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By NATION REPORTER

THE Patriotic Front (PF) has vowed it will challenge the single sourcing of fertiliser under the UPND administration when Parliament resumes its sitting because it is certain the direct bidding is being motivated and driven by grand corruption.

The former ruling party is also calling on the civil society and the church to begin censuring and condemning the Hakainde Hichilema administration for having adopted single-sourcing as the modus operandi in most of its procurement.

Brian Mundubile, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament says the PF is going to challenge the single-sourcing of fertiliser for the 2023/2024 farming season because such kind of procurement methods were reeking corruption.

Mr Mundubile said there was no emergency on the supply and delivery of fertiliser for Government to have resorted to single sourcing and has warned that all those involved in the scandal shall have to account when the time comes.  

He said what was shocking was that Government would go ahead to procure fertiliser from the most expensive bidder, leaving our many other players who were competitive, all for the reasons of kickbacks and personal amelioration. 

“From the beginning, the UPND has been using single-sourcing and when they just came into government, Zambians lost US$15 million through direct bidding. The law on single-sourcing is very clear that there must be an emergency or the goods being procured should be unique. There is no emergency and uniqueness in the procurement fertiliser, save for corruption.” 

“As Members of Parliament in the PF, we want to assure Zambians that we shall not sit and watch the treasury being looted and plundered by some known people in government. We shall interrogate and challenge the single-sourcing of fertiliser immediately Parliament resumes its sitting on September 8. The procurement of fertiliaer shall be on the top of the agenda because we thought the UPND government had listened to our advice and concerns last farming season which saw the chaotic distribution of fertiliser because of corruption in the procurement of the commodity,” Mr Mundubile said. 

And Mr Mundubile has challenged the civil society organisations and the church to condemn the grand corruption being perpetrated by the new dawn administration in the procurement of fertiliser and many other forms of graft.

Mr Mundibile said Zambians were wondering about the silence on the corruption surrounding the procurement of fertilizer, saying time had come for the CSOs and the church to call out the UPND leadership on their poor governance.

“The big question is…for how long will the CSOs and the church standby and watch as the country’s treasury is being looted and plundered? We wish to call upon the church, the civil society organisations and other interest groups to condemn in the strongest terms the corruption in the procurement of fertilizer.”

“In the last farming season, we witnessed the most chaotic delivery and distribution of fertilizer because of the corruption that characterized the procurement of the commodity. We are nearing another farming season and high ranking government and party officials have converted themselves into procurement officers and that is why have seen an open tender being cancelled and reinstated by direct bidding so that known politically connected individuals should benefit,” Mr Mundubile said. 

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MIT and Boston University researchers and colleagues report a smart pill the size of a blueberry that could be a game changer in the diagnosis and treatment of bowel diseases. That’s because it is the first technology compatible with ingestion that can automatically detect—and report on in real time—key biological molecules that could be indicative of a problem.

An analysis of randomized controlled trials has found that the use of low-dose glucocorticoids was not associated with substantial weight gain or hypertension in patients being treated for rheumatoid arthritis. The analysis is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

By NATION NYENDWA

THE UPND administration has borrowed more than US$6.2 billion in just two years and at the rate they are moving, they will borrow more than the past governments as there are no signs of ever slowing down, Antonio Mwanza has claimed.

And Mr Mwanza has disclosed that there was no mess the UPND government inherited as the country’s economy was healthier   than it had been in the last two years of the new dawn administration in office.

Mr Mwanza, the new Socialist Party deputy secretary general said if the UPND had borrowed $6.2 billion without undertaking any tangible developmental projects, one could only imagine how much they will borrow before their tenure ends.

Efforts to get a comment from Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane, the Finance and National Planning Minister failed as his mobile phone went unanswered and a WhatsApp text message asking him to  confirm the claim was not responded to.  

Mr Mwanza said no one knows how the debt that the UPND had contracted in two years was used for as there had been no economic infrastructure or industries with no employment being created.

“They are saying that they came to fix the mess but I tell you there was no mess that was left. It is the UPND that has started creating the mess in our economy and in Zambians lives and by the time they will be leaving,     the country’s treasury would have gone,” Mr Mwanza said. Mr Mwanza said UPND came into government not because it was the most popular but it was on the basis that Zambians wanted change and the UPND at the time seemed to have been the only available alternative.

Mr Mwanza said UPND lied its way into government by making false promises, stating that when Mr Hichilema was in opposition, he used to say that Vedanta Resources would never have been tolerated.

He said it was shocking that the company that President Hichilema condemned while in opposition had suddenly turned out to be the best investor to take over the running of Konkola Copper Mine (KCM).

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By NATION REPORTER 

PANIC has gripped several citizens as Macro Ocean the concessionaire engaged to work on the Lusaka- Ndola dual carriageway, has commenced emergency works on the road without Government concluding the resettlement programme.

Earlier consultants engaged to carry out impact assessments indicated that the government would clear all those affected before works on the roads commenced.

However, Road Development Agency (RDA) Acting Director Communications and Corporate Affairs Anthony Mulowa indicated that emergency works on the road had commenced.

Mr Mulowa said the scope for the emergency works included but was not limited to reconstruction, rutting repair, crack sealing.

However some of the residents who were part of the meeting with consultants in Chibombo indicated that it’s surprising because they were assured the government would clear them before works commenced.

The residents said they did not want a situation where people were not given their dues even after being relocated as a case of the Kariba Dam.

“If you look at the Kariba Dam construction some individuals were not given their dues 50 years after the dam was constructed,” one of the residents who wanted to remain anonymous indicated. The affected residents indicated that they would engage government so that they could know the way forward.

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A MAN who was masquerading as a doctor in Chazanga Township has been jailed three years for injecting a woman with a purported contraceptive which later caused her arm to be amputated. The Judgement is supposed to be a wakeup call for many purported doctors masquerading to be professionals, especially in townships, most of who […]

Young vegetables known as microgreens are reputed to be particularly good for health. Now, researchers are trying to find out whether microgreens—which can easily be grown at home—are the superfood they’re claimed to be, and how they compare to mature veggies. Results to date show their nutritional profiles differ, as do their effects on gut bacteria. Yet, tests in mice suggest that both microgreen and mature vegetables can limit weight gain.

NAPSA Stars coach Perry Mutapa anticipates a tough run in his sides first seven games as the Super League sets in motion this weekend. Napsa are among the ambitious teams in the league but have been dealt a tough line – up in their opening seven games which will kick – off with a home […]

To explore why prostate cancer disproportionately sickens and kills Black men, researchers are looking to another disorder, diabetes, which alters metabolism. They used this approach in a preliminary clinical trial and today report the identification of four metabolism-related biomarkers linked to an increased risk of metastatic prostate cancer in men of West African heritage. This discovery could lead to improved testing and treatments for these patients.

A 27-YEAR-OLD man of Nakonde has been taken into custody for allegedly raping an 80-year-old woman. Emmanuel Simwawa, is suspected to have had a prior romantic involvement with the victim’s granddaughter. However, after his girlfriend moved away from the village, he decided to pounce on her grandmother whom he sexually abused while she was sleeping […]