failed to show any benefits that his many foreign trips have so far yielded for our people.

6. We sympathise with the position Anthony finds himself in, were his boss has renegaded on almost all his campaign promises making it impossible for him to defend the man. However, Anthony should not add insult to injury by resorting to cheap lies and propaganda; Zambians are not dull, they are not that forgetful either; they know what President Hakainde Sammy Hichilema promised and they have screenshots, press statements, videos and voice bites of everything that the President said during campaigns so no amount of spinning or propaganda can change these facts. The best Anthony and the President can do is to admit their failure and apologise to the people of Zambia for their many fake campaign promises.

Issued by
Antonio M. Mwanza
PF Media Director S

.

Hon. Anthony Mumba, Kankoyo MP writes…

THE GOVERNMENT OF ZAMBIA HAS TERMINATED THE CONTRACT ON THE NDOLA MUFULIRA ROAD AND MUFULIRA MUKAMBO ROAD AND A JOINT TEAM OF INVESTIGATION IS INVESTIGATION THE 267 MILLION KWACHA PAID TO THE CONTRACTOR WHO NEVER DID ANYTHING ON THE ROAD.

The government of Zambia through his excellence President Hakainde Hichilema has come to the rescue of the people of mufulira who have been subjected to day light robbery by scavengers in Public offices who awarded themselves a 701,784,400.59 over priced road contract without following the tendering procedure on 25th July 2016 . The project was expected to be completed on 29th June 2019.

The fraudulent contract was awarded to Inyatsi Roads Zambia limited in joint venture with marks industries limited. The two companies had no machinery, expertise and experience to execute the works hence subcontracted swift cargo to do the job.

Swift cargo moblised a water bowser, Grader, loader and two tippers on 30th June 2017 . Just after grading some deviation on the main road, NRF was instructed to pay the contractor without any certificate of works done .

Despite the contractor having failed to complete the works as per contract terms, the contract was extended three times with the revised completion date of 28th September 2021 .

The amount of the contract was also revised upwards to 745,358,425.21 kwacha on which RDA was instructed to continue paying the contractor without measuring works done.

Before the 2021 election, the contractor had been paid a total of 238 million . Despite the change of government on 12th August due to the rampant corruption in the PF government ,RDA authorized another payment of 29.7 million kwacha on 12th September 2021 to the contractor.

The member of parliament for kantashi Hon Anthony Mumba questioned the government why they had paid 30 million to a contractor who had done nothing on the road and asked the government to terminate the contract, the contractor went on radio to denounce the member of parliament for misleading the public and sued the Mp for kantashi for deformation claiming 1 million kwacha damages.

Despite the member of parliament for Mufulira central Hon Golden Mwila, member of parliament for Chifubu Hon Loyd Lubosha and Myself having visited RDA to get the right information on the money paid to the contractor and value of works done on the road on 1st October 2021, RDA couldn’t give us the information.

On behalf of the people of kankoyo ,I was asked to write a letter to request for the information, having in mind that the contractor on this road was swiftcargo, after 60 days of following the issue, RDA responded saying that the contract was awarded to Inyatsi Roads Zambia and not swift cargo hence our question to know the value of works done and amount paid was not responded to.

On 2nd November 2021,we wrote another letter quoting the correct contractor but RDA couldn’t respond to our letter.

The member of parliament for Mufulira decided to officially write to the speaker of the national assembly, hence the minister responded to the question yesterday on 25th February 2022 .

During the parliament session it was shocking to learn that the total money paid to the contractor was in fact 267 million kwacha and not the 30 million Hon Anthony Mumba knew hence I asked the minister to tell the people of mufulira if the works done was equivalent to the money paid.The response from the minister was not very satisfactory hence we looked forward to RDA to give us a more detailed report.

After parliament, RDA called me to pick up the response to the letter we wrote on 2nd November 2021.

In the response RDA has advised that the contract was terminated on 28th September 2021, the agency is in the process of procuring another contractor to complete the remaining works the project, the contract is under investigation by various security wigs as such, they shall advise at an appropriate time on the various requested details when the sharing of such information can longer jeopardize the on-going inquiries.

It’s our prayer that the investigation will be concluded soon, the 267 million robbed from the people of mufulira will be recovered and anyone found wanting will be punished heavily for betraying the people of mufulira.

What unites us is morethan what can ever divide us as we are always and ever stronger together.

Be worried and very, very afraid: the money mongers and profiteers are here!

By Azwell Banda

The lust to find money anywhere for them to expand their production for their exports, and the need to find profitable markets for what they produce, will keep Hakainde Hichilema forever in the skies, for ever travelling abroad. Welcome to a Zambia governed by the profit mongers!

Hichilema, like all profit mongers all over the world, suffers from a pathological craving to find money, markets, establish cheaper sources of inputs all over the world so as to grow their profits. When they fail to do this, they shrink and die. HH will increase the frequency of the trips abroad. The spokesperson of his party has confirmed this costly fact. He needs to search for money, abroad. That is what he actually got elected for.

We now have a government openly championing money and profits above human life, no matter how well concealed this may be, in their language and lies. If it cannot return a profit, it is not worthy investing in. If it grows debt, even if the money borrowed saves human life, don’t do it.

Governments all over the world use their immense power to levy taxes, borrow, and regulate economic and social life to serve human life, and save it. Governments cannot be liquidated, so their capacity to borrow is theoretically infinite. Because of this unique quality, governments can and must protect human life without fail, because they can always source money anytime, including simply by printing new money if all else fails, to grease the real economy and save human life. This is why the most powerful government in the world, the United States federal government, is the most indebted government in the world: it has the power to grow its debt, and use debt to advance the interests of rich Americans.

HH and his fellow profit mongers in the UPND have introduced in the Zambian government a blunt and cruel cash mentality: if it does not save money, don’t do it! The actual polite wording is “if it does not make economic sense, it is not worthy doing”.

Let us look at how these money lovers in government are promoting the culture of the primacy and superiority of money over human life. An excellent example for which millions of Zambians are already paying for, and for which a good number will die from, is in the export of food.

There are all warning signs that Zambia, like several other countries in this southern African sub region affected by poor rains, storms, floods and pests are headed for massive food shortages. In fact, 1.6 million Zambians are already facing and experiencing starvation. Hichilema, through his Minister of Agriculture, Reuben Mtolo Phiri, has authorised the export of 1,177,500 metric tonnes of maize. They have also authorised the export of bran, soya beans and soya cake. Without explaining exactly how, Mtolo Phiri has said the government will make sure food exports do not affect local food supply and prices. He insists there will be no shortages of food next year due to poor harvests this year. Openly contradicting himself, Mtolo Phiri has emphatically stated that the government will not ban food exports because this would be setting a very bad precedent; it would be interfering with market mechanisms for setting the prices of food. There can be no better proof of the callous disregard for human life than a government exporting so much food at a time when a significant percentage of its own citizens are already starving!

All our farmers must be properly incentivised and rewarded for their labour and produce. The government must buy our current food surplus from farmers at good prices, provide food to starving Zambians and secure sufficient food for the extreme food deficit situation Zambia will face in 2023 and beyond, by controlling food exports. This, sadly will not happen; our government has rich farmers who must make a killing from food exports, at the expense of Zambian lives. Food has become very expensive, since HH became president.

Quite arrogantly, finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane informed Zambians that in fact the current budget had cut out subsidies from petroleum products. Without disputing the fact that this would have a negative impact on inflation and would obviously raise the cost of living, the usual flat defences of eliminating government debt and that “in the medium to long term, this is the right thing to do” were offered, while all who care to know understood that this was an IMF austerity condition on Zambia, if the IMF was to offer Zambia its loan, and facilitate the negotiations with Zambia’s creditors, thus allowing inflows of money into Zambia. We have in fact been assured that soon there will be so many dollars flowing into the country Zambians will not know what to do with them!

Our national road infrastructure is in a horrible state. It is worse for rural roads, as the parts of the country affected by storms and flooding so very well revealed. Life in rural Zambia is gruellingly horrible and tough. Falling ill, being an expectant mother, or finding oneself involved in an accident and requiring urgent medical attention all require transport to clinics and hospitals usually quite far from villages. The state of the roads in the rural areas mean that very few people are willing to start passenger transport businesses. These rural roads are clearly not ‘economically viable’. These rural roads are very far from being ‘enablers for economic development’!

Very bluntly, Hichilema’s Ministry of Finance has said this, about roads: “The new dawn administration is committed to infrastructure development as it is an enabler for economic growth. In this regard, priority will be given to rehabilitate economically beneficial roads which are in a bad shape. A cost benefit analysis will be undertaken to consider the sequencing of works, given the limited resources and huge infrastructure gap. Some roads that are economically viable will be considered for Public Private Partnership models to leverage financing from the private sector.”

In a country with a huge chunk of its population still locked up in the rural areas trapped in almost prehistoric times, HH and his friends’ tenure in government is clearly going to push our rural areas deeper into prehistoric times! There is no money to be made, in the medium to long term, by investing in good tarred rural roads connecting villages. The wisdom that good infrastructure attracts advanced economic activities apparently is alien to HH and his friends. He needs to visit China, and very soon too, to learn what comes first: good infrastructure or economic development?

It is in the matter of employment of health workers and teachers that the intersection of political lies and greed for money has found a most pitiable expression. HH and his friends have been celebrating their promise and announcement of employment of 30,000 teachers and 11,200 health workers every day since late last year. It has not happened. It is not going to happen. Why? Because as HH and Situmbeko themselves have explained, the Zambian government has no money. Situmbeko has in fact explained that removal of subsidies from fuels does not release any money; it merely stops the mounting debt government owes fuel suppliers!

Aware of this cruel fact, however, Situmbeko and his boss HH have been parroting the cruel song that “removing subsidies from fuels makes money available for investments in social services including education and health, and the employment of many workers” crudely paraphrased. They are both lying. As things stand, they cannot employ the 30,000 teachers and 11,200 health workers because they have not been looking for any new money to do this! I would be traumatised if the IMF were to give HH the money to employ these vital workers.

It is time to be worried, and to be afraid: in one of the world’s most impoverished countries we have elected a party into government with a pathological craving for money and profits, rather than saving human lives. The sooner the majority of us wake up from the slumber induced by the seductive lies HH and the UPND used to win the elections, the better for the country. The profiteers are in government.

Send comments to: banda.azwell@gmail.com.

Pharmacist Shot By Police Dies

On sad note, a Pharmacist, Victor Chirwa who was mistakenly shot by the police in November, 2021 has died three months.

A bullet was lodged in his pelvic, medical authorities had not managed to remove the bullet.

Our Heartfelt condolences to the wife, family, friends and workmates of Mr Chirwa.

MHSRIEP

Background:

In November, 2021 police Lusaka were investigating a case in which criminals attacked and robbed a marketing manager at Crown Miller over K1 million.

This follows reports that a pharmacist was allegedly shot by police in a case of mistaken identity.

However, police have clarified that they recorded a report of aggravated robbbery which occured yesterday around 14:30 hours along Mopani Road in Kamwala Madras area.

Police spokespersoon Rae Hamoonga said Masood Mussa aged 37, a marketing manager at Crown Miller, reported that he was attacked and robbed of cash money amounting to K1 million by unknown criminals.

Mr Hamoonga said while using his motor vehicle a Toyota Rav 4 Registration number BAJ 9911, Mussa went to collect K1 million, the property of Crown Miller from Hussein Wholesalers in Chaisa compound and proceeded to Madras.

He said before Mr Mussa reached home, he was blocked by three armed criminals who were using a silver Toyota Mark X, who commanded the complainant to open the boot of the motor vehicle where he had put the money in a plastic bag.

“When the victim tried to resist, the criminals fired a shot on the ground before they subsequently got the money and sped off. Fortunately, one of the onlookers managed to capture the number plate of the said vehicle as BAT 9578,” he said.

Mr Hamoonga said after a report was made, police quickly dispatched a patrol team to look out for the same vehicle which was last seen heading to Kamwala south.

“Whilst in Kamwala area about 16:00 hours, the officers came across the said motor vehicle bearing Registration BAT 9578 silver in colour and the driver was challenged by officers. Unexpectedly, the driver sped off and despite several warning shots he didn’t hid to the warnings. In the process, one stray bullet that was aimed at the tyre hit the driver on the lower back and consequently he hit into the wall fence as he failed to negotiate at a curve,” he said.

Mr Hamoonga said the suspect, Victor Chirwa Mulenga aged 27 of unknown house in Libala South, was with Peggy Chirwa aged 27 years of the same address.

Credit: The Speech Analyst

A CALL FOR WISDOM AND WORLD PEACE : Russia-Ukraine War

By Dr. Mbita Chitala

As a student of international law and politics, here are my views on the Russia- Ukraine conflict and why I think the only solution is dialogue and not war or sanctions.

Why the War

In a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Febuary, 20, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky said that his country was considering the renunciation of nuclear weapons which had been provided in the Budapest Memorandum of 1994.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia replied soon after that the Russian Federation will never allow Ukraine to acquire nuclear weapons as this would present a strategic threat to Russia.

Putin further observed that Ukraine still had a wide range of know-how in the field of nuclear weapons development left over from the Soviet Era.

Ukraine had factories in Dnepropetrovsk, Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, Yazhmazshzavod and the Grom Complex that could easily increase the range of Ukrainian ballistic systems to strike the Russian Federation.

Many observers have concluded that this was perhaps the last straw that compelled Russia to invade Ukraine, to first take over the Chernobyl Nuclear Complex to prevent any Ukrainian from accessing any plutonium at the complex and disable the Airforce of Ukraine together with destroying more than 935 military sites of potential source of mischief.

There was also the objective to end the war in the Donbass region that had resulted in over 14,000 deaths since the Maidan events in 2014 that resulted in a coup d’etate against an elected government and installed an anti-Russian right wing administration.

Of course, War, no matter the cause, is a terrible thing anywhere in the world.

That is why President Dwight Eisenhower in his famous speech of 17 January,1961 denounced the undue influence of the Military Industrial Complex in political decisions.

Henry Kissinger in his writings also defended the old principle of equilibrium and mutual respect among nations as the sound basis for cooperation and mutual help instead of ill-will and war.

Many scholars are aware of President Putin’s article in June, 2021 where he invited all human beings to think about the need to avoid irresponsible adventures in international politics or in the global market of suicidal atomic weapons.

Containment of Russia

The drive by NATO to contain Russia and by extension China appears to be driving reason why international relations in Europe became compromised.

Russia felt being encircled by NATO by the mere fact that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, former Soviet Republics were being allowed to join NATO and allowing missiles to be stationed in their countries all targeting the Russian Federation.

This is true for countries like Poland, Romania, and the Baltic Republics of Estonia, Lativia and Lithuania all joined NATO and allowed NATO offensive weapons to be stationed in their countries.

Russia felt threatened and this was worsened by the insistence of Ukraine to join NATO.

This later matter was perceived by Russia as an existential threat to the Russian Federation.

It is evident that the United States would never allow Russia or China to create a military alliance with Mexico, Venezuela, Nicaragua or Cuba and place offensive military assets and bases on these countries.

That is why America on several occasions tried to assassinate Fidel Castro and yet Castro was President of a sovereign state.

Iraq was a sovereign state when the Americans invaded Iraq and put away Saddam Hussein on false reasons only to later realize that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.

Libya too was a sovereign state but Muamar Gaddaffi was made to look like a devil incarnate and this great son of Africa was murdered after an unjustified NATO bombing and Libya lost its glory.

If the United States and their NATO allies will not tolerate China or Russia to have military bases in Cuba or Mexico or Nicaragua or Venezuela, they should accord Russia and China the same respect.

All well informed human beings on our planet earth know that there can be no war between Russia and NATO or between two nuclear powers due to the iron principle of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD).

NATO as the only military alliance on earth following the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact should be the one to show self-restraint and demonstrate that they have a sense of ethics and responsibility to stop and not to stimulate nuclear proliferation and censor President Zerensky when he threatened to start armed nuclear proliferation at the Munich meeting.

In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the solution is for Russia and Ukraine to sit and talk. There is no need to destroy Ukraine or to exterminate all human beings on earth through nuclear war. There is no need for NATO and the EU to flood weapons in Ukraine and it is not possible for anyone to win this proxy war between NATO and Russia.

Sanctions against Russia
As regards the sanctions that the United States, Britain and the European Union have placed on the Russian Federation, they pose a great risk to the collapse of the global economy.

After the refusal of the United States and NATO to give security guarantees to Russia that Ukraine will never Join NATO and that all missiles stationed in former Soviet Republics shall be dismantled, Russia was faced with two choices, either (1) to permit NATO to continue installing missiles, bases, troops, weaponry along Russia’s border including Ukraine or (2) to invade Ukraine to prevent that from continue happening. Russia chose the latter.

The United States and its NATO allies together with the EU responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 22nd February, 2022 by imposing sanctions on Russia with the aim to impoverish Russia and hope that Russians would rise up to protest and overthrow the Putin regime and replace it with another government more amenable to western values.

Why Sanctions are not a Solution

Many observers know that sanctions and embargoes are, firstly, no different from terrorism in that they both target innocent people with death and suffering as a way to achieve a political goal.

Secondly, sanctions never achieve their political goals as the 60 year embargo on Cuba has demonstrated as well as how sanctions have failed in Iran, Irag, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and so on.

And thirdly, sanctions constitute a direct infringement on the liberty of all citizens of the world as people have a right to trade with whomever they want or travel wherever they want.

Sanctions of banning airlines and airspace to prevent human beings to travel and socially engage culturally and socially are an affront to human civilization.

Why Sanctions on Russia are Risky

The United States, Britain and the European Union together with their NATO allies have chosen to sanction Russia subjecting the whole global community to the risk of causing damage to the global economy.

Unlike small third world economies, Russia is a global nuclear power which cannot be bullied.

It is evident that since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has been preparing for this catastrophe and many analysts have concluded that Russia will endure the contest of selfreliance more stoically than the perpetrators of the sanctions.

The suspension of Nord Stream 2 is irrelevant once Russia controls Ukraine.

In fact the losers will be the several European Banks and investors who put their money on the pipeline and who may seek more than US$40 billion compensation from the German State and insurers.

At any rate, there is the parallel Nord Stream 1 which continues to supply Germany with more than 30% of its gas that is not subject to sanctions yet.

The fall in the MOEX Index in Moscow means that Western Investors with Russian portfolios through pension funds and so on will be the large losers.

The decline in the exchange rate of the Rouble will not mean the end of Russia as Russia planned for this to cushion the internal budget against shocks.

Russia has more than US$635 billion forex reserves, a small national debt of 18 percent of GDP. Its fiscal surplus does not rely on foreign investors to finance. This renders the sanctions against new issuance of sovereign bonds a mere nuisance for Russia
Russia is currently enjoying windfall gains from its commodities.

Gas futures contracts for March, 2022 are above Euro 120 a megawatt hour. Russia is earning US$700 million a day from sales of oil to Europe and the United States.

The Technology blockade in tandem with Taiwan’s TSMC and Korea’s Samsung will in th short term hurt Russia but Russia has not only stockpiles but also own producers able to make chips down to 28 nanometres. China will also no doubt gain a market here.

Nuclear Sanction against Russia

The so called nuclear sanction or the freezing out of Russia from the SWIFT payment system means that Russia will be prevented from accessing over 11,000 institutions across 200 countries. The SWIFT serves as the messaging domain for financial institutions to exchange funds. This crucial tool, known as the Nuclear Option, was implemented to replace the Teleprinter Exchange, known as Telex back in 1973 as the Telex System became technologically obsolete. The idea is to prevent Russia from making any financial transaction anywhere in the world.
This nuclear sanction will however allow Russia and other powers to de-link from the US Dollar if the American Dollar is used as an instrument of military and foreign policy. Russia and others will simply find alternatives to the dollar and protect themselves.

The freezing out of Russia from the SWIFT also risks causing damage to the global economy.

It will accelerate the de-dollarization of global finance. China and Russia already have their own payment systems that can be linked to bilateral trade.

China and Russia could curb reliance on the U.S. Dollar, avoid sanctions through digital currency applications or some version of the IMS’s SDR or something completely new.

More painful, the Europeans will just be shooting themselves in the foot. Gas from Russia will stop flowing into Europe. Oil shipments to both the United States and Europe from Russia will be blocked. Russia, the biggest exporter of wheat and other grains like corn will come to a standstill as will be other Russian essential products such as Aluminium, cooperation in health, science, space and global peace and security.

Weaponzing of the U.S Dollar which is the reserve currency of the world is not a good or fair policy as this would risk collapsing the dollar as the lynchpin of the global financial system.

PRESIDENT HICHILEMA SHOULD PROTECT SANCTITY OF THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

The Patriotic Front (PF) Party is disappointed with the manner in which the sanctity of the Office of the President is being eroded with partisan politics by the UPND government.

We urge President Hakainde Hichilema to rise above partisan politics and protect all Zambians now that he is Head of State.

What happened at the Nc’wala ceremony in Chipata yesterday is not only an embarrassment to our acting President, Hon. Given Lubinda and the nation but an indictment on the divisive and retrogressive leadership style the UPND has introduced in our country.

We have made it clear that the PF will not emulate the behaviour of the UPND while it was in opposition, but promote national unity and mutually respectful co-existence with the ruling party and the government.

To this end we will attend national events unlike them who boycotted all national gatherings and state functions out of their hatred for our former republican President, His Excellency Edgar Chagwa Lungu, and the PF.

It is in this spirit that Hon. Lubinda honoured the invitation from the Nc’wala organising committee to attend the ceremony.

However, State House decided to use the event to humiliate the PF top leadership, to the shock of the onlookers and the entire nation.

The President must ensure government duties are performed by state officers. It’s unacceptable and embarrassing for UPND cadres to be masquerading as State House security officers.

This is setting a dangerous precedent and it must stop.

We are also appalled by the handling of the fiasco by President Hichilema’s media team, which trivialised the ejection of Hon. Lubinda and his delegation from the main arena on orders from State House.

Our humble advice to the President is that he should appoint competent, tested and mature people to speak on his behalf. The current crop of novices still stuck in on-the-job training who are speaking on his behalf are eroding the sanctity and decorum of the Presidency.

Issued by:

EDWIN LIFWEKELO
PF Deputy Media Director

SOCIALIST Party president Fred M’membe says the arrest and charging of former PF deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri for murder is clearly an abuse of the criminal justice system.

And Dr M’membe has demanded that the murder charge against Ms Phiri be dropped immediately.

“The arrest and charging of Mumbi Phiri for murder is clearly an abuse of the criminal justice system. From what is so far known and in the public domain there’s nothing to justify the non bailable charge of murder against Mumbi. It will be impossible to secure a murder conviction against her. And in the interests of justice the murder charge against Mumbi must immediately be dropped,” Dr M’membe said in a Facebook post on his official page.

“As we have repeatedly stated, it is a well-known fact that throughout history, those who administer or control the criminal justice system hold the power with the potential for abuse and tyranny.”

Dr M’membe said the statutory powers to arrest and prosecute those who commit crimes should be reasonably exercised and in good faith.

“By allowing people to be unjustifiably arrested, detained and prosecuted, those in power are sending a dangerous signal that the criminal justice system can used to persecute and fix opponents of the regime. There’s need to administer justice fairly and impartiality,” he said.

“In Freedom under the Law, Lord Denning wisely remarked, “All power corrupts. Total power corrupts absolutely. And the trouble about it is that an official who is the possessor of power often does not realise when he is abusing it. Its influence is so insidious that he may believe that he is acting for the public good when, in truth, all he is doing is to assert his own brief authority. The Jack-in-office never realises that he is being a little tyrant.”

Dr M’membe added that the rule of law should be upheld at all times

“We should at all times uphold the rule of law, integrity of the criminal justice system and the right to a fair trial,” said Dr M’membe.

(Mwebantu)