MMD will not succeed in Luwingu, says Mulonga
By Kabanda Chulu in Kitwe
Fri 19 Aug. 2011, 11:55 CAT
IMMEDIATE past MMD Lupososhi parliamentarian Albert Mulonga says the
ruling party will not win in Luwingu district because party officials have
rejected Kelvin Mwansa who has been imposed as a last minute candidate.
And Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba has said people of Kasama Central are waiting
for election day to teach serious political lessons to MMD candidate
Chilekwa Munkonge.
Explaining his position to defend his constituency as an independent
candidate after the MMD replaced him with Mwansa a day before nominations
day, Mulonga said indicators were pointing to failure for the MMD
candidate.
“Out of 13 wards in Lupososhi constituency, the MMD failed to file in
nominations in Mwelawamanga and Tandashi Wards because the adopted
candidates also decided to be with me and they advised that I stand since
they were not happy with the way I was withdrawn,” Mulonga said.
“As we speak, Kelvin Mwansa is finding it difficult to campaign because MMD
officials have rejected him and since this is the wish of the people that
I stand, we shall prove MMD wrong that I am a weak candidate.”
He said some MMD officials wanted to tarnish his name by reporting to the
police about theft of campaign materials.
“MMD is panicking because my winning chances are very high, this is why
they reported to the police that I stole campaign materials but I
explained that those materials (t-shirts, chitenges and bicycles) were
given to me freely for onward distribution to cadres who are now
disappointed with what MMD has done,” said Mulonga.
And Mwamba, who is immediate past Kasama Central parliamentarian, said the
PF has no challenges in the area.
“I am on top of things and my campaigns are going on smoothly and I am
from officiating at a football tournament held in my honour which is
staged in Munkonge area, people are saying that ‘let Chilekwa come and see
for himself’,” said Mwamba. “People are just waiting for the elections.”
Labels: ALBERT MULONGA, MMD
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Minister calls for value addition in leather sector
By Ndinawe Simpelwe
Sun 01 May 2011, 04:00 CAT
LIVESTOCK and fisheries deputy minister Albert Mulonga says the leather sector needs to embark on value addition in order to compete internationally.
Speaking during the supply and demand dissemination workshop on Friday, Mulonga said there was need to change the status quo to embark on value addition initiatives in the entire value chain for leather products.
“This requires investment into new technologies and skills to produce quality leather products,” Mulonga said.
Mulonga expressed happiness that the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) had been working hard to rebrand the leather sectors in the region in order to strengthen intra regional trade and at the same time remain competitive on the international market.
He said value addition was important because it would earn the country some revenue.
“Currently, out of the total hides and skins collected, about 80 per cent are processed into wet blue and exported from Zambia in that form. Further value addition from wet blue to crust, finished leather and leather goods should have earned the country more revenue from exports,” he said.
He said for every US $1.00 of raw hide, there was an equivalent of US $3.00 for finished leather and US $12.00 for finished leather product.
“Investment into value addition technologies and improved manpower skills are key if we are to awaken the sleeping giant,” Mulonga said.
He added that the Comesa region was facing challenges especially in the smallholder farming system where farmers did not know the economic value of hides and skins.
He said there was need to educate farmers about the value of hides and skins.
“Livestock are kept for meat, milk and drought power,” he said.
And Comesa acting secretary general Stephen Karangizi said there was need to develop intra-regional leather and leather products trade by linking SMEs to the regional markets such as South Africa, Egypt and others to identify business opportunities and possible partnerships along the value chain.
He said Comesa, with a population of 430 million people, was a wide market for regional leather products.
Labels: ALBERT MULONGA, LEATHER
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Opposition parties are erratic – Kunda
By Mwala Kalaluka in Luena
Tue 27 July 2010, 04:50 CAT
VICE-President George Kunda has said the country’s opposition political parties are erratic. And MMD national chairman Michael Mabenga has compared the Alliance for Development and Democracy (ADD) ‘falling rain’ slogan to “things that are usually done in the night.”
Meanwhile, community development minister Michael Kaingu has said he will start camping at Mongu Zanaco branch to ensure that the women empowerment cheques that he issued over a month ago in Luena Constituency are paid out.
Addressing a campaign rally at Mombo Basic School on Sunday to drum up support for the MMD candidate in the Luena by-election, Mwangala Maopu, Vice-President Kunda said the country’s opposition political parties were erratic because they had no vision or plan for the country.
“I was talking about Vision 2030. What that means is that we are going to rule as MMD beyond 2030 whether you like it or not. These other parties, Mr Michael Sata of PF, HH, we have never seen their manifestos, we have never ever seen. Every day they are changing, shifting goalposts…they are erratic. They have no plan for the country,” Vice-President Kunda said.
“The difference between MMD and these other parties, which are in a lot of confusion in their so-called pact, the difference is that with us, we have national development plans.”
Vice-President Kunda said the MMD government worked in the same way all governments in the world operated.
“Every year, we budget for your needs as a government. The way we plan, we start with the manifesto. We have a manifesto. We have a scientific approach to development,” he said. “Even if when we start implementing, our citizens, because they have access to all these things, when we are going wrong, they can remind us. They can criticise us, and that is why it is important to have all these things.”
Vice-President Kunda said he and the ministers he travelled with could boast that they were in control of the national budget.
“We are in control of the resources of this country. The opposition don’t determine the destiny of this country and they are there just to criticise. They are there just to cause confusion; with us, we are there to provide development,” Vice-President Kunda bragged.
“Now, here in Luena, and thank God that this member of parliament resigned himself, threw in the towel because he failed lamentably. Thank God he made this opportunity.”
Vice-President Kunda said the people of Luena had no parliament representation in the ADD’s Charles Milupi.
“He Milupi was a very bad member of parliament, very incompetent,” Vice-President Kunda said. “Charles Milupi was preaching falsehoods in this particular constituency. He was giving false promises.”
Vice-President Kunda said the MMD candidate Maopu would be joining a system of government that was delivering.
“He will just jump on a moving train; as government, we are already moving,” said Vice-President Kunda.
And Mabenga said when ADD members shouted their “falling rain” slogan of "cuuu", they meant things that usually happened in the night.
“Amu utwa inge aeza cuuu ki lika zisili ze kona ku ezahala busihu when you hear Milupi say cuuu, it means something else, which can only be done at night, not rain,” Mabenga said.
After noticing that some of the people that had been beating drums at the rally were not acknowledging his oration by smiling, Mabenga told them not to be rigid because it would not help them.
“The one who will not smile is the one who is rigid,” said Mabenga.
Livestock and fisheries deputy minister Albert Mulonga said the people of Luena would only benefit from the government funds aimed at fighting livestock diseases if they voted for the MMD candidate.
“You had opposition member of parliament who could not come to my office,” Mulonga said. “He was not one of us because he was fearing to come to my office. The people of Luena, you are going to benefit from this money if you choose Maopu because he will be able to come to my office, get this money and come and give it to you.”
Meanwhile, Kaingu started his brief address by asking if he had not been in the area recently, and some women said he had been.
“Didn’t I stand under this same tree?” Kaingu asked the women who replied in the affirmative.
Kaingu then asked the women what he had talked to them about, and some were heard mumbling the word cheques.
“Your money, as I am speaking, on Monday you go, get and eat,” Kaingu said amidst applause from some women. “Tomorrow Monday I will wait for you at the bank so that you collect your money. They were cheating you that the money is not there…until when we say the body and blood is being given to you, that is when you will understand.”
Kaingu said those that would not vote for Maopu on August 5, 2010 would have some of their body parts burnt in hell because every government was appointed by God.
Women were given cheques from the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services empowerment initiative over a month ago after Milupi had resigned as Luena independent parliamentarian but they could not cash them at Mongu Zanaco branch, as the right procedure was not followed.
Labels: ALBERT MULONGA, CHARLES MILUPI, GEORGE KUNDA, MICHAEL KAINGU
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FRA spends K253.1bn on maize purchase
By Fridah Zinyama
Sun 22 Nov. 2009, 04:00 CAT
THE Food Reserve Agency has spent about K253.1 billion in purchasing a total of 196,671 metric tonnes of maize during the just ended crop marketing season which closed on November 14, 2009.
And FRA executive director Dr Anthony Mwanaumo said the crop purchasing exercise has closed on a successful note despite the Agency entering the market late due to high moisture content.
During a stakeholders meeting in Lusaka yesterday, agriculture and co-operatives deputy minister Albert Mulonga said it was pleasing that the FRA had successfully concluded this year’s crop marketing season.
“FRA also managed to purchase 788 metric tonnes of paddy rice valued at K1.2 billion in this crop marketing season,” he said. “It is heartening to note that there have been no complaints of late payments in this year’s crop marketing season which shows that stakeholders had done a good job of putting everything in place.”
Mulonga said FRA was providing a vital market access to the locationally disadvantaged small scale farmers and was completing the value chain started through the Fertiliser Support Programme, now Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP).
“The more than K254 billion put in the pockets of small scale farmers will go a long way in improving the livelihoods of these farmers and equally important, enhance their capacity to afford to pay their beneficiary contribution to the FISP, thus further positively contributing to next year’s production,” he said.
Mulonga said FRA, as one of the key players in the market, had a task of ensuring that increased production by farmers was matched with market access and ease of transactions.
“Now that the crop marketing season has come to a close, FRA should ensure that the purchased crop is moved to safe storage in good time,” said Mulonga.
And Dr Mwanaumo said the marketing season had closed on a successful note due to the valuable input from all stakeholders involved in the exercise.
Labels: ALBERT MULONGA, ANTHONY MWANAUMO, FRA, MAIZE
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ZCF president calls for cooperative ministry
Written by Agness Changala
Monday, July 06, 2009 11:47:57 AM
ZAMBIA Cooperative Federation (ZCF) president Elijah Munsanje has
called for the establishment of a ministry to focus on the promotion of cooperatives. And agriculture deputy minister Albert Mulonga said the cooperative movement can be used to cushion effects of the global economic crisis.
During the commemoration of the 87th International Cooperative Day and the 15th United Nations International Day of Cooperatives whose theme is
‘Driving Global Recovery through Cooperatives’ which fell on Saturday, Munsanje observed that the cooperative movement had not had the desired impact for the promotion of cooperatives in the country despite the creation of department cooperatives.
“This is due mainly to the lack of mobility by the key cooperative staff at both district and provincial level,” he said.
“Our appeal, as a cooperative movement in order to accelerate the growth of cooperatives in this country, is to have a full-fledged ministry of cooperatives as opposed to the current situation where agriculture takes more prominence in the ministry while cooperatives are almost non-existent.”
Munsanje said there was need to have a strong resource base to sustain business programmes for any meaningful development to take place.
And Mulonga said cooperatives could be a means for the people to cushion the global economic and financial crisis.
He said the vision of the government was to see a cooperative movement that was relevant to the current times of resuscitating the national economy.
“Therefore, my government would like to see the cooperative movement embracing diverse issues on matters of national importance like HIV and AIDS, MDG’s, youth and gender development and economic integration,” he said.
Mulonga said the government would continue to fund the department because cooperatives played a major role in bringing people outside Zambia’s mainstream social-economic development into the corridors of development.
He said to make positive strides in the cooperative movement, there was need to ensure that good governance and accountability were observed.
Mulonga said the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, was spearheading the review of the current Cooperatives Act with a view to strengthen the legal framework for cooperative development.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, ALBERT MULONGA, COOPERATIVES, ELIJAH MUNSANJE, GREAT DEPRESSION II, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIVE DAY, ZCF
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‘FRA makes K9.5bn profit from maize exports’
Written by Ernest Chanda
Saturday, February 21, 2009 6:49:29 AM
AGRICULTURE deputy minister Albert Mulonga yesterday told Parliament that the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) made a profit of about K9.5 billion from maize exports between 2006 and 2008.
Responding to a question for oral answer from Luampa UPND member of parliament Josephine Limata who wanted to know how much profit was made by the Agency from maize exports between 2006 and 2008, Mulonga said the amount was realised from the sale of 301,796.64 metric tonnes of the commodity.
“The Food Reserve Agency made a profit of K6,852,283,800 from maize exports in 2006-2007 out of a stock of 60, 730 metric tonnes. In 2007-2008, K2,696,189,295 profit was realised from a stock of 241, 066.64 metric tonnes,” he said.
“During the 2006/2007 season, maize was sold at K874, 000 per tonne at a purchase cost of K740,000 per tonne. As for the 2007/2008 season, the selling price was K771, 174.41 per tonne for the maize which was purchased at K760 000 per tonne (K38, 000 per 50 kilogramme bag). The selling price for 2006/2007 was higher than that for 2007/2008 season, thus registering a smaller profit margin in the 2007/2008 season.”
He said the maize exported during the period under review was sold to different countries within the Southern African region.
Mulonga further said the FRA sold local millers a total of 335, 168.27 metric tonnes of maize between 2006 and 2008 valued at K285, 710, 585, 240.
And contributing to the debate on the Public Service Commission, Solwezi West MMD member of parliament and deputy chief Whip Humphrey Mwanza advised the government to limit contracts for permanent secretaries to two terms.
Mwanza observed that some permanent secretaries had overstayed in the civil service, thereby rendering them less relevant.
Labels: ALBERT MULONGA, FRA
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