Serenje couple names twins after Lungu, Esther

By Ann Zulu

A COUPLE of Serenje district in Central Province has named their twins who were born just days after President Edgar Lungu was re-elected for his first five-year term after the Head of State and First Lady Esther Lungu.

The twins, Edgar and Esther, were born on August 17, a few days after President Lungu was declared winner in the August general elections and a few weeks before his inauguration on September 13.

Little Edgar Musonda and Esther Musonda were born at a local clinic in Serenje district.

This reporter spoke to the couple who said they named their twins Edgar and Esther to express their excitement over President Lungu’s victory in the general elections and also in the hope that their children would grow up to emulate the first family’s values.

“We really love the President because he is a humble and God fearing man; he is a God given gift to Zambia and I am confident that the country is in safer hands with him as Head of State. Zambia needed a humble and hardworking leader like President Lungu if it were to prosper; most of these politicians are not sincere and humble like him.

“The First Lady is another humble and selfless person, with a big heart for the people. She has been always there for the poor, especially women and we can only thank God for her. So the time President Lungu was pronounced winner, my wife and I were very excited and we hope that our children will grow up to be good people just like the President and his wife,” said Mr. Simeon Musonda, father of the twins.

Both parents, Simeon and Thelma, strongly believed that the birth of their twins was a blessing and a God-given sign of his love.

Mrs Musonda wished President Lungu wisdom from God as he continued to lead the nation.

“We pray that God will give the President wisdom like he did to Solomon in the Bible; he’s truly a blessing and it is a great privilege to have my children born during his reign as President,” she said.

Ministry fails to collect K687,000 tourism fees

By Ann Zulu

ANNUAL renewal fees for 2015 amounting to K687,560 have not yet been collected from 674 establishments consisting of hotels, motels, lodges and guest houses, among others, Ministry of Tourism and Arts permanent secretary Stephen Mwansa told the Parliamentary Accounts Committee last week.

Stephen Mwansa 

The committee also interrogated Mr. Mwansa on why there was no safe at the Ndola regional tourism office as reported by the Auditor General, thus leaving money and documents vulnerable and unsecured.

Mr. Mwansa said the ministry had not collected 2015 annual renewal fees from 278 establishments in Ndola, 171 in Lusaka and 225 in Livingstone.

Appearing before the committee, Mr. Mwansa ─ who is also the controlling officer in the Ministry of Tourism and Arts ─ attributed the failure to inadequate funding for inspections to the regional offices under the Department of Tourism.

He also said the ministry lacked adequate staffing levels in the regional offices for standards inspectors mandated to enforce compliance from the establishment.

“The standards inspectors have been unable to monitor the minimum standards from these establishments so as to enforce compliance levels,” Mr. Mwansa said.

PF Senga Hill Member of Parliament Kapembwa Simbao took Mr. Mwansa to task on why the ministry had not collected annual renewal fees to date and what measure were put in place to ensure that uncollected revenue was collected.

Mr. Mwansa claimed that the outstanding revenue in amounts totalling to K637,560 at the time of the audit had since reduced to K441,013 after a reconciliation was done by the ministry.

He also told the committee that some of the establishments were closed, making it difficult for the ministry to collect the fees.

Mr. Mwansa, however, said efforts were underway to collect the outstanding amount.

“We are still on the ground concerning this issue, and before the end of this year we should be able to come up with something. We are planning to hire people to collect the money for us,” he said.

Gender ministry taken to task over unretired imprest

By Ann Zulu

THE Parliamentary Accounts Committee last week took the Ministry of Gender and Child Development to task for failing to retire imprest amounting to K132, 767 on a workshop which never took place.

Permanent secretary Edwidge Mutale

The Ministry’s permanent secretary, Edwidge Mutale, appeared before the committee to respond to various irregularities in the ministry as reported in the Auditors General’s Report for the year 2015.

According to the report, in February 2015 the Ministry of Gender and Child Development paid a total of K132, 767 as subsistence allowances to various officers for attending two workshops to review job description and training needs assessment purportedly held at Ndozo Lodge in Chilanga district.

However, a verification carried out in June 2016 at Ndozo Lodge revealed that no such workshops were held at the lodge, hence the amount paid was irregular and therefore recoverable from the officers.

Ms. Mutale told the committee that the ministry had so far managed to recover K8, 010 and that the balance of K124,757 was being recovered from the officers through the payroll.

Asked by Solwezi West parliamentarian Teddy Kasonso whether the Ministry had taken any other disciplinary action against the officers apart from payroll deductions, the PS admitted that there had been no disciplinary actions against the officers.

She said the Ministry had dealt with the issue administratively and that no third party such as the police would be involved.

Ms. Mutale reiterated that the remaining balance would be recovered through the payroll.

“The sum of K8, 010 has been recovered and the balance of K124, 757 is being recovered from the officers through the payroll. We have not taken any further disciplinary action against the officers and we will not report the matter to the police, instead we will deal with it administratively because we have procedure that we need to follow,” Ms. Mutale said.

Wina apologises over 5-day ZESCO blackout

By Ann Zulu

VICE-PRESIDENT Inonge Wina says Government sympathises with companies and residents that lost business and property in the five provinces that suffered a massive power outage that lasted several days this week.

VICE-PRESIDENT Inonge Wina 

ZESCO recently suffered a major system failure which resulted in loss of power supply to Muchinga, Northern, Eastern, Luapula, Central, parts of Copperbelt and North-Western provinces for five days.

The incident happened when the 330kv Kabwe-Pensulo line tripped at Pensulo substation in Serenje after lightning struck the powerline, causing severe damage to ZESCO infrastructure.

Ms. Wina told Parliament today during the Vice-President’s Question Time that this was one of the most severe natural calamities that the country had ever experienced.

She noted that a lot of people and companies had been severely affected by the power outage and that the damage to ZESCO property was estimated at US $1.5 million.

However, Ms. Wina said she was relieved that works on the power line had been concluded and power had been restored.

The Vice-President was responding to a question by Chitambo Member of Parliament Remember Mutale who wanted to know what Government felt about the companies and families who had lost goods and property as a result of the power outage.

 “Government sympathises with the people and companies in the five provinces that were affected by the power outage. This has indeed been a big disaster for those five provinces and the cost of this damage is estimated at US $1.5 million. Thank God, power has been restored,” she said.

She thanked the affected people for their patience and understanding during the power cut.

Ms. Wina apologised for the inconvenience and damage that the loss of power supply had caused, stressing that Government was concerned about the whole incident.

“I wish to say that Government is very concerned about the damage to a lot of infrastructure, business and many other things in the five provinces that were affected,” she said.

Veep speaks out on GBV

By Ann Zulu 

VICE-PRESIDENT Inonge Wina has called for concerted efforts in the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Zambia.

VICE-PRESIDENT Inonge Wina

And Ms. Wina said Government was concerned with disturbing killings among spouses at a time when families should be united to promote peace and development.

She said the growing trend of GBV was worrying, as it had an effect on socio-economic development of the county.

The Vice President was speaking in an interview with this reporter on the eve of the commemoration of 16 days of activism against GBV in Lusaka today.

“The increase in the number of GBV cases in the country is very worrying because GBV undermines the well-being of the people and socio-economic development of the county. It also violates the human rights of an individual, it disrupts families and as such you cannot build a country on the basis of such violation in the communities. That is why government is very worried,” Ms. Wina said.

She said taking somebody’s life was unacceptable, stressing that there were other amicable ways couples could resolve their differences.

Ms. Wina also called for the interrogation of initiation ceremonies which tend to leave out males, thereby creating imbalance in the values of marriages among spouses.

She noted that this made it difficult for couples to resolve their differences amicably.

“It’s very unfortunate that a woman could go to the extent of killing her husband, which is totally unacceptable. But we should also understand that by the time a wife takes an axe and cuts her husband, she must have come from a very traumatizing background whether in that home or her life,” she said.

Ms. Wina indicated that Government had put in place relevant policies, laws, guidelines and institutions to support holistic management of GBV.

She said despite the steps taken, both Government and stakeholders must put in more efforts to prevent and respond to GBV.

The Vice-President urged the Church, community leaders, NGOs and others to put in more effort and continue being in the forefront of community response to GBV.

“Government is doing a lot and sensitizing communities on GBV is an ongoing process and NGOs have been at the forefront, but more needs to be done by all stakeholders in ensuring that our country is free from GBV,” she said

Ms. Wina also called for unity in the country in fighting GBV for the sake of a peaceful and safer Zambia for the men, women, boys and girls.

‘Caring fathers key to girl child’s education prospects’

By Ann Zulu 

GOOD parental care particularly from fathers will help reduce mass school dropouts among girls, child labour ambassador Samuel Mutambo has said.

Mr. Mutambo said male parents had a vital role to play in promoting girl-child education.

He noted that in most cases, girls were so close to their fathers and that proper care and love from their male parents would boost their confidence towards education.

“Good care and love from a male parent would motivate a girl-child to work hard at school, hence help in the reduction of school dropouts among girls; so fathers have a big role to play in this,” Mr. Mutambo said.

He also exhorted mothers to avoid negative tendencies that would induce fathers to abandon their social responsibilities towards the education of the girl-child.

Mr. Mutambo said it was incumbent upon women to show respect, love and humility to their husbands so that they would not neglect their responsibilities.

“Sometimes if wives respect their husbands, they would probably not neglect their responsibilities to care for their children especially the girls; so mothers have a role to play in this as well, by being submissive,” she said.

Mr. Mutambo noted that majority of fathers stopped giving proper parental care to their children, especially the girl-child, upon the breakdown of marriages.

He urged fathers to be responsible and push their daughters to get an education so that they could be responsible in the future and contribute to national development.

He advised them to give utmost attention to the development of girl children by providing them with sound and qualitative education.

“You know fathers have that authority in them when they speak, so it’s important that they also keep an eye on the movement of their children, and cultivate a habit of paying them regular visits at their school so as to ascertain the level of their seriousness and the company they are keeping,” he said.

Take part in conflict resolution, women urged

By Ann Zulu

AFRICAN women must rise up and take part in conflict resolution, Zambia’s ambassador to Ethiopia and permanent representative to the African Union, Susan Sikaneta, has said.

Ms. Sikaneta said women were the majority in every country and therefore should play a key role in fostering peace in society.

She observed that women were rarely part of conflict resolution mechanisms, yet they were the custodians of culture in Africa.

Ms. Sikaneta said this in an exclusive interview with this reporter after the closing ceremony of the AU Peace and Security Council Retreat on practical steps to silence the guns in Africa by 2020 last week.

 “Why do we always want to remain a silent majority? There is strength in numbers. We should learn to take advantage of these numbers and advocate for peace on our continent,” Ms. Sikaneta said.

She noted that women were naturally known for peace-making, a character trait they should employ to build the culture of dialogue, peace and tolerance in their respective countries.

Ms. Sikaneta said it was important for women to stand up against conflict so as to secure peace and stability in the continent for future generations.

“Women are the people who keep homes together, so when there is a problem in the continent you send women as mediators or negotiators to lobby for peace. The chances of succeeding are greater because of the nature of women who are always working for peace,” she said.

Ms. Sikaneta called on women to be non-partisan in order for their peace-building effort to be effective.

“If we are to be involved in peace-building, we must be completely non-aligned. There has to be professionalism, honesty and persistence in our work of solving conflicts,” she said.

Govt to address teachers housing deficit

By Ann Zulu

GOVERNMENT is committed to addressing the current housing deficit for teachers in the country, General Education Minister Dennis Wachinga has said.

Dr. Wachinga said Government was aware of the accommodation challenges that teachers have continued to face.

He said it was for this reason that his ministry intends to work closely with the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development to ensure that teachers were provided with decent accommodation.

The minister was responding to a question raised by Chitambo Member of Parliament Chanda Mutale in Parliament on Friday, who wanted to know whether Government had any plans to construct additional teachers’ houses.

“Government recognises the importance of providing decent houses to our teachers. We are putting up a program with the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development to ensure that the houses deficit is addressed as soon as possible,” Dr. Wachinga said.

He assured the house that once the plans were finalised, the issue of shortage of teachers’ houses would be a thing of the past.

And Dr. Wachinga also stated that Government is doing everything possible to ensure that all schools in the country had access to clean water.

This was after Kabwe Central Member of Parliament Tutwa Ngulube posed a question on what Government was doing in addressing the issue of water in some schools especially in rural areas.

The minister said Government had embarked on a programme of drilling boreholes in schools to enable pupils have access to clean water.

“Our desire is to see schools in Zambia have access to water and we are working tirelessly to ensure that desire is fulfilled. We are putting up boreholes in schools which are in rural areas. All this is to ensure that our pupils access water,” he said.

Micro Bankers Trust empowers women dairy farmers

By Ann Zulu

WOMEN in dairy farming should be supported, as they are an important component in the dairy industry, Micro Bankers Trust Chief Executive Officer Grace Nkuwa has said.

Ms Nkuwa observed that women in dairy farming were not fully supported, yet they were key players in the dairy industry.

“Women play a huge role in the dairy industry unlike men, but most of them lack support, they don’t have equipment to process their milk,” Ms. Nkuwa said.

She noted that dairy farming had the potential of alleviating poverty which had a feminine face.

Ms Nkuwa said if more women were empowered and encouraged to venture into the dairy industry, they would be able to stand on their own and send their children to school.

“The dairy industry has the potential for wealth creation. If women tried to venture into this industry, they would be able to send their children to school and alleviate the alarming levels of poverty in the country,” she said.

Ms. Nkuwa indicated that it was for this reason that the Micro Bankers Trust was giving loans to women engaged in dairy farming.

She said the loans were given simply to assist the women access basic equipment they would need to process the milk.

“In order to empower women we are giving them loans to assist them with the basic things that they need to process their milk,” she said.

Ms. Nkuwa also reiterated the need to educate women on dairy farming, saying that most women lacked information.

“If the women were not given adequate information, the industry might not boom, because women being key players, the nation stands to lose out to other competitors who may come on board with better quality milk,” she said.

2017 Budget has ignored us, cry disabled

By Ann Zulu

PEOPLE living with disabilities have accused Government of excluding them in the 2017 national budget.

Speaking on their behalf, goodwill ambassador for the disabled, Elijah Ngwale, described the budget as discriminatory to the disabled, claiming that they have been left out.

On Friday, Finance Minister Felix Mutati presented the 2017 national budget to Parliament during which he announced far-reaching measures to resuscitate the economy.

Mr. Ngwale lamented that there was no mention in the budget as to how much money had been allocated towards helping the disabled.

 “People with disabilities have been totally excluded in the budget. I carefully followed all the proceedings when the budget was being presented and there was no mention of the disabled,” said Mr. Ngwale.

“We have seen an allocation of funds for women and youth but there is nothing touching on those living with disabilities. Are we not part of this county or don't we deserve to be given funds to support ourselves and our families?”

He noted that Mr. Mutati only explained that some money had been allocated to “assist the vulnerable”.

Mr. Ngwale argued that the word ‘‘vulnerable’’ was vague, as every person was vulnerable in one way or another and could therefore claim some money from the allocation.

“When I made some inquiries, I was told that we fall under ‘vulnerable’ but even people who are able-bodied are vulnerable. So the word ‘vulnerable’ is very vague; we are a standalone group of people, therefore we cannot fall in that category,” he said.

Mr. Ngwale recalled that previous national budgets clearly explained how much money would be allocated for the disabled and women or youth empowerment.

He appealed to Government to consider revisiting the budget and ensure that there was an allocation specifically for the disabled before Parliament approved it.

“We feel so rejected and we think that something needs to be done before Parliament approves the budget to ensure that we are also included. As at now, people with disabilities reject the budget in its present form,” he said.