DAILY NATION Friday April 2, 2020

NATI TION OIL FIRM IVERMECTIN TRIALS TO START AFTER ETHICAL APPROVAL

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Saturday March 10, 2018

Vol. 4. Issue 1917

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RAIDED BISH UPND’S

By KETRA KALUNGA

S

IDE effects that Ivermectin, the veterinary anti-parasitic drug might have in humans for the treatment of Covid-19, are the

cause of the clinical trials being undertaken to ascertain the efficacy of the vaccine in humans, the Zambia Medicines Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) has said.

And the Ministry of Health

EQUITY WITH INTEGRITY

says clinical trials for the Ivermectin vaccine would commence after being ethically approved to protect C3765-30-31 both the researchers and applicants.

ZAMRA senior public relations officer Christabel Iliiamu-

pu said findings of the clinical trials would determine the efficacy of Ivermectin in humans as it would guide whether the benefits the Issue vaccine2677 to the Zambi- Advertise: dailynationadverts Vol.of6.

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To Page 4

PURSUING JUSTICE AND EQU

DAILY

ILITARISE ANGRY FARM MWEETWA C PRESSURE G OLD REJECTED MPU

0

Vol. 7. Issue 2898 | Price K10 5,| 2020 Friday April 2, 2021 Monday October

|

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Mr Mweetwa

“I know about that clique of headmen who have been hired by my political opponents to discredit me but I can assure them that they will not manage to change the demands of the people of Choma.”

PURSUING JUSTICE AND EQ

...in another mukula UPND scam murder

By AARON CHIYANZO

Vol. 6. Issue 2734

suspect committed to High Court

Former Archbishop TELESPHORE MPUNDU

THERE is need for a serious marshall plan to exploit Gold reserves because Zambia is losing millions to illegal mining and exports of the mineral resource, a mining expert Edward Simukonda has said.

Mr Simukonda said disciplined Zambia National Service (ZNS) officers and thousands of unemployed youth cadets already trained to defend national interests should be employed to replace illegal miners, most of them By SIMON MUNTEMBA funded by foreigners. To Page 3 T ismaunacceptable for forincompetence in the last traditional leaders’ mer them Archbishop Telesphore 10 years he has been in noeuvres, accusing Mpundu office. of being sponsored by histo think he holds When contacted, Chief opponents, the headmen Cooma said he could not of Chief Cooma’s chiefcomment because his dom allegedly said Choma headmen had already deserved another person spoken. who would represent the And Mr Mweetwa people in the area with said he was aware of the dedication.

To Page 3

Price K10

No one Christian however powerful or educated can stop other Christians from dedicating the country to the creator in honour of Gospel values

“If truly Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu is trying to stop dedicated Christians from dedicating the country to Christianity, then that

By CHARLES is sad and unacceptable because he does notMUSONDA hold the monopoly of wisdom,” UNITED Party for Bishop Kaela said. National Develop-

ment (UPND) Kanyama chairlady Lonica Musomela has been committed to the Lusaka High Court for trial in a case she is charged with the murder of a Patriotic Front supporter. Page 2

…no market for 42,5 NGOs 000 to I petition military resource to over Cyber Crimes law nt a ‘Marshall Plan’

By NATION REPORTER

OVER 40 headmen in Choma have rejected Member of Parliament, Cornelius Mweetwa citing

the monopoly of wisdom and try to stop Christian from dedicating Zambia to Christianity, says Bishops Council of Zambia secretary-general Bishop Able Kaela.

By KETRA KALUNGA

Story on Page 3

Mr Mweetwa

Mr Simukonda

FARMERS will lose millions o income as they are stuck with of winter maize which they ca from which they expected to g This is because the governme them export the excess harvest By GRACE CHAILE The maize was produced at g LESOETSA irrigation, electricity and chemic Government asked farmers to FIVE 135, 000Non-Governmentonnes when there was tal Organisations in the country which(NGOs) led to hiked have prices.petitioned the High Underalleging the agreement, farmers Court that the some of the maize after meeting Cyber Security and Cyber But Government has notthe sanctio Crimes Act threatens (To page 3)

‘CONSTITUTE COMMISSION Page 3. ZESCO DE ‘UPND banking Govt bans movement Kakoma’s defection Ivermectin trials to start TO PROBE CONSPIRING WITH on ghostcheers voters’ ofINQUIRY pigs inafter Isoka LuvaleOFchiefs ethicalACC’ approval.

P4 The two trucks the Scania from South Africa and the Freightliner (right), Zimbabwean PAGE 3 registered where found laden with Mukula tree logs. [Pictures Linda Tembo Soko]

Mr Kakoma

right to privacy and the freedom of the press.

See story on Page 4

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Senior Chief Mukuni

SENIOR Chief Mukuni should declare interest in matters surrounding the 1990 privatisation process as he is believed to have acquired shares in Sun International, Government deputy chief whip, Tutwa Ngulube has said (To page 3)

Friday April 2, 2021

HOME NEWS

‘BAN RAW MINERAL EXPORTS’ …mining expert advices State G

By SANFROSSA MANYINDA

OVERNMENT should ban exports of unrefined minerals to reap more benefits in taxes and create jobs for the locals, a mining expert Edward Simukonda has said.

Tanzania had turned around its economic fortunes as a result of such policies, Mr Simukonda said in an interview.

He said banning exports of raw minerals would help benefit the country's economy through increased domestic processing and refining which create jobs.

Mr Simukonda said the ore came with a lot of other minerals with them that the country had been losing for many years now.

He said that refining the minerals locally before they were exported would also benefit Zambians.

"We have since 1972 been exporting unrefined minerals thereby leaving us at a loss as a country. We have been losing a lot of national revenue by doing so and we have not seen much effort or interest to stop the trend," he said.

Mr Simukonda also noted that a ban of this kind of export would also allow for the processing which would benefit thousands of citizens.

He said the earlier Government realised the importance of taking such a step the better Mr Simukonda it would be for the country.

Avoid reckless UPND murder suspect committed to High Court behaviour saka did murder Terrence Mu- the Director of Public ProseBy CHARLES MUSONDA tale a PF supporter. cutions (DPP) entered a nolle According to police the in- prosequi . during Easter, UNITED Party for Nation- cident occurred after two unWhen the matter came up al Development (UPND) ruly groups clashed during a yesterday for mention , State Kanyama chair lady has been says Lungu funeral procession in Lusaka. prosecutor Mutinta Malumacommitted to the Lusaka

By KETRA KALUNGA PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has warned against reckless behaviour as the country celebrates Easter.

Mr Lungu has urged Zambian to uphold the sacredness of Easter by restraining from immoral acts such as violence and alcohol abuse among others.

He said the Easter holiday was the time for Zambia as a Christian nation to seek God’s forgiveness through prayer and worship.

President Lungu said the sacred period offers an opportunity for the nation to restore its relationship with God and his Son, Jesus Christ.

“As a nation, we need to reflect on the goodness of our father God who allowed Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us to receive salvation, “We should continue to seek the face of God by repenting and asking forgiveness for whatever sins we may have committed,” Me Lungu said.

And President Lungu has urged families to remain united in prayer as doing so would culminate in national unity.

He is optimistic that Zambians would during this sacred period exhibit unity and would continue to do so especially as the August 12 general elections approach.

“I;m hopeful that before, during, and after elections, we will continue treating each other as brothers and sisters,” President Lungu said.

High Court for trial in a case she is charged with the murder of a Patriotic Front ( PF) supporter.

Lonica Musomela is charged with one count of murder.

It is alleged that Musomela on January 28, this year in Lu-

Mr Mutale sustained multiple head and body injuries and was rushed to the University Teaching Hospital ( UTH) where he died on January 30, this year.

Musomela was jointly charged with Mauzeni Kauma, who was yesterday discharged of the charge after

ni informed the court that the State had entered a nolle prosequi in respect of Kauma and was discharged from the murder charge.

Ms Malumani also informed the court that the prosecution was in receipt of a certificate to have Musomela committed to the High Court for trial.

Nevers served with contempt of court summons

By SIMON MUNTEMBA NEVERS Mumba have finally been served with contempt of court summons.

Operation Save MMD executive faction member Chishala Chilufya earlier said that Dr Mumba and five senior New Hope MMD top leadership have disappeared from their homes after the court gave a leave to

commence committal proceedings.

This was after Mr Webby Chipili and 19 other Save MMD members were granted contempt proceedings against Dr Mumba for having defiled the court order.

Mr Chilufya accused Dr Mumba of having secretly attempted to change names of office bearers in MMD at the Registrar of Societies last week.

He said efforts to deliver summons at the homes of senior New Home MMD officials, Ms Winnie Zaloumis and Ms Elizabeth Chitika, were not successful as only their maids showed up, claiming they did not know their whereabouts.

The Nevers Mumba faction was however served with the summons yesterday.

I was tortured and held at gunpoint, says Spax’s co-accused A CO-ACCUSED in a murder trial involving Kabaso Mulenga popularly known as “Spax”’ has narrated to the court that police officers beat him and forced him to sign documentation he did not understand at gunpoint.

Jimmy Bwembya told the Kitwe High Court that he signed the documents at gun point while being beaten.

In November last year, a trial within trial was ordered to allow for investigations of torture allegations against one of the suspects.

When the case came for continued trial, the defence had objected to continued trial arguing that their client was tortured in police cells.

In this matter, “Spax” aged 29, Boyd Kamizhi 24, Maclean Kamizhi 22, Gilbert Zimba 22, Syvio Kwibisa 22, and Jimmy Bwembya 23, are appearing before Judge, Abha Patel.

They are charged with three counts of attempted murder, rape and murder.

Particulars of the offence in count one are that between January 22 and 23, 2019, the accused murdered Mr Emmanuel Maponda of Chingola. In count two, the accused persons between January 22 and 23 last year attempted to murder Mr Billy Maponda in Chingola.

In the third count the accused persons attempted to murder Ms Sheila Bwembya

in Chingola.

In count four, between January 22 and 23, the accused attempted to murder Mr Stanley Maponda in Chingola.

And in the last count, they had sex with a woman without her consent.

Bwembya explained that he signed out of fear of being killed after the threats he got from the police.

Bwembya added that he later fell sick and could not be taken to medical personnel to receive treatment stating that the police could not allow him.

He said that he was three days later taken to Kamfinsa Correctional Service clinic where he was given pain killers and some ointment to apply on his wounds.

Trial continues.

DAILY

2

ECZ insists it has mandate to fix nomination fees

By GRACE CHAILE LESOETSA THE ELECTORAL Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has submitted to the Constitutional Court that it is its mandate to prescribe nomination fees and is backed by the Constitution.

In this case, the ECZ has asked the court to dismiss the petition by Radical Revolutionary Party president Vincent Chaile challenging the prescribed nomination fees for want of jurisdiction.

Mr Chaile has petitioned the court seeking a declaration that the nomination fees for the fourthcoming general elections announced by ECZ were null and void.

He also wants an injunction restraining ECZ from proceeding with the holding of general elections set for August 12 this year until the final determination of the matter.

Mr Chaile stated that at various meeting held between ECZ and other stakeholders, concerns were raised that the proposed nomination fees were too high and meant to deter poor people from participating in the leadership of the country.

ECZ’s initial proposed fees were K150, 000 for male presidential candidates while female presidential candidates and persons with disabilities were to pay K120, 000.

Male parliamentary candidates were required to pay K25, 000 from K7, 500 while female candidates, youth and persons with disabilities are expected to pay K20, 000 from K7, 500.

For mayors, male candidates will have to pay K25, 000 from K7, 500, while female candidates, youths and persons with disabilities will pay K20, 000 from K7, 500, among others.

These fees were later revised, pegging the fee for male presidential candidates at K95, 000, female presidential candidates at K75, 000 and K60, 000 for youths and persons living with disabilities.

Parliamentary male candidates’ fees were put at K15, 000, females K13, 500 while the youth and persons with disabilities will be required to pay K10, 000.

Mayoral male candidates will pay K15, 000 and K13, 500 for females while the youth and persons with disabilities are expected to pay K10, 000.

But in an affidavit in support of summons to strike out the petition, ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Patrick Nshindano stated that the petition does not disclose any alleged violation of the Constitution on the part of the Commission.

“That I am further advised by the respondent’s (ECZ) advocates and I verily believe that it is the mandate of the respondent to prescribe nomination fees (election fees) under the Electoral Process (general) Regulations, 2016, the Electoral Process Act and the Constitution of Zambia,” Mr Nshindano stated.

He submitted that the court has no jurisdiction to enforce Mr Chaile’s alleged discrimination on the basis of sex and the alleged violation of the petitioner’s political rights.

‘Schools abrogating Covid guidelines will be closed’

By NATION REPORTER SCHOOLS that will give in to laxity over adherence to Covid-19 measures will be closed, Health Minister Jonas Chanda has warned.

Dr Chanda said it was disappointing that tertiary institutions including medical schools were abrogating Covid-19 measures with impunity.

He called on heads of institutions to ensure that Covid-19 guidelines were strictly followed.

“We will not hesitate to close institutions that will float Covid-19 guidelines,” Dr Chanda said.

Dr Chanda said the reduction in case positivity should not be a recipe for poor adherence to the public health guidance.

He observed that as people head into the long Easter

weekend, they were likely to participate in a number of social gatherings.

“We wish to remind our people that these congregate settings are a conduit for super spread of Covid-19, as many people attend these events with poor adherence to the public health guidance.

“Be a brother's and a sister’s keeper by ensuring adherence to the simple yet effective five golden rules, be it as an individual, family, business owner, religious leader or host of a congregate setting,” Dr Chanda said during the Covid-19 situation update yesterday.

He urged citizens to mask up correctly and consistently, maintain physical distance, wash your hands frequently with soap and water or use hand sanitiser among other measures.

DAILY

Friday April 2, 2021

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3

UPND’S MWEETWA REJECTED ‘LUSAKA - NDOLA DUAL CARRIAGEWAY From Page 1

They said the constituency had lagged behind in development for a long time hence the decision by the people of Choma to replace Mr Mweetwa, The headmen warned that if the UPND ignores the plea of the people by adopting Mr Mweetwa, the opposition party would be taught a lesson.

“Like what transpired in 2016 where the party lost two important wards to an independent and Patriotic Front candidate.

“When we heard that Mweetwa had announced that he was not going to recontest, the traditional leadership and the subjects of Cooma chiefdom were

exited but we are now wondering why he has changed his earlier decision,” one of the headmen said.

He said every headman in Choma was excited to learn that Mr Mweetwa decided not to contest, saying that he had lost popularity on the ground.

They advised the UPND to take the views of the people seriously as Mr Mweetwa was no longer popular because of his failure to develop Choma despite serving the constancy for 10 years.

They said the people of Choma were wise and therefore cannot be fooled by Mr Mweetwa’s political gimmicks.

And Mr Mweatwa accused the headmen of being mercenaries who

have been hired by his political opponents to discredit him ahead of the adoption process.

He maintained that he was going to file in his adoption application letter today in Choma and challenged the headmen to escort their preferred candidate and see who is popular.

“I know about that clique of headmen who have been hired by my political opponents to discredit me but I can assure them that they will not manage to change the demands of the people of Choma,” he said.

Mr Mweetwa explained that Choma is a big constituency making him one of the few MPs in parliament that were voted by a big margin in the last election.

CONSTRUCTION TO COMMENCE SOON’

By OLIVER SAMBOKO

D

ISCUSSIONS on the financing of the US$1.2 billion Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway are almost complete, Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development Permanent Secretary Danny Mfune has said.

The project which was first launched on September 8, 2017, as a Public Private Partnership (PPP), and later changed to Contractor Facilitated Initiative (CFI) financing model, will contribute to smooth flow of goods in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and beyond.

Mr Mfune said while it was not possible to state exactly how long the discussions would take due to many other parameters that have

to be followed, Government was hopeful that the project would soon commence.

He said Government has no control over finances for the project as that role was being handled by the contractor.

“The whole financing process is underway and once finalised and signed, the actual project will immediately commence,” he said.

Mr Mfune said there were several aspects to be considered before the process is finalised between the government and the contractor.

He said this is because the financing aspect was the most important and critical component of the project.

The Lusaka-Ndola dual carriageway is part of the regional trunk road network.

It would be undertaken by China Jiangxi International Economic and Technical Corp Limited and would cover Lusaka, Kabwe, Kapiri Mposhi and Ndola, with a total number of 321 kilometres.

In addition to the road, the project will cater for the construction of other infrastructure like bridges at Masangano, Kafubu and Mulungushi rivers and a bypass road in Kabwe to avoid passing through the central business district.

Another bypass road would be in Kapiri Mposhi while three toll plazas along the route would be established.

Other infrastructure to be built along the dual carriageway is a weighbridge, three service stations and an office building for the Road Development Agency and satellite cities.

Friday April 2, 2021

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Plot No. 5251B Mukwa Road, Heavy Industrial Area. P.O. Box 34553, Lusaka Email: dailynation@ymail.com www.dailynation.info

CARTELS BEWARE! A CLEAR message has been sent to the business sector, particularly manufacturers that it won’t be “business as usual” in the manner they fix prices.

That Lafarge Cement Zambia and Mpande Limestone Limited have been fined by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) over price fixing and division of markets is not cosmetic.

The fines stipulate that the cement firms were expected to pay 10 percent of their annual turnovers for the year 2019 and another 10 percent of their 2020 annual turnovers.

CCPC Senior Public Relations Officer, Namukolo Kasumpa said the Commission ordered Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Mpande Limestone Limited to revert to the pre-cartel prices ranging between US$4.50 and US$ 5 for one year. Ms Kasumpa said cement prices should not exceed K110, yet the price during the year was as high almost double.

The message is that those who connive to exploit the public through unfair business practices, in particular unfair and exploitative pricing will not be let scot-free.

Zambian consumers have for long been left at the mercy of business sharks who without thinking about the effects of their actions on the ordinary consumers price their products beyond reach of the average person.

The stiff rise in the price of cement left many home builders wondering whether they would ever finish their houses. The prices were beyond their reach.

There were even lame excuses offered that one of the ingredients used in the production of cement was in short supply due to disruptions in the movement of goods arising from Covid-19 travel restrictions.

But what has been reported by the CCPC is something else regarding the shady business dealings of some players in the industry.

According to Ms Kasumpa, investigations established that company representatives from Mpande Limestone Limited, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Lafarge Zambia Plc held discussions which resulted in a pricing philosophy to stop cement price reductions.

She said the investigations also established that the cement companies had agreed on a flat rebate of K3 sometime in December 2019.

Ms Kasumpa however said Dangote Cement Zambia Limited was granted full leniency for having cooperated with the CCPC during investigations.

She said the decision was made after an investigation initiated in January last year and observations of a sustained increment of cement prices from an average of K55 to K100 per 50-kilogramme bag between July 2019 and January 2020.

Now that the cement cartel has been exposed and sorted out, the CCPC should remain alert and sort out other suspect actors in the manufacturing sector.

One of the sectors that the public would like sorted out is the millers who produce mealie meal.

There appears to be a cartel controlling the price of mealie meal as one cannot tell whether the country has a bumper harvest or not.

Still, the CCPC should be commended for having exposed and stopped the cartel-like behaviour among the cement producers.

It has at least shown that when push comes to shove, it can use its powers for the benefit of the exploited consumers.

DAILY

4

IVERMECTIN TRIALS TO START AFTER ETHICAL APPROVAL From Page 1 Ms Iliamupu said in an interview that based on the findings of the clinical trials, Ivermectin would either be approved for management in humans or not because the lives of the people were a priority.

“The side effects are the reason why they are undertaking the clinical trials to sample it on humans and

find out how it would react on them,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health spokesperson, Dr Abel Kabalo, said clinical trials for the Ivermectin vaccine for the treatment of Covid-19 have not started but preparatory works are ongoing.

Dr Kabalo said in an interview that the clinical trials would commence after ethics approval.

Dr Kabalo said clinical trials on Ivermectin being spearheaded by the ministry would continue despite the country acquiring the Covid-19 vaccine which would soon arrive in the country.

He said the ministry was open to various solutions aimed at combating the pandemic and Ivermectin could be one of the interventions.

State commissions six modern houses for Chongwe police

By SIMON MUNTEMBA and JOHN KOMBE OUR agenda as Government is to transform the lives of Zambians without segregation, Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo has said.

"The mighty PF Government led by President Edgar Lungu has a clear agenda for all sectors of society across the country to transform the lives of Zambians without segregation," Mr Kampyongo said.

He said this yesterday in Chongwe after handing over six modern houses to the Zambia Police Service.

The minister said the commissioning of six houses for police officers was just the

beginning of better things to come in the district.

Mr Kampyongo said Government's infrastructure development agenda was aimed at eliminating accommodation challenges faced by men and women in uniform.

He noted that Chongwe had been left behind in development planning by previous regimes despite being so closer to the capital city.

Mr Kampyongo said Government has prioritised capacity building of security wings to enhance service delivery to the citizenry.

Meanwhille, Inspector General of Police, Kakoma Kanganja thanked Government for the support it had continued giving the service.

Mr Kanganja said: “It is only through the PF government under President Lungu that we have witnessed massive infrastructure development projects being constructed for police officers such as the one we are witnessing here today.”

And Chongwe Member of Parliament, Japhen Mwakalombe, observed that the newly constructed police houses were a monumental achievement.

Mr Mwakalombe said that the project was a sign of Government’s commitment to providing ideal accommodation for police officers across the country.

He said that the six houses which had just been commissioned will go a long way in mitigating the problem of housing for police officers.

Mr. Mwakalombe challenged PF critics to swallow their pride and give credit where it was due.

5 NGOs petition over Cyber Crimes law From Page 1 The NGOs also allege that the Act seeks to facilitate wide scale and interception of private communications with insufficient safeguards for constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms.

Chapter One Foundation Limited, Bloggers of Zambia Limited, Alliance for Community Action, Governance, Elections, Advocacy, Research Services (GEARS) Initiative and People’s Action for Accountability and Good Governance

in Zambia filed the petition in the Lusaka High Court yesterday and cited Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions as respondents in the matter.

The petition comes barely a week after President Edgar Lungu assented into law the Cyber Security and Cyber Bill of 2021.

The petitioners stated that the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Act seeks to provide penal legislative control over the digital space by criminal-

4 jailed for snatching K132, 048

By SANFROSSA MANYINDA FOUR criminals, among them a 28-year-old woman, have been sentenced to five years imprisonment each for snatching more than K132, 000 from a motor vehicle in Ndola on Tuesday this week.

Three of them are Zimbabweans while the woman is a Zambian, who were charged with theft from a motor vehicle, a robbery which attracted scores of Ndola residents.

The criminals robbed a security guard Francis Kunda from Zambezi Portland Ce-

ment. Owen Msimanga 48, of house number 161 in Matero, Norman Ng’uni, 47, of house number 1126 Chunga in Lusaka, Charles Lunga, 45 of an unmarked house in Matero, and Ethel Lyambai, 28 of house number 1772, Muchinga Road, in Chunga, Lusaka.

The security guard was sent

by Zambezi Portland Cement managing director Gomeli Litana to withdraw some money.

Particulars of the offence are that the four did steal K132, 048 property of Gomeli Litana.

When the matter came up for plea before Ndola Principal

ising several acts in broad and vaguely defined terms.

“The Act contains several provisions which threaten the right to protection from deprivation of property guaranteed

by Article 16, the right to privacy guaranteed by Article 17, the right to protection of the law guaranteed by Article 18, the freedom of conscience guaranteed by Article 19, the freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 20 (10 and the freedom of the press guaranteed by Article 20 (2),” they stated.

Resident Magistrate Obbister Musukwa yesterday, the four pleaded guilty to the charge.

The three Zimbabweans said they stole because they wanted to pay for their children’s school fees, while Lyambai said she wanted to use it for sustaining her family.

The state then read the facts of the case before court.

The four convicts said the facts were true and in mitigation, the four asked the court to forgive them because they did not waste its time.

But Magistrate Musukwa said cases of theft from motor vehicles were on the rise in Ndola and sentenced them to five years imprisonment with hard labour and others simple imprisonment.

Ms Iliamupu

Kakoma’s defection cheers Luvale chiefs

By NATION REPORTER THE Luvale Royal Establishment has hailed their subject, former UPND spokesperson, Charles Kakoma for choosing to work with the Patriotic Front government.

Mr Kakoma

The establishment has also advised the Patriotic Front to only adopt individuals who have been endorsed from the grassroots and traditional leaders in this year's elections.

A representative of the establishment, Chief Chinyama Cha Mukwamayi, said the defection of Mr Kakoma to PF was long overdue.

“I congratulate Mr Kakoma, who hails from my chiefdom for choosing to work with the government of the day, which has been long overdue and urge him to support the people’s choice in Zambezi West Constituency and lobby for development for our people,” he said.

Chief Chinyama urged PF to listen to what the people want as they adopt candidates for the August 12 elections.

He condemned opposition leaders who were trying to stop traditional leaders from endorsing Presidential and Parliamentary candidates, saying it was their duty to guide.

The traditional leader also thanked President Edgar Lungu for empowering traditional leaders with transport.

DAILY

Friday April 2, 2021

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Zanaco posts 54p.c. growth

By SIMON MUNTEMBA

Friday 2 Apri, 2021

6

MADISON FINANCE CANCELS $35M INVESTMENT DEAL

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

MADISON Financial Services (MFS) has discontinued the US$35 million transaction with Xylem Trading, a company and investment vehicle incorporated in South Africa due to the incompletion of the deal as anticipated.

Xylem had entered into a Put Option Agreement for US$35 million capital to acquire a controlling stake of 72.05 in MFS through issued ordinary shares of MFS, a diversified financial services group listed on the Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) MFS Company Secretary, Kafula Mwiche, however announced that the transaction had not been completed as anticipated and had been discontinued. Mr Mwiche informed shareholders and the

market about the development in the Order of Board posted on LuSE. “The Board wishes to inform the shareholders and the market that the Company will continue to explore and identify assets that would be earmarked and considered for disposal to raise capital to meet some of the group’s liabilities as mandated by the shareholders at the Extra Ordinary General Meeting concluded on 18 May 2020.

“Accordingly, the cautionary announcement first issued on 3rd April 2020 is hereby renewed and remains in place and shareholders are advised to continue exercising caution when dealing in MFS shares until the final announcement is made,” Mr Mwiche said. In January this year, Xylem Chief Executive Officer, Kajiya Kantumoya in a statement expressed confidence

Average Exchange rates: Currency

Buying

Selling

USD

22.0692

22.1190

GBP

30.3650

30.4379

EUR

25.8695

25.9345

ZAR

1.4932

1.4983

FEATURED LME PRICES US$:

Per Tonne

Aluminium

2,040.00

Copper

5,823.00

Zinc

2,435.50

Nickel

12,475.00

Lead

2,086.00

Tin

18,750.00

Aluminium Alloy

1,515.00

NASAAC

1,610.00

Cobalt

64,500.00

Gold

1,193.50

Steel Scrap

316.00 *

Steel Rebar

516.00 *

in the Zambian economy hence the investment in MFS. According to Mr Kantumoya, the investment was expected to grow MFS into a fully-fledged financial services group with influence to reckon with in the Southern African Development Community region.

In MFS, Mr Kantumoya said, Xylem saw that it could add to Zambia’s economic growth and create more employment.

“Our philosophy is not to takeon opportunities that appear to be convenient but those which can add value.

“As investors interested in the wholeness of the business rather than some business units only, we have already created strategies to push the Group to the higher status that it deserves with a leadership team that has unmatched success,” he said.

Commenting on the

investment, Mr Kantumoya said: “we take pride in what has been achieved by the outgoing major shareholders with the growth of MFS and we are poised for Xylem to take the Group to the next level of greatness.”

The transaction was facilitated

by Lyco Business Solutions, a leading Business Advisory and Capital Raising Firm which is represented in Zambia, the region, Europe and the United States of America.

MFS current Group Executive Chairman, Lawrence Sikutwa, said the deal meant that the MFS Group would maintain and improve on its efficiencies, quality of products and innovation.

Dr Sikutwa indicated that the key changing point for the group’s turnaround lied in new capital investment to improve the performance of each of the Group companies.

DESPITE the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, ZANACO recorded a 54 percent growth in 2020 financial year, Chief executive officer Mukwandi Chibesakunda has said.

Ms Chibesakunda said despite the challenges brought about by COVID-19, Zanaco recorded a 54 percent profit after tax of K207 million in its 2020 financial year.

She was speaking during the AGM virtual meeting yesterday.

Ms Chibesakunda said Zanaco’s performance was achieved at the backend of improved customer value preposition, enhanced efficiency and the agility to respond to tactical and strategic changes.

She said various initiatives were achieved earlier than planned allowing the bank to record progress on all fronts.

“In 2020, ZANACO recorded 54 percent growth in revenue, placing the bank as a leader in revenue in the sector,” Ms Chibesakunda said.

She added that the bank has continued to strengthen digital preposition to be the top transactional bank in Zambia.

She said Zanaco boasts of having the largest consumer base which has grown by over 220 percent over the last three years and a 15 percent market share.

“Our balance sheet remains strong with customer deposits growing to 59 percent to K15.7 billion year on year and we are hopeful that we will continue on this growth trajectory,” Ms Chibesakunda said.

She said Zanaco recorded positive grown in its loan book with 18 percent faster than the three year industrial average of 50 percent.

In her presentation to shareholders, Ms Chibesakunda highlighted the successful management in non-performing loans which stood at 6.3 percent in 2020.

And commenting on the future outlook, Ms Chibesakunda said, “our strategic direction premised on value creation and enhanced customer experiences and I believe we are on the right footing to be able to deliver on this.”

ZRA set to launch K11m Muchinga complex

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU in Chinsali

THE K11 million Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) provincial office for Muchinga is earmarked to open doors to taxpayers next month.

President Edgar Lungu is expected to officially open the provincial offices in Chinsali for the tax services A local contractor Invest Corp, was engaged to construct the offices.

The overall objective is to ensure that ZRA provides tax services to taxpayers so that it is easy for them to plan, says ZRA Commissioner General, Kingsley Chanda.

Mr Chanda told reporters in Chinsali yesterday after touring the building that the objective was to have provincial ZRA offices in each provincial headquarters.

He explained that a similar facility had been opened in Mongu and that construction of another building in Choma would start next year.

"Our mission here is to look at our new offices here in Chinsali this will be our Muchinga Provincial headquarters.

We intend to establish our full complimentary service which is direct, indirect taxes and customs.

"Our overall objective is to provide tax services to our tax payers and so we are as close as possible for tax payers to comply. We are very proud of ZRA establishing this offices in this province we hope they will be motivated," Mr Chanda said.

On engaging local contractors, Mr Chanda said ZRA was keen to work and

ZRA Commissioner General Kingsley Chanda and other ZRA officials tour the newly constructed offices in Chinsali yesterday.

encourage them.

"We want to encourage local contractors as much as possible we want to be engaging local suppliers and contractors" he said.

ZRA Director Administration, Callistus Kaoma, said the cost of the building had increased to K10.9 million due to material processing fluctuations and Covid-19, among others.

Mr Kaoma explained that the initial total cost of the project was K8.7 million.

"There were some variation and additional works we initiated and also motivated by the expansion of the offices as it would include customs

services which is direct and indirect taxes so the overall cost is K10.9 million," he said.

Invest Corp Project Manager, Moses Nachula, said the construction was at 98 percent completion.

"We have taken nine months on this project and I must say that we are at 98 percent, the remaining two percent is just for clean ups ut we will be done within one week.

"Covid-19 affected the project especially with material. The project was supposed to be completed in December 2020 so we asked for this extension," Mr Nachula said.

Sub-Saharan Africa economies to grow 3.4 pc this year - WB 7 / Daily Nation, Friday 2 April, 2021 NAIROBI - Kenya will receive about US34.4 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week as part of the 38-month loan agreement with the Washington-based institution.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Patrick Njoroge said the IMF board was expected to approve the US$262 million loan agreement on Friday.

“And then, early next week, there will be the consequential disbursements. We will receive the disbursements of about $314 million over the next few days after that,” said Dr Njoroge.

Njoroge said the money was not only expected to help Kenya’s balance of payments by shoring up foreign exchange reserves but also offer budgetary support in light of the effects of Covid-19.

“The bottom line here is that the programme is intended to support Covid-19 response and…provide direct budget support,” said Njoroge. He said the programme intends to anchor debt vulnerabilities and reduce them.

Mid-February, the IMF approved US$261 million

IMF BAILOUT

…Kenya to receive US$34m from the IMF next week

Dr Njoroge

credit facility, which will also see the State undertake the restructuring of its ailing parastatals.

There are fears that the restructuring of the struggling State-owned enterprising

will be reminiscent of the 1990s structural adjustment programme that left thousands of public servants without jobs.

However, Kenya requested some leeway to prop up

corporations that have been hit hard by Covid-19, with Treasury releasing US$26 million to recapitalise cashstrapped Kenya Airways.

The programme will see the country tighten its belt with spending cuts and increased taxes aimed at reducing debt vulnerabilities and safeguarding resources to protect the vulnerable groups.

It will also strengthen the monetary policy framework, support financial stability and boost efforts to fight graft.

Kenya plans to use the cash to turbo-charge the economy.

The State has put together a US$930 million war chest to fight off the adverse effects of Covid-19. Should Kenya receive IMF funds, it will have got US$340 million from the Bretton Woods institution since Covid-19 hit in March 2020. – THE STANDARD, Kenya.

Brexit a disaster Foreigners show record interest in SA for Britain companies at investor conference LONDON - The UK government promised that Brexit would liberate Britain from European trading regulations and herald a bright new era for Britain on the world stage.

Yet despite spending years campaigning for the UK’s exit from the European Union last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his colleagues have been oddly quiet about Britain’s fortunes ever since it left. The reason for their silence is becoming increasingly obvious. In the few short months since Britain left European trade and customs rules, there has been a dramatic decline in UK trade.

According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, trade between the EU and UK was hit hard in January, with exports down by 40.7 percent compared to December and imports from the EU down by 28 percent in the same period.

This is the biggest overall fall in exports since records began, yet the decline for some sectors has been even worse. Analysis by the Food & Drink Federation published last week showed that exports in January dropped from £45 million to £7 million year-on-year, while whisky exports dropped from £105 million to £40 million. – BUSINESS INSIDER SA.

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa may not be top of the list for investors to put their money for the long haul, but foreigners are paying attention to several companies that have shown resilience during this Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the Bank of America Securities, which hosted its 22nd annual Sun City conference last month, there was record attendance this year from investors wanting meetings with the 63 South African corporates that participated in the investor meetings.

This year’s and 2020 conferences were held virtually and almost half of the investors that attended were from offshore and some of the companies discussed during the Sun City conference were BofAS clients.

Paul Steegers, head of SA equity research at the Bank of America Shoprite had most meeting

requests from investors followed by Mr Price and Naspers-Prosus. There was also a lot of interest in Woolworths, Aspen, and Bidvest.

From foreign investors, Clicks was the most sought-after company in terms of meeting requests. Shoprite, Mr Price, Naspers-Prosus, and Discovery were also in the top five companies attracting the attention of foreign investors.

John Morris, SA strategist at BofA Securities said foreign investors were attracted to growth stocks which is why Clicks which already has 75 percent

foreign ownership was number one.

“The participation rate by investors was double the previous record ever at Sun City,” said Morris.

Of the 166 foreign investors, he said 39% were from the Americas, 49 percent were from Europe and 12 percent were from Asia-Pacific.

The representation of investors from the Americas was higher than usual as the virtual nature of the conference meant that many investors who had never flown out to Sun City before could now participate from the comfort of their homes.– FIN24.

NAIROBI - Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to post economic growth of 2.3 percent-3.4 percent this year, the World Bank said in a new report on Wednesday, bouncing back from a pandemic-induced 2.0 percent contraction last year.

Like other economies around the world, the region was forced to adopt strict lockdown measures in the first quarter of last year to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus, hitting key economic activities like tourism and trade.

“For most countries in the region, activity will remain well below the pre-Covid-19 projections at the end of 2021, increasing the risk of long-lasting damage from the pandemic on people’s living standards,” the bank said.

The recovery, which will also be aided by ongoing efforts to vaccinate people against the disease, is expected to vary among individual nations, the World Bank said.

Diversified economies like Kenya and Ivory Coast, as well as mining-dependent ones like Botswana and Guinea, will grow robustly as rising confidence attracts investments, it said.

Significant risks, however, still remain, the bank warned.

“The resurgence of the pandemic in late 2020 and limited additional fiscal support will pose an uphill battle for policy makers,” the bank said.

During the second and third waves of the pandemic, some nations have seen their daily Covid-19 infections surge by 40 per cent compared with the first wave of the pandemic, the World Bank said, weighing on recovery prospects.

Last week, Kenya imposed new, partial restrictions on the capital Nairobi and four adjacent counties to curb the spread of the coronavirus as it reels from a third wave of infections.

– REUTERS.

Strike looms …SAA pilot union ready to strike if demands are not met

JOHANNESBURG The vast majority of members of the South African Airways Pilots’ Association (SAAPA) have voted in favour of a strike.

“SAA has cherry picked SAAPA pilots who are locked out and whom it now needs for training, and wants to ‘unlock’ them as and when they deem necessary.

They have not paid most of these pilots in a year. We are saying this is unlawful,” explained SAAPA chair Captain Grant Back.

“In order for SAAPA pilots to remain protected and to exercise their rights in labour law to withhold their services, SAAPA has held a ballot in which 98 percent of the members supported the strike.

“SAA cannot have it both ways. We are not demanding anything untoward in fact we have demanded to be retrenched and the cancellation of our agreements. Our members must be treated fairly and within the law of the country.”

The union has given SAA 48-hours notice as required by the Labour Relations Act. SAAPA members have already been locked out by the airline’s business rescue practitioners since

December 18, 2020.

The demands made in relation to going on strike include that the proposed terms and conditions relating to dismissal of pilots for operational reasons and the notice period as contained in the airline’s proposed terms and condition for future pilots, be applied to the section 189 dismissal of current pilots.

SAAPA also wants its full Regulating Agreement only to be terminated after the last SAAPA member leaves the employ of the airline as a result of the section 189 retrenchment process which started in July last year.

According to Saapa, it has already agreed to cancel the Regulating Agreement in October of 2020, but would not accept what it regards as the unlawful manner in which the BRPs wanted to retrench the pilots.

“We hold ourselves open at all times to engage the company and bring an end to this protracted dispute.

SAAPA will avail itself for a meeting with the BRPs or the company to avert the strike, but if all else fails, we remain unified and ready to meet any challenges,” said Back.

– FIN24.

Friday April 2, 2021

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Readers Forum: The Column You Write

Voter verification last chance to normalise voter eligibility Dear Editor, THE electoral process involves a number of preliminary processes and these include timeline from registration up to the voting day.

One other important procedural step includes the verification of the voter’s details in the voter’s register.

As simple as it may appear, it is the last chance every voter has to interact with the voter’s register until the election date. President Edgar Lungu has done so and has led by example.

He has gone an extra mile to encourage other fellow voters to follow suit and ensure they verify.

The voter verification process this time around has brought about a new system of carrying both online and physical voter registration.

In February, 2021, the Electoral Commission of Zambia had launched the online process and the citizens could verify entries by mere dialing a short code *214# and this process has been hurdle free.

ECZ on the other hand has the onus to tell the nation and if possible produce statistical data on the quantum of voters that have verified both using the short code, the ECZ website as well as the physical voter verification.

We will not be surprised to see the number of people who have accessed the

services to be exponentially higher than elections of yesteryears.

This innovation should be commended as it is the first time the digital platforms have been used as a way of interface between the ECZ and the voter. The voters have sufficient time to ensure that they are not left out.

The other key stakeholders to the process are the political parties and they should help the ECZto disseminate the information.

This is not the time to make fruitless correspondence to write to regional bodies such as The African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC) lamenting on the nonexistent exclusion.

We find such efforts as wasted energy. We have commented on that correspondence by UPND president Hakainde Hichilema at the time the nation is busy with voter verification because he has a tendency of creating circumstances and later cry foul. We find this extremely unacceptable.

The citizens should take it upon themselves and ensure they verify the details in the voter’s register. This is the last chance to normalise their eligibility to vote in the fourth coming elections.

MARVIN CHANDA MBERI, Lusaka.

Saturday 25 April, 2020

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Leaders should be honest Zambia’s failure to qualify for AfCON painful Dear editor, THE Zambia national soccer team have failed to qualify for the 2022 Cameroon Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) football tournament.

The country's failure to qualify for Africa's biggest football tournament is not only regrettable but also painful. This is because Zambia has failed to qualify for AfCON for three consecutive football tournaments.

Zambia was in Group H of the AfCON qualifier with Algeria, the defending champions, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Algeria and Zimbabwe have qualified from Group H with 14 points and eight points respectively. Zambia concluded the qualifiers with seven points and Botswana four points.

Zambia beat Zimbabwe 2-0 last Monday in the last formality match in Harare. Austria-based prolific striker, Patson Daka was the hero of the day after netting a brace.

The victory was good but not good enough to see the country qualify for the AfCON tournament.

Football being the unifying factor, it has the large following in terms of the fan

base in Zambia. Our country's failure to qualify has however emotionally affected the soccer enthusiasts. This is now a bygone.

However, the team should pick the pieces and go back to the drawing board.

The main focus should now be on the forthcoming 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifying matches.

The right time to start is now. Zambia is in Group B with Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania and Tunisia.

It is incumbent upon the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) and the national team technical bench to work together and come up with a formidable team.

And the players should be selected on merit. This is the surest way by which the country can qualify for the World Cup. In the meantime, let me hasten to state here that Zambia's failure to qualify is regrettable and painful. This is a true reflection of the preparation and subsequently the performance of the team.

Tough luck to Zambia. There is always next time.

ELEMIYA PHIRI, Lusaka.

Dear Editor, LEADERS must be sincere in what they say. You can’t continue lying against innocent people and destroying the integrity of credible institutions in a bid to justify your own failure to win elections.

How can you be lying to the whole country and the international community that the Electoral Commission of Zambia disadvantaged Southern and Western provinces when in fact these are the provinces which had the highest number of voter registration kits?

Insoni ebuntu...

Below are the numbers of ECZ voter registration kits per province: Southern – 308 Western – 289 Eastern – 288 Northern – 244 Central – 236 Copperbelt – 227 Luapula – 217 Lusaka – 202 Muchinga – 182 N/Western – 180 ANTONIO MOURINHO MWANZA, PF Deputy Media Director.

DAILY

Friday April 2, 2021

Over 250 Makululu households get occupancy licences

By KETRA KALUNGA

ABOUT 279 vulnerable households in Makululu compound have been issued with occupancy licences by the Kabwe Municipal Council.

Habitat For Human Zambia assisted the residents acquire the licences.

Bwacha Member of Parliament Sydney Mushanga said the licences given to the vulnerable families in the biggest informal settlement in Kabwe was cardinal to protect their property rights.

He was speaking in Kabwe at the weekend during the launch of the Solid Ground Security of Tenure Project For Vulnerable Households in Makululu compound.

Mr Mushanga, who is Central Province Minister, said lack of clear property rights undermine inclusive growth.

It also makes the urban poor more vulnerable to land grabbing, unlawful evictions, and corrupt property acquisition.

Mr Mushanga added that statistics showed that close to 70 percent of the urban population in the country reside in areas such as Makululu and the greatest challenge faced at the household level was the security of tenure.

“Zambia is the fastest de-

veloping lower middle-income country, and this has offset a phenomenal rate of urbanisation where most of our citizens have been migrating to the towns and cities to harness economic opportunities, this has unfortunately resulted in a proliferation of settlements such as Mukululu,” he said.

And Kabwe Town Clerk Joel Shawa said security land and property rights for the residents was a key precondition for the local authority to contribute to the fulfillment of the global sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly, the SGD number 11 and Zambia's Vision 2030.

Habitat for Humanity Zambia and Government partnership which commenced in 2017 has seen the construction of 122 decent houses for the vulnerable, differently-abled and orphans.

Five water kiosks, eight hand pumps boreholes, and three solar-powered boreholes have been set up to provide clean water to the residents of Makululu compound.

Habitat For Humanity Zambia has through the council partnered with Medeem which is spearheading the Occupancy License programme in Kabwe.

HOME NEWS

ZAMBIANS WILL RETIRE HH IN AUGUST - KAMBA

By SIMON MUNTEMBA

T

HE August 12 elections loss will force UPND president, Hakainde Hichilema, to retire from politics, Lusaka Province PF chairperson Kennedy Kamba has predicted.

The Economics Intelligence Unit (EIU) has submitted in its latest report on Zambia that President Edgar Lungu will win this year's general elections.

Mr Kamba agreed with the EIU that this would be the last election for Mr Hichilema as it would be difficult for him to stomach the defeat.

He told the Daily Nation that Zambians would retire Mr Hichilema because he had fallen short of their expectations.

"HH is not a people's person," he said.

He said Mr Hichilema had been allowed to remain in the political space but the electorate had snubbed him

Mr Kamba

POLITICAL parties must field candidates of good character in the August 2021 general to ensure peace in Zambia, Pentecostal Assembly of God presiding Bishop Joshua Banda has said.

Dr Banda said political parties should ensure that only credible candidates are picked to advance

proper ideals. He was speaking in Lusaka at a media briefing yesterday. Dr Banda said such candidates must exude civility, integrity and commit too non- violence to ensure that the elections bring the best to people of Zambia.

He stressed that leaders and political parties in the country should continue peaceful coexistence and denounce political

violence.

However, he commended President Edgar Lungu for consistently condemning political violence by anyone regardless of political affiliation.

He said the ‘One Zambia, One Natio’n motto and national values speak to the nature as a united and peaceful people that shall not allow to be divided.

Australian investor sued over benefits

By NATION REPORTER

AN Australian businessman has been sued in the Industrial Relations Court by his former employee.

The employee, Adolph Sichilima, worked for the Australian for 25 years in Zambia and is demanding damages for wrongful dismissal, retirement package and any relief the court may deem fit.

Mr Sichilima said that he was suspended early last year over a matter he did not understand without being given a chance to be heard.

He has demanded to paid his retirement package which should be calculated at 60 years as in the circumstance he was not dismissed.

Mr Sichilima is also demanding that the respondent be ordered to paid him accrued leave days, overtime, outstanding and payable bonuses, redundancy package and any other relief the court would deem fit.

The matter was earlier reported to the Ministry of Labour and Social Services.

In a notice of complaint against Saul Israeli Radunski, presented to his advocates SCPM Practitioners, Mr Sichilima said in 1995 he was engaged to work as a cook and general worker at an agreed monthly salary.

He stated that at some point under the respondents’ instructions, he also started working at Japan Direct Limited and later at Milomax Motors Limited as an office assistant which companies were both incorporated by the respondent.

Mr Sichilima said during the day he worked at the companies and after work, he would serve the respondent as a cook and general worker at his home.

He said in the recent years, he served as the respondent’s caretaker to the flats until his dismissal.

Mr Sichilema stated that while he was in employment, he was never paid, all due and payable leave days, all due and payable bonus and the redundant package.

He said the due and payable entitlement was calculated at the time the respondent closed his businesses at K1, 690, 000 (old currency) and K4, 762, 500 (old currency) for Japan Direct and Milomax Motors respectively, which the respondent promised would be paid at the end of employment.

Mr Sichilima said on January 23 last year, the respondent placed him on suspension for two weeks and later evicted him from the employment house.

Mr Hichilema

because they were able to see that he was only interested in his personal agenda and ambitions.

"This is the more reason why the UPND looks divided and prominent people who worked with the late Anderson Mazoka have left the UPND. The latest is Charles Kakoma, the former spokesperson of the UPND who has

Only credible candidates for polls – clergy

By KALOBWE BWALYA

9

now joined the PF family," Mr Kamba said.

He said PF members were happy with Mr Kakoma who is settling well.

Mr Kamba believed patriots like Mr Kakoma deserved all the support so that his political and economic experience he possesses could translate into significant contribution to the country's

Meanwhile, Dr Banda appealed to Government that covid-19 vaccination should be based on an individual's free will.

He said there should not be any limitations such as profiling leading to restrictions on individual liberties of those that choose not to be vaccinated.

Dr Banda urged Government to continue protecting citizen from the covid-19 pandemic as well as other communicable and non-commutable diseases.

Preparations for tourists inflow underway

By NATION REPORTER

THE Ministry of Tourism and Arts has started preparations of tourists’ return to Zambia following the announcement of the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Director-Tourism, Lillian Bwalya, said the ministry was confident that tourists would start trickling back into the country following the roll out of the jab.

She was speaking during a workshop held on Implementation of Incentive measures for the tourism sector in Lusaka yesterday.

Ms Bwalya called on tourism establishments to take advantage of the inceptives put in by Government to mitigate the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic.

She said her department would collaborate with the operators so that they were fully trained on several facets like customer care, hospitality etiquettesamong

other values for the sector.

And Zambezi Association of Tour Operators (ZATO) Chairperson, Maxwell Masempela, said the workshop comes as a ray of hope for the sector.

He said the workshop was the first step to prepare for the return of tourists to Zambia and that customer service and etiquettes were focal points for happy tourists who want to enjoy their visit.

Mr Masempela said there was need to have the right behaviour by all staff in the tourism space.

Meanwhile, Waterfalls Hotel General Manager, Tamika Mwale, said the workshop was an eye opener and a privilege for operators that attended both physically and virtually across the country.

She said operators need the training as they prepare to re-open their facilities to tourists.

well-being.

"We are happy that the general citizenry saw this a long time ago and it is the more reason why they have kept on rejecting HH," he said.

Mr Kamba said the UPND has continued to struggle with the tribal tag and regional kind of politics which comes out prominently despite how much they try to hide.

Mr Kamba said unlike Mr Hichilema, President Edgar Lungu is a people's person because of his humility and continued championing of unity under the One Zambia One Nation motto.

"President Lungu embarked on a robust programme of delivering development to the people through infrastructure development, roads, state-of-theart hospitals, flyovers that are beautifying and decongesting our capital city Lusaka and many others," he said.

‘Lusaka needs more sewer ponds’

By NOEL IYOMBWA

LUSAKA needs more sewer ponds owing to its fast growing population, PF Lusaka mayoral aspiring candidate Erasmus Mukondo has said.

Mr Mukondo said that the two sewer ponds in Lusaka were not enough to cater for the growing population in Lusaka and surrounding areas.

He said that the garden compound also needs to be upgraded into a modern pond just like the Chamba valley sewer ponds.

Mr Mukondo said once ushered into office, this would be one of the priority areas that his office will attend to.

He also said that to administer Lusaka which he said is an epicenter for all cities in the country, one has to live above odd.

“For one to administer this sensitive city in the sense that it is where the President and all ministers are found, the person has to be fatherly and has to know that he is operating on behalf of the republican president one cardinal thing is

to study the decentralization document, study it adequately so that you become the right hand man of the president, “he said.

The aspiring candidate assured the voters that once voted into office, the issue of water in most parts of Lusaka will be the thing of the past and that he will create opportunities for women and youths through different viable corporatives.

“Look at Mandevu compound, the issue running water has been a challenge for a long time now so when I come into office as a mayor for Lusaka I will make sure that this issue is sorted out,” He said other sectors that he will give priority is to extend road infrastructure projects in the city that the government has massively embarked on.

“We need to extend road projects which the government has massively developed.

Another priority is securing graveyards.

Most graveyards have been encroached so it is important that we secure these sensitive areas, “he said.

Friday 2 April, 2021

NORTH-WESTERN NEWS

SLOW VOTER VERIFICATION WORRIES NGO

State pledges support to water utilities

By ANDREW MUKOMA GOVERNMENT will continue to support water utilities in order to ensure 100 per cent access to adequate, clean water and sanitation across the country by 2030.

Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection Minister, Rapheal Nakacinda, said that Government expected the utility companies to meet the consumers' expectations.

He singled out the Southern Water and Sanitation Company (SWASCO) as one firm that was in dire need of assistance.

Mr Nakacinda, therefore, urged SWASCO to ensure that there was accountability of all the resources from Government.

The Minister said this during a tour of the Haachanga Dam and water treatment plant in Monze District on Tuesday.

Mr Nakacinda noted that Government recognised the important role of the water resource to drive economic development of the country.

“We shall continue to give support to water utilities to ensure that they

improve provision of clean water and sanitation services across the country.

“More importantly, Government was committed to ensuring that rural and urban programmes were expeditiously implemented across the country to ensure 100 percent access to clean water and sanitation services,” Mr Nakacinda said.

And SWASCO Board Chairperson, Richwell Siamunene, said the company was on a serious drive to self-reliance following the launch of strategic plans.

Mr Siamunene said SWASCO had put in future plans to move away from dependency syndrome on Government to creating its own resources for sustainability of its services.

He explained that all resources allocated to the company had been prudently utilised in improving clean water provision to consumers in Southern Province.

However, SWASCO Regional Manager, James Walumba, said the pump installed at Monze’s Haachanga Dam extracts 4,500 cubic litres of water, leaving a deficit of about 3,000 cubic litres.

File Photo:

A

civil society organisation in Livingstone has expressed concern over the slow pace at which voters are physically verifying their details in the ongoing voter verification exercise.

Project Support Learners Zambia (PSLZ), Livingstone District Coordinator, Nyambe Mutete, said if the situation was not addressed, some registered voters would not be able to participate in the August 12 general election.

Mr Mutete called upon all registered voters to make use of the short period given by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to verify their personal details and have errors corrected before closure of the exercise.

"We also expect all political leaders to help by ferrying their members to designated centres to verify their details in the

same manner they did during the voter registration exercise," he said.

Mr Mutete appealed to the church to provide spiritual guidance, unity and love ahead of the August 12 general election and to emphasize the importance of co-existence among politicians.

And when contacted for a comment, Livingstone District Voter Education and Publicity Coordinator, Melvin Mukela said publicity on the voter verification exercise was already underway.

Mr Mukela, who is also Livingstone City Council Public Relations Manager, said publicity was now being done in the outskirts and rural parts of the district.

He said the challenge was most people in the low density areas liked complaining about lack of information even when they had been sensitized.

Miner in Kasempa dies in rock-fall

By JACKSON MAPAPAYI

North-western province Commissioner of Police, Joe Njase

A 24-year-old miner at Jifumpa mine in Kasempa has died while his colleague is nursing injuries in Mukinge Mission hospital after a rock fall on them.

According to North-western province Commissioner of Police, Joe Njase, the incident happened on Wednesday around 22 hours.

The deceased was identified as Davies Ngungu and survivor as Luckson Kolito aged 25.

Mr Njase explained that two miners where working underground when a rock fell on them.

"There was an accident at Jifumpa mine which was reported by Morgan Kazembe who is the mining manager at Jifumpa mine.

“He reported that Davies Ngungu a miner has died and Luckson Kolito was injured while they were working underground at Jifumpa mine," he explained.

He said the body has been retrieved from the rubble and deposited in Mukinge Mission Hospital mortuary while Luckson Kolito was still admitted at the same hospital.

"An inquiry file has been opened and police will work with mine safety department to determine how safe the mine is," he added.

FQM pledges more support to education

By JACKSON MAPAPAYI FIRST Quantum Minerals (FQM) Trident Foundation in Kalumbila has pledged to continue providing education support to children from low-income households.

Trident Foundation Manager, Joseph Ngwira, said Kalumbila Minerals Limited, through its community support programmes, would continue collaborating with the Ministry of Education to achieve increased access to quality education.

He said access to quality education would be consid-

ered as a human right and as a foundation for sustainable livelihood development.

He said FQM’s objective was to ensure continuity of education for the best performing students from vulnerable households within the mine’s catchment are.

The mining firm, he said, would give best-performing students an opportunity to obtain the skills necessary to improve their quality of life.

Mr Ngwira explained that the mine would drive sustainable rural development through capacity building of children and youths.

“Our education support program is designed with a

DAILY

10

provision for character development through mentorship so that beneficiaries don’t only attain academic excellence but also develop a character that will make them a responsible citizen,” he explained.

He said that FQM is currently sponsoring 208 students from primary school right through to tertiary education.

"The programme has so far seen 57 students graduate in different fields including Heavy Equipment Repairs, Mechanical Fitting, Metal Fabrication & Welding, and Electrical Engineering," he said.

Mr Mukela, however, said the slow pace of voter verification in some areas was partly as a result of people having verified their details online.

He said the response from registered voters in the rural areas was encouraging and advised those in the urban areas of Livingstone to have their details verified physically, even if they had already done the process online.

“As we sensitise the residents, we are encouraging every registered voter to ensure they do the physical verification since there is a slight chance, they may have minor errors which they missed while using the online verification platform,” he said.

The physical voter verification exercise started on Monday March 29, and is expected to end on Friday, April 2, 2021.

Mukunka-Kazungula road deplorable

File Photo:

By ANDREW MUKOMA MAKUNKA Rural Health Centre SisterIn-Charge in Kazungula District has raised concern over the deplorable state of the road from institution to Kazungula-Sesheke road Sister Constancia Lungu observed that the road had been a poor state despite residents making appeals to Government to work on it.

She said that people were facing difficulties in movement adding that it was the only road which Makunka Mission uses for referral purposes.

According to the sister-in-charge, it had been a challenge to transfer patients to Livingstone Central Teaching Hospital on the bumpy road.

Sr Lungu said her institution had recorded cases of expectant mothers delivering on the road because of the poor state of the road.

She called on Government to upgrade the state of the road to a bituminous standard.

11 Saturday 25 April, 2020

File Photo:

Lufwanyama calls for improved sanitation LUFWANYAMA district Administration has called for sustainability in the implementation of open defecation free programme in order to improve sanitation levels in the area.

Lufwanyama district administrative officer, Ruth Chisanga, made a call during stakeholders meeting on the D-WASH project held in the district.

Ms Chisanga emphasized that open defecation has the potential to cause so many diarrhoeal diseases in the community if not discouraged.

She said it was on such basis that she was urging all key stakeholders to attach the element of importance to the programme.

Ms Chisanga also advised officers that were directly involved in the implementation of the programme to attach an element of importance to the initiative.

She appealed to other stakeholders and traditional leaders to support the programme if its objective is to be achieved.

The open defecation Free programme was aimed at promoting the construction of sanitary facilities at every household in the community in order to enhance levels of sanitation in the country.- ZANIS

Friday 2 April, 2021

15

MUSUKWA UNOPPOSED IN PF CHILILABOMBWE ADOPTION PROCESS

By ROGERS KALERO

C

HILIL ABOMBWE Member of Parliament (MP), Richard Musukwa, has gone through unopposed in the Patriotic Front (PF) adoption process because no one else from the ruling party had applied in the border town.

Mr Musukwa becomes the second Copperbelt MP to go through unopposed during the ruling party adoption process after his Kwacha constituency counterpart Joe Malanji.

Chililabombwe district PF chairman Fredrick Rontos Mwape said Mr Musukwa had gone through unopposed in the preliminaries because no one else from the ruling party had challenged him on the Chililabombwe seat.

Mr Mwape said he believed that Mr Musukwa, who is also Mines Minister and the Pf national mobilization chairman, had gone through un-

opposed because of his hard work and good personality in the constituency.

"As district Pf chairman for chililabombwe, i can confirm that no one challenged the incumbent area Member of Parliament. So this means he has gone through unopposed and what is needed now is to go flat out and campaign for him," Mr Mwape said Mr Mwape ruled out any form of intimidation but stressed that Mr Musukwa had set the stage for development in the area.

"Apart from setting the stage for development in the area, Mr Musukwa is a kind and honest person with a strong character and so it was not easy to just wake up and say I will challenge Mr Musukwa today.

"He has tried his best in his term and deserved to be supported. So when the stage for campaign is set, we will go full throttle to campaign for him.

"Yes, there are challenges

Mr Musukwa

here and there, but working with President Edgar Lungu will address them. Zambians must ignore tantrums from the opposition and rally behind President Lungu and the PF in the August elections," Mr Mwape said .

When asked about the bad state of the roads in some parts of the constituency, Mr Mwape said the roads were earmarked for rehabilitation

after the rainy season.

"The roads are being done in phases and our roads are also earmarked for rehabilitation. Our roads will be rehabilitated after the rain season.

People will always find things to talk about but as a party, we have a systematic way of doing things. However, we accept that the roads are in bad state and needs urgent rehabilitation works, " he said.

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COVID-19 Realities

Friday 2 April 2021

12

By DR MBUYI MASUWA Frontline doctor working at Levy Covid Centre

Send your comments and questions to masuwambuyi1118@gmail.com

A

S explained in the introduction of the series APA the three ways to annihilate the third wave after A, anticipate comes P which stands for preparation. And preparing for the third wave we definitely should.

A number of countries are already in the 3rd wave and with the situation completely out of hand in Brazil, now which is literally a Global emergency. The P1 mutant is now in over 40 countries and with the negative attitude of most people in Zambia towards the pandemic, it is just a matter of time before the wave hits us once again.

Again as explained earlier, preparation will be at different levels, global, continental, regional, national, hospital etc but the greatest and most significant one is what we shall do at personal level.

Today I would like us to talk about a very important aspect that we should work on individually that I believe will help our chances of surviving the infection if we ever get it or better still even help us not to get it in the first place.

This aspect has to do with our weight. From my experience with Covid-19 patients over the one year I have been working with them as a frontline Doctor and I have attended to a lot believe me, and also documented cases globally, mostly people who are overweight and obese tend to have severe form of the disease when they get Covid-19. And many studies are now showing that they even are at risk of getting infected than people of similar ages, sex, environment just because they are “fat” (sorry excuse my French, let us just call it what it is fat) Looking at how broad and important this topic is, I am introducing a series called “lets burn it,” to discuss weight in all its aspects, how it comes about, how it affects health and how we can control it.

To begin with, being “fat (locally known as kuyina, kuneneya, ukununu, ikuyina, kutuha etc) is seen with different eyes from different countries and cultures. For instance in most western countries it is considered offensive to call someone “fat,” special advise to most African men, if you think that will be a compliment to a western lady you want to take on a date by calling her “fat,” my friend you should know that you would have committed an unpardonable deal breaker and that would mark the official end of the date even before it begins.

The misunderstanding will be caused because in most of our African culture being fat is seen as a good thing, as a sign of wealth. And as said most African men usually prefer “thick” ladies to slim or thin

APA: LET’S BURN IT ones that is why the Victoria secrets models are never seen as standard of beauty, this I also agree with, not all women should be that “small” to be considered beautiful. I would

Obesity now considered a ‘disease’ The American Medical Association (AMA) has officially recognised obesity as a chronic disease. Paul Terpeluk, DO,

rather people have their ideal weight according to genetics and most Africans “thick “ladies are not necessarily “fat” in the eyes of the admirers.

Body mass index (BMI) is a value derived from the mass (weight) and height of a person. The BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, and is expressed in units of kg/m2, resulting from mass in kilograms and height in metres. It was Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian Astronomer, Mathematician, Statistician, and Sociologist who devised the basis of the BMI between 1830 and 1850 as he developed what he called "social physics?

couldn’t agree more that obesity is a serious problem. He is the Medical Director for Employee Health at Cleveland Clinic, which classified obesity as a chronic disease five years ago in 2008. He says the AMA’s action is “great news.”

“This raises obesity and overweight out of the lifestyle world and into the medical,” Dr. Terpeluk says. “It’s about more than fitting into your clothes, and all the cultural noise out there about weight.

It’s about your life.

“Patients sometimes are in denial about their obesity, says Dr. Terpeluk. “This can help move them out of denial and get the real problem put

on the table to be talked about with their doctors.”

One in three Americans are obese, according to the Centres for Disease Control. Obesity is not only widespread, but it’s become a real health risk. It can lead to other serious problems such as diabetes and disease.

The second most obese nation in the world is the UK and then followed by South Africa. And being “fat” in South Africa is almost glamourised, in some pockets even among their celebrities especially musicians proudly showcasing the notable “big” tummies in their music videos.

The three nations have been hit harder by the pandemic, with the US on the lead globally and South Africa leading in Africa in number of infections and death. And mostly the affected are those overweight and obese.

Obesity has many other problems Problems with obesity range from social (not so cool), seen as a sign of gluttony especially in areas where majority are starving, living on less than a dollar a day. It also leads to low self-esteem if seen as less attractive.

But greatest of the evils is its effect on health. Obesity is a predisposing factor to a lot of health problems and studies have shown it even reduces one’s lifespan by up to 15 years.

Some of the health problems associated with obesity are diabetes, heart problems, hypertension, stroke, liver and kidney problems etc.

Studies have shown that Fat cells in obese people produce higher amounts of a protein that the coronavirus binds to in the bodies of infected people. The protein is called ACE2.

A report on July 29, 2020

revealed that experiments conducted at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, confirmed that the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 can infect human adipose cells (which store fat) and remain inside them.

This finding has helped scientists understand why individuals with obesity are more at risk of developing the severe form of Covid-19.

pose tissue is a reservoir for SARS-Cov-2.

“With adipocytes that are larger and more abundant, patients with obesity tend to have higher viral loads. However, we have yet to confirm whether the virus, after replicating, can exit fat cells with the capacity to infect other cells,” Marcelo Mori, a professor in UNICAMP’s Institute of Biology and principal investigator for the study.

According to the hypothesis tested by the UNICAMP group, subjects with obesity have larger reservoirs for the virus, in addition to being susceptible to chronic diseases such as diabetes, dyslipidemia and high blood pressure, which in themselves are significant coronavirus risk factors.

“We have fat cells in all parts of our body. People with obesity have many more and much larger adipose cells.

Our hypothesis is that adi-

We need to work on and maintain a good health weight to be able to stand a good chance against this pandemic and the impending third wave.

UNTIL THEN, ALUTA CONTINUA, THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES; PLEASE KINDLY, *MASK UP *OBSERVE HAND HYGIENE *SOCIALISE WISELY. AND BECAUSE YOU CARE, PLEASE SHARE.

Road Safety With DAILY

Frederick Mubanga

Friday April 2, 2021

- Road Transport and Safety Agency -

STAY SAFE ON THE ROADS DURING EASTER HOLIDAY ....During the 2020 Easter holiday, a total number of 142 road traffic accidents were recorded in which seven persons were killed.

E

ASTER and Christmas are the most fraught times to be on the road as the massive, nation-wide emigration to holiday locations puts extra stress on drivers, passengers, vehicles and on the national road network. Road traffic accidents are prominent during holidays and hence the need to observe all traffic rules and regulations.

During the 2020 Easter holiday, a total number of 142 road traffic accidents were recorded in which seven persons were killed.

In comparison with the 2019 Easter holiday, 212 road crashes were recorded in which 16 persons were killed. The statistics show a significant decrease in road traffic crashes and fatalities.

Accident cases involving drunk drivers causing the death of others are quite rampant during holidays. Drinking reduces the speed with which you react to changes in road conditions.

The decrease in road traffic crashes and fatalities in the 2020 Easter period was attributed to general compliance to road traffic rules and regulations by the motorists and other road users.

With the increase in traffic on the Zambian roads during the Easter holiday, the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) has urged Zambians, especially motorists, to drive with caution and strictly adhere to traffic rules and regulations to avoid road traffic crashes.

In his Easter message to all road users, RTSA Director and Chief Executive Office Mr. Gladwell Banda has urged motorists to plan their

img: iStock

ACCIDENTS

sant, but it causes many people to lose focus. If you’re responsible for the safety of yourself and other road users, you want to be completely attentive to the world around you, please don’t drink and drive. Drinking alcohol makes it much less likely that you’ll spot danger and have enough time to react. Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs is an offence under the Road Traffic Act No. 11 of 2002.

Drivers who will be found wanting will be prosecuted in accordance with the provision of the law.

Members of the public are urged to immediately report emergencies and all traffic violations to the RTSA Call Centre through the Toll-Free line 983 or hotline 0955 983983 and whatsApp line 0965 429 499 for prompt response.

trips, drive with caution and be courteous to other road users.

In order to maintain a positive trajectory in the reduction of road crashes, here are a few tips to help you stay

safe during this Easter holiday and beyond.

Safety All motorists travelling during this Easter holiday are urged to act responsibly

on the roads and ensure that the motor vehicles are in good conditions.

Mechanical failure due to poor roadworthiness of a motor vehicle can also cause road accidents due to failure of brakes, locked steering wheel, tyre burst and any other failure that could be questioned as having instigated the car not to perform as normally. The state of the vehicle is thus a prerequisite in enhancing road safety on the road.

Ensure that the motor vehicle is mechanically safe to be driven and that the tyres, lights, braking system and steering among others are in proper working order.

Similarly, motorists are cautioned against driving at excessive speed. Driving speed is an important factor in road safety. Speed not only affects the severity of a crash, but is also related to the risk of being involved in a crash. The higher the speed, the greater the stopping distance required, and hence the increased risk of a crash.

Fatigue Management Driver fatigue is a major contributor to our national road toll. Fighting through the early stages of fatigue is one reason why crashes during the Easter and Christmas breaks are over-represented in those statistics. Be fully rested before setting out and always take simple roadside breaks at regular intervals.

Don’t drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs Accident cases involving drunk drivers causing the death of others are quite rampant during holidays. Drinking reduces the speed with which you react to changes in road conditions. This makes an accident more likely. The other major factor in the delayed reaction time is the increased tendency of drink-drivers to become distracted. Drunk drivers are much less vigilant when behind the wheel, because their mind is less focused on the job at hand.

Alcohol may be a depres-

Call to action The RTSA has drawn up a pro-active and tentative enforcement programme as means of promoting road safety. The Agency will equally set up strategic spot checks for speed management and screening of drivers for drinking and driving.

Noticeable cases of speed-related road traffic crashes in the country calls for concerted efforts by all concerned citizens to avoid death and injuries on the roads especially during such holidays.

Great North Road as one of the corridors where recurrence of speed-induced crashes is still worrisome, however appropriate measures have been taken to address the situation.

The RTSA, jointly working with the Zambia Police has deployed adequate traffic law enforcement officers along the major highways in all parts of the country. The Agency has drawn up a proactive and tentative enforcement programme as means of promoting road safety.

Members of the public are urged to immediately report emergencies and all traffic violations to the RTSA Call Centre through the TollFree line 983 or hotline 0955 983983 and whatsApp line 0965 429 499 for prompt response.

Stay safe this Easter holiday and avoid being part of the road traffic accident statistics. Be road smart, life is precious.

‘Everything is on course’

…Mkhize assures SA that 1m vaccines will arrive later this month

World 14

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize JOHANNESBURG - South Africa is on track for rollout of the second phase of vaccinations in May, and the government is expecting the arrival of around one million vaccines later this month.

In an interview with SABC News yesterday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said the country was expected to take delivery of one million vaccines from Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in the second half of April.

He added that another shipment of around 900, 000 vaccines would follow in May and a third shipment in June.

Added to this, the country can expect more than five million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to arrive between April and June, as well as more than a million doses that were sourced through Covax.

Mkhize added that the Pfizer vaccine would be administered in a short trial, similar to the Sisonke project through which the J&J vaccine is being rolled out. This will allow an observation study to monitor breakthrough infections.

The minister stressed that South Africa’s vaccine rollout was on track. He added that

the rollout had been delayed after it was found that the 1.5 million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, which South Africa initially procured, was less effective against the predominant Covid-19 variant in the country.

Meanwhile, Madagascar has changed tack and decided to join the global Covid-19 vaccine initiative Covax.

"There are still many steps to be taken before access to the vaccines, but the registration is already an important step in the process," Minister of Public Health Prof Jean Louis Rakotovao said in a video posted on the ministry's official Facebook page.

Madagascar had initially indicated that it would not participate in the Covax initiative. It said it would rather use a locally produced remedy known as Covid-Organics.

The unproven remedy is available in tea and pill form and was touted as a cure for Covid-19 by President Andry Rajoelina. There is no cure for coronavirus, according to the World Health Organisation.

– NEWS24/BBC.

NEWS IN BRIEFS ICC acquits Ivory Coast's ex-President Gbagbo

THE HAGUE - The International Criminal Court (ICC) has upheld the acquittal of Ivory Coast's ex-President Laurent Gbagbo on charges of crimes against humanity, paving the way for his return home where he remains an influential figure.

He had been charged in connection with violence following a disputed election in 2010 that left 3, 000 people dead. The first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC, he had denied all the allegations over the bloodshed. – BBC.

U.N. Security Council concerned over election impasse in Somalia -U.S. envoy

NEW YORK - The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday expressed concern over a standoff in Somalia on holding new elections, the United States' U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed's four-year term ended last month without a successor and Somalia’s parliament was supposed to elect a new president on February 8, but the exercise was delayed because new lawmakers have yet to be picked. – REUTERS.

UN 'alarmed' by CAR use of private military groups

NEW YORK - The UN has expressed alarm at the growing recruitment of foreign private military and security companies by the Central African Republic (CAR) government.

In a report released on Wednesday, a UN group of experts says they have received reports of serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law attributable to the military private companies operating jointly with the Central African Armed Forces and, in some cases, with the UN peacekeeping forces. – BBC.

Friday 2 April, 2021

MORE TIME

L

ILONGWE - Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera on Wednesday postponed the announcement of a new cabinet line-up, saying he needed more time.

His office said he had received cabinet assessment reports from Vice-President Saulos Chilima on Wednesday and could not make the changes immediately - as the reports were substantial and needed the president's "thorough review."

"Given that the reports are as substantial as the President’s review is thorough, the completion of the task will take a few more days longer than anticipated," a statement by the presidential press secretary Brian Banda noted.

The president had on Monday told Malawians that there would be a cabinet reshuffle

in 48 hours.

He has now asked for patience, saying he will announce the Cabinet "the instant he completes this sacred duty in a manner that conforms with the constitution."

In Tanzania, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has reshuffled her cabinet more than a week after she was sworn in following the death of President John Magufuli.

The cabinet includes some new faces.

Among them are career diplomat Liberata Mulamula who now takes over as Foreign Affairs minister, replacing long-serving minister, Professor Palamagamba Kabudi, who returns to his previous Justice and Constitutional Affairs portfolio.

Mulamula was Tanzania’s former ambassador to the United States. She is the sec-

…Malawi president seeks more time for cabinet reshuffle

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera

ond woman to serve in that position after Dr Asha-Rose Migiro who served between 2006 and 2007.

Mwigulu Nchemba, who was the minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, now becomes the minister of Finance, filling the position that was left vacant following

the appointment of Dr Philip Mpango as Vice-President.

President Samia said a major reshuffle was not necessary since most of the current ministers were recently sworn in. She announced the cabinet changes during the swearing-in ceremony of the new vice-president. – BBC.

Thousands find refuge after insurgent attack in Moz gas town MAPUTO - Thousands of people fleeing an attack claimed

by Islamic State-linked insurgents in northern Mozambique have made their way to safety, many of them dehydrated, hungry and suffering shock, aid workers said on Wednesday, while hundreds remain missing.

Insurgents hit the coastal town of Palma, adjacent to gas projects worth $60 billion, last week. The attack probably displaced tens of thousands of people, according to aid groups, with people scattering into dense forest or attempting to escape by sea.

Fighting continued as recently as Tuesday, said security sources involved in rescue efforts and the United Nations. A report by Portuguese TV channel RTP showed journalists on a government-organised trip to the far northern town of Palma having to hunker down and hide behind walls as shots were fired.

"It was an adventure that proves that the war is still ongoing in Palma," a correspondent on the trip said in Tuesday's report.

Reuters has not been able to independently verify the accounts from Palma. Most

communications to the town were cut after the attack began last Wednesday. Phone calls to Mozambique's government and security officials went unanswered on Wednesday.

Speaking at an event on Wednesday, President Filipe Nyusi said the government would approach the attackers with "forcefulness," describing the assault as not the biggest the southeastern African country had seen.

Cabo Delgado province, where Palma is located, has been home since 2017 to a simmering Islamist insurgen-

cy now linked to Islamic State.

The jihadist group claimed the attack on Monday via its Amaq news agency.

Mozambique's government has confirmed dozens of deaths, including at least seven killed when militants ambushed a convoy of vehicles trying to escape a besieged hotel.

Witnesses have described bodies in the streets, some of them beheaded. However, the full scale of the casualties and displacement remains unclear. – REUTERS.

Gunmen kill 30 people in attack in western Ethiopia ADDIS ABABA - Gunmen killed 30 people in an attack on a village in the west of the Ethiopian region of Oromiya late on Tuesday, witnesses said.

Clashes between ethnic groups have become a major challenge to the government in the country, which took its present form from territorial expansions of the 19th century.

Regional officials in Oromiya did not immediately comment on who was behind the killings in the western Wollega Zone of Oromiya. In the past they have blamed similar attacks on an armed group called OLF Shane.

Wossen Andarege, a farmer in the area, said that those who survived the attack, in which 15 more people were wounded, blamed it on OLF Shane. Representatives for the group were not immediately available for comment, however.

"We took the bodies using a car and we buried 30 people," said Wossen, who added that he had heard gunshots when the attackers arrived.

The Oromiya region's communications office said in a statement that an unknown number of civilians were killed in what it called a "terror attack".

"The regional state is sad-

dened by this horrific and gruesome attack," it said.

Wossen said he and his family had fled to a nearby government office, where they were waiting for protection from federal troops.

OLF Shane is a splinter group from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), an opposition party that spent years in exile but was allowed to return to Ethiopia after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. Sporadic violence has rocked Ethiopia since then.

OLF Shane says it is fighting for the rights of the Oromos, the largest ethnic group in the country. – REUTERS.

DAILY

Friday April 2, 2021

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NKANA SURVIVE BUFFALOES ATTACK

By MICHAEL MIYOBA

M

TN/FAZ Super Division defending champions Nkana FC up a spirited fight and came from behind twice to hold Green Buffaloes to a 2-2 stalemate in a league fixture played yesterday at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe.

Two second half goals from substitute Emmanuel Mwiinde and Ackim Mumba rescued the Kitwe giants from suffering a third consecutive defeat in the Super Division.

Nickolas Mulilo had given Buffaloes the lead with his trademark shot which left goal keeper Shumba in shock 11 minutes into the first half.

Nkana were nowhere near a team looking to end their fivematch losing streak as they allowed Buffaloes to dictate play.

In the 13th minute, Mulilo could have doubled the advantage when he eluded the Nkana defence to be in a one-on-one situation with Shumba but the Zimbabwean keeper refused to be beaten this time around.

Nkana's first attempt on goal came in the 17th minute when Harrison Chisala’s shot went wide.

Nkana suffered a setback in the 25th minute when striker Simon Mulenga was stretched out injured aftera a colliding with a

Buffaloes’ defender and was replaced

by Mwiinde as the first stanza ended 1-0 in favour of Buffaloes.

In the second half, Nkana were on the back foot as Buffaloes mounted pressure that almost resulted in defender Jimmy Dzingai scoring an own goal when his back pass hit the side net in the 51st minute.

Nkana almost got the equaliser in the 75th minute but were unlucky as Mwiinde’s cross hit the post before Obed Masumbuko’s follow up effort went wide.

Mwiinde finally got the needed equaliser for Nkana beating Shumba with a shot from inside the box after Ackim Mumba’s effort initially hit the post.

However, Buffaloes restored their lead three minutes later through Jackson Chirwa who scored from close range to make it 2-1.

Nkana punished Buffaloes for their lack of concentration at the back when Mumba scored a goal of the season contender in the 90th minute for the two sides to share the spoils.

The result left Buffaloes coach Justin Chinama regretting his players’ failure to hold on to their lead.

“It is a bad result for us, this is a game which we should have gotten maximum points. "We were leading on two occasions but we made silly mistakes at the back and allowed those two goals,” Chinama said after the final whistle at Nkana Stadium.

Meanwhile, Nkana coach Kelvin Kaindu was happy with his team’s performance in the second half where they fought back to get a point.

SAFA boss Danny Jordaan unveiled as CAF advisor to Patrice Motsepe NEWLY appointed Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe has appointed the South African Football Association (SAFA) boss Danny Jordaan as an advisor in charge of 'sport and marketing'.

According to the official CAF website, the CAF executive committee met by video conference earlier this week to discuss football infrastructure, African competitions and they also an-

nounced several appointments.

Jordaan was confirmed as "Advisor in charge of sport and marketing to the presidency" while Motsepe also announced, "Jacques Bernard D. Anouma of Ivory Coast as senior special advisor to the president."

Meanwhile, SAFA released a statement of congratulating Jordaan, who was also not present at the announcement of the sacking of Bafana Bafana coach Molefi

Ntseki on Wednesday.

"The former FIFA World Cup 2010 CEO has vast experience in this area, having served on FIFA’s Marketing and Television board as well as CAF's marketing in the past," the statement read.

"Jordaan, who was CAF vice-president until last month’s Elective Congress in Morocco served in various departments during the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and 2014 in Brazil and his

recent appointment will add much needed value in CAF’s marketing and competitions departments."

Meanwhile, the CAF executive committee also approved dates for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) draw which will take place on Friday, June 25, 2021.

The much-anticipated tournament will be hosted by Cameroon and kicks off next year on January 9 with the final game scheduled for February 6.. – SPORTS24.

‘WE SHALL RISE’ ...FAZ hopeful Zambian football will rise again

Kapyanga

By MICHAEL MIYOBA THE Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) is confident that Zambian football will rise again after a historical failure to qualify to three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

FAZ has faced some heavy criticism with some soccer fans calling on the executive committee led by Andrew Kananga to resign for the senior team’s misfortunes.

However, North Western Province FAZ committee member, Mwansa Kapyanga said the association has picked lessons from the failures which will be used to achieving greatness in future engagements.

Kapyanga said the association will continue to work hard to ensure the development of football in the country.

"Sadly we have failed to qualify to fhree consecutive Africa Cup of Nations finals but we can only improve on our previous failures.

As it's known, failure is the road to success and there are some things you can only learn in a storm," Kapyanga said.

"We must keep pushing and giving our best as patriotic stakeholders. Quitting should never be an option as problems are guidelines and not stop signs which we shall go around or go through them.

Together we shall rise again," he added.

Kapyanga said the association is implementing a 10-year strategic plan which will ensure the rise of the Zambian game.

On Thursday, last week, Zambia's AFCON qualifying hopes came crashing down after the Chipolopolo boys came from behind twice to secure a 3-3 draw against the Desert Foxes of Algeria.

The Chipolopolo however finished the qualifiers on a high by beating Zimbabwe 2-0 in Harare.

The victory over Zimbabwe couldn't change Zambia's fate as it came too late for the 2012 African champions who missed the 2015 and 2017 editions of the continental showpiece before missing out on next year’s event in Cameroon after finishing third in Group H with seven points.