The ZCCM IH Board has learnt that Non Ferrous China Africa Corporation (NFCA) Mining on the Copperbelt has not been paying dividends for eleven years to the Government, which is a share holder in the firm.

The Government through ZCCM IH owns shares in NFCA, a Chinese owned mining firm based in Chambishi, Kalulushi District.

Dividend is a sum of money paid regularly every year by a company to its shareholders out of its profits or reserves.

NFCA Africa Mining Plc was established in March 1998 as the holding company of Chambishi Copper Mine as part of the privatization of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Limited (ZCCM).

It is majority owned by China Non-ferrous Metals Company Limited (CNMC), which holds an 85% shareholding stake, whilst ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc holds a 15% shareholding stake.

The revelation that NFCA has not been paying dividends to the Government for 11 years came to light when ZCCM IH Board members visited the company on familiarization tour on Wednesday.

ZCCM IH Board Director Bishop John Mambo told NFCA Management to begin paying dividends to the Government starting in the 2021 financial year especially that the company is now recording profits and has a net asset position of over $100 million.

Bishop Mambo said NFCA, who have an investment of over USD 800 million, must increase its production in order to contribute to the country’s copper production target of Three Million Metric Tonnes.

He further called for consistency and timely submission of audited financial statements and the holding of board meetings within three months as stipulated by the company’s Act.

“NFCA with its significant investment of over $800 Million should look to increasing its production in order to contribute to the country’s copper production. The target of the New Dawn Government is 300 Million Metric Tonnes. At the back of this height copper price and an enabling business environment, NFCA share holders should benefit from these dividends. ZCCM IH should be able to attract value from its assets including this company which is NFCA. This include dividends and participation in the mining supply chain of the company despite being the minority ZCCM IH has a right that should be respected by the majority shareholders. There is need for local compliance on the administration side of the business,” Bishop Mambo said.

“Without sound corporate governance ZCCM I H will not maxmise and extract value from its assets which include title of the share in this company. I think the new Government really needs certain things to be done differently but we will respect the investor, you are really doing a great job. We want to see constant in timely submission of audited financial statements and holding of board meetings within the three months as stipulated in the company act. This is a law like in any country you have to follow that law but we look at the minutes and the new board, we see that in two years maybe you just have one meeting so have to ask many how do you run this company? We are very happy to note that the company is now recording profits and has an asset position of over $100 Million we therefore look forward to receiving dividends for the year 2021 financial year,” Bishop Mambo said.

NFCA Chairman Xu Helin said the firm experienced the impact of low copper price in 2014 and 2015 on Zambian mining industry coupled with the effects of the pandemic in 2020.

Mr Helin, however, said the firm has adopted an advanced mining and mineral processing technology with good safety performance in order to build a digital benchmark mine in Africa and explore a new path for Zambia’s mining development.

Speaking through an interpreter, Mr Helin also talked about his company’s commitment to building a green and environmentally friendly mine.

Bowman Lusambo writes;

Traveling on empty coffers

It’s another week, so that means another foreign trip by His Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema.

As we come to terms with this new reality, we should always remember that this is a man who told the whole world in a BBC interview that his administration inherited empty coffers.

In the same interview, this man told the entire world that he will run a government that will be serious on prudent management of public resources.

Since he formed government, he has travelled more than any other President in the history of this great nation over the same period.

11 foreign trips in five months against only two in-country trips, this clearly shows where his priorities sit.

No matter how his sloppy PR team attempts to justify his insatiable appetite for foreign travel, President Hichilema is just a liar who doesn’t stand for anything.

A few weeks ago, he was in South Africa launching a book by Dr Greg Mills titled “Expensive Poverty” and one of the chapters in that book speaks to the need for African leaders to cut on their foreign trips. Now you have a man who was Guest of Honour at a book launch that speaks against the same things he is doing. In simple terms, such people are referred to as hypocrites.

Traveling for each and every business summit and conference does not guarantee economic development. There is a Zambian Embassy in Brussels with a full staff compliment including a Trade Attaché, if President Hichilema was serious about prudence in public financial management, he would attend the summit virtually from the comfort of State House or Community House while the Embassy Staff in Brussels attends the summit physically.

At the time of his death, President John Magufuli of Tanzania made 10 foreign trips in his seven years in power but Tanzanian GDP continued to grow at an average of 6% a year. There is no correlation between too many foreign trips and economic growth and we expected a man who claimed to an Economic Manager to know this.

President Hichilema now claims to be a self appointed Chief Marketing Officer for Zambia, no Mr. President, Zambians didn’t vote for you to be globetrotter in the same of Chief Marketing Officer, they voted for you to sort out Zambia’s problems.

Mr. President, your endless foreign trips are making you appear clueless and turning you into an absolute liar. We challenge you to direct your Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development to avail to the nation a complete list of your traveling party just as you used to demand from previous administrations. The story about you traveling with lean delegations is not true as we know that party officials are also sneaking into these trips.

Most importantly, If you believe that the Zambian treasury was empty, why are you jumping on every available plane on the runaway?

FORMER PF COUNCILLOR TESTIFIES AGAINST KAMPYONGO

Chinsali … Wednesday, February,16, 2022 [Smart Eagles]

Trial in which Hon. Stephen Kampyongo and six others are charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft on 2nd January 2015, has continued in the Chinsali Magistrate court.

And former PF Shiwangandu Chandaula ward councilor Martin Mulenga today testified against area member of parliament Hon. Steven Kampyongo.

Mr. Mulenga now UPND Shiwangandu district youth chairman recounts how he was allegedly called by Andrew, the young brother to Hon. Kampyongo to go to Kalalatenkwe primary school grounds with a view of disrupting the planned UPND rally.

He said upon arrival at Kalalatenkwe school grounds with 25 others they found a pot of goat meat boiling on fire with no one around and went straight to the school headmistress to inquire why she had allowed the UPND to hold a rally at the school.

He said the headmistress told them that the UPND had obtained a permit from the police.

Mr. Mulenga recounted how he, in the company of Andrew who was driving a PF branded land cruiser almost hit into a chopper carrying former first lady Maureen Mwanawasa, Felix Mutati, Mutale Nalumango, Patrick Mucheleka and journalist Alexander Musokotwane, when it attempted to land.

He said the chopper however ascended into the air and stones and sticks where thrown at it by PF cadres.

He alleged that when the fracas was going on he saw Hon. Kampyongo sitted in a GRZ Pajero few meters from the crime scene

And during cross examination defence lawyers namely Leon Lemba and George Chisanga who is also Lukasha MP asked Mr. Mulenga if instructions to disrupt a UPND rally came from Hon. Kampyongo, Mr. Mulenga said he only linked Hon. Kampyongo because he was constantly communicating with his brother on the phone.

When shown the video evidence of what transpired on 2nd January 2015, Mr. Mulenga contradicted himself on his earlier statements.

Mr. Mulenga could not clearly state whether the said landcruiser which was seen packed behind a tree drove towards the chopper with a view to hit into it.

Asked if he was bitter with Hon. Kampyongo because he failed to facilitate jobs in the police service for his two sons, Mr. Mulenga said he holds no grudge against Hon.Kampyongo.

Another state witness who testified before the court was Andyford Mwanza a police officer who was a Chief instructor on the material day equally contradicted the remarks by Martin Mulenga who has been found to be a prime suspect in the said violent activities.

Inspector Mwanza wondered why the said Martin Mulenga is now acting as state witness against Mr. Kampyongo’s co-accused when he too was among those who were arrested by police for the alleged offense.

He said from his experience as an officer Mr. Mulenga is supposed to be on the left side as suspect based on the video footage were he has clearly identified himself after he was apprehend together with Andrew Kampyongo the alleged driver at a time.

And Journalist Alexander Musokotwane during cross examination said he did not see Hon. Kampyongo on the crime scene.

And speaking shortly after the court proceeding the accused defense lawyer George Chisanga says they will remain resolute in defending his client adding that looking at the testimonies given so far and the contradictions among the state witnesses gives him hope that the matter may favour his clients unless any invisible hand is used.

He said this because the state has decided to bring more witnesses in addition to the seven who were brought before the court.

The matter has since been adjourned to March 9th and 10th 2022.

YOUR MINISTER OF FINANCE HAS FAILED-SEAN TEMBO

By Sean Tembo – PeP President

1. The cost of living was very high prior to last years’ general elections, and that’s one of the reasons why Zambians decided to usher in a new administration. The hope among many Zambians was that the new administration will reduce the cost of living to affordable levels.

2. Ever since Bally and his new dawn came into office, the cost of living as measured by the JCTR basic foods basket, has gone up by approximately 37%. This is causing untold misery and anxiety among the Zambian people.

3. What makes many citizens even more worried is the fact that Bally and his administration do not currently have any economic turnaround plan which they are implementing to try and reduce the cost of living. Further, they have not spoken about formulating any such plan. The Government is currently not driving our economy in any direction. The economy is driving itself haphazardly all over the place. It is on autopilot while facing a storm. If left on its current trajectory, the economy will soon crash.

4. We appreciate those who argue that we need to give Bally and his administration enough time. That he has only been in office for 5 months. But our contention is that as a minimum, the new Dawn administration should have conceived an economic turnaround plan by now, and should have been implementing it. Their failure to even conceive a turnaround plan is what is disappointing more than the failure of any such possible plan to achieve its intended objective. The PF had the Zambia-Plus Economic Recovery Plan which they unveiled in 2017. It wasn’t a great turnaround plan, but at least it was a plan. The UPND have nothing.

5. Remember that lives are being lost due to the increasing poverty and squalor, our hospitals still do not have medicines and poor people are being given prescriptions to buy their own medicine. The youths still do not have jobs, and despite some of them completing grade 12, they are not able to go to college or university due to lack of funds. Some of the more fortunate youths who managed to complete their tertiary education are still unable to get jobs and are still languishing at their parents’ homes.

6. Surely, this is an urgent economic crisis which requires urgent intervention by the Government to try and turnaround our economy onto a path of job creation and reduced cost of living. But 5 months along the way, Bally and his team still do not have a plan. Of course even when such a turnaround plan has been conceived, there is no guarantee that it will work, but at least we shall be pursuing some kind of a plan. The lack of a plan has brought hopelessness among the people of this nation. When there is a plan, there is hope.

7. Our sincere advice to the President is that he should consider firing the Minister of Finance and appoint someone who is more vibrant and energetic. Someone who can develop an economic turnaround plan for the country. Or if the President does not want to fire the Minister of Finance due to their long-standing business ties, he should consider transferring him to a less-consequential ministry. For me, l have been opposed to the appointment of Musokotwane as Minister of Finance since day one. He is simply not the right guy for the job.

8. Sooner rather than later, the President will have to choose between his friendship and long-standing business ties to Musokotwane or turning around the Zambian economy so as to create jobs and reduce the cost of living. If he chooses the former, then he needs to be ready to face the wrath of the Zambian people. Indeed, Bally may soon realize the truest meaning of the phrase; “a hungry man is an angry man”.

/// END

SET 16.02.2022

TOUGH ECONOMIC DECISIONS

By Alexander Nkosi

We are caught between a rock and a hard place. We are in a difficult situation where we have to choose between two equally unpleasant courses of action. To turn the economy around and deliver people-focused outcomes (change people’s lives), we need to support locals to produce more, profitably. Some of the biggest challenges they face include – high cost of production and high cost of borrowing. Not long ago, BOZ increased policy rate and decided to maintain it today. A good move in keeping inflation low but bad in the sense that lending rates will remain high.

Fuel and electricity are key inputs in production. They increase both your production and consumption budgets. They increase both the cost of production and cost of living. Bad as it is, our debt is too high for us to borrow heavily to subsidise fuel. ZESCO owes USD 3.5 billion (IPPs are owed USD 1.1 billion), this has to be paid back and it also needs to invest in improvements. This money should come from somewhere. This is why fees are being increased and most likely tariffs will also be adjusted upwards.

Based on this, we need:

1. An updated economic recovery plan. We need to accelerate dialogue on this with key economic players and think tanks.

2. Detailed sectoral plans showing clear road maps on how each sector intends to navigate these challenges and contribute to economic growth and development.

3. An analysis of the projected impact of high cost of fuel and electricity on production.

4. An analysis of the impact of high lending rates on private sector growth and job creation. How would inflation affect them if not controlled?

5. Analysis of the impact of the dry spell and floods on 2022 budget.

6. A robust communication strategy to ensure people are informed on key decisions being made well in advance.

In this delicate situation, we need all government departments to be at their best. I would encourage the President to ring changes if he is not satisfied with the performance of some individuals and organs of government, he has the full support of Zambians.

We all need to work together and work very hard!

Thank you.

REMOVAL OF SUBSIDIES ON ELECTRICITY CONNECTION FEES AN INDICATION THAT GOVT IS TRYING TO PLEASE THE IMF- EMMANUEL MWAMBA

Lusaka, Wednesday 16th February 2022

Former Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Emmanuel Mwamba says the removal of subsidies on electricity connection and meter separation fees as announced by ZESCO Limited is a clear indication that the New Dawn government is trying to please the IMF and not Zambians who voted them into office.

Speaking when he featured on Radio Christian Voice’s Chat back program, Amb. Mwamba charged that government has found itself in a difficult position in view of the pending IMF Staff Level Agreement which will go to the IMF board in June this year.

Amb. Mwamba explained that the failure to remove direct or indirect subsidies on both electricity and fuel will jeopardise its approval.

“Government is sitting on a hard place on one side and a rock on the other.

If they increase the cost of fuel and electricity, Zambians will be adversely affected and If they don’t, IMF Board may not be pleased as government will be viewed as failing to raise domestic resources and continuing with funding poorly targeted subsidies,” Amb. Mwamba said.

He stated that Finance Minister Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane is therefore not concerned with the interest of Zambians but wants to please the IMF.

Following the removal of subsidies by ZESCO, electricity connection fees will now cost K6,930 from the previous K1,500 while meter separation will cost K6,000 from the previous K750.

Amb. Mwamba who also served as Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the African Union however admitted that the cost of connections fees costed higher than what was previously charged but the previous government treated electricity as an economic right hence its decision to subsidize the connection fees.

He stated that New Dawn government should have gradually adjusted the cost of electricity connection fees and not in the manner they have done it.

And Amb. Mwamba has also noted with regret that the normalization of electricity connection fees will further increase the cutting down of trees as those that cannot afford power will resort to other means such as Charcoal for their energy and cooking sources.

He charged that this will ultimately defeat the purpose of the creation of the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment because the UPND administration is not looking at ways of preserving the environment.

Amb. Mwamba has since called for the abolishment of the Ministry of Green Economy saying that allowing mining activities in the lower Zambezi National Park has also proved that New Dawn government is not concerned about climate change and the state of the country’s environment.

UPND AND PF CONTINUE BEHAVING LIKE TWINS

By Charlie The-engineer Simusokwe

It’s so disheartening for a young person in politics and belonging to parties led by HARD HEADED , INCONSIDERATE AND STUBBORN LEADERS like the ones leading political parties today !

Instead of providing checks/balances …capitalizing and concentrating on;

-The Fuel Price increments that have led to a rise in commodity prices of essential goods and service like mealie meal and transportation costs

-Removal of subsidies leading to ZESCO connection fees rising from K750 to K1,750 to K6,995 with a another looming increment on tariffs

-Job creation and Non consideration of youths in Key position

-No hope for Bursaries/Meal allowances for Universities and Colleges

-Segregated/Regionalized infrastructural development plan

-The looming record high hunger as advised by the JCTR’ Basic Need and Nutritional Basket figures,..

My beloved opposition PF leaders are up in arms against each other LOADING TONS AND TONS OF INSULTS on each other’s shoulders through recorded phone calls and social media voice notes for FAILING TO SETTLE FOR A PERSON TO LEAD US.
It’s about NOTHING ELSE BUT THEM LEADING AND NEVER TO THINK OF BEING LED… REBRANDING MY FOOT!

I turn to wonder if truly it’s COUNTRY BEFORE SELF that we all have when we decide to join politics.

Scold me for bringing this thought here but it was the same with numerous matters prior to our loss!
Many of my young colleagues bemoaned CADERISM and expressed our opinions internally but it all fell on deaf ears. The very thugs we had came ‘guns blazing’ , with all sorts of threats to extents of banning youths perceived to have had an education and pushing the anti-caderism agenda from attending any function where leaders would be present.

LOOK WHERE WE ARE TODAY…

I see the same trend with the UPND even when they try by all means to hide and sugarcoat the true picture. That is the mistake we PF youths made ! WE LET MEDIOCRITY TAKE TOLL FOR FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN yet allowing our party take the path to destruction.

With the UPND , slowly , their cadres are crawling back to the stations and markets. Go to Buseko you will see. Power is slowly getting to the heads of their leaders. Silently amassing wealth as youths keep looking for where to enter from.

They want NO ONE to advise President HH otherwise even when the matter is so clear and the public is observing.
They’ve shielded the president forgetting he is their most valuable capital with the very youths and majority electorates.

They are developing an “I DONT CARE” attitude towards their own youths. A force they used for campaigns. Their phones are now on divert and frequently go unpicked when their own youths try to reach them.

What most of these youths in politics and belonging to UPND want is an opportunity to contribute to the wellbeing of the Zambian people with the party UPND as a vessel.

They’ve taken a path not different from my Party PF’s. And the ending can easily be predicted …
It’s the Youths to be used , …later DUMPED.

It’s simply back to a game of EACH ONE FOR HIMSELF AND GOD FOR US ALL…

THIS ATTITUDE COMES WITH MONEY I GUESS 😭
Indeed … POWER CORRUPTS.

As usual ,
✌️I COME IN PEACE ✌️

SPECIAL DUTY INDEED…ZERO MILEAGE!

PS FOR SPECIAL DUTIES AT CABINET OFFICE, NICHOLAS PHIRI BUYS A BRAND NEW CAR FOR HIS WIFE

PS Cabinet – Special Duties, Nicholas Phiri writes…

For months, I lived a life of hide and seek. We both knew that my life was in danger. Yet, her faith in God and confidence in me was un-phased

One morning, we had a serious difference of opinion.

She was vehemently opposed to my taking a trip to Choma. It was as if she knew I would never come back not until 7 months.

Her argument was that I had been unwell for two weeks, looked stressed and needed to give my body time to recover.

I had to take the trip. It was important and urgent. It was a matter of life and death.

yet I couldn’t disclose more details to anyone to make them understand why I needed to go.

I learnt early in life about the Abrahamic principal. It’s an important aspect of marriage life: say little both to Isaac and Sarah about the sacrifice. This was my case.

Imagine Abraham telling Sara and Isaac the whole account of who the sacrificial lamp was?

Any, this is not about me or the Abrahams. It’s a story about loyalty, love and sacrifice in relationships.

I said my goodbye, see you even and left for Choma on 4th March 2021.

We both didn’t know it would be to the last goodbye as I would never be back 7 months down the line.

In my absence, it meant that all the household bills were hers alone.

In addition, my old mother who is technically my side chick, became her burden too.

Two years before, I had my job contract prematurely cut. Politics. We did not have savings. I become completely dependant on her.

I would lie if I said she ever woke up with a mood or treated me badly for her being the “man” of the house.

She did her “traditional” duties. I had breakfast in bed, lunch, dinner, clean clothes, literally everything we were taught in our culture.

Once I was out and realized I would never come back home, depending on the election results of 2021, I told her the truth, everything to the coma.

Her faith was astonishing. “It is well honey” was her response. Even at work, or school, non of her friends ever detected they had a potential widow or single but married woman.

Anyways, while to others love is a myth, to me love is real.

I celebrate you today for your loyalty, love and faith.

Please accept my small gift to you. This is from the bottom of my heart ❤️ Shalom Mwiinde Phiri

By Chaka Zulu

Rufusa Gold & Tsetse fly

I recall about 30 years ago during the summer of 1992 in the Uk, when my friend and I decided to stay over for holidays and prepare for our final GCSE final exams. We got a bed and breakfast joint in Hammersmith on the banks of the Thames.

I would ensure I have breakfast in restaurant every morning and I would meet this oldish not English looking gentleman having coffee and reading a newspaper. We would always greet and go our ways until a week later when he called me by my full names and invited me to have breakfast with him.

I was not very moved by him referring to me by name as it was easy to get from the manager, but I jaw dropped when he shared with me what he’s role was when he worked for the Zambian government during the Kaunda Era.

He told me he was a retired Israeli national and was involved in a urge secret mission in Zambia to protect the lower Zambezi particularly the Rufusa area as there was gold discovered and needed protection. He was a scientist at the time working on tropical insects and how they can be used for war or protection for human movement or habitation

He further shared that most areas that had copper and emeralds, where protected by setting ZNS camps and mission hospitals. Non made sense at the time as I didn’t know much for I was not familiar with what he was telling me as student abroad.

Anyway fast forward to the Rufusa project, he narrated how the Israeli government was engaged to protect the area by introducing a an insect that was under study that would keep humans away by infection and would multiply extremely fast but be managed professionally.

Hence the introduction of the Tsetse flies in the Rufusa area. This flies could spread the sleeping sickness rapidly and effectively blocking human habitation in the area. He further tried to explain to me how the flies could be moved but not exterminated if mass mining was to take place.

I was very scared to listen to such conspiracy theories and excused myself. I avoided the man for the coming days until we left. I now look back and analyze the information he shared and makes so much sense now.

My conclusion is there is a lot Dr. Kaunda did to protect natural resources and preserved for future generations and the time is now for this generation to benefit.

We have Lumwana, Kalumbila and many other mines that have come up so it’s time for lower Zambezi to open up.

Former auditor general Anna Chifungula appointed as chairperson of the ZAMMSA board.

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE APPOINTMENT OF THE ZAMBIA MEDICINES AND MEDICINES SUPPLIES AGENCY (ZAMMSA) BOARD

Countrymen and Women

I am delighted to announce the Board of the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA), today 15th February, 2022 which was appointed yesterday 14th February, 2022.

From the outset, let me state that the UPND Government remains resolved to ensuring that Zambians have access to safe and efficacious Medicines and Medical Supplies.

To that effect, UPND Government has increased the budgetary allocation for procurement of medicines and medical supplies from K1.4 Billion in 2021 to K3.4 Billion in the 2022 National Budget. This is to ensure that the health facilities are stocked with adequate medicines and medical supplies.

Following the enactment of the Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency Act No. 9 of 2019, the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) was established and Medical Stores Limited (MSL) abolished.

ZAMMSA is tasked with the function of procurement, storage and distribution of medicines and medical supplies to all public health facilities across the country.

The Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency Act also provides for the establishment of the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency Board. To this end, I wish to inform the public that pursuant to the provisions of Section 6 of the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency Act No. 9 of 2019, I appointed members of the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency Board on 14th day of February, 2022.

The functions of the Board are stipulated in section 7 of the ZAMMSA Act and include, among others, to provide strategic direction to the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA).

The following are the members of the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Board:
The Board will be Chaired by

1. Ms Anna Chifungula – Former Auditor General
   Other members are: ​​
2. Representative from the Ministry responsible for of Finance

• Ms Mwaka Mukubesa​

1. Representative from Pharmaceutical Society of Zambia (PSZ)

• Mr Kennedy Saini​

1. Representative from Civil society organization affiliated to health

• Ms Karen Sichinga​

1. Representative from Attorney General

• Mr Joseph Simachela

1. Representative from Ministry responsible for Health

• Dr Alex Makupe​​​

1. Representative from Health Professions Council of Zambia (HPCZ)
   ​
   May I congratulate all Board members on your appointment.

I wish to remind you that your appointment places a huge responsibility on your shoulders as the Zambian people have high expectations of this Board and look forward to restoration of confidence in the supply chain of medicines and medical supplies.

With your vast experience in the Public Service, I am convinced that you are equal to the task to ensure that Zambians are assured of an efficient and effective supply chain system and have access to safe and efficacious medicines and medical supplies in all our health facilities.

Admittedly, the current narrative of the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency leaves much to be desired. In view of this, I am confident that you will work hard to restore confidence in the institution. I expect that you will hit the ground running and begin to put our house at ZAMMSA in order. You are assured of my utmost support.

I wish you success in this mammoth task ahead of you!

Ms. Sylvia T. Masebo, MP
Minister of Health

PF REMAINS A DELINQUENT ORGANISATION WHICH ZAMBIANS TRUSTED AND RISKED TO GOVERN THIS COUNTRY

The opposition Patriotic Front (PF) will not bounce back to power because it is a dead and buried party what has remained of the PF is a ghost party.

The people of Zambia decided to reject the PF party out of power in the August 12 2021 General Elections because they noticed that their deeds were not pleasant.

I am since urging the people of Zambia not to make a mistake by voting for the ghost PF party or in any way be subjective to their lies,
“PF will not bounce back to power because it is dead and buried, what has remained of it is a ghost party,”

I wish to extend my word to the office bearers who are pf and still claims that they are running the system that they should and must watch their space because their hope is in a dead flesh a structure of a skeleton that is pf serve the people of Zambia according to the vision of his excellence president HAKAINDE HICHILEMA and the manifesto of the MIGHTY Upnd party.

It is with the highest brain bimbo to think that ba pf will bounce back in power after loosing terribly.

Without including their violent thugs that brutally attacked innocent citizens.

ZAMBIANS went through a lesson experience which even the unborn children of this country will forever learn to remember , the speeches that were issued by the former head of state Edgar Lungu that ‘’ Ubomba mwibala alila mwibala and his ministers who pronounced that when we are stealing we steal for the benefit of the future’’ these statements classified the magnitude of theft of state resources which leaders in this criminal organization had plundered by competing among themselves, this competition for stealing to become wealthier has been evidenced by property acquisition and flushing of liquid cash in their various constituencies and places of political interests , they even convinced the former president that they had too much money and they had no where to hide it , so they requested to release a Statutory Instrument to digazzet forest 27 and build what they wanted , they became tired of using the roads and opted to buy helicopters , they were not content with having five houses , they needed more and above fifty , while public health institutions had no drugs in hospitals .

There are no clean hands in the PF organization if the former president encouraged stealing , if the procurement authority was organized to be a conduit of capital plunder using overrated prices on projects , then who were the beneficiaries ?*, the same people complaining to being victimized and yet PF ensured only people coming from a certain region were supposed to be the beneficiaries , and that is the uniformity everyone is seeing in apprehensions and arrests .

When they say they are rebranding and bouncing back , they simply mean they are sharpening the edge of their sword to come and destroy more, let’s not experience such a criminal government in Zambia as long as our great country exists .

we thank you for the change we have and the good experience we had hoped for under the man of the moment H.E president HAKAINDE HICHILEMA.

Issued by:
Clinton Simfukwe
Copperbelt Deputy Youth Spokes Person.

It’s over for Kanye West and Julia Fox.

On Valentine’s Day, the couple announced that they are going their separate ways.

“Julia and Kanye remain good friends and collaborators, but they are no longer together,” a rep for the Uncut Gems actress told E! Online.

But Fox is not shedding any tears. She addressed the breakup in a since-deleted Instagram Story, revealing that she got what she needed out of the relationship and that she and Ye remain on good terms.

“Y’all would love if I was soooo upset!” she said. “The media would love to paint a picture of me a sad lonely woman crying on a plane by myself but it’s NOT TRUE!! Why not see me for what I am which is a #1 hustler. I came up yall lol and not only that but Kanye and I are on good terms!”

Added Fox, “I have love for him but I wasn’t in love w the man Jesus Christ what do u guys think I am 12 years old?!”

She plans to share the “full tea” in her upcoming book.

The breakup comes a little over a month after the two first sparked dating rumors when they met in Miami on New Year’s Eve. Their whirlwind romance included dinner dates at Carbone, a trip to NYC to see Slave Play on Broadway, and a night out partying with Madonna in L.A.

“I met Ye in Miami on New Year’s Eve and it was an instant connection,” Fox gushed after one of their dates. “His energy is so fun to be around. He had me and my friends laughing, dancing, and smiling all night.”

During another one of their dates, Ye surprised Julia by dressing her in a designer wardrobe. “Everything with us has been so organic. I don’t know where things are headed but if this is any indication of the future I’m loving the ride,” she said.

They were most recently seen celebrating Fox’s 32nd birthday in NYC on Feb. 2 where Ye surprised her and her girlfriends with Birkin bags. He also shouted her out on his “Eazy” collaboration with The Game.

However, in recent days there were rumors that the two had split after Fox cleared out some of her Instagram photos of Ye.

The billionaire rapper has since been spotted with model Chaney Jones, while remaining hopeful for a reunion with Kim Kardashian.

“IM NOT GIVING UP ON MY FAMILY,” he wrote on Monday.

EDITH Nawakwi has produced a marriage certificate to court which shows that she and the late husband, Geoffrey Hambulo, were married at St Ignatius Parish Catholic Church on December 22, 2014.

Ms Nawakwi has accused her step children Mulundu and Mweemba Hambulo of mismanaging the estate in their capacity as administrators which include withdrawing money from the deceased’s personal accounts without the knowledge of any family member.

In this matter, Forum for Democracy and Development president Ms Nawakai has sued in the Lusaka High Court Mulundu and Mweemba, seeking an injunction restraining them from acting as administrators of the estate.

She stated that her husband, who died on December 5, 2021, due to complications from prostate cancer, left a will.

She seeks an order to revoke the letters of administration of the estate of her late husband granted to the step-children.

The applicant is seeking an order to deem the document dated April 20, 2018 and its subsequent amendment made in November 2020 as the will left by her late husband.

In the alternative, the court orders that late Mr Hambulo died intestate and the provisions of the Intestate Succession Act Chapter 59 of the laws of Zambia should apply and Ms Nawakwi should be the administrator.

But her step children alleged that she was never married to Mr Hambulo and he never left a Will.

In reply, Ms Nawakwi has submitted to the court a marriage certificate as evidence that she was indeed married to Mr Hambulo.

She stated that the claims by the respondents that she was merely cohabiting with their father are not only malicious but are aimed at bringing her name and character into disrepute.

The applicant said that despite Mulundu and Mweemba boasting of being educated, they are not suitable candidates to manage the estate of her late husband.

She said that since the duo obtained letters of administration, they have locked up the deceased’s office at G Hambulo Investments Limited, Sky FM Limited and Panda Hatchery Limited.

Ms Nawakwi stated that the respondents have also gone to tenants who have a tenancy agreement with G Hambulo Investments Limited to deposit rentals into an unknown account.

She stated that she had ensured that payments owed by companies wherein her late husband had shares have been made on time.

Credit : Daily Nation

Bowman Chilosha Lusambo writes:

The Neglected Plight of Councillors

From the time the increase in CDF was announced, attention and excitement has centred around how the funds will be allocated.

Now that the revised CDF guidelines have been launched, we wish to draw the attention of the nation to a matter that we believe will determine the success or failure of the new CDF.

Since 2017 when through a Statutory Instrument, the PF government increased by 300% amounts paid to Councillor as Sitting Allwownces from K700 to K3,000, there has not been any upward adjustments.

Now that we are hoping to drive national development through communities, it has become imperative that Allowances paid to Councillors are revised immediately. Councilors offer the most direct link to the people and a government that seeks to channel development right down to the people, should as a matter of priority, address the plight of Councillors.

We therefore propose amendments be made to the Local Government Act that will capture the need to pay Councilors a fixed Salary and revised upwards their Sitting Allowances. We have already demonstrated that Mayors and can be salaried, it is now time to do the same to all the Councillors in the 1,858 Wards across the country.

On average, a Member of Parliament takes home around K50,000 while City Mayors earn about K25,000. The paltry K3,000 that Councillors take home is a mockery and says a lot about our resolve to drive development from bottom up.

It is true that since 2017 when the Councilors had their Allowances revised, the cost of living has tripled and that amount has now been swallowed up. Even if Vouncollors perform part time duties, the amount of work and time put in serving the community should be compensated appropriately in order to motivate them. In many of our communities with Absentee MPs, Councillors end up playing double roles.

Increasing their Allownaces and paying them a Salary is the only decent thing to do considering the amount of work they do.

We wish to warn the nation that If Councillors are not well taken care of, the new CDF approach will be a total flop.

BCL

13.02.22

The UPND Alliance has praised President Hakainde Hichilema for the decision to give part of the copper slug dump popularly known as the Black Mountain in Kitwe to cooperatives.

UPND Alliance Spokesperson Daniel Shimunza says with the new policy directive, the youths and the women on the Copperbelt will have a chance to prove themselves against all the odds.

Mr. Shimunza says the decision will give the women and youth in all the 10 districts on the Copperbelt province dignity and reduce poverty.

He says President Hichilema has repeatedly demonstrated that he will not leave anyone behind by ensuring equitable distribution of wealth.

Mr. Shimunza tsaid in a statement that President Hichilema is ensuring that wealth trickles to the locals who must benefit through a properly organized manner of doing business.

He has challenged the youths, women, and the small-scale mining license owners in the 10 districts of the Copperbelt to organize themselves and be part of the empowerment opportunity.

Yesterday, President Hakainde Hichilema that announced following consultation and due diligence, we are officially handing over part of the slug dump to cooperatives owned by Zambian youths and women, who have been granted licenses to operate.

President Hichilema said his government was committed to improving the lives of the Zambian people by reviving the economy and bringing about inclusive development.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Mr Hichilema announced that his administration has officially handed over part of the slug dump to youths and women groups.

He said the beneficiaries include a consortium of cooperatives representing all the 10 districts of the Copperbelt Province, women in mining, and community hosting the black mountain.

The President said his government appreciated the enormous value and great potential of the mining sector, and its ability to be a major factor in the country’s economic transformation.

“Now is the time to bring about sanity in the mining sector that has been ravaged by greed, corruption and unscrupulous practices by certain investors and those charged with governance,” he said.

He added, “When we said it was time for change, we meant it and we intend to ensure that we work towards achieving the bold vision of annual copper production of three million metric tonnes and most importantly, the inclusion of Zambians in this incredible growth story.”

The Head of State promised the people of the Copperbelt better circumstances where they would have access to support that shall enable them to be active participants in the mining sector.

He also announced that contracts have since been signed between the beneficiaries and the identified mining operators with the necessary equipment and qualified staff who have already undergone safety training.

Mr Hichilema said that by products from the production process would be used for the production of concrete and pavers for townships roads.

By Fanny Kalonda

NEW Heritage Party president Chishala Kateka has expressed concern over President Hakainde Hichilema’s quietness on the fertiliser scandal in the ruling party, while a procurement issue that involved less than a million kwacha received his urgent attention.

Featuring on Radio Pheonix’s Let the People Talk programme on Friday, Kateka wondered why President Hichilema had been quiet on the fertiliser scandal where the country spent over US $50 million.

“A couple of days ago, I think the President was talking about some procurement officers that were going to sign off a house worth K200,000 at K800,000. There have been cases that have been brought up, for example the fertiliser [scam] of 50 million dollars that the President has not said a single word about. So, even if he had come up and said that I am asking for the whatever to investigate…” she said.

“So, we’re talking about something that is less than a million kwacha, there is an action immediately. But we are talking about something that is over 50 million and we have not heard anything about it. So, we are left to wonder what is going on.”

Kateka said the fight against corruption should not be limited to certain individuals or political parties.

She said corruption should not be looked at from a political affiliation angle but from a national one.

“I think that it should not matter whether the corruption was committed in the Patriotic Front or done in the UPND. We must make examples of situations. When we are talking about corruption, let us look at everything and everyone regardless of who they are – whether they are PF or UPND or Heritage. When we are corrupt, we are corrupt. Let us face the same law,” Kateka said.

And Kateka suggested that there was need to ensure permanent secretaries were not appointed by the President, arguing that this caused them to be loyal to an individual instead of the nation.

She said the fact that permanent secretaries were appointed by the President meant that they were only loyal to the appointing authority instead of the people.

“I think that PSs going down should not be appointed by the President, my view. That is why they are called permanent secretaries. Permanent secretaries going down should not be appointed by the President as they should be professional people. They are the CEOs of the organisation, so when the board which is Cabinet changes, they still remain,” Kateka explained.

“And that is what gives stability to government. That gives institutional memory to what is happening. If you employ me, do you think I will go against what you tell me? My loyalty is to you and not to the nation. We need people that are loyal to the nation. We adopted the British system where you have the permanent secretary and you have your Cabinet up there. But in Zambia we have gone down to appointing PSs. The President appoints all these little people! We must have stability with our system. Loyalty of the civil service must not be to a party. It must be to the nation.”

Meanwhile, Kateka said the problem with the UPND administration was that they were putting a timeframe to the promises made as people believed what they were told.

“For example, my maid lives in Mtendere East. So after the election she would go immediately to the shops to check if the prices of mealie meal had gone down. So, there are certain people who would believe the lies that they are told. I will ask my fellow politicians; can we be responsible when we make promises as people hold on to these,” said Kateka.

“People hang on and see us as messiah, and when we let them down, it is devastating. They are human beings. The problem with the UPND is that when they were campaigning, they were adding a timeframe and people held on to the promises made to them. This is crisis of expectation.”

PRESS STATEMENT

15 TH FEBRUARY 2022

STOP BEING ALARMISTS; PRESIDENT HH RESPECTS PEOPLE’S HUMAN RIGHTS

The PF corrupt elements know too well what they did and what lies ahead of them. They now want to hide in the issue of Human Rights abuse. During the PF’s reign of terror people’s human rights were trumped on with impunity. People were killed in cold blood, maimed and undressed in public for merely putting on UPND regalia. Yet those that are now talking about human rights were dead scared to approach and rebuke PF.

Where was the Human Rights Commission when PF killed innocent people in cold blood and brutalized others including President HH? Others were part of the PF brutal regime. President HH clearly pronounced himself on the issue of upholding human rights. The claims on human rights abuse are totally unfounded. We are not going to allow these PF criminals to turn their criminality into a personal battle between President HH and this PF criminal gang.

The Aide camp and the Presidential Barber are Public workers; they are answerable to the Law just like any ordinary citizen. But since PF is criminal gang, their cases have become a PF Party matter. PF wants to dramatize everything, in the process they are just embarrassing themselves this is because in PF leaders have no sense of shame. This luck of shame is a common feature that is found in all criminals. The PF leadership finds it very normal to continue displaying such irrational behavior in front of their children. Because even their families know that they are criminals.

Of late we have noticed too much excitement in the PF camp upon hearing that the New Dawn Administration has bought mattresses and bunker beds for inmates. Yes, President HH will continue respecting your Human Rights even as inmates. The new Dawn Government will look after you with dignity even in prisons, which you never did for the other inmates. Be assured, you are in safe hands, all what Zambians want to see is justice for all PF victims. Just face the Law. We are just worried about your LAZO behavior; you may just be a nuisance to other inmates. We just need to warn you in advance that there are no politics in prisons, we expect you to behave as ordinary inmates.

Percy Chanda

UPND – Chairman for Mines and Freedom Fighter

Dailynation Newspaper reports that scores of farmers in Northern and Muchinga provinces have been left dry after Neria’s Investments failed to deliver fertiliser despite being fully paid by Government.

According to Daily Nation investigations, the company has no stock in its depots or warehouses.

In addition, transporters have also not been paid and are equally pushing to have their money.

One of the transporters, Mr Dickson Banda, said the government should probe what was going on at Neria’s because a lot of people would be affected.

Mr Banda complained that it was unfair that they have not been paid for the fertiliser that they already delivered.

“We understand there is nothing to move for now, but we should have been paid for the fertiliser which we transported. This is a very serious issue which is affecting our companies because workers are complaining because they have not been paid as well,” Mr Banda said.

He said he did not understand why after promising to pay after a meeting, Neria’s Investments decided to go quiet.

He challenged the minister to demand to see the sheds and he won’t find any fertiliser there.

At the time of going to press, farmers in Northern, Muchinga, Eastern and Central provinces had not received their Urea or top dressing fertiliser from Neria’s, who have remained mute over the matter.

When contacted for the company’s position on the matter, Neria’s General Manager, Martin Chaikatisha, referred all queries to the company directors.

According to PACRA records, the directors of Neria’s Investment are Mr Bokani Soko and Mr Zuneid Yousuf.

When contacted for a clarification, Ministry of Agriculture Permanent Secretary Green Mbuzi said he was at a loss because the person he had been dealing with, Mr Soko, had stopped picking his calls.

Attempts to get a comment from Mr Soko and the other director, failed as phone calls went unanswered. Whatsapp messages show that messges were delivered and read but no reply.

Some farmers complained that it has become apparent that Neria’s Investments has failed to meets its contractual obligations. The farmers have asked Government to intervene before the farming season window closes.

However, when contacted for a comment on the policy direction in this matter since farmers are desperately in need of fertiliser, Agriculture minister, Mtolo Phiri, said the best people to ask were Neria’s Investment themselves.

When President Hakainde Hichilema took office, he disclosed that some fertiliser suppliers had been paid for fertiliser which was not supplied.

Last week, farmers in Nakonde protested at the continued delay in supplying them with inputs.

They complained that the situation could affect the yield for this year’s farming season.

The farmers have called on the government to take disciplinary action against agriculture officers whom they accuse of having failed to do their work and taking them for granted for too long.

But the acting District Agriculture Coordinating Officer (DACO), Mr Jimmy Phiri attributed the delay to the erratic supply of fertiliser by the supplier, Neria’s Investment as he denied accusations of taking farmers for granted.

About 20 cooperatives in the district have not received Urea and are anxious that the delay would affect production because the crops are past the stage at which top dressing is applied for a good yield.

Mr Phiri admitted that that most farmers in the district have not received urea fertiliser because the supplier has been slow.

Mr. Phiri said it was not possible that the officers could ask for a bribe because they are not present when the farmers redeem fertiliser from the supplier but only come in to attend to complaints regarding its quality among others.

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND MEDIA AND CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON ON THE UPND GOVERNMENT’S PROMISES TO THE PEOPLE

Government wishes to state that it is delivering on the promises it made to the people of Zambia contrary to insinuations by some people that it is not honouring its promises.

On the basis of the 2022 national budget, Government has started implementing some of the key provisions in the budget.

These include the dismantling of arrears for retirees, some of whom had been waiting for many years and the clearing of payment arrears that were owed to farmers who supplied maize and other farm produce to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) in the 2020/2021 farming season.

Government is also rolling out the free education policy and funds have since been disbursed to schools countrywide for their operations. Effective January 1, 2022, parents with children at Government schools from early childhood to secondary have not paid any school fees.

As a result of the free education policy, children who had dropped out of school due to lack of financial support from their parents are now going back to school.

Civil servants’ salary had been stagnant for some time. We have increased them substantially in keeping with our commitment to improve the workers welfare.

The Government has also stepped up the disbursement of the social cash transfer to over one million beneficiaries as provided for in the 2022 national budget.

Last week, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Garry Nkhombo launched the guidelines on the implementation of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in readiness to commence the disbursement of funds to the constituencies.

On the recruitment of 30, 000 teachers and 11, 200 heath workers, I am happy to inform the nation that the administrative processes have advanced.

The Minister of Education is expected to make a ministerial statement in Parliament in which he will among other things announce the roadmap on the recruitment exercise.

The Ministry of Health is equally working on a roadmap and modalities on the recruitment of the 11, 200 health workers.

All these and much more has been achieved in barely five months that we have been in office.

These and other achievements are a confirmation that Government is on course to implement its national development programme as set out in the 2022 budget.

Further, it ought to be stressed that once a programme or a project is budgeted for in the national budget, Government is bound to implement it.

It, is therefore, misleading for anyone to insinuate that Government has backtracked on its promises as reported in some sections of the media.

This is a serious Government which is committed to fulfil its promises. Government has raised the governance bar high, and we do not intend to drop it.

We were voted into office on the premise of change to improve the lives of the Zambian people and we will not depart from that. That is our commitment to the people that ushered us into office.

Issued by:

Hon. Chushi Kasanda, MP
MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND MEDIA AND CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON

14TH February, 2022

By Prince Kaliza Jnr.

THE FIRING OF MOFYA CHISHALA FROM ZICTA WELCOME, READY TO REPORT HIM FOR ABUSE.

Just like the chilling revelations from the book ‘Implicating Hakainde Hichilema in Gassing’ one of the person who was instrumental in my 18 days dentention was a guy called Mofya Chishala.

Mofya Chishala was Director, Consumer Protection at ZICTA till today when he got dismissed.

I came to learn of this guy when he faced me at Police Headquarters, 3rd floor in the CID room. Without any proper information, he threatened my life.

While bragging and walking like he was the alpha and omega, the Gentleman told me that i was wasting his time, i needed to talk or give him a force confession of me being linked to UPND and also Participating in their Media team through some online platforms.

I still remember these words from a boastful Mofya Chishala with his loud voice.

“Iwe don’t waste out time, you know what you have been doing! Even 30 minutes ago you where doing it. Stop wasting out time, this time we are supposed to be with our wives and kids, then you are here making things difficult for us”

“After all ‘Chi – Muntonga’. Officer just call C5 to come and do the job and forget about this. We can’t continue like this on this guy who does not want to talk. We have better things to do” he concluded.

I was not suprised at these words, i was offended but powerless because the gentleman carried so much power and Authority. None of those police officers who were interrogating me had the guts to remind him that he was actually committing an crime in front of them.

In my mind, it was clear that i was going to die that day simply because i was Associated with UPND and Being Tonga Speaking.

Buy the way, I’m not Tonga but Zambian and born from Western Province which qualifies me to speak Lozi!

Having being my first time having such an encounter, i was scared for my life such that i asked the same officer who was also verbally abusing me, why they could let a guy just because he is from ZICTA abuse me like that? It was traumatic!

After i was told that it was his nature as described by Officers, while stilĺ disappointed, shaking and scared, i made myself a Promise to see his downfall if i survived that brutal arrest.

Lucky i survived 18 days in detention.

Today Mofya Chishala has been dismissed from ZICTA. He nolonger carries the same power and Authority he had over me a Year ago.

Just as per promise i made myself, I’m glad that today he is like me. Regardless his threats on my life will not go in vain. We have just started. We will seek for justice come rain or sunshine!

To Mr. Mofya Chishala, i was eagerly waiting for this news from the inauguration of President Hakainde Hichilema. This is the best news ever to my ears. Though we are not yet finished, abuse of office is a criminal offense in Zambia.

To God & Country!

HRC DISMISSES POLICE ASSERTIONS

All communications to be addressed to In reply quote the Director
P. O. Box 33812, LUSAKA No…………
Tel: +260-21-1- 251 327/57
Fax: +260-21-1-251 342
E-mail:director@hrc.org.zm

Human Rights Commission
Head Office

14th February 2022 Press Release For Immediate Release

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION STATEMENT ON ALLEGATIONS OF TORTURE OF SHEEBY CHILEKWA

The Human Right Commission (HRC/Commission) has noted with consternation that the Zambia Police Service (Police) has created an impression that the Commission was the competent body to issue a statement on the allegations of torture of Mr. Sheeby Chilekwa.

This is against the background that the Commission had supposedly been given an opportunity by the Police to visit Mr. Chilekwa in Police detention.

The Commission indeed confirms having visited him in Police detention.

But the Commission regrets to state that the effort by the Police to enable the Commission visit the suspect was uninspiring as the suspect was met in the presence of a Police officer.

Therefore, the Commission was not able to meaningfully engage with the suspect.

Further efforts to undertake adequate investigations were not successful because the police officers were not co-operative.

In the circumstances, the Commission is not in a position to confirm whether or not the suspect was tortured.

In any event, it is not within the mandate of the Commission to be the mouth piece of the Police on the allegations of torture against the suspect.

The onus of allaying the allegations of torture of the suspect squarely falls on the Police and not the Commission.

The Commission therefore calls on the Police to do the right thing and prove whether or not the suspect had been tortured.

Torture constitutes gross human rights violation and is a serious crime which the Police must not trivialize as demonstrated by their actions and press statements.

I wish to put it on record that the Commission took an interest in the “Chilekwa case” because it was brought to its attention informally by a concerned person and from the fact that it is now in the public domain.

The visitation to the suspect was in keeping with part of the Commission’s Constitutional mandate which enjoins the Commission to ensure that the Bill of Rights is upheld and protected. Incidentally, the Republican Constitution also enjoins the Police to inter alia uphold the Bill of Rights.

In this regard, while the Police has the power to investigate crimes and bring perpetrators to book, the Commission urges and reminds the Police that it must in carrying out its investigations generally uphold the Bill of Rights and specifically bear in mind that suspects must not be subjected to torture, or to inhuman or degrading or punishment or other like treatment and that they are entitled to legal representation of their own choice.

The Commission notes that the “Chilekwa” debacle is now playing out in the High Court and as such the matter is sub juice.

Therefore, the Commission shall not make any further comments on this matter until the matter is concluded in Court. Nonetheless, the Commission will be keenly monitoring the matter as it progresses till its conclusion to ensure that there is no mal-administration of justice.
(Original Signed)

Mudford Z. Mwandenga (Mr.)
Chairperson
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

JOURNALIST RACHELCHIPWENDEWRITES…

“BE STRONG, STAY POSITIVE, DON’T HAVE SUCH THOUGHTS, YOU’RE BETTER THAN THAT”….. THESE PHRASES AND SUICIDE

The phrases mostly used by people when someone is going through things or is contemplating or has attempted suicide.

This morning I’m not so much disturbed but hurt by the news of the passing or death of a popular Zambian make up artist Felistus Banda by suicide.

I didn’t know Felistus personally but I’ve seen some of her work through social media posts. When I saw that she had died, I felt bad because she was so young and talented but I felt worse when I saw the news of how she went.

There’s a meme “We are a sad generation with happy pictures” which is not far from the truth, (please know that I’m not talking about Felistus when I say this). Our socials are full of happy pictures, videos, reels and that has created the illusion that we are happy ALWAYS, when in fact NOT.

This has also led to many people not talking about the many things bothering them because the “cool thing” is to look happy like everyone else does on social media.

Issues such as suicide and depression are becoming common in our society every day and its quite sad to see that we still have a long way to go as a society when it comes to dealing with such matters.
Professional help is scarce and if it is there, it is expensive and not accessible to everyone. There also is the societal issue of stigma and people are scared of talking about their feelings because they will be invalidated or people will laugh at or mock them.

Today, people laugh and even mock suicide like it’s funny.

“I’d never kill myself over a relationship, or I’d never kill myself because I don’t have money, over food, over this or that”.
What a lot of those “strong” people don’t know is that those things are just triggers and not reasons for a person to decide to just end it.
Just because you are lucky enough to have coping skills through some of those triggers does not mean you should mock those that fail to see any way out of the mess other than deciding to end their lives.

Suicide is not good first for the person that does it and second for the people that are left behind to deal with the loss and questions, wondering if they could have done something to stop it. And believe me shaming, laughing at and demonising a person that has gone that route has never been and will never be the solution.

It is unfortunate that someone has to reach that point, so much so that all the signs are there, they go ahead and do it and all we have to show is screenshots of what they clearly were thinking and communicating before they did it.

I get it, when you’re in that state, no amount of talking to can help you, but it helps for someone to be there (even if you don’t want them there) until the strong feeling passes over and I hope someone will be there every time you think that.

In my short but fruitful life I’ve learnt that no “advice” can help or make someone change their mind, so what do you do when someone you know seems to be going through something?

1. Hold the advice off, I know how tempting it is to want to give advice to someone but keep it to yourself and just let them know you care and you are there and be there, physically is the best if you’re not able to, give them a call
2. Listen to them and ask as much as you can, let them talk. Allow them to vent because talking eases things and may help them feel better and put the suicide off for later and hopefully get the help they need.
3. Don’t be judgemental, try by all means not to criticise them, truth is you have no idea what they’re going through, you may have an idea but we all are built different and deal with things according to how we are conditioned to, so never judge and focus on helping them not do it.

Usually suicide is not because of the reason most people think, sometimes a lot of things happen and knowing life, you understand that this too shall pass and another problem will come because that’s just the way it is.

Suicide is a complex issue and I hope that help in this area can be made as widely accessible and as affordable as possible for everyone regardless of social status.

makeup artist Felistus Banda, a death which comes barely 30 days after pastor Edgar Simanwe, alias man of faith, was reported to have taken his life, MMD president Nevers Mumba has urged Zambians to be “a brother’s keeper”

He writes…

SUICIDE NOT THE ANSWER…

Over the past few weeks, we have lost precious people who have taken their own lives. Notable among them is the young promising Prophet Edgar Simanwe of Kafue and just yesterday, another young accomplished beautician young lady, Felistus.

Complexities of life are not resolved by the events that happen in our lives but by an abiding presence of God.

As a nation, let us learn to become our “brother’s” keeper. Just returning some one’s phone call can save a life. The call this time may not be a request for money. It could be the last call you will ever get from your friend or family member.

I call on everyone doubting the reason for being alive to shift your focus in life to the following scripture:

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and ALL these things(necessities of life)shall be added unto you.”

Don’t give up on yourself because of what someone has said or not said to you. Don’t take your own life because of events, words or lack of material things.

Seek God’s presence and His righteousness and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

Above everything else, seek His PRESENCE.

Beverly Kunda Moore

Writes……..

IF IT WAS WRONG IN PF IT IS WRONG IN UPND

I stand with Tasila LUNGU
We should not crucify Children for the sins of their parents and if she didnt come out then, she is coming out now to condemn this act by the Hakainde Hichilema administration. Who knows maybe she spoke then privately and no one listened but she is speaking now and hopefully our new President can listen. And this system of always saying because PF did this and that shouldn’t be a justification for UPND to do the same.

There is a reason to why PF is not in power now, any referral to PF to justify a wrong is just deemed as weakness and of no direction.

PF might have created the smoke but at the rate we going UPND might just light the fire and burn down this nation.
My stance on injustice has always been clear and even though i ain’t no lawyer i surely do understand my rights as a human being and a citizen of a given country.

It is quite a sad reading to whats happening to the judicial system of our country and to think we had left this behind is disappointing to see.

Any criminal has a right to a free and fair trial and should not be a subject of torture and injustice in the process.
This type of witch hunt that the UPND government has embarked on will bare no fruit and is likely to bring more harm than good.
The way in which the “New dawn government ” has decided to adopt to go about finding any evidence related to Edgar Chagwa Lungu is beyond what is reasonable in the eyes of the law.

For example any evidence obtained though torture is useless in the courts of law and is evidently thrown out.
In the case of ECL’s barber man, everyone is presumed innocent until proved guilty, but what suffices is the manner in which the prosecutors arrive at the guilty charge. If this man has suffered any torture whilst in police custody any evidence gathered is useless.

Personally i would have wanted to see economy restructuring than people fixation
I would have wanted to see kr14 to a $1
I would have wanted to see a kr4 reduction in fuel. I wanted to see a reform in law and order and not police being used as a tool for vengeance.

I would want to see a laid down plan of how the UPND government’s going to bring down the high cost of living.
And i want to see all those that stood against PF injustice to stand against the injustice being witnessed in UPND like Sean E. Tembo said , where is Pilato, Wezi HeartSound B Flow Laura Miti to mention but a few.
IF IT WAS WRONG IN PF IT IS WRONG IN UPND
THIS IS NOT HOW GO UPON A FRESH START.

Talking | Point: The Truth About The Honeybee Scandal Is The Victim.

…but it will not be suppressed forever, as ZAMMSA says it shipped Honeybee medicines by error.

Lusaka – 13th February, 2022.

Following the public outcry on the decision by the new dawn government to ship out “expired drugs”, a topic that formed one of its main campaign messages in the health sector ahead of the 2021 general elections, the Zambia Medicines and Medical Supplies Agency (ZAMMSA) has issued a rather questionable press statement.

ZAMMSA says it would like to clarify that the said honeybee medicines (Paracetamol 500mg and 100mg) that were distributed to Kabwe and Kasama General Hospitals were shipped to the two institutions by error.

“ZAMMSA immediately contacted and collected the said products from the two affected facilities (Kabwe General Hospital and Kasama General Hospital) after the anomaly was detected. ZAMMSA internal reviews conducted thus far indicate that the product was under Quality Control (quarantine) and should not have been distributed. It is not the intention of the institution to distribute medicines or medical supplies under Quality Control (QC).

We wish to unreservedly apologise to the members of the general public for this anomaly. ZAMMSA will continue to provide a high level of service that is expected of our institution. we also pledge to continue to improve our systems to ensure that they continue to Support the delivery of quality health services,” read the ZAMMSA press statement.

Questions Not Addressed!

1. Who identified the said anomaly?
2. Where are the medical supplies under QC kept to have created the mix-up?
3. Honeybee supplied medical kits, so who unbundled them and why?
4. Why is ZAMMSA keeping expired drugs in the first place?

What Is The Honeybee Scandal?

The Ministry of Health (MoH) and Honeybee Pharmacy Ltd. undertook a contract on November 22, 2019, for the supply of 22,500 medical kits and the firm initially supplied 5,000 high quality grade WHO standard medical kits at a net worth of UD$3,990,700 from reputable manufacturers in India. No amount was paid by the MoH for the costs and expenses incurred.

The MoH awarded two other contracts relating to the supply of health kits within the same emergency supply contract involving Pharmanova and Artemis. These two entities never supplied what they were awarded leading to the MoH cancelling the two contracts.

Pharmanova’s contract was worth US$3,554,100 and Artemis was valued at US$14,139,450. Honeybee Pharmacy Limited’s priority was the health and safety of Zambian citizens and provided the medical kits before any payment by the MoH was made, and yet, they were defamed and slandered in the media.

Honeybee competitors, a cartel of politicians, and strategically positioned civil servants defiled science and falsified reports to dent their perceived political threat, former Health Minister, Dr. Chitalu Chilufya. They first claimed that Honeybee Pharmacy Limited was paid US$17,000,000 when there was no financial transaction between the MoH and Honeybee pharmacy Limited. Honeybee took the financial burden for all the 5,000 medical kits supplied to the MoH at the time government had no money.

Upon shipment arrivals, it was discovered that one batch of Paracetamol was discoloured. This batch was immediately replaced at a cost of more than US$600,000 to Honeybee Pharmacy Ltd and none of
these costs were reimbursed.

Shouldn’t the Ministry of Health, instead, be commended for having put in place a robust pharmacovigilance system which includes receipt, collation, causality assessment and provision of feedback on received ADRs and medicines quality problems?

“We must endeavour never to manipulate oversight institutions in order to settle scores with perceived political enemies. Let’s not defile science. Let’s not falsify reports just to inflame the nation. So, today I go on record that we never procured drugs that were expired, neither did we ever procure condoms that were leaking. We did not, whatsoever, subject Zambians to drugs or condoms that were expired or leaking respectively. I am a trained and certified medical doctor and I would never put the lives of Zambians at risk by providing them with drugs that are expired,” Dr.
Chilufya recently emphasised at a media briefing.

“And it is shameful that cartels of senior civil
servants with selected politicians and businessmen colluded to create this narrative just in order to tar my image in the conscious of the public and push me into political oblivion as battles of thrones ravaged the party. That is unacceptable. We have the obligation to future generations. We cannot defile science in order to serve our immediate personal interests!” Dr. Chitalu Chilufya lamented.

Conclusion.

Former Minister of Health, Dr. Chitalu Chilufya, has repeatedly urged the new dawn government to investigate the expired drugs scandal stating that, “…we cannot sacrifice science at the altar of politics.”

So what are we waiting for? It’s extremely irresponsible to hold on to the much needed medical supplies in the wake of the current shortage of medicines in public hospitals and clinics just to save face on the part of our desperate political leaders who had blatantly lied about several other issues ahead of the 2021 general elections.

It can’t be politics from one election to the next. Dr. Chitalu Chilufya was painted as a very uncaring and extremely negligent Minister of Health for obvious political reasons by the very government institutions that should have defended his office. ZAMRA, ZABS and ZAMMSA remain a failure and contributed to the fall of the PF government. But elections are over. Let’s get back to work.

“Madam Speaker, I want to emphasise that the previous government never paid anyone for health centre kits, never procured expired drugs. Pharmacovigilance is heightened in this country, it’s not possible to procure expired drugs. It’s the politics that will kill people. We must ensure that we unite and confront poverty and disease using stronger health systems and the like. Health is apolitical,” Dr. Chitalu Chilufya told Parliament recently.

Sustaining the lie about the Honeybee scandal is a scandal on its own which must be investigated.

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

By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone

SECRETARY to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa says Zambia ended up with the IMF because the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment gives a condition that any nation seeking assistance should have a programme with the fund.

And Nkulukusa says Zambia cannot afford to increase electricity tariffs from 7 cents to 11 cents as this will be a ‘shock’ and people will not manage.

In his lecture to local government senior officials during the launch of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Guidelines at Avani Hotel last week, Nkulukusa said in 2011, every K100 that government collected K11 was spent to service debt and the rest was for government operations including payment of salaries.

“In 2021 the cost of debt service went to 70 per cent of domestic revenues meaning that per every K100 that was collected domestically, K70 went for debt service while salaries for civil servants are at about 43 per cent of domestic revenue. So it means that K70 went to

debt servicing and K43 is supposed to go to payment of salaries. From every K100, we pay K70 to service debt and we go to the bank to borrow K13. Come 2020, 2021, all the people that were lending us money started refusing to lend us money because we were not sustainable and we chose to pay salaries before we service the debt,” he said.

“And therefore we started to think, how do we save if we can’t service all and we’re the first country post pandemic that defaulted on debt service because the cost of servicing the debt was too high. We can’t afford and all the projects that were being financed by our partners…the financiers stopped because we defaulted on the debt. And this is why we then had to say, how do we look at ourselves and we went to the G20 Common Framework for Debt Treatment and the condition was that we needed to have an IMF programme because they needed a referee that we are doing things right,” Nkulukusa said.

He said the IMF Staff Agreement signed in December had to go to the Fund’s board and Zambia had to show commitment from bilateral creditors.

“That even if we defaulted in payment before we are serious and our independent assessor and IMF has shown that yes we are on the right track and therefore we get commitment from our creditors that they will start giving us the money, otherwise all the projects will have to be on standby and we can’t get the money anywhere,” he explained.

“Now we are in the process of going to form what is called the creditor committee. We submitted our pre-restructuring debt sustainability analysis that is showing the levels at which our debt should be for us to be sustainable and we submitted this information to the IMF for them to assess whether what we are saying is true or not and how we will structure our economy going forward And should that be agreed with the IMF then we go to all the bilateral creditors

and we won’t go to them individually, we will go to them in the creditor committee and we go and present our case.” Nkulukusa said should this pass, under the fund agreement, Zambia would get special drawing rights of US$1.4 billion as a fiscal cushion while the country is still negotiating.

He said once this is done Zambia would go to each of the creditors and negotiate, “what we call a haircut, the forgiveness that will make us have a debt structure that we can be able to pay and we are hoping that we can achieve that and we come back on our programme and we go back to our vision 2030 and start growing to become a prosperous middle income country probably by fast tracking 2030 or probably we can then say we will delay that vision by at least by 5 or 10 years.”

He said Zambia’s commitment was to undertake structural reforms.

“We need to be prudent in our financial management and we need to enhance our finance mobilisation to meet the expenditure that we expect to meet,” he said.

Nkulukusa said Zambia needed to stop the bleeding that we have and one of them is the FISP.

“I was in the Ministry of Finance from 1999 to 2016 and we had the FISP project, one million beneficiaries, each beneficiary getting four bags of fertiliser and some seed and it was costing us K1 billion. In 2021, each beneficiary was getting the same amount of seed and fertiliser (as in 2001) that cost us K11.7 billion, the beneficiaries got the same amount of inputs, the impact on the ground; no impact. And we ask ourselves: should we go with such a programme and start asking for forgiveness from people that are lending us money when we cannot put our house in order or should we put our house in order as we go for help?” Nkulukusa said.

“We accept that it is a good programme, but it needs good targeting and it needs to be reformed so that it can deliver better and quality service to the people, not that we are going to cancel it. The second major reform is in the energy sector – fuel and electricity, the cost of production of electricity in Zambia is 11 cents per kilowatt per hour and Zesco is selling that electricity at 7 cents per kilowatt per
hour….”

Nkulukusa however said Zambia cannot afford to increase electricity tariffs from 7 cents to 11 cents as this would be a ‘shock’ and people will not manage.

On fuel, Nkulukusa said the commodity was expected to reduce if the exchange rate reduced.

“If we are careless and make the Kwacha start depreciating and fail to hold, the market exchange rate will automatically start increasing, so it is our duty to help this economy and move in the direction that we want,” he said.

On decentralisation, Nkulukusa said functions need to be devolved to local authorities.

He gave examples of China and India where decentralisation had worked very well.

“In 2004 we were supposed to do a sugar plantation in Luapula Province and we put K500 million in the budget through the Ministry of Agriculture and when we started implementing the budget, the ministry came to us and said please give us that money so that we start implementing that project and in April, we funded that K500 million. In July, deputy minister of finance including myself, we went to Luapula Province and we found Mr Evans Chibiliti who was PS and we were told only K184 million reached Luapula and we called the ministry why they asked for the money when only K184 was going to go to Luapula. They told us they did not trust the people of Luapula and therefore they gave them K184 and would release the rest later. The people of Luapula knew that government had released K184 and when we asked the minister what they had used the other money for, they told us that they had taken a tour to Mazabuka to understand what was happening there,” he said amid laughter from the delegates.

“Now you can imagine if we had directly released that K500 million, we would have had a sugar plantation today. Therefore, better decisions are made at local level.”

STATEMENT ON THE HANDOVER OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN (NKANA SLAG DUMP)

MY FELLOW CITIZENS,

THE NEW DAWN GOVERNMENT IS COMMITTED TO IMPROVING THE LIVES OF THE ZAMBIAN PEOPLE BY REVIVING THE ECONOMY AND BRINGING ABOUT INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT. OUR GOVERNMENT APPRECIATES THE ENORMOUS VALUE AND GREAT POTENTIAL OF THE MINING SECTOR, AND ITS ABILITY TO BE A MAJOR FACTOR IN OUR COUNTRY’S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION.

NOW IS THE TIME TO BRING ABOUT SANITY IN THE MINING SECTOR, THAT HAS BEEN RAVAGED BY GREED, CORRUPTION AND UNSCRUPULOUS PRACTICES BY CERTAIN INVESTORS AND THOSE CHARGED WITH GOVERNANCE. WHEN WE SAID IT WAS TIME FOR CHANGE, WE MEANT IT AND WE INTEND TO ENSURE THAT WE WORK TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE BOLD VISION OF ANNUAL COPPER PRODUCTION OF THREE MILLION METRIC TONNES AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE INCLUSION OF ZAMBIANS IN THIS INCREDIBLE GROWTH STORY.

OUR WOMEN, YOUTH AND THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH MINING OPERATIONS ARE BASED, ARE HIGHLY EXPECTANT AND DESERVE TO BE INCLUDED IN VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE MINING INDUSTRY’S SUPPLY CHAIN.

IN AN EFFORT TO EMPOWER ZAMBIANS, OUR GOVERNMENT HAS DECIDED TO MAKE AVAILABLE PART OF THE BLACK MOUNTAIN IN KITWE.

FOLLOWING CONSULTATION AND DUE DILIGENCE, WE ARE OFFICIALLY HANDING OVER PART OF THE SLAG DUMP TO COOPERATIVES OWNED BY ZAMBIAN YOUTH AND WOMEN, WHO HAVE BEEN GRANTED LICENSES TO OPERATE.

THE BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE:

I. CONSORTIUM OF COOPERATIVES REPRESENTING ALL THE 10 DISTRICTS OF THE COPPERBELT PROVINCE;
II. WOMEN IN MINING; AND
III. COMMUNITY HOSTING THE BLACK MOUNTAIN.

FELLOW CITIZENS,
WE PROMISED THE PEOPLE OF THE COPPERBELT BETTER CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE THEY WILL HAVE ACCESS TO SUPPORT THAT WILL ENABLE THEM TO BE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE MINING SECTOR.

WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT CONTRACTS HAVE SINCE BEEN SIGNED BETWEEN THE BENEFICIARIES AND THE IDENTIFIED MINING OPERATORS WITH THE NECESSARY EQUIPMENT AND QUALIFIED STAFF WHO HAVE ALREADY UNDERGONE SAFEFTY TRAINING.

WE PROMISED TO ASSIST OUR PEOPLE BY ENABLING ACCESS TO MARKETS AND IN DOING SO, TEN DIFFERENT COMPANIES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS OFF-TAKERS OF THE MATERIAL FROM THE BLACK MOUNTAIN. YOUTH AND WOMEN COOPERATIVES WILL SOON REALISE MONETARY BENEFITS FROM THE MINERAL SALES THAT THEY WILL HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER.

FURTHER, IN ORDER TO SUPPORT SPECIFIC YOUTH GROUPS, A REVOLVING FUND HAS BEEN CREATED UNDER THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE AND A COMMITTEE HAS SINCE BEEN FORMED TO MANAGE THE FUND WITH STRICT FUND MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY GUIDELINES.

BY PRODUCTS FROM THE PRODUCTION PROCESS WILL BE USED FOR THE PRODUCTION OF CONCRETE AND PAVERS FOR TOWNSHIPS ROADS.

FELLOW CITIZENS, YOU CAN BE ASSURED OF OUR CARE FOR THE WELFARE OF OUR PEOPLE AND KNOW THAT THE CHANGE THAT YOU VOTED FOR WILL BRING ABOUT BETTER DAYS FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES.

GOD BLESS YOU AND GOD BLESS ZAMBIA.
I THANK YOU.

HAKAINDE HICHILEMA
President of the Republic of Zambia

LEADER OF OPPOSITION & MPOROKOSO MP HON. Brian Mundubile writes ///

FROM A POOR BACKGROUND OF NO SHOES, NO FOOD, NO BED TO ESTABLISHING A COMPANY WITH OVER 300 WORKERS THAT INCLUDED WHITES, THE STORY OF MUNDUBILE FROM MPOROKOSO.

I rarely talk about myself but for the sake of a youth that is struggling let me encourage you to continue working hard and trusting God for both your spiritual, physical , social economic growth.

I started as a young boy from Muombo village of Mporokoso very poor , no shoes, no mattress and food itself was a challenge but I Kept the faith .

Fast forward did my school partly at UNZA and ZCAS that was way back then started running a company with my friend some 25 years ago , God gave us an opportunity in Timber business started from Kaoma , from there we opened a construction company 20 years ago called build trust construction company, with discipline and hard work the company grew to employing over 300 workers including whites .

I remember me and my partner going to check on some works in Itezhi Tezhi and the security workers at the site couldn’t let us in because to them we are just simple guys and the company had serious white guys as expert engineers until we called to be ushered in and to their surprise the white people were saluting to us then the boys realised we were the owners .

15 years ago we had contracts to a tune of 2 billion kwacha , we competed with Chinese our equipment then were second to none not even Avic could compete with us to date most of the Chinese companies hire equipment from my company were I am now chairman.

We have done so many roads of bituminous standard from Chipata, Sinda, Northern , Lusaka , Western Province even the recent Lusaka Zambezi Road and Katimamulilo roads very competitive bids against the Chinese company has done that , of course you will never see me there because I am focusing on serving you the beautiful people of our country.

I have never bought a single car for myself from the time I became MP never I never came without shoes into politics I spend more on politics than the salary I get as an MP , you can check around if you so wish .

My point is its possible to be a successful business man when you are focused, forget about what people say , be focused and be disciplined, read and expand your knowledge base to improve on quality delivery, I never stay without pursuing some course , that’s how I did my law to masters passed Ziale and am still studying different courses despite my busy schedule.

So to government give opportunities to the youths and create a conducive environment for everyone for the youths , give them licences to do mining in Luapula and other areas not blocking youths from the Sujilite mineral recently found in Mansa please let’s not be selfish, let Zambians be in charge of their God given wealth they to can be rich and employ anyone, the opportunity we had was construction then but now its no longer as attractive as it was hence need to focus on what is “trending” in business.

You can make it , it’s motivation for you, sometimes I laugh when people talk about things they don’t know and the danger is most youths instead of getting motivated tend to call everyone a thief and corrupt because of a few corrupt people including some politicians, I bought my first GX cars way back before MPs started using them .

The point is you youths should learn from some people not just Mundubile but many others .

God uplift your Soul may you find grace yo excel.

Enjoy your Sunday.