Chipata lit up on Saturday with the traditional bicycle taxis race.

Famed for its widespread bicycle population, Chipata has moved to cash in on its reputation by holding an annual bicycle race dubbed Chova that was started in 2002.

Several residents across the city took and surrounding areas entered the race that brought business to a standstill.

Biggie Zimba emerged as the overall champion.

The cyclists covered a distance of over 50 kilometres within the central business district.

Chova started in 2002 by Chipata business man Perry Patel who was this year honoured posthumously.

The event was graced by Chipata District Commisioner Kalunga Zulu and was attended by Chipata mayor Sinoya Mwale, officers from the ministry of Sports and several others.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party is set to convincingly win a snap parliamentary election, consolidating his political power.

Exit polls suggest the Servant of the People party will have a majority in parliament – but will need a coalition partner to form a government.

Mr Zelensky triumphed in April’s presidential poll – but has been unable to appoint the ministers he wants.

He has pledged to implement radical reforms and tackle rampant corruption.

Speaking outside a polling station after casting his ballot in Kiev earlier on Sunday, Mr Zelensky told the BBC’s Steve Rosenberg that the snap election was “maybe more important than the presidential election”.

What are the results so far?

Five parties look on course to clear the 5% threshold to enter parliament.

Partial official results – with 29% of the vote counted – give President Zelensky’s party 42.1%, with the pro-Russian Opposition Platform – For Life party in second place with 12.7% of the vote. However, Mr Zelensky has ruled out any coalition with it.

Speaking in Kiev after the polls closed, President Zelensky said he was inviting a party led by rock star Svyatoslav Vakarchuk to hold talks on forming a coalition.

“This was my initiative even before the election,” Mr Zelensky said.

Mr Vakarchuk’s Holos (The Voice) party has so far won 6.4% of the vote.

The other two parties projected to enter parliament are former President Petro Poroshenko’s European Solidarity (8.7%) and Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) led by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (8.2%).

Mr Zelensky needs support from the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament. The victorious party or coalition will form a government and nominate a prime minister.

The president told our correspondent that the “president, prime minister and parliament have to work together, just to make life happy for Ukraine”.

He said the key issues were investment, democracy and safety.

The comedian president

Mr Zelensky was known for his comic role on TV as a teacher who wins the heart of the nation and becomes president after his expletive-laden rant about politics goes viral.

In reality, his route to the leadership was a bit more conventional than in his show – but only a bit.

After shunning rallies and speeches and openly admitting he didn’t have any strong political views, he scored a landslide victory in April and unseated Mr Poroshenko, a political heavyweight.

(Source: BBC)

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The Zambian government has requested the government of Ireland to support the candidature of Supreme Court Justice Mumba Malila to the United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) in the elections set for October.

Minister of National Development Planning Alexander Chiteme conveyed Zambia’s request during a bilateral meeting with Irish Minister for Natural Resources, Community Affairs and Digital Development Seán Canney on the sidelines of the 2019 United Nations High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in New York, USA on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by Ministry of National Development Planning spokesperson Chibaula Silwamba, Chiteme has praised Justice Malila’s tremendous experience in human rights and law reform.

Justice Malila served in different capacities at national and continental level, including twice as Attorney-General, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, Vice-Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and author of several law books.

The elections to the Committee Against Torture (CAT) will take place in Geneva, Switzerland on October 3, 2019 during the 17th Meeting of States Parties.

The UN Committee Against Torture is the body of 10 independent experts that monitors implementation of the convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by its State Parties.

Members are elected for a term of four years by State parties and may be re-elected.

Silwamba has revealed that Canney responded favourably to Zambia’s request and that he reminded Chiteme of Ireland’s candidature to the United Nations Security Council non-permanent member category in the UN Security Council elections scheduled for 2020 and requested for Zambia’s reciprocal support.

The Irish Minister reiterated the importance of the two countries to support each other’s efforts on the international fora as a way to ensure strong representation of issues of concern to both parties.

And Chiteme assured Ireland of Zambia’s support to Ireland’s candidature and reiterated the need for the two countries to continue strengthening their bilateral relations.

The two ministers exchanged views on the continued cordial relationship between their countries, efforts to combat climate change and implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Chiteme explained the challenges that climate change had brought on countries in Africa, and Zambia in particular, such as droughts and water shortages that needed to be addressed through global finance.

“Africa is badly affected by climate change and the continent needed to have a voice on international fora such as the UN Security Council,” Chiteme said.

Chiteme told Canney that Zambia would present its Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the 2020 High Level Political Forum and called on the Irish Government for support.

Commenting on climate change, Carnney explained the framework that Ireland had adopted for climate action that involves young people in being part of the solution and the importance of mindset change in the way people do things.

He said Ireland adopted a climate smart framework, including decarbonisation and adoption of renewable energy sources and innovative and clean technology in transportation systems with Diesel powered vehicles being phased out and electric vehicles being adopted.

Meanwhile, Muchinga Province Minister Malozo Sichone thanked the Irish Government for the support provided to the region and called for continued financing of the activities.

Sichone said with Irish support, capacity had been built in governance at local level and in water and sanitation management.

“These efforts need to be sustained with future partnerships,” said Sichone.

The Provincial Minister urged the Irish Government to embark on other development projects in the area.

Carnney affirmed Sichone’s request and called for follow-up discussion between the latter and the Irish envoy in Zambia to undertake the activities in Muchinga Province.

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The Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has called for complete withdrawal of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill 2019, saying the document is not progressive.

The CCZ has noted that the ruling Patriotic Front has equally not supported some of the recommendations of the Bill such as reintroduction of deputy ministers and provision for the creation of a coalition government.

“To begin with, we, the Council of Churches in Zambia, wish to recognize and acknowledge the change in position by the ruling Patriotic Front Party on some unprogressive resolutions made by the National Dialogue Forum (NDF) and we note the following: (a) The proposal to amend the system on voting of the President to include the possibility of forming of a coalition government is not supported. In that regard Articles 101 and 102 are to remain as they appear in the current Constitution. The President should draw his/her mandate directly from the majority of the people. b) The proposal to amend Articles 112 and include a new Article 117A so as to create the office of Deputy Minister is not supported. The PF Government is still committed to a lean Government,” CCZ general secretary Fr Emmannuel Chikoya has stated.

“The Council of Churches in Zambia being a Church Organisation is pleased to note that the ruling party has finally realised that some proposals to the Constitution do not mean well for the development of Zambia hence the convention of hearts. We, however, still call upon the ruling party and those that are in support of the Constitution Amendment Bill to extend their conversion of hearts to the realization that the whole Constitution Amendment Bill is not progressive and thus must be withdrawn altogether. The Bill has too many unfair, ambiguous and undefined pieces thereby not serving the interests of majority Zambians. We further extend our call to all Members of Parliament not to support the Constitution Amendment Bill 2019 and instead choose to stand on the side of majority Zambians.”

On the Electoral Process Amendment Bill 2019, the CCZ feels the proposal to reduce he campaign period from 90 days to 60 days was unjustifiable considering the vastness of Zambia.

“The proposed amendment to Section 2 (a) of the Electoral Process Act No. 35 of 2016 that the campaign period be reduced from three to two months does not improve the electoral environment pertaining in Zambia in any way. This is because this blanket provision relates to all elections without distinction and without considering the magnitude and importance of the election. It cannot be over emphasised, given how vast Zambia is, the extent of our rural population and the limitation of resources of most political players outside of the ruling party, that this provision will inevitably deprive the electorate of the benefit of engaging and interacting with all aspiring candidates,” Fr Chikoya stated. “This is more unjustifiable when related to presidential elections where there is a single Constituency because aspirants with limited resources need as much time as possible to canvas their constituencies to compensate for their limitations. The proposed amendment limits that time thus disadvantaging such aspirants and ultimately the electorate.”

On the Public Order Bill 2019, he noted that a bulk of problems had arise over the years.

“There has been an apparent impression that those applying the law, the Police Service, have under that law an inherent power to either permit or deny an assembly from taking place. In-as-much-as the law requires that notification be given to the Police by those seeking to hold a public gathering, the Police Service have been seen to take the requirement for notification and response thereto as power for them to either permit or deny the going ahead of a public gathering,” Fr Chikoya stated.

The CCZ has since suggested ways in which to cure “apparent gaps” in the Public Order Act.

“…we wish to agree with other stakeholders that: a) The notion of ‘notification’ under the Act needs to be properly spelt out so that both the Zambia Police Service and negatively affected stakeholders, most of whom include opposition political parties during election campaign periods, are properly guided on the proper application of the Act. b) There is need to provide a timeframe within which the Zambia Police Service can respond to a notification of the holding of a public gathering, that is, seeing that the law provides a five-day window for the holding of such a gathering, then it should follow that the law should provide that the Zambia Police Service should provide feedback to those notifying it within two days of receipt of such notification. c) The Zambia Police Service should work within a legal prescribed timeline within which to provide an alternative date to those seeking to hold such a public gathering. Such time line should be within 10 working days or any other later date proposed by the party notifying the Police,” Fr Chikoya stated.

“d) Such feedback should extend to the availability or non-availability of the Police to police the said event. Further, in providing such feedback, Police should avoid being malicious, arbitrary or worse still act according to instructions from the party in power. The Police must be professional. In a case were the applicant for whatever reason is denied “permission” to hold a meeting, a demonstration or a procession, the police must be bound by law to give the applicant an alternative day and time not exceeding 14 working days in which the applicant must be allowed to hold the said meeting, demonstration or procession.”

He further suggested that: “e) There is need for the Act to give clear definition of what is termed or considered to be ‘normal’ or ‘customary’ processions contained in Section 4 (10). The relevance of having a clear guidance of the aforementioned terms is to provide guidance to the implementers and enforcers of the Act-the Police who may fall into temptation of arresting people on their personal fancies.  f) The waiver given to government ministers not to notify the police when having meetings is a form of discrimination based on political affiliation or opinion. This waiver by the law gives them an advantage to circumvent the need to obtain ‘Police permission’ even where the minister is doing partisan and political functions. Therefore, a clear distinction must be sort between government functions or where a minister is discharging his employment duties and partisan/political functions. g) Religious gatherings should not be regulated under the Act. This should extend to other non-Christian religious activities; this clause should be removed as it is potentially addressed by the establishment of a Ministry for Religious Affairs and National Guidance as well as taken care of under the exemptions the Minister is permitted to give to certain organisations under the Act.”

He stated that unless the points highlighted were considered, the enactment of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill 2019 into law will not be serving the interests of majority Zambians.

“We have the obligation to ensure that a Country’s Constitution is clear and easy to understand. A Country’s Constitution must be a public document that must be understood by the ordinary person on the Zambian street. We, therefore, suggest that the best course of action is to withdraw it immediately and let Zambia continue with the current 2016 Amendment of the Constitution. When this government or any other gets serious about making legitimate changes to the Zambian constitution, they must follow proper procedure, open up a proper national dialogue process like one which was spearheaded by the Church, consult with the people of Zambia and enact a Constitution that is in keeping with constitutionalism, common sense and the rule of law,” Fr Chikoya stated.

On the Katuba Parliamentary by-election scheduled for July 30, 2019, the CCZ has called on all political parties participating in the polls to ensure a peaceful campaigns and ultimately election.

“We believe that a battle for ideas is the most ideal form of winning votes from the electorate other than the use of violence and intimidation. Winning an election is not about using hate speech or offensive language but rather it is a contest of ideas, fight for winning majority votes of the hearts and minds of the electorate, the selling of practicable policies and programs for improving the lives of the electorate. A free, fair and peaceful election is not hinged on just one political party alone working to ensure peace but on all political parties participating in an election,” stated Fr Chikoya.

“All stakeholders in the Katuba parliamentary by-election must have one goal of working hard to ensure a peaceful process during campaigns, on the Election Day itself and after the election. All individuals and parties seeking political mandate in a democracy like Zambia should know that elections must not be a matter of life and death neither should they be a battle of muscles but a battle of ideologies.”

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A Chinese and 13 Zambians have pleaded not guilty to two counts of unlawful drilling in the Chingola Magistrates’ Court.

This in a matter where Liang Bin Guang, a Chinese, is jointly charged with 13 others on two counts of weapon training and unlawful drilling contrary to the Laws of Zambia.

Particulars of the offense are that on July 16, 2019, Liang, 32, of Makeni in Lusaka and 13 others, while acting with other persons unknown, were being drilled in weapon training without authority.

Others jointly charged with Liang are James Banda, 20, Martin Chinyama, 25, Samson Sinkala, 19, Joseph Phiri 23, Isaac Phiri, 25, Kellison Kapasa, 27, Bruce Simukonda, 23, Muloiso Mkandawire, 23, Albert Mwansa, 23, Elias Mwale 21, Sydney Mupeta 26, Arthur Sinkonde, 28 and Pintu Boniface 31.

In the second count, the 14 are jointly charged with unlawful drilling contrary to the Laws of Zambia.

When the matter came up for plea before Chingola Magistrate Martin Namushi, the 14 pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Magistrate Namushi then adjourned the matter to July 30, 2019 for commencement of trial.

The 14 have each been granted K15,000 bail in their own recognizance  with two working sureties while the Chinese national has been ordered to surrender his passport and other travel documents.

The post Chinese Man, 13 Zambians Deny Unlawful Drilling Charges appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo has disclosed that 56 people have so far been arrested for smuggling of maize and mealie meal into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Kampyongo said the joint team of operations involving the Zambia Police and Zambia National Service has been on high alert to curb smuggling.

He said unscrupulous people have been smuggling maize and mealie meal to the DRC.

Kampyongo has also revealed that 36 people of the 56 appeared before the Courts of law in which 30 convictions have been secured while the other six cases are pending.

He said the other 20 cases are still under investigation by the Zambia Police, further expressing hope that those found wanting will go through the same process.

“The joint operation of the Zambia Police and Zambia National Service has been very effective and has helped reduce cases of smuggling on the Copperbelt,” Kampyongo stated.

He said the arrests made were an indication of government’s commitment to ending the smuggling.

Kampyongo is hopeful that arrests will send a strong warning to would be offenders.

The post 56 Arrested for Smuggling Maize and Mealie Meal appeared first on Zambia Reports.

President Edgar Lungu has advised newly appointed Sports Minister Emmanuel Mulenga to help revive the waning football standards in the country.

During the swearing ceremony of Mulenga at State House, Lungu said that he was disappointed that Zambia was not at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations that was won by Algeria.

“Zambia is a footballing nation and as you are aware football unites us. Every time our national team or indeed our clubs succeed at international level,” he said.

“The nation has been disappointed with the performance of our national team lately, especially their failure to reach the 2019 Finals, when countries we consider minnows qualified and some even reached as far as the quarterfinals.”

President Lungu urged the minister to convene an indaba and help push Zambia back to the top of the African game.

“Therefore, the onus is on you as new minister of youth and sport to ensure that you turn our fortunes around. This you cannot do alone. You will need to tap into the knowledge of sports legends and fans to help you perform this mammoth task,” he said.

“I can propose for you that you call for a sports or football indaba that will come up with a solution to Zambia’s declining sports reputation.”

Mulenga takes over from Moses Mawere who was relieved of his duties on Friday.

The post Pres. Lungu Speaks Out on AFCON Qualification Disappointment appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Hakainde Hichilema, the UPND president, has said he has always been ready to meet President Edgar Lungu.

In response to a story in the Daily Nation where President Lungu is quoted as having expressed intentions to meet Hichilema, the opposition leader has stated that he had no problems with meeting the Head of State without “any conditions attached”.

“We have taken note of the remarks attributed to Mr. Edgar Lungu in today’s edition of the Daily Nation. Assuming he has been correctly quoted, our simple response is that we have been ready to meet Mr. Lungu without any conditions attached. We are very consistent and mean well when we say we need genuine dialogue under the leadership of the church mother bodies and resolve a number of outstanding issues in the country,” Hichilema stated this morning.

“Our citizens are hurting and time is running out to resolve key issues in the governance of our country. The church mother bodies have done it before with a proven record of success in resolving the impasse and we believe they can do it again.”

He stated that what was required was genuine and open discussions “within the spirit of give and take and readiness to implement whatever is agreed upon”.

“So let’s get on with the business and start engaging with one another under the church leadership,” stated Hichilema.

The post HH Says Ready to Meet Lungu Without Conditions appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Zambia’s High Commissioner to Australia Frank Bwalya says he will be getting married a few months’ time.

The former Catholic priest turned politician says he has found a woman who is an Easterner with Northern blood.

The once upon a time controversial clergy-man who immersed himself into political causes renounced his religious calling upon joining mainstream politics.

He once served as Alliance for a Better Zambia (ABZ) president before joining the Patriotic Front where he was appointed spokesperson.

“Hear it from me that steps for another phase in my life as a married man have been taken. In a few months’ time, God willing, it shall come to pass,” Bwalya said.

The post Ex-Catholic Priest Turned Politician to Tie the Knot appeared first on Zambia Reports.

President Edgar Lungu has told ministers moved to other ministries in last week’s Cabinet reshuffle against rendering as useless what their predecessors had put in place.

President Lungu explained today that good and bad policies presided over by other Cabinet ministers must be taken as collective responsibility, which means they were not individual decisions.

Speaking during the swearing in of new Sports Minister Emmanuel Mulenga at State House today, the Head of State said the trend of discarding what others had done was not a good way of running the affairs of the nations because not everything left by others cannot be carried on.

Mulenga has taken over from Chipata Central Member of Parliament Moses Mawere, who was dropped last week.

President Lungu emphasized that whatever decision were made by cabinet ministers in various ministries were a collective responsibility under his Patriotic Front administration.

Meanwhile, President Lungu has urged Mulenga to ensure that the 2015 National Youth Policy and it’s action plan begin to yield positive results for the benefit of young people in Zambia.

The Head of State is hopeful that Mulenga will consult with his predecessor, Mr Mawere, and have a proper understanding of the managing the affairs of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

He also advised the Ndola Central member of parliament to endeavour to have close working ties with the ministries of General Education and Higher Education so that young people unable to access tertiary education were enrolled into trade schools.

The post Don’t Discard What Your Friends Started, Lungu Urges Transferred Ministers appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Chief government spokesperson and information minister Dora Siliya has described as highly erroneous and misleading a comment by journalist Kwangu Liwewe on an eNCA report that each Zambian minister owns 40 houses through corruption.

In a statement, Ms. Siliya stated that much as the government recognized the big challenge corruption posed in the country, sensationalism and failure to cross-check facts with relevant authorities would remain a liability in the fight against the vice.

“Government finds highly erroneous and misleading a story attributed to South African’s eNCA news channel in which the station in an interview with a Zambian journalist from Lusaka alleges that each Zambian Cabinet Minister owns 40 houses through corruption.

Government is unaware of a report from any of its investigative wings to this effect…If a Zambian journalist, a Ms. Kwangu Liwewe, had bothered to go to the Ministry of Local Government and get facts, she would have offered a more substantiated story. I restate Government’s unwavering commitment to the fight against corruption in the delivery of development to the people,” Ms Siliya stated.

“On the yellow card campaign that occurred at the weekend in the capital Lusaka, this is normal and it is not the first time citizens are coming together to express their views on an issue as it is within their democratic right to do so. People are free to organize such demonstrations just as others are equally free not to join as what happened with the yellow card campaign at the weekend where out of a population of 4 million people in Lusaka city, barely 100 people turned up to participate.”

She stated that government was not naïve to the reality of corruption and the harm it has on society if allowed to thrive.

“This is why Government under the leadership of His Excellency President Edgar Lungu has, and continues to put in place stringent measures to fight corruption in which there are no sacred cows. The establishment of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and more recently, the Financial Intelligence Center (FIC), attest to this. This is coupled with Government’s hands-off approach to the media which is free to report on corruption and other issues of national interest. This has enhanced the visibility of the country’s governance system including the fight against corruption not only locally but also at the international stage,” Ms Siliya stated.

“Government is proud that as a result of these and other measures, for the first time in the history of the country, the anti-corruption crusade is not only visible but also bearing the desired results as can be seen in the many arrests and prosecution of suspects regardless of their status in society. I further wish to state that the fight against corruption is not only targeted at politicians but all Government and private sector players as corruption can only be fought if we stop those who induce it and benefit from. This is why Government introduced transparency in the procurement systems which stakeholders can check even in the procurement of fire engines referred to by the media in question.”

The post Siliya Refutes eNCA’s ‘Erroneous’ Corruption Report appeared first on Zambia Reports.

The Copperbelt University Senior Administrative, Professional and Technical Staff Union has said the institution was closed by Professor Nkandu Luo because she did not listen to other stakeholders.

In a statement to welcome new minister Dr Brian Mushimba, union general secretary Lukanga Kapeshi has stated that they had a lot of expectations from the new Minister, among them to do damage control caused by Prof. Luo.

“Though it won’t be an easy task considering the extent of damage, we believe the damage is not beyond redemption. We have every trust and confidence that Hon. Mushimba will excel in this new portfolio. We are cognizant of the fact that the challenges which are lying ahead are huge but together, with the student populace and stakeholder unions, if we are involved, we will overcome them. And therefore, we would like to offer counsel to our new Minister of Higher Education that he should inculcate the spirit of dialogue, tolerance, inclusiveness and also accommodate divergent views from the Student populace and the stakeholder unions,” Kapeshi stated.

“The closure of the Copperbelt University was inevitable and very unfortunate but had the outgoing Minister engaged the stakeholders in the University, things would not have been the way they are today. Anyway, that is water under the bridge and this was her unfortunate management style which we the stakeholders dreaded. We would like to assure the minister that contrary to the reports that we are used by a known opposition political party to destabilise and interfere in the management operations, we are a non-partisan stakeholder grouping motivated to promote and defend workers’ rights and conditions of service within the Copperbelt University.”

He stated that Eeach time the unions offered checks and balances, the defense mechanism from Prof Luo and CBU management was that they were being sponsored by the known opposition party.

“This also goes to the student populace. In a nutshell, concerns raised by stakeholders in the University are not addressed and this approach has led to a lot of issues being unattended to and continue to remain unresolved. As a result, this has created tensions and mistrust among stakeholders and management. We would also like to advise our new Minister not to engage management alone when resolving challenges in the University, because they will not give a true reflection of the operational challenges on the ground, in the universities and colleges. We appeal to the Minister to engage the stakeholder unions and the students too, for him to have a holistic

understanding of the challenges at CBU and also for him to make good and informed decisions for the betterment of the Higher Education sector, particularly, universities,” Kapeshi stated.

“We also appeal to our Minister to take keen interest in how, particularly, the Copperbelt University management is utilizing our scarce resources. Management at the Copperbelt University has embarked on the project of installing CCTV and building guard houses at both entrances to the main campus as a pre requisite to the reopening of the Copperbelt University. These projects are draining our little and scarce resources which could have

been used towards very needy areas in the University such as, building and renovation of lecturer theatres, buying teaching Aids, among many others. The so called security features, which of course were initiated by the outgoing Minister, Hon. Prof. Luo, are insignificant to the security environment of the University at the moment. We need to dialogue with the Student populace on their demands and reach amicable solution to the demands.”

He stated that the union condemned the riotous behavior of students as a way of airing their grievances.

“However, what is being installed and built in the University campus is just a luxury which we cannot afford at the moment. Please halt these projects Hon Minister and let them channel these much needed resources to needy areas.

We would also like to appeal to the Hon. Minister to quickly appoint University Councils which the former Minister had failed to do for a very long time. This is what is required for good corporate governance and we can guarantee the Hon. Minister that once the Councils are appointed in the public universities, his work will be made easier as these Councils will

be supervising University Managements on the day-to-day running of the Universities,” stated Kapeshi.

“We also urge the new Minister to quickly look into the recommendations of the Ad hoc Committee on the misappropriation of University funds and maladministration at the Copperbelt University. We pledge total support to his administration of the Higher Education and we shall be glad if he operated an open door policy, which has eluded this Ministry for a very long time. We will be engaging him on various issues of mutual interest for a win-win situation.

Welcome to the Ministry of Higher Education, Hon Dr. B. Mushimba (MP).”

The post CBU Closure Could Have Been Avoided Had Luo Listened, says Union appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Directors at the Kitwe City Council have complained that they are being treated like secondary school pupils by Town Clerk Mbulo Seke.

Some directors have said in separate interviews that Seke has been running the Council like a secondary school.

However, others have said Seke has been taken to Kitwe City Council to ensure sanity in the management of the local authority.

“What is sad is that it does not matter who you are…the other day I was embarrassed with the way I was being talked to in the presence of my junior officer,” one of the Directors said.

Meanwhile, it is believed that some Councillors are having a tough time as the new Town Clerk seems to have sealed all loopholes that were being used to allocate land illegally.

The Councillors are said to be upset as they can no longer sell pieces of land as the case had been in the past.

“Ask around, none of these Councillors are happy with his coming, he has made it very difficult for them to engage in illegal land allocations. Well it depends, others are saying he is okay but the majority don’t want him,” said a Council employee anonymously.

Mbulo Seke exchanged with Bornwell Luangwa who is said to have been tolerant and is currently in solwezi.

The post Kitwe Council Directors Accuse Town Clerk of Treating Them Like Pupils appeared first on Zambia Reports.

The judiciary has granted Kitwe City Council authority to establish a fast track court.

Council Assistant Public Relations Manager Lidah Kamanga said the Judiciary has authorised the establishment of a fast track court in response to the request made by the local authority.

She said the Chief Justice has granted the request as provided for under Section 10 of the Subordinate Court Act.

“The establishment of a fast track court in Kitwe is long overdue; it will greatly assist the local authority process offences under the Local Government Act and other written laws implemented by the local authority with speed and convenience,” Kamanga said.

She said the establishment will significantly contribute to improved public order in the city.

The post Judiciary Permits Kitwe Council to Start Fast Track Court appeared first on Zambia Reports.

A 78-year-old man of Kasama has been sentenced to 30 years imprisonment with hard labour for allegedly defiling a nine-year-old girl.

Sitting in Kasama, Ndola High Court Judge Emeria Sunkutu handed down the sentence after the suspect pleaded guilty to the offence.

This is in a matter in which Basel Kabwe, 78, of Chiba village in Kasama is alleged to have defiled a nine-year-old girl contrary to the Laws of Zambia.

It is alleged that on December 13, 2013, Kabwe allegedly had carnal knowledge of a nine-year-old girl at a named graveyard.

Upon admission of guilt, judge Sunkutu convicted the suspect accordingly and further expressed shock about his behaviour.

Justice Sunkutu said it was expected of the suspect to protect the child from such vices and later handed down a 30-year jail term with hard labour for the 78-year-old man.

The post 78-yr-old Kasama Man Jailed 30 Years for Defiling Girl, 9 appeared first on Zambia Reports.

When campaigning for the Patriotic Front candidate in Katuba over the weekend, President Edgar Lungu told the voters there that the opposition UPND and its president Hakainde Hichilema cannot even build toilets for them there because that is the responsibility of the government.

In response, Hichilema hastily did a write up to counter what the Head of State had said in Katuba when he was campaigning for the PF candidate in the July 30 parliamentary by-election.

In the usual fashion, Mr Hichilema said: “We have taken note of the remarks attributed to Mr. Edgar Lungu, as quoted in the ‘News Diggers while campaigning in Katuba constituency parliamentary by-election. To say we should have been building toilets for the residents of Katuba and other places where we have our MPs is not only unfortunate but also immature and belittling, not only to the people of that constituency but to all Zambian citizens. For us in the UPND, politics is a noble and sacred service, which we respectfully hold, and we think this is not the kind of discourse our citizens should be subjected to from all of us in political leadership in our country.”

What Hichilema should have asked himself first is whether or not what President Lungu said was a lie. Is it not true that the provision of basic requirements in communities is the responsibility of the government? Isn’t it true that the UPND or Hichilema himself cannot provide these basic commodities as long as there is a functioning government in place? So what, then, was the issue with what the President said when it was a statement of fact?

The Patriotic Front has been in power for almost eight years, and in this period, the government under this party has been implementing a variety of projects across the country regardless of the people’s political affiliation. A good example is the Bottom Road in Southern Province, which had for many years been neglected. The area is largely opposition but the government under the Patriotic Front did not look at that aspect. It went on to allocate funds for the rehabilitation of this road much to the delight of the residents there.

Let’s get to the Kafue-Mazabuka road. We all know how bad this road had become and the danger it posed to the traveling public. The problem that this road brought to the traveling public affected the people in many ways – it became very difficult to conduct business because of the poor state of the road. The story today is totally different because the government mobilized resources to have it rehabilitated as a matter of urgency. Did they leave it to the UPND or Hichilema to undertake such a task?

So the attacks unleashed by Mr Hichilema following President Lungu’s statement in Katuba are somewhat lopsided and fail to look at things in the manner they should be.  The provision of basic facilities is the responsibility of the government and that is exactly what the Head of State’s message was conveying to the people of Katuba.

The post OPINION: You Got it All Wrong Mr HH appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Some illegal copper dealers this morning fought running battles with police after Mopani Copper Mines closed a sinkhole near the South Ore Body Shaft for safety reasons.

The group of youths blocked roads and  burnt tyres in Kitwe’s Wusakile Township.

Motor vehicles belonging to Mopani Copper Mines were stoned by the angry groups of illegal Copper dealers.

Mopani Copper Mines Public Relations Manager Nebert Mulenga has confirmed the closure of the sinkhole where the suspected illegal copper dealers were scavenging minerals after exhausting their 10 per cent at the black mountain.

“Mopani Copper Mines Plc confirms that the sinkhole near the South Ore Body (SOB) in Kitwe has been secured as a safety precaution in line with mine safety regulations. The sinkhole is a caving area within Mopani Copper Mines Plc’s mining rights area and our securing it is also meant to curtail all illegal mining activities,” Mulenga has stated.

He said Mopani Copper Mines Plc is working closely with the Mines Safety Department (MSD), Zambia Police Service and other relevant authorities during the operation.

The post Jerabos Riot Over Sinkhole Closure by Mopani appeared first on Zambia Reports.

The South African High Court has today, Tuesday, granted Vedanta Resources an urgent interdict halting the liquidation of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) which it owned via 79 per cent shareholding until a final determination through arbitration.

Vedanta Resources, which had previously been sponsoring stories about how unprofitable it was to run KCM, has surprisingly now launched a legal battle for a mine that made it suffer ‘losses’.

Through this push to have KCM back, Vedanta has contracted international organizations such as Euromix, a South African institution, to be the mine’s economic research attack dog in the issue of the KCM liquidation.

And with the South African court’s ruling, Vedanta feels it has won the legal battle over KCM when behind the scenes, the investor is clearly not interested in having the assets of the mine as it has already made the profits it needed out of it. This was confirmed by the boastful comments made by its chairman, Anil Argawal, who bragged that $500 million was being made out of the country’s biggest mine every year.

This was the starting point of the anger the Zambian government felt towards the investors of KCM, who later neglected the mine and forgot about the agreement made to keep it afloat. The government has justly made efforts to claim the ownership of the mine following this breach.

But KCM has employed Euromix and others to paint a bad picture over the liquidation process. Vedanta has further sponsored an economic impact study on liquidation of Vedanta’s assets  in KCM, which will be carried out by Euromix.

A recent Op-Ed titled “SA MUST PAY ATTENTION TO DAMAGE ZAMBIA HAS DONE TO ITS MINING INDUSTRY” was published by South Africa’s Business Live newspaper written by Tokollo Matsabu, the Research and Engagement Specialist at Euromix. In this article, Matsabu branded the current process by the Zambian government to find another investor in Konkola Copper Mine as odd, and “deeply damaging for investor perceptions of Zambia as a copper mining investment destination”.

“The forced liquidation process of KCM, which is backed by the government, and which was launched by ZCCM Investment Holdings — the state-owned mining company that holds a 20% stake in the mine — is odd…While the matter has largely been fought in Zambia, it is now before the high court in Johannesburg where Vedanta, which has restarted large-scale zinc mining in SA, is asking for the liquidation to be halted and for international arbitration to be started in Johannesburg. Vedanta has invested $3bn in Zambia over the past 15 years to bring the mine to account and to build a new smelter,” Matsabu wrote in the Op-Ed that was sponsored by Vedanta Resources.

From Matsabu’s advice to the South African government that they must avoid taking over assets of mines owned by foreign investors should there be a disagreement, it is clear that he is pandering to foreign interests that want to launder themselves from the wrongs committed in implementing the mining agreement that existed between Vedanta Resources and the Zambian government. Any country that values its mineral resources would have done exactly what the Zambian government has done to protect its mineral wealth from investors that care less. The story of Vedanta’s attitude towards KCM operations is in public domain as several stakeholders – mine unions, workers and communities – backed the government’s decision to terminate the agreement that existed with the investor.

But Vedanta quickly sought the urgent order in South Africa to prevent KCM from being wound up, claiming that the dispute should be subject to arbitration, which cannot happen as the government is currently looking for a new investor. This is clearly a ploy to delay the process to find an alternative investor in KCM because whether or not it gets back the KCM assets is not priority on the list of what Vedanta wants to do in Zambia.

Additionally, Vedanta recently used South African lawyer Peter Leon to write an article in Financial Times on the ongoing liquidation of KCM, but Leon failed to disclose that his law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills, is being paid by Vedanta. This is highly unethical.

The post Vedanta Out to Claim ‘Unprofitable’ KCM? appeared first on Zambia Reports.

The ruling of the South African High Court over the Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) liquidation process will not halt the process currently going in the country, the Zambian government has said.

This is because foreign court judgments are not binding in Zambia, especially in the absence of a reciprocal enforcement agreement protocol.

The South African High Court this morning granted Vedanta Resources an urgent interim interdict against Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) minority shareholder, ZCCM Investment Holdings Plc.

However, the Zambian government has said the Gauteng High Court or any court in South Africa has no power or jurisdiction over Zambian courts.

Mines minister Richard Musukwa, who addressed the media at State House in the company of justice minister Given Lubinda and Attorney General Likando Kalaluka, said state lawyers had been advised to appeal the matter.

He said the ruling by the South African court had no bearing at the moment because it was not registered in Zambia.

Musukwa further said Kalaluka would travel to South Africa to join the appeal to protect the integrity of Zambian courts.

And a legal expert explained that an attempt to enforce such judgment requires that an application to register it in Zambia is commenced in the High Court.

“It for this reason that in their statement to the Media,  Vedanta has directed that the Judgment should not be circulated in Zambia as this will be tantamount to contempt of the on-going court process in Zambia,” the legal expert said.

The Zambian Government would then be expected to challenge such registration, given that local processes are also underway.

“Zambians will remember the case of Second President, Dr. Frederick Chiluba where the London High Court passed a judgment against him but such a judgment remained academic as the Zambia courts rejected its registration and it was not enforced in Zambia or world-wide,” he said.

In short, the judgment may not have any impact on the Zambian setup.

For a foreign judgment to bind on Zambia, the countries have to sign a reciprocal agreement protocol which does not exist between South Africa and Zambia.

In May, 2019, ZCCM Investment Holdings PLC asked the Lusaka High Court to grant them an order to appoint Milingo Lungu of Messrs Lungu Simwanza and Company as provisional liquidator of Konkola Copper Mines PLC.

This was according to an application for ex parte order appointing a provisional liquidator filed in the High Court on May 21, 2019.

Vedanta Resources Ltd on July 3, 2019 obtained an ex parte order in the High Court of South Africa granting it leave to institute an urgent interim interdict application against ZCCM-IH Plc and Milingo Lungu in his capacity as Provisional liquidator of the KCM.

The post S.A Court Ruling on KCM Has No Effect, Says Govt appeared first on Zambia Reports.

UPND cadres have allegedly attacked Patriotic Front members at a camp in Chifwankula of Chunga Ward in Katuba Constituency today.

According to a statement issued to the media, Central Province PF chairman Remember Mutale Chanda warned the UPND to practice civilized politics and avoid employing violence as a tool for campaigns.

Chanda has claimed that the ruling PF has continued to resist responding to UPND’s deliberate provocation and has bemoaned the opposition party’s silence to condemn the violence.

He has since called on the Police to immediately bring the culprits to book.

“Further, we are calling on Zambia Police to immediately bring the culprits to book culprits. PF in Katuba Constituency has continued to resist responding to UPND’s deliberate provocation because the Opposition Party has nothing to lose, whether or not innocent blood is shed,” Chanda stated.

“Only last week, UPND attacked another PF Camp in Musopelo of Mungule Ward in Katuba Constituency, injuring five (05) people. There has been no single statement from the UPND top most leadership to condemn the violence because they instigate their members to commit the crimes. We therefore warn UPND not to push their luck too far. We are ready for free and fair elections. In line with the call by the Catholic Church, we are calling for unity and healing in the body politic. We therefore say NO to UNDP’s Mapatizya formula it seeks to would in Katuba Constituency and other subsequent elections.”

The post UPND Cadres Again Attack PF Camp in Katuba appeared first on Zambia Reports.