Zambians wants to see development - CCZ
By Christopher Miti in Chipata
Sun 14 July 2013, 14:00 CAT
THE Council of Churches in Zambia in Eastern Province says every Zambian wants to see development in the country.
Speaking during inter-denomination prayers for peaceful and fair elections at the Reformed Church in Zambia Chipata main congregation on Friday, CCZ chairperson Reverend Sonye Banda said violence could only occur in a place where there was no peace.
Rev Banda said the Church wanted to commit the by-election in prayers so that they were peaceful.
He appealed to all the people to be peaceful in their hearts and extend it to other people.
"Our God is our peace, we serve the God who is our peace and when He rules in our heart, it means there is peace. If I have peace, my wife next to me shall have the peace, my son shall have the peace. So the peace will come from my heart to the house to the neighbour and then it will go into the church," Rev Banda said.
During the event, the church prayed for peace and unity in the nation, the economy, political and government leaders, free and fair elections in the province and other parts of the country.
The church also thanked God for political freedom.
The event was graced by acting deputy permanent secretary Zachariah Luhanga and was also attended by Chipata district commissioner Kalunga Zulu.
Some participating candidates in the forthcoming Chipata Central by-election were also in attendance.
Labels: CCZ, SONYE BANDA
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Govt sticks to minimum wage
By Roy Habaalu and Kombe Chimpinde
Tue 17 July 2012, 14:50 CAT
THE government says it will not take kindly to threats of economic sabotage over the revised minimum wage. But the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) said implementation of the minimum wage was impromptu and had the potential to cause industrial unrest.
During a press briefing yesterday, information and broadcasting minister Kennedy Sakeni said the government would not allow any deliberate disregard of the law from those opposed to the decision. He said the government came into office on the basis of not only creating employment but making it meaningful.
Sakeni said the government was shocked at the negative reactions exhibited by some sections of society regarding the decision to revise the minimum wage upwards to mitigate workers' suffering.
He said the purpose of revising the minimum wage was to fulfil the PF's campaign promises to offer people decent wages for services they provided.
"The PF government is extremely shocked at the negative reactions exhibited by some sections of society regarding the decision to revive the minimum wage upwards to mitigate sufferings of our people. We have an open-door policy and we believe that threatening massive lay-offs or disregard of the law is not the solution. In the same regard, I wish to emphasise that this government will not take kindly to threats of economic sabotage or deliberate disregard of the law. Nonetheless, we shall determine all concerns that will come to our attention whether about the content or implementation mechanism of the revised minimum wages," Sakeni said.
He said the government was willing to discuss justified and warranted concerns on the issue.
Sakeni said the government expected to hear from genuine stakeholders in accordance with procedure as stipulated in statutory instrument number 45, 46 and 47.
And labour minister Fackson Shamenda said the government would not review the new minimum wage.
Speaking on Sunday night on ZNBC's The Interview programme, where he was appeared with Zambia Federation of Employers executive director Harrington Chibanda, Shamenda said he was consulting the Attorney General on how the law would be effectively implemented and punishment meted out on those that did not comply.
"The minister is not obliged to consult anybody to issue a Statutory Instrument Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Chapter 276 of the Laws of Zambia (3)(1) on minimum wage. I am not going to take a cab memo to a tripartite council, honestly the government does not behave like that," Shamenda said.
"As far as I am concerned, this is non-negotiable. At the end of the five years Zambians are going to judge us, not Mr Chibanda. The people who have been elected, is the government of Mr Michael Sata. Chibanda should not have the illusions that government will start tabling cab memos with the federation of employers!"
Shamenda advised that individuals negatively affected by the order may, under the law, apply to the minister for a review of such an order in which a grace period would be given.
"The person involved, a person who runs 'kantemba' can come to my office to say 'these are my books minister. What I make is this much, I can't afford this, then my economists will look at it, to see how they can help. These are things that our friends in the ZFE should be discussing," he said.
Shamenda also said anyone opposing the minimum wage was ultimately opposing the President.
But Chibanda, in what became an argumentative discussion, said the increment was a political matter and that the government never consulted partners in the tripartite labour council.
He said some members of the federation had indicated that they would cut down on jobs because they could not afford the new wages.
Chibanda said the SI issued by the minister was in contravention of the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment law, which required the minister to attest only to collective agreements in any sector that were above the minimum wage.
Chibanda said it was erroneous for the minister to prescribe a wage that would cut across all sectors without consultations with the stakeholders.
"The Zambia-Farm Employers do negotiate and I know currently they have a collective agreement which is less favourable than the minimum wage, can the minister say he engaged them?" he asked.
CCZ president Moses Mwale in a statement said the church mother body appreciated and acknowledged the urgency of the government to put more money in the pockets of people as well as its policy on better wages and better lives for the people but believed the decision, if implemented, might negatively affect the poor people in Zambia.
"Employers needed to be prepared for this drastic increase in their budgets. A prorated process would have helped the employers to adjust their budgets," he stated.
"It seems to us very unrealistic to backdate the effective date of this directive to 4th July 2012 when most employers were already implementing a budget agreed upon at the beginning of the year."
Mwale feared that instead of helping the poor people in whose name the pronouncement had been made, it would be detrimental to them.
"We see more people out of employment as employers may not be able to meet the sudden demand for such huge increases in their wage bill. It is also most likely that the cost of living for many Zambians will go up in an uncontrollable manner as employers panic to raise more money to increase wages. This will have an effect of increased inflation," Mwale stated.
"A time frame for implementation would have been more acceptable in order to give employers time to adjust and to put up their sale prices."
And ZCTU general secretary Roy Mwaba said there was need for social partners to seriously discuss the issue to resolve the matter in national interest.
He said the union was concerned with the current stand-off between Shamenda and the Zambia Federation of Employers over the increased minimum wage.
Labels: CCZ, MINIMUM WAGE
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Supporting and opposing the death penalty
By The Post
Mon 02 July 2012, 13:25 CAT
THERE is a strong and interesting debate going on about whether or not the death sentence should be retained in our constitution. We have listened attentively and respectfully to all the arguments being advanced for and against the death sentence. Let's respect convictions, beliefs and explanations. Everyone is entitled to his own positions, his own beliefs.
But we must work together in the sphere of these human problems that interest us all and constitute a duty for all. We have listened to the views of Reverend Pukuta Mwanza, the executive director of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, calling for the death penalty to be retained.
He argues that the death penalty is necessary for the protection of the general public as without it the lives of innocent citizens will be unsafe. We do not know whether the views of Rev Mwanza are personal or represent the position of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia on this issue.
We have also heard the views of Fr Augustine Mwewa, a priest in the Ndola Catholic Diocese, supporting the retention of the death penalty. Fr Mwewa says the death penalty serves as a deterrent and helps in reducing crime and that capital punishment assured the safety of society by eliminating criminals. He further argues that that only time the death sentence should be abolished is when the Judiciary puts its house in order.
And Caritas Zambia, a Catholic civil society organisation, has expressed views contrary to those of Fr Mwewa, calling for the abolishing of the death sentence because it undermines the respect for life.
A consortium of civil society organisations that promote the human rights of prisoners has also resolved to oppose the retention of the death penalty in the new constitution. They argue that the death penalty is inhuman and it is against the values of Christianity and human rights.
We hold the opinion or view that the death penalty is barbaric and should be abolished. The death penalty offers our nation not further protection from crime but further brutalisation. The death penalty is premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. The state can exercise no greater power over a person than that of deliberately depriving him or her of life.
No matter what reasons we give for executing prisoners and the methods of execution we use, the death penalty cannot be separated from the issue of human rights. As Levy Mwanawasa once put it, there can never be a justification for torture or for cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The cruelty of the death penalty is evident.
An execution constitutes an extreme physical and mental assault on a person already rendered helpless by government authorities. Like killings which take place outside the law, the death penalty denies the value of human life and cannot be reconciled with respect for human rights.
And if the death penalty can be justified for one offence, justification that accord with the prevailing views of society or its rulers will be found for it to be used for other offences.
Whatever purpose is cited, the idea that we can justify a punishment as cruel as death conflicts with the very concepts of human rights. The significance of human rights is precisely that some means may never be used to protect society because their use violates the very values which make society worth protecting.
When this essential distinction between appropriate and inappropriate means is set aside in the name of some greater good, all rights are vulnerable and all individuals are threatened.
The death penalty, as a violation of fundamental human rights, would be wrong even if it could be shown that it uniquely met a vital social need. What makes the use of the death penalty even more indefensible and the case for its abolition even more compelling is that it has never been shown to have any special power to meet any unique social need.
Countless men and women have been executed for the stated purpose of preventing crime, especially the crime of murder. Yet, study after study in diverse countries has failed to find convincing evidence that the death penalty has any unique capacity to deter others from committing particular crimes.
Undeniably, the death penalty, by permanently incapacitating a prisoner, prevents that person from repeating the crime. But there is no way to be sure that the prisoner would indeed have repeated the crime if allowed to live, nor is there any need to violate any prisoner's right to life for the purpose of incapacitation: dangerous offenders can be kept safely away from the public without execution.
Every society seeks protection from crime. Far from being a solution, the death penalty gives the erroneous impression that firm measures are being taken against crime. It diverts attention from the more complex measures which are really needed.
When the arguments of deterrence and incapacitation fall away, one is left with a more deep-seated justification for the death penalty: that of just retribution for the particular crime committed. According to this argument, certain people deserve to be killed for the repayment for the evil done: there are crimes so offensive that killing the offender is the only just response.
It is an emotionally powerful argument. It is also one which, if valid, would invalidate the basis for human rights.
If a person who commits a terrible act can deserve the cruelty of death, why not others, for similar reasons, deserve to be tortured or imprisoned without trial or simply shot on sight? Central to fundamental human rights is that they are inalienable.
This means that the right to life doesn't need to be earned by conduct for one to enjoy it. They may not be taken away even if a person has committed the most atrocious of crimes.
Human rights apply to the worst of us as well as to the best of us, which is why they protect all of us.
What the argument of retribution boils down to is often more than the desire for vengeance masked as a principle of justice. The desire for vengeance can be understood and acknowledged but the exercise of vengeance must be resisted. The history of the endeavour to establish the rule of law is a history of the progressive restriction of personal vengeance in public policy and legal codes.
If today's penal system does not sanction burning of an arsonist's home, the rape of a rapist or the torture of a torturer, it is not because they tolerate the crimes. Instead, it is because societies understand that they must be built on a different set of values from those they condemn.
An execution cannot be used to condemn killing; it is killing. Such an act by the state is the mirror image of the criminal's willingness to use physical violence against a victim. And probably this explains why Nelson Mandela concluded that "the death sentence is a reflection of the animal instinct still in human beings".
For these reasons, we urge all the Zambian people to demand the removal of the death sentence from their statute books, from their Constitution.
Labels: CCZ, DEATH PENALTY, PUKUTA MWANZA
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CCZ opposes death penalty
By Allan Mulenga
Mon 02 July 2012, 13:23 CAT
THE death penalty should not be the extreme punishment to be meted to those who commit serious crimes, says Reverend Moses Mwale. In an interview, Rev Mwale, who is Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) president, said the death penalty should not be part of the constitution.
"I strongly believe that death penalty should be not part of the Constitution. I am a pro-life person and I believe in life, as it were. I know the background and the essence of introducing the death penalty is to try to deter extreme crimes in society. By sentencing people to death it means that people might be deterred those who might want to commit extreme crimes might be deterred from committing such crimes.
But there is a point where I don't think we need to implement an eye for an eye in as far as these matters are concerned," he said.
Rev Mwale urged those advocating for the inclusion of the death penalty in the constitution to look at life holistically.
"Yes, those people that have committed murder or serious crimes deserve punishment, they are a danger to the society, but I don't think we should go to an extent of sentencing someone to death. We better give them a chance of reform and change, hoping that there would be change. For me the extreme punishment that we might confer on such people could be maybe a life sentence," he said.
Rev Mwale said there was need to give people who commit serious crimes an opportunity to repent and transform their lives.
"They could have made a mistake, but they could change in life and if given an opportunity. Those that are not going to change, let them be confined permanently away from the people around without killing them. During that time they might make a decision to change their lives as well," he said.
He said Jesus Christ believed in the reality of life and that all people had an opportunity to change.
Debate has raged over whether or not to retain the death penalty in the Zambian statutes.
Reverend Pukuta Mwanza, executive director of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, recently said the death penalty should be retained as it was necessary for the protection of the general public.
And Fr Augustine Mwewa, a priest in the Ndola Catholic Diocese, said the death penalty serves as a deterrent and helps in reducing crime and that capital punishment assured the safety of society by eliminating criminals.
Labels: CCZ, DEATH PENALTY, MOSES MWALE
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COMMENT - Please stop talking about 'reasonable contributions' and 'fairness'. The natural resources of Zambia belong to the people of Zambia collectively. When you sell your house, you don't 'hope' to get 'a fair price' or a 'reasonable price', you want to get all the money you can. Everything else is theft. The
Zambian International Mining Energy Conference is from June 19 and June 22 this year.
'U-turn on windfall tax begs answers'
By Gift Chanda
Fri 08 June 2012, 13:23 CAT
ZAMBIANS should demand serious answers following government's U-turn on mining windfall tax, says ActionAid country director Pamela Chisanga. And Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) acting general secretary Abraham Chikasa says
Zambia would have been richer than it currently is had the country's natural resources been making adequate contribution to poverty reduction.Meanwhile, three church mother bodies in the country have partnered with civil society organisations working in the extractive industry to press government and mining investors to ensure investments in the mining and energy sectors benefit everyone.
Speaking yesterday at a media breakfast to announce the hosting of the CSO alternative mining indaba on June 19, 2012, Chisanga said people, especially windfall tax advocates, should not be content with answers from the government such as "you are lunatics".
Finance minister Alexander Chikwanda recently said those advocating for the re-introduction of windfall tax on mines were lunatics. But Chisanga has urged Zambians to demand serious answers from the government in light of its new position on reintroducing the mining windfall tax.
The PF government has insisted it will not reintroduce the windfall tax despite several officials in the former opposition party advocating for the contentious tax in the run up to last September's general elections.
"One of the things that we have not been good at is demanding answers. We have been told it is not practical to introduce the windfall tax and I think we haven't really asked the question around what practicality they are talking about," Chisanga said.
"Can somebody break it down for us in figures so that we are able to understand that what we are calling for is indeed ridiculous…can they the government demonstrate to us so that when we look at these figures we will be able to say there is something truthful in what they are telling us."
She said the government should give practical examples regarding their new stance.
"We shouldn't be content with answers like 'you are lunatics'. Yes we are lunatics but even lunatics sometimes get to a level where they want to know," Chisanga added.
"Only when we get these answers will we be able to engage in meaningful dialogue."
Earlier, EFZ executive director Reverend Pukuta Mwanza said there was serious need to lobby the government to ensure the mining sector benefits everyone.
Rev Mwanza said Zambians were currently losing out because of profit externalisation by foreigner investors.
[True, but at the same time, they are their profits. Why are they their profits? Why are they not forced to sell the people's ore to the state at cost only basis, so the state can sell it at international market prices? That would be fair. We do not owe mining corporations a profit from our own resources. - MrK]
And Chikasa observed that the exploitation of the country's natural resources was not making adequate contributions to poverty eradication and sustainable development.
He said majority Zambians are still living in poverty despite the country's vast natural resource wealth.
"All of us clearly remember that the change of government was in large measure because of the frustration with the imbalances I have attributed to," he said.
Chikasa said the three church mother bodies, namely CCZ, Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia and the Zambia Episcopal Conference, have partnered with CSOs working in the extractive industry to engage government and investors on injustices in the mining sector.
The stakeholders have planned an alternative mining indaba which will be held at the same time as the Zambian International Mining Energy Conference between June 19 and June 22, 2012.
The indaba, which is expected to attract international CSOs in the region, is expected to give stakeholders a platform to express their frustrations over the injustices in the mining sector, according to CCZ social and economic justice programme officer Nsama Chikwanka.
Labels: CCZ, WINDFALL TAX
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Zambians want to benefit from change - Rev Matale
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Wed 04 Apr. 2012, 12:57 CAT
THE PF government must expedite the process of implementing its developmental policies because Zambians want to start seeing the benefits of changing government, says Reverend Susan Matale.
In an interview after gracing the Palm Sunday celebrations in Chililabombwe, Rev Matale who is the secretary general of the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) said people were tired of poverty, unemployment and poor health service delivery.
Rev Matale said poverty and lack of good public infrastructure were the greatest challenges facing the country and leaders must begin to demonstrate the much-needed political will in addressing them.
She said the advocacy of the Council of Churches of Zambia had always been that the government must put in place a good tax regime where investors in the mines would contribute fairly to the national treasury.
Rev Matale said Zambians were in a hurry to see change and the government could not afford to procrastinate in terms of delivery of its promises.
She said the hope of many people, especially the youths on the Copperbelt, was that government would begin to take pragmatic steps to ensure that foreign investment in the mining sector the country had continued to attract would translate into more jobs and equal pay for the locals.
"I don't see how we can make Zambia a better place for all if we have people unemployed, chronic poverty at household level and deplorable infrastructure such as the roads like the situation is in Chingola and Chililabombwe," Matale said.
She said the idleness of young people in districts such as Chililabombwe on the Copperbelt required addressing through job creation.
She said the opening up of mines was not helping the situation as there were very few jobs that had been filled by the locals.
"The people of Zambia are not counting the months but the immediate delivery of services as promised by the PF when they were in the opposition. They were promised 90 days and after that period the people are still anxious about when they would start seeing development," Matale said.
She said the PF government had a task of being in a hurry as many poor Zambians were looking up to the government to improve their situation.
Rev Matale said the church took comfort in the fact that President Michael Sata had pledged to work hard to implement a strategy to end poverty and provide a conducive atmosphere for human integral development.
"The rhetoric that people have to wait should not be the language. People have been waiting since the late Frederick Chiluba's administration when we were told to tighten our belts. Zambia does not deserve to be a country of poor people because it is very rich in terms of natural," Matale said.
Labels: CCZ, CHILILABOMBWE, POVERTY, SUSAN MATALE
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Employing PF cadres is betrayal - CCZ
By Kombe Chimpinde
Wed 14 Mar. 2012, 11:58 CAT
THE Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has maintained that the appointment of cadres to the civil service is a danger to the governance system of the country.
Reacting to President Michael Sata's statement during the commemoration of Youth Day in Lusaka indicating that there was nothing wrong with appointments of cadres, Rev Reuben Mwale, the CCZ president, said the PF government's U-turn over the appointments of cadres to the civil service as against the pledges and promises made before the September 20, 2011 elections.
President Sata, when reacting to opposition political party claims that the government was employing cadres in professional positions, said everyone was a cadre.
"…there are people who are saying we should not employ cadres. If we don't employ cadres who are we going to employ? Because everyone, the police, the army and Zambia National Service are cadres," said President Sata.
But Mwale insisted that appointing cadres to the civil service was not in the interest of the country's governance system.
"Much as we would not want to go into a direct confrontation with the government in the media, we find it rather unfortunate that his response to the issue that was meant to remind him of their (PF) own promises when they were campaigning and also firing civil servants, district commissioners and recently when he (President) was swearing Secretary to the Cabinet, he said they still have to cleanse civil servants that are still sympathetic to the MMD, meaning that there is an acknowledgement that having civil servants that are politically inclined affect delivery of services in the public service," Rev Mwale said.
"Now what is happening by justifying that he can appoint cadres, it meant we will always have civil service that is politically inclined. When there is change of government it means all civil servants are going to be removed and that creates instability in the system of governance. This is a body that carries continuity of governance. The President's statement is a betrayal to his own pledge and promise during the campaign..."
Rev Mwale said although CCZ was appreciative of the fact that some of the cadres qualified for various positions they held, the church mother body still felt that civil servants must not be engaged on the basis of their political affiliations.
"Whilst we know that there cannot be a clear stop from engaging cadres, they will because cadres are also Zambians. They have got qualifications, but where the tag of being PF cadre becomes an added advantage, as Wynter Kabimba had indicated, then it creates a problem and danger to the governance of this country," said Rev Mwale.
Labels: CADRES, CCZ, MICHAEL SATA, PF, WYNTER KABIMBA
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Appointments of cadres worry CCZ
By Kombe Chimpinde
Tue 06 Mar. 2012, 11:59 CAT
THE Council of Churches in Zambia has described as retrogressive and discriminatory the
appointment of cadres to senior civil service positions.
Releasing the Council's Pastoral Letter on the state of the nation, council president Reverend Moses Mwale said one of the demands of Zambians to the government was to see a professional civil service that was capable of guiding and running government structures professionally.
Rev Mwale said instead of the government cleaning up and getting rid of political cadres from the civil service, more and more were being added.
"Prominent PF cadres, some of whom lost elections in the just-ended election have been appointed into senior civil service positions as controlling officers, district commissioners and into professional positions in the foreign service and parastatals," he said.
Rev Mwale said that the civil service must be left to non-partisan workers in order for the government structures to run professionally and effectively.
"As church leaders, we find this retrogressive and discriminatory to many qualified Zambians seeking for appointments in the civil service that are neither relations of the senior government officials or PF cadres," he said.
He said the church also found the development was totally against the
foundations of the nation under the motto of ‘One Zambia, One nation'.
And Rev Mwale said that the church was concerned about the shuffling of ministries, hiring and firing of top civil servants.
"We have also noted that government has been hiring and firing top civil servants in their attempt to position capable people within the civil service," he said.
Rev Mwale said the continued hiring and later firing of government officials was making the government look disorganised.
"We have not received official an official position from government on most of the reports that have been presented," said Rev Mwale.
Labels: CADRES, CCZ, MOSES MWALE
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PF government should find ways of creating jobs - Rev Ndhlovu
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Mon 12 Dec. 2011, 13:20 CAT
THE PF government should quickly find ways of creating employment for the unemployed youth who massively voted for change, says Rev Japhet Ndhlovu.
In an interview, Rev Ndhlovu, the former Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) secretary general who is now based in Kenya, said the government should provide more incentives in its national budget for industry growth as a way of promoting employment creation.
"There should have been more incentives in the 2012 budget in industry and industry creation because that is where we need jobs for those young people who voted because if those young people do not get the jobs, they will turn around again and begin to demand for change," said Rev Ndhlovu when he commented on the recently-presented 2012 national budget to Parliament by finance minister Alexander Chikwanda.
"I mean, look at Egypt, they demanded for change, Mubarak has gone but the military is delaying with the reforms, they are again demanding for change. So we don't want that to happen in terms of young people who voted still being unemployed, not getting the jobs, and poverty levels are the same. That will be a big scandal if it happens like that."
Rev Ndhlovu, however, noted that the 2012 national budget was generally pro-poor.
He said agriculture and health had been given a lot of prominence, adding that the abolition of the medical user fees were all progressive steps.
"Of course the issue of tax, even though people will only start benefitting sometime next year maybe April, but the political will, that the process has been set in motion is good enough," he said.
And Rev Ndhlovu has advised Zambians not to be caught up in messages of HIV and AIDS because the disease is still very real and passes on when people have unprotected sex.
He said Zambians should not relax because the infection rate in the country had reduced.
"We must continue protecting life. We must continue promoting safe sexual practices, we must continue promoting availability of treatment and access to treatment for all, we must continue promoting voluntary counselling and testing. There are still some individuals who don't know their HIV status and that's unfortunate because I keep saying that you cannot talk about HIV if you have never tested," he said.
"You must test and know your status but we must also continue to advocate for empowerment of women and particular youth so that they know how to take decisions for their own lives so messages on HIV, we must not slacken, the campaign must continue, the fire is still there, let us continue pouring water and any other means to enable us to stop this fire from destroying our people."
A recently-released UNAIDS report by UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibe during an International Conference on HIV, titled "HIV Prevention without Barriers", revealed that in 2010, about 68 per cent of people living with HIV resided in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with only 12 per cent of the global population.
"In 22 sub-Saharan countries, research shows HIV incidence declined by more than 25 per cent between 2001 and 2009. This includes some of the world's largest epidemics in Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The annual HIV incidence in South Africa, though still high, dropped by a third between 2001 and 2009 from 2.4 per cent to 1.5 per cent," the report stated.
"Similarly the epidemics in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia appear to be declining. The epidemics in Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland seem to be levelling off, albeit at unacceptably high levels."
Labels: CCZ, JOBS, PF, REVEREND NDHLOVU, UNEMPLOYMENT
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Insufficient consultation within Sata's machinery worries Rev Ndhlovu
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Mon 28 Nov. 2011, 13:58 CAT
ZAMBIA needs a presidency that makes decisions which have been thoroughly vetted and checked, says Reverend Japhet Ndhlovu. And Rev Ndhlovu has urged President Michael Sata to quickly spell out a clear roadmap on the constitutional-making process.
In an interview, Rev Ndhlovu, former Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) secretary general said President Sata's days in office so far had been very good even though there had not been sufficient consultation within his machinery to enable him make decisions that were above board.
"There are a lot of important pronouncements that have been made, significant pronouncements. He has indicated that he is allergic to corruption in some of his pronouncements. However, it has been unfortunate that maybe there hasn't been sufficient consultation within his machinery to enable him make decisions that would be above board," he said.
"I think we need a presidency that makes decisions that have been thoroughly vetted and checked so that when the President comes to pronounce it, it is in the interest of Zambians; the law has been taken into consideration but also you don't have people with dented records being questioned and all that."
He hoped that the government machinery would be able to help President Sata sufficiently so that he delivers on his promises.
Rev Ndhlovu said President Sata had made a number of progressive decisions, citing the investigations into the sale of Zamtel.
He said this was the right way to go and hoped the commission of inquiry on the sale of Zamtel would bring about the necessary recommendations and maybe reverse the sale and allow another appropriate mechanism to take place.
"So he has made good decisions, he had made a few goofs. We hope that the machinery around him will not allow him to continue making those kinds of unnecessary mistakes," he said.
And Rev Ndhlovu, who is now based in Kenya, said it was a good time to be in Zambia as it was very euphoric.
"Everybody is very excited and my appeal to those that are governing us, they must not spoil the party. They must not spoil the party for Zambians by making decisions that are unpopular, by making decisions that are not in the best interest of the country. The party must go on and poverty, particularly, must be fought so that the levels of poverty are reduced and people have access to the basic needs in life. That's what we need. We need to be governed right so that Zambia is developed and we can all live in peace and harmony," he said.
And Rev Ndhlovu said as a constitutional activist, he was worried that the constitution making process was not budgeted for in the 2012 budget.
"They are saying that there will be some change somewhere, which eventually they will use for supporting the constitutional process, which was a very big political mistake," he said.
Rev Ndhlovu, however, welcomed the political will to set up a technical committee, saying it was the right way to go but said there were some concerns such as the size of the committee.
"It is too big and then there are critical constitutional professionals or experts who have been left out who apparently have been helping other countries. I live in Kenya and Dr (Choolwe) Beyani came to Kenya to help the Kenyan government to have a good constitution that they have in place now. I don't know why he has been left out, there may be others so the size of the committee is rather too big," he said.
"In our minds, in the days we started talking about a technical committee, we were thinking of a committee of not less than 10, 12 people. And not a committee that will start again going to get submissions, going to the provinces to listen to what the people are saying but a committee that will sit down and do a desk top study by simply looking at what are the previous submissions, commissions that were there, what was it that was submitted. What are the progressive constitutions in the world today, what can we borrow from them?"
He said unfortunately, it seemed Zambia was using the Inquiries Act in its quest to come up with a new Constitution.
"I think there should have been a political will, like there was a will to create a Constitutional Conference Act. There should have been another Act quickly put in place where the roadmap is stipulated because at the moment, there doesn't seem to be a clear road map, the President has indicated that ‘the report must come to me' and meanwhile the Minister of Justice is saying and then it will go to Parliament and then to the people so which roadmap are we following?" asked Rev Ndhlovu.
"I think that needed to be clear, we needed to be sure which one we are going to follow but the political will is upheld, it is congratulated. It is the right way to go and then the next step, as soon as this committee with all its faults, as soon as they sit down is to arrange and agree on a roadmap, a clear roadmap that will give Zambians a new constitution at least give and take within one year, that's given with a referendum in it."
Labels: CCZ, MICHAEL SATA, PF, TRANSPARANCY
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Chief Sikoongo not ready for Uranium mining activities in his area
TIME PUBLISHED - Sunday, October 30, 2011, 3:19 pm
Chief Sikoongo of the Tonga speaking people of Siavonga District in Southern Province says he is not ready for Uranium mining in his chiefdom. The tradition leader has since called on the new government through the Ministry of Mines to notify him and his people on the coming of aUranium Mining Company, Africa Energy Resources (AER) in Sikoonga area.
Chief Sikoongo was speaking when Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) officials paid a courtesy call on him at his palace. The Chief said the previous government permitted the Africa Energy Resources to invest in the area without his knowledge.
And addressing community earlier, CCZ Social Justice and Economic Coordinator Juliet Ilunga said it important that the Chief and the community understand issues of natural resources and how they would benefit from the extracted mineral resources.
Ms. Ilunga said CCZ was one of the three church mother bodies which believed that the church had a role to play in national development.
She stressed that the aim of CCZ was to promote Christian unity and improve the living standards of the people by speaking on behalf the voiceless.
Ms. Ilunga said man was made to lead a dignified life of having access to all basic needs in life.
“If I take you back, what used to happen with ZCCM mines on the Copperbelt was that the basic needs of life were available to all the miners and the people around the community . There were beautiful schools, the mines were able to provide roads, hospitals and able to pay amenities’ such as they could sponsor football teams and a lot of people were employed and benefited from the mines,” said Ms. Illunga.
She said equally, people of Sikongo should have access to good roads, schools, health care services among others.
“If I take you back, what used to happen with ZCCM mines on the Copperbelt was that the basic needs of life were available to all the miners and the people around the community . There were beautiful schools, the mines were able to provide roads, hospitals and able to pay amenities’ such as they could sponsor football teams and a lot of people were employed and benefited from the mines,” said Ms. Illunga.
She said when the mines have been sold to foreign investors, the minerals that are in the ground still remain for the community and the future generations.
“CCZ is trying to help the government to come up with a specific policy that is going to put up guidelines to protect you, your environment and the animal asUranium mining commences. This policy is going to outline the number of people who are going to be employed and the benefits that this community is supposed to get. Once its ready we will get back to you as it will help you claim for your demands from the investors,” said Ms. Ilunga.
The areas that will be affected most once the mining of Uranium by African Energy Resources commences in Siavonga are Sikoongo and Chipepo Chiefdoms.
The villagers in Chipepo Chiefdom said yesterday that they would only allow the mining activities in the two Chiefdoms if their demands are met by investors and the government.
The citizens are demanding for two big Hospitals, high schools, good water supply, roads, electricity and employment for the youths once the mining activities start.
“CCZ is trying to help the government to come up with a specific policy that is going to put up guidelines to protect you, your environment and the animal asUranium mining commences. This policy is going to outline the number of people who are going to be employed and the benefits that this community is supposed to get. Once its ready we will get back to you as it will help you claim for your demands from the investors,” said Ms. Ilunga.
Meanwhile CCZ Policy and Advocacy officer Mr. Alcino Moiana said in Chipepo that CCZ is not anti- Uranium but it has been formed to make sure that people’s demands and rights are met by the government and the investors.
He urged the Chiefs and their people to cooperate and unity in order to benefit for the mineral resources which he said belong to them.
Africa Energy Resources is expected to start Uranium mining on a joint venture, the Kariba Valley Joint venture project where it holds a 30 percent interest, with Albidon Limited holding 70 percent.
ZANNIS
Labels: CCZ, CHIEFS, URANIUM
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NCC was a disaster, says Rev Matale
By Moses Kuwema
Sat 25 June 2011, 04:01 CAT
THE Council of Churches in Zambia says it is a shame that the constitution-making process ended up the way it did and taking it back to Parliament in its current form is unacceptable because it remained rejected.
In an interview, CCZ general secretary Reverend Suzanne Matale said
the issue of the constitution had been very disrespectful of the people's wishes and urged political parties, which are contesting this year's elections to
make the Republican Constitution a campaign issue.
“...I think if you look back, the Zambian people had said they wanted a constitution that would be comprehensive, a constitution that would act like a development tool towards the economic liberation of people so that we can see our way to prosperity,” said Rev Matale.
She said the church was clear from the onset of the constitution-making process that they wanted the social and economic rights to be included.
She said anything short of that would not represent the people's constitution because every human being was entitled to basic things of life such as housing, water, food, clothing and education.
“We want this to be a campaign issue, we want to hear from the politicians how they are going to go about the constitution-making process when they get into power in the next few months. For us it is not about any party.
It is about the dignity of the people of Zambia,” Rev Matale said. “We know of countries where the constitution has been put together over a very short period of time and at less costs than it has cost the Zambian people.”
Rev Matale said the amount of money that was spent on the NCC was a disaster because those funds would have been utilised in a better way.
“For the constitution-making process to end up the way it did is a shame to the Zambian people. It is still not acceptable for the constitution to be taken back to Parliament in its current form, it remains rejected. It remains their (government) constitution and not the people's constitution,” said Rev Matale.
Labels: CCZ, NCC, SUZANNE MATALE
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Practise fairness, financial institutions urged
Monday, 25 April 2011 20:20
Business Reporter
THE Minister of Industry and Commerce, Professor Welshman Ncube, has urged local financial institutions to practise fairness and ensure consumer satisfaction in the provision of financial services. He was speaking at the World Consumer Rights Day symposium held last Thursday in the capital under the theme "Consumers for Fair Financial Services".
"There should be reciprocal trust and respect between the consumer and the service providers whereby consumers must receive clear, sufficient and reliable information about the financial services provided to them.
"There is also need for the financial sector to be clearly and properly regulated in order to promote stability as well as protect consumers," he said.
Minister Ncube noted the importance of formulating a Consumer Protection Policy that advocates for and enforces consumer rights while providing a mechanism for redress where such rights are violated.
Also addressing the conference, Consumer Council of Zimbabwe executive director Ms Rosemary Siyachitema said service providers need to take consumer protectionism into account to gain consumer confidence.
"We need transparency in the financial sector and the money we are paying should tally with the kind of services we get," she said.
CCZ national chairperson Mr Phillip Bvumbe emphasised the importance of inclusivity in the financial sector.
He indicated that micro-finance schemes should include the vulnerable as much as possible.
"If the banks are taking 100 percent from the people, they should be willing to give back 51 percent to the same people they depend on for their survival," said Mr Bvumbe.
He also urged Government to put in place the Consumer Protection Act so that all consumers will be able to use it to get a fair deal in the market place.
Other participants at the event said there was need for bankers to either voluntarily or by statute embark on "know your customers' requirements" outreach programme in conjunction with CCZ and to commit a percentage of their remuneration budgets to this exercise.
They also urged the Government to review the financial service provision regulations in the advent of information and communication technologies to promote secure, universal and fair services.
Labels: CCZ, WELSHMAN NCUBE
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Rev Chilembo laments lack of development in Chililabombwe
By Mwila Chansa in Chililabombwe
Tue 19 Apr. 2011, 04:00 CAT
COUNCIL of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) Chililabombwe district chairman Rev Moses Chilembo says the people of Chililabombwe are not seeing the economic boom that the government talks about.
And the Chililabombwe Ecumenical Church has urged the government to seriously address issues of unemployment, unequal distribution of wealth and inadequate access to health facilities in the district.
Delivering a Palm Sunday message under the theme ‘Jesus is the Ultimate Answer for the World Today’ at Konkola Stadium in Chililabombwe on Sunday, Rev Chilembo said it was sad that despite Chililabombwe being endowed with mineral wealth, people in the area were poor.
“You walk on wealth everyday and yet you are poor. When you come to Chililabombwe, you are greeted with potholes and yet we hear that the economy is booming. What kind of boom is that?” Rev Chilembo wondered.
“We don’t want an economic boom that is just on paper, we want a boom that translates into bread and butter for our people.”
Rev Chilembo said politicians were not the answer to Zambia’s problems because they were just human beings who were bound to change goal posts at any time.
He asked every citizen of Chililabombwe to evaluate themselves and scrutinise their contribution to Zambia’s damage.
“What kind of damage have you done to Zambia? Are you the kind of person who just throws garbage everywhere and expect the council to collect it for you?” he asked.
“If you are, then I’m asking you to change your mentality and not wait for the council. You can do it yourselves, it’s a blessing for you to be in Chililabombwe,” said Rev Chilembo.
He encouraged residents not to lose hope even if they go through challenges because there was hope in Jesus, the ultimate answer for the world.
And delivering the ecumenical speech, Evelyn Miyambo from African Methodist Church warned that unequal distribution of wealth had been known to cause turmoil everywhere it had shown its ugly face.
She complained that most people that were working in Chililabombwe were not Chililabombwe residents because of the corrupt system of employing workers.
She said there were so many sub-contractors being engaged in major mining operations that were offering slave wages and poor conditions of service.
Miyambo also complained that people’s cry for a district hospital in Chililabombwe seemed to have fallen on deaf ears and that merely putting a fence around Kakoso Health Centre did not mean that the institution had been upgraded because it was lacking a lot of amenities.
Miyambo also urged the government to seriously address the security lapses that were emerging in Chililabombwe as could be seen by the number of killings that had been reported in the peri-urban areas and within town.
She also said the ecumenical church supported the parallel vote tabulation and urged residents to vote wisely.
And CCZ national president Rev Moses Mwale said social conditions in Chililabombwe had deteriorated so much and that the people deserved better.
Labels: CCZ, CHILILABOMBWE
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Oasis Forum demands Kunda’s resignation
By Chibaula Silwamba
Thu 07 Apr. 2011, 04:01 CAT
VICE-President George Kunda must immediately resign failure to which President Rupiah Banda must fire him, the Oasis Forum demanded yesterday.
And Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) general secretary Reverend Suzanne Matale said the MMD government had failed the Zambian people on the constitution-making process.
Addressing a press briefing at the Catholic Church’s Kapingila Guest House in Lusaka, the Oasis Forum said Vice-President Kunda, who is also justice minister, had been misleading successive Republican presidents concerning the constitution-making process, hence costing taxpayers colossal sums of money.
The Oasis Forum is an umbrella of Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), CCZ, Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Non Governmental Coordinating Council (NGOCC) advocating good governance, adherence to democratic tenets and constitution reforms.
The Oasis Forum said the failed constitution-making process was an indictment on the performance of Vice-President Kunda and Zambians would force him to resign.
“We call for his immediate resignation as an honourable thing to do or be fired,” said Beatrice Grillo, chairperson of the Oasis Forum and NGOCC, on behalf of the member groups.
“In the same vein, we lament the lack of political will of the President, Attorney General and political parties in general in promoting a democratic dispensation through a constitution-making process that is a driver for greater participation of all Zambians.”
The Oasis Forum demanded that the government unconstitutionally apologise to Zambians for the misapplication of resources in a process that failed to recognise and appreciate that a constitution was not a political manual but a good governance tool where all Zambians have a say and participate in its development process.
The Oasis Forum demanded that the government be held accountable for all the resources expended on the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) process since its commencement in 2007.
It said Vice-President Kunda's announcement in Parliament that the NCC cost Zambians in excess of K83 billion was a gross undervaluation of the expenditure because the original budget was K135 billion for a shorter period but the process was extended.
The Oasis Forum described the failed constitution process as a big scandal and denounced the government for underplaying the setback.
The Oasis Forum said it would be tragic to hold this year’s elections on the basis of the current Constitution.
“The Oasis Forum is of the considered view that it is possible to have a new constitution before this year's elections if there is political will. In short, we are saying that there is simply no justification for not concluding the constitution review process eight years after its commencement,” said Grillo, flanked by Rev Matale, ZEC secretary general Fr Cleophas Lungu and EFZ executive director Rev Pukuta Mwanza, though LAZ was not represented.
“It is our belief and recommendation to all Zambians and in particular the government of the day that the following road map, if implemented between now and the elections we can have a new constitution: (a) Creation of a lean technical committee of experts to validate Mung'omba Draft Constitution and report, (b) subjects the validated constitution to a referendum and (c) enactment of the adopted constitution by Parliament,” Grillo said.
The grouping said it would mobilise and organise Zambians for their participation in the referendum and sensitise and educate them on the need to repeal the current Constitution and not piecemeal amendments.
And Rev Matale said it was unfortunate that MMD spokesperson Dora Siliya claimed that the ruling party had not lost but the Zambians, after the collapse of the constitution-making process.
“If Zambians have lost then the MMD has failed,” said Rev Matale.
Rev Mwanza said the Oasis Forum would use non-violent means like a green ribbon and petitions to compel the government to heed their demands on the constitution-making process.
Last week on Tuesday, the Banda-MMD-led government failed to garner the required two-thirds majority vote to pass the Constitution of Zambia bill to second reading in the National Assembly.
The ruling MMD that has lost some parliamentary seats in by-elections has 78 legislators in a 158-member National Assembly.
Labels: CCZ, GEORGE KUNDA, OASIS FORUM
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Preparing for credible free, fair elections
By The Post
Thu 17 Feb. 2011, 04:00 CAT
The call on Rupiah Banda and his government by the heads of the Council of Churches in Zambia “to deliberately pay attention to the concerns and complaints of all electoral players so that a level playing field and a good electoral system are instituted for the 2011 elections” deserves to be heeded.
There is need for Rupiah and his government to realise that they have a serious responsibility. As facilitators of the elections, they should ensure that concerns of all key players are adequately addressed.
We need religious institutions to continue to be the conscience of society, a moral custodian and a fearless champion of the interests of the weak and downtrodden.
As we have stated before, to have peaceful, free and fair elections, certain conditions have to prevail in our country and in our hearts. All the key electoral players have to agree on the conditions under which this year’s elections would be held. And Rupiah and his government have to conduct themselves in a manner that does not put those in the opposition at an unfair disadvantage. There ought to be transparency in the organisation of this year’s elections. And as the heads of the Council of Churches in Zambia have correctly observed, to have peaceful, free and fair elections, dialogue is required. Dialogue, listening to others’ concerns is not a choice for Rupiah and his government and indeed for those in the opposition. It is a must. We say this because in dialogue, one can compare different points of view and examine disagreements.
And when we say we need peaceful, free and fair elections, we are not simply referring to elections without violence. We are talking about the right ordering of things which must be actualised by people thirsting after an ever more perfect reign of justice. It is said that if peace is to be established, the primary requisite is to eradicate the cause of dissension between people. It is important therefore to maintain and strengthen our electoral structures if we are to enjoy peaceful, free and fair elections.
There is need for Rupiah and his government to level the political playing field ahead of this year’s elections. And we urge all our politicians to respond favourably to the Council of Churches in Zambia’s appeal to them and their political parties to meet and discuss and iron out all contentious issues to do with the political playing field ahead of this year’s elections. And as the Church leaders have recommended, the discussions should also include agreements on how the state media and the public order Act governing campaigns will be applied fairly. We say this because simply permitting the opposition access to the ballot is not enough. Elections in which the ruling party, the MMD, and its leaders monopolise the use of the state- owned media at the exclusion or marginalisation of the opposition cannot be said to be free and fair or held under an atmosphere where the political playing field is level. This also applies to the holding of campaign rallies. Elections in which the opposition has its rallies curtailed or harassed by the police cannot be said to be free and fair. In saying all this, we are mindful of the legitimate advantages of incumbency, but the rules and conduct of the election contest must be fair. This also calls for a representative Electoral Commission of Zambia. To be seen to be independent, the Electoral Commission should comprise representatives from all the key electoral players, that is, representatives from key political parties, the main non-political bodies and impartial observers. An Electoral Commission where the chairperson and all the other commissioners are appointed by the president without any input from other key stakeholders cannot increase the independence of the Commission and public confidence in it. Therefore, the Church’s appeal to Rupiah to help restore confidence in the Electoral Commission of Zambia should start by increasing the participation of other players in appointing commissioners and other key directors of the Electoral Commission.
We also make an appeal to the opposition political parties about the need for them to be open and constructive in participating in the electoral process and in addressing all the problems that may arise.
It is clear to us that the Church makes a difference when it gets fully involved in national affairs. And for this reason, we highly welcome the initiative of the heads of the Council of Churches in Zambia to meet Rupiah and discuss with him issues pertaining to the peace and stability of our nation, especially as we approach this year’s elections. Church leaders are obliged by their faith to provide spiritual guidance, especially at a crucial time like this. It is clear that the Church values the democratic system in-as-much as it ensures the participation of citizens in making political choices, guarantees to the governed the possibility of electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means when appropriate.
Free and fair elections in choosing leaders are absolutely necessary in a democratic process. It is sad when elections are marred with unfairness and violence. It is essential for Rupiah and the ruling MMD and its government and for the opposition political parties to respect people’s voice and choice. Respect for human dignity requires that elections are conducted well. Elections should never be a matter of fraud or coercion since that would break the sacred character of democracy. Good elections require responsible participation of all. And equal opportunities should be given to all the political parties and persons in the political campaign. All should be accorded adequate security to hold their rallies. The use of the state-owned media has to be open to all without restrictions. All political leaders should make a positive contribution to peaceful, fair and free elections by rejecting violence in the strongest terms and by teaching their followers or supporters to be tolerant. It is only in that way that we can have peaceful elections and remain united after elections.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CCZ
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CCZ challenges Rupiah to urgently deal with Barotse Agreement
By Speedwell Mupuchi in Kitwe
Wed 16 Feb. 2011, 04:01 CAT
THE Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has challenged President Rupiah Banda to urgently and conclusively deal with the issue of the Barotseland Agreement of 1964.
According to reliable sources who attended the meeting between President Banda and CCZ leaders at State House on Saturday, the church leaders told President Banda that they were saddened by the turn of events in Western Province which resulted in the loss of life.
"We believe that the issue of the Barotse Agreement has been pending for a long time and now time is ripe to completely hold the bull by its horns and deal with the matter of Barotse Agreement conclusively," according to a joint pastoral letter read by CCZ president Moses Mwale.
The leaders noted the President's efforts in bringing together all stakeholders to amicably dialogue and forge a way forward in resolving the matter.
"We are happy to note that the Western Province leadership have been to speak with you on this matter and we are happy about the stand they have taken. Our hope now is that the momentum is not lost until the matter comes to rest with finality. Your government will go down in the records of the nation as a government which effectively dealt with the matter peacefully and amicably," reads the pastoral letter.
And according to sources, President Banda in response to the Barotse issue blamed the current state of underdevelopment of Western Province to Lozi rigid traditional customs that forbade land acquisition and ownership.
"He (President Banda) said he asked KK, (Frederick) Chiluba, Sikota (Wina) and they all don't seem to understand what the problem is. He said it appeared some people just don't want the Lozi traditional leadership," said the source.
"He said the problem had presented an opportunity to review the Lozi culture, especially relating to ownership of land, because no investor is willing to invest in an area where they will not own the land. The President gave an example where he has to first pay homage to the Litunga before visiting government projects and programmes. He says this does not happen in other provinces."
And the church leaders urged the government to urgently act on cleaning the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ). The leaders expressed worry about the happenings at ECZ because they could easily erode confidence in the electoral process.
They appealed to President Banda to help restore confidence in the ECZ.
The leaders also urged a level playing field ahead of the polls and that political leaders should meet to discuss and iron out all contentions.
"The discussions should also include agreements on how the state media and the public order Act governing campaigns will be applied fairly," they suggested.
The leaders also applauded President Banda's assurances of free, fair and violence-free elections this year.
"We understand these pronouncements to mean that the Police Service will be allowed to act professionally and will not be intimidated by politicians as reported in a statement attributed to the Police Inspector General," read the letter.
The leaders urged President Banda to pay attention to the concerns and complaints of all the electoral players so that a level playing field and a good electoral system were in place for the 2011 elections.
The church leaders also expressed concern over revelations that more government resources and hard-earned taxpayers' money were being stolen, misapplied or diverted to personal projects annually.
"This state of affairs, Your Excellency, is a source of worry to the Church and should not be condoned. Zero tolerance to abuse of public resources which you have constantly talked about remains as our strong expectations as the Council of Churches," reads the pastoral letter. "The impunity with which government resources are being abused by our public officials should be checked meticulously by those that you have given the responsibility of doing so."
The leaders warned that abuse of resources would affect President Banda's efforts at developing the nation's infrastructure as vital resources were being misapplied.
They also regretted recent revelations of misappropriation of funds and scandals regarding land allocation in councils and requested government to institute full investigations in all councils and take corrective measures.
"We as church leaders, therefore, call upon you, Your Excellency, as the chief custodian of our resources to fully exercise your constitutional role and protect our hard-earned money so that it can be used to reduce poverty in the nation and be used to meet the numerous challenges being faced by the nation," reads the pastoral letter. "We call upon you, Mr. President to cause to be prosecuted all the persons found wanting in abusing your government and taxpayers' money."
The church leaders also talked about how the bumper maize crop was going to waste with the reported rotting of the maize that has remained uncollected in the rural depots.
Labels: BAROTSELAND AGREEMENT, CCZ, RUPIAH BANDA
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Cabinet should dissolve before campaigns hot up - Masebo
By By Florence Bupe
Fri 28 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT
SYLVIA Masebo says Cabinet should be dissolved before election campaigns intensify to curb the abuse of state resources by the ruling party.
And the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has said the date or period of elections should be included in the national Constitution as opposed to the current scenario where the power to set and announce the date of elections lies in the Republican President.
Masebo, who is Chongwe MMD member of parliament, made the suggestion during a sitting of the parliamentary committee for legal affairs, human rights and gender matters.
This was after concerns were raised by the witness, the CCZ, over the non-adherence to the electoral code of conduct regulation which prohibits the use of state resources by the party in power during the election period.
“When you complain on the ineffectiveness of the code of conduct and give your recommendations as witnesses, you should come up with specific recommendations. I feel the dissolution of Cabinet and Parliament would make it easier to curb the misuse of resources by the party in power,” Masebo said.
During the same sitting, Kabwata PF parliamentarian Given Lubinda proposed that the dissolution of Cabinet should be inclusive of the Vice-President since he is also a member of parliament.
“The Vice-President, being a member of parliament, should also be ‘dissolved’ and should no longer serve as the Republican vice-president,” he said.
Lubinda said the current provision in the electoral code of conduct which allowed the President and his Vice-President to utilise state resources, including vehicles, during campaigns should be amended to exclude the privilege given to the Vice-President.
Lubinda said the code should qualify the extent to which the President could use state resources.
In response, the Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) echoed the parliamentarians’ suggestions, saying there was need to make the code more effective by implementing the prohibitions stated.
Zambia National Women’s Lobby national publicity secretary Christine Sikombe said the code should be backed by legislation and strengthened punitive measures should be implemented against culprits.
And CCZ head of programmes Abraham Chikasa submitted that calls for the inclusion of the election date in the national Constitution should be taken seriously.
He said the current system where the President holds the power to set and announce the election date was detrimental to the development of democracy.
Chikasa also reiterated the need for various stakeholders to work towards the realisation of free, fair and credible elections by flushing out components of violence.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CABINET, CCZ, SYLVIA MASEBO
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COMMENT - More arrogance and adamancy of the Minister. There is only one reason not to tax the mining companies, and that is corruption. Dr. Musokotwane, during his stint as non-executive director of ZCCM-IH, did not manage to collect one cent in dividend payments, even though foreign mining companies owe hundreds of millions a year in dividend payments to ZCCM-IH. Now he is the finance minister, he is shielding them from paying a billion a year taxation. At best, he is a fool who has lost any credibility, at worst, he himself is deeply corrupt. Japan did not develop because it "attracted as many investments as possible". That is complete nonsense. Domestic producers in Japan are heavily protected from foreign competition. There are no US, German or Italian car manufacturers in Japan. In all of East, South and Southeast Asia, government owned businesses dominate the economy. Japan and Korea's Keiretsu and Chaebol are heavily government supported. The difference between Asia and Africa, is that in Asia, the economy is owned by Asians, while in Africa it is owned by Europeans, Americans, and Australians, and now Indians and Chinese. That is why Zambia is not benefiting from foreign investment, and you don't even need a PhD to know and understand that you do not benefit to any great degree from businesses you do not own.
Musokotwane labours to win audience over windfall tax
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe and Salim Dawood
Sun 07 Nov. 2010, 04:01 CAT
FINANCE minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane on Friday night said people pressuring the government to raise taxation from the mining sector to enable the country benefit from current copper boom are preaching economics of the 1960s.
And veteran mineral economist Dr Mathias Mpande said there is need for the country to transform and reposition itself by focusing on attracting quality investments which should be taxed to benefit everyone.
During the Christian Council of Zambia (CCZ) and Press Freedom Committee of The Post (PFC) organised public discussion at Golden Bridge Hotel, ordinary citizens took Dr Musokotwane to task on why the government was under-taxing foreign investors in the mining sector.
The mining sector, the country’s economic mainstay contributes 9.7 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), about 80 per cent of the foreign exchange earnings, while tax revenues to the Treasury stands at a paltry one per cent.
Dr Musokotwane was seemingly irked by the number of people who denounced the government taxation policy on the mining sector and perceived favouritism of the mining firms at the expense of economic benefit to the country.
He said increasing taxation of the mining sector higher than what the government had given would kill the mining sector.
“I have earned no applause…I would actually be very happy to walk out of here without an applause but having imparted something important to you and I believe in the deepest of my heart, with the deepest of conviction with all I have been studying and teaching economics, applause or no applause what I have been telling you is the future of this country,” Dr Musokotwane said.
“I know you disagree. There is internet, please invest time into what’s happening in the world. When I listen to many of you speak, I realise that unfortunately and I apologise, we have lost you behind because you don’t know what has created development and what has made countries to lag behind.”
Dr Musokotwane said debating that foreign investors were responsible for the current economic woes in the country owing to their low contribution to the country’s economic basket was outdated.
“When I listen to many of you, it reminds me of the discussion of 1960s. When I listen to you…the debate in the 1960s is precisely what I am hearing today,” he said.
“‘…foreign investors are exploiting us, they are making us suffer and many African countries including Zambia cast exactly the direction we went. We don’t want investments, they are troubling us, they are making us suffer.’ That is exactly what we did. Asian countries - the likes of Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines - took a complete opposite view of that. They attracted as many investments as possible. They had lower and stable taxes. Today, where are we? We are still fighting poverty, the Asian countries have moved on. So, when I hear so many of you saying we don’t want investors, we don’t want foreigners, be open-minded, take time to study. If you don’t do that, you are going to regret it.”
Dr Muskokotwane said there was need for Zambians calling for increased mining taxes to read widely and research on countries that were prospering.
“I have been an economist since 1979, reading books, working in other countries. Please take it from me, I am appealing to your hearts, this attitude you have is completely wrong,” said Dr Muskokotwane.
“You can laugh, you can insult me, you are free…If you are going to be like those Chinese, the Indonesians, you have to change your thinking. But I think some day, some of you are going to appreciate this.”
But Dr Mpande said Zambia needed to start attracting investments that need to boost industrialisation rather than continuing to boost copper output.
Dr Mpande explained that as most copper producing countries like Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo ramp up output in view of the current high metal prices, copper prices were likely to fall from the current record highs of over US $8,500 per tonne.
He disagreed with assertions by Dr Musokotwane that most Zambians were against foreign direct investors.
“We need investments and we need a lot of investments. But we need the investments that the Taiwanese, Koreans, Japanese and Chinese…most of the Germany Mercedes Benz, VW are made in China,” Dr Mpande said. “We want to make transformers here.”
Dr Mpande explained that tax breaks given to mining firms only benefitted the firms' countries of origin.
“We need investments from all sources. We need quality which we shall tax and benefit and everybody else in the world wants to pay tax, including Chinese. If you don’t tax them here, they will be taxed in China,” said Dr Mpande.
Labels: CCZ, MATHIAS MPANDE, NEOLIBERALISM, SITUMBEKO MUSOKOTWANE, WINDFALL TAX
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MMD shouldn’t cry foul when voted out – Mususu
By Ernest Chanda and George Chellah
Wed 03 Nov. 2010, 04:02 CAT
BISHOP Paul Mususu has warned the MMD government that they should not cry foul when people vote them out next year on account of their conduct over the abuse of office offence. And CCZ has described plans to remove Section 37 of the current Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Act as a direct ploy to legalise abuse of office in Zambia.
Supporting the stance taken by the Anglican Church and other stakeholders over the matter, the former Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia executive director said the government should not think they have won the battle against the people's will. He said the time for reckoning will come when Zambians will have the final say.
“Those parliamentarians who supported the removal of Section 37 of the ACC Anti Corruption Commission Act will face their people in constituencies next year. If people choose not to send them back to the House next year they shouldn't complain. And the government should not celebrate yet.
They might think it is a sweet victory for them but the time of reckoning will come when the people of Zambia will have the final say,” Bishop Mususu warned. “It is a short-lived victory, a short-lived celebration. But let them remember this; they will not cook their cabbage and not eat it. They should not cry foul when Zambians vote them out of office next year on account of their behaviour towards the fight against corruption. People always want a government that protects their interests and their money.”
Bishop Mususu expressed confidence that the people of Zambia were capable of defending the law which has worked so well.
He said when people vote for leaders it does not mean that they should no longer have a say in the conduct of those leaders.
“I agree with the view of the Anglican Bishops on the ACC Act. I think people should not stop pushing for the defence of that law. Some of our colleagues working at the Anti Corruption Commission have complained to us that they will have difficulties in fighting corruption due to the removal of this clause. I also agree with Honourable Lubinda that people should picket Parliament the way they have always done that peacefully,” said Bishop Mususu.
“I remember that the people of Zambia picketed Parliament for the removal of Dr. Chiluba's immunity and it worked. They also picketed for a new constitution in 2005; and although the government was adamant on that the message was still delivered. Equally now, there is still hope for the people to peacefully picket in defence of this law. We should not allow the government to legalise abuse of public resources.”
Bishop Mususu urged the government to listen to people's concerns, if indeed they had ears.
He contended that several legal brains had argued against the removal of the offence, a sign that it was a wrong move being taken by President Rupiah Banda’s administration.
Bishop Mususu argued that the government should not take people for granted and manipulate laws just because they have the power to do so.
And according to submissions made before Parliament, CCZ secretary general Reverend Susane Matale stated that one would have a sense that the Anti Corruption Bill would have provisions to the effect of strengthening the ACC Act No. 46 of 1996 by bringing the provisions of the proposed law into conformity with misuse or abuse of a public office or authority for private advantage or benefit.
“However, the reading of the whole Bill does not give any evidence of how Zambia wants to bring the law into conformity with the provisions of the regional and international conventions to which Zambia is a state party as it seems to us that in fact, this Bill is trying to not only fail to follow the provisions of regional and international conventions to which Zambia is a state party but is also a direct ploy to divert from our own National Anti Corruption Policy of 2009 in many ways than one as follows: Section 3 of the Bill is the interpretation section and according to this section "corrupt" means 'the soliciting, accepting, obtaining, giving, promising or offering of a gratification by way of a bribe or other personal temptation or inducement, and "corruption" shall be construed accordingly',” she stated.
“The 1996 ACC Act defines corruption as "the soliciting, accepting, obtaining, giving, promising or offering of a gratification by way of a bribe or other personal temptation or inducement, or the misuse or abuse of a public office for private advantage or benefit, and "corruptly" shall be construed accordingly". The 2009 Zambia National Anti Corruption Policy defines corruption as 'the soliciting, accepting, obtaining, giving, promising or offering of gratification by way of a bribe or other personal temptation or inducement or the misuse or abuse of a public office or authority for private advantage or benefit through bribery, extortion, influence peddling, nepotism, fraud, rushed trials, and electoral malpractices'.”
She stated that it is clear that the 1996 ACC Act and the 2009 National Anti Corruption policy have similar definitions of corruption as they include issues to do with 'misuse or abuse of a public office or authority for private advantage or benefit'.
“Bill No. 41 of 2010 on the other hand completely does away with the issue to do with 'misuse or abuse of a public office or authority for private advantage or benefit' as constituting corruption. Our understanding of government policy is that it provides a direction when coming up with laws to put to effect what the policy stipulates. We are now left to wonder as to why the persons who drafted this Bill chose to neglect the definition that the National Anti Corruption policy has to adopt a definition, which to us is unacceptable as it legalises abuse of office in Zambia. This is a great source of concern to CCZ as the definition also directly diverts from the definitions found in the provisions of the regional and international conventions to which Zambia is a state party,” Rev. Matale stated.
“The definition found in Section 3 of the Bill has to be read in line with the provisions found in Sections 37 and 50 of the 1996 ACC Act. To us, the action taken by the current Government to remove Section 37 of the current ACC Act from the Anti-Corruption Bill has dealt a very serious blow to the fight against corruption as it is a direct ploy to legalise abuse of office in Zambia. This undoubtedly is making the current government act contrary to the international conventions that Zambia is a State party to such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol Against Corruption and the African Union (AU) Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption.
“We want to put it on record that the internationally accepted definition of corruption focuses on bribery and abuse of public office and is aptly captured in all the major anti-Corruption Conventions including the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol Against Corruption and the African Union (AU) Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption which Zambia is a party to further ably defines corruption as including the living beyond ones means. The SADC Protocol Against Corruption is very clear as it defines corruption as 'means any act referred to in Article 3 and includes bribery or any other behaviour in relation to persons entrusted with responsibilities in the public and private sectors which violates their duties as public officials, private employees, independent agents or other relationships of that kind and aimed at obtaining undue advantage of any kind for themselves or others'.”
She stated that Zambia is embarking on steps going backwards instead of strengthening its legal framework to comply with the mandatory provisions of the UNCAC.
She stated that it was therefore inconceivable to imagine how a government that boasts of having ratified all the 3 above international laws could at the same time act contrary in compliance with the provisions there under.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Zambia signed the AU Convention on 03/08/2005, ratified it on 30/03/2007 and deposited the signature of ratification on 26/04/2007. With regards to the SADC Protocol, Zambia signed it on14/08/2001 and ratified it on 08/07/2003. with regards to the UNCAC, Zambia ratified it in December, 2007,” she stated.
She stated that as CCZ they believe that Section 37 in its current form is very important in the fight against corruption and in ensuring that public officers do not acquire wealth or property to which they fail to account on how they acquired the same.
“If anything, this section needs to be strengthened,” stated Rev. Matale.
Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata said members of his party’s women's league will today stage a protest at the National Assembly building when the Anti-Corruption Bill comes up for committee stage.
This follows widespread condemnation of the move by government to remove the abuse of offence clause from the ACC Act.
And on Sunday during the celebration of the Anglican Church in Zambia, Bishop William Mchombo urged President Banda not to ascent to the Bill as removing the offence could compromise the fight against corruption.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CCZ, PAUL MUSUSU
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