GBM

UPND Vice president Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba has responded to attack at him and his party by President Edgar Lungu.

In a statement below to Zambian Eye, Mwamba says it is now clear that the ruling party’s leadership has not repented from its sins.

It is very clear that our colleagues in the PF are on a mission to divide the country.

It is also very clear that they are not repented of their sins despite hoodwinking Zambians to prayers and fasting on 18th October. This is the President Edgar Lungu who was insulting on Saturday then went to hide in church the following day, which is mockery to God.

To all the Zambians that watched and listened to the PF rally in Kitwe addressed by Edgar Lungu himself and a number of their leaders it was clear the entire rally was full of hate speech, attacking citizens especially the UPND. And the live ZNBC TV broadcast is another case of abuse of public media because the PF did not pay for it.

What a missed opportunity when our people on the Copperbelt expected messages of economic hope especially in the light of massive job losses in the mining and other sectors.

At the rate our colleagues in the PF are going with their campaigns in the country, it is clear that they are politically irrelevant and are just mere jokers without any message for the masses.

As UPND, we shall continue with our issue based political campaigns of offering solutions and hope for the majority suffering Zambians unlike our colleagues who are busy blaming everything on other countries instead of effecting sound economic policies and take the blame.

We are happy that many Zambians watched for themselves the joke and comedy of the entire PF leadership that is ruling the country based on hate messages of dividing the country.

Zambians now want sound economic messages of ending powercuts, reducing mealie meal prices, reducing the cost cooking oil, teachers and health workers recruitment programme, solving problems affecting institutions of higher learning, reducing the cost of fertiliser for our farmers and many issues such as economic diversification and creating jobs as well as dealing with souring inflation.

This has been our message as UPND rather than dwelling on personalities and hate language which was even bad for our youths who attended their rally.

Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba

UPND Vice-President Administration

Two people have died after suffocating in a well in Nakonde District of Muchinga Province.

The incident has been confirmed to ZANIS by both Nakonde District Commissioner Field Simwiinga and Muchinga Province Police commissioner Auxensio Daka.

Daka said the unfortunate incident occurred on Friday around 09:00 hours when Clifford Simwanza of Katozi village aged 35 was cleaning a 22- metre -deep well at his house and later got stuck.

Daka said it was after Simwanza got stuck that he called for help from his neighbour Lyborn Simuyota aged 30 who also got stuck in the well and both men suffocated and died instantly.

A combined team of Zambia police and fire brigade managed to retrieve both bodies and deposited them at Nakonde District Hospital mortuary awaiting post-mortem and burial.

In a separate incident, a 65 –year- old village headman of Chiwale village in Nakonde district of Muchinga province has been shot dead by unknown people.

The incident has been confirmed to the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in Nakonde today by Muchinga Province Police commissioner Auxensio Daka.

Daka said Siyingwa Kachinga, a village headman of Chiwale village was shot and killed on Friday  by unknown people on allegation of practicing witchcraft.

Daka said Siyingwa was found dead with multiple pellets on the left arm and back of the abdomen.

The police commissioner said a short gun is suspected to have been used to commit the crime and no arrests have been made.

Nevers Mumba

Nevers Mumba says Zambians should brace themselves for hard economic times ahead.

Dr Mumba who is the MMD president says the times ahead will be tough because the PF leadership is clueless on the economy.

Zambia is currently going through difficult times with the worst performing currency and power outages.

But Dr. Mumba says it will get worse and citizens should prepare themselves. He wondered why Zambians voted out the MMD in 2011 the party he said had a good economic programme for the country.

Dr Mumba said this to Radio Phoenix.

Lungu addressing a rally in Kitwe

President Edgar Lungu has revealed that government is pumping in K1.6 million in three markets in Chingola, Kitwe and Ndola.

The funds are meant for the market micro lending activity on the Copperbelt province as a pilot programme.

ZANIS Ndola reports that the President Lungu made the pronouncement yesterday when he addressed thousands of marketeers at Chisokone market.

The President said the programme will start with Chabanyama market and Chisokone market in Chingola and Kitwe respectively.

Meanwhile, President Lungu has warned millers in the country against increasing the price of mealie meal.

The President explained that there is no justification in the increase of mealie meal as no ingredient is imported.

“There is no justification in increasing the price of mealie meal because maize is grown in Zambia, there is no ingredient that is imported,” he said.

The President said if millers do not listen to his directive he will be focused to put up price controlling measures.

“If they do not listen to this directive, I will start putting price centring measure on all necessity commodities,” he warned.

And speaking earlier, Patriotic Front Deputy Secretary General Mumbi Phiri thanked President Lungu for putting women in decision making positions.

Mrs Phiri thanked the President for giving Zambia a woman as Republican Vice President under his tenure of office.

“As women we would like to thank President Lungu for put us in decision making positions, we would further want to thank you for making history for us as women during your tenure of office by giving us the first female Vice President of this country,” she said.

Luo

Gender and Child Development Minister Nkandu Luo says government is determined to continue combat maternal death and unsafe abortion in the country.

Professor Luo said increased maternal death and abortion is worrisome as the country is losing a number of young girls.

The Gender and Child Development Minister said this last night during the Family Foundation of Hope Noble banquet for the Smiley Motherhood at Serenity Lodge in Lusaka.

Prof. Luo also disclosed at the same banquet that her ministry will in the next few months launch the Women at Work programme mentor ship for young girls and women.

She said the programme is aimed at sensitising young girls and women on the danger of unsafe abortion.

At the same function, the Family Foundation of Hope also presented the Noble Prize of the Smiley Parenthood to the First Lady Esther Lungu.

Family Foundation of Hope board Chairperson Wilfred Hodari said his organisation’s main agenda is to prevent unplanned pregnancies and abortion among young girls.

Dr Hodari said it is saddening that teenage girls have continued losing their lives due to lack of information on the dangers of unsafe teenage pregnancy termination.

Dr Hodari also called on co-operating partners to come to the rescue of the foundation so that it will be able to assist many people.

Siavonga District Commissioner Lovemore Kanyama has dispelled rumors raised by Foundation for Democracy Process-FODEP Executive Director MacDonald Chipenzi that there is shortage of voter registration materials in the area.

Kanyama said the statement attributed to Mr Chiepenzi is untrue and that it should be rebuffed by members of the public.

In a telephone interview with ZANIS, Kanyama urged Chimpenzi not to mislead the people of Siavonga over his unsubstantiated reports.

Kanyama said the Electoral Commission of Zambia has captured a lot of people in Siavonga from the time the voter registration exercise started.

He charged that government is determined to ensuring that many people register not only in Siavonga but the rest of the country ahead of next year’s elections.

Kanyama also warned some Non-Governmental Organisations to learn to verify their statements with government offices before alarming the nation.

Yesterday, FODEP Executive Director Macdonald Chipenzi was quoted  in some sections of  the media saying Siavonga has no voter registration materials.

President Edgar Lungu has warned civil servants in the country to refrain from engaging themselves in political activities and concentrate on serving the public.

ZANIS Ndola reports that President Lungu sounded the warning Saturday when he held a meeting with various District heads of Government Departments and other stakeholders at Lothian house in Kitwe.

The President said he was aware that some Heads of Government departments are deliberately recruiting people to fight his policies so that they make him fail to govern the country.

“Let me right away start by warning you civil servants to stay away from politics and concentrate on serving the people of Zambia that is why you were employed in the first place. Am aware that some of you as Heads of Departments are recruiting people that are fighting me so that I fail,” he said.

The President said after interacting with the Heads of Departments he expected them to change and serve the public without biasness.

“After this interaction, I expect you as civil servants to change and serve the people of Zambia effectively, we should not get to a point where we reshuffle or retire you,” he said.

Lungu further said he has done his investigations on some named civil servants but that he wanted to give them chance to reform.

“If you decide not to refrain from this practice then quit the civil service and join us in the political arena, I don’t want to fire you or transfer you to your so called strongholds,” he said.

President Lungu is on a 5-day working visit of Copperbelt Province.

President Edgar Lungu has warned that Government will be compelled to introduce statutory price controls if millers continue exploiting consumers.

The President has further warned that Government might be forced to reposses milling plants or eject milling firms from the market if millers continue hiking mealie meal prices.

President Lungu said the price of mealie meal is too high for the ordinary Zambian.

The Head of state said this at Luato Market in Kalulushi when he addressed scores of marketeers and residents.

Mr Lungu wondered why millers have resorted to unnecessary hikes when they are buying the grain from farmers cheaply.

Mr Lungu said he will be meeting the agriculture Minister Given Lubinda and cabinet to discuss and look at trends on the market where consumers are being exploited by millers.

Earlier, President Lungu took time to tour the 270 million Kwacha National Pension scheme -NAPSA housing scheme.

And President Lungu says no lecturer will be fired from the Copperbelt University-CBU as a result of the misunderstanding between management and lecturers which led to student protests and subsequent premature closure.

Mr. Lungu says all the parties involved have put behind their past and have opened a new chapter, which will be anchored by dialogue and respect for one another.

The Head of State made the remarks when he met the executive of the Copperbelt University Students Union-COBUSU at the Presidential Guest House in Kitwe.

And Mr. Lungu says he will clamp down on lecturers who want to take advantage of the election period to champion their political cause.

He said he will not allow institutions of higher learning to be politically abused.

The President also advised students not to be used by politicians to resort to violence through street protests.

He said it is unacceptable for students to disturb the rights of innocent citizens whom they stone on the roads each time they want to advance their grievances.

Mr. Lungu emphasized that discipline is essential for the students to succeed in their academic pursuits.

He noted that students who compromise on discipline do not achieve much in life.

And COBUSU President Humphrey Mwenya said there is need for Government to upgrade some of the vocational trade institutions into colleges and universities.

Mr. Mwenya also asked the President to review meal allowances, as the current economic status is unable to sustain students.

IN response Mr. Lungu promised to table the matter with Higher Education Minister Michael Kaingu and Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda – ZNBC

Miles Sampa

The opposition Rainbow Party says the resignation of Commerce Deputy Minister Miles Sampa from Government is just a tip of the iceberg and is the beginning of more resignations to follow.

Southern Province Chairman Leonard Siachona has observed that there is a lot of discontentment in the ruling PF from the time the ruling Party went to its party convention which saw President Lungu being elected as Party President.

Siachona further added that the other problem haunting the ruling Party is the stance taken by President Edgar Lungu move Of appointing MMD and UPND members into key government positions.

He disclosed that even in Southern Province there are people who have worked and sacrificed for the party but their contributions and efforts to the party have not be recognised

He added that some founder members of the PF in Government and party feel sidelined by President Lungu’s pattern of appointing opposition members into government.

He disclosed that if this will not be watched by President Lungu it has a great potential to cost President Lungu and the PF the 2016 election.

Siachona further observed that with the 2016 elections approaching most of the current Members Of Parliament are likely not going to be adopted by the ruling party, in preference to some Of the opposition cabinet Ministers

He added that the resignation of Miles Sampa as Commerce Deputy Minister is just a tip of the iceberg and shows that there is a lot of discontentment within the PF.

Siachona further added that many ministers and PF Members of Parliament with their party members are frustrated with President Lungu`s decision and administration.

He charged that it is frustrating for founder members and long serving MPs in PF seeing President Lungu appointing people who have recently joined the PF to Cabinet portfolios at the expense PF MPs who have seen the party grow.

He observed that Sampa and other Ministers like Pro Nkandu Luo, Guy Scott do not deserve the position that they are given.

He warned the PF not to take the resignation Of Sampa as business as usual and comfort themselves stating that it`s his democratic rights

Siachona urged President Lungu to traverse the history of the PF and compare it to the current PF under his leadership charging that the PF is not the same when Founder and Late President was at the helm.

He added that President Lungu has embraced a lot of new members in PF and given them good positions leaving out many old members who brought PF into power.

Controversial musician General Kanene will have to spend some time behind bars after the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court refused to grant him bail.

This is in a matter in which the artiste, whose real name is Clifford Dimba, is charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Facts before the courts are that Kanene, 30, while in the company of persons unknown, did physically assault Modrine Chisenga, 32, on October 27 this year.

The singer entered a not guilty plea and applied for bail through defence attorney Nicholas Chanda.

However, the State objected to the bail application, arguing that the accused had been threatening witnesses and was therefore likely to jeopardise the case if released.

Principal resident Magistrate Kenneth Mulife agreed with the prosecution and denied Kanene bail.

In his ruling, the Magistrate further ordered an inquiry to verify the accusations raised by the prosecution.

”Due to serious allegations of interfering with the witnesses, I now order for an inquiry in the matter to enable me make an informed ruling,” he said.

The matter has been adjourned to November 10 2015.

File: Kabimba with M’membe

Rainbow Party President Wynter Kabimba and Post Newspapers Editor-in-Chief Fred M’membe have been found with a case to answer on two counts of Contempt of Court and Publishing Defamatory matter.

This relates to a newspaper article titled “Lungu’s Govt is Framing Nchito to Cover Rupiah’s Criminality – Kabimba,” published in the Post Newspapers in February this year, for which former President Rupiah Banda dragged Mr. Kabimba, the Post Newspapers and its Editor In Chief Fred M’membe to court.

When the matter came up this morning for ruling, Lusaka Magistrate Kenneth Mulife placed Mr. Kabimba, the Post Newspapers and Mr. M’membe on their defence after being convinced that the prosecution had established a Prima Facie case against the trio.

Magistrate Mulife further proceeded to set December 14th and 15th as possible dates on which Mr. Kabimba, the Post Newspapers, and Mr. M’membe will commence their defence.

And speaking shortly after the ruling, Mr. Kabimba described the decision of the Court as part of his party’s struggles to ascend to power.

Mr. Kabimba, who spoke confidently, encouraged a crowd of cheering supporters and party members outside the Lusaka Magistrate Court not to lose faith promising that the Rainbow Party will transform Zambia once it forms government.

He states that his party remains committed to the agenda of the Zambian people.

Mr. Kabimba has however, reminded his party members that this agenda can only be executed through them and through the good leadership of the party.

He has since called upon his party members to go out across the country and mobilize the party if they want to see the Rainbow Party bring about change in Zambia – Qfm

Mwenya Musenge

Opposition UPND chairperson for legal affairs Jack Mwiimbu will take legal action against Copperbelt minister Mwenya Musenge, according to party deputy spokesperson Edwin Lifwekelo.

In an interview with Hot FM News, Lifwekelo disclosed that Mwimbu, who is also Monze Central MP, is in the process of suing Musenge for insinuating that he practices Satanism.

Musenge on Saturday revealed at a PF youth rally in Kitwe that he had instructed the Kitwe City Council to turn down a proposal by the UPND lawmaker to set up a mortuary in Nkana West on suspicion of Satanism.

Nigerian prominent prophet TB Joshua has arrived in Tanzania for the inauguration ceremony of that country’s president elect.

He arrived on Tuesday. On the photo, T.B. Joshua is being accompanied by Dr. John Beer Magufuli who won general elections in Tanzania last week.

T.B. Joshua is one of the guest invited to witness the inauguration of the fifth president of the Republic of Tanzania.

The opposition UPND has castigated the PF government for failure to adequately plan for the introduction of compulsory computer lessons in schools.

This follows the chaos that characterised yesterday’s grade nine ICT practical exams, that was caused by a combination of a shortage of computers and load shedding.

Some Grade nine pupils were forced to write their practical ICT exams as late as late as 02 Hours this morning due to shortages of computers and load shedding.

The pupils were originally set to sit for their exams at 08: 30 Hours yesterday ended up waiting up to past mid night after the school administrators forced them to share the fewer computers available.

The situation was further compounded by ZESCO load shedding as some schools did not have power from 14 Hours until 22 Hours.

Reacting to the exam fiasco, the opposition party has accused the government of disregarding it’s advice regarding the of introduction of compulsory computer lessons and exams.

The opposition party says it warned Government that the policy would fail due to a lack of facilities.

The party through its spokesperson Charles Kakoma contends that Government should have channelled the money spent on foreign travels to purchasing ICT equipment in schools.

The party released the following  statement:

When we advise our friends in the PF to implement projects and ideas with a thorough and well thought out plan they claim we are bitter.

The case of introducing compulsory computer lessons and examination is one policy that we warned them would not work due to a lack of facilities, which has now only worsened due to current load shedding.

The PF have been risking the future prospects of our children across the country by making them sit for these exams sometimes until the early hours of the morning and without food. How do we expect children to have good grades when they are writing their exams half asleep?

The same President Edgar Lungu was busy insulting and threatening teachers across the country if they decampaign him. How does he expect any teacher to be cheering for him when they are being subjected to such poor working conditions?

Our teachers and civil servants are already facing serious economic hardships and now we add such inhuman treatment to both teachers and our children.

The money the PF leaders are using gallivanting the world in private jets would go a long way in purchasing computers for schools and some gensets. The same could be said for the money spent on the more than 30 parliamentary by elections since 2011.

What a shame that countries such as Rwanda, war torn even in the 1990s, is now far better in Information and Technology infrastructure than the so called peaceful Zambia.

If the PF cannot plan for such matters, how do we expect them to deal with issues of mine joblessness, high inflation, economic diversification programmes and job creation?

President Edgar Lungu has told the Lamba people not be used by tribalistic politicians from the opposition.

He said the Lambas are good people who have allowed other tribes to settle on the Copperbelt province.

President Lungu told the Lamba people to instead support the ruling party, PF which he claimed had a national representation. He said his government was committed to develop the whole country.

7

The Head of State who is staying on the Copperbelt province held a breakfast meeting with Lamba Chiefs and later held a public meeting in Lambaland.

The opposition UPND beat PF in Lambaland in the January presidential by-election which Lungu won with just 27, 000 votes.

TB Joshua With President Jakaya Kikwete

TB Joshua With President Elect John Magufuli And Family

Within hours of Pastor T.B. Joshua touching down in Tanzania on Tuesday November 3rd 2015, he had met the three most important political figures in the country – John Magufuli, the President-Elect, Jakaya Kikwete, the outgoing President and Edward Lowassa, the former Prime Minister and opposition leader.

TB Joshua With Opposition Leader Edward Lowassa

However, a government source has revealed that the Nigerian Pastor’s uncanny influence in the East African nation did not just begin during the recently held elections.

“Our new President, John Magufuli, visited T.B. Joshua in Nigeria long before he even nursed a presidential ambition,” explained Eng. Ngimbwa, chairperson of the Tanzanian Contractors Registration Board.

TB Joshua With Magufuli On His Visit To The SCOAN In 2011

As Tanzania’s industrious Minister of Works, Magufuli visited The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations (SCOAN) in Lagos, Nigeria with his family in 2011, evidenced by a picture which surfaced on social media showing the Tanzanian politician holding hands with Joshua in the cleric’s office.

He has since remained a staunch supporter of the Nigerian and partner to Joshua’s popular television station Emmanuel TV.

Magufuli’s emergence as the presidential candidate for Tanzania’s ruling party CCM was a surprise to both local and international observers, given the more prominent and popular figures he ran against.

“It was T.B. Joshua that actually encouraged him to contest for presidency,” Ngimbwa insisted. “When he won the nomination against all odds, we knew it was God at work.”

Intriguingly, Lowassa is also an outspoken supporter of Joshua, having visited Nigeria to meet the ‘prophet’ on several occasions.

TB Joshua Preaching With Edward Lowassa In Attendance 2012

A photo of the former Prime Minister attending one of Joshua’s services in 2012 was widely circulated in Tanzania.

Several commentators have inferred that Joshua may play some reconciliatory role on his first visit to the East African nation, given the palpable tension that still exists in the aftermath of the closely fought elections.

Lowassa’s opposition CHADEMA party have insisted the election was won on fraudulent grounds, refusing to accept the electoral announcement of Magufuli’s victory.

“If there’s anyone who can bring peace to the warring politicians at this time, its Pastor Joshua,” one Tanzanian blogger wrote while sharing the story of the cleric’s arrival, which saw the President-Elect waiting to meet him at the airport.

A tweet from Magufuli’s official Twitter account acknowledged that Joshua will be in Tanzania for the presidential inauguration on Thursday 5th November 2015 although it is unclear if he will play any role in the ceremony.

TB Joshua Met By President Elect John Magufuli At The Airport

His visit has sparked huge interest on African social media, especially since it is the first time the cleric has been seen in public since a crusade he held in Mexico in May 2015 which had over 150,000 in attendance.

“T.B. Joshua’s visit to Tanzania can only be a blessing to our nation,” wrote Geoffrey Kapuliya, a Tanzanian pastor, on Facebook.

A video on YouTube shows outgoing Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete escorting Joshua around the Tanzanian State House and introducing him to the country’s ministers.

Tanzanian politicians are not the first in Africa to have sought the spiritual guidance of the unconventional pastor.

The late Ghanaian President John Atta-Mills described himself as ‘a member’ of The SCOAN and publicly testified that Joshua ‘prophesied’ his ascension to power.

Similarly, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangarai visited Joshua’s church in Nigeria on several occasions as did former Malawian President Joyce Banda and late Zambian President Frederick Chiluba.

Joshua allegedly played a role in the successful transition of power in Nigeria’s recent election. He claimed to have told outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan that his ‘regime had come to an end’, advising him to peacefully concede power.

His television station Emmanuel TV is one of the most popular in Africa, amassing 250,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Ihechuk

Lungu addressing a rally in Kitwe

HH and UPND leaders at the rally

By Maio Bulawayo

Much has been said about the phase 1, 2 and 3 of the voter registration, particularly, with respect to who has gained the advantage between the two leading political parties – the opposition UPND and the ruling PF – in terms of capturing new voters (the effect of other opposition parties is statistically negligible).

Of course, the political landscape can change drastically. I am not blind to that fact. Although, the general elections are still a way off, allow me to add a statistical analysis to the debate.

My analysis is based on a few simplifying assumptions. Firstly, we are unlikely to see a drastic shift in regional (and overall) voting patterns. Regionalism is an endemic problem that in one way or another reflects a breakdown in the moral fibre of society.

There is no quick fix to this problem. It requires a generational shift. New voters MAY not be spared from this syndrome. This is the OVERIDING assumption on which this analysis will be based.

The rest are more or less negligibility assumptions, for lack of a better term. Secondly, first-time voters are often seen as progressive, and agents of change. Against this background, the MAY swing the vote in favour of the opposition (of course, there are a lot of confounding factors, which have been ignored to simplify the analysis). Don’t skin me alive.

Am only but creating an analytical framework. Finally, cosmopolitan provinces are not anyone’s bedroom, at least not permanently. They have potential to swing relatively easily. Several commentators may point to the fact they are better informed and are more responsive to economic and social upheaval.

For those not aware of the provincial breakdown of figures from Phase 1, 2 and 3, they are outlined below;

1. Lusaka Province—————177 372

2. Southern Province————-149 254

3. Central Province—————105 569

4. Eastern Province—————93 096

5. Copperbelt Province———–85 478

6. Northern Province————-79 906

7. Western Province————–66 074

8. Muchinga Province————56 992

9. Luapula Province————–40 673

10. North-Western Province——-39 369

The potential proportion of the new votes captured by each of the two leading political parties based on the above assumptions. Lusaka: I still expect the PF to knick this one, although the strong showing by the UPND in January (compared to 2011) may suggest that this this may it will not be a landslide.

I expect the PF to capture about 55% of new voters (97, 555) and the rest being captured by the opposition (79, 817) – 45%.

Southern: Most of you will agree with me that we expected bigger provinces (population-wise) to beat the Southern Province in terms of new voters registered. It is beyond the scope of this analysis to delve into reasons for this. In the January 2015 (01/20) presidential by-elections, the UPND got just over 90% of the vote. Therefore, it is not an overstatement to predict that they may have as well captured a similar proportion of the new voters (134,612). The remaining 14, 957 goes to the ruling PF.

Central: I expect the PF to capture about 45% of this particular pool of first time-voters (HE President Edgar Lungu captured 42% on 01/20) translating into about 47,506. The remaining 58, 063 (55%) goes to the UPND which captured about 53% of the total votes cast on 01/20.

Eastern: There is no way the PF will let go of their new found bedroom. I expect a landslide in the region of 70% in favour of the PF (65, 167 new voters). The opposition UPND makes do with the remaining 27, 929.

Copperbelt: Much like Lusaka Province, any economic powerhouse (at least in relative terms, intra-country) can be tricky business for a ruling party. This proposition may be particularly valid during periods of economic gloom. But there is no denying the fact that the Patriotic Front is still relatively popular (maybe not as much as 01/20 suggests where they captured 71.9% of total votes cast). It is no walk in the park for the opposition to win this particular one. After rigorous analysis brainstorming, I expect the PF to capture about 62.5% (53,424) of new voters. The UPND captures the remaining 32,054 (37.5%).

Northern: Another ‘battalion’ of PF loyalists (76.71% in January 2015). Some may point to the GBM factor in the run up to 2016. I don’t expect any major shake ups in this part of the country. At best I predict 25% in favour of the opposition UPND in terms of new voters captured (19, 977). The PF should rake in the remaining 75% (59,929).

Western: If there is a province that seems to warrant the status of ‘swing province’, at least going by their voting patterns in the past three presidential polls, it has to be the Western Province. The ‘Mama Wina’ factor may come to play here, but only marginally so. Voting patterns witnessed on 01/20 are likely to be replicated. At best, the above factor may only take off 5% of the UPND’s showing in January (just under 80%). In a nutshell, my predictions are; UPND – 52,859 (80%), PF – 13,215 (20%).

Muchinga and Luapula: In terms of voting patterns, I am not sure anything separates these two provinces. They gave the PF just over 80% of the total votes cast in January 2015.

For Muchinga, the PF should easily capture the 44, 794 (80%) of the new voters and the UPND, 11,198 (20%).

Luapula Province should follow sync – PF, 32,538 (80%) and UPND, 8,135 (20%). Northern-Western – Judging by the 01/20 results and recent by-elections, this particular one is no doubt the UPND’s second bedroom, after the Southern Province. The opposition political party got a whopping 84.8% of the total votes cast. The PF trailed with a paltry 11%. At best the PF can capture 20% of new voters (7,874). The UPND can be expected to pool about 80% of first-time voters (31,495).

CONCLUSION: I am sure the keen reader may be asking themselves where all this is leading do. Well let me spare you the curiosity. The above analysis suggests that over the three phases; the PF has captured 438,329 new voters (49.04%), while the UPND has captured about 456, 193 of first-timers (50.96%).

Of course, this is no reason for either party to start claiming who’s got the kudos. Like all statistical analyses, they come with a disclaimer. In statistical terms, the two proportions may not be statically different and may well lie with the margin of error, and I am cautiously confident that an actual opinion poll (targeting new voters) would confirm my suspicions. When that candidate A’s lead is 2% and the margin of error is +/- 4%, it is no reason for him/her to celebrate.

Given Lubinda

Agriculture Minister Given Lubinda says Government is concerned with the high cost of fertilizer in the country which most farmers cannot afford.

A 25kg of fertilizer has doubled from K250 last season to K500.

Mr. Lubinda according to Qfm Radio says this high cost of fertilizer means the country should expect reduced production in the coming farming season.

He however, says government is looking at how best it can intervene to help reduce the cost of fertilizer so that as many farmers as possible can afford and thereby produce as much as they can.

Mr. Lubinda says government owes it to the farmers and to the citizens at large to ensure that the cost of fertilizer goes down.

He states that this is considering the impact farming has in reducing poverty in the country.

The Agriculture Minister has since encouraged relevant stakeholders to come up with suggestions on how best government can help reduce the cost of fert

ilizer.

President Edgar Lungu has described his visit on the Copperbelt province as a success.

Speaking to Journalists at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport Wednesday morning, President Lungu said he was happy with his five-day-visit to the province.

He said though he may not have achieved everything much of the job had been done.

“I’m very happy, I think I can give myself 8 out of 10,” said President Lungu who seemed excited.

President Lungu explained that his visit to the province helped resolve most of the issues on the Copperbelt.

He said he hoped to go back to the province in December.

And President Lungu says he is scheduled to visit all provinces in the country. He said he will be going to Eastern province next.

Meanwhile, President Lungu has announced that he will travel to Tanzania for the inauguration of that country’s’ new President.

And ZNBC reports that Special Assistant to the President, Amos Chanda told Journalists at the Airport that President Lungu has secured all jobs at Luanshya Copper Mines.

Mr. Chanda says the President has also laid firm ground, for meaningful dialogue between the mines and the labour movement, at Konkola Copper Mines -KCM- and Mopani Copper Mines -MCM.

He says the President has been assured that job losses at KCM and MCM will be the last resort.

Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini has ordered general education minister John Phiri to issue a ministerial statement on the chaos that characterised the grade nine Information and Communication Technology practical exams, where some pupils around the country were forced to wait as late as 03:00 hours for their turn due to shortage of computers and load shedding.

This was after Chongwe PF Member of Parliament Sylvia Masebo rose on a point of order seeking the minister’s position on the development that shocked and enraged some parents and guardians who were forced to take blankets and food to the children as they waited for their turn to sit for the ICT exams.

In his ruling, Speaker Matibini ordered Dr. Phiri to issue a ministerial statement statement at an appropriate time since examinations are still going on.

This is the first time the Ministry of Education is administering ICT exams after introducing the subject as part of a new curriculum last year.