Posts in category: Uncategorized

Don’t eat after 8 p.m. Wait—don’t eat before noon? Have a glass of red wine; it’s good for your heart! Actually, no amount of alcohol is good for your health. Nix the carbs. Nix the red meat. Nix the eggs.

Humans and other primates can jointly make sense of different types of sensory information, including sounds, smells, shapes and so on. By integrating sensory stimuli in the brain, they can better understand the world around them, detecting potential threats, food and other objects that are crucial to their survival.

 PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has called on the judiciary to ensure that the backlog of cases is addressed. Mr Hichilema said the judiciary needs to be prudent in carrying out its duties and has since called on the newly appointed judges to help put the house of the judiciary in order. He advised that cases should […]

An online “e-health” program helped more people with chronic pain reduce their opioid medications and pain intensity than a control group that had only regular treatment in a recent clinical study.

By NATION REPORTRER

THE African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC) has come clean over an article attributed to it concerning Lumezi Member of Parliament Munir Zulu.

An article attributed to APNAC indicated that the network had disowned Mr Zulu over some comments he made recently over Minister of Finance and National Planning,  Situmbeko Musokotwane and his Infrastructure Development counterpart Charles Milupi.

According to a statement issued  by APNAC Africa executive director Fabrice Fifonsi  made available to the Daily Nation, the network indicated that it had never received any press enquiry neither did they give any interview to anyone as was indicated by the Zambian watchdog.

“It should be noted that as APNAC-Africa headquarters, we work in close collaboration with all our national chapters across and therefore we would not make any statement on a matter of such public importance without engaging the host and this case in particular APNAC Zambia Chapter like we were furnished with the statement on the matter released by the Chapter Chairperson Hon Miles Sampa,” he said.

Mr Fifonsi said in exercising its role as whistle-blower organization, APNAC was following the matter raised by the Zambian Chapter to its logical conclusion. He urged all to treat the article circulated by the Zambian Watchdog with the contempt it deserved.

“We remain uniting Parliamentarians in their noble fight against corruption and promotion of good governance,” he said.

 AN 11-year-old grade three pupil of Katyetye village in Chibombo district has allegedly committed suicide in unclear circumstances. Benjamin Musonda is believed to have been found hanging by the neck to a tree using a neck tie two hours after being sent to herd cattle when he knocked off from school. Central Province police commissioner […]

By NATION REPORTER

MEALIE meal shortage has hit the City of Ndola with most outlets including chain stores running out of the staple food, causing panic among consumers.

And there was a scramble of mealie meal at the High Court premises on Friday after the court started selling the commodity which had been impounded and forfeited to the State with hundreds of residents scrambling for the commodity which was being sold at K100.

Meanwhile, reports are to the effect that there is a shortage of mealie meal shortages in Lusaka with most towns in Zambia having run out of the 25 kg bags of the commodity.

Many retail shops in Ndola, including Jambo, Shoprite and Pick ‘n’ Pay reportedly having run out of stock and for those that had the commodity, only 10 kg bags were in stock.

Authorities have attributed the shortage of the staple food to traders and milling companies opting to smuggle the commodity to the neighbouring Democratic Republc of Congo (DRC) where the mealie meal is said to be trading at as high the price as K500.

A spot-check at Chimanga Changa Milling Company found a long queue of residents desperately trying to buy the commodity as other millers on Ndola such as Jambo do not have stocks of the staple food.

The check also revealed that those buying mealie meal were restricted to buying one 25-kilogram bag per person, forcing residents to pull along family members so that they could have more than one bag in anticipation of a prolonged shortage.

Sources have revealed that millers have opted to export mealie meal to DRC where it is fetching for about K500 per 25-kilogram bag creating a critical shortage in Ndola which shares a long porous with the DRC.

The Police had earlier on Friday impounded two trucks loaded with about 2, 000 bags of mealie meal which was destined for smuggling to the DRC. The driver of one other truck sped off upon noticing police presence.

The owner of the mealie meal, only identified as Bupe Mutale, 36, has since been apprehended.

Copperbelt Province police commanding officer Peacewell Mweemba said police in Ndola received a report of Assembling for the Purpose of Smuggling near Zambezi Portland Cement in Ndola’s industrial area.

“Brief facts are that on Thursday around 01:50 hours, Inspector Mparo was on patrol together with the Ndola District Anti-smuggling team along Chiwala road, near ZPC when they intercepted three tipper trucks which were suspected to be carrying mealie meal for purposes of smuggling.

“It was at this point that one of the trucks sped off and the team managed to impound two tipper trucks ladden with an unknown number of 25 kg bags of Jambo mealie meal and managed to aprehend the owner of the mealie meal Bupe Mutale,” Mweemba said.

Earlier in the week police intercepted other trucks carrying about 1000 bags of mealie meal as attempts by millers and traders to export mealie meal to DRC escalate.

And a check by the daily nation indicated that most shops and super markets did not have 25 kg bags of mealie meal which has caused panic amongst Zambians.

And Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) who also conducted a tour of supermarkets said that agriculture minister Reuben Mtolo Phiri needed to put in measures that could help rectify the problem.

By Namo Chuma and Juliane Kippenberg

Natalie Chilikwela is done with talking. The 18-year-old has experienced the harmful impacts of toxic lead contamination in her hometown of Kabwe her whole life and has listened to many promises from politicians – but nothing much has changed. As part of a youth group, the Kabwe Environment Youth Network, she has raised awareness among Kabwe’s communities about the dangers of lead, and called upon officials to provide medical treatment and to clean up the toxic mine waste that is causing the problem. “Now,” she says, “We are done talking. We want to see action.”

Kabwe is one of the world’s worst pollution hotspots because of contamination from a former lead and zinc mine. The mine began operating during the British colonial period, was later nationalized, and was closed in 1994. But neither the responsible companies nor the government ever cleaned up the mine’s toxic waste. As a result, lead dust from the large uncovered waste dumps blows over nearby residential areas such as Chowa, Kasanda, Mine and Makululu, endangering up to 200,000 people.

A 2019 Human Rights Watch report on the situation in Kabwe illustrated the harmful impact of lead contamination on children’s rights to health, information, and education. According to the World Health Organisation, lead is a toxic metal with no safe level of exposure. It causes stunted growth, memory loss, developmental delays, and many other irreversible health effects. It can also cause coma and death. Children are especially at risk. Medical researchers estimate that over 95 percent of children living near the former mine have elevated blood lead levels, and that about half of them have blood lead levels so high that they require urgent medical intervention.

According to the Minister of Green Economy and Environment, Hon. Collins Nzovu (MP), the moment for action may have finally arrived. Hon. Nzovu recently outlined his vision of Kabwe as a “Green City,” where business developments “proceed on top of buried lead surfaces.” Many Kabwe residents are asking: Could this be the moment when the toxic lead that has been harming residents for decades finally gets addressed?

The term “buried” suggests that the government would cover the mine’s waste piles in such a way that they don’t further contaminate the environment, a method sometimes described as “capping.” This method has been successfully used in comparable lead and zinc mine cleanups in the United States and elsewhere. The capping process should be part of a comprehensive plan to provide residents a remedy for their suffering. The ministry made the commitment at a roundtable conference organized by a civil society alliance, the Alliance for Lead-Free Kabwe, which has been pressing for a comprehensive cleanup of the former mine site.

Already in March 2022, President Hakainde Hichilema instructed  the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment to establish a technical committee to “address and lead the process of comprehensive remediation” in Kabwe. However, the technical committee only had one meeting, on June 3, which representatives from government agencies, the University of Zambia, and civil society organizations attended. Since then, it has been hampered by delays and not been given the priority it deserves; a subcommittee has been working on the committee’s terms of reference – which have not been made public – since mid-2022.

A full year after the president’s directive  to set up the committee, it is vitally important for the body to promptly begin work on a concrete and feasible plan for the comprehensive cleanup of Kabwe mine waste. The government should also ensure that the committee shares its terms of reference with civil society groups and other stakeholders for input, publishes the final terms of reference, and conducts consultations with international and Zambian experts on mine remediation.

The government, with a World Bank loan, has been undertaking some efforts to address the contamination. The Zambia Mining and Environmental Remediation and Improvement Project is testing and treating children, and cleaning up a small number of homes, a school, and a highly polluted canal. These are important measures, but as long as the source of the contamination is not cleaned up, they are not sustainable, and any progress made will quickly be reversed.

On hearing the ministry’s plans, Natalie Chilikwela said she feels excited. But she cautioned: “Going from Kabwe’s current condition to [a] ‘Green Town’ isn’t the simplest task and I can’t help but wonder what the results will be.”

Kabwe can only be considered “green” if the cleanup of the toxic mine is the number one priority in the government’s plans. The children and young people of Kabwe deserve a swift and lasting solution that allows them to live in a safe, clean and healthy environment.

Namo Chuma is the director of Environment Africa Zambia, an environmental nongovernmental organization based in Kabwe. Juliane Kippenberg is associate children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch. Both organizations are members of the Alliance for Lead-Free Kabwe.

By NATION REPORTER

THE Patriotic Front (PF) is shocked that the State could not allow visiting United States Vice President Kamala Harris to pay a courtesy call on former President Edgar Lungu, who is the predecessor to President Hakainde Hichilema and Zambia’s only surviving former head of State.

But the United Party for National Development (UPND) is claiming that former President Lungu was invited to be among the dignitaries to meet Vice President Harris and is shocked that Zambia’s sixth President refused to meet Ms Harris.

Brian Mundubile, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament says former President Lungu had facilitated a smooth transition of power and that Zambia’s democratic credentials were being applauded because of how the former head of State had managed the transition.

Mr Mundubile said it is diplomatically and democratically incorrect for President Hichilema not to have facilitated a courtesy call by Ms Harris on his predecessor who had bolstered Zambia’s democratic credentials.

The PF presidential candidate observed that it was a blunder for Vice President Harris to shun paying a courtesy call on former President Lungu, the only surviving former head of State. 

Mr. Mundubile said former President Lungu should have been on the programme of Vice President Harris because Zambia’s democratic credentials were heightened when he handed over power in a smooth transition to President Hichilema. 

He said the US second in command should be aware that President Lungu’s record of uniting Zambia through infrastructure development saw him construct roads, airports, fly over bridges, which changed the face of the country. 

Mr. Mundubile said it was standard practice that visiting Heads of State or their Vice-Presidents meet the incumbent President, former Presidents, the Speaker and lay wreaths on former Presidents’ mausoleums

He said Ms. Harris did everything, except visiting former President Lungu, which breached the diplomatic precedence and etiquette for which Zambia had practiced over the years.

“We had two important events being the visit by the US Vice-President Kamala Harris and hosting the Summit on Democracy. Seeing that the US is pushing the agenda of democracy in Africa, one would have expected Ms. Harris to pay a courtesy call on leaders, such as former President Lungu,” Mr Mundubile said.

Mr. Mundubile said former President Lungu did not only hand over power smoothly but did a lot economic infrastructural development for the country which Zambians were appreciating.  

He said when Ms. Harris arrived in Zambia, the plane carrying her landed at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport which has modern infrastructure built by former President Lungu with support from China.

“In a bid to preach democracy and be able to learn from the experiences we have had during this time and be able to communicate best practices in democracy, there was need for interaction with our leaders. Many of us feel that Madam Harris should have taken time to visit former President Lungu, being the only and immediate past President. The democratic credentials for Zambia went up when President Lungu smoothly handed over power to the now UPND government, smoothly. That is the reason she should have had him high on the programme to ensure that there is constant communication between the office of the former President and Office of the serving President,” Mr Mundubile said. 

But according to Mr Imenda, the UPND is aware that Cabinet Office had invited former President Lungu to be among the dignitories that were supposed to meet Vice-President Harris.

“Despite being invited to be part of the national programme hosting the Vice-President of the United States of America (USA), Mr. Lungu opted to shun all the events. We are aware that Cabinet Office invited the former President to be among the dignitories that were supposed to meet Vice-President Kamala,” Mr Imemnda said.

Mr Imenda said it was high time that the former President got over the loss of elections of August 2021 and assume the role of the father of the nation.

“We are further alive to the fact that the recent actions of the former President Lungu seem to confirm the narrative that Mr. Lungu is still an active player in the political arena. It is therefore prudent that he comes out in the open and stop the shadow-boxing,” he said.

Government-assisted refugees were less likely to receive adequate prenatal care than privately sponsored refugees, found a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).