Zambia Weekly
In this issue
In this issue
50% of men to be circumcised 1 cision Strategy and Implementation Plan 2010-2020
Deadly animal virus could reach Zambia 2
Swine flu - a local pandemic? 2
Quotes 2 HIV/AIDS. Male circumcision has been shown to
KCM pollutes the Kafue River - again 3
Heads are rolling in the road sector 3 percent. In countries where the male circumcision
This week’s controversy: Corruption 4
Doing Business 2011 Index 5 percent, which translates into more than 1 million
No more fixed electricity charges! 5
Advert: Montessori Dream Kindergarten 6
Regina’s case adjourned - again 7 is accompanied by “appropriate messages” explaining that male circumcision must be com-
Spear killers remain ahead of police 7
Editor’s note
This week, the Drug Enforcement Com-
mission arrested a business woman, Berna-
dette Kabemba, for receiving K 320 million
from the Zambia Army for foodstuff - not
- delivered. The woman had forged docu-
ments to show she had supplied 10 tonnes
of dried beans to the Zambia Army – at a
price far above market prices - which she
never delivered! Comical? No! Because this
is far from an isolated incident. Earlier this
year, in July, PF MP Mark Mushili and
two others were sentenced to six months
suspended imprisonment for attempting to
swindle the Zambia Army of K 360 million
using a similar scheme, and later the same
month, a business man, Francis Mulenshi,
was sentenced to three years imprisonment
for a plot amounting to K 376 million.
Mulenshi was actually arrested back in
2004, so it is amazing that – in 2010 – the
Zambia Army can be fooled by fraudsters
like Kabemba – especially considering that
this is the second time she is being arrested
on the same charge. Six years should have
given the Zambia Army ample time to seal
the holes in its procurement system. But
it hasn’t. In the beginning of July, it was
revealed that half of all claims for supply
of goods and services to the Ministry of
Defence in the first half of 2010 were false
– including claims to the Zambia Army in
Lusaka amounting to K 800 million. Obvi-
ously someone is not particularly interested
in changing the system. One can only won-
der what soldiers actually are eating?
Week 44, Volume 1, Issue 27, 5 November 2010
50% of male population to be circumcised
Zambia has just launched its National Male Circum-
which aims at circumcising 2.5 million Zambian men
by 2020 (Sunday Post).
The main objective is to lower the prevalence of
reduce men’s risk of becoming infected with HIV
through heterosexual intercourse by at least 60
rate is over 80 percent, HIV prevalence can be as low
as a few percent. In Zambia, HIV prevalence is 14.3
people living with HIV – and many more involved in caring for them.
However, male circumcision does not provide complete protection from HIV infection. It has
therefore been a priority of the Ministry of Health to ensure that the circumcision campaign
bined with other prevention interventions.
This is being achieved with a “Man who Cares” advertising campaign on TV and radio. Ma-
nasseh Phiri, executive director for Society for Family Health, explained that the campaign
was designed to emphasise the benefits of male circumcision (the man who cares) rather than
getting into a medical debate about the evidence (male circumcision prevent HIV/AIDS).
Male circumcision also provides other health benefits, in particular the reduction of certain
sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) and cancers – and it has been associated with a reduction
in cervical cancer in female partners.
Phiri said the advertorials had created a buzz and that the 990 toll-free telephone number
hosted at CHAMP (the Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Management Programme) in Lusaka
had been hit by a “volcano” of callers.
In Zambia, about 17 percent of men are circumcised. Circumcision is traditionally practiced
by the Luvale and Lunda of North-Western Province; an area with one of the lowest HIV
rates in Zambia, while small groups of other people also practice adolescent circumcision.
The circumcision campaign targets HIV-uninfected men (age 13-39) and at least 80 percent
of all newborn boys. Circumcisions will be carried out by both physicians and clinical officers
in public health facilities, and the Ministry of Health will continue collaborating with tradi-
tional male circumcisers.
Biological studies have shown that the foreskin has a high concentration of cells very suscep-
tible to HIV infection, which is one of three potential explanations as to why circumcision
may reduce HIV acquisition (the other two being a reduction in STIs and a reduction in the
likelihood of micro-tears and trauma to the foreskin).
Concessional loans: New flavour of the month!
Last week, in our editorial, Zambia Weekly pondered the reduced donor support
of the 2011 budget. This week, Finance and National Planning Minister Situm-
beko Musokotwane clarified that, yes, external grants are expected to be 35 percent
lower in 2011 as “our own revenue and domestic borrowing has increased faster”,
but overall external support – including external concessional loans – is expected
to be higher in 2011 than in 2010. Musokotwane said concessional loans have
assisted to accelerate the completion of long outstanding infrastructure projects
such as the Mutanda-Chavuma Road, as it “makes economic sense to take loans to
complete them quickly”. The roads are otherwise costing lots of money in penalties
for standing time (Times/Daily Mail 29).
The best of the Zambian media 1
 Zambia Weekly News

Deadly animal virus could spread to Zambia Quotes

The Small Ruminants’ Plague, a deadly viral disease, which broke
out in Tanzania earlier this year, risks spreading to Southern
Africa, posing a mortal threat to more than 50 million sheep and “ UNIP accuses opposition of bribery in

goats in 15 countries, including Zambia. The Food and Agricul-
ture Organisation (FAO) has warned that the Small Ruminants’
Plague is considered the most destructive viral disease of small
ruminant flocks, on par with rinderpest in cattle in the past. It
may cause death rates of up to 100 percent in sheep and goats
and although it does not infect humans, it can cause enormous
socio-economic losses. FAO has recommended that Tanzania
initiate an emergency vaccination programme around the disease
outbreak site in the northern half of the country and consider additional vaccination in the
“ In Northern Province we had Dr Kaunda
area bordering Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. The latter countries should also step up
vigilance and engage in proactive surveillance. Small Ruminants’ Plague occurs in Middle
Eastern countries and parts of Central and South Asia, while in Africa it has affected the
western, eastern and central parts of the continent. So far southern Africa has been spared
(Reliefweb.int 2).
”
Mpulungu.
Headline in the Times Newspaper about
the United National Independence Party
– which (supposedly) is the opposition
(Times 29).
who was President for 27 years. From
there we had Dr Chiluba from Luapula
for ten years. From there it went to
Central and the Presidency was there
for only eight years because of Mwa-
nawasa’s death. Now the Presidency is
here in Eastern Province and we will not
allow for the Presidency to be here for

Swine flu - a local pandemic? only two years. We are going to have
it for seven years and I am urging the
people to register as voters and make
The Ministry of Health has conducted a countrywide vaccination exercise against the H1N1

”
sure President Banda gets five years.
virus this week. Spokesperson Kamoto Mbewe said the ministry did not want “to take risks on
the matter” as the pandemic is not yet over (Sunday Post and Daily Mail 1). The H1N1 broke Former UNIP MP Timothy Nyirenda
out in April 2009 in Mexico, Canada and the USA. Two months later, the World Health Or- who defected to the MMD (Post 29).
ganisation (WHO) declared the new strain of swine-origin H1N1 as a pandemic, and projec-
tions of hundreds of thousands of deaths started circulating. But since then, despite spreading
to more than 214 countries, including Zambia, and resulting in over 18,000 deaths worldwide,
the threat has fizzled out. In August 2010, the WHO declared the H1N1 influenza pandemic
“ Like all of us who support less fortunate
relatives, donors cannot be happy to
continue in that role forever and ever,
over, saying worldwide flu activity had returned to typical seasonal patterns. The Ministry they need their money for their own

”
of Health is targeting health workers, pregnant women and people older than 15 years with use.
chronic diseases like asthma, heart, liver and kidney diseases and diabetes.
Finance and National Planning Minister
Situmbeko Musokotwane – see page 1
(Daily Mail 29).
Inflation continues dropping
Zambia’s annual inflation rate has dropped to 7.3 percent in October – its lowest point in
more than 20 years! The reduction from 7.7 percent in September is mainly caused by a
“ If the president can make so many trips
in the name of attracting investment,
then what is the function of his cabinet?
reduction in prices of non-food items such as clothing, household energy, furniture, medical And what is the role of our diplomats?
care, transport, communication and education, which in turn are caused by the appreciation of If indeed all the investment we have
the kwacha. The annual non-food inflation rate fell from 12.5 percent in September to 11.0 is due to President Banda’s frequent
percent in October, while the annual food inflation increased from 2.8 percent in September visits, then where is the cabinet? Let’s
to 3.4 percent in October (Times/Daily Mail/Post 29). fire them so that we have more money
reserved for the president to continue
looking for investment. We can even

”
bring back our diplomats.

Advertise in Zambia Weekly MP Charles Milupi, Alliance for Devel-

opment and Democracy (Post 29).
More than 2,000 subscribers:
Business leaders, decision-makers, diplomats and the Zambian Diaspora.
Zambia Weekly reaches your target market!
“ What we know very clearly about ma-
laria is that the moment you take your
eye off the ball, the moment you let
funding slip and coverage slip, it is going
Contact the editor for further details.

”
to come roaring back.

Zambia Weekly Oliver Sabot of the Clinton Health Ac-

cess Initiative on the risks of focusing on
eliminating malaria (Reuters 29).

The best of the Zambian media 2

 Zambia Weekly Mining

KCM pollutes the Kafue River - again Roads in brief

Residents in Chingola were without drinking water for a few
days due to a leak of mining effluent from the Konkola Cop-
per Mine (KCM). Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ)
inspector Webby Simwayi said copper sulphate was clearly
Heads are rolling
visible on the surface of the Kafue River and that aquatic life The new board at the Road Develop-
was affected by the spill (Times 1). The Times found farmers ment Agency (RDA) has terminated
alongside the river collecting the dead fish for consumption. the contracts of its chief executive
officer Erasmus Chilundika and three
As a result of the spill, the Mulonga Water and Sewerage
other senior managers (Sunday Post/
Company (MWSC) had to shut down its water plant, which
Times). The four were sent on forced
uses water from the Kafue River to supply many townships in
leave last month to facilitate investiga-
Chingola.
tions into financial mismanagement.
KCM confirmed that the isolated spill was caused by a leak RDA chairman Luambe Mondoloka
in one of its old pregnant solution tanks at the Nchanga said the decision was made during
tailings leach plant but that immediate steps were taken to a special board meeting held on 26
correct the situation by taking the leaking tank off-line and October following the recommenda-
applying lime to neutralise the acid (Times 2). tions of a subcommittee. The latter had
been reviewing the Auditor General’s
KCM was already in the process of replacing four aging mild-steel and rubber-lined tanks at
report on the RDA 2006-2009 and
its leach plant with more acid-resistant stainless steel ones. The first tank had been replaced
the recommendations of the parlia-
at a cost of 1.5 million US dollars, and work is progressing to replace the second one. Addi-
mentary public accounts committee.
tionally, in the next few weeks, KCM expects to commission a new tailings pipeline, made of
Nason Balashi will continue as acting
special highly resistant material, in a programme to replace the traditional mild-steel rubber-
CEO until further notice. At the RDA’s
lined lines that have suffered a number of failures in the past (Lusakatimes.com 2).
sister-organisation, the National Road
In 2006, KCM polluted the Kafue River with acidic effluent from the Nchanga tailings leach, Fund Agency (NRFA), “well-placed
consequently killing the fish and resulting in a five-day shut-down of domestic water supply sources” say the government intends
to Chingola residents. The pollution was caused by a tailings pipeline which burst. to appoint the Food Reserve Agency
executive director Anthony Mwanaumo
as new chief executive officer (Post 2).
The RDA is responsible for tendering,
KCM: Praised by suppliers awarding and construction/maintenance
of roads, while the NRFA is responsible
Mine Suppliers and Contractors Association of Zambia (MSCAZ) has commended for managing the funds for road words.
Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) for its initiative to train local suppliers and contrac-
tors to comply with the ISO 9001:2008 standards for control of outsourced services.
MSCAZ president, Fanwell Banda, called it “encouraging” that the mining company Donors are back!
had thought of empowering the local suppliers that it was dealing with, in order for The Great East Road is to be rehabili-
them to remain competitive in doing business with the mines. “This will also greatly tated with funds from three interna-
benefit the mine itself because it will have suppliers and contractors who are up to the tional organisations: the European
required goods and service standards,” Banda said. As part of the British Standards In- Union (EU), the European Investment
stitute requirement, all suppliers were expected to implement the ISO standard in their Bank and the African Development
business activities since they impacted on KCM product output (Times 1). Bank. EU head of delegation Derek
Fee said the donor community has
decided to resume funding to the
country’s road sector because it is “sat-
isfied” with the steps the government
Trigger-happy Chinese granted bail is taking in addressing the financial
irregularities revealed in the Auditor
The two Chinese managers, who shot 13 miners at Collum Coal Mine on 15 October, have General’s report on the Road Develop-
each been granted bail of 50 million kwacha (Post 3). The duo, Xiao Li Shan, 48, and Wu Jiu ment Agency. The Great East Road
Hua, 46, are charged with attempted murder. The 13 miners were wounded during a riot over is important as it forms part of the
wages. The Chinese have been in custody since 17 October, and in granting bail, Magistrate regional Nacala Corridor which links
Sinyangwe said the state had failed to prove that the duo would jump bail just because they Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
are foreigners. The Chinese were requested to surrender their passports. Earlier in the week, The trio will commit the 240 million
the Mine Workers Union of Zambia was expected to sign a collective agreement with the Euros for the rehabilitation next year
mine to help improve working conditions (Post 2), and the mine agreed to pay compensa- (Daily Mail 3).
tion to the wounded miners (Daily Mail 30). The victims were probably happy, but president
of Patriotic Front, Michael Sata, called it “clear rigging of justice” as compensation should be
granted by the court. He said the government should not defend the Chinese managers by
what he termed compensation in form of bribery (Post 1).

The best of the Zambian media 3

 Zambia Weekly This week’s controversy: Corruption
The fight about abuse of office
The Anti-Corruption Com-
mission (ACC) Bill has passed
through its third reading in
parliament (committee stage).
Inside, the opposition was press-
ing for the retention of Sec-
tion 37 (abuse of office) of the
ACC Act – in vain (Times 4).
The opposition claims that by
removing abuse of office from
the ACC Act, the government
embraces corruption. Vice-
president George Kunda, who
is also minister of justice, used various arguments against Section 37,
including that it duplicates legislation (abuse of office) in the Penal
Code, that it allows for a person to be presumed guilty, contrary to the
Constitution of Zambia, which stipulates that a person is presumed
innocent until found guilty, and that it goes against international
instruments (Daily Mail/Times 4). Outside parliament, armed police
blocked Patriotic Front (PF) women from entering the grounds to –
legally – picket against the removal of Section 37. The police argued
the protest would be unruly. PF Lusaka province chairlady Margaret
Mumba nevertheless deemed the protest a success as it got greater
publicity outside parliament on the Great East Road (Post 4), while
one of the protestors, Charity Banda, called it a “flop” because of poor
organisation (Daily Mail 4).
President Banda was NOT praised
by Transparency International
Early this week, Transparency International (TI) praised president
Banda for setting a good example in the fight against corruption –
according to a statement by special assistant to the president for press
and public relations, Dickson Jere (Daily Mail 30). It was all rather
surprising, considering that Transparency International Zambia
(TIZ) is spending a great deal of time criticising Banda’s anti-corrup-
tion efforts. And it did turn out to be false later in the week, when TI
refuted the claim (Sunday Post). State House had based its statement
on a story by Irin News in which TI programmes director Christiaan
Poortman said that “leaders must display a commitment to getting rid
of corruption” and cited Zambia, Botswana and the USA as setting
a good example. However, “[w]hat did not get recorded in the article
is Mr Poortman’s specific reference to Zambia’s third president, the
late Dr Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, who initiated a major campaign to
uphold the values of good governance in the country. Without this
clarification, the article could be misleading,” wrote TI director of
communications, Andre Doren, to Irin News.
This week’s figure
President Rupiah Banda has spent 58 percent of his two
years in office – outside Zambia. In the first 9 months of
2010 (272 days), he spent 103 days outside State House, of
which 58 days were spent outside Zambia – according to PF
MP and spokesperson, Given Lubinda (Post 29).
Abuse of office according to the editorials:
Times Editorial 2 October:
Human rights and governance consultant, Mbinji Mufalo
(...) has advised that Zambians must read the Anti Corrup-
tion Act, and understand the context of the recent amend-
ment to avoid being misled by the hysteria whipped up by
those wishing to profit from the skewered portrayal of this
matter. In short, what the current Act, before amendment,
provided was that where suspicion of abuse of office was con-
cerned, the accused person was presumed guilty and has to
prove his innocence. This was a negation of the constitutional
provision of the presumption of innocence of an accused
person, until found guilty by a court of law. Subsequently,
many of those who have commented on the issue have sim-
ply picked up deliberately slanted media coverage, without
reading the Act for themselves, or at least taking account of
Government’s explanations – explanations that Mr Mufalo
says provide a valid argument. This argument is actually in
line with Acts 25: 16 where Festus observed regarding the
trial of Apostle Paul: It is not the manner of Romans to de-
liver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the
accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself
concerning the crime laid against him”. So how can Anglican
Diocese of Eastern Zambia Bishop William Mchombo ask
President Banda not to assent to a bill that seeks to align
itself with the biblical standard?
Post Editorial 3 October:
We do not believe that Rupiah and his minions are fighting
for the lofty principles. If they were interested in the rights
of suspects, they would be in a hurry to deal with the many
problems that bedevil our criminal justice system. [C]learly,
this (...) is an act of self-preservation. They know that they
are not able to explain a lot of the wealth that they have
acquired in a very short time. This is why they are scared of
section 37. Section 37 prohibits public officers from acquir-
ing wealth, property or advantage which they could not ex-
plain and link to lawful earnings. In other words, if somebody
is found to have more wealth than they could have possibly
earned legitimately, and they are public officers, they are
presumed to have abused their office. The reason for this is
very clear. [I]n many instances, it is very difficult to find the
evidence of corruption. What they [president Banda and his
supporters] are suggesting is not very different from saying
that if you found somebody walking around with the heart of
someone who has been murdered, you should not prosecute
them for murder because no one saw them kill and extract
the heart from the body. Rupiah would do well to seek safety
in the multitude of counsel that has come from the Law
Association of Zambia, the Council of Churches in Zam-
bia, the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church and many
other well-meaning civil society organisations and individual
Zambians of goodwill.
The best of the Zambian media 4
 Zambia Weekly News
Did Magande steal Chilanga in 2006?
The judiciary has castigated
newly-elected Chilanga MP
Cosmas Moono (UPND) – who
has reacted calmly. After win-
ning the Chilanga by-election
on 25 October, Moono said the
election had vindicated him, as
it had embarrassed the judiciary,
which had been pressurised by
the MMD government to rule in
favour of MMD MP Ng’andu Magande (whose recent expulsion from
the MMD resulted in the by-election). In 2006, Moono petitioned the
results of the previous election in Chilanga after losing to Magande.
But Judiciary public relations officer Terry Musonda said the judiciary
could not be embarrassed because it merely facilitated the recount,
which reflected and confirmed what the Electoral Commission of
Zambia counted before Moono’s petition (Times/Post 2). Moono said
he was merely repeating MMD national chairman Michael Mabenga’s
remarks (Post 4): In August, Mabenga said that “people like Magande
could not have won elections in Chilanga without the help from
government. Magande had won through a court ruling” (Post Online
27 August) in response to Magande’s claim to massive support in Chi-
langa Constituency following his expulsion from the MMD.
PF rebel MPs are still rebellious
Patriotic Front (PF) rebel MPs are considering other avenues of de-
fending their seats in the 2011 general elections. Spokesperson of the
rebels, Peter Machungwa, said they are not bothered by the decision of
the PF leadership not to adopt them for next year’s elections. The PF
has invited applications from aspiring candidates in all constituencies
held by PF rebel MPs. “We are not counting on Mr Sata to accept us
but rather on people in our constituencies to decide who they want to
be their MP. (...) in fact it is good to have competitors. We are ready to
face them and defend our seats,” Machungwa said. The rebels became
rebels when they decided to participate in the National Constitutional
Conference (NCC) against the directive of the PF. Since then, they
have aligned themselves with the governing Movement for Multiparty
Democracy (Daily Mail 1).
Easier to be a local firm in Zambia
According to the new Doing Business 2011 from the Interna-
tional Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank, Zambia
is now 76th out of 183 countries on overall regulatory ease of
doing business for local firms. Zambia is one of the 10 econo-
mies that have improved the most since last year, when the
country was ranked 84th. The IFC mentioned that Zambia had
eliminated the minimum capital requirement for new businesses,
implemented the Chirundu one-stop border post, launched
web-based submission of customs declarations, introduced
scanning machines at border posts and computerised the judicial
system. Doing Business analyses regulations that apply to an
economy’s businesses. It does not measure all aspects of the busi-
ness environment such as security, macroeconomic stability, cor-
ruption, skill level or the strength of financial systems (Post 4).
Elections in brief
Lack of NRCs is stopping new voters
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) says it is far short
of attaining the targeted number of 2.5 million newly registered
voters for the 2011 general elections (Post 4). As at 15 October,
the ECZ had registered 1,270,000 eligible voters, of which
830,000 are new entrants. The mobile voter registration exercise
is expected to close on 30 November. ECZ acting director Brian
Kasaro said the ECZ was facing many challenges of which the
large number of people without National Registration Cards
(NRCs) is the largest. The Central Statistical Office has given a
projected figure of 6 million eligible voters for the 2011 general
elections, but Kasaro said the ECZ is awaiting the census report
to be issued later this year (see below).
Number of voters to be revealed April 2011
The preliminary report of the 2010 National Census of Popula-
tion and Housing – which will include the number of eligible
voters by sex at ward, constituency and district levels – will be
ready by 3 December 2010 and made available to the public by
April 2011. Minister of Finance and National Planning Situm-
beko Musokotwane said the preliminary report will be followed
by various detailed, thematic and analytical reports ready for dis-
semination in 2012. The on-going census, which started on 16
October, is expected to end on 30 November (Sunday Mail).
This week’s figure
Zambia needs about 3.5 million tourist visitors annually to
effectively contribute to new jobs and wealth creation. In
2010, the country is expected to receive 900,000 visitors – ac-
cording to the Tourism Council of Zambia (Daily Mail 4).
No more fixed electricity charges!
ZESCO has reassured all its customers – households as well
as businesses – that they will pay for their actual electricity
consumption by 2013. Earlier in the week, the Zambia Con-
sumer Association (ZACA) accused ZESCO of violating the
energy policy which stipulates a farewell to fixed charges. ZACA
had received “several complaints from consumers who were on
fixed charge over alleged abnormal monthly bills following the
recent upward adjustment in electricity tariffs” (Times 1). But
ZESCO marketing manager, Rachel Mubipe said ZESCO will
adhere to its obligations of metering all its customers, although
the exercise in being carried out in phases: “It is our target that
by the end of 2013, all [existing] customers countrywide would
have been metered (...). All new customers (...) are put either on
prepayment or credit metering,” Mubipe said (Times 3).
The best of the Zambian media 5
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 Zambia Weekly Court News
GBM free to (not) beat his wife again
Patriotic Front MP Geoffrey Mwamba, who became famous for
beating up his wife, has had his court proceedings stayed (Daily Mail/
Post 2). Mwamba, who is known as GBM, beat up his wife – again –
in September, but Chama, his wife, informed the court that she had
reconciled with her husband. Chief resident magistrate Charles Ka-
funda stayed the proceedings but advised “the accused to desist from
such acts more so that he is a leader at the level of an MP and he is
expected to lead by example” and added that the court was aware “that
this is not the first time the accused has appeared before this court for
an offence of this nature”. In September, GBM first resigned from
parliament, but then, barely one day later, he withdrew his resignation.
Regina’s case adjourned - again
Judgment in the case involving former president Frederick Chiluba’s
wife, Regina, has been adjourned for the third time. This is in a matter
in which Regina has appealed against a three-and-a-half-year jail
sentence imposed on her in March 2009 in the magistrates court.
Lusaka High Court Judge Evans Hamaundu sitting with Judge Eddie
Sikazwe adjourned the matter to 7 December 2010. He informed the
packed courtroom that the judgment could not be delivered because
one of the three judges, Catherine Makungu, who is based in Kitwe,
did not travel to Lusaka. Regina was convicted on five counts of fail-
ing to account for properties suspected or reasonably believed to have
been stolen or illegally acquired, involving several properties, cash and
a 61-inch TV (Times/Daily Mail 30).
NAC will not settle out of court
The National Airports Corporation (NAC) will not settle Zambian
Airways’ debt of 2 million US dollars outside court – as the defunct
airline made a proposal rather than an offer to do so, explained NAC
managing director Robinson Misitala. Currently the matter is in the
Supreme Court after Zambian Airways appealed against the High
Court’s decision that it had to pay the 2 million US dollars debt with
interest. “We will do everything possible to get the 2 million US dol-
lars. They came to ask if we could resolve the matter outside court but
we refused. Our lawyers advised us that we should not entertain that
proposal,” Misitala said. Despite the seemingly long period of time
that it has taken for Zambian Airways to repay the debt, Misitala was
still optimistic that NAC would recover the debt (Times 2).
Nun arrested for theft of K48m
The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) has arrested a Catholic
nun for theft and money laundering activities involving 48 million
kwacha. Sister Cecilia Tembo, 55, was arrested for stealing funds
meant for the purchase of a house for disabled people in Matero. In
her capacity as the coordinator of Marietta Community Centre, Tem-
bo received money from the Ministry of Community Development
and Social Services and from a Swedish-based NGO – but failed to
account for 48 million kwacha. Tembo is a community pastoral worker
at Matero Convent. She has been released on bond and will appear in
court soon (Times/Daily Mail 30).
Titbit News
FISP is delayed
The government will complete the disbursement of farming
inputs – fertiliser and seed – to the beneficiaries of the Farmers
Input Support Programme (FISP) in all districts by the end of
November. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Eustarckio
Kazonga said the delays experienced were due to logistical chal-
lenges. He said even though the demand was much higher, the
government would only distribute to the targeted 888,500 small-
scale farmers (Times 4).
Zambian appointed to FEMNET board
Zambia Media Women Association secretary Sally Chiwama
has been elected board member of the African Women’s De-
velopment and Communication Network (FEMNET). FEM-
NET seeks to promote human rights among African women’s
organisations. Chiwama becomes one of the youngest board
members of the organisation. “This will put the Zambian women
on the international map” she said. Chiwama was elected during
the FEMNET tri-annual general assembly, held recently with
the theme: African Women’s Decade: Expanding our Dreams.
The African Union has declared this decade (2010-2020) the
African Women’s Decade (Daily Mail 30).
Spear killers remain ahead of the police
The Zambia Police Service will remain in the Luano Valley until
the capture of the three runaway brothers suspected of spear-
killing the chief pilot of the Zambia Flying Doctor Services
(ZFDS), Moses Masumba, and several others (Sunday Times). A
special paramilitary police taskforce has been hunting the Maloni
brothers since May. In September, Inspector General of Police
Francis Kabonde said the three suspects would be captured “very
soon” (Times 13 September). Since then it has been discovered
that the trio are poachers, which has made it difficult to locate
them, as they know the area “quite well”. Instead, the police have
now deployed a new strategy to track them down. Kabonde said
the police presence has improved security in the area, but ZFDS
executive director Rex Musukwa said its flights remain grounded
until the manhunt is over. In the meantime the locals in this
isolated valley rely on the Catholic Ching’ombe Mission.
Zambia Weekly
Week 44, Volume 1, Issue 27, 5 November 2010
Zambia Weekly is a free e-zine that extracts the news you really need
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