Posts in category: Uncategorized

By ROGERS KALERO

Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Chipoka Mulenga has challenged the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to up-grade the Kasumbalesa Border Post and possibly develop it into a One-stop Border Post (OSBP) because it is a strategic border post which the country should use to maximise revenue collection.

And Mr Mulenga said the challenges of congestion at Kasumbalesa border Post was not being caused by the Zambian government, but was being caused across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and that the authorities in the two countries were holding bilateral talks to resolve the challenges.

Mr Mulenga was speaking yesterday when the Zambia Intellectual Property Border Crossing Company (ZIPBCC) handed over the border facility to ZRA which it had been managing for 12 years under concession.

Mr Mulenga said, now that the ZRA has taken over the running of the border facility on behalf of the government, it should upgrade it and possibly develop it into a OSBP because it was a strategic facility.

He said the ZRA has a challenge to maintain the border facility and should ensure that it maintains the existing infrastructure while constructing new ones to cater for the increasing business between the two countries.

“As we thank the concessionaire for looking after this facility well and ensuring smooth business, I must challenge the ZRA that as you take over this facility, you must ensure that you upgrade it and possibly develop it into a OSBP. This is a strategic border post,” he said.

“As a government, we will support ZRA to continue improving the operations of the border. Like I said, this border is strategic and so we should ensure that people from both the DRC and Zambia benefit from various business activities,’’ Mr Mulenga said.

Mr Mulenga also challenged Zambians to be aggressive and innovative in order to benefit from the business at the border instead of folding their arms and blaming foreigners and government.

He said government will strive to come up with policies that will support local businesses and ensure that local people benefit from various business as opposed to enriching foreigners.

“President Hakainde Hichilema has always emphasised on positive discrimination which means that local people or Zambians must be given priority in terms of business opportunities. This is why am urging you to be aggressive and innovative in terms seizing business opportunities,’’ he said.

Mr Mulenga also assured the employees who worked under the concessionaire that no one will lose their jobs and should not listen to politicians who want to gain political mileage by peddling lies that those who worked under the concessionaire will lose their jobs. 

He said those who worked under the concessionaire will not lose their jobs, but will be fused within the employees of ZRA.

“I now that there is apprehension and some of you who worked under the concessionaire are scared that they will lose their jobs, but let me assure you that you will not be fired and please don’t listen to lies from some politicians,’’ he said.

And Mr Mulenga said the challenges of congestion at Kasumbalesa border Post was not being caused by the Zambian government, but was being caused across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and that the authorities in the two countries were holding bilateral talks to resolve the challenges.

And speaking earlier, Zambia Border Crossing Company Chairperson Alfred Lungu said the concession to run the border facility was signed on July 1st, 2009 and had paid K500 million to government in concession and supported the council in through rates.

By PRINCE MABUMBA

The Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) has urged Government to expedite distribution of fertiliser to enable farmers adequately prepare for the 2023-2024 agricultural season. 

ZNFU Public Relations Manager, Calvin Kaleyi told Millennium TV news in an interview that perennial late distribution of farming inputs was negatively affecting farmers in terms of preparation for the agricultural season.

“First of all, we support the process of ensuring that the procurement processes become flawless. We accept the process of making the procurement processes become without blemish and without corruption and so on.

“What we envisage, what we would like to see is the actualisation of the plans to procure the fertilisers on time. As it is right now this is March, we should be seeing adverts for tenders, people that want to supply fertilisers, the seed and other agriculture chemicals,” Mr Kaleyi said

He advised Government to actualise plans to distribute inputs by June or July this year.

“We would not like to see a situation in which we are in at the moment where fertilisers were being distributed in February and farmers were sharing fertiliser by opening a 50 kilogramme bag and sharing it,” Mr Kaleyi said.

He commended President Hakainde Hichilema for taking bold steps to avoid recurrence of the teething problems that his New Dawn administration encountered in the 2022-2023 farming season.

Mr Kaleyi also said Government should immediately award contracts for the supply of farming inputs instead of waiting for December to select preferred bidders.

 TWO juveniles aged 5 and 13 have allegedly been defiled in separate incidents in Kitwe’s Kawama and Chipata compounds. In the first case a 5 year old girl of Kawama was defiled by an unknown person who broke into their house by removing three mud bricks. The house was broken into on Monday between 00:00 […]

 CRIMINALS in Lusaka has gone away with K1 million which was stolen from a Toyota Mark X that was parked along Great East Road belonging to a businessman. The incident occurred Sunday around 14:30 hours at East Park Mall. The victim Ken Phiri, a businessman of Yatu Equity is believed to have left the money […]

By GIDEON NYENDWA

GOVERNMENT says Zambia is likely to undergo serious economic transformation and industrialisation that has potential to exert pressure on its environment in the in the next few decades.

The government is therefore calling on institutions mandated to ensure there is environmental sustainability and pollution control delivered on their mandate.

Minister of Green Economy and Environment, Collins Nzovu said the targets the UPND government has set for economic development especially the goal to increase production of Copper to three million tonnes per annum in the next decade has potential to put pressure on the environment and institutions charged with the responsibility to protect the environment.

Mr Nzovu said this when he signed performance contracts between the ministry and the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) Board.

Mr Nzovu said the contract that was signed was intended to aid ZEMA in attaining the onerous and noble task set out in section 9 of the environmental management act no. 12 of 2011, which was to ensure the sustainable management of natural resources and protection of the environment as well as the prevention and control of pollution.

And ZEMA Board Chairperson professor Lovejoy Malambo pledged to work according to the wishes of the government and to the mandate of the institution.

Prof Malambo said ZEMA was in line with the mandate from the government.

Twoportraits of Albert Einstein hang on the walls of a makeshift laboratory on Nairobi’s outskirts, inspiring a pair of self-taught Kenyan innovators who have built a bio-robotic prosthetic arm out of electronic scrap.

The recent kidnapping of four Americans in Mexico highlights a common practice for many people in the U.S.: traveling to other countries for medical care that either is not available at home or costs a lot less.

The recall affects nearly 2,900 bottles that were distributed “via online e-commerce and Trade shows (Ex. Amazon Marketplace, Etc.).”

The strongest factor was “hidden emotional signals” as their make-up tends to hide their emotions, thus creating some sense of uncertainty, the researchers noted.

The Biden administration is preparing to relax COVID-19 testing restrictions for travelers from China as soon as Friday, according to two people familiar with the decision.