Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo says Zambia will consult widely on protocols and treaties that have a capacity to undermine the country’s security and sovereignty.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Ministerial Session for the 3rd Specialised  Technical Committie Meeting on Migration, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons that is considering the Protocol on the Free movement of people in Africa, the Minister said Zambia stands by the SADC position that threats to security and sovereignty of any country should be considered when signing such protocals.

He said issues related to migration affect Zambia directly as it was landlocked and mechanisms, especially those on security, have to be guaranteed before such a protocol could be signed.

Kampyongo also said the meeting was important as it would deliberate on issues relating to refugees and internally displaced people who, in many instances, are not included in many countries’ development agendas.

The Minister further said Zambia had come up with mechanisms that included integration of refugees and the country had been recognised for the role played in sheltering refugees who escaped wars.

Meanwhile, Zambia has been elected as deputy Chair for the Bureau of the Specialised Technical Committee on Migration, Refugees and Internally Displaced people for a period of two years.

This is contained in a press statement issued by Inutu Mupango Mwanza, the First Secretary Press and Public Relations at the Zambian mission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya has launched a polio vaccination exercise in Chiengi district with a target of reaching over 8,000 children who are five years and below.

Dr. Chilufya kicked off the exercise in Pilias village on the banks of Lake Mweru where a polio case was recorded recently.

The minister said 954,000 dosses have been received for the exercise targeting four districts in the province in the first phase.

Dr. Chilufya thanked the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) for their quick intervention and support to government.

He said President Edgar Lungu wants all children vaccinated and has appealed to traditional leadership, schools and the church to help in the sensitization of parents.

The minister said Zambia last recorded Polio in 1995 and the disease was curbed through effective measures by government.

And WHO country representative Nathan Bakyaita said the UN agency wants to ensure that the polio outbreak is curbed within the shortest time possible.

And Chief Puta of the Bwile people thanked government for the quick response to the polio outbreak and promised to help with sensitization.

Chief Puta, through his representative sub chief Twaileta, advised parents in the chiefdom to take their children for vaccinated.

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Mayor of Lusaka Miles Sampa has launched the Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) challenge to plant a million trees in Lusaka to replace trees cut for road expansion.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Mr Sampa said the initiative was meant to mitigate the impact of climate change.

“Today, I launch this Big Hairy  Audacious Goal (BHAG) to plant 1 Million Trees in Lusaka City to replace trees cut for road expansions and aswell as mitigate Climate change effects. I start today and just planted 10 Acacia trees on the middle highland of Lumbumba road. Acacia is ideal because it has a tap root (head downwards) and hence will not crack the road some day. It is semi drought resistant and needs minimal water to grow. For those who cross the road away from pedestrian zebra markings, Acacia tree will grow thorny branches to deter them,” Mr Sampa stated.
“I trust that we can hit the 100 target challenge before end of this year. My challenge to All residents, corporates, institutions and organisations to plant 100 trees in the Greater City of Lusaka at their own time and convenience. I have chosen Acacia for my 100 but you are at liberty to pick any dry deciduous tree variate of your choice. Together, WE should and WE will hit the 1 Million milestone some point sooner.”

He stated that after a quick inspection and audit, he would be giving a personalised trophy from his office to all those that would alert him when they hit the 100 trees mark.

“So let’s do this. Let’s go.
Pyee…,” stated Sampa.

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Police in Chongwe have arrested the driver of the Canter registration number ABK 977 used to ferry carcass of seven stolen livestock in Lobolola and Kolomwe  villages in Manyika ward.

The suspect is reported to have surrendered himself to Chelstone Police Station alleging that the vehicle had been stolen by unknown people.

He is currently in police custody at Chongwe police station.

Details are that Police officers intercepted a truck ferrying carcass of seven animals belonging to different owners that were stolen and slaughtered by thieves at around 01:00 hrs on November 5, 2019.

Residents, of Chongwe especially in Manyika and Lwimba wards, claim that they have lost over 100 animals in the last two years.

The post Chongwe Police Arrest Driver For Ferrying Stolen Carcass appeared first on Zambia Reports.

The government on Wednesday made an announcement that no mining activities will take place in the Lower Zambezi National Park.

This decision was announced when Minister of Information and chief government Spokesperson Dora Siliya, tourism minister Ronald Chitotela and mines minister Richard Musukwa held a joint press briefing where they indicated that there will be no mining activities that will take place in the Lower Zambezi, one of the most popular tourist destinations.

During the joint press briefing, the ministers re-emphasized President Edgar Lungu’s commitment to fight climate change and noted that there will be no mining allowed in the Lower Zambezi. The two line ministers – tourism and mines – further revealed that there has been no report by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency to allow the activity, therefore the government will not allow any mining in the Lower Zambezi.

Further, the ministers revealed that the prior decision made to allow mining in Lower Zambezi was not Cabinet decision but that of government, which former lands and natural resources minister Harry Kalaba championed.

You will all recall the vigour with which Zambians fought the decision of the Lusaka High Court that allowed mining to go ahead in Lower Zambezi. And what followed were government pronouncements that pointed to the fact that this activity was likely not to proceed. Finally, an official position has been made – no mining is to take place in the Lower Zambezi. This is a very good and heart-warming decision by government because it gives us energy to know that this government cares about our environment and took time to listen to concerns of ordinary citizens and environmental activists.

We had questioned the motive of Mr Kalaba to approve an environmental impact assessment for mining in the Lower Zambezi submitted by the developer when the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA). His argument that a minister can overturn the decision of ZEMA was baffling and quite unfortunate, especially that we were dealing with a delicate matter that got Zambians angry.

It is good that President Lungu’s government has said no to this. Thank you!

The post Govt Has Made A Commendable Decision On Lower Zambezi appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Zambia has in the recent past been experiencing load shedding which has come as a result of low water levels at the Kariba North Bank.

In most areas, people have been praying for rains which appear to have delayed to help fill up the man-made dam.

However, that is not the case for the people of Solwezi who had experienced a heavy downpour that has now left Township roads muddy.

With most roads still in gravel form, some residents in the township are now complaining with the coming in of rains.

Kelvin Nkolomba is a Civic leader serving as Independent Councillor for Chovwe Ward and is disappointed that no proper planning was put in place to improve on Township roads.

“It was raining today in Solwezi, now look at the township roads connecting the compounds from central business district; it’s already a mess. Instead of people appreciating the rains, they feel it has disturbed their movements because of mud and sitting waters,” Nkolomba said.

He has wondered when the 21km  township road project flagged off by the President in 2015 would be actualized.

“Why don’t we plan before the onset of the rains? You can’t go in Solwezi main market if you are coming from the main station for fear of being humiliated by the mud resulting from the rains. Ours is not politicking but merely bringing out  reality and facts on the ground,” said Nkolomba.

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Patriotic Front Secretary General Davies Mwila has with immediate effect dissolved the Mwinilunga District Executive Committee in North Western Province.

Mwila said the Committee has been dissolved for failure to  campaign for the party’s candidate  during the Samuteba ward by-election which the Patriotic Front lost to the UPND on October 10, 2019.

He has since advised the North Western Provincial Executive Committee to inform the structure of the action accordingly.

Mwila has further directed the party provincial authority  to appoint an interim  committee, which would include some of the officials who participated in the campaigns during the recently held by-election.

Meanwhile, North Western Province Chairman Jackson Kungo has welcomed the decision saying people are elected into positions to serve the party.

Kungo, who campaigned in Mwinilunga where the ruling party lost, has been accused of having lost focus.

Last Week, now former Provincial Information and Publicity Secretary Thom Mushinge alleged that the party lost because Kungo still had ties with UPND officials.

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The Zambia National Farmers Union says the ongoing electricity rationing has collapsed early maize production plans.

In a bid to boost maize production, the government engaged farmers with irrigation capacity to grow early maize before the new rain-fed harvest.

Zambia National Farmers’ Union president Jervis Zimba has observed that all efforts have now been mutilated because notwithstanding the assurances made that power supply would be available to ensure productive sectors such as agriculture continue to operate,
the situation in the farming areas has worsened as farmers have now been hit by the 18 to 21 hours of load shedding every day.

“Sadly, the maize which was planted earlier is now wilting while what was
recently planted is stressed at germination phase. It is disheartening that there are residential areas that are NOT load shed at all and we can attest to this. This is clear evidence of misplaced priorities in determining who should be load shedded or not? It is also difficult to determine which door to knock on to get the right answers, which is frustrating,” Mr. Zimba said.

He added that to say that the energy crisis is the final nail in the coffin for the farming sector in Zambia is an understatement because the anticipated losses from the futile efforts to grow irrigated maize are astronomical hence false hopes that power would be made available for maize production should have never been created in the first place.

“It is also important to realize that the frustrations which early maize farmers are facing is only but a tip of the problems which farmers are going through because sugar out grower schemes are faced with withering cane plants, tree crop investments such as coffee, avocado, macadamia and citrus fruits which take years of sunk costs are withering, time for curing of tobacco is here and costs are escalating because of diesel generated power for curing, not to mention the cost of running must have cold chain facilities required for fisheries, livestock products and fruits/vegetables which are highly perishable products. In our view, justification for powering the agricultural sector is so compelling in comparison to other sectors,” Mr Zimba said.

He demand that the Union needs to know by how many hours the mining, hotels and other sectors are subjected to load shedding in comparison to primary agriculture for transparency and equity.

“Truth be said, someone within the Energy Sector (be it at the Ministry of Energy or at the power utility) should be made accountable for failure to take timely measures to counter the energy crisis which has crippled the country,” Mr Zimba said.

He believes that not only will farmers incur massive losses for getting involved in growing maize under irrigation, but other industries as well who are badly affected by load shedding.

“For this, posterity will judge all harshly should the country have to engage in importation of maize at prices we dare not predict at this juncture simply because of failure to get our priorities right. In our view, what is happening is the highest order of negligence as the country has plenty pool of skilled manpower which could be properly utilised in planning to avert such crisis,” Mr Zimba said.

The Farmers Union has urged farmers to exercise great caution before engaging in new ventures as the risks in farming evolve continuously.

“Can you imagine that the private sector rewards some people who do nothing but frustrate Government efforts by paying them salaries through hard earned taxpayers’ income? Our
verdict is that heads should roll over what is happening in the energy sector because the crisis keeps raging; farmers can only turn to Government for expectations,” said Mr. Zimba.

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A fourth year University of Zambia student studying a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy has developed a prototype of a body spray which can be used as well as prevent attacks on asthmatic and hypertensive patients.

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Zambia has been robbed of a patriot and dedicated employee, says Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo during the memorial service for Zambian diplomat Linda Siamanjime who died on November 3, 2019  in Addis  Ababa.

Mr Kampyongo has said Siamanjime saved SADC diligently before taking up her new post at the African Union as  a Political Analyst,  a position she held until her death.

He has said that it was government’s desire to have its citizens work  and prosper in multilateral organizations.

And African Union Deputy Chairperson Thomas Quartey Kwesi said the African Union has been robbed of a dedicated and diligent worker.

He said Siamanjime’s death had come at the time when the mediation unit she worked for was laying a foundation for peace efforts in Africa.

Meanwhile, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui said Siamanjime’s credentials were unmatched as see was selected to take up the position of Political Analyst and Expert  for the Mediation Unit after a competitive selection process.

And her spouse, Ramokate, who spoke through his sister, thanked the African Union and the Embassy of the Republic of Zambia for their assistance during this period.

Others that spoke at the memorial service were the Association of Zambians in Ethiopia, the African Union Staff Association and the Embassy of Botswana in Ethiopia.

Siamanjime’s body is expected to be repatriated to Botswana where burial will take place.

This is contained in a press statement issued by First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Zambian mission in Addis Ababa, Inutu Mwanza.

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President Edgar Lungu has told Zambian journalists to stop being used as perpetrators of hatred between him and his political opponents.

And President Lungu has advised newspapers to embrace innovation as the publishing sector has been overtaken by the advent of online media.

Speaking at State House today during an interaction  with journalists, President Lungu said journalists must not forget their ethics when reporting.

“I welcome you to State House, and I am delighted that we finally met with all of you.

I have been looking for this opportunity to simply meet you and to say thank you for the great work that you put in, day in day out, to contribute to the development of our great country…The media can build or destroy a nation, therefore, let me urge you not to be swayed by the political shenanigans of the outside world as you do your professional work,” President Lungu said.

“I am proud that since the Patriotic Front government assumed office, there have been great developments in the media, including the digitising of the airwaves. Conversely, we have seen the expansion of the media industry with the private sector taking the lead in the formation of radio and television companies. We have also seen the recruitment of young Zambians to take up positions in these new broadcasting companies.”

He said the print media has, however, faced numerous challenges.

“I know and understand that the same has not been the case in the print industry and the answer is simple; the world has moved onto online publications at a speed unimaginable since the advent of new media. I, therefore, urge those of you who are still printing not to feel depressed, but to innovate so that you survive the harsh reality brought about by online publishing. Let me dare say that there are still thousands of readers who would still prefer hard copies to online publishing.

He said while he applauded the great strides being made in the media industry, he would be “remiss if I did not point out my own observations regarding your products”.

“I have observed glaring disregard for journalism ethos coupled with sustained political bias. Much as I understand that I am the current tenant of state house, and I am susceptible to criticism, I am appalled at the amount of effort put in by you the media in seeing conflict between my political rivals and I. Criticism is healthy in a democracy but surely those few politicians that are quoted on a daily basis are not the only zambians who have voices. There are million voices out there with fair opinions who deserve to be heard,” President Lungu said.

“I, therefore, urge you not to be crusaders of conflict between political players but to provide a forum for public discourse and compromise…You need to create a chasm between journalism and social media craze. This, no one can do apart from yourselves.
Social media is for all; while journalism is for trained communicaters. But if you allow all and sundry to masquerade as journalists, your profession will perish.:

He said the coming of social media has meant individual citizens, themselves, passing content that they have no direct role in producing, and without verification.

“With social media, we have seen that the truth is less important and the more exaggerated or inaccurate the communication is, the more it seems to attract readership. This is the tragedy that we face today. The puzzle is whether our citizens are susceptible to believing what has come to be known as fake news. As Walter Lippmann put it in 1920, ‘there can be no liberty for a community which lacks the information by which to detect lies’,” President Lungu said.

“The question still stands; do our people believe everything they read on social media? If the answer is yes; then we need to find a way of educating them about how to detect lies in the information they come across; if no; then we need to use the same platform to reply to the purveyors of fake news and call their bluff.”

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President Edgar Lungu has said the government will soon start imports of power from South  Africa’s Eskom to mitigate electricity shortages as $14 million has so far been paid to that country’s utility.

And President Lungu says it is sad that some people made a joke out of his statement about devastating effects of climate change on Zambia.

He told journalists at State House during a press conference today that many countries in the world, including Zambia, are facing a myriad of challenges today due to the impact of climate change.

“It is unfortunate that the power deficit in the country has impacted heavily on household level. It is regretable that small-scale businessmen, whose businesses depend on electricity, have had to endure long hours without electricity to power their businesses. I feel for that barber who works hard to feed his family in mandevu, Lusaka; I feel for that young beautician in masala, ndola, whose salon business is critically affected because of loadshedding; what about that welder in chiwempala, chingola who has had to work in the night because that is when power returns,” President Lungu said.

“The lasting solution to the power deficit is more investment in renewable energy such as solar. To this effect, I expect zesco limited to finish the solar project by mid-next year. This 120 mega watt solar pv under the getfit programme has six 20 mega watt projects and they will reach commercial operation date in the third quarter of 2020. In the short term, however, my government has made a decision to import power from eskom of south africa. The initial requirement is to pay 44 million united states dollars of which 10 million united states dollars has already been paid. Next week, 14 million united states dollars will be paid and anytime soon therefafter, the rest of the amount will be settled.”

He said the imports were a stop-gap measure as the country waits for the coming on board of 750 mega watts of power from Kafue Gorge Lower in early march next year.

“The project is at 80 percent completion,” President Lungu said.

“Our experts, on the other hand, have predicted that the 2019/2020 rainy season will give us normal to above normal rain. This means that in 2020, we expect our hydro-power stations to revert to normal production. In addition, my government is scaling up power production from solar to mitigate the effects of climate change now and in future.”

He said interventions such as afforestation and reforestation, promotion of conservation farming and diversification of agriculture, are key in ensuring our environment is used in a sustainable way as we pursue our national developmental agenda.

“Going forward, I am directing the minister of lands and natural resources to draw up programmes to sensitise citizens on the importance of engaging in sustainable agriculture, and preservation of our forests to mitigate effects of climate change. Citizens must be encouraged to adopt tree-planting as a way of life to restore our natural forests,” President Lungu said.

“Further, the ministry is expected to draw up robust programmes aimed at combating indiscriminate cutting of trees throughout Zambia. Time to act is now, if nothing is done by ourselves now, I am afraid we are condeming future generations to even harsher climate change effects, and posterity will judge us harshly.”

He recalled his statement to parliament in September when he warned about effects of climate change.

“On 13th september, 2019 when I told parliament about the devastating effects of climate change and how it was going to impact on our lives, some people made a joke out of it. Two months later today, the country has felt the full import of climate change.
In my september speech, I said; ‘Climate change is a very serious matter that should not be taken lightly. The inability to have adequate water, generate enough
Power, grow enough food to feed our people, have all been greatly caused by the effects of climate change.’ We all seriously need to understand and begin to appreciate this in
Detail and stop pointing fingers at each other for failure to Grow our economy at the desired pace,” President Lungu said.

“My words still ring true to this very day. What we should not entertain today are lamentations of yesteryear about who did what or did not do what; rather what we should entertain today is innovation for today and the future. They say necessity is the mother of invention.”

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The Zambia Under-23 National Team begin their Egypt 2019 Africa Cup of Nations journey with a tie against regional rivals South Africa at Al Salaam Stadium in Cairo this evening (Saturday).

Zambia has been holed up in Cairo for a week and have been hard at work plotting to write another chapter in the Bola-Na-Lesa diary.

Coach Beston Chambeshi will be without the trinity of Fashion Sakala, Patson Daka and Enock Mwepu whose clubs have held on to them until the FIFA window.

But Chambeshi has enough armoury in the Bola-Na-Lesa squad to get on with the business.

While he has been shuffling his troops in training it is expected that Mangani Banda will start in goal with the twin towers of Moses Nyondo and skipper Solomon Sakala marshalling the central defence.

Completing the backline will be Prosper Chiluya and Shemmy Mayembe.

In the engine room Chambeshi could opt for the combative Field Kandela along Ngosa Sunzu or opt for the more mobile Emmanuel Banda.

Upfront the onus may lie on the inimitable Edward Chilufya and Kings Kangwa while Biston Banda and Lameck Banda could be deployed on the flanks.

Chambeshi will not be without options should he want to tinker with his set up with Harrison Chisala a possible potent option in attack while at the back he could still summon Kebson Kamanga and Benson Chali.

But South Africa will not be a pushover having also grown its team from the under-20 side under then coach Thabo Senong who has now trekked to Lesotho to drill that country’s senior team.

The Tercius Malepe skippered South Africa is equally motivated to give their fans a strong start.

Kickoff is at 20:00 hours at Al Salaam Stadium.

In the other Group B match Nigeria take on Ivory Coast in the 17:00 hours kickoff at the same match venue.

Group A opened the tournament with Egypt edging Mali 1-0 while Ghana and Cameroon settled for a 1-1 draw.

Top two teams from each group qualify to the semi-finals with the top three teams at the tournament qualifying to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

(Source: FAZ Media)

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President Edgar Lungu has assured that his government will ensure the country’s debt is kept within sustainable levels.

Briefing journalists at State House today, the Head of State said this will be achieved through implementation of austerity measures.

“Government is committed to ensuring that debt is contained within sustainable levels through implementation of austerity measures. Inflation was contained within the target range of 6-8 percent in the first five months of 2019 supported by appropriate monetary policy interventions. In the recent past, inflationary pressure increased mainly due to low agricultural output. Therefore, inflation increased to an average of 9.6 percent; thereby breaching the target range,” President Lungu said.

“The exchange rate of kwacha against major trading currencies has been relatively stable, averaging about k12.6 per united states dollars. Cost of borrowing domestically, however, has continued to be high.”

He said his government had implemented a number of policy measures this year to maintain debt within sustainable levels, protect the vulnerable, and reduce the cost of running government.

“These include: 1. Public financial management: my government operationalised the public finance management act of 2018. This is providing an institutional and regulatory framework for financial management, strengthening accountability, oversight and control of public funds for effective service delivery. 2. Revenue enhancing measures: the roll out of the treasury single account was completed and digitising of government processes continued in 2019. This will improve revenue collection and enhance service delivery,” President Lungu said.

“3. Expenditure management: expenditure reducing measures have continued to be implemented. These include; limiting financing to projects that are at least 80 percent complete; implementation of cost cutting measures relating to travel of senior officials; protecting the vulnerable through ringfencing the resources to social sectors; and the cleaning up of the public service wage bill.
4. Energy reforms: progress has been made on sector wide energy reforms, including electricity and petroleum. Government’s intention is to enable 100 percent private sector importation of fuel and get tariffs for electricity to cost reflective levels.”

On pension reforms, he said the government was in the process of restructuring the pensions system.

“5. Pension reforms: government is cognisant that the pension systems in the current form are not sustainable, contributing to accumulating of arrears and affecting the livelihood of pensioners. Efforts are underway to restructure the social protection system in order to expand the scope of benefits under the national scheme and ensure sustainability of the pension system. Cabinet will soon be reviewing proposed reforms for approval.
6. Debt management: the medium-term debt strategy has been developed to inform the path for debt sustainability,” President Lungu said.

And President Lungu said the government is convinced that Zambia is able to generate adequate resources internally to meet the country’s ambitious development agenda.

“However, it is regrettable to note that this has been compromised by low tax compliance level and leakages resulting from collusion between taxpayers and some of our officers. This compromises tax revenue collection and those found engaging in such illegal activities will be dealt with severely,” President Lungu said.

On taxes, the head of state said it is clear from numerous concerns raised that government needed to reverse the intention to replace value added tax (VAT) with sales tax.

“In view of this development, I expect the minister of finance through the commissioner-general of the zambia revenue authority to ensure all compliance and administrative challenges surrounding vat are dealt with without fail.

Further, I expect the Zambia Revenue Authority to strengthen tax compliance and ensure integrity and professionalism among its staff.

“In the same vein, let me implore the Minister of Finance to ensure skewed business activities in clearing and freight forwarding towards a few customs clearing agents is addressed. This anomaly where over 80 percent of the customs clearance is done by a few clearing companies while over 800 small clearing companies are fighting for a paltry 20 percent should be corrected,” President Lungu said.

On construction, he said since the enactment of the national construction council Act of 2003, great strides had been made in ensuring that local contractors are empowered through the full implementation of the 20 percent subcontract policy.

“It has been observed that there is no problem with contracts signed between government and foreign contractors yet there is a problem with contracts signed between foreign contractors and subcontractors in respect to rates applied, which are much lower for subcontractors. More importantly, scope of works for local contractors are only on drainages and road markings. This has resulted in very limited skills transfer. Added to this, construction materials are procured at very high cost from the same foreign contractors,” President Lungu said.

“The road development agency is, therefore, directed to carry out a review of all contracts signed between foreign contractors and local contractors and ensure strict compliance to this policy intended to create capacity building and empower local contractors. I expect a detailed report within 14 days.”

On jobs, he said the government is convinced that meaningful jobs can only be created through industrialisation.

“Under the national industrial policy, government aims to promote an export-oriented industrialisation. So far, progress has been recorded in the export of products such as cement, honey and detergents in line with the national local content strategy. In addition, locally owned small enterprises in fields such as carpentry and foundry are being supported through the establishment of industrial yards in solwezi, ndola, kasama, mongu and chipata districts which are expected to be completed this year, while those in kitwe, lusaka and mansa, will be completed in 2020,” President Lungu said.

“Once completed, these yards will result in increased access to processing facilities and the creation of more than 4,000 direct jobs.
I therefore, direct the minister of commerce, trade and industry to ensure the completion dates for the industrial yards are not missed for our people to have access to these facilities.”

The post Lungu Commits To Keeping Debt Within Sustainable Levels appeared first on Zambia Reports.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been freed after more than 18 months in prison.

The left-wing former leader, known as Lula, was greeted with rapturous applause from crowds of supporters as he walked out of the jail on Friday.

He was held in a prison in the city of Curitiba on corruption charges.

A judge ordered his release after a Supreme Court ruling that defendants should only be imprisoned if they have exhausted their appeal options.

Lula is one of several thousand convicts who could benefit from the ruling.

The 74-year-old ex-president, who led Brazil between 2003 and 2010, is seen as a leftist icon in the country. As he left the prison, he pumped his fist in the air as a victory sign.

“I didn’t think that today I could be here talking to men and women that during 580 days shouted good morning, good afternoon or goodnight, no matter if it was raining or 40 degrees [Celsius],” he told the crowds.

He also promised to prove his innocence, before hitting out at the “rotten side of the judicial system”, which he accused of “working to criminalise the left”.

Lula was favourite to win last year’s presidential election but was imprisoned after being implicated in a major corruption scandal. The race was won instead by far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro.

Criticising Mr Bolsonaro’s economic policies, Lula vowed to keep fighting for impoverished Brazilians.

“People are hungrier, they have no jobs, people work for Uber or delivering pizzas on a bike,” he added, specifically criticising insecure work and the gig economy.

Lula will be barred from standing for office because of his criminal record.

He has consistently denied all the accusations against him and claims they are politically motivated.

(Source: BBC)

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An illegal gold miner has died after being shot by Police in Mwinilunga District of North Western Province.

This follows a riotous behaviour by some Community Members who wanted to force their way into Kasenseli Gold Mine.

North Western Province Commissioner of Police Hudson Namachila who confirmed the incident said five police have been left with injuries after being stoned by the unruly community members.

Namachila said police shot one person only identified as B. Makumba who was allegedly armed and believed to be from Kitwe.

He said the person died on the way to Solwezi General Hospital where he had been referred to after he suffered a bullet wound.

“First hand information in a riotous behaviour. Police officers based at Kasenseli gold mine ran battles with villagers and in the process, 5 police officers namely Deputy Inspector Nzala, Sargent Katooka, Mbewe, Constable Msimuko and Mwanza got injured and one unknown villager was shot at and he has sustained a bullet wound on the right leg. The injured villager was rushed to Mwinilunga hospital for treatment,” he stated.

Namachila stated that the incident happened yesterday  between 11:30 hours and 13:
00 hours as the villagers were trying to force their way into the mine to do some elligal mining.

“The situation is now calm, reinforcement officers from Kamfinsa will be arriving on site in the night,” he added.

Namachila has since urged locals to stay in doors and calm to allow police face any unruly lawbreaker who will dare the police.

“We are calling on every law abiding citizen who sees any armed person to report such to the police for decisive action until Kasenseli village, gold site and all surrounding areas are secured,” Namachila added.

He has, however, regretted the death of the person who was armed, adding that police do not want to lose any more life and appealed to the community to help with any information leading to the recovery of the firearm.

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A 76-year-old woman of Manyinga District in North Western Province has allegedly committed suicide for reasons yet to be established.

Nursy Sangambo is reported to have gone missing on 30th October, 2019.

However, her body which was in a decomposed state was found in the Bush just near home by her grand children who had gone to fetch firewood.

Manyinga District Commissioner Musangu Chinyama has confirmed the incident, stating that the body was found with a rope tied on her neck while the other piece was on the tree suspected to have been used.

Chinyama said the body was found in the nearby bush opposite Loloma airstrip along Samafunda -Chiteve road.

Relatives to the deceased managed to identify her through the clothes she wore.

He said the circumstances in which the body was found made it appear she has committed suicide by hanging herself to a tree.

Chinyama later stated that family members confirmed to him that the deceased had been suffering from mental illness.

The deceased  has since been buried.

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A 20-year-old woman has told the Ndola Magistrates’ Court that she abandoned her nine months old baby at a stranger’s home due to economic hardships.

In this case was Hope Nyirenda, 20, who appeared in the Ndola Magistrate’s Court and pleaded not guilty to child dissertation.

It is alleged that on October 24, 2019, Nyirenda, being a parent and having a child under the age of 16, deserted the baby in Twapia Township.

When the matter came up for trial, Grace Zimba narrated how Nyirenda abandoned the child after she asked to use the toilet at around 19:00 hours.

She said after a few minutes, she saw that the toilet door was open and went to check.

Zimba said when she checked, she found Nyirenda had disappeared.

She said a check around the neighbourhood did not yield anything which prompted her and some neighbours to report the matter to the police.

Zimba said on the way to the police, a man identified himself as the father of the child.

“We reported the matter to the police and officers asked us to look after the child until its mother was found,” she told court.

She testified that after the matter was reported to the police, the purported father offered to look for the baby’s mother at Old Twapia bars.

Zimba said Nyirenda was found inside a drinking place called Dangote Club later at night, and was apprehended.

And during cross examination, Nyirenda, who did not have legal representation, said she left the child at Zimba’s home so that she could help in informing her in-laws who stayed nearby that she had failed to take care of the child because of economic hardships.

“I did not have food or money to look after the baby and that is why I took the child there so that they could tell my in laws to look after my baby,” said Nyirenda.

The matter comes up for facts and ruling on Monday.

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Tourism and Arts Minister Ronald Chitotela says the National Museums Board should pull up its socks or face the boot.

Chitotela has wondered why the country has museums with a board yet nothing is seen from the museums.

He said in Luanshya that if nothing is done, he will use his authority to dissolve the board.

“That is a good question, but we have engaged the museums board. They know what I said. They need to pull up their socks, of face the boot. We can’t have museums, yet nothing is seen. We have the Copperbelt Museum in Ndola, what is know about that? Yet we have a board? We have told them to pull up their socks,” Chitotela warned.

“We are not giving them any ultimatum, they know, but they should just pull up their socks. I have the authority and if nothing is done, I can dissolve the board.”

He said the Copperbelt Province has a lot of potential to attract tourists.

“We can’t just focus on known areas. Copperbelt has a lot of potential and we need to utilise it so well. So we have identified all the sites on the province, and very soon, I will visit all to check what they have to offer to grow the sector.”

He said there is also need to promote mining tourism.

Chitotela said the zoo which was in Kitwe at the Freedom Park will be reestablished.

“We need to grow the mining tourism. I pray to God that if we have enough resources, we will promote local tourism. We need to transport some animals from the national parks to the zoo to be established in Kitwe,” said Chitotela.

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Luanshya Copper Mines Chief Executive Officer Wang Jingiun says the growing farming community in the district has posed a serious challenge on government to provide farming inputs.

Meanwhile, CNMC-LCM has donated farming inputs to the farmers in Luanshya for the 2019/2020 farming season.

Jingiun said this when he donated bags of seeds and fertilizer to Luanshya Mayor Nathan Chanda and Luanshya Central Member of Parliament Steven Chungu.

“The growing community in Luanshya has posed a challenge on the government to supply farming inputs. I am pleased to announce that this year, we have decided to donate fertilizer and seed to the vulnerable but viable farmers at the cost of K110,000 inputs this year. We have doubled the quantity of both seed and fertilizer,” Wang said.

He said LCM was going through challenges but has decided to help the vulnerable farmers.

“Despite the past challenges our company has continued to face due to the pressure on the global economic downturn, we have nevertheless continued to support our small scale farmers. This demonstrates the importance we attach to the social and economic well being of the people of Luanshya,” said Wang.

Luanshya Mayor Nathan Chanda said the gesture to support farmers comes at a time when the country is trying to diversify from mining to agriculture.

“These donations are made despite the company facing some financial operational challenges. But we will create an environment for you to operate freely. The local authority will ensure that you operate well. We want to assure you that these inputs will be put to good use. These inputs will go to the intended beneficiaries. We want to commend the President Dr Edgar Lungu for the first time, that the inputs for the farmers have been received on time in the entire Copperbelt province,” said Chanda.

“Once we support the agriculture sector, then we are assured of food security. Please don’t sell these inputs that you are given. Let us make Luanshya the food basket of the Copperbelt.”

Later, Chungu expressed concern that only the same farmers were benefiting from the support.

He said the fertilizer and seeds will be taken to the churches who will identify the vulnerable.

“Since 2009, LCM has been giving out seed and fertilizer. But it is the same farmers who are benefiting. Are they growing or what? So we will take the fertilizer and seeds to the Church who will identify the vulnerable farmers,” Chungu said.

However, the truck carrying the fertilizer and seeds was offloaded at the Luanhsya Municipal Council, a sign that the inputs will not be take to the Churches as directed by Chungu.

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