Give Sata a chance, says Kapata
By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
Sun 11 Mar. 2012, 11:59 CAT
ZAMBIANS need to give President Michael Sata a chance to effectively serve them, says Jean Kapata. And the Mandevu member of parliament says first lady Dr Christine Kaseba is passionate about maternal health and would do everything to change the situation for the benefit of the Zambian woman.
In an interview at the Waterfront Lodge,
Kapata who is community development, mother and child health deputy minister said the PF government was in a hurry to implement its campaign promises in all sectors.
"We are on course as the PF government, we are looking at each ministry and we want to execute whatever we told the people prior to the 2011 tripartite elections and we will implement them to the fullest and expectations of the people," she said.
Kapata said President Sata would serve Zambians well.
She said President Sata persevered as an opposition leader because he knew that he would serve Zambians better than anybody else.
"Personally, I view President Sata as a man who did not falter in all setbacks as an opposition leader; he persevered despite the disputes in the other elections because he felt he was going to serve the Zambian people better than any other person and this is what we are trying to do as PF. We need to implement our manifesto especially on issues of education, health and other sectors," Kapata said.
She also thanked President Sata for creating a ministry specifically for chiefs and traditional affairs so that the gap between the government and the traditional leaders could be bridged.
She said the creation of the ministry meant that whatever happened at village level would get government's attention more quickly than was the case previously.
And Kapata said she buys into Dr Kaseba's passion for development of the girl child and women health issues especially on cervical cancer.
"Her quest to reduce the maternal mortality rates is rated high on her agenda and all we need to do is follow what the technocrats like herself have put on our table. We basically have three issues on our table: one is the distances the women have to cover to get to a health centre; availability of trained midwives; and changing the mindset of the women as in most instances the woman has to seek permission from her husband to get to a clinic," Kapata said.
She said there was need to have midwifery training become compulsory for all direct entrants into nursing training schools and that expectant mothers' shelters be built so the women can lodge in three or four days before the expectant date.
"If the Jehovah's Witness can build a church every five kilometres, what about us as a government? I 'm happy that we will be able to put 650 health centres and with the help of the donor community we can do more," Kapata said.
Labels: JEAN KAPATA, MICHAEL SATA
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Windfall tax will be revisited - Simuusa
By Chibaula Silwamba
Sat 01 Oct. 2011, 10:10 CAT
THE windfall tax will be revisited, says new mines minister Wylbur Simuusa. In an interview, Simuusa, who was one of the major proponents of the windfall tax during the last parliamentary session, said the PF government would meet mine owners to deliberate on the windfall tax.
"On the windfall tax, we will definitely sit down with all the stakeholders and reach a win-win situation because we know and we have been told even by the IMF International Monetary Fund and other people that our taxation in the mining industry is not adequate. So that has to be revisited and we will see how we can create that balance that will be satisfactory to everybody. Definitely that will be on the cards," said Simuusa, a mining engineer by profession.
"We need to know as a country how much we are mining; what is going out and what are the things we need to account for. So definitely the accounting of our minerals will be priority. We will obviously look at the issue of taxation for mining; we will see how we can create a win-win situation for the Zambians and for the foreign mine owners."
Simuusa, who is also Nchanga member of parliament, said the government would also look at the gemstone sector.
He said the sector must contribute to the Zambian economy.
"We will look at labour issues. There are a lot of labour issues related to mining," Simuusa said.
"We will look at the situation of having more of our Zambians getting into ownership and getting involved in running of mines so that even our people are in competition with the people that are coming in. We want to have more benefits from our mines."
Community development, mother and child health deputy minister Jean Kapata, who is also Mandevu legislator, thanked President Sata for having shown confidence in her.
Foreign affairs minister Chishimba Kambwili pledged to work towards strengthening Zambia's ties with the international community.
"The world is a global village, so I will make sure that Zambia keeps its relationship with our supporters, our cooperating partners and our neighbours. We shall ensure that we abide by the protocols that Zambia has signed with the international organisations," Kambwili said.
He committed himself to work hard and not let the Zambians and President Sata down.
Meanwhile, Inonge Wina, the parliamentarian for Nalolo constituency in Western Province who was appointed minister of chiefs and traditional affairs, said there was need to uphold Zambia's culture.
"I am grateful for that appointment and I will do my best to make sure I serve my country," she said. "I am very delighted and relieved that Barotseland activists have been released because most of those detainees had done no wrong. For them to be incarcerated has been extremely unfair."
Chipili member of parliament, who was appointed Luapula Province minister, Davies Mwila, called on opposition parliamentarians to work with the government to foster national development.
"I am excited about my appointment in that I am going back to my province and I would like to appeal to members of parliament from Luapula including the opposition MMD MP Mwansa Mbulakulima that we work together as a province so that we develop the area," said Mwila.
Defence minister Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba said he would perform to the best of his ability.
"It's a great ministry. There are a lot of challenges and I am humbled by this appointment by President Sata and I assure him that I will not let him down and I will not let the people of Zambia down," said Mwamba, who is also Kasama Central member of parliament.
Labels: CHISHIMBA KAMBWILI, GEMSTONES, IMF, INONGE WINA, JEAN KAPATA, WINDFALL TAX, WYLBUR SIMUUSA
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Join calls for change, Scott urges Zambians
By Misheck Wangwe in Solwezi West
Wed 27 July 2011, 14:00 CAT
THE country is being led by crooks and every responsible citizen must join calls for change of government, says Guy Scott. Speaking at a rally in Lumwana mining area, Dr Scott, who is PF vice-president, said the MMD was being uprooted in rural areas because people were tired of politics of empty promises.
He said the poverty situation in the country was a testament to the fact that Zambians had been taken for granted by the MMD government for too long.
Dr Scott said as the country heads to the polls, the electorate must realise that the country would never prosper if President Rupiah Banda’s corrupt leadership were given a chance to remain in government.
He said young people in North Western Province were failing to find jobs because the government had deliberately chosen to forget about them while their parents were struggling to get adequate farming inputs.
“How can one justify the levels of unemployment here in Lumwana area where the MMD is busy boasting that it has attracted huge foreign direct investment? How can one justify the sufferings farmers here are going through due to lack of fertiliser and market for their produce?
People of Lumwana, I implore you to reflect deeply about your sufferings and get on the PF boat because everyone has seen that the PF will change things for the better in this country,” Scott said.
And former North Western Province minister Bert Mushala said the MMD deserved to be voted out of government because the current leadership had no regard for the values of democracy and good governance.
Mushala, who is also former MMD Mufumbwe member of parliament said many prominent politicians had defected from the MMD to join the PF because its leaders had destroyed the ideals on which the party was founded.
“I left the MMD because I saw that my people here were not benefiting anything. I did whatever I could as minister to bring development. But now it is clear that this government was not committed to developing North Western Province. We have minerals but they are used to develop other areas and our people are left with nothing. It’s now time for Zambians to vote for the PF, which has a clear vision of development,” Mushala said.
And Mandevu member of parliament Jean Kapata said the people of North Western should not pay attention to the malicious campaigns of the MMD against the PF.
She said the MMD was telling lies about the PF because the party had proved to the country that it was capable of delivering the much needed development, especially in rural areas.
Labels: GUY SCOTT, JEAN KAPATA, PF
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Nothing will erase Sata’s popularity, says Kapata
Nothing will erase Sata’s popularity, says Kapata
By Bright Mukwasa
Wed 11 May 2011, 04:01 CAT
NO amount of desperate acts by MMD will erase Michael Sata’s current popularity, says Jean Kapata. In a walk-in interview on Monday, Kapata, the Mandevu Patriotic Front parliamentarian cautioned MMD spokesperson Dora Siliya to refrain from dirty campaign tricks targeted at Sata.
She accused Siliya of being behind flyers being distributed in her constituency, alleging that Sata supports homosexuality. Kapata said Siliya should realise that the MMD would no longer rule this country after this year’s election.
She said people had already opted to vote for the PF leader and all actions against him amount to an exercise in futility.
“No matter how they demonise Sata, nothing will change, because the time for change is here and people have settled their minds,” said Kapata who was accompanied by her Chililabombwe counterpart Esther Banda.
“Mandevu is a no go area for MMD, the people she gave these flyers are all PF and they informed us. She should go to Petauke. She must stop distributing those materials,” said Kapata.
And Banda said she was extremely disappointed with Siliya’s conduct.
“This type of campaign will not hurt Sata. It’s time for them to accept that change has come,” she said.
Banda advised Siliya to be ethical in her campaigns no matter how desperate she was.
When reached for comment, a person who answered Siliya’s number said she would call back, which she did not do by press time.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, DORA SILIYA, JEAN KAPATA, MICHAEL SATA, PF
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Nothing will erase Sata’s popularity, says Kapata
By Bright Mukwasa
Wed 11 May 2011, 04:01 CAT
NO amount of desperate acts by MMD will erase Michael Sata’s current popularity, says Jean Kapata. In a walk-in interview on Monday, Kapata, the Mandevu Patriotic Front parliamentarian cautioned MMD spokesperson Dora Siliya to refrain from dirty campaign tricks targeted at Sata.
She accused Siliya of being behind flyers being distributed in her constituency, alleging that Sata supports homosexuality. Kapata said Siliya should realise that the MMD would no longer rule this country after this year’s election.
She said people had already opted to vote for the PF leader and all actions against him amount to an exercise in futility.
“No matter how they demonise Sata, nothing will change, because the time for change is here and people have settled their minds,” said Kapata who was accompanied by her Chililabombwe counterpart Esther Banda.
“Mandevu is a no go area for MMD, the people she gave these flyers are all PF and they informed us. She should go to Petauke. She must stop distributing those materials,” said Kapata.
And Banda said she was extremely disappointed with Siliya’s conduct.
“This type of campaign will not hurt Sata. It’s time for them to accept that change has come,” she said.
Banda advised Siliya to be ethical in her campaigns no matter how desperate she was.
When reached for comment, a person who answered Siliya’s number said she would call back, which she did not do by press time.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, DORA SILIYA, JEAN KAPATA, MICHAEL SATA, PF
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MP condemns purchase of mobile clinics
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Wed 26 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT
A PF parliamentarian regrets the government’s decision to procure mobile clinics despite the people’s call for the strengthening of the country’s already existing health facilities.
Commenting on the mobile clinics which have now arrived in the country, Mandevu parliamentarian Jean Kapata said the MMD government was adamant over the procurement of mobile hospitals. She wondered how the clinics would be moving because most roads in the country were in a bad state.
“Just in Nakonde, the road between Mpika and Nakonde is extremely bad. How do they expect these mobile clinics to move on this road? The lifespan of these clinics will be very short and they won’t last,” she said.
Kapata, who is also health parliamentary committee chairperson, said the mobile clinics would at one time be grounded just as the vehicles for the Keep Lusaka Clean campaign were parked.
“They are now just parked and not even one is moving. The same will happen to the mobile clinics,” she said.
Kapata wondered if the government had put in place measures to ensure that there were enough doctors and nurses for the mobile clinics.
“This is a mockery and I condemn it very much because the government does not listen. If they had listened to people, this would not have happened. People want medicine in health centres. Right now there are shortages of drugs in health centres and there is a shortage of a TB drug, which is crucial for people living with HIV and AIDS. This is what people want, not mobile hospitals,” she said.
Kapata urged the government to pay attention to the concerns that people were raising on various governance issues if the country was to develop.
Last year, a cross section of society opposed the procurement of mobile hospitals on grounds that the country’s health sector was faced with numerous challenges and the road infrastructure was in a poor state.
They proposed that the government addresses the current problems in the sector but the government insisted on procuring the mobile hospitals for all the country’s nine provinces using a loan obtained from China.
Labels: JEAN KAPATA, MOBILE HOSPITALS
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MP calls for closure of food outlets with poor hygiene
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Sun 09 Jan. 2011, 04:01 CAT
A PARLIAMENTARIAN has called for the closure of all food outlets in Lusaka that do not comply with hygiene standards. During the presentation of findings of a survey on hygiene in food outlets in Lusaka on Friday, Jean Kapata who is Mandevu member of parliament said the food outlets that were exposing people to hazardous conditions should only be re-opened after being certified bacteria-free.
And presenting a summary of the findings by the Lusaka City Council (LCC) in collaboration with UNICEF, council director of public health, Amos Musonda said 60 food premises - restaurants and bakeries - were sampled using a stratified sampling method where hand swab, water and salad samples were collected from each establishment three times.
He said the assessment of risk factors in food hygiene in restaurants revealed that out of the 60 restaurants and bakeries surveyed, 31 per cent had poor cleanliness of kitchenware and food contact surfaces.
He said a number of restaurants 38 per cent had food handlers with bad habits such as smoking and poking of the nose while 45 per cent of the restaurants had food handlers wearing jewelry.
Musonda said 60 per cent were without adequate use of protective wear while on duty.
He said only 60 per cent of the restaurants were subjecting their food handlers to medical examinations.
Musonda said the survey further found that a substantial number of restaurants 78 per cent had shown evidence of the presence of pests while only 55 per cent had pest control programmes in place.
He said most food handlers were not observing good personal hygiene and there were high levels of bacteria in salads meaning either the raw materials of these salads were initially contaminated or there was cross-contamination during or after preparation.
Musonda said the risk factors to poor hygiene in the restaurants had been identified as inadequate hand washing facilities, poor personal hygiene among food handlers, inadequate storage facilities for raw materials and prepared foods and inadequate solid and liquid waste management systems.
And Lusaka mayor Daniel Chisenga said although the Make Lusaka Clean Programme had recorded some success, it had demonstrated that much more needed to done.
“Traders have been exposing food for sale without proper facilities that provide for quality assurance for consumers. Some of the food is normally exposed to flies which may lead to contamination,” said Chisenga.
Labels: FOOD, JEAN KAPATA
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‘Imprudent use of donor funds will affect Zambia’s MDG on health’
By Chibaula Silwamba
Fri 05 Nov. 2010, 08:50 CAT
THE imprudent use of donor funds meant for fighting malaria and HIV and AIDS will lead to Zambia not reaching the MDG on health, Parliamentary committee on health chairperson Jean Kapata yesterday warned.
Concurring with the UN Secretary General’s special envoy for malaria Ray Chambers’ call for prudent use of donor funds meant to combat malaria which is the leading cause of mortality in Zambia, Kapata, who is Mandevu parliamentarian, said the government should wake up and use the money properly.
“If the donors stop giving us money, it’s not the people in government who are going to suffer, it’s people on the grassroots who are going to suffer, our people, our voters. It’s people like those in my constituency in Mandevu who are going to be affected who do not have malaria drugs,” Kapata said.
“Malaria is one of the diseases that have been cited under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) number six and if we have such a situation it means that the achievement of that MDG is a non-starter.”
Kapata said donors had the right to question the Zambian government’s use of their money.
“The donors would like to see their money being used for the right cause. Currently, the government is not using donors’ money correctly,” said Kapata.
Chambers said the irregularities in the use of donor funds at the Ministry of Health were unfortunate.
“These are special funds generously donated to the Global Fund and World Bank by nations throughout the world. Public servants have an obligation, not just to donor nations, but to Zambians that funds are properly used. It’s an integrity duty of the highest moral requirement to ensure that those funds are taken care of and not abused,” said Chambers on Tuesday ahead of his two-day visit to Zambia, scheduled for yesterday, to meet government officials.
Labels: CORRUPTION, DONORS, JEAN KAPATA, MDGs
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Mumbuna dropped from prosecuting PF MPs honking case
By Mwala Kalaluka
Tue 07 Sep. 2010, 04:30 CAT
LUSAKA Division Prosecution Officer (DPO) Frank Mumbuna has been replaced from prosecuting the honking case involving two PF parliamentarians after he exchanged words with chief resident magistrate Charles Kafunda in court last week.
And Inspector General of Police Francis Kabonde yesterday said his office has received correspondence from Lusaka Police Division pertaining to Mumbuna’s dismissal from magistrate Kafunda’s court for unruly conduct.
This is in a matter where two PF parliamentarians, Jean Kapata of Mandevu and Mumbi Phiri of Munali are in court for allegedly hooting unnecessarily contrary to Section 233(1) and (2) of the Road Traffic Act number 11 of 2002. They are also charged with the offence of conduct likely to cause the breach of the peace.
Mumbuna was last Tuesday dismissed from prosecuting the case after he made rude remarks against magistrate Kafunda.
When the matter came up for continued hearing of the defence yesterday, another police prosecutor, Dennis Manda, took up the cross-examination of witnesses from where Mumbuna had left after his dismissal.
And Kabonde said in an interview yesterday that his office had received correspondence from Lusaka Police Division relating to Mumbuna’s dismissal from court by magistrate Kafunda.
“But you know that officer (Mumbuna) is under Lusaka Province. He has a CO (commanding officer). That is the man who can take action,” Kabonde said.
Asked if he was officially aware of the matter, Kabonde said: “Like all of us read in The Post and there are some correspondences. So we are waiting from the commanding officer. We read about it and correspondence from Lusaka Division. They have written to us that they are handling the matter.”
But when reached to comment on whether Mumbuna’s replacement by Manda in the honking case meant he had also been replaced as Lusaka DPO, Lusaka Province police commanding officer Greenwell Ng’uni described the issue as administrative.
“That is an issue of administration we can’t discuss to the press,” Ng’uni said.
When told that his office had written to the I.G’s office over Mumbuna’s dismissal, Ng’uni expressed surprise over the revelation.
“Who has written? I am not aware. Lusaka, we have written the I.G! No, no, who has written?” Ng’uni asked. “I was supposed to write.”
However, when told Kabonde had just confirmed that his office has received correspondence from Lusaka Division over Mumbuna’s matter, Ng’uni reiterated that the issue was administrative.
“These are administrative issues,” said Ng’uni.
Efforts to get Mumbuna proved futile as his phone went unanswered. Last Tuesday, the Lusaka Magistrates’ court room was stunned by the drama between Mumbuna and magistrate Kafunda.
When the defence witness, Phillias Phiri, who is Mumbi’s son, was being cross-examined by Mumbuna, there was some noise from the holding cells within the court premises.
Magistrate Kafunda alerted Mumbuna that there was noise in the court premises and he should do something about it. But Mumbuna said it was not his responsibility to stop people from making noise.
However, magistrate Kafunda reminded Mumbuna that as DPO, he was in charge of the court premises and it was therefore his duty to stop the people from making noise around court premises.
Magistrate Kafunda further reminded Mumbuna that it was his duty as DPO to ensure that court proceedings were not disturbed.
But Mumbuna said if magistrate Kafunda wanted that done, he should have addressed him in chambers and not in open court at a time when he was cross-examining.
The exchange continued with Mumbuna saying he was not going to allow magistrate Kafunda to humiliate him the way he was being humiliated.
However, magistrate Kafunda advised Mumbuna not to get into a heated exchange with him.
Magistrate Kafunda said he was not going to condone the rudeness that Mumbuna was exhibiting in open court since he was a senior prosecutor.
But Mumbuna said he could not allow anybody to humiliate him in front of all the people and to disturb his cross-examination.
When magistrate Kafunda told Mumbuna that in his arguments with him, he was failing in his duties of making sure that the proceedings were not disturbed, Mumbuna replied that he had never failed in his duties and that was why he had been appointed DPO.
This prompted magistrate Kafunda to dismiss Mumbuna from prosecuting the case until another prosecutor was found.
After the pronouncement was made, Mumbuna parked his bags, thanked the magistrate and walked out of court before saying: “I can’t allow anybody to humiliate me.”
Mumbuna’s stunt with magistrate Kafunda left everybody in the courtroom bewildered and the accused didn’t know what to do.
Magistrate Kafunda stood down the case and went back to his chambers.
A few minutes later, the court marshal came and informed the people that the case had been adjourned to September 6, 2010.
This is the second time that Mumbuna is being dismissed from court for misbehaving.
In 2004 Mumbuna, as North-Western Province DPO, was dismissed by a senior resident magistrate in Solwezi from prosecuting cases.
He was later transferred from North Western Province to Lusaka.
Labels: CHARLES KAFUNDA, COURTS, FRANCIS KABONDE, FRANK MUMBUNA, GREENWELL NG'UNI, JEAN KAPATA
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Women’s conference denounces Rupiah’s govt in communique
By Agness Changala
Fri 11 June 2010, 14:00 CAT
WOMEN from the 10 African countries that attended the meeting which was disrupted by a police officer Chushi have signed a communiqué denouncing President Rupiah Banda’s governance record. Police on Tuesday harassed Mandevu member of Parliament Jean Kapata on suspicion that she had convened an illegal women’s meeting at Lusaka’s Hotel Intercontinental.
The conference was attended by members of parliament and civil society activists from Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia.
In a communiqué signed by all conference participants, on June 9, 2010, African women’s Development and communications Network (FEMNET) immediate past chairperson Sara Longwe observed that the Zambian police starkly brought into question whether the government had any respect for an individual’s fundamental rights to freedom of movement, freedom of association and freedom of expression as enshrined in the Zambian Constitution and the various international and regional human rights instruments reaffirming these rights which the State had acceded to.
Longwe said police action represented an attack on all the progress that Zambian women had made in their participation in the affairs of the country at all levels.
“In addition, the action is a violation of the above mentioned fundamental human rights and an attempt to suffocate women’s voices by intimidating women in the political opposition and civil society organizations,” Longwe said.
She said the blatant attack on the legitimate regional women’s leadership conference was outrageously embarrassing for Zambia, and portrayed Zambia as resembling a dictatorship with government monitoring women’s political activities aimed at silencing the thought provoking voices of women.
Longwe observed that at the time of the police intrusion, the conference room and the adjoining corridors were swarming with media personnel who could have provided the police full and accurate information on the nature of the meeting which Kapata attended.
She said participants expressed dismay and anger at the unprofessional and unacceptable behaviour the police in particular Chushi.
Longwe explained that Lusaka police commanding officer Greenwell Ng’uni was contacted on the embarrassing development and he confirmed that the police had acted on a rumour that he received about Kapata holding an illegal Patriotic Front (PF) meeting at the said hotel.
She said Ng’uni told them that as a result, police had gone to the hotel to confirm the rumour by talking to her.
The conference was organized by FEMNET and supported by Non-Governmental Organizations Coordinating Council (NGOCC), Zambia Association for Research and Development (ZARD) and officially opened by acting gender minister Dr Brian Chituwo.
Labels: HUMAN RIGHTS, JEAN KAPATA, RUPIAH BANDA, WOMEN
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Kapata demands arrest of William Banda
By Chibaula Silwamba
Sat 10 Apr. 2010, 04:01 CAT
MANDEVU PF parliamentarian Jean Kapata yesterday demanded the arrest of MMD Lusaka Province acting chairperson William Banda and his land-grabbing cadres for harassing Ng'ombe displaced people in an attempt to confiscate land from them.
Commenting on the revelations by leader of the former Ng'ombe residents Stephen Ludaka that Banda and his cadres violently harassed the displaced residents in Lusaka over the weekend in an attempt to grab land from them and lands minister Gladys Lundwe's defence for William Banda and MMD cadres, Kapata said William Banda must not be allowed to be going round with activities which are in conflict with the law.
“He should just concentrate on his party but not to destabilise people where they are. He must be arrested, the President must have William Banda arrested because whatever he is doing is not right,” Kapata said.
She said William Banda was not the right person to be going round to address land allocation issues because he was not an official from the Ministry of Lands or the council or the police.
“William Banda is not a police officer; we want police officers to act. We have reported to the police on several occasions, even in Mandevu where the MMD cadres are allocating land but the police have not done anything. I challenge Lameck Mangani as Minister of Home Affairs, let him do something about the people of Ng'ombe,” Kapata said. “The displaced people of Ng'ombe are destabilised by MMD cadres and Mr William Banda knows and let him tell the truth. Those are cheap politics which he is playing. I challenge him to bring out the MMD cadres that are illegally allocating land.”
Kapata attributed the problem of land allocation in Lusaka to MMD cadres.
“The displaced people of Ng'ombe have suffered for a long time. By now they could have settled but because MMD cadres are harassing them and they MMD cadres think they can go anywhere and start allocating land. I am not going to accept that,” said Kapata.
But lands minister Lundwe has defended William Banda's lawlessness.
“Mr William Banda and other people have taken it upon themselves to prove to the nation that these people who are doing that are not MMD cadres. And this is why you have seen that they have created a task force going round Lusaka to arrest people to help the police actually who must have been doing it,” said Lundwe. “The cadres themselves, they are saying they are the people illegally allocating land. They have started arresting and reporting or taking those people to police. So we want to clear it from the nation that it would not be MMD cadres as such, so when they are arrested, we will prove to the nation where they are coming from.”
However, MMD lands chairperson Judith Kapijimpanga has condemned William Banda and party cadres for grabbing land from Ng'ombe displaced people.
Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, William Banda and MMD cadres went to harass Ng'ombe displaced people on Kabwe Road, confiscated their cement, shovels and other tools in a bid to compel them to surrender the land to the MMD.
Labels: CADRES, JEAN KAPATA, LAND RIGHTS, WILLIAM BANDA
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Kapata warns politicking traditional leaders
By Ernest Chanda
Thu 12 Nov. 2009, 04:00 CAT
MANDEVU PF member of parliament Jean Kapata on Tuesday warned traditional leaders who support political parties that they place themselves in the political firing range.
Debating estimates of expenditure for the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, Kapata said such chiefs should not complain when their subjects begin to hit back. She said it was sad that certain chiefs chose to be paraded at political rallies and were made to make certain pronouncements in favour of a particular political party.
“Much as it is our tradition to respect chiefs, we should also admit that our chiefs have become political. They are now siding with particular political parties. Let me warn them that they have put themselves in the firing range. And because they have put themselves in the firing range political bullets will start hitting them," Kapata warned.
"I'm Lunda, and I want to thank the Lunda Cultural Association who, so far, have not taken sides in the Solwezi by-election. All our traditional leaders did was issue a statement where they warned their colleagues to desist from taking political sides. For this, I want to thank the Lunda Cultural Association. They have not sided with any political party in the Solwezi by-election and this is how it should be."
Kapata said people were now too enlightened to allow chiefs to make political decisions for them.
“We have seen our colleagues on the right Executive's side parade chiefs at political rallies. This is a very bad practice and I want to warn those chiefs that they no longer have political influence over their people. People have now woken up and they make their own political decisions," said Kapata.
Monze UPND member of parliament Jack Mwiimbu warned that subjects who were attacked by chiefs had a right to respond.
"I wouldn't like to talk much about chiefs because we are all agreeable here that chiefs deserve our respect. But if you start abusing chiefs by parading them and making them make certain pronouncements against political parties and individuals, those individuals have a right to reply," Mwiimbu said.
"And please don't blame them when they react. We know that our colleagues MMD have a tendency of parading chiefs and forcing them to make certain pronouncements. This is very bad for our traditional leaders."
But Chiengi MMD member of parliament Katele Kalumba accused the opposition of playing double standards.
The emotionally charged Kalumba warned that the Bwile people of Chiengi were fighters who fought the colonialists.
"I want to remind Honourable Kapata that the business of ruling people is political. Chiefs rule and that in itself is political. Therefore, chiefs too have a right to see in their system of governance what is good for their people. And for some of you if you expect that the Bwile people will support you then you've got it wrong. We are fighters in that area, we fought the colonialists and we will fight you," warned Kalumba.
"One political party has for some time enjoyed the support of these same chiefs. And when they shift their support you begin to complain, shame on you! This is playing double standards. I will repeat the old dictum that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. We will not sit by and look at you abuse our chiefs whom we respect so much."
Labels: BY-ELECTIONS, CHIEFS, JEAN KAPATA, POLITICS
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PF MP’s Kapata, Phiri’s ‘honking’ case fails to take off
Written by Mwala Kalaluka
Monday, October 05, 2009 8:47:18 PM
POLICE officers yesterday struggled to convince two opposition PF parliamentarians to return to the police cells after their case failed to take off due to the absence of a docket.
The case in which Munali member of parliament Mumbi Phiri and her Mandevu counterpart Jean Kapata, who were arrested for ‘honking’ against former president Frederick Chiluba’s acquittal last Friday, could not be entertained by chief resident magistrate Charles Kafunda because
there was no charge before his court.
Phiri and Kapata arrived at the court complex slightly before 09:30 hours, dressed in black in the company of a female police officer.
Phiri said they had just been discharged from the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) where they had been admitted for high blood pressure.
Upon entering magistrate Kafunda’s courtroom, the two parliamentarians headed straight for the dock where they sat to wait for their turn.
The defence lawyer, Matthew Pikiti said he was supposed to appear for the two members of parliament, who he said had been in detention since last Friday.
Pikiti told magistrate Kafunda that he had been assured by the deputy commanding officer on Saturday that the duo was supposed to appear in court on Monday.
“They were not given police bond,” Pikiti said. “They were rushed to the hospital.”
Pikiti said he had asked the prosecution and they had informed him that they had not brought the docket.
Pikiti said he was making an application that the prosecution bring the docket to the court.
“The matter that they have been charged with is bailable,” he said.
The public prosecutors said they could not do anything in the absence of a docket and that it was not among the dockets that had been brought to the court.
But Pikiti said he was assured by Lusaka division criminal investigations officer (DCIO) a Mr Zulu that Phiri and Kapata were supposed to appear before the court yesterday.
“I apply that we stand down the matter so that the prosecution is requested to bring the document because it is a simple charge,” Pikiti said.
However, magistrate Kafunda said he was in a predicament to issue any directives on a matter whose charge had not been brought to the court’s attention.
“There is no charge,” he said.
Magistrate Kafunda said the most he could do in the matter was to urge the people that arrested the two parliamentarians to expedite the process in view of the constitutional guarantee that an accused person should appear in court 48 hours from the time of arrest.
“Otherwise, a directive I can’t make,” said magistrate Kafunda.
Outside the courtroom, three police officers approached Kapata and Phiri, who were in the company of their lawyers, civil society representatives and PF cadres, and asked to take them to the police station.
However, Phiri asked one of the police officers not to harass her because she was not going to the police cell.
“Behave yourself… It was announced on radio and television that we are going to court. I do not want to go back. Why are you harassing me?” Phiri challenged one male police officer.
A crowd started forming around and one of the police officers was heard asking his colleague, “but who brought them here?”
The other police officer pointed to another female officer, saying the said officer brought the parliamentarians to court from the hospital.
“I came with their vehicle,” the female police officer was heard defending herself.
Another defence lawyer, George Chisanga intervened and they agreed with Pikiti that the police officers should not interfere with the two parliamentarians as the counsels went to the police to collect the docket, which was being finalized according to the police.
And senior citizen Cecilia Makota openly protested at the court premises when police officers attempted to force the two parliamentarians into their custody.
During the wait for the docket, another officer, identified only as the officer-in-charge came and told the two parliamentarians to go to the police station so that they could conclude the process.
However, Phiri and Kapata stood their ground and told the policeman that they were not criminals for them to be taken to court when the real thief was sleeping peacefully in Kabulonga.
“We can’t listen to him, lawyers have already given instructions,” Phiri said forcing the policeman to respond: “You are still under our custody. You have been discharged from the hospital but you have to go to our office so that we finish the formalities.”
Kapata and Phiri said the idea of returning to the filthy cells was a non-starter.
The police officer said the policewoman who took the parliamentarians to the court from the hospital erred.
“They are not supposed to come directly here,” a seemingly troubled police officer explained.
Later, the two parliamentarians agreed to go to Lusaka Central Police Station where they met Lusaka commanding officer Greenwell Ng’uni in the company of their lawyers.
Ng’uni pleaded with journalists to remain outside his office.
PF spokesperson Given Lubinda subsequently appeared and said the two had been charged with conduct likely to cause the breach of peace and disorderly conduct.
Chisanga said the formalities for the parliamentarians’ police bond were also being ironed out.
Some members of the civil society who were at the police station laughed off at the excuse by police that they could not conclude their investigations and charge the parliamentarians because they had been admitted to the hospital.
By press time, the two parliamentarians were still at Lusaka Central Police.
CK
Labels: CHILUBA, DEMONSTRATION, JEAN KAPATA, MUMBI PHIRI
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Kapata calls for 15% allocation to health
Written by Masuzyo Chakwe
Sunday, March 22, 2009 6:26:18 PM
ZAMBIA Parliamentary Caucus on Children chairperson Jean Kapata has said the rights of children in Zambia in terms of health, education and security have not been adequately catered for.
Kapata yesterday said the government should be ensuring at least 15 per cent of the total budget goes to the health sector so that the ministry could reach out to children.
She said the first ever Parliamentary Caucus on Children within the Zambian Parliament was formed last year.
Kapata said the caucus was a voluntarily organisation for members of parliament who were committed to ensuring the promotion of the rights of children,
She said efforts to improve the participation of parliamentarians dated back to 2004 when a seminar on children was held in Cape Town with the joint support of the European Parliamentarians for Africa and UNICEF.
Kapata said parliamentarians from Africa and Europe participated in the seminar and discussed the situation of orphans and vulnerable children in Africa.
"The seminar adopted the 'Cape Town Declaration on an Enhanced Parliamentary Response to the crisis of orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS in Africa.' The declaration laid out concrete actions and commitments for African and European parliamentarians in addressing the crisis of OVCs in Africa. In Zambia, this culminated in the formation of this caucus," she said.
Kapata said the major goal of the Parliamentary Caucus on Children was to influence relevant national institutions to place children, particularly orphans and vulnerable children as a priority of the government's political and development agenda.
Kapata said the executive committee of the caucus, in consideration of addressing children and women issues concretely at constituency level, decided to conduct situation analyses in six pilot constituencies as the basis for development of constituency development plans.
"Criteria for selection were based on under five child mortality, HIV prevalence, food insecurity as well as rural urban demographics. The pilot projects will be in Sinazongwe, Chingola, Mongu Central, Mandevu, Lubansenshi and Lukulu West constituencies.
She welcomed all stakeholders dealing with various aspects of children's issues to work closely with the Caucus so as to ensure the creation of a safe environment for children.
Labels: 2009 BUDGET, HEALTHCARE, JEAN KAPATA
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Govt has no intention to cut Cabinet, says Kunda
Written by Ernest Chanda
Sunday, January 25, 2009 7:21:19 AM
VICE-President George Kunda told Parliament on Friday that the government has no intention of reducing the size of Cabinet. This was in response to a question from Mandevu Patriotic Front member of parliament Jean Kapata who wanted to know if the government would consider reducing the size of Cabinet and cutting down on seminars in view of the global economic crisis.
"... I believe that our government is of the right size, representative and effective. I know that there have been calls from many sections of society to reduce the size of our Cabinet, but I think it is the right size. As for seminars, they are a matter which can be resolved. It is a good idea to cut down on expenditure, but certainly not cutting down on Cabinet," he said.
And Vice-President Kunda refused to comment on whether the government would consider allowing court marshals to prosecute cases of senior army officers.
This was after Namwala UPND member of parliament Major Robbie Chizyuka sought to know whether the government would consider allowing court marshals to play centre stage in the trials of senior army officers.
But in response, Vice-President Kunda said; "... I will not talk about issues that are before the courts of law."
Labels: CABINET, CORRUPTION, GEORGE KUNDA, JEAN KAPATA, NCC
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