MMD criminals are now angels in PF - Wilima
By Mwila Chansa-Ntambi
Tue 10 Apr. 2012, 13:27 CAT
NDOLA district MMD vice-publicity secretary William Wilima has charged that most ‘criminals' that used to be in MMD have become ‘angels' in the Patriotic Front. And Wilima says the fight against corruption in Zambia is not institutionalised because law enforcement agencies do not institute their own investigations but rather wait for directives from politicians.
In an interview yesterday, Wilima claimed that the PF was on one hand persecuting many MMD members by directing law enforcement agencies to investigate them for various offences while on the other hand they are dropping charges of those that had defected to PF.
He described the investigations and prosecution of most MMD members as political.
"If you are not Mr Sata's friend, you will be investigated but if you are his friend, you will not be investigated. You can even be appointed," Wilima said.
And Wilima advised Zambian law enforcement agencies to initiate their own investigations just like the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) does.
He accused Zambian law enforcers of investigating people on account of directives from politicians in power.
"That is why the police can look at a criminal and let him go scot-free but once they are told to move and follow that criminal, that is when they will act," said Wilima.
Wilima said there was need for leaders of enforcement organisations to be answerable to Parliament and not the President.
He added that heads of law enforcement agencies should also have security of tenure of employment and not be at the mercy of the appointing authority.
Meanwhile, Wilima accused former MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba of trying to stigmatise the MMD so that people do not support it.
He said if Kalumba had been promised ‘greener pastures', he should go quietly and not drag the MMD into mud.
Labels: MMD, NDOLA
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COMMENT - Not only should the land be returned to her, but the officials who sold her land without her knowledge should go to jail for fraud.
Ndola woman implores governmetnt to probe council over land
By Kabanda Chulu
Tue 10 Apr. 2012, 13:26 CAT
A NDOLA woman has urged the government to urgently investigate corrupt practices by some officers at
Ndola City Council that have grabbed a piece of land from her and illegally allocated it to a Somali national.In her submissions to the Land Audit Committee, which has been gathering information on illegal sale of land, Harriet Simukoko Zimba, stated that
a Somali national, Mohamed Almi Hoor of Atosh Transport, allegedly connived with council officials to grab a piece of land (plot F7/GR2 Mupundu Street) that belongs to her.
"I worked for Zambia Railways for 10 years and when the housing empowerment initiative came into being, I did not benefit from it since I was not a sitting tenant at that time, so the Railways' union pursued the initiative to sell all undeveloped plots to its employees who never benefited from the sale of houses and I was one of those that applied for a plot in Ndola," stated Zimba.
"In July 2002, I was informed that approval to sell plots was made and I received my offer letter dated 2nd August 2002 to buy the plot in question. On 6th August 2002, I paid K4.7 million as full payment and receipt was only issued on 12th December 2003."
She stated that a temporary permit was obtained from the council to allow construction and building plans were submitted and approved.
"I commenced works for the foundation but in April 2002, I received a summons from Shamakamba and Associates, stating that the plot in question was sold to Atoshi Transport in 1997 and was later re-entered in 1998 in Mohamed Almi Hoor, a Somali national," Zimba stated.
"In 2005, as I was waiting for feedback from the Lands Ministry, Mohamed erected a wall fence to show that he has made developments and the information I have got is that some corrupt council officials sold the plot and facilitated issuance of title deeds, yet I am in possession of original title deeds."
She said the matter had dragged on for nine years.
"I have lost time, money and pride to be a Zambian. If what is rightly mine is lost to a foreigner due to a few greedy and corrupt officials, I cannot go to Somalia and be given land, so I request government to look into this matter with urgency," stated Zimba.
Recently, lands minister Wilbur Simuusa warned that corrupt officers involved in illegal land allocation would be handed over to law enforcement agencies once a comprehensive land audit was concluded.
"Once the final report is submitted, punitive action will be taken against perpetrators in accordance with the law. As government, we are concerned about illegal land allocation, and officers found wanting will be prosecuted; so I am appealing to people with information on land corruptly or illegally acquired to assist so that the audit exercise can be accelerated," said Simuusa.
Labels: CORRUPTION, COUNCILS, LAND RIGHTS, NDOLA, NDOLA CITY COUNCIL
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Street vendors jostle for space in Ndola
By Fridah Nkonde in Ndola
Sun 18 Dec. 2011, 13:55 CAT
STREET vendors yesterday moved into Ndola's Central Business District jostling for trading space following P
resident Michael Sata's directive to local authorities not to chase them. President Sata has ordered councils countrywide to leave street vendors and those running car wash points to operate without hindrance.
Confusion reigned in the town centre when two groups of more than a hundred vendors exchanged expletives, as the urban vendors could not allow those coming from other townships to trade in town.
In an interview, Vendors Association chairman Francia Mwape Kaputula said their association was not going to allow those coming from Masala, Chifubu, Kabushi and other townships to conduct their businesses in the town centre because they had stands where they were coming from.
"We don't understand why these people are coming here because they don't belong here. They have stands in markets where they are coming from. They just want to bring confusion in town and we will not allow it," he said.
Kaputula said he knew the people that had been vending in town and that he would not just let anyone to move into town because it would create confusion.
"What we do not want is for our beloved President to change his mind about the statement he made concerning street vending. We want to maintain our places and do business in an orderly manner. We don't want our town to become dirty because that will bring about a lot of diseases like cholera. We have restricted ourselves from reaching Shoprite area because our town will look untidy," he said.
And Vendors Association chairlady Margaret Chalwe said President Sata had done a great thing for the street vendors and that there was need for them to operate in a good and orderly manner.
Chalwe said the association had come up with a vigilante force amongst themselves to prevent other vendors from getting into town.
"We know who operates in town and who does not. All those people you are seeing there are from Chifubu, Masala, Kabushi and other towns. We will not beat or harass them but we will only chase them just as we have done today. We will continue chasing them if at all they continue coming to disturb us," she said.
Chalwe said they had all the rights to chase those that never used to trade in town and that they would do everything possible to keep them away.
"These are the people who used to bring confusion even before the President issued this directive. They would at times come to do their business in town and when the council come to chase all of us, they would happily go back to their stands and leave us who do not have stands to suffer. So they should also leave us to do our business," she said.
She said there had been street vendors since 1983 when Mulungushi Market where they had stands got burnt.
Meanwhile, Sandra Silitonga, a vendor from Masala, who spoke on behalf of vendors from other townships, said the directive made by President Sata was not going to work due to Chalwe's as all vendors wanted to do their business in town.
Silitonga said they all wanted to trade in town because most of the people did their shopping in town.
"There is no business where we are coming from. Town centre is for everyone and as long as we all voted for President Sata, we will all come and trade in town. Allowing a few individuals to sell in town won't work. For me, I can't continue selling in Masala because I don't make profit that side and it is because of the people that sell in town who sell things at a very cheap price affecting us who do not sell in town," said Silitonga.
Labels: MARKETEERS, NDOLA
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Shamenda decries MMD's failure to revive industries
By Bright Mukwasa
Mon 05 Sep. 2011, 14:00 CAT
THE
MMD's complacency towards reviving the country's industrial base is enough reason to vote it out of power this month, says Fackson Shamenda. In an interview, Shamenda, the former head of the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions and Ndola Central PF parliamentary candidate, said the failure by the current regime to revive many critical industries had left many Zambians in destitution.
"The whole place Ndola has collapsed. It has become a big Chisokone market. The whole town is in ruins, it's like there was a war or something. If you look at Dunlop, it was a manufacturing industry and we were manufacturing tyres and that time we had very few cars. Now the whole country is flooded with vehicles, that's when you decide to close the tyre industry," Shamenda said.
"Zamtel used to employ more than 3,000 people and now you sell it and there are less than 700 people who are employed. Then you say we are creating jobs? I fail to add up the mathematics.
If you give this government another five years, I don't know what will happen to the economy. I can't imagine what will happen to Ndola; we shall have nothing to talk about."
He said the current foreign direct investment had failed to benefit Zambians as claimed by the MMD.
Shamenda said he was not shaken by the MMD's opulence in this year's election.
"It does not because people are determined. Fortunately with the slogan of 'don't kubeba', people do appreciate that they cannot be perpetual beggars. They would rather get jobs so that they buy their own fitenges (chitenges), so that they buy their own T-shirts, so that they can buy their own buka buka fish. It's not that they are interested in becoming perpetual beggars; and where you beg once every five years," he said.
"All Zambians should rally together to have a change. I think in any system where you have a change of players, competition is very important and this is why these people are complacent. They are saying 'if they are being re-elected for another 20 years', they will think what they are doing, the people they are bullying around, the industries which are being destroyed. They think that's what the Zambians are enjoying."
Shamenda said the government had failed to create decent jobs for the youths.
Labels: COPPERBELT PROVINCE, FACKSON SHAMENDA, MANUFACTURING, NDOLA, NEOLIBERALISM
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Ndola biomedical lecturers warn of ‘desperate’ MMD
By Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Sun 17 Apr. 2011, 03:59 CAT
SOME lecturers at Ndola College of Biomedical Sciences have cautioned Zam-bians to be careful with the MMD government, saying it is desperate and can do anything to be voted back into power.
The lecturers, in the company of some of their students stormed The Post office in Ndola and disclosed that they had received a letter indicating that President Rupiah Banda would inaugurate the new medical school at Ndola Central Hospital on April 28, 2011.
“We received a letter that the President will inaugurate the new medical school on the 28th of April. But the truth of the matter is that President Banda wants to use the opening of the medical school as a campaign gimmick so that he can solicit for votes,” said one of the lecturers who did not want to be named.
“Why didn’t the government build a new medical school? Why do they want to grab the biomedical school? Why are they in a hurry to open one? This means they are running out of time and will do anything to stay in power.”
The lecturers said medical students would start arriving at the College of Biomedical Sciences next week. The lecturer accused the MMD government of being irresponsible and causing unnecessary problems in the country.
“The issue here is that the medical students and the biomedical students will share the facilities, but the problem is that the facilities can only accommodate a certain number of people. It is true that some rooms have been locked and reserved for medical students. 50 medical students will be accommodated at the college,” he said.
He said the only biomedical lecture theatre had also been given to the new medical students, leaving the biomedical students without one.
The lecturer said the hospital library had been given to the new medical school and that some offices at Tropical Disease Research Centre (DTRC) have been surrendered to the school.
The government has decided to convert the Ndola College of Biomedical Sciences into a medical school.
PF Mwansabombwe member of parliament Samuel Chitonge last week urged the government not to tamper with the college and instead find its own money to build a medical school.
Chitonge said laboratories were very important to healthcare delivery and there was no health facility that could function without a laboratory department.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, HEALTHCARE, MMD, NDOLA
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Ndola runs out of TB drugs
By Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Tue 02 Nov. 2010, 08:20 CAT
"It is true that TB drugs are nowhere to be found" NDOLA district has run out of tuberculosis (TB) drugs. Sources at Ndola District Health office revealed in an interview that all public clinics had run out of the drugs and the malaria drug Coartem would run out by next year.
“It is true that TB drugs are nowhere to be found. The ministry is going to tell you that drugs are there. But just know that it is a lie. I am telling the truth because on Friday, the accountant at Ndola DHMT District Health Management Team offices was told to purchase the drugs because they were out of stock,” one of the sources said.
The sources said there could be a crisis if the government did not act swiftly.
And some nurses at Ndola Central Hospital, Masala and Chipulukusu clinics confirmed that the drug had run out.
When contacted for comment, Ministry of Health spokesperson Dr Kamoto Mbewe said some areas had low supply of the drug.
He said the drugs were purchased and they were distributed in all parts of the country.
“We purchased the drug when we heard that some areas were running low. The drug is being distributed as I speak to you. And for Coartem, what I know is that we have adequate drugs in stock. But we have started distributing the TB drugs,” said Dr Mbewe.
Labels: HEALTHCARE, NDOLA, TUBERCULOSIS
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Ndola residents boo, call Chiluba a thief
By Abigail Chaponda in Ndola
Wed 09 June 2010, 15:10 CAT
Wusakile residents raising PF-UPND symbols on Chiluba's vehicle when he visited their them on Saturday.Residents were shouting Twakana,Twakana nimwe mwashitishe amayanda (We don't want you, you are the one who sold the houses).
NDOLA’s Chifubu residents on Tuesday afternoon booed former President Frederick Chiluba and calling him a thief when he visited Chifubu market.
And sources close to Chiluba have revealed that Chiluba is President Rupiah Banda’s personal ambassador.
Many people did not know that Chiluba was in Chifubu market because his visit was not announced and people only came to know of his visit when he had finished talking to an old lady who was later identified as Lise Bwalya.
When a few people saw him (Chiluba) they shouted “the hour, tupeniko impiya (the hour, give us money),” but he did not respond but he instead proceeded to Bwalya’s house at house number 38 CHD 787 near Chifubu market.
Bwalya showed Chiluba her house but reporters and residents did not know why Bwalya was showing Chiluba her house.
Both Chiluba and Bwalya were whispering to each other and no one heard what they were talking about.
After inspecting the house, Chiluba then headed towards his GRZ vehicle where he was met by many people who had mixed feeling over his visit.
Some people shouted “the hour” and others raised the PF symbol of a clenched fist while shouting “Pamaka!”
News about Chiluba’s presence quickly filtered through the market and PF members mobbed him and called him a thief.
“Lazo! Lazo! Lazo! Kabolala! Kabolola! Kabiye! Lazo! Chikabolala (thief, go! We don’t want you, go!)” shouted the mob.
The angry mob nearly touched Chiluba but his bodyguards quickly surrounded him.
As Chiluba got into his car, one PF cadre led the others in chanting; “we want change, we want change, we want change” while thumping on Chiluba’s vehicle.
Chiluba drove off without saying anything.
As Chiluba’s vehicle drove off, the people started singing “Sata ngatalipo, bonse aba nibangwele! (If Sata is not there, all these don’t count”.
And the cadres threatened to burn a Zambia Daily Mail vehicle saying the institution was always on Chiluba’s side.
Some of the concerned people asked Zambia Daily Mail reporters to leave because some people were mobilizing to burn their vehicle.
Meanwhile, on Friday Chiluba visited ZAFICO residents and promised them that he would ensure President Rupiah Banda sold them the houses.
Sources said that Chiluba told the residents that he (Chiluba) was President’s ambassador and he was assigned to go round the country to identify problems and people’s needs for the government to act on them.
Kitwe residents last Saturday gave Chiluba a rough reception while others insulted him when he toured Wusakile toilets and other areas.
Labels: CHILUBA, NDOLA
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Ndola police place Cabinet Office accountants officers on bond
Written by Mutuna Chanda in Kitwe
Sunday, January 18, 2009 6:01:58 AM
THE eight accounting officers from Cabinet Office in Ndola who were arrested and charged for theft and money laundering involving over K2.2 billion for poverty reduction programmes have been released on police bond.
Sources told The Post that the accountants were released on police bond on Friday. The sources disclosed that the eight would appear in court on January 30.
When contacted, Drug Enforcement Commission spokesperson Rosten Chulu said he was not aware of whether or not the accountants were released by press time, but said it was possible that they may have been out because the offence provided for a bond.
Chulu on Thursday confirmed the arrest of the eight officers on Wednesday, and the seizure of two houses and 14 motor vehicles.
“Those arrested include Innocent Hatombwe, 39, a chief accountant of house number 6, Mbala Road in Kansenshi, John Chitalu Musonda, 50, a principal accountant of North Rise in Ndola, Peter Mwape Kapesebele, 31, a local government officer, Kennedy Kabwe Mwale, 44, an accountant of Mwata Kazembe Road,” Chulu stated. “Others arrested include Clement Liwena, 34, an assistant accountant of house number 30, Feira Road in Kansenshi, Susan Ncube Mpongosa, 35, an assistant accountant of Victor Mulenga Road in Kansenshi, Loveness Ngosa Changala, 40, also an assistant accountant of Hillcrest Extension in Ndola and Priscilla Kamutumwa, 40, of Nkwazi Road.”
Chulu stated that the officers, while acting together with other unknown persons between January 1, 2006 and January 14, 2009, allegedly stole the money that they had been charged for.
“Whilst acting jointly together with other persons unknown on dates but between 1st January 2006 and 14th January, 2009, in their capacities as civil servants at Ndola Provincial Administration Office, allegedly did steal the said monies which belonged to the government of the Republic of Zambia meant for poverty reduction programmes under the provincial administration office in Ndola, which money came into their possession by virtue of their employment as civil servants,” stated Chulu. “They later did launder the same monies directly or indirectly into property such as motor vehicles and houses.”
Labels: ACCOUNTING, NDOLA
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60 p.c. land in Ndola idle
By Times Reporter
ABOUT 60 per cent of land in Ndola has been lying idle after the city council allocated it to individuals and organisations.
Town Clerk, Charity Mpande (left) said in an interview yesterday that a preliminary land audit conducted by the local authority showed that there was an ‘‘artificial’’ shortage of land because much of it was being held by people and individuals who had not undertaken any development.
Ms Mpande said the council would repossess the land which had not been developed 18 months after allocation.
The repossession exercise would be done after concluding the necessary legal processes so that it could be re-allocated to other developers.
“After a preliminary audit, we discovered that on paper, there is a shortage of land in Ndola.
‘‘However, on the ground it was discovered that about 60 per cent of the land which was allocated to some people was still lying idle for various reasons.
‘‘We did advertise in the newspapers last month that we shall be repossessing land which has not been developed,” she said.
The council was disappointed that Mitengo area, which was initially called Mufulira Round-about land development area, had not been developed from 2001 when the local authority initiated the project.
Ms Mpande said, however, that part of the land in Ndola was protected forestry land consisting of natural and exotic vegetation, which could not be developed into residential and commercial areas.
“There is still some land which has not been allocated south of the city. We’ve identified land for development. For instance in Mushili, land has been identified for development,” she said.
She said the council had spent K2 billion on grading roads in Mitengo area where the network had been gravelled and levelled with laterite.
“We sourced money within the council to do the roads in Mitengo. We graded the roads, levelled them and we did them professionally.
‘‘This is to enable people to access their plots and eventually develop the area,” she said.
Labels: CHARITY MPANDE, LAND, NDOLA
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