Posts in category: Uncategorized

By NATION REPORTER

THE Small-Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) insists that Government should close borders and restrict export permit and local movement of maize and mealie meal

SAFADA Chief Executive Officer, Boyd Moobwe said Zambia was facing serious mealie-meal shortages which has also led to the prices for the commodity to increase attributing to high cost of because of uncontrolled export permits and smuggling.

He said it was unfortunate that the Ministry of Agriculture vowed not to close boards which has negatively affected national and household food security.

“It is important that Government tells the nation the precise terms and conditions of household and National food security before they can all export,” he said.

Mr Moobwe has also called on Government to shed more light on the matter that involves the Kenyan government to growing maize in Zambia for their consumption.

He said the Ministry of Agriculture should maintain sanity and transparency in the agriculture sector by ensuring sustainable implementation of solutions and policies that will stabilise the economic and social status of the country.

 Mr Moobwe said Government should not reduce the mealie meal price by subjecting the 2023 crop marketing season to offer low maize price.

“We expect to sell our maize at K7 per kg than maintaining the previous price, we want a factor reflective price meaning that it should not be less than K300 per bag,” he said.

A team from the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan has uncovered new information about how microglia, the resident immune cells in the brain, colonize the brain during the embryonic stage of development. Although erythromyeloid progenitors (EMPs) were previously thought to divide into either microglia or macrophages, the group found that macrophages that enter the brain primordium—the brain in its earliest recognizable stage of development—can become microglia at later stages of development.

A key receptor regulating memory formation has been localized to interneurons, according to a study with implications for drug development.

Chia seeds are a popular superfood but consumers may not be getting the most benefit possible out of them.

In the Annals of Internal Medicine, a general internal medicine physician and a urologist discuss treatment plans for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and how they would apply their recommendations to a patient who wishes to learn more about his options.

THE Five-Star Radisson Blu Hotel, Mosi-Oa-Tunya Livingstone Resort is the venue for the highly anticipated ‘Victoria Falls Carnival(VFC): Destination Livingstone’
set for Friday, 28th to Sunday 30th April 2023.

For this reason, Vic Falls Carnival with Timedia, Kulture Xchange and Radisson Blu Mosi-Oa-Tunya, Livingstone Resort, are all thrilled to announce a fantastic line-up of African artistes performing at the first ever “VFC Destination: Livingstone” festival at the Radisson Blu Mosi-Oa-Tunya, Livingstone Resort.

Top Zambian artistes with massive music influence have also been included on the already impressive line-up that include Musa Keys, Mi Casa, Lerato LKG, MacG and Sol, Boity, Toss 9umba Mdoovar, and Top Cheri.

From Zambia, artistes include hip hop star Macky 2, singing sensation
Towela, female rappers
Bomb$hell Grenade and Cleo Ice Queen as well as hip hop giant
Slapdee.

Other artistes from the region are Alyn Sano (Rwanda) and
Anita Jaxson (Zimbabwe).

“VFC Destination: Livingstone festival goers can expect a weekend filled with the best music and entertainment from across Africa with a big international headline act to be announced later this week,” emphasizes a statement from organisers.

By SANFROSSA MBERI

HUNDREDS of Kitwe residents yesterday thronged Mufungo Milling Ltd Trading as Nkana Milling depot in Kapoto township and queued for hours on end for the now acutely scarce mealie-meal despite continued assurances from the government that there is enough of the staple food in the country.

This rush and scramble for the staple food at Nkana Milling was after word went round that the depot had received new stock of mealie meal which was selling at K170 while it has been fetching as much as K270 in some other outlets.

 THE Patriotic Front (PF) have challenged President Hakainde Hichilema and the New Dawn Government to set up an inquiry into the mismanagement of maize which has caused what they term as ‘an artificial shortage of mealie meal’. But in a statement posted on his Facebook page yesterday, President Hichilema said an emergency response has been […]

GOOD Governance Zambia Limited has filed a lawsuit against the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) demanding for the release of its motor vehicles as they are not government property.

But ACC has submitted in its defence that the issuance of the restriction notice of March 9, 2022 was done in accordance to the provisions of section 60 of the ACC Act no. 2012.

The company involved conducting civic education activities contends that the restriction notices issued by ACC have expired and have no legal effect in accordance with section 60(3) (a) of the ACC act no. 3 of 2012 of the laws of Zambia.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will push this week for urgent resolution of requests by Zambia and Ghana for restructuring of their sovereign debts, and moves to conclude a debt treatment for Sri Lanka, Treasury said on Monday.

Yellen, who is slated to meet counterparts from around the world during this week’s meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), is also pushing for concrete steps to speed up the overall debt relief process and make it more predictable, Treasury Undersecretary Jay Shambaugh said.

“During the week, Secretary Yellen will … maintain urgency for the speedy resolution of Common Framework cases like Zambia and Ghana to remove debt overhangs and foster growth in developing countries,” Treasury said in a statement.

Sri Lanka, Zambia and Ghana have already defaulted on their overseas debt and are working towards debt reworks with creditors. Some 60 percent of low-income countries are in or near debt distress, but the Group of 20 (G20) common framework set up to help low income countries has failed to deliver quick debt relief.

“At a broad level, we’re really just pushing to improve the speed and predictability of this framework,” Shambaugh said at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution think tank. “This is going to require constructive and timely participation of all creditors in international debt restructuring discussions.”

Shambaugh said Treasury’s immediate priority was resolving outstanding requests from Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia under the G20 framework, and from Sri Lanka, which is working on a separate debt plan since it is a middle-income country.

He said Washington was pressing for “concerted action” on Zambia’s debt treatment and the formation of a creditor committee for Ghana in the next month, adding that the two largest economies in the world – the United States and China – needed to collaborate on these challenges.

“At these meetings, we’re going to be working very hard to speed up this process, make it more transparent and make it function better,” he said, adding that progress had been “slower than we would like.”

A senior Treasury official said it was up to China whether Zambia’s case could be resolved this week.

Yellen and other G7 officials have long criticised China’s slow movement on specific debt treatment cases under the G20 framework, although they have welcomed China’s agreement to provide financing assurances for Sri Lanka, which paved the way for an IMF lending package. – REUTERS.