Posts in category: Uncategorized

By MICHAEL MIYOBA

THE Ministry of Sports Youth and Arts and DMI ST. Eugene University have signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that see the university offer scholarships to over 1700 Sportsmen, artists and youths.

The five-year MoU signed in the presence of Permanent Secretary Kangwa Chileshe, DMI Deputy Vice Chancellor Dr. Kavita, Mr. Allan Luneta, Dean, Academics and Ms. Jacqueline Makota, Legal/Marketing seeks to provide a platform that will offer a learning environment to enable the recipients of the scholarships to attain formal university qualifications in programs of their choice.

Speaking during the signing ceremony Minister of Sports Youth and Arts Elvisn Nkandu hailed DMI ST. Eugene University for supplementing Governments efforts to provide free education to youths.

 “The government through my ministry fully appreciates the critical role that universities, particularly DMI St. Eugene continue to play in promoting quality education in Zambia. 

“The main objective of this MoU is to facilitate degree scholarships for the vulnerable youth, in a quest to deliver quality education for all and improve livelihood of the young people in the country,” Mr Nkandu said. He said priority will be given to the youth in sport and arts, and any other youth within the age of 18 to 35.

He urged other universities to emulate DMI St Eugen University and supplement Governments efforts to provide education for the vulnerable.

“For the government to provide education for the vulnerable youth, it needs conserted efforts form the private universities, like what we are witnessing today where the ministry joined hands with DMI ST. Eugene University,” Mr Nkandu said.

Meanwhile DMI ST. Eugene University Secretary to the University Council, Sister Fatima Mary said colaborations with government will enable the universitry which is run by a group of catholic sisters called Daughters of Mary Immaculate strengthen the education of the youth, women, and men in sport and those in Arts for a better future.

Sister Fatima said the University appreciates the Government for introducing free education which enables more youth to attain tertiary education. 

“DMISEU offers various scholarships to promote education in Zambia annually to the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts in the following areas: Sport – 100 spaces, Arts – 100, and youths – 1500 as tabulated in the MoU,” Sr Fatima said.

Sr. Fatima noted that the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Arts and DMI – St.  Eugene University are both critical and strategic institutions to the development of our country.

[/ihc-hide-content

Hydraulic permeability—the ability of water to move in all directions through a multicellular complex tissue—allows skin to maintain turgor and appear plump. A new approach to quantify the hydraulic permeability of skin reveals the spongelike properties of the dermis layer.

Regulatory T cells—work horses of the body’s immune system—may also stabilize mood, according to a study. Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3) is a transcription factor that controls the production of regulatory T cells (Tregs).

By NATION REPORTER 

POLICE have arrested and charged Socialist Party president Dr. Fred M’membe, aged 64 of house 7354 Nangwenya Road in Lusaka for the offence of acts intended to cause grievous Bodily harm contrary to Section 224 of the Penal Code Act Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.

Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said Dr. M’membe was arrested at Ibex Hill Police station where he was summoned for questioning.

Dr M’membe has been released on Police bond.

And Dr Mmembe said  the police officers were working under extreme pressure but has vowed he was not going to be intimidated, declaring that he would not stop at anything until order was restored in the country.

He said the new dawn administration had brought so much confusion in the country and Zambians were seeing a number of scandals such as the recent Goldgate scandal and Sugilite scandal.

“Mr Hakainde Hichilema is coming at us and we have to remain united as opposition in order to reach our intended destination,” Dr M’membe said.

But Mr Hamoonga said Dr. M’membe had been jointly arrested and charged with Daniel Mumba aged 44 of Chamboli of Kitwe for two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm contrary to Section 248 of the Penal Code Act chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia.

He said brief facts of the matter were that in the first count, it was alleged that Dr. M’membe on April 8, 2023 between 14:00 hours and 18:45 hours at four ways Kamilamba at Mulilima area in Serenje with intent to maim, disfigure or disable or do some grievous harm did shoot at M/Emmanuel Simposya using a firearm pistol bearing serial number A7988 CZ 97B causing him to sustain injuries on the head.

Mr Hamoonga said in the second count, it was alleged that on April 8, 2023 between 14:00 hours and 18:45 hours at four ways Kamilamba at Mulilima area in Serenje jointly and whilst acting together with Daniel Mumba and others persons unknown, did assault Emmanuel Simposya thereby occasioning an actual bodily harm on him.

In the third count, it was alleged that Dr. M’membe on April 8, 2023 between 14:00 hours and 18:45 hours at four ways Kamilamba at Mulilima area in Serenje jointly and whilst acting together with Daniel Mumba and others Persons unknown did assault Haggai Kwenda thereby causing him occasioning actual bodily harm

[/ihc-hide-content

FOUR foreigners in the gold scam case have submitted in the Lusaka High Court that investigative wings warned and captioned them for allegedly giving false information to a public servant but from the time they were detained almost 10 days ago, they have not been formally charged. The four, who were engaged as crew pilots […]

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have been blasted for imposing harsh economic conditions on Zambia which have condemned Zambians into extreme economic hardships. 

Bob Sichinga, the ex-Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry is blaming the Bretton Woods twins for the economic hardships Zambians have been subjected to as a result of the imposed condition such as the phasing out of the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP). 

Mr Sichinga told the IMF and the World Bank to stay away from dictating decisions for Zambia economic trajectory as the country has equally educated citizens able to make sound decisions.

Mr Sichinga said the IMF should not dictate to Zambia on what to do.  

He was speaking at a Mid-Year Economic Performance and 2024-2026 Medium Term Budget Plan yesterday in Lusaka where the IMF Resident Representative, Preya Sharma, were present, 

He said the IMF and their counterpart, the World Bank, should instead listen to what Zambia wanted to do to develop as opposed to imposing its harsh conditions which were not affecting those in leadership but the ordinary citizens. 

“IMF you are part of the problem. I am not a diplomat, so I am not going to be polite to you. You are part of the problem. Your institution has been part of the problem together with your colleagues at the World Bank. So please change the attitude rather than coming here to tell us what we should do. Listen to what we want to have development,” Mr Sichinga said.

He said there is no way a country could develop in five years as per their programme Zambia was signed on.

“You come for five years. You bring these programmes for five years after that, you walk away. No development takes place in five years. It does not, so, we want you to change your approach. You should listen to us. We are equally educated just as you guys are at the IMF and the World Bank,” Mr Sichinga said.

Mr Sichinga was of the view that the IMF was responsible for some decisions such as phasing out the Farmers Input Support Programme (FISP) and urged Government to instead fix, change and enhance the programme as opposed to phasing it out.

“Do not get rid of FISP. Do not even try it. Fix it, change it, enhance it, and make it more efficient. This electronic voucher system is not the solution because your register is what you have to sort out,” Mr Sichinga said.

He also accused the banking sector of suffocating Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by offering high interest rates of around 26 percent.

“Your colleagues from the banking sector are part of the problem. You borrow best rates from the Bank of Zambia around nine percent and lend it at 26 percent. Which business will survive and that is minimal,” Mr Sichinga wondered.

Meanwhile, Mr Sichinga said it was time to review the policies in the mining sector and add value to the copper.

“It is about time that we started talking about specific value chains and value addition. Take that copper, the 800, 000 metric tonnes out of the market make the products here,” Mr Sichinga said.

[/ihc-hide-content

Hours of inactivity during childhood could be setting the stage for heart attacks and strokes later in life, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2023. The study found that sedentary time accumulated from childhood to young adulthood was associated with heart damage—even in those with normal weight and blood pressure.

…details of the plane’s flightpaths and passengers were uncovered by an Egyptian journalist who was later arrested

WHEN a mysterious plane was intercepted on August 14 in Lusaka, by local authorities, Karim Asaad, an investigative journalist working for an Egyptian fact-checking platform got to work.

What he found was a complex network of passengers on board a plane with a suspicious flight path that included recent stops in Dubai, UAE; Tel Aviv, Israel; Cairo, Egypt; and Benghazi and Tripoli, Libya.

On August 19, Egyptian authorities arrested Asaad at his home in the al-Shorouk neighbourhood in eastern Cairo.

Matsada2sh says security forces assaulted Asaad’s wife and threatened their child in the process.

He has since been released, but why were the Egyptian security forces so threatened by the information released? Here is what you need to know about the mysterious plane, its passengers and its cargo:

Where was the plane from?

Through open-source data and online flight trackers, matsada2sh was able to reveal a trail of suspicious flight paths in which the plane, a high-speed corporate Bombardier, appeared to fly unfettered across multiple locations.

According to the data, the plane appears to have been registered in San Marino but operated by an office in Dubai that was connected to an aircraft rental service in Antwerp, Belgium. 

The aircraft owner had asked FlightAware, the world’s largest flight tracking platform, not to track the plane’s flights and to withhold flight information from the public.

Where did it go?

The plane appears to have made 361 round trips in two years, usually in and out of Cairo, to various destinations.

It even made flights to Tripoli and Benghazi, two cities on either side of the ongoing conflict in Libya, within days of each other.

On another occasion, it took off from Cairo and stopped over in Tel Aviv, and Doha, Qatar, before returning to the Egyptian capital. 

窗The plane was stopped on August 14, 2023, at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka, having flown from Amman, Jordan, with an overnight stopover in Cairo.

Who was on board the plane?

Zambian authorities have so far arrested 13 people in connection with the plane, including six Egyptians, four Zambians, and individuals from Latvia, the Netherlands and Spain.

Matsada2sh has published details related to some of those individuals who appear to be a clandestine network ranging from a high-profile tycoon to lesser-known individuals with a shady trail of business stretching across Europe and the Middle East.

Some were relatively easy to find information on, including Zambian national Shadrick Kasanda, known as “the man of gold” and “Mr Money,” who regularly published pictures and videos of himself next to large quantities of what appeared to be gold.

Others include a major in the Egyptian army who briefly worked at the Egyptian embassy in the United States capital and a police lieutenant in the Egyptian Ministry of Interior.

Matsada2sh also named Michael Adel Botros as a passenger, who, according to the British government’s register, is a 42-year-old Egyptian national residing in Qatar. 

He is the director of Amstone International Limited, which according to their website, offers a wide range of advanced defence technology and boasts offices in the US, Egypt, Poland, Greece, the UAE, the United Kingdom and France.

What was on the plane?

On August 14, the day after the plane arrived in Zambia, the country’s Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) entered the aircraft.

According to a DEC statement, it had “received information that a chartered aircraft carrying dangerous goods had landed at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport on 13th August 2023 at 19:00 hours.”

The next day, DEC reportedly seized more than $5.5 million stored in bags and boxes, five pistols, seven magazines and more than 100 rounds of ammunition.

In a further twist, more than 600 pieces of what was initially believed to be gold were found. However, on further inspection, the pieces were found to be mainly copper and zinc alloy. – ALJAZEERA.

[/ihc-hide-content

…Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane directs Zambia’s tax collector to be ruthless, but professional in collecting what is due to the treasury 

By PRINCE MABUMBA

MINISTER of Finance and National Planning, Situmbeko Musokotwane has directed the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to be ruthless but polite and professional in executing its mandate of collecting tax revenue.

Dr Musokotwane has disclosed that 80 percent of revenue collection by ZRA was from no more than 800 contributors and called for the broadening of the tax base so that more revenue could be collected for the country’s treasury.

Dr Musokotwane says Government has been pushing hard towards broadening of the tax base, which calls for more investment inflows to enable for the necessary collection of taxes.

The minister was reacting to submissions by various stakeholders during the Townhall Forum on the 2023 mid-year economic performance and 2024-2026 Medium Term Budget Plan in Lusaka yesterday.

“ZRA must be ruthless but polite and professional in the manner tax is collected but beyond that, more and more investment in our country is needed because at some point, you can say that you cannot collect taxes from nothing. Of course, there are difficulties in taxes but the more there are who are able to pay taxes the better.”

“I think I agree with most of what has been said, we will endeavour to get this implemented as quickly as possible. Of course it is impossible to implement everything because just the capacity to take note and to do these things, but I think the direction is very clear. 

The commitment is very clear. We will push very hard for our economy to grow even bigger,” Dr Musokotwane said.

Earlier in his submission, Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ) president, Isaac Ngoma said ZRA needed to do more to broaden the tax base by including the informal sector. “We had ZANAMACA (Zambia National Marketeers Credit Association) here, I have interacted with ZANAMACA, and I know what is feasible, what is collectable within that informal sector. There is this illusion that people don’t have money there, they probably have more money in cash than a lot of us that are sitting here.”

“But there is no tax collection mechanism that is in existence right now to tax the informal sector. Even if they contribute minimal amounts, it will amount to something worthwhile. We heard the numbers from the ZANAMACA president [Mupila Kameya], that it is feasible and we want to interrogate that and ensure that they come to the table and contribute to this nation,” Mr Ngoma said.

 He also called on ZRA Commissioner General, Dingani Banda to ensure that leakages at the authority are plugged.

Mr Ngoma expressed concern that there were still some things happening at ZRA, which were not good for the interest of the nation

[/ihc-hide-content

It is estimated that globally, mental disorders affect about one in seven children and adolescents aged 10–19 years. A recent analysis of published studies indicates that most research on child and adolescent mental health and psychological interventions in low- and middle-income countries is reactive rather than proactive, focusing on treating rather than preventing mental health problems or promoting mental health.