(NEWZIMBABWE) Tsvangirai speech to MDC-T policy conference
17/05/2013 00:00:00
by Morgan Tsvangirai
I stand before you as a proud President of the MDC, the party of excellence and the party of the future. It is with great pride that I am here to officially open this policy conference, running under the theme ‘Towards Real Transformation’.
Today’s event is testimony to the great advances we have made as a party. It is not every day that a political party holds a public function to announce its programme of action once it is elected into office. Others just get into office in the hope that the country will take care of itself.
We have lived this and we know the effects on the people of having a government without a bankable plan or programme. For some of us, this is a moment to cherish because this policy conference shows that we have not just a vision, but a plan and programme to transform the country, its economic policies and the government’s relationship with the citizens.
It is therefore with great joy that I open this conference after the country has just endorsed a new Constitution. As the founding chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly, I have great personal satisfaction knowing that the constitutional movement we began with many others all those years ago in 1997 has resulted in this new governance charter for our country.
I say this because having a new, democratic Constitution was at the centre of our founding aspirations and we are laying this policy programme here today, having endorsed a new set of values under which Zimbabweans have said they want to be governed.
So the new Constitution, in short, represents the achievement of one of the MDC’s founding aspirations.
Now that we have a new Constitution, we must definitely have a new government that will usher in a new and better Zimbabwe.
We are indeed a party of winners!
So today, we lay down our policy programme underpinned by our vision of a modern, functional, healthy and integrated democratic developmental State with a vibrant and socially-just economy that takes pride in leaving no one behind.
Ours is a revolutionary and transformative policy programme that will certainly lay the basis for a new Zimbabwe and a new beginning. In the various sectors, from the economic policy to other programmes related to social services, rights, infrastructure and security, we have a comprehensive plan on where we want to take Zimbabwe and how we will do it.
We will open Zimbabwe for business, usher in substantive reforms in various sectors with the sole objective of spurring economic growth, restoring our collective dignity and creating jobs for the millions of unemployed Zimbabweans who are struggling to survive in this dollarised economy.
This policy programme is our plan to address the many ills that we have faced as a people. Our policies that we discuss here are an addition to JUICE, our jobs and investment plan that we launched a few months ago.
I want to say that the terrain of the upcoming election will be determined by those that are able to give answers to Zimbabwe’s challenges. The next election is not necessarily going to be about who can set in motion the most blazing violence machinery in our land.
It is not going to be about who is able to dominate media space with as much hate speech, derogatory statements and dishonest claims and self-enrichment disguised as empowerment of the people. It is about a party and a leader who has the plan and the ideas that will address the many challenges facing the people of Zimbabwe.
Certainly, yesterday people cannot provide answers to the challenges we face today. Today’s problems need today’s people, new people with new ideas and a new vision.
So we are going to be the new brooms that will poise this country on the path to recovery, growth and stability.
A stable economy with shared growth and shared responsibilities is the cornerstone of our policy programme that will ensure that as a country, we will move towards real transformation.
Among the many sectors that need transformation, we have a new and exciting programme of rural transformation that will ensure that the majority of the people in the rural areas live in a new and better environment with assured food security and adequate basic services.
In this inclusive government, we have had some limited opportunity to showcase what the MDC can do, but we were largely limited by the policy discord.
Despite this policy discord, however, we were able to stabilise the economy, bring down run-away inflation, recapitalise schools and hospitals through the education and health transition funds as well as bringing food back on the shelves.
Through the Government Work Programme, we were able to give some respite to the suffering Zimbabweans.
On the international scene, we had begun to re-engage Africa and the world but the major challenge we have been burdened with in this coalition government, as indicated before, is the policy discord arising mainly on issues to do with empowerment and investment, as well as the stark refusal by our partners to implement agreed reforms that would have improved the political, social and economic environment in the country.
As a party, we are anchored in the values of the African struggles for freedom and democracy. We pay tribute to our forebearers who carried the torch of liberation. But we also represent a generational shift focusing on expanding the freedoms and fulfilling the aspirations. This is why an MDC government will forge strong ties and play a critical role in SADC and the African Union whose 50th anniversary the whole continent is celebrating this month.
For this continent to gain true freedom and economic prosperity, we believe as a party that we must break the barriers to movement and trade which are represented by the demarcated borders.
Through this policy programme, we are saying we need to be in government alone to implement our vision, unimpeded by uncooperative and retrogressive coalition partners.
Our experience has taught us that we need policies that are friendly to the people and relevant to their circumstances. Policies for posterity that are pragmatic and people-oriented will go a long way in mitigating the challenges we face as a nation, challenges we have to overcome to ensure that we provide for the people and that we rejoin the family of nations once again.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my singular honour and pleasure to declare this policy conference officially open and to thank those who have worked hard to ensure we are where we are today.
By unveiling this policy programme, we are sending clear and loud message that Yes, we are ready to govern. And true, we have a vision for a new better Zimbabwe!
I Thank You
Labels: MDC, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI
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(NEWZIMBABWE) Show me your policy, I’ll show you my vote
16/05/2013 00:00:00
by Lance Mambondiani
THE MDC-T is set to kick off its Policy Conference on May 17. The conference will deliberate on the policy frameworks the party will use to govern should it win the next general election. At the very least, the conference will provide us with alternative talking points to the latest bizarre paranoia with the Coca Cola packaging as the latest instrument of regime change.
Clearly some politicians need to stop stomping around like a group of stroppy teenagers and perhaps have a snicker. With the social and economic challenges we face, it’s hard to imagine that a soft-drink company’s branding strategy is top of our agenda.
For ordinary people like us, the conference might just have brought the policy debate back to the centre. In the last few months, there has been good debate on how Zanu PF’s indigenisation policy, the MDC’s ACTION policy or the MDC-T’s JUICE will improve the lives of millions of Zimbabweans who suffered hyperinflation, joblessness, rising poverty and a near collapse of basic services and infrastructure. Since then, the issue of candidate quality and policies has become secondary to the loud bickering of a fatigued coalition.
Why can’t we all just get along?
The electorate should hold in reverence those in public office or those seeking one, who are willing to suffer the often inglorious scrutiny of their beliefs without the arrogance of a ‘we know best approach’. The assumption that only a few in government forever hold the answers to our problems is particularly distasteful.
Although I often disagree with the Reserve Bank Governor, I am have respect for Dr Gideon Gono’s reasoned opinion and arguments on an ‘alternative indigenisation approach’ than the finger-wagging ‘agents of the West’ diatribe from those who have elevated themselves to a ‘Socrates Status’ as oracles of unquestionable wisdom. Political leaders can take the new age voter for granted at their own peril.
Any party that seeks to win my vote or that of any Zimbabwean should go away, get itself a policy and come back to tell the public what it is. After 33 years of independence, it would be the height of naivety to believe that everything wrong with our nation is entirely the West’s fault and nothing to do with our own shortcomings.
Voter of no fixed Allegiance
There are enough problems in our society that need fixing by all Zimbabweans without the need to point fingers at imaginary enemies. We must face and take ownership of our economic problems and have a clear plan on how to address them. We must devise policies that will help people deal with the issues that are important to them. Politicians must wake up to the emerging complex reality of a voter of no fixed allegiance.
Results from the recent census point towards rapidly changing demographics of the Zimbabwean voter. More than 50 percent of the current population were born after the liberation war. Similar to trends in other African countries, the inevitable reality is that soon enough, liberation credentials will become less important as a form of political capital. The coming election might not be won on the ‘left’ or on the ‘right’ it might be won on the centre and decided by the voter of no fixed allegiance.
Does a policy conference matter?
The challenge for MDC-T and any other political parties releasing their policies ahead of the general election is how to mobilise the country behind their vision of the future? Whilst Zanu PF remains anchored on the controversial but populist indigenisation policy, the MDC-T seeks to grow a fully integrated economy through an effective democratic and entrepreneurial role of the state. The choice for the voters is to sieve through the clattering noise and determine which policies are most likely to get our people into work and cause our economy to grow.
The real purpose of a policy conference is to measure which party is closer to having a majoritarian project, a persuasive vision allied with attractive policies capable of mobilising most of the country behind them. A policy conference matters because it shows us what political parties believes in. Our concern as citizen is to choose a new breed of politicians who can make our insolvent nation solvent again and set our country back on the path to prosperity in which we can all share.
Show me your policy, I will show you my vote
After years of endless conflict, Zimbabweans deserve an economy in which all players complement each other in an integrated way to eliminate poverty and spur economic growth. To grow and transform our economy will require a state with the capacity to mobilise resources towards a common national agenda. The country needs a government which can stimulate a vibrant private sector with policies which encourage investment and growth.
Real achievement in the real world takes time, effort, perseverance, resilience. To come through the storm, to overcome the challenges we face, we must rediscover that spirit. The job for the MDC, or any other political party, at a policy conference such as this is to bring out the best in this country.
The challenge is to mobilise our people to come together, to join together, to work together as a country, to unleash and unlock the promise in all of us. Transformative policies cannot be enforced through coercion, but through consultative engagement. In a democracy, the prize is to create a country for all in which everyone plays their part regardless of whether they drink Coke or Fanta.
Dr Lance Mambondiani is a Development Economist and Guest Lecturer in International Finance & Development at a UK University. He writes in his personal capacity. Contact email lancem@btinternet.com . Twitter @DrMambondiani
Labels: MDC
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(NEWZIMBABWE) Biti cracks whip on 'undemocratic' banks
16/05/2013 00:00:00
by Paradzai Brian Paradza
ZIMBABWE’S banking system needs “democratisation”, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Thursday as he revealed that only 19 percent of Zimbabweans had access to financial institutions.
The government will shortly announce new regulations for the banks to compel them to make their services more accessible even for the rural areas, reduce the cost of banking and increase the use of debit cards.
“There is no financial inclusion in Zimbabwe. Only 19 percent of Zimbabweans are banked and one brick and mortar branch is serving 77,000 people. That’s not good enough,” Biti told a news conference in Harare.
“If you go to the rural areas, people put their money in muhozi (granary). If it’s women, my own grandmother, they put their money in funny parts of their anatomy. It’s not good enough. So we need to ensure the democratisation of the banking services.”
He said there was need for the sector to roll out services into the rural areas to enhance accessibility, citing the Kenyan experience, where rural shops are able to offer banking services to the people, as a case study to adopt.
He went on: “Mobile banking and electronic banking can solve some of the problems, but they are not extensive. One of the things we are trying to bring under the banking amendments, we agreed with the financial sector, is that we are going to allow what we call bank agencies like they did in Kenya.
“The second intervention we have proposed is that of e-banking, in Zimbabwe you still find people using cash. We need to start using debit cards.”
Biti said the spate of bank failures and negative real returns on deposits has over the years eroded customer confidence in the sector, resulting in most people and businesses conducting their transactions outside the formal banking channels.
He said the government will this week gazette comprehensive banking reforms to prevent future bank failures through a series of interventions such as ensuring that every bank lists on the stock exchange as well as extending liability to the bank owners and directors should the bank fail.
Meanwhile, Biti trashed threats by his Indigenisation and Empowerment colleague Saviour Kasukuwere on the sector, saying the law requires that there should be discussions with the sector representatives before any changes are made. Those consultations are still in progress.
“On the indigenisation of the banking sector, we have made it clear to Minister Kasukuwere that according to his own regulations; the indigenisation of a sector can only take place in consultation with the line minister, in this case the Minister of Finance. We have not consented,” Biti said.
“This is why you have not heard us make a comment on this issue because we still need to follow the law and the law is clear that there has to be sectoral agreement.”
Kasukuwere has recently threatened foreign-owned banks with forfeiture of their licences for failing to cede majority shareholding to locals in line with the law. But the minister faces opposition from Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and Biti who say banking should be ring-fenced because it is a “sensitive” sector.
Labels: BANKING, SAVIOUR KASUKUWERE, TENDAI BITI
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EITI report shows K8bn disparity in mine taxes
By Kabanda Chulu
Fri 17 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
A latest reconciliation report has revealed a huge discrepancy amounting to KR8.8 million relating to payments made by mining companies and what was received by government and its agencies.
Meanwhile, Zambia has expanded the scope of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) beyond mining to include forestry, fisheries and tourism to promote transparency in revenue collection across various economic sectors.
Briefing the press in Lusaka yesterday, EITI head of secretariat Siforiano Banda said discrepancies arose out of misunderstanding import Value Added Tax (VAT) and non-refundable VAT.
The EITI secretariat uses the materialistic method to identify companies which should be captured in the report.
"This method entails us to get to ZRA and find out companies that pay taxes amounting to more than KR2.5 million thresholds and the latest report is based on 2010 accounts and mining companies reported that they paid KR3.794 billion but government reported receiving KR3.785 billion," he said.
"So we have a difference of KR8.8 million and this is mainly attributed to misunderstanding of import VAT and non-refundable VAT because most companies don't fully understand this component and ZRA should help some companies to understand these taxes."
And Banda said Zambia had become the 15th country out of 35 in the world that had attained EITI compliance status.
"This implies that Zambia has put in place effective processes for enhancing transparency and accountability in the mining sector to enable the country maximise benefits from the sector," he said.
"Attaining compliance status also means that the country should now expand its focus to include other sectors that support the economy so that revenue collection is maximised when industry players declare what they pay and the government also discloses how much it has received."
He urged civil society to become active and monitor that revenue collected was used to promote people's livelihoods.
"With mining, we also want to include other minerals such as cobalt, emeralds and manganese. In future, we intend to look at what is supposed to be paid and how revenue was used since currently we just produce reports," said Banda.
Labels: CORRUPTION, EITI, MINING, SIFORIANO BANDA, TAX EVASION
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'If you want, chase us'
By Editor
Fri 17 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
Dr Guy Scott, the Vice-President of our Republic, has challenged the Zambian people to vote the Patriotic Front out if they think it is not delivering.
We don't think Guy wants the Patriotic Front to leave government in 2016 or 2021. We think his is an expression of confidence in his party and government's ability to deliver to the people of Zambia what they expect from him and his colleagues. It is also a commitment on his part and on the part of his government and party to move this country to another plateau of development and commitment. Of course, this is being said with Guy's unusual frankness.
But there is some great truth and lesson in what Guy is saying. Political leadership, especially at government level, is not about personal enjoyment, aggrandizement or satisfaction of ambition. It is about delivering.
We are aware that politics is an area of great importance for promoting development and community among all. It is a vocation, a way of building up society for the common good. It is a vocation to serve the people.
If one fails to deliver on what they can be reasonably expected to deliver to the people, they have no right to be in government a second longer. If the Patriotic Front and its government fail to meet the reasonable expectations of the Zambian people in terms of uplifting their living standards, they have to be kicked out. It's all about service. You fail to deliver the required services, you are out. This is not chieftaincy where there is a birthright to rule. Here, delivering on the common good is the reason for the existence of political, social and economic institutions. Political power must have as its aim the achievement of the common good. The whole reason for the existence of civil authorities is the realisation of the common good. And the best way for a politician or a political party to fulfil its obligations to the people is to contribute to the common good.
The performance of politicians and of government is best measured by the levels of enjoyment by citizens of the goods of society. Service delivery is a way by which a government demonstrates its obligations to the people for whom it is put in place. The ease with which the people access various services corresponds directly to the level of their involvement in their own governance. And justice and truth demand that basic human needs should be met and none should be left to perish.
Persons chosen to represent the masses of our people in positions of authority are, precisely, chosen to serve. The primary motivation for a person seeking a position of authority should be a deep desire to help others. Attentiveness to the needs of the persons being served is essential to an understanding and fulfillment of this deep desire to help and serve others.
Political power is exercised legitimately if it is committed to the common good of society. And the exercise of authority must take on the character of service. If there is no such service, there is no need for one to continue in power.
There is need for those in government to realise that 2016 is not very far away. There is hard work required of them if they have to meet public expectations and deliver on the promises they have made to our people. Some things they promised may not be possible to deliver. This may not be a deadly blow to them if only they dare to face the people all the time and explain the difficulties, the challenges that are there. Our people are not expecting miracles, and they should not be made to expect miracles. We don't live in an era of miracles. We live in an era of realities. We live in an epoch where participatory governance requires that government institutions try to serve the masses of our people within a reasonable time frame. The effectiveness of the various economic, social and cultural development programmes that the government is undertaking will depend on the bridging of the gap between policy and practice. One way by which responsiveness could be enhanced is by improving the provision of information about performances and whatever statistical data about activities of government so that timely and appropriate interventions can be performed.
Public and individual wellbeing should be developed out of the very structure and administration of the state. We are reminded in Proverbs 3:27: "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it." We are also told in Romans 12:17: "Try to do what everyone considers to be good."
Economic progress must be accompanied by a corresponding social progress.
Time is moving fast. There is a lot of work that needs to be done before the commencement of the campaigns for the next elections. This government has very good programmes and policies. What remains is implementation and management.
There is also need to realise that the Patriotic Front won the 2011 elections on the back of Michael Sata's record of delivering. Michael has an outstanding record of delivery wherever he has been. This greatly influenced the Zambian people to vote for him and the Patriotic Front in the 2011 elections. This means that the expectations from this government, the government of the action-man may be exceptionally high. This is so because those who have more to give, more is expected of them. Based on Michael's previous record of delivery, more is expected of him and his government.
Of course, there are many projects that this government has initiated - and very good ones for that matter. But these projects will not materialise, will not be completed in time and to the expected quality if there is no adequate supervision from Michael himself. It is good that Michael is now getting out to personally inspect the work that is going on and ensure that it is up to the agreed timetable and quality. If not, we are going to be shortchanged. The Zambian people will pay for poor and substandard infrastructure. Already, some roads that are being constructed don't seem to be of the expected quality. We have new tarred roads that are so uneven and bumpy. An example of this is the Serenje-Mpika-Chinsali road. This is not the quality the Zambian people expect of a road that is coming from Michael's hands. More needs to be done in terms of supervision.
Labels: GUY SCOTT, PF
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Zebbies praises Scott's leadership character
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Fri 17 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
FORMER Amnesty International Zambia secretary general Zebbies Mumba says it takes unique leadership character for a leader to challenge people to vote his party out of government if it fails to deliver.
Commenting on Vice-President Guy Scott's comments in Sinazongwe, where he challenged Zambians to vote the PF out if they think it was not delivering, Mumba said the Vice-President had demonstrated the boldness and the kind of leadership the PF and its government had embraced in confronting many challenges the country was facing.
He said it was not common for politicians to embrace open and heavy criticism and allow the citizenry to vote their leaders out if, in their opinion, they were not delivering.
"I believe that he was speaking from the bottom of his heart about the determination of the government to uplift the living standards of the people, a heart of saying 'we are open to criticism' and he (Scott) was also communicating to the nation that President Michael Sata's leadership was aware that if they don't deliver, Zambians have a democratic right to vote them out and they can do that. So we expect the PF government not to relax, to embrace all corners of the country in terms of development and to meet the aspirations of many people," he said.
Mumba said after being in opposition for a long time and appreciating the suffering of many Zambians currently in abject poverty, the general populace expected the exemplary leadership that Vice-President Scott had exhibited to be put into action for Zambians to begin to see tangible development.
He said the country was seeing a different political scenario compared to some previous administrations during the MMD regime where some leaders defended wrongs, never embraced criticism and were not willing to leave power for anything.
"That's the kind of politics we need. People must be able to stick their heads and say really we are ready to go if we can't deliver because they know that Zambia is hungry and restless for development. The more reason why governments are voted out of government is because of the failure by the administration to deliver, and the PF must work hard to ensure that social and economic rights for the citizenry are enhanced. Then people will appreciate them and they will not be voted out," said Mumba.
Addressing Maamba residents on Wednesday during a Maamba Collieries Limited-sponsored medical screening camp, Vice-President Scott told Zambians to vote his party out of government in 2016 if they fail to deliver development.
Labels: GUY SCOTT, ZEBBIES MUMBA
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Sata opens State House doors to ordinary people
By Moses Kuwema
Fri 17 May 2013, 14:01 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says the doors to State House are open to ordinary people. And President Sata will today lay a foundation stone for the construction of Palabana University in Lusaka.
Speaking yesterday at State House when freedom fighters from Chinsali visited him, President Sata assured the freedom fighters that State House was their office.
"I thank you for visiting me here. As Dr Kenneth Kaunda said, we need to stand united as a country. Let us continue to respect this. This is your office," said President Sata.
And President Sata later in a statement said the birth of Chalimbana and Palabana universities would shortly be followed by the upgrading of infrastructure in other universities that had been created so far.
"I am proud to announce that government has already completed the transformation of the Nkrumah College of Education in Kabwe into a full-fledged University of Social Sciences. Government has further completed the transformation of the Copperbelt College of education in Kitwe into a fully fledged Mukuba University of Natural Sciences," President Sata said.
"The establishment of these universities underscores the PF government's determination to increase access to tertiary education especially for our young people who are currently competing to go to the only three public universities, being the University of Zambia, Copperbelt University and Mulungushi University."
In addition, the President Sata said government was completing construction works at the Robert Kapasa Makasa University of Science and Technology in Chinsali in Muchinga province.
President Sata said the government was determined to establish a university in each of the country's 10 provinces.
"It is with dismay that regardless of the growing population, Zambia has for the past 49 years of independence, lagged behind in the expansion of tertiary education especially at university level, due to the limited number of universities in the country. It is for this reason that the Patriotic Front government is determined to change this scenario," said President Sata.
And a representative of the freedom fighters, Samson Chifwamba thanked President Sata for the various developmental projects that were taking place in Muchinga Province and Chinsali.
Chifwamba named some of the developmental projects as Robert Makasa University and the construction of the provincial offices in Chinsali.
"This is the government for the poor people. We the freedom fighters have come to see you here at State House and we thank you for according us this opportunity," said Chifwamba.
Chifwamba said successive governments in Zambia had neglected the people of Chinsali.
"You have brought us Muchinga Province in Chinsali and created a number of jobs for the people in the province. If only this government took over power sometime back, the developments that would have taken place in Muchinga and Chinsali would have been massive. This is the government that we have always wanted," said Chifwamba in Bemba.
And Chifwamba asked President Sata to accord them an opportunity to take Frank Bwalya to Chinsali for him to be counselled on the need for him to respect leaders and elderly people.
"We have come to see you because we want you to give us Frank Bwalya. We want to take him to Chinsali to go and counsel him on the need for him to respect leaders and elder people. We the elders of Chinsali want Bwalya," said Chifwamba.
About 20 freedom fighters, led by Chinsali district commissioner Evelyn Kangwa, visited State House.
Labels: MICHAEL SATA, STATE HOUSE
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Finland ponders helping Zambia go green
By Gift Chanda
Fri 17 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
FINLAND says it is seeking ways of helping Zambia move towards embracing green economy.
Finnish Ambassador to Zambia Pertti Anttinen said yesterday that there was need for Zambia to move towards embracing green economy because its emerging economy was increasing the demand for new and sustainable solutions in natural resource development, renewable energies as well as green building.
The concept of green economy focuses primarily on the intersection between the environment and economy.
Ambassador Anttinen said Finland wants to explore ways it could assist Zambia promote this concept of sustainable development.
He disclosed that a delegation of private sector players and government officials would next week arrive in the country to seek ways of forging ties towards a green Zambian economy.
Ambassador Anttinen said Finnish Minister of International Development Heidi Hautala and Alexander Stubb, Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade, would also be part of the delegation to attend what is called the Zambian-Finnish Business Partnership week aimed at deepening Finnish business engagement in Zambia's green economy.
Ambassador Anttinen said the green economy concept was important for both Zambia and Finland due to its immense benefits which include creation of sustainable jobs.
He also emphasized the need to diversify the Zambian economy to promote trade with other countries.
Ambassador Anttinen said the economic woes of western economies would entail taking a different approach towards assistance to Africa.
"The trend lately has been countries moving towards promoting trade while limiting ODA Official Direct Aid," Ambassador Anttinen said, adding that, "During the meeting, business firms from Finland will find ways on how they can forge ties to promote more trade with their Zambian counterparts."
The Zambia-Finnish Business Partnership week will run from today to Wednesday next week.
Labels: AMBASSADOR, FINLAND, GREEN ENERGY, PERTTI ANTTINEN, ZAMBIA
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Zanu PF invades Bulawayo game park
May 16, 2013 in Land & Housing, National, News
Report by Staff reporter
Thirty-FIVE Zanu PF activists, who last month invaded a Bulawayo City Council nature reserve near Cowdray Park and partitioned it into stands, have been evicted.
In a letter dated May 7 addressed to Bulawayo mayor Thaba Moyo attached to confidential council minutes, town clerk Middleton Nyoni said the invaders, who settled in the reserve in April, had been evicted.
“On April 24, 2013, council was advised of the above land invasion, as Mazwi Nature Park is council property under the care of the City of Kings Business Ventures,” Nyoni wrote.
“We have been advised by the management of City of Kings Business Ventures that the group that invaded Mazwi Nature Park was evicted by the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
“They have not returned to the farm since their eviction. The situation at the nature park is back to normal.”
On April 24, Nyoni forwarded a letter written to him by the general manager of City of Kings Business Ventures, Moses Munthali, that the Zanu PF activists had invaded the nature reserve and allocated themselves stands.
Munthali, in the letter, said after hearing of the invasion, he took along with him members of the reserve’s management and reported the matter to Pumula Police Station where the officer-in-charge seconded five police officers to investigate the matter.
He said upon arrival at the reserve, they found Dan Ncube clearing the land with his wife and told them that the invasion was an initiative of the Zanu PF Cowdray Park ward executive structure.
Ncube reportedly said beneficiaries, all from Cowdray Park, “had been briefed that the property was a council game park to which the party now had authority to allocate residential stands”.
“. . . stand beneficiaries had been brought by a lorry on April 21, 35 stands, each measuring 75 metres by 300 metres, within the game park, were pegged and allocated,” reads the letter.
Munthali said in the letter they learnt that the initiative was an ongoing exercise and other allocations would be made the following week.
The council letter also reveals the list of beneficiaries at the game reserve was compiled by a Mr Hovedzo, who is on the lands committee of the Zanu PF Cowdray Park ward executive structure.
The stands were reportedly allocated by a Mabadza, who is the secretary of the Zanu PF Cowdray Park ward executive, who had allocated himself the entry gate house.
Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo yesterday said he did not have any information on the matter. Zanu PF Bulawayo chairperson Calistus Ndlovu could not be reached on his mobile phone.
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Lazo calls on Africa, Latin America to unite against neo-colonialism
By Larry Moonze and Kondwani Munyeka in Havana, Cuba
Wed 15 May 2013, 14:01 CAT
CUBAN National Assembly Speaker Estaban Lazo says Africa and Latin America must unite to fight the new form of colonialism. And the Zambian government has asked Cuba to help set up a sugar plantation and refinery in Luapula Province.
Lazo, who is also politburo member of the Communist Party of Cuba and former Vice-President of the Council of State, told Zambian foreign affairs minister Effron Lungu, who paid a courtesy call on him in Havana on Monday, that through unity, Africa and Latin America could defeat the bully in the neighbourhood.
"United we are bigger than the giant," Lazo said.
He said Zambia was a brotherly country, adding that it was very important that Lusaka had a diplomatic presence in Havana.
"We want to resume full bilateral relations with Zambia. We are waiting on that pending issue of opening the Zambian embassy in Cuba. I'm sure you will discuss this with our foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez. The embassy is very important. Diplomats stationed here will know every day what is there and what is not… We are fighting for the same cause, common causes that are far beyond ideology. We have to struggle against energy problems, global economic crisis, high food prices, climate change, the issue of fresh water that may become a serious problem… All these things will affect us but most seriously the poor. Today, 1.2 billion go to sleep without food, each time the number of illiterates is increasing and so is the issue of unemployment. Whatever solutions we come up with are for the survival of the human race. We need to be united. The other day, I read about Africa's development perspectives. They are encouraging but one thing that we need to achieve is unity. The forthcoming event, which is, the 50th anniversary of the African Union is a good starting point.
You see colonialists created conditions that perpetuated divisions, that divided us but today we have conditions and mechanisms for integration and mutual cooperation," Lazo said. "Africa should be part of CELAC [Community of Latin America and Caribbean states. We must join forces. Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa need strong links to better defend ourselves and our interests. To fight the new form of colonialism."
He said Zambia and Cuba were both poor countries.
Lazo said just like Cuba, Zambia sacrificed in the liberation of among others Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique.
"The concept of solidarity is such that you give not what you have in excess but sharing the little that you have. And for us Cuba, we never stop providing that kind of assistance. We do so to Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean," he said.
Lazo asked Zambia to help Cuba in the struggle to free the five Cuban anti-terror agents incarcerated in the US.
He said while one of them, Rene Gonzalez, had been freed upon renouncing his US citizenship the other four remained in America, serving harsh sentences.
Lazo said for over years, he had visited several African countries but somehow he could not land in Zambia.
"That visit to Zambia is pending," he said. "We Cuba love Africa very much for several reasons but primarily because part of our nationality comes from Africa."
Lazo explained that when the Spaniards arrived in Cuba in 1492, they gradually exterminated the 120,000 Tainos who inhabited the island.
He said after that the colonialists brought in 1.2 million African slaves who ended up forming part of the Cuban nationality.
Lazo said those Africans were in the forefront of the Cuban independence struggle.
He said he himself was of African and Chinese heritage.
"I am telling you this with confidence and sentimental feelings as to why we love Africa… we want the very best for Africa," Lazo said. "When we went to Africa to help in the liberation of Angola, to end Apartheid, the liberation of Namibia among others, we were helping ourselves in that we are part of Africa."
And Lungu said Zambia appreciated the developmental efforts Cuba made to Africa in the areas of education, health and agriculture.
He said bilateral relations between Cuba and Zambia dated back to 1972.
Lungu said in the last 41 years, Zambian leaders Dr Kenneth Kaunda, late Frederick Chiluba and Rupiah Banda visited Cuba.
He said President Michael Sata felt that Zambia's presence in Cuba should be by way of opening an embassy.
Lungu said that process would commence upon winding his tour to Cuba.
He said Zambia condemned the US embargo against Cuba.
Lungu said Cuba must be spared the US sanctions that date back to 1961.
"It is our prayer that this thing should come to an end sooner than later," he said.
And Lungu invited Cuba to participate at the UN World Tourism Organisation congress to be co-hosted by Zambia and Zimbabwe in August.
He also invited Cuba to attend the Cluster Munitions convention to be hosted in Zambia in September.
And when he met Cuban foreign trade and investment first deputy minister Orlando Hernandez Guillen, Lungu said Zambia was inviting Cuban engineers and other specialists to help set up a sugar project.
He said there was also need for help in agronomy in general.
Lungu said in the past, Zambia National Service officers were sent to Cuba to train in animal husbandry.
"The Cuban research centre in agriculture and Zambia are working together to develop livestock feed," he said.
Lungu said Zambia desired direct investment and trade with Cuba in manufacturing, agriculture and infrastructure.
He said under direct trade and investment, Zambians could fully benefit, bearing in mind the things that the two countries had in common.
Lungu said little had been done since Cuba and Zambia signed a trade protection agreement in 2000.
He said it was time to implement the already signed trade agreement and invited Cuban companies to participate at the Zambia International Trade Fair. On his part, Guillen invited Zambian entrepreneurs to attend the Havana International Trade Fair in November.
At Ministry of Higher Education, Lungu said Zambia had a lot to learn from the Cuban education system.
He said the Cuban education system was very accommodative to the majority of the population.
Lungu said it was for that reason that the Zambian government had asked the Cuban government to help in training teachers in different fields.
"We have also asked Cuba to upgrade our teachers from diploma to degree levels and also in special education and in the special programme 'Yes I Can'," said Lungu.
"I would like to express our gratitude over the scholarships that Zambia has been receiving from Cuba. All we are asking for is for the increase in the number of scholarship so that more Zambians could come and learn here."
But higher education deputy minister Jose Saborido Loidi said Cuba was facing economic hardships and therefore, it had decided to reduce scholarships.
He said the island was currently encouraging self-financed scholarships which were highly subsidised. Saborido Loidi said his ministry was very pleased with the performance of Zambian students in Cuba, adding that to date, 89 Zambian students had graduated from Cuba in different fields.
Labels: 2007 BUDGET, CUBA, ESTABAN LAZO, NEOCOLONIALISM
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Mukata urges more work to render economic gains tangible
By Gift Chanda
Wed 15 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
FINANCE deputy minister Keith Mukata says more work is required by everyone to translate positive economic results into tangible benefits for majority people in Africa.
Speaking at the African Community of Practice (AfCoP) regional workshop that opened in Lusaka yesterday, Mukata said the African continent had in the past few years recorded favourable economic results such as strong economic growth rates of more than five per cent but the challenge that had remained was to match the strong growth rate to poverty reduction.
He said "a lot of work is required to translate these positive results into tangible benefits in the lives of the majority of the people on the continent".
Mukata said regional economic integration, one of the strategies adopted by African countries to ensure positive macro-economic gains translate into tangible impact on ordinary people, should be strengthened.
The workshop is being held under the auspices of COMESA and the African Development Bank (AfDB) aimed at creating capacity for member nations to ensure more results-oriented and focused approach towards development.
COMESA deputy secretary general Dr Kipyego Cheluget observed earlier that focusing on results would enable the regional economic bloc to have a strategic perspective of whether initiatives being implemented were heading towards intended impacts.
And AfDB resident representative in Zambia Dr Freddie Kwesiga said the focusing on results initiative approach would respond to the challenges Africa was facing.
Meanwhile, AfCoP co-chairperson Ledule Bosh said the focusing on results initiative approach towards development in Africa would provide a framework for accelerating regional integration.
Labels: AFCOP, KEITH MUKATA, NEOLIBERALISM
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Parliamentary by-elections
By Editor
Wed 15 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
It is difficult to understand why Cornelius Mweetwa, the UNPD deputy spokesman, thinks dissolving Parliament and calling fresh elections will put an end to parliamentary by-elections.
You can hold early or fresh elections today and three months later, you may be holding parliamentary by-elections. This is so because the factors that give rise to parliamentary by-elections will not be taken away by the holding of early or fresh elections.
We have been holding elections over the last 23 years every five years or so, but these have not taken away parliamentary by-elections. If Cornelius just wants his party to have another go at power, let him simply say so. It seems 2016 is too far for them.
But if one is against parliamentary by-elections because they cost money, they should be more concerned about general elections that are even more expensive and complicated to manage. Clearly, it is not the cost Cornelius and his friends are concerned about. If they were in a position to win every parliamentary by-election that arises, they would not complain at all. They would actually encourage more by-elections so that they quickly alter the balance of power in the country and call the shots. And theirs is a political party that has always been fighting with whoever they are in an alliance with over fielding candidates in parliamentary by-elections.
They seem to be so eager to contest seats they think they can win in the same parliamentary by-elections they claim not to like. How is this possible? Moreover, one highly doubts if they themselves would refuse to be joined by a ruling party member of parliament who resigns to join them and thereby causing a parliamentary by-election!
If one is really concerned about the cost of parliamentary by-elections and is seeking ways to end them, the starting point should be to look critically at their causes.
We have parliamentary by-elections because the Constitution of our country allows them. It is a constitutional right of every member of parliament to decide which political formation he or she wants to associate with and change that whenever they find it desirable or expedient to do so. If parliamentary by-elections have to be ended, the starting point is to change the Constitution and outlaw them.
As long as they remain a constitutional right of every member of parliament from time to time, some will choose to exercise that right.
Of course, the drafters of our constitution didn't provide for parliamentary by-elections to encourage members of parliament to jump from one political party to another the way monkeys jump from one branch of a tree to another. But to achieve some stability in this regard, an enabling political culture is required. And this culture should encourage tolerance within members of a political party and among members of political parties. And there must be an equally high level of intra-party democracy so that members of a political party can freely express their views without being thrown out for holding views that are contrary to those of the party president and other dominant elements within a party.
Equally, there must be reasonable interaction between opposition members and those of the ruling party. Today, some of our politicians are in trouble for simply associating themselves with members of the ruling party or for agreeing with and supporting some government programmes. They are required by their political parties to have no co-operation at all with the government of the day. They are required not to support government programmes because this will strengthen the ruling party and perpetuate its stay in power.
It will be very difficult to avoid parliamentary by-elections under a political culture that does not recognise and accept the principle of loyal opposition.
The principle of loyal opposition encourages both the ruling and opposition politicians to co-operate, to work together in solving the problems of the nation. But those who are opposed to this principle seem to believe that the opposition has nothing to do with the ruling party when it comes to solving the problems of society. If the ruling party comes to them to seek co-operation, then it has failed to govern and it should call for fresh elections.
And looking at the behaviour of our opposition, is this really an opposition whose objectivity one can rely on and trust? Let's not forget that this is the opposition that supported Richard Kapita against judge Dr Patrick Matibini for the position of Speaker and fell short of it by one vote. Can Kapita really be chosen over Dr Matibini where merit is the criterion? Can a true patriot choose Kapita over Matibini for the position of Speaker? Imagine what Parliament would be like if they had gotten their way and made Kapita Speaker?
Members of parliament leave their political parties to join another party because the glue that is supposed to hold them to their party is weak or has become weak. And what is it that is supposed to bind members of a political party? The issue of political outlook or ideology. Most of our political parties don't have a declared political outlook or ideology.
For some, their political outlook seems to be that of tribe or region. Even their recruitment drive is all the time influenced by that. Certain politicians in their political parties are given senior political positions which they do not in any away deserve, or have not in any way earned, purely on account of their tribe.
A fellow who failed to win a parliamentary seat and has no meaningful political background, constituency or experience is appointed vice-president of a party on his day of joining simply because he hails from a certain tribe or province. That's the ideology that guides the decisions of some political parties like the one Cornelius belongs to. This is the glue that binds them. How strong and enduring can this glue be? Whenever it weakens, parliamentary by-elections are held.
And the decisions to cross or not to cross the floor are made by individual members of parliament belonging to such parties. Are they telling us that they have within their opposition ranks, bad and unprincipled members? Who adopted these members of parliament as candidates in the first place? Were they adopting candidates they don't know?
There is much more that needs to be done to end parliamentary by-elections than Cornelius seems to be suggesting.
Labels: BY-ELECTIONS, CORNELIUS MWEETWA, UPND
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(THOUGHTLEADER SA) How South Africa created Malemas and how it is killing them
Brad Cibane
Wed 15 May 2013
Imagine yourself as a youth in the June 1976 Soweto riots. You are young and you have dreams; selfish dreams about yourself as a free man (or woman) and a full citizen of a free nation. Desperation, pain and death surround you. You realise that you have only two options: freedom or death. Death, in any event, is the ultimate freedom. All you have in your hands is a large rock that you wish to throw as close as possible to an apartheid officer. If luck has it, you’ll make him bleed. This is not a death wish; it‘s your contribution to humanity.
You spot an officer. He is aiming a rifle at you; not the perfect target but he will do just fine. You raise your arm to throw the stone. You are certain that he won’t hesitate to shoot you down, but before he shoots you … he must feel the wrath of your stone.
Now freeze this black and white frame (pun intended). The officer is on one knee aiming a rifle at a youth who has a stone raised at him (this is surely one for the museums). Look again at the picture and ask yourself: what drives this youth?
At some point in our history the liberation movement depended on such youth. These youths were the fearless bulldogs of the guerrilla movement. They were sought out and injected with the liberation venom which induced their thirst for freedom. They were baptised with necessary hatred of “whiteness” and “white privilege”. The principal pillar of their order was loyalty to the liberation movement, its leaders and its ideas. The ideas were cast in the liberation movement’s bible: the Freedom Charter.
The international financiers of apartheid became alarmed at the apartheid regime’s bill and they shut off the money source. Oppression does not come cheap and the apartheid regime crumbled under the financial distress. So it changed its method, put down its guns and called the liberation movement to the table. It was time for a different battle fought with pens, paper and intellect. The guerrilla youth became obsolete.
After their absolution the guerrilla youth became toxic waste, not just for Tutu’s pretend “rainbow nation” but for the ANC’s own mandate. Their bible, the Freedom Charter, became worthless. Overnight, their mortal enemy, “whiteness” and “white privilege”, became a national aspiration. Everything else was shelved. At first the ANC cared enough to pretend. It adopted the reconstruction and development programme and was mum about nationalisation. The pretence stopped with growth, employment and redistribution policy.
The issue becomes more complex. Before 1994 South African wealth -- be it private or national wealth -- was regarded to consist of illegitimate spoils from the plunder and oppression of the black masses. One central pillar of the liberation movement was the recapture of wealth. This is precisely why the Freedom Charter provides that: “The national wealth of our country, the heritage of South Africans, shall be restored to the people; the mineral wealth beneath the soil, the Banks and monopoly industry shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole; all other industry and trade shall be controlled to assist the wellbeing of the people.”
The liberation movement did not bother to amend these provisions. On one hand the ANC has consistently reaffirmed its adherence to the Freedom Charter; on the other hand it has vehemently rejected its provision of nationalisation of wealth.
Thus, while wealth (private or public) became legitimate in the eyes of the elite, which participated in the negotiations and can now participate in the new liberal economy, the old guerrillas were left to sustain themselves by other means -- corruption (literally: abuse of their power).
The problem is compounded by the fact that pre-1994 Bantu Education was not “education for education’s-sake”. It was education for sustenance. Thus, here was the old guerrilla youth, without skills, poor but politically capable. Capitalism says use whatever capital you have to make wealth. Their capital was political power.
Julius Malema is, in my view, such a youth. Reports say he joined the ANC at the age of nine or ten. He speaks the liberation movement’s vernacular and he acts with the liberation movement’s temperament, but the liberation movement no longer has use for him.
Malema is not just one man because there are many like him. Say we take Malema down; we burry him in tax laws and corruption laws ... what then? Do we expect that a Harvard graduate with a silk tongue and Victorian manners will take his place? No. Not that there are no black Harvard graduates, but they are too busy cleaving black economic empowerment benefits to care about youth politics. Another Malema will come up in Malema’s place and we can’t silence them all.
The solution is harder and needs more effort, something politicians are not fond of. It requires the ANC to be honest about its position on the Freedom Charter and to be honest about its economic, political and social policies. Further, the solution requires that the ANC train its youth with something more than Tambo, Sisulu and Mandela sing-along songs.
Labels: ANC YOUTH LEAGUE, JULIUS MALEMA
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The needs of rural people
By Editor
Tue 14 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
Professor Nkandu Luo, the Minister of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs, says there is need for civil servants to understand the needs of rural people.
We are certain that this is a matter that should concern all our leaders, all our public officers and all our people. It is a fact that our rural people have been left far behind. Forty-nine years after independence, most of our rural people have not seen electricity, have not seen a tarred road. They have no access to the services required in an organised society.
We also know that those who are deprived will inevitably act to demand a better life. The gnawing pain of persistent poverty and deprivation will, in the end, result in instability.
The simple point we are trying to make is that the dire poverty of our rural citizens is not an affliction which impacts only on those who are deprived, who are neglected simply because they live in the rural areas. It reverberates across our whole country and inevitably impacts negatively on the whole nation, including on those who live in conditions of comfort and plenty in the urban areas.
The inescapable conclusion from all this must surely be that our interdependence demands that we all combine to launch a national offensive for the development of our rural areas.
We are aware of, and respect the initiatives that have been undertaken in the past to address the problem of rural poverty in our country. But we are certain that none of us can assert that there does indeed exist a real and meaningful national offensive for rural development in our country, drawing into one concerted effort government, the private sector, non-governmental organisations and our people themselves.
We should always bear in mind that this country will not be a good place for any of us to live unless it's a good place for all of us to live in.
There is a disproportionate allocation of resources in favour of the urban areas. There is more access to clean water, electricity, health and education services in the urban areas than we have in the rural areas.
More money is being spent on maintaining roads in our rich suburbs while the rural areas are being ignored.
We understand that this is where the leaders, the donors and the investors live. And we are not in any way suggesting that the rural areas should have the same type of roads and other services as our urban areas. What we are trying to say is that as far as possible, let's narrow the gap, especially in education, health and other key sectors so that the rural people can also feel human and citizens of this country.
It shouldn't be a punishment to live in a rural area. A rural child should have a good opportunity of qualifying to our country's top universities. Actually, this was the way it was in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In those days, it didn't matter whether you went to Kalabo or Luwingu secondary school - you had an opportunity to make it to the University of Zambia.
Today, very few rural children are making it to our universities and higher colleges simply because the standards of their schools have really gone down. And in some cases, the schools that are being built for them are schools in name only.
They are not schools to take them anywhere. They are receiving second-class education. It's not unusual to hear of a rural school that goes up to grade nine having only four teachers teaching over 800 pupils. How possible is this? What type of education will a child get from such a school?
It is the same when it comes to health services. The rural hospitals or clinics are being manned by unqualified or semi-qualified personnel.
One can actually say they are second-class citizens of this country. We have rural clinics that are attended by more than two thousand patients in a month being serviced by only one clinical officer assisted by two unqualified personnel. And such clinics sometimes also have to attend to at least 25 deliveries per month. How is this possible for one clinical officer? These are facts and not mere fabrications. We have witnessed the situations we are talking about. They exist in our country.
There is need to attend to the needs of our rural people. Not everyone can flee to the city. The services we have in our urban areas should be equitably shared with our rural areas. And rural service should become an important part of the work of all our civil servants and other public workers.
The best of our teachers, the best of our medical personnel should be made to work for some time in our rural areas. This is the only way we can build a nation with pride in itself; a thriving community, rich in economic prosperity and secure in social justice.
We have to find ways of taking away the despair of our rural populations and of giving them hope. We shouldn't make the economic progress that is today taking place in our country benefit just a few. We must work unceasingly to lift our rural areas to a higher destiny. Everyone has to make a contribution and everyone can benefit. We have to do it together.
For our public service workers, service to Zambia means service of the millions who suffer poverty in our rural areas. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance, and disease and inequality of opportunity. And so they have to work hard to give reality to the dreams of our rural people. They have a lot of hard work ahead. There should be no resting for any of them until we make all our rural people what destiny intended them to be.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, RURAL AREAS
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Kambwili, Bwalya go for each other
By Kombe Chimpinde
Tue 14 May 2013, 14:01 CAT
SPORTS minister Chishimba Kambwili yesterday accused Frank Bwalya of being a con man who was forming a political party to serve as a conduit for receiving money from unsuspecting well-wishers. But Bwalya described Kambwili's claims as cheap propaganda, accusing him of plotting to finish him politically.
"He who comes in the political arena must have clean hands. Ask Bwalya if he is a clean man. Ask him how clean he is. You and I know that priests are kept by the church and Bwalya does not…even when he was at Zesco, he was earning an allowance. Now go and see the house he lives in in Roma," Kambwili said.
"He lives in a house which is three times the size of the house of the Catholic bishops of most churches. Rentals for houses in Roma range from US$5,600 per month. Go and ask him who is paying for that house he is living in."
Kambwili maintained that Bwalya was a materialistic person that was pretending to be poor.
"Why live in such a house when you don't work? Why hasn't he gone to live in Kalingalinga or Mtendere?" asked Kambwili.
But Bwalya said unlike the PF whom he said had received lots of money from well wishers and only used less, sharing it among themselves PF, he was only receiving small amounts from well-wishers to sustain him.
"That is how all these statements by him Kambwili should be understood because since the PF government is looking for an opportunity to arrest me and scandalise me, they would not even publicly talk about the information they have which can incriminate me. They would have just swiftly moved to arrest me. It is very sad that PF wants to use the same things Mr Sata was accused of to accuse me," Bwalya said.
"Now when you look at Mr Sata's record and my record, I think it can be easier for certain things to hold on Mr Sata than on me."
Bwalya said he had been fending for himself following the Catholic Church's' decision to withdraw his sustenance allowance which he was legally entitled to since 2009.
Bwalya said he had made money through a lot of hard work and that his life was simple and different from that of some people in government, who he said were now thriving on illegal deals and connections.
"I live here and go into Kabanana (compound) and have a meeting, the impact it will create, without money is more than the impact they would create with the money that they have. I don't believe in money myself. That is why before I die, I want to ensure that I make a contribution to the politics of this country," said Bwalya, who took this reporter around his apartment in Roma.
Bwalya said the reign of thieves had ended because people of integrity were coming.
"When John the Baptist told his disciples to follow Jesus and Jesus turned round and saw the following, he asked 'what do you want?' Then the disciples said 'master where do you live?' Jesus responded saying 'come and see'. For me to make people my disciples, I tell them come and see how I leave. They look at opportunities I have been given to make money and then I decide to leave like this, then they say 'maybe this man means something'."
Bwalya said he would move to a house in Kalingalinga should he fail to sustain the rentals for the house.
"This furniture (sofa) you see with me, I got it from the Copperbelt. The printer was given to me two years ago by a close relative of Mr Sata. That water dispenser I got it on credit from a shop in Kitwe from someone who was supporting Mr Sata. That TV you see there, was given to me by somebody who is a staunch supporter of the PF here in Lusaka.
When I came to Zesco, I just had a bed. That stove and fridge, I bought it on hire purchase," Bwalya explained.
"I don't need a lot of money just like I didn't need it when I campaigned for PF."
Bwalya is currently living in a two-bedroom semi-detached flat in Roma, one of which he is using to print badges for his party bearing initials ABZ, with inscriptions 'Fr Frank Bwalya For President ABZ'.
Bwalya has stuck President Michael Sata's portrait in his living room.
He explained this as a form of recognition that President Sata was reigning although he did not agree with some of the things he was doing.
Labels: CHISHIMBA KAMBWILI, FRANK BWALYA
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PF doesn't want to abuse govt treasury - Inonge
By Cynthia Phiri in Choma
Tue 14 May 2013, 14:01 CAT
PF national chairperson Inonge Wina says the party has continued to struggle financially because it does not want to dip into government coffers.
Speaking to women in Choma at the party secretariat, Wina, who is also gender minister, said there was need for the ruling party to come up with strategies for mobilising funds to support party programmes as the government strongly condemns corruption.
"This party has condemned corruption and as such, we are still struggling financially like the time we were in opposition. So, the party has to find ways of mobilising funds that will support party programmes. We do not want to dip in the coffers of the country," she said.
And Wina told the women who gathered to welcome her that the PF government would develop Southern Province despite it being an opposition stronghold.
She said the women would also not be left out of the development agenda of the province.
"It is not possible to change everyone in Southern Province to PF, but we are determined to work with everyone for the sake of development regardless of one's political affiliation," Wina said.
She said the government was faced with challenges because some political leaders did not want to be seen implementing government developmental projects, a situation she said was negatively affecting women's clubs.
Wina encouraged women in rural areas to rise up to the challenge and claim their share of national development projects, adding that women were the backbone of any economy.
She also noted that party structures in Choma had increased in number and thanked district officials for working hard to increase membership.
And the women asked Wina to lobby the government on their behalf for a cervical cancer screening machine.
The women complained that they had to travel to either Monze or Livingstone to access cervical cancer screening services.
Labels: CORRUPTION, INONGE WINA, PF
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Mangani says treats Kabimba as his boss
By Christopher Miti in Chipata
Tue 14 May 2013, 14:01 CAT
LAMECK Mangani says there is nothing official to show that there are serious differences between him and PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba.
Featuring on Breeze FM's Political Hour programme on Saturday, Mangani who won an election petition against MMD's Reuben Mtolo Phiri said he treated Kabimba as his boss.
He said being a chief administrator of the PF, Kabimba could have received several reports about him and that some of them may have been very negative.
"There is nothing official to show that there are some serious differences between me and honourable Kabimba. For me, I treat him as my boss. He is the secretary general of the party and we had never had serious differences apart from perceived differences. Possibly he could have been told a lot of other issues that I could not be privileged to know but he is a chief administrator. As far as I am concerned, I treat him as a chief administrator; he is my boss, and this is why I feel compelled that soon after meeting the people in the constituency, I must go and meet him and tell him that 'as your candidate in Chipata Central, I won the petition. So he is going to advise on what to do next," Mangani said.
Asked whether he thinks Kabimba was misled to deny him on a ZNBC TV programme, Mangani said he never watched the programme and that he did not know the context in which Kabimba issued the statement.
"More important is that honourbale Kabimba is a human being like anybody else, if somebody goes there and tells him that Mangani does not like you, he will react in a negative manner. I am not saying this is what he was told; I am saying if somebody went there," he said.
"He (Kabimba) is in the top leadership of the party and there is no way I can ignore him," said Mangani.
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MMD, UPND living in denial - Kabimba
By Moses Kuwema and Roy Habaalu
Tue 14 May 2013, 14:01 CAT
WYNTER Kabimba says MMD and UPND are living in denial and should re-brand and change the leadership if they are to attract new members including keeping the old ones within their parties. And Kabimba says the UPND has a tendency of wishing for things without attaching realism.
Responding to UPND deputy spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa's challenge to President Michael Sata to dissolve Parliament as a way of curtailing by-elections, Kabimba who is PF secretary general and justice minister, said the opposition had a crisis of leadership that could inspire the followers.
"They MMD and UPND have a crisis themselves and this is the crisis of leadership that can inspire the followers to rally behind them. Hence, people are leaving because of bad leadership. Our colleagues should see if they can change the leadership in their political parties and re-brand themselves. UPND and MMD need re-branding so that they can inspire the confidence of their members within the party and those that would like to join them. That job cannot be done by PF for them. Let them meet the challenges of democracy," he said.
And Kabimba said there was no crisis at the moment that should warrant the dissolution of Parliament.
"You only dissolve Parliament when you have a crisis. We do not have a political crisis now. The PF government is enjoying a majority in Parliament. We have been able to move our programmes in Parliament and outside. We are not facing a crisis. To call for the dissolution of Parliament is not appreciating the variables that exist among political parties. My honest advice is that our colleagues should look in their political parties, they have a problem there," he said.
And on Mweetwa's statement that the PF's popularity wax, Kabimba wondered on what basis the Choma member of parliament was making such a statement when empirical evidence had shown the opposite.
"We heard that analysis in 2009 when we were in a pact with the UPND. That is a speculative argument, which was settled in the 2011 general elections," he said.
Kabimba said there was an aspect within the UPND of wishing for things without being realistic.
"They wish for things without realism attached to their wishes, that's the nature of our colleagues in the UPND. The results so far in local government and parliamentary elections are clear. You cannot lose an election and claim that you are popular. It is not true that PF is becoming unpopular. We are becoming more and more popular because we have continued to mobilise members," said Kabimba.
And Copperbelt youth chairman Menyani Zulu said Mweetwa was frustrated because he was not appointed minister.
He wondered how UPND would increase its popularity in the unlikely event that Parliament was dissolved because it had been losing the recent by-elections.
He said the 'little votes' UPND had been getting were from areas where MMD didn't contest.
"Cornelius is being naïve and I fail to appreciate how a person like him can sink so low and ignore the reality on the ground. UPND together with MMD teamed against PF in 2011 but we thumped them, they have been losing by-elections so what is Cornelius talking about? UPND should realise that you convince voters with the message you preach to people not boasting about money or using a tribe and these people don't know how to read politics," said Zulu.
Meanwhile, Kabimba says there is no room for traitors in PF.
Addressing constituency and district officials ahead of the June 20 by-election in Feira, Kabimba said there was no compromise on party discipline.
He said there were some party members whose loyalty was to both PF and the opposition.
"We don't want traitors that frustrate our policies. This party has grown because of disciplined members that believe in it. Those of you who are trading between PF and UPND, once we catch you, that is the end," he said.
Kabimba said old members should embrace those that were joining them.
He said those joining them were not going to grab positions from old members.
"People that are coming from MMD are joining you to make the party better. They are not coming to take up your positions; there is nobody from MMD that will take over your positions. That's not permissible in the party. You are the people that we depend on in this campaign so please my message to you is, unite and work together as a family," he said.
Kabimba said it was the policy of the party that one who caused a by-election either by resignation or through a petition was given priority to contest.
He said there was no need for the party to get divided over the choice of a parliamentary candidate.
Kabimba said the PF lost in Lukulu West because it was divided.
"If you become selfish and egocentric and lose this election, the central committee will consider you as bad leaders. This is not the time to settle family feuds or personal scores,' said Kabimba.
Meanwhile, PF Lusaka Province youth chairman Kennedy Kamba said youths had put suspected traitors on surveillance.
He said the youth league would not let the party be destroyed by a few selfish individuals.
'We cherish PF because we sacrificed our time and knowledge to liberate our country from the 20 years of misrule and bad governance. It's the values, norms and principles that we are protecting not an individual so traitors must realise that we know them and their day of reckoning is near,"said Kamba.
Labels: MMD, UPND, WYNTER KABIMBA
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Idea of inter-country market cheers Chililabombwe traders
By Vincent Matandiko
Tue 14 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
CHILILABOMBWE Cross Border Traders Association says it is happy with the government's intention to establish a modern inter-country market at Kasumbalesa Border Post.
According to Kasumbalesa branch chairperson Raphael Chingelesh, the modern infrastructure is expected to enhance business transactions for small-scale traders.
The association has also called on the government to revise regulations on the issuance of border passes by immigration officers to ease the movement of people and goods into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to avoid illegal trade.
Zambian immigration officers currently issue border passes to people from within a restricted radius, while others have to use passports or travelling documents, a trend that forced some small scale traders to use undesignated routes and getting into conflict with the law in the DRC.
This came to light when Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry director for domestic trade Ambassador Albert Muchanga held a consultative meeting with various stakeholders at Kasumbalesa border regarding the construction of an inter-country market. Chingelesh said small-scale traders from various parts of the country who deal in edible products were faced with many challenges due to lack of a proper market.
He said that the only market at Kasumbalesa being run by the local authority had limited space, forcing traders to operate in undesignated areas under difficult circumstances.
The traders cited other challenges such as the poor security situation as they are sometimes robbed of their commodities and finances, poor sanitation situation which was a serious health hazard.
Other challenges brought out by the traders included the inadequate storage and lodging facilities, lack of banking facilities, language barrier when transacting with the Congolese as well as the lack of understanding of exchange rates, which led to some traders being swindled by middle men.
And Ambassador Muchanga assured the traders of government's willingness to help address their challenges and urged them to adhere to all local authority and national regulations during the course of their business.
He also urged the traders to formalise their businesses to access credit facilities from the government to enhance their businesses, as opposed to subletting shops to foreigners once the inter-country market is constructed.
Ambassador Muchanga and his team are touring various border posts in the country with a view to establishing inter-country markets in areas with the highest trade potential.
Labels: BORDERS, CHILILABOMBWE
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Govt committed to improving farmers' lives - Samfya DC
By Prince Chibawah in Mansa
Fri 10 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
SAMFYA district commissioner Royd Chakaba says the government is committed to improving the living standards of small-scale farmers.
Speaking in Samfya yesterday during the District Co-operative Union annual general meeting held at Samfya Youth Skills Centre, Chakaba said the government regards co-operative input as a cornerstone in social and economic development.
He said the government was determined to create an enabling environment for the co-operative movement to flourish, describing it as part of strategic means for enhancing income generation, job creation and community development.
Chakaba said the government had also made strides in developing co-operative training programmes to meet the needs of the co-operative movement in changing social, economic and political environment.
Meanwhile, Chakaba has apologised to farmers in the area for the late distribution of inputs last season under the Farmer Input Support Programme.
"As government, we are apologising to you our farmers for the delay in distributing inputs last farming season. This was due to the fact that the suppliers who were tasked to carry out the exercise did not perform according to the expectations. However, my government has put up corrective measures to ensure the situation doesn't repeat itself," he said.
Chakaba further urged the farmers to desist from selling their produce to briefcase buyers.
Meanwhile, Chakaba has expressed disappointment over Samfya District Co-operative Union's non-performance.
He noted that the role of the co-operative union was to ensure its membership utilise their potential through commercial activities.
"We have observed that most co-operatives become active during FISP acquisition, which we are discouraging as government. This is a timely warning to you that the government, through the Department of Co-operatives, is on the ground to identify and flush out such co-operatives because they have now become a liability to the nation," said Chakaba.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, ROYD CHAKABA
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(STICKY) (ZIMBABWE MAIL ZW) U.S. envoy visits Zimbabwe
Staff Reporter 2013-04-16 22:36:00
COMMENT - Here is former UN Ambassador Andrew Young making the convoluted argument that land reform in Zimbabwe was necessary (2500 hectares per farm) but somehow is impossible in South Africa (1350 hectares per farm). - MrK
HARARE, — The former U.S. envoy to the United Nations Andrew Young on Tuesday met Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai separately to mend relations that had soured over the past decade.
Young told journalists after meeting Mugabe that the U.S. State Department had sent him to Zimbabwe to assure the nation that it wanted to see relations revert to the state prior to the land reforms of 2000. The U.S. also wants to see peace prevailing in the country.
Relations between Zimbabwe and the U.S., the United Kingdom, the European Union and other western countries turned for the worst following the land reforms under which most white farmers lost their land mainly to formerly disadvantaged blacks.
Violence rocked the countryside as independence war veterans led the farm invasions, during which several white farmers died.
Zimbabwe was also been accused of rigging the 2000 general elections in Mugabe’s favor.
The U.S. has since imposed sanctions on the southern African country.
Young said there was no reason why the sanctions should stay.
“I should say I have never particularly approved of the sanctions personally, but I have never been able to get rid of them,” he said.
A special envoy of the United States state department and former ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Andrew Young, says his country now has an administration which is prepared to move beyond sanctions.
Young who held a nearly two hour discussion with President Robert Mugabe at State House this Tuesday said he personally approved the imposition of sanctions against Zimbabwe but said it is time to move forward.
Mr Young was United States permanent representative to the United Nations from 1977 to 1979 and he supported Zimbabwe’s liberation movements who were waging the war of independence against the short-lived Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.
He said the United States needs reassurance that Zimbabwe is peaceful as it was known in the past and that the world hopes to see the beginning of a new flowering of freedom and democracy.
The Zimbabwe government has always maintained that Zimbabweans taught the West democracy when they fought for the right to vote and for their national sovereignty.
Ambassador Young spoke of the need for Zimbabweans to be united irrespective of race, creed and political affiliation saying they should realise they are on the same side.
He saluted Zimbabwe’s land reform programme which has empowered and transformed the lives of over 300 000 Zimbabwean families, saying it was very successful.
He however noted that the programme needs financial support to help farmers increase productivity and cushion them against shortages of fertilisers and seed.
Ambassador Young’s delegation included US ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Bruce Wharton and the assistant Secretary in the State department.
Labels: ANDREW YOUNG, LAND REFORM, SANCTIONS, ZDERA
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The road of dialogue
By Editor
Mon 13 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
The Apostolic Nuncio to Zambia Archbishop Julio Murat has appealed for dialogue, saying it is the cornerstone on which all relations are built.
The Nuncio's appeal for dialogue among Zambians and their leaders may seem superfluous because, as many say, Zambians are a peaceful and tolerant people, who continually dialogue with each other.
It is true that there exists the dialogue of life among our people. It is the kind of dialogue by which people strive to live in an open neighbourly spirit, sharing joys and sorrows, human problems and worries, and mutually giving and receiving all types of support.
People strive to avoid all that could disturb the peace, and hasten to resolve differences. We see this kind of dialogue in our families and neighbourhoods, in schools and places of work, in the marketplace. This is the dialogue for survival. Its absence would make life impossible for everyone. Unfortunately, it is often restricted to the members of the "group" and usually excludes or is denied to the "outsider" or to those who are not "one-of-us".
Then there is the dialogue of action, in which our people, irrespective of their political, social, ethnic or other differences, join hands and work together to realise common projects, particularly when the objectives of such projects are well understood and accepted by all. Both types of dialogue, however, tend to create blocks and to foment group rivalries and conflicts; one group united against another.
And because of the existence and practice of these types of dialogue in our society, some of us tend to think any talk of dialogue is an attempt to create divisions or misunderstandings that are not there. But despite all this, complaints about lack of dialogue continue. The fact that these complaints continue is a clear sign that some citizens are not being taken seriously, that they are not being listened to. This is absence of dialogue. And we may pay a terrible price for this absence of dialogue.
"Please, listen to me. Try to understand me." This is the cry of many Zambians today. Prejudices, suspicions, fears, hatred, divisions have closed our ears and hearts to one another. Yet each one of us wants to be heard and understood. Probably, we are all saying the same thing, but since we do not even make the effort to understand what the others are saying, our problems and differences keep growing from day to day. The result is what we now experience: misunderstandings and a general atmosphere of hostility and suspicion.
Dialogue, listening to others and sharing our views and beliefs with others, is not a choice for us. It is a must. This is so because dialogue is an essential path for the promotion of peace and unity among our people. And dialogue is rooted in the nature and dignity of human beings. Dialogue is the path towards national unity. In dialogue, one can compare different points of view and examine disagreements.
In any country, there is always a need for ongoing dialogue for different reasons. New and young generations need it. New situations require it. And new challenges force us to adopt new attitudes. Dialogue is therefore an ongoing process in all areas of human endeavour, and no human being can rightly claim that he or she does not need more dialogue. This is all more true in the new political situation that is emerging in our country. Without a personal and social change of attitudes towards economic policies, politics as a public service, honesty, transparency, accountability and justice for all, the change of political structures, the Constitution will not bring any substantial improvement. If our politics are not matched with a moral campaign towards civil responsibility, a spirit of dialogue and justice, the change of structures will remain inoperative, and the same roots of evil will continue producing the same consequences.
We shouldn't forget that in traditional African societies, there were structures of dialogue and participation in the process of decision-making in order to find peaceful solutions in cases of social conflict. Equally, our right to participation in governance today requires participatory democracy. And this requires not only democratic structures but also the reign of democratic values in the hearts and minds of the people. Democratic structures without corresponding democratic values in the hearts and minds of the people are rootless. We must hold on to some values and norms, some expectations and aspirations. In this regard, our persistent call for a loyal opposition is not intended to undermine anyone, humiliate anyone, subordinate anyone. It is simply out of a belief that this is the environment, the atmosphere, that makes democracy work. This is the so-called "political culture" which we feel is so necessary in Zambia today if multi-party democracy is to succeed.
The fundamental value we must have is the respect for diversity and acceptance of pluralism. Gone are the days when everyone was supposed to think the same way, belong to the same political party, and support the same programme.
True believers in multi-party democracy welcome dialogue and debate over views contrary to their own because they realise that they themselves may not always be right. They recognise that there is a specific role to be a played by each different organisation in a spirit of unity amidst diversity. This value of respect of diversity and dialogue means a realisation that political parties are important but that they are not the only actors in democracy.
A real democracy has to be built on the basis of justice and moral values and has to look to the common good.
We should be more interested in a lively spirit of democracy that will give full meaning to the structures we have created or are creating and ensure their success in fostering the welfare and progress of our country. We can only build a society with the free co-operation of all its members.
The road to social peace must necessarily pass through dialogue, sincere dialogue that seeks truth and goodness. That dialogue must be a meaningful and generous offer of a meeting of good intentions and not a possible justification for continuing to foment dissention, mistrust, suspicion.
Labels: JULIO MURAT
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Dialogue is paramount in all relationships - Chiputa
By Mwala Kalaluka
Mon 13 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
UNIVERSITY of Zambia academician Dr Eustern Chiputa says only unreasonable people fail to sit down to dialogue when differences arise.
And Dr Chiputa says the prevailing hate speech in the country's governance arena is not helping in national building and is being fuelled by citizens that pick and amplify ill sentiments from political leaders.
Commenting on Apostolic Nuncio to Zambia Archbishop Julio Murat's message on the use of dialogue as a bridge builder among people, Dr Chiputa said any relationship without dialogue was no relationship at all.
"For any relationship to grow, to blossom and to be nurtured, dialogue is cardinal," Dr Chiputa said. "When dialogue comes first, it is paramount in resolving any dispute."
He said people should come together to talk whenever disputes arise and the problems could be sorted out regardless of their magnitude.
"Sometimes people fail to reason and they resort to war," Dr Chiputa said said.
Archbishop Murat on Friday said that no real bridges could be built among men without God.
And Dr Chiputa said there was urgent need for national building.
"Governance is not an issue for the people in government alone. Governance is an issue for every Zambian, for every citizen of a particular country, more so those that hold positions of responsibility both in government and outside government because responsibility is not just for those who are in the government. Responsibility is required even for those in the opposition because today's opposition leaders are tomorrow's government leaders," said Dr Chiputa, who is also UNZALARU president. "Responsibility is also required even for those who are in Church because the Church is said to be the moral barometer of the society and when I say Church, I include those people that belong to other faith apart from Christianity; for example, our Muslim brothers and sisters, our Hindu brothers and sisters, the Sikhs and many other people even those that may not have any religious inclination. All of us need to subscribe to some sort of etiquette in terms of governance."
Commenting on Zambia Episcopal Conference president Archbishop Ignatius Chama's observation on Saturday that the emerging seeds of division, jealousy and competition for power in the country have led to a fractured society that needs repair, Dr Chiputa said those in power must have a very large heart to accommodate all sorts of people "because when you are in leadership you expect a lot of people to insult you".
"But then again for those that are outside government, they must know that one day, God willing, they might also be in power so they must exercise restraint in the way that they deal with their colleagues in government. I don't mean they should fear them. I don't mean they should just keep quiet when things go wrong. There are many ways of castigating those who are in power without necessarily having to insult them," said Dr Chiputa.
Labels: EUSTERN CHIPUTA
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MMD was a rotten govt working against its citizens - Kabimba
By Roy Habaalu in Luangwa
Mon 13 May 2013, 14:01 CAT
WYNTER Kabimba says MMD was a rotten government working against its citizens. Kabimba, who attended a church service at St James United Church of Zambia (UCZ) congregation in Luangwa yesterday, said MMD was only serving the interests of a few individuals.
"The MMD government was only serving a small clique of politicians against the people. Under PF, we will restore the dignity of Zambians. We can't continue with the MMD's governance style where some people were more Zambian while others were second-class citizens in their own country. We ought to restore our dignity not through political rhetoric but through development of all districts," he said.
Kabimba said government had shown its commitment to upgrading the country through the selfless leadership of President Michael Sata.
He said the PF was developing the country in a holistic way which in turn generated employment.
He said it was unacceptable that life expectancy had reduced to 42 years.
"In other countries, children who are born are expected to live a 100 years when our people are dying at 42 years. This is scandalous. We need to support his Excellency the President so that Zambia is back on track to compete with other countries. We are the only country that's not suffering from food deficit because of the hard-working people of Zambia," he said.
Kabimba said it was the duty of Africa to feed the continent.
He said it was the duty of Zambia to promote Pan-Africanism.
"We need to promote Pan Africanism so that we stand on our own, so that we stand against things that go wrong and stand against the threat to regional security," he said.
Kabimba said people of Luangwa should vote for a selfless leader.
He said it was unfair that people were served by leaders that turned against them.
He said the PF would give people of Luangwa a good candidate.
The Feira by-election that was caused by the resignation of MMD's Patrick Ngoma to join PF is slated for June 28.
Meanwhile, Luangwa district commissioner Eunie Mumba complained of lack of transport in most government departments.
Mumba said patients had to be referred to the nearest clinic that was 60 kilometres.
"Instead of the 40 officers as per establishment, Zambia Police has 20 officers and accommodation is critical. We don't have female holding cells," said Mumba.
Labels: MMD, WYNTER KABIMBA
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