RB REITERATES CALL FOR PEACEFUL CAMPAIGNS

President Rupiah Banda

President Rupiah Banda has reiterated his call to Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) members to reject provocations by the opposition to fight during  the ongoing campaigns.
President Banda said as a Party they believe in fighting with debates and decisions on what they party has done so that people can vote freely.
He said people of Zambia want democracy as opposed to autocracy, dictatorship or one party rule because Zambia is a democratic country that accommodates free, fair and transparent elections.
ZANIS reports that President Banda said d this when he addressed a mammoth rally in Mwinilunga today.

He is  accompanied by Party National Secretary, major Richard Kachingwe and Former Republican Vice-President Enock Kavindele among others.
The President cautioned Zambians against being misled by the opposition who are calling for change because they might end up being subjected to change that will take them backwards because the opposition have nothing positive to show.
He said everyone wants change that is positive like what his administration can proudly show to the people of Zambia since he assumed the Presidency three years ago.
He said people want the kind of change that will make their lives better such as construction of roads, hospitals, schools and other infrastructures that generate development and improving their lifestyles.
He cited government’s tarring of Mutanda-Chavuma road and which people of North-western province have been crying for years, bringing investors to open new mines offering job opportunities and many other economic developments as the kind of change people want.
Meanwhile, 105 United Party for National Democracy (UPND) including the party’s National Chairperson for Industry, Raphael Muyanda others from Forum for Democratic Development (FDD) have defected  to join MMD.
Speaking on behalf of the defectors, Mr Muyanda said he has decided to leave his former party because it is no longer the party they founded with late Anderson Mazoka because it has now lost direction.
President  Banda warmly welcomed the defectors, saying that was the goodness with democracy because everyone was free to move from his original party to join another party if one was not happy with his/her party.
President Banda also introduced Mwinllunga and Ikelenge MMD parliamentary candidates, Newton Samakayi and Elijah Muchima respectively.
ZANIS

THERE IS NOTHING SINISTER ABOUT REMOVING GRZ NUMBER PLATES – DR PHIRI

Government says there is nothing sinister and unusual about removing the GRZ number plates from the vehicles government procured for the Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily-mail.

And government has handed over 5 vehicles to the Zambia Daily-mail and 5 other vehicles to Times of Zambia.

ZANIS report Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Sam Phiri saying this in a statement, today.

Dr Phiri explained that the ten vehicles bore the GRZ number plates because they were bought by government.

He said the GRZ number plates were removed after the registration and documentation of the named vehicles was completed.

He said the vehicles in question bore the GRZ number plates for accountability purposes since their purchase.

Meanwhile, Dr Sam handover the 5 fives vehicles to the Zambia Daily-mail and another 5 to Times of Zambia.

He said the donation is aimed at enhancing the day to day operations of the two state media in their quest to serve the people better.

Dr Sam noted that despite the advent of the internet traditional media such as the news paper remains important and a viable means of disseminating news and information.

He said the donation of the vehicles by government is a clear indication that government remains resolved to continue investing in the development and growth of the media industry for a well informed society.

Meanwhile Dr Sam has revealed that government intends to replace 63 analogue transmitters with digital transmitters by 2015 in line with the global digital migration.

He stressed that the development will enhance the provision of quality radio and television broadcasting services by the national broadcaster.

ZANIS

BUBALA EXPRESSES CONFIDENCE IN INDIA AS ZAMBIA’S MAIN TRADE PARTNER

The Zambia High Commission in New Delhi is early next month expected to hold a mega-tourism presentation session to showcase Zambia’s tourism potential and the rebranding of Zambian tourism to Indian Tour Operators.

About 53 Tour operators and officials from the Indian Ministry of Tourism are expected to attend the presentation that will give examples of what Zambia has to offer in terms of tourism products and why the country is an ideal tourism destination.

The presentation is intended to give Indian Tour Operators a deeper insight into Zambia as a tourism destination so that they can in turn Market the country to their clientele. The Mission will work with Sun International-India in marketing the country as a tourism destination of choice.

Zambia’s High Commissioner to India Ambassador Darius Bubala is confident that, with sustained tourism promotion, India will emerge as one of Zambia’s main source-markets and contribute greatly to the economic development of the country.

Last year, the Zambia High Commission’s tourism marketing efforts contributed to attracting about 1000 Indian tourists into Zambia, mainly Livingstone.

ZANIS reports First Secretary for Press at the Zambia High Commission in India Bwalya  Nondo saying this in a statement, today.

ZANIS

RB TO ADDRESS RALLIES IN N/WESTERN PROVINCE

President Rupiah Banda

President Rupiah Banda is today (Tuesday) expected in Solwezi ahead of a series of public meetings in three districts of North-western province.
Provincial Permanent Secretary Fabian Mumba announced in the statement that President Banda was scheduled to arrive at Solwezi airport at 15:00 today for a night stop.
 According to Mumba, President Banda is on Wednesday expected to depart Solwezi for Mwinilunga district where he will address a public rally.
 President will  address another public rally in Kabompo district scheduled for the afternoon on the same day.
President Banda will address a public rally in Solwezi before taking off for Lusaka.
President Banda’s entourage include his campaign manager Dr Boniface Kawimbe and MMD National Secretary Major Richard Kachingwe. - ZANIS

POLICE SUMMON FR. BWALYA

Frank Bwalya

COPPERBELT police has summoned Get Involved Zambia director, Frank Bwalya for questioning concerning his recent political activities.
Copperbelt police commanding officer Martin Malama confirmed the summoning of Father Bwalya but could not give more details.
Malama said Fr Bwalya was expected to present himself to the Copperbelt divisional headquarters at 10:30 hours today.
And MMD and Patriotic Front (PF) cadres have been detained at Ndola Central police station over allegations of threatening violence which occurred on Saturday night at Mixed Doubles Bar and Restaurant in the city centre.
The detainees are Alex Mubanga, who is commonly known as Shimpundu pa Nkoloko, 53, an MMD member of house number 1091, Lubuto Township in Ndola, and a 27-year-old PF member, George Mutale of house number 8, Bwana Mkubwa.
Dr Malama confirmed the detention of the two political party cadres to help the police with investigations in a matter of threatening violence.
“I can confirm that an MMD cadre called Mubanga, popularly known as Shimpundu pa Nkoloko and Mutale, a PF cadre are both detained in police custody at Ndola Central police station to help us with investigations in a case of threatening violence which occurred at Mixed Doubles on Saturday night,” he said.
In Mufulira, a PF cadre, Nonde Dickson Pende, aged 47, of Kamuchanga Township in Mufulira was detained in police custody for threatening violence. Dr Malama said in both incidents, machetes were confiscated and the three would soon appear in court soon. - ZANIS

MACHETE-WIELDING MMD, PF CADRES CLASH IN LUSAKA

THE was pandemonium around Lusaka’s city centre today (Friday) when ruling party cadres and opposition Patriotic Front supporters fought running battles disrupting business.
According to one of the businessmen, running a shop along Freedom Way, the clashes between the cadres of the two warring parties erupted after they caught each other in an act if removing their respective campaign posters.
“What happened is that these cadres caught each other in an act of removing campaign posters,” said an eyewitness.
According to an eyewitness, business was interrupted as shops were closed for almost two hours.
While shop owners hurriedly closed their shops, street vendors and members of the public flee the clash zone as the machete-wielding cadres went for each other.
The chaos also brought about fear of looting and no solution could be found, as there were counter accusations from the cadres of both parties.
Thuggery and hooliganism have rocked many of the urban cities as both MMD and opposition cadres engage in a fierce fight over control of markets and other strategic places.

ELDERLY LEFT OUT OF HIV CARE PROGRAMMES - IDASA

AFRICAN democracy institute (Idasa) has observed that health workers and social planners have neglected to take into account the elderly who have contracted the virus.
Idasa’s Governance and AIDS programme (GAP) says its most recent research shows that “this age group is often left out in HIV care programmes and are not often targeted by prevention programmes. The older person falls into the cracks of screening in medical facilities”.
The study, HIV and AIDS and the Older Adult, by Mwanja Ng’anjo & Christèle Diwouta, points out that old age could disguise the symptoms of HIV and AIDS, leaving it undetected and untreated as health workers and social services focus their attention on the younger population.
“While the focus of HIV and AIDS interventions has always been on the 20-40-year-olds most likely to be infected, African democracy institute Idasa warns that health workers and social planners have neglected to take into account the elderly who have contracted the virus – and their numbers are growing,” read the Idasa statement in part. “ Successful ARV treatment is just one factor that has created a new group of HIV and AIDS patients – the over 50s   who face their own distinctive needs and challenges. This could have serious consequences as older adults may fall through the treatment net.”
The study suggests that older people may be more sensitive to antiretroviral drug toxicity and therefore the body’s reaction to antiretroviral agents may be different in the older person. The authors also warn that older people may be suffering from age-related conditions and using other non-HIV medications, which could introduce complications in the use of antiretrovirals.
The Idasa study used Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS (GAPA), a Cape Town-based NGO, as a case study, describing it as “an inspirational movement that has changed the lives of many. It stands out as a forceful beacon in a society where aging with HIV is taboo.” The study quotes an older woman with HIV whose community ostracised her and called her a witch when her symptoms became apparent: “Thandi (not her real name) says the toughest challenge she has faced on her journey with HIV is the question she cannot seem to shake off since she contracted HIV: ‘How could you get HIV at your age?’”
The authors say that HIV and AIDS service providers and policy-makers make the fatal mistake of assuming older people are not sexually active. They cite other factors behind the rise in HIV and AIDS in the 50-and-above age group.
“Heterosexual transmission in the older population can be correlated to behaviour change brought on by drugs in the last few decades that treat erectile dysfunction,” the authors write. “Older people also use drugs and abuse alcohol which puts them at risk for HIV and STI infection as they engage in risky behaviour such as having unprotected sex and multiple sex partners. The impact of violence on health and particularly HIV is undeniable. It is estimated that 16% of all HIV infections in women in South Africa result from domestic violence by their partners and in this respect, rape and domestic violence, particularly in the South African context, are also drivers of the epidemic that is not only being experienced amongst the younger population.”

RB TO OFFICIATE AT KULAMBA AND MALAILA CEREMONIES

President Rupiah Banda is tomorrow (Friday) expected to leave for the Eastern Province where he will officiate at Kulamba and Malaila traditional ceremonies of the Chewa and Kunda speaking people respectively.
President Banda’s special assistant for press and public relations Dickson Jere announced in a statement that President Banda will be expected to pay a courtesy call on Paramount Chief Gawa Undi of the Chewa people before officiating at the Kulamba Ceremony which will take place at Mkaika in Katete on Saturday.
On Sunday, President Banda will be guest of honour at the Malaila Ceremony of the Cikunda people in Mfuwe.
President Banda will be accompanied by senior government and MMD officials.

AID NGOS UNDER ATTACK

The news didn’t come as a surprise. This week, Ecuador shut down 16 foreign NGOs for their alleged failure to meet new government disclosure requirements. It was the latest in a series of clampdowns on civil society groups in this Latin American country and elsewhere.

Aid workers load humanitarian supplies to be airlifted

to Doruma in Central African Republic. Delivery of aid

in the area has been difficult due to traders being killed

on the road. Photo by: Julien Harneis / CC BY-S

Take Cambodia, where policymakers are crafting restrictive rules on NGO registration that may complicate the work of foreign development groups. Or Somaliland, where the self-declared sovereign government is seeking to boost local civil society by prohibiting international donors from partnering with foreign NGOs.

Bahrain, Iran, Sudan and Venezuela are among the countries that have tightened their grip on the NGO community lately. These are not just the usual suspects. Nonprofit workers continue to be monitored, harassed and jailed around the world for questionable reasons. Mandatory, burdensome registration and broad government discretion to restrict, investigate and shut down NGOs are common in countries from Angola to Zambia.

Organizations in Ethiopia, for instance, must notify regulatory authorities within seven days of a general assembly meeting, according to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law. In Tanzania, an international NGO must “refrain from doing any act which is likely to cause misunderstanding” among indigenous or domestic NGOs.

Despite efforts to improve the dialogue with civil society, donor countries – especially those strapped for cash – can add to the NGO community’s woes. The Italian government, for instance, has taken steps to shift costs to these groups in an effort to save money.

Without funding, aid groups won’t survive. Consider the Palestinian territories, where restrictions to staff movement result in at least $4.5 million in additional costs to humanitarian agencies every year, according to a report by the Association of International Development Agencies. How will the international community be able to support the Mideast peace process if it can’t afford development?

Fact is that governments around the globe are facing daunting budget constraints. In an effort to improve aid effectiveness, donors now stress country ownership and partner directly with NGOs on the ground. In an effort to increase value-for-money and improve national security, their focus is shifting toward the world’s troubled spots. Fragile and post-conflict governments, however, often view an independent civil society as a threat.

That’s why Rwanda and Kenya should be lauded for involving civil society in efforts to revise policies governing NGOs – and others should be encouraged to do the same. That’s why governments should sign treaties like the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance – and then be held accountable for increasing the role of citizens in political decision making. That’s why Egypt, Tunisia and other countries in the Arab Spring must change NGO-unfriendly laws that are still on the books, until initiatives such as the recently launched Lifeline: Embattled NGOs Assistance Fund are not needed anymore to ensure embattled nonprofits are able to go about their business of building strong, healthy communities.

We should do all we can to keep NGOs – both domestic and international – safe even in hostile environments. It’s in our best interest.

DEVEX 

GADDAFI HEADED FOR ZIMBABWE?

Muammar Gaddafi

Johannesburg - Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is headed for Zimbabwean or Angolan exile following a deal brokered by SA, Al Jazeera reported on Monday.
Gaddafi, it appears, is not on his way to SA itself.
If Gaddafi is to go to Zimbabwe, he would not be the lone African leader in exile there. Former Ethiopian president Mengistu Haile Mariam, referred to in some parts as the "Butcher of Addis", has been in exile in Harare since being driven from power in 1991
Earlier, the department of international relations and co-operation said it had not made an offer of asylum to the Libyan dictator who might flee his country at any time.
It was reported by AFP that the sound of heavy fighting had been heard on Monday near Gaddafi's residence in central Tripoli after rebel forces surged into the capital on Sunday, taking over many districts.
"The strongman's whereabouts are unknown although he broadcast three audio messages on Sunday as rebel forces were sweeping through the capital and taking over the symbolic Green Square in the heart of the city," AFP added.

News24 

KIIR ANNOUNCES NEW SOUTH SUDAN MINISTRIES

The President of the newly independent Republic of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit on Saturday issued a decree listing the 29 ministries that will make up the country’s new cabinet.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir lifts South Sudan’s

new constitution to the crowds of people attending an

independence ceremony in Juba, on Saturday July 9, 2011. (AP)

After South Sudan’s independence on July 9th Kiir issued a decree stating that all ministers would be caretakers until he formed a new government.

In the hotly anticipated announcement of the cabinet, Kiir may want to strike a careful balance to keep members of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) happy as well as catering for opposition groups who have criticised his previous appointments for lacking inclusiveness.

South Sudan’s largest opposition group, a breakaway faction of the SPLM, has criticised Kiir for not reflecting the political diversity of the country in his appointments.

Transforming the South Sudan Legislative Assembly from an autonomous body with Sudan into the lawmaking institution of the newly independent country has also proved has proved controversial. The first sitting of the reconstituted National Legislative Assembly (NLA) failed on August 1 to agree on the position of deputy speaker.

On August 5th Kiir had to intervene in a power struggle between Atem Garang the former deputy speaker of Sudan’s national parliament in Khartoum and the the deputy speaker in Juba, Daniel Awet Akot.

Garang, was made the chief whip a third position behind Akut who was reappointed as the deputy speaker.

As well as Garang, Kiir also amalgamated 96 members from Sudan’s National Assembly in Khartoum into the Juba parliament. As part of the 2005 peace deal, that allowed South Sudan to secede, the SPLM and Khartoum’s ruling National Congress Party shared power for six years until the deal ended with the separation of the South.

Kiir also appointed 66 new MPs on top of the 96 from Khartoum and the existing 170 southern lawmakers that had been elected in elections in April, bringing the total number to 332.

About 20% of the additional appointees come from other political parties. South Sudan has 23 political parties, but only five are included in the new bicameral national parliament.

On August 1st Kiir appointed the South Sudan Council of States, , the country’s second legislative chamber, which four days later elected Joseph Bul Chan at its speaker.

The 50-member Council consists of 20 representatives from SPLM drawn from all the 10 states of the country, and 30 additional members from “other categories”.

DECREE AND DATE OF COMMENCEMENT:

The Decree shall be cited as the Presidential Decree No. 26/2011 for the Establishment of the National Ministries of the Republic of South Sudan, 2011 and shall come into force upon its signature.

The following National Ministries shall be established in the Republic of South Sudan; and they are:

1. Ministry of Cabinet Affairs
2. Ministry of Defence and Veteran Affairs
3. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
4. Minister, Office of the President
5. Minister for National Security, Office of the President
6. Ministry of Justice
7. Ministry of Interior
8. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
9. Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning
10. Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development
11. Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment
12. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
13. Ministry of Health
14. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
15. Ministry of Roads and Bridges
16. Ministry of Transport
17. Ministry of General Education and Instruction
18. Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
19. Ministry of Environment
20. Ministry of Housing and Physical Planning
21. Ministry of Telecommunication and Postal Services
22. Ministry of Petroleum and Mining
23. Ministry of Electricity and Dams
24. Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare
25. Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management
26. Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation
27. Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism
28. Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries
29. Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports   

Sudan Tribune

PRESIDENT BANDA URGES ZAMBIANS TO VOTE FOR HIM AND THE MMD CANDIDATES

President Rupiah Banda

Thousands of people braved the August sun to gather at Changanamayi grounds in Kitwe’s Kwacha compound to listen to President Rupiah Banda campaign rally.

The crowd drawn from all parts of Kitwe, also known as the Hub of the Copperbelt, most of whom were clad in the traditional MMD blue regalia attires, sang political songs in praise of President Banda’s somewhat splendid leadership.

The President too responded positively to the huge crowds desire to listen to him as he later reminiscence what his government has done in the now three years of being in office.

He outlined future social and economic plans for Zambia.

ZANIS reports from Kitwe, today, that President Banda told the mammoth rally that there was every reason for the people of Zambia to vote for him and all the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) candidates in the local government and parliamentary positions.

He explained that the reason why Zambians should vote for him and the MMD is that he has lived to fulfil all the promises he made in 2008 and fulfilled them accordingly.

“Our duty as leaders is to listen carefully to what the people are saying. In 2008 when I came here I promised you that I will be a president who will bring security, stability, peace and development. Since 2008, a lot of development has taken place and today we are a middle income country,” he said amid cheers from thousands of people who chanted slogans in support with his administration.

President Banda, who is in the Copperbelt for a series of activities including political rallies, said in the education sector, a lot of infrastructure development has taken place.

He explained that among this infrastructure is the construction of Kamfinsa, Lufwanyama, Mpongwe, Masaiti and Masangano high schools which will significantly help improve enrolment levels and quality of educations to children of the school going age in the Copperbelt province.

He reminded the people of Kitwe that since 2008, his government prevented five mines from closing completely thereby serving thousands of jobs which would have otherwise sent thousands of families into poverty.

President Banda named the mines as Luanshya, Konkola North, Konkola Deep, and Nkana while Mopani Copper Mine has expanded during the same period.

“To us Zambians, the word mine means jobs and prosperity,” he said adding that mining was a mainstay of the people of the Copperbelt province which has contributed largely to the economic stability of Zambia.

The President said the health sector has also benefitted a lot as government built health posts, clinics, hospitals and expanded and rehabilitated existing ones in the province just like in any other part of the country.

He said more people were now owner of homes in the Copperbelt and other provinces of Zambia.

President Banda said his government will continue empowering Zambians with homes noting that his government still has piles of petitions from sitting tenants asking him to help facilitate the sale of such houses to them.

He added that 2,000 kilometres of feeder roads have been worked on in the province.

 

President Banda however noted that despite all this visible development whose spill over effects are felt among Zambians, much more needs to be done.

He said his government was aiming at changing the current economic status quo by providing hospitals, schools, roads and other social amenities which will trigger massive economic development in the country.

“The change I want is to enable Zambians grow more food so that other countries can be getting it from here. I also want change where we will build universities in every province of this country where people in all fields will be trained,” he said.

The President reiterated that his biggest ambition was to make Zambia attractive even to those Zambians professionals that have sought greener economic pastures elsewhere to return and offer their services to the local people.

He said in the last few years, industrialization has increased thereby consuming a lot of energy and fuel.

Mr. Banda said despite this increase in industries, his government has continued to provide fuel without any shortage and standardized fuel prices countrywide.

“We want development in every part of this country. That is why we are doing roads for Zambians to conduct their businesses smoothly,” he said.

And President Banda has expressed sadness that the Kitwe City Council, which was dominated by opposition Patriotic Front Councillors in the last five years.

He said it is saddening that the PF led council has failed to provide vital services to residents of the city.

He said during the last five years, social services deteriorated in Kitwe especially in the area of sanitation.

“Avoidable diseases such as cholera and typhoid have been experienced here because of the council’s failure to provide good health and hygienic services, “said the President.

The President therefore urged the people of Kitwe not to vote for the opposition political parties because they have failed them.

He said politics was a serious profession because it is about bettering people’s lives and their welfare.

And the same rally, former Vice President Enoch Kavindele asked the people of the Copperbelt province to appreciate what President Banda’s government has done in the last few years in order to serve jobs and make their lives betters.

Mr. Kavindele said President Banda was a respectful, honesty and focused person who has the interests of Zambians at heart.

He said if President Banda will be allowed to lead Zambia again in the next five years, the country will be changed for the better.

Meanwhile, Zambia National Marketers Association (ZANAMA) Chairman General, Elvis Nkandu said the fixing of township roads in Kitwe and elsewhere will ease the transportation of goods by traders.

Mr. Nkandu said this will in turn improve the economic statuses of marketers in the country.

After the rally, scores of MMD supporters went round the Kitwe City honking and singing solidarity songs while branding their party symbol to residents who in turn waved back in support.

President Banda will tomorrow attend a Church Service at St. Maximillian Catholic Church in Luanshya, address miners and later in the day address a rally in Roan Township.  

ZANIS

POLITICS OF PARENTAGE

By ELIAS MBAO Nation Correspondent, Lusaka

Late Former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba. Towards

the end of his first term, all indications were that he would

not make it back for a second term. Many Zambians were

dissatisfied with his governance, unfulfilled promises and

rampant corruption. Consequently, a Kenneth Kaunda comeback

was likely in the upcoming 1996 polls. And so Chiluba,

fearing a possible defeat, hastily changed the law to prohibit

citizens whose parents were not Zambian by birth or

descent from standing for the Presidency. Kaunda is of

Malawian descent. His goose had been cooked. Photo/FILE

Controversy over the parentage of presidential candidates is dominating the debate ahead of Zambia’s September 20 elections.

This constitutional requirement seems to override other qualifications for one to occupy State House.

Somehow, the law is also a weapon to eliminate opponents from the race.

Three out of the country’s four post-independence presidents have been subject to the controversies of having at least one foreign parent.

Incumbent Rupiah Banda has been crying foul for the last three months after opposition parties picked up a former diplomat’s claim that he was ineligible to run for the Presidency on grounds that his father was a Malawian, and, to some extent, his mother Zimbabwean.

“Why do they want to knock me out on technicalities?” complained 74-year-old Banda, insisting that both his parents were Zambian by birth.

This was after the main opposition Patriotic Front (PF) party of Michael Sata — his family friend but main challenger in the upcoming elections — dragged President Banda’s foreign parentage allegations to the Lusaka High Court.

While filing in his nomination papers for the Presidency, populist Sata — apparently to irritate President Banda — declared: “I am very much a Zambian citizen and both my parents were Zambians.”

Article 34(3) (b) of the Constitution requires that both parents of presidential candidates must be Zambian by birth or descent.

The legislation, widely labelled as “a bad law”, was enacted by then president Frederick Chiluba to bar his predecessor — Zambia’s founding father Kenneth Kaunda — in the 1996 elections.
Ran against frogs

Kaunda, now 87, ruled Zambia for 27 years from independence in 1964 until 1991, when Chiluba beat him in the first competitive elections in Zambia.

In previous polls considered ‘democratic’ during his one-party rule, Kaunda contested against frogs — a symbolic opponent.

At the end of Chiluba’s first five-year term, the President’s political influence was dwindling.

Many Zambians were dissatisfied with his governance, unfulfilled promises and rampant corruption.

Consequently, a Kaunda comeback was likely in the upcoming 1996 polls.

Kaunda, still a popular figure in Zambia’s politics, had made inroads canvassing for votes to return to the Presidency.

Chiluba, fearing a possible defeat, hastily changed the law to prohibit citizens — primarily targeting Mr Kaunda — whose parents were not Zambian by birth or descent from standing for the Presidency.

Kaunda, born in 1924 in northern Zambia of well-known Malawian missionary-teacher parents, was instantaneously barred from standing for elections, notwithstanding the fact that he had previously ruled the country for close to three decades.

An angry Kaunda and his United National Independence Party (UNIP) boycotted the 1996 General Election.

Kaunda’s son and retired military colonel, Panji — then a UNIP legislator — warned President Chiluba and his governing Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) about the “bad law”.

“I was in Parliament when the law was amended. In my submission, I told the House that this law will one day be used on the MMD as they would have a candidate whose parents were not born in Zambia,” said Col Kaunda in a recent interview.

He added: “It is a bad law that should have been repealed long ago. We never chose where our parents are born. If I am born in Zambia, that should be sufficient to qualify me to be President.”

With Kaunda out of his way, Chiluba easily won the elections into his second and final five-year term.

However, shortly afterwards, the same law haunted Chiluba, at least for a while, but he sailed through.

In an electoral petition, Chiluba’s opponents submitted that he was ineligible to have stood for the Presidency and demanded that his victory be nullified because he was allegedly born in Zaire (present day Democratic Republic of Congo) of a Congolese father.

According to Supreme Court documents, the five petitioners “pleaded that his (Chiluba’s) identity and that of his parents had never been ascertained (and) contended that he was the illegitimate son of one of the witnesses born from an illicit affair with the mother while she was married to a Mozambican. He was born in the then Belgium Congo (Zaire) in 1944 when his father, the witness, was an alien.”

However, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition on grounds that when Zambian citizenship was created at independence on October 24, 1964, the Independence Order had conferred citizenships on every British protected person who had been born in the former protectorate of Northern Rhodesia or, if born outside the protectorate, whose father became, or would but for his prior death, have become a citizen by birth in the protectorate.

“The parentage qualification for election as President introduced into the Constitution of Zambia poses a number of difficulties apparently without solution, (like) whether the reference is to legitimate or biological parentage and whether adoptive parentage is included,” the Supreme Court judgment read in part.

Battling for citizenship

As Chiluba was fighting his father’s alleged foreign origin, Kaunda was also battling for his citizenship.

The Ndola High Court declared Kaunda stateless and Chiluba attempted to deport him, but the Supreme Court — on appeal — restored his citizenship.

Lithuania-born Simon Zukas, a renowned politician, resigned from the Chiluba Cabinet in protest against the parentage qualification.

“It is a bad law and that is why I opposed it. I said at the time that it will cause us trouble in the future,” said Zukas this week, adding that “this bad law was pushed through by MMD and it is still there today, so we have to live by it until it is repealed, which I hope will be soon.”

Chiluba is dead but the same law is haunting his political ally — President Banda — for whom he determinedly campaigned to be re-elected.

‘Banda is Malawian’

Zambia’s ex-envoy to Malawi, Milton Phiri, currently in ‘hiding’, lit the fire when he alleged that President Banda was Malawian.

President Banda angrily dismissed the allegations.

President Banda.

 “Both my parents were born in Chipata in Zambia,” said President Banda.

Sata’s party accused Banda of having falsified his declaration in 2008, when he stood for the Presidency, that his father was Zambian when in fact he was Malawian and, therefore, ineligible to stand in next month’s polls.

The judge dismissed the lawsuit on a technicality that, among other reasons, President Banda as the subject of the matter must have been enjoined in the suit.

However, according to the Zambian Constitution, even if the PF had sued President Banda in person, he could not appear in Court because he enjoys presidential immunity. Again, the case would have fallen off.

President Banda was born in neighbouring Zimbabwe where his bricklayer father had gone for greener pastures.

Daily Nation - Kenya 

GOVT. HAILS KARIBA NORTH BANK

Information Permanent Secretary Sam Phiri has hailed Kariba North Bank for continuing to pioneer in the efforts of bringing integration of Southern African Developing Communities (SADC) region.

Dr Phiri noted that the Kariba North Bank Extension Project (KNBEP) is a critical effort in addressing power demand and also in connecting the region.

ZANIS reports from Siavonga, today, that the Permanent Secretary was speaking yesterday after a tour of a US$ 420 million power extension project to commemorate SADC day which falls on August 17^th each year.

Dr. Phiri hinted that the extension project that is currently going on at Kariba North Bank demonstrates commitment to infrastructure development which government has embarked on.

He noted that only about three (3) million of the country’s population has access to electricity hence the need of expanding the service to cater for most people national wide.

The Permanent Secretary further noted that the multimillion kwacha project will also be a legacy that the country will contribute to the region and urged Kariba North Bank to continue projecting Zambia’s image as a pioneer in providing energy in the region.

And Kariba North Bank Extension Project Manager Aaron Nyirenda said the project is expected to be completed in December in 2013 and will help eliminate load shedding during peak demand hours.

Mr. Nyirenda added that there is need to double efforts to address demands of power in the SADC region.

ZANIS

TRADITIONAL RULERS ADVISED TO LEAD IN HIV/ AIDS FIGHT

THE Choma District AIDS Task Force (DATF) has come up with a strategic framework for tackling HIV related issues in the district.

District AIDS Coordinating Adviser (DACA) Veronica Mweemba has also urged traditional leaders to play an active role in helping HIV patients to adhere to treatment.

ZANIS reports Mrs. Mweemba saying this in Choma District yesterday during at a one day sensitization workshop for traditional leaders, headmen and the church organized by the Brethren in Christ Church (BICC).  

She said there is need for these leaders to encourage villagers in their areas go for Voluntary Counselling Testing (VCT) to protect their lives.

She explained that leaders should ensure that people in their areas need to understand the dangers and impact of the disease in the community.

Mrs. Mweemba also appealed to spiritual leaders to desist from giving wrong information and misleading HIV/AIDS patients to stop taking their medication after being prayed for.

She   pointed out that people should not be misled that the pandemic is curable but can only prevented.

She reminded headmen not to allow bad practices among their subjects but to rather discourage such vices as they have the powers as custodians of the traditional law.

Mrs. Mweemba noted that money being spent on traditional healers by patients can be channelled   to other developmental programs in their communities and it can also help in reducing  the number of deaths occurring  as a result  of  wrong  information  from  spiritual  prophets.

She has since pledged organization’s commitment to   assist communities in dealing with   HIV/AIDS related issues.

She  also thanked  BICC  for  embarking  on  such a  program  of  sensitizing  traditional  leaders, church leaders and  other stakeholders in issues affecting communities like HIV/AIDS.

ZANIS