Henry Kalaba said his decision was prompted by the “swelling” levels of corruption “perpetrated by those who are expected to be the solution”.

Analysts suspect the move is an attempt to pressure President Edgar Lungu, who is considering seeking a third term.

There is currently a two-term limit in the Zambian constitution.

Mr Lungu, who has been accused of being increasingly authoritarian by his critics, is arguing in the courts that he could stand for a third term, as he only served part of his first term following the death of his predecessor, Michael Sata.

Mr Kalaba, an MP for the governing Patriotic Front (PF), is said to be a possible candidate for the 2021 presidential election, should Mr Lungu step aside, Reuters news agency reports.

“People have started realising that they will not get nominated as long as Lungu insists on standing.” Lee Habasonda, an analyst from the University of Zambia, told Reuters.

However, Mr Kalaba did not refer to his presidential ambitions in the Facebook post, instead focusing on what he says is growing corruption at the highest level, as well as his desire to serve his “country and its people” over “a position, party or person”.

“We need to go back to the original agenda of our party, the PF, where the poor and not the corporates must be at the centre of all our decisions,” Mr Kalaba wrote, going on to blame Zambia’s current financial woes on “collective carelessness and indifference”.

The post, which has prompted thousands of comments, concluded: “When people begin to feel overwhelmed by fear for speaking the truth, it is time to realize that critical fundamentals have shifted. We all have a role to play in making things right. This is my little contribution – Zambia is our country, we need and must reclaim it back.”

The president’s office says it has not yet received an official resignation letter.

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Source: BBC

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The outbreak began on Sept. 28 but appeared to die down by Oct. 20, with fewer than five patients reported weekly until Nov. 5. The number of cases then surged, with 136 in the week beginning Nov. 26, the World Health Organization reported.

Presidential spokesman Amos Chanda said in a statement late on Friday that the president believed emergency measures were needed to contain the waterborne disease, including the closure of some markets.

The outbreak was initially confined to densely populated parts of Lusaka where poor sanitation can aid its transmission, but the disease had now spread to low density areas, Chanda said.

“The president is deeply concerned at rampaging advance of the epidemic and has therefore called on the defense forces to join other stakeholders … and thoroughly clean up Lusaka,” Chanda said.

The outbreak was initially linked to contaminated water from shallow wells but investigations revealed that the spread was being propagated through contaminated food, he said.

“In the last two weeks, three traders from Soweto market have died from cholera and 18 are currently under admission in cholera treatment centers,” Chanda said, referring to Zambia’s largest market.

Chanda said all markets, bars, restaurants and other public places that pose a risk of further transmission of cholera would be closed until they met hygiene standards.

Cholera is spread by ingesting fecal matter and causes acute watery diarrhea. It can be treated with oral rehydration solution but the disease spreads rapidly and can kill within hours if not treated.

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Source: Reuters

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Mayor of the Zambian capital, Lusaka, has become the butt of social media trolls after he was photographed sleeping in public.

The photo which showed Wilson Kalumba, 53, in what was a deep sleep went viral on Zambia’s social media scene – Facebook and Twitter especially.

The photo has sparked social media debate as a number of people are already calling for his impeachment. Others have mocked him for having nothing to do hence choosing to sleep at a public event.

It has gone as far as people questioning why the ruling Patriotic Front chose him as their candidate for the role at a time when a former First Lady, Maureem Mwanawasa, had also vied for the same post.

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On Tuesday, President Edgar Lungu announced that testing for the virus that causes Aids, as well as counselling and treatment, will no longer be done on a voluntary basis.

The aim is to make Zambia Aids-free by 2030.

The move has however divided opinion with some political parties and human rights campaigners arguing it will infringe on people’s privacy.

But Chief Government Spokesperson Kampamba Mulenga tells the BBC that Zambia stands by its plans:

“Before the results are given to you, you will be counselled by qualified health practitioners. They are not just going to test you and say, ‘you are HIV positive’. No. You will immediately be on treatment, which will even help with other chronic diseases.”

“It is your life and the government has the duty to save the lives of its nationals. Those that are saying ‘it’s my privacy and you are infringing on my rights’, what human rights [do you mean] when people are saving your life to prolong your life? [The] government is saying if you cannot be responsible for your own life, let government take responsibility.”

It is estimated that 81% of admissions at the University Teaching Hospital, the Zambia’s biggest referral hospital, are HIV-related.

Zambia has one of the highest prevalences in southern Africa, with 11.6% of Zambian adults aged 15 to 49 years being HIV positive, according to the National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Council.

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Source: BBC

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Mr Hichilema was due to stand trial, but instead walked free from Lusaska’s high court after 100 days in custody.

Sources say the charges against Mr Hichilema and five aides were dropped after a deal was negotiated by the Commonwealth.

He narrowly lost the election to President Edgar Lungu last year.

Mr Hichilema, the leader of the United Party for National Development (UPND), alleges the vote was fixed, and does not recognise Mr Lungu as president.

Mr Lungu, meanwhile, faces accusations of growing authoritarianism.

Mr Hichilema was arrested in April, accused of endangering the president’s life after his motorcade allegedly refused to give way to the one transporting Mr Lungu.

He and his aides “strongly” denied the charge, which carries a sentence of at least 15 years. Those found guilty can also be sentenced to death.

But all charges have now been dropped, apparently after a visit by Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland, who was in Zambia last week and met Mr Lungu and Mr Hichilema.

She later hinted Mr Hichilema could be released in the public interest.

A source had earlier told the BBC he was “definitely being released today… unless there’s a last minute development”.

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Source:  BBC

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His visit is at the invitation of the President of Zambia, Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

President Akufo-Addo will hold bilateral talks with President Edgar Lungu, aimed at deepening bilateral ties between the two countries, as well as exploring other areas of co-operation for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

Whilst in Zambia, the President will visit Ndola, a city in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province, where he will be the Special Guest of Honour at the 53rd Zambia International Trade Fair.

He will be accompanied by the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, and some officials at the Presidency and the Foreign Ministry.

President Akufo-Addo and his delegation will arrive in Ghana on Thursday, 29th June, 2017.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The visit by President Akufo-Addo would be the third visit to be paid by a foreign Head of State to Zambia, following visits from President Rajaonarimam Pianina of Madagascar and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

It would be recalled that at a media briefing on May 29, 2017 in Accra, Zambia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Harry Kalaba, stated that President Akufo-Addo would undertake his visit from June 26 to 29, 2017.

Activities while in Zambia

He said that President Akufo-Addo, while in Zambia, would hold bilateral talks with President Lungu, and, among other activities, would be the Special Guest of Honour at the opening of the 5th Zambia International Trade fair in Ndola.

Mr Kalaba pointed out that the Zambian Government recognised the importance of enhancing cooperation with other Africa countries in achieving sustainable development.

It will be recalled that President Edgar Lungu was in Ghana for the inauguration of President Akufo-Addo on January 7, 2017.

Ghana’s exemplary democracy

Speaking to journalists during the inauguration in Accra, President Edgar Lungu noted that Ghana was a testament that democracy in Africa was alive and was a well-entrenched system of governance for African countries to embrace.

President Lungu stated that Ghana had demonstrated to the world that democracy in Africa was an inherent way of life worth emulating by other African countries, adding that

“Ghana’s veritable democracy of successful elections and peaceful transition of power is a mark worth emulating by other African countries.”

Need to strengthen ties

Later, President Lungu conferred with President Akufo-Addo and said there was the need to strengthen ties between the two countries whose relations were historical.

President Akufo-Addo accepted an invitation by President Lungu for the visit to Zambia to further cement ties, especially on trade.

President Lungu was of the view that the chambers of commerce of the two countries should be meeting more often to exchange ideas on areas of possible investments in the respective nations.

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Source: Graphic.com.gh

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China had complained that Zambia provided no strong evidence of crimes committed by the 31 arrested in the copperbelt town of Chingola, including a pregnant woman and two victims of malaria.

[contextly_sidebar id=”IE8srs1eLuv7YaMbkph8cSymbdZGPcbE”]But Zambia’s immigration chief had told Zambian media the Chinese would have to be deported for violating the law.

“After repeated representations by China’s Foreign Ministry and its embassy in Zambia, on the afternoon of June 6, the 31 Chinese citizens that had been seized and detained boarded a plane and left Zambia smoothly to return home,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

In a letter, the 31 had expressed their “satisfaction” with the Chinese embassy’s efforts on their behalf, Hua told a regular news briefing.

Chinese companies have invested more than $1 billion in copper-rich Zambia, but there has been animosity, with some Zambian workers accusing firms of abuses and underpaying.

In 2012, Zambian miners killed a Chinese supervisor and seriously wounded another in a pay dispute at a coal mine. Zambian police charged two Chinese supervisors at the same coal mine with attempted murder two years earlier, after the shooting of 13 miners in a pay dispute.

Resource-hungry China is investing heavily in Africa, a supplier of oil and raw materials, such as copper and uranium, but critics have warned its companies take with them their poor track record on workers’ rights and environmental protection.

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Source: Africa News

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The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s director-general for African affairs, Lin Songtian, told a Zambian diplomat in Beijing that China understands and supports actions to crack down on illegal mining, the ministry said in a statement late on Sunday.

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Those detained include a pregnant woman and two people with malaria, China’s Foreign Ministry said.

Lin Songtian, the ministry’s director-general for African affairs, had raised his concerns with a Zambian diplomat in Beijing.

China supported actions to crack down on illegal mining, but was opposed to “selective” law enforcement and the detention of its citizens without strong evidence, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a media briefing, Reuters reports.

Zambia has not yet commented.

Chinese firms have invested more than $1bn (£780m) in copper-rich Zambia.

In 2012, Zambian miners killed a Chinese supervisor and seriously wounded another in a pay dispute at a coal mine.

–

Source: BBC

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