EDGAR LUNGU AUCTIONS PORTRAIT OF HIM AND HIS WIFE FOR K59,000

The Lungu swank captivated hundreds of diners at a Patriotic Front (PF) fund-raiser in Lusaka on Wednesday night with the highlight being his panama hat putting K180,000 in the ruling party’s kitty through an auction.

President Lungu’s hat was initially auctioned at US$10,000 but the bid winner gracefully gave it back to the head of State who again offered it for an auction.

In no time, the bids rose and closed at K100,000 for Peta Zeravica, who said the hat was priceless and he would have upped his bid if anyone had tried to outdo him.

He said what was important too, was that he had contributed to the PF.

President Lungu’s chic bow-tie was auctioned at K10,000 but a bigger buy was a portrait of the President with his wife, Esther, auctioned at K59,000.

Other items auctioned included compact discs (CDs) autographed by the President, PF shirts and a trip for two to Samfya beach with K10,000 spending.

After the auction, President Lungu took a walk around the tables shaking hands, chatting and taking pictures with the diners.

The fundraiser was spiced by a wide range of performers who included comedian Bob Nkosha aka Dorika, and musicians.

Type Of People Drinking With Lungu, Worries State House Officials

State House and OP officials are worried at the type of people president Edgar Lungu is associating with and imbibing beer with at State House.

State House officials have complained that Lungu has allowed the people he used to drink Kachasu with in compounds to enter state house at will.

Just on Thursday, Lungu advised his aides to ‘cut’ on friends to preserve the integrity of State House. But State House officials say Lungu is in the forefront of inviting his friends to drink free beers at State House.

Sources singled out Valden Harry Findlay as one such character who is always at State House even when the president is out.

But Findlay, just like most other characters Lungu associates with has a blemished reputation.

Among other criminal activities, Valden Harry Findlay was in 2008 arrested by the DEC for money laundering related offences.

Findlay who also owns Chrismar Hotel, Zoom Roadways and Atics Bureau de Change, was arrested for lending money without a lenders’ licence and money laundering activities involving K200 million.

In June 2009, Findlay was arrested in Hong Kong for forgery. Hong Kong authorities also discovered that Findlay had different passports bearing different dates of birth.

He was only saved after the MMD government requested Hong Kong to transfer his case so that he could be tried in Zambia. But when he arrived in Zambia, he was not prosecuted.

Findlay owns Chrismah hotel, probably the hottest drug spot in the country.

Lungu and Findlay used to patronise Casinos together especially Star and Majestic Casinos.

Last week, Lungu failed to meet Africa’s richest man Dangote because he was busy drinking beer with Findlay at Nkwazi house.

Source: Zambian Watchdog

Hakainde Hichilema Warns of Economic Turmoil

UPND President Hakainde Hichilema has observed that Government’s current rate of borrowing risks sending the country into a state of economic turmoil.

In his weekly policy issue statement, Mr Hichilema says Zambia does not need to borrow vast sums of money and make large interest payments yearly in order to fund developmental projects.

Mr Hichilema says the PF has accumulated the same level of debt that was collected in the previous 27 years after embarking on a borrowing spree since coming to power in 2011.

He says the recent revelations that Government intends to issue another bond to finance the current debt is grossly worrying, particularly given the limited transparency with which such funds are then spent.

The UPND leader states that any government that meets its expenditure by excessively relying on borrowing is guilty of economic mismanagement, and that the PF is no exception.

Mr Hichilema warns that the high fiscal deficit, coupled with the PF’s continued insatiable appetite for borrowing, will soon make public debt unsustainable.

He says the UPND in power will put in place a robust long-term debt management strategy that will ensure that new borrowings follow legal and fiscal responsibility guidelines, as opposed to the current haphazard borrowing.

He states that the UPND will grow the economy by addressing the bottlenecks faced by the private sector which accounts for over 90 percent of employment and is the only way to create the amount of new jobs Zambia needs.

Mr Hichilema adds that the UPND will prioritise domestic resource mobilisation by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Zambia Revenue Authority and other revenue collection agencies, as well as curbing the high capital flight, tax evasion and tax avoidance.

He further states that the UPND will use existing information and commission further research to estimate the cost of depreciation of existing capital stock to come up with optimal budget allocations in order to prioritise Operations and Maintenance of existing high-return infrastructure projects.

Mr Hichilema says his party in government will mitigate political expedience and corruption in infrastructure projects by, among other measures, reverting the Road Development Agency to the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications and ensuring transparency and planning of projects in accordance with Government vision.

KENNETH KAUNDA ADMITTED TO LUSAKA HOSPITAL

FIRST Republican President Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda was yesterday morning admitted to a Lusaka Hospital for a routine medical checkup.

This is according to a press statement issued by Dr. Kaunda’s, Senior Executive Officer – Protocol, Cheswa Silwizya, who is also his daughter.

“First Republican President, Dr Kenneth David Kaunda, was yesterday morning admitted to a Lusaka hospital for a routine medical checkup. He will remain there for a few days. Doctors looking after the First President have recommended that he undergoes a checkup following a very busy local and international schedule during the past three months.” She said.

Ms Silwizya said apart from his daily schedule at home, Dr Kaunda was a special guest of the Namibian Government at the 25th Anniversary of Independence on March 21, 2015, which coincided with the inauguration of that country’s new President, His Excellency Dr Hage Geingob. This was followed by another trip last week to Johannesburg, South Africa to attend a three-day meeting of The Champions for an AIDS-Free Generation.

Ms. Cheswa Silwizya assured the nation that there was no need for Zambians to be worried.

“Dr Kaunda will be turning 91 years old on Tuesday, April 28,, 2015 and his doctors and family want to ensure that he remains in good health and fully rested. The Office of the First President and his family, wish to assure the nation that Dr Kaunda’s hospitalization is purely precautionary given his age. Your prayers and concern are appreciated.”

In February, 2015, Dr. Kaunda was admitted to Lusaka Trust Hospital for an unknown illness and in 2014; Dr. Kaunda was also admitted to the Lusaka Trust Hospital after he complained of fatigue.

Lungu Releases Tribunal Findings

Lusaka, (SUNDAY, 22ND March 2015) — His Excellency Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of the Republic of Zambia has released the recommendations of the two tribunals appointed to investigate allegations of incompetence and, or misconduct by Justice Timothy Katenekwa and Justice E.P Sunkutu respectively.
The two tribunals were appointed in 2013 pursuant to Article 98(3) of the Constitution of Zambia as read with Section 24(1)(B) of the Judicial (Code of Conduct), Act No.13 (1999) of the Laws of Zambia.
The Tribunal on Justice Katenekwa was chaired by retired former Chief Justice, the Hon. Mr. Justice Fredrick Chomba and was assisted by the Hon. Mr Justice Bobby Bwalya (retired) and the Hon. Mr Justice L.V Siame (retired) as members.
The Tribunal recommended:
1. Not to remove Hon. Justice Katenekwa from his position as Puisne Judge of the Industrial Relations Court because he was no longer holding that position having being transferred to Kabwe as High Court Judge;
2. That charges against erring judicial officers must be brought as promptly as possible whilst they hold the office from which the charges emanate;
3. That the Judges’ workload in the Zambian courts must be given special attention;
4. That Judges on transfer must be given adequate notice in order for them to conclude cases from the stations they are transferred from;
5. That when reinstated, the Hon. Mr Justice Katenekwa must be given adequate time to complete pending cases before he can be assigned new cases;
6. That adequate resources must be provided for Judges who have pending work in other stations in order for them to wind up such work;
7. That there is need for additional courtrooms at Kabwe and that the station

The Judge Sunkuntu Tribunal was chaired by retired former Chief Justice, the Hon Mr. Justice Mathew M.M.S.W Ngulube assisted by the Hon. Mr. Justice Bwalya and Justice Siame as members. The Tribunal recommended that:
1. The Hon. Justice Sunkutu should not be removed from office as Puisne Judge of the High Court;
2. That the cases or complaints of erring judges should be promptly dealt with by relevant authorities;
3. Where case files are lost, supervisors should consider directing new trials which would be a lot less unjust than waiting indefinitely as it has turned out to be.

The two tribunals presented their findings and final reports to the President on Friday, 19th March 2015. The President will act accordingly.
In another development, President Lungu has directed that all District Commissioners whose contracts have expired must vacate office immediately. Those wishing to re-apply should do so in line with the provisions of their expired contracts.
In a letter to the Secretary to the Cabinet, President Lungu ordered that in the interim, District Administrative Officers be appointed to act in the vacant positions before new commissioners are appointed.
The President has further warned of stern action against public officers sabotaging the implementation of various development projects and advised those whose political ambitions are clouding their judgment must leave the public service.
The President has directed his Special Assistant for Project Implementation and Monitoring Mr Lucky Mulusa and all Ministers to ensure that they take personal interest in monitoring projects that were needlessly being held back. The President expects that all ministers and MPs will take advantage of rising of Parliament this month to go out to the country and bring status reports on key development projects that were launched when the Patriotic Front took power in 2011.

Issued By:
Amos Chanda
SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT (PRESS & PUBLIC RELATIONS)

Kabimba, M’membe Briefly Detained

The Lusaka Magistrate court briefly detained Rainbow Party President Wynter Kabimba and Post Newspapers Owner Fred M’membe before the two were released on bail.

This is in a matter where former President RUPIAH BANDA has dragged them to court for contempt and defamation.

Meanwhile, Mr. M’membe was strongly reprimanded after he referred to the charges against him as foolish.

This was after rendering an apology and indicating that its was not his intention to committee the offence.

And attempts by the defence to have the mattered sent to the High Court for constitution determination failed.

Lusaka Magistrate Kenneth Mulile also refused the defence’s request to have the accused persons acquitted on account that former President Rupiah Banda who is the complaint was not in court.

Mr. M’membe and Mr. Kabimba has pleaded not guilty to the charge after the court ordered that they take plea following the dismissal of their applications.

The matter has since been adjourned to April 27th for commencement of trail.

And on a sad note, retired High Court Judge, Justice Cosmas Kabamba has died.

Justice Kabamba died on Monday in Ndola.

Funeral and burial arrangements will be communicated later.

This is according to a statement released to ZNBC News in Lusaka by Judiciary Public Relations Officer Terry Musonda.

Justice Kabamba once served as Ndola High Court Judge in Charge.