- Haven’t we been likened to a second hand goods kind of a nation before? And haven’t we been before labelled as an evasive and complacent people? Where we are expected to act with nobility, we sink our heads in sand with shameless incapacity. Where we need to be sensible and show restraint and tolerance we bark like drunken Condors. What sort of species are we anyway? Does anyone care about the Rupiah parentage issue? From my pigeon hole, a complacent nation with its evasive citizens, I see no one getting interested. Is it because a couple of us fall under Article 34 of the Constitution? That our parents or one of them is damn foreigner? That we don’t want to throw ston…

- As Zambia’s tripartite election campaigns get tense, incumbent President Rupiah Banda’s nomination bid for re-election under the ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), gets more shock waves from the opposition. Opposition Patriotic Front (PF) Secretary General Wynter Kabimba, has now stretched his bid to stop President Banda from contesting the presidency by writing to SADC, AU and UN. Speaking to journalists in Lusaka on Tuesday, August 2, 2011 Kabimba said that President Banda need to clear his parentage controversy before he files in his nomination to stand as a Presidential candidate for MMD. The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has set August 7 to 10…

- With Zambia's election date already on the calendar, and the Presidential nomination period now set for August 7 to 10, high expectations are on the wait as to whether incumbent president Rupiah Banda will be allowed to stand as his nationality has be questioned in the recent past. In a statement to the media on July 30, 2011 Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) director Priscilla Isaac says that the Presidential nominations will take place at the Supreme Court before the Chief Justice with each aspiring candidate backed by 200 registered voters. “Aspiring candidates will be required to pay K10 million ($2000) non-refundable nomination fee. Each aspiring candidate may h…

- Levy Mwanawasa was such a clever President and sharp lawyer. Don’t you think so? Intelligently he had told Peter Magande Finance Minister then to fix the period when the National Budget should be presented in Parliament. And the set up believe me you; dictate that general elections must always be held before October of an election year. Wonder shouldn’t be at your neck. According to the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 20 of 2009, Article 117 (1) states that, “The Minister responsible for finance shall, subject to clause (2), cause to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly, not later than the second Friday of October, before the commencement of the…

- Who wants to die just because some damn leader is damn bad? Most of us will rather suffer at the hand of a bloody bad leader than kill ourselves as a protest against his atrocious rule. Sacrifice, as we have seen, simply means to give up things which we love and hold dear, which in our eyes have some value for us, for the sake of peace, freedom or independence. But is there anything more valuable to us than life itself? Tunisian, Mohammed Bouazizi 26, gave out what very few would do in his position. A revolution never before thought of in the Arab world is now raging on because of his actions; from Tunisia, it has crossed over to Algeria and Morocco; and word is going round that pres…

- Coca-cola former CEO, Christian Aid, Coca Cola Africa Foundation and an American investor have launched an 18 month cross border malaria control program in Southern Zambia, through the Zambian Anglican Council to mitigate the effects of malaria in sub-Sahara Africa. Launching the program, Wednesday, in the southern Zambian border town of Sesheke, former Coca Cola CEO, Neville Isdell said that, malaria elimination is now a real possibility and faith based organisations have a unique part in the effort to achieve elimination of malaria in sub-Sahara Africa by 2015. “However, eliminating malaria within a country is impossible if borders with endemic area are porous, resulting in…

More than 3,000 former employees of Macha Mission's Brethren of Christ Church, in remote area of Chief Macha of the Tonga people of Southern Zambia in the rich farming District of Choma, have been displaced; and more than 100 of these, have their houses burnt to ashes, to give way for large scale production of Jatropha cultivation. - According to Zambia Land Alliance coordinator for Southern Province Eslony Hantimbula speaking to local Radio Chikuni, more than 100 houses belonging to former employees of the Brethren of Christ Church were burnt to ashes by people alleged to be bailiffs acting on behalf of the church. The houses were allegedly burnt on Thursday after some former employ…

- When a political pact between opposition Patriotic Front (PF) and United Party for National Development (UPND) was formed on June 3, 2009 ruling MMD Chief Whip Vernon Mwaanga called it ‘a marriage made in hell’. But the pact leaders said Mwaanga was in for a rude shock because this Pact was going to work for it was called on by the people themselves. But Mwaanga still argued that, Zambia’s political archives show that no political alliances made on tribal lines were successful in the country since independence in 1964. But the Pact leaders argued that this alliance will work because it involves Zambia’s first two big opposition parties whose members can’t b…

Zambia's 2010 population and housing census exercise is under threat of failure in Southern Province as Teachers employed to carry out the enumeration exercise have boycotted, barely a week before the 10 day exercise begins demanding a rise in their daily allowances. - In an interview with group spokesperson, Martin Kunda, the teachers want the Central Statistics Office (CSO) to give them full daily allowances with immediate effect or they will not go in the field. Kunda says that the perks they are to be given now are very little comparing to the demands of the work and economic hardships of the Province. The teachers, who gathered at David Livingstone College of Education, Tuesd…

A family of six from the undesignated township of Malota in Zambia's tourist capital Livingstone died Tuesday afternoon after a taxi driver who lost control of his car slammed into their seating room killing them on the spot. The family was having lunch at the time the car crashed into their mud house. - By the time AfricaNews reporter got to the scene of the accident, police officers were carrying the bodies of the deceased from the house into a van before being taken to Batoka General Hospital Mortuary. The driver of the car who sustained serious bruises is admitted to the same hospital under police guard. Taxi drivers in the city though famous for their courtesy are on the othe…

- The likes of us who treat Free Press like an egg on a breakable plate hardly remain mute when issues of Free Press emerge. Recapturing writer, Moris West’s words in his book Shoes of the Fisherman, reminds me of how Zambia's The Post newspaper dared all the odds of journalism to buttress the principles of Free Press. Some where in his book West says: “It takes so much to be a full human being that there are very few who have the enlightenment or the courage to pay the price”. On Zambia's window of hope, The Post has remained among the most defenders of Free Press in the world. As such, president Rupiah Banda’s iron hand in intending to regulate th…

- MONZE – Jairos Mudenda (not his real name) a local class teacher at a rural school 10Km East of the town of Monze, walked out of a grass thatched house smiling as he headed to his home. He was a free man. In the house two men and a woman remained, looking at a few Zambian bank notes on the table which Jairos left. It was a meeting which concluded that Jairos be fined Eight Hundred Thousand Kwacha (about US$160) for sexually abusing their 10 year old niece. At ten, most school going girls put their trust in their teachers for guidance in all sectors of life. But for Beatrice (not her real name), her innocent closeness to her male class teacher at her school Kasaka Basic School i…

- Former Zambia’s Defense Minister who resigned on Tuesday is said to be intending to join the newly formed Pact between opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) and Patriotic Front. According to inside sources in the opposition UPND in Southern Province say that, George Mpombo resigns with intentions to join the pact of two opposition party giants, UPND led by Hakainde Hichilema and Patriotic Front of Micheal Sata. A UPND top official in the Province said that “Mpombo has read the signs on the wall that come 2011 MMD will no longer be in power and all those MMD cadres will suffer.” Mpombo has resigned in circumstances that have left many speculating…

- Zambia’s Southern Province minister has said that Press Freedom is communal, but the results are individual. “Press freedom is communal but the results are individual and perhaps God will even judge us that way”, he said. Addressing local journalists in tourist capital Livingstone on Sunday to mark this year’s World Press Freedom day, Honorable Daniel Munkombwe reiterated that the “press is a mirror from which society sees its wrongs and rights and (that) an independent media is an essential entity for the development of any nation”. Munkombwe further challenged journalists to read more in order for them to improve on their reportage. …

A mob of rioters on Tuesday morning seriously attacked a police woman, in an on-going riot by market traders in the tourist capital city of Zambia, Livingstone. - The police officer was among a combatant of riot police who were trying to quell a riot by a mob of market traders who ran amok on Friday evening last week after the local authority demolished their business structures saying they occupied the place illegally. The traders occupied the controversial land mid last year after the local authority removed them from their previous Maramba market on which government is currently constructing houses for police officers. The traders defied the local authority order to relocate to a desig…

- The Zambian Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Zambia) has called on Zambia’s National Constitution Conference (NCC) committee to dialogue with the media in an effort to “increase the efficiency of the media in reporting the NCC proceedings instead of resorting to threats of banning” media reporting on the proceedings. "The NCC committee members must take into account the fact that media is playing a key role of digesting and explaining the proceedings of the NCC in a brief but time efficient manner to the Zambian people," a MISA Zambia communiqué made available to the media on Tuesday reads in part. The statement signed by Chapter cha…

The media in Zambia has condemned calls by parliamentarians to regulate its work by way of a statutory instrument. They said such a move will "stifle freedom of the media, which is an important platform on which the Zambian people express themselves." - In a joint communiqué sent to journalists and media organizations, six media bodies said, views by some of the MPs that the media be regulated by a statutory instrument is an indication that the democracy that the media has been fighting for is in danger and could be reversed. “Ladies and gentlemen, the beginning of dictatorship is exhibited through such tendencies as this will stifle divergent views”, the statement r…

Health authorities in Zambia have put the southern border city of Livingstone on a high cholera infectivity alert after reports of an outbreak was reported in neighboring Zimbabwe two days ago. - “We have instructed health personnel in Livingstone to man the border area with Zimbabwe so that they thoroughly screen every person entering the country from that side to avoid the outbreak to cross over,” Ministry of Health spokesperson, Canisius Banda told reporters on Tuesday. Zimbabwe’s NGO Network Alliance Project said more than 200 Zimbabweans cross Livingstone border post into Zambia every day though recent projections puts the figure at more than 500. A check at the…

With the decline of Zimbabwe's once booming economy in the Southern region of Africa; the country's spill-over effects of its economic doldrums have rapidly hit Zambia's southern border city of Livingstone with untold tales of sex trading whose profits have been nothing but looming deaths of HIV infections. - A border spot with an estimated population of 97, 000 inhabitants (2002 estimates) and high cost of living demanding heavy spending amidst uncountable luxury hotels and lodges; enticing state-of-the-art Night Clubs and attractive heritage sites; the city has seen an influx of tourists across the globe trek this far to experience the extravagance lifestyles that make round…

Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Chairperson Justice Florence Mumba has announced that MMD's candidate Rupiah Banda polled 718, 359 votes against his close contender Michael Sata of Patriotic Front (PF) who polled 683, 150 votes. Banda got 40.09 percent of the vote while Sata had 38.13 percent. - United Party for National Development (UPND) Hakainde Hichilema got 353, 018 votes representing 19.70 per cent of the vote while Heritage Party leader Godfrey Miyanda polled 13, 683 representing 0.76 per cent of the vote. The PF had an early lead when counting began on Friday until yesterday evening when MMD came from the back and got the lead reminiscent of the 2006 General Election whe…

- Zambia: Opposition PF takes early lead Zambia’s main opposition Patriotic Front (PF) led by Michael Sata has taken an early lead in the partial presidential by election results announced by the Electoral Commission this morning. Sata has so far polled 187, 863 votes ahead of ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) candidate Rupiah Banda who has 96, 325 and United Party for National Development (UPND)’s Hakainde Hichilema with 26, 033 votes. Former Vice President in the Chiluba government Godfrey Miyanda of Heritage Party polled 2, 081 votes from 19 constituencies counted out of the150 found in the country. At the time of the announcement, PF cadres in the South…

The opposition parties in Zambia have protested against an alleged election malpractice on the streets of Livingstone. This happened after authorities refused to open the two truck containers impounded last night on suspicion that they carried fake ballot papers for rigging the elections. - The irate protesters removed street lights and blocked the main Livingstone city center roads and streets with boulders as police fired tear gas canisters to disperse the angry mob. The incidence happened just two days after opposition UPND leader, Hakainde Hichilema, held a mammoth rally in the city, at which he warned the ruling MMD to be blamed for anything that would happen if they rigged the Octob…

- Looking a gift horse in the mouth Analysis When late president Levy Mwanawasa gave the reigns of Vice Presidency to Rupiah Banda in 2002, most Zambians had to ‘google’ Banda’s name to know who this old man was. But five years down the line, it has apparently become cautiously clear that always ‘look a gift horse in the mouth’, for it may have stinking sores and bad breath. With dignified pomp and splendor, Rupiah Banda accepted the appointment which president Mwanawasa had tagged as a ‘thank you’ to the once United National Independence Party (UNIP) dominated Eastern Province since Independence ‘for voting the Movement for Multi-p…

Traditional music concert has been revived in Zambia through the efforts of a community radio station in the Southern Province. Chikuni Community Radio says they want to move away from the usual "copy-cats" of Western culture due to globalization. The concert attracted thousands of followers. - The programme is in its ninth running year. “It (concert) brings Tonga people together to rekindle their memories of their roots and see how traditions and customs of the Tonga people can inculcate good morals in their children,” concert spokesperson Mary-Theresa Kamoto said. Started in 2000, the concert has been attracting local traditional musicians to compete in 11 categori…

Zambia`s vice president has beaten 18 others to become the presidential candidate for the ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD). The National Executive Committee of MMD gave Rupiah Banda the nod at a meeting held at Mulungulushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka on Friday. - Banda polled 43 votes as against his main rival Ngandu Magande, Finance and National Planning Minister, who bagged 11 votes. The election became necessary following the death of President Levy Mwanawasa some weeks ago. On Thursday evening the number of aspiring candidates rose from 15 to 20 before one candidate, chairman for the Constitution Review Commission Willa Mungomba withdrew his candidature t…

The late Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia has been described as a man who spoke his mind in all matters of serious continental and regional concern. The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) paid tribute to him during his burial on Wednesday. - SADC Chairman, Thabo Mbeki said: “President Mwanawasa was a true son of Africa who was never afraid of speaking…” Mbeki gave his farewell speech to mourners at Zambia’s Parliament grounds during the burial procession of Mwanawasa. Mbeki who is also South African president said that Mwanawasa believed that Africa’s problems had African solutions. “Despite his difficult health condition h…

Heated debate has ensued over the successor of the late President of Zambia. Three days before Levy Mwanawasa's body is buried, fifteen high ranked members of the ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) have applied for the vacant position of head of state. - The controversy is over eligibility status of a suitable candidate and who fits to continue with the policy of the late president. Party officials have narrowed their choice to two influential people in the party – Vice President Rupiah Banda and Finance and National Planning Minister Ngandu Magande. A week before the members of the National Executive Committee meet to make their final choice, President Mwanawasa…