Botswana to auction diamonds at home

Botswana, the world's largest diamond producer, is set to auction its own diamonds for the first time instead of selling them in Europe.

The auction is by the government-owned Okavango Diamond Company.

Later in the year, diamond giant De Beers, which owns the country's main mining firm with the government, will also move its sales to Gaborone.
Botswana has long campaigned for its diamonds to be processed, sorted, marketed and sold from the country.
Last year, De Beers moved its rough stone sorting operation, which had been based in London for nearly 80 years, to Botswana.
The auction is going to be small, but its symbolism is huge. It should earn more money for Botswana than the previous system. The diamonds which are being sold were mined in Botswana and are being sold by Botswana. For decades, the auctions have taken place in Europe.
Staff from diamond giant DeBeers in London are also relocating to Gaborone and locals are being trained and employed. Soon, DeBeers will sell about $6bn worth of the precious stones annually in Gaborone; that is the equivalent of a third of the size of the economy.
It has seen by those in power as the beginning of "bringing the diamonds home". There is excitement among many here, especially the business community which hopes to benefit from a related economic boom. The plan is a long-term one - to set up a diamond hub similar to Antwerp and Tel Aviv that will continue once the diamond mines close.
According to reports, about a dozen diamond buyers from around the world are in the city for the auction.
The government hopes diamond sales operations will bring more value-added jobs to the diamond sector, including clerical and jewellery-making work, our reporter says.
Its long-term plan is to set up a diamond hub similar to Antwerp and Tel Aviv that will continue once the diamond mines close, he says.
When De Beers relocates its sales operation later in the year, it will be selling about $6bn (£4bn) worth of diamonds a year in Gaborone.
Philippe Mellier, chief executive of De Beers, told the BBC that moving diamond sales was part of a deal agreed with the government of Botswana. Together they own Debswana, the country's main mining company.
It would turn Botswana into a major diamond hub, as it was already the biggest centre for diamond production, Mr Mellier said.
"It's a global movement of big scale for the diamond business," he told the BBC's Newsday programme.
"If you migrate $5m-$6m per month of sales of diamonds - that's a big move and at the scale of Botswana that's a very big move and certainly a move of significant scale for southern Africa."

Global Warming Could Reverse Development-Report

Flooding in Zambia worsens every year.

Present warming trends could roll back decades of development and exacerbate poverty in some of the world’s poorest regions in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and South East Asia, according to a new World Bank study, which calls for urgent action to reverse global warming because the window for action is narrowing rapidly.

From declining food production to water shortages, more extreme heat waves to floods, the picture painted by the new World Bank report is grim.

The report called "Turn Down the Heat," follows up on an earlier study that found Earth could be warmer by two degrees centigrade in the space of one generation, and by four degrees by the end of this century, if action is not taken to reduce carbon emissions. Today's temperatures are 0.8 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels.

The report focuses on the impact of such warming in the regions that will be hardest hit: South Asia, South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, food shortages will become more common. In Sub-Saharan Africa, by the 2030s droughts and heat will leave 40 percent of the land now growing maize unable to support the crop. Rising temperatures could cause major loss of savanna grasslands threatening pastoral livelihoods.

It finds that, in Sub-Saharan Africa, warming by two degrees centigrade will significantly reduce crop yields, impacting food security. Loss of savanna grasslands will threaten pastoral livelihoods.

In South Asia, the monsoon will become unpredictable and the region could suffer more extreme droughts and floods. Water in major river basins such as the Indus and the Ganges will reduce further, impacting food security for some 63 million people. Coastal cities such as Kolkata and Mumbai ad Bangladesh are “potential impact hotspots” threatened by floods due to rising river and sea levels.

Aross South East Asia rising sea levels, more intense and tropical cyclones and loss of marine ecosystems will adversely impact rural livelihoods. The World Bank country director in India, says the impact of global warming will fall hardest on the poor.

“The real point to us is that the poor are even more vulnerable than the not so poor because they are simply less able to protect themselves," Onno Ruhl said. "That is the sad part of the story, the most vulnerable will be hit the most.”

The World Bank is urging individuals and governments to make all choices through a “climate lens” and work toward aggressive national carbon-emission-reduction targets.

Officials say individuals, for example, should buy the most energy efficient gadgets, instead of those that look the “glossiest.”

Ruhl says climate change is getting higher on their list of priorities of policy makers in India and other countries, but much more remains to be done.

“Most governments when you talk to them about it, they will recognize it is a problem. When they make choices they do the same as we do with the refrigerator, they just buy whatever looks the glossiest," Ruhl said. "I think that is where the challenge is.”

The report calls for countries to take urgent action to build resilience through climate-smart agriculture, flood defenses, drought and heat resistant crops, improved ground water management, and coastal infrastructure.

It’s possible to take a lead on the post-2015 agenda

 

The least developed countries (LDCs) can play a critical role in ensuring that the new global sustainability goals – which the international community aims to have in place by 2015 — are both fair and effective.

But, for this to happen, the LDCs will need to redefine themselves according to their strengths, act to improve governance, and promote greater solidarity both with each other and with more developed nations.

These are among the conclusions that an independent group of thinkers from the LDCs will share on in a new briefing paper and a series of meetings next week in New York City. The Independent Expert Group members work in research institutes, media, civil society organisations and government agencies in 11 of the LDCs.

The group, supported by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), aims to influence the UN’s efforts to define global sustainable development goals to take effect from 2015, when the Millennium Development Goals expire.

“The Least Developed Countries are in many ways the weakest but they also have strengths such as, their local knowledge and institutions, their culture and values and their resilience to uncertainty,” says Dr Tom Bigg of IIED who coordinates the group’s activities.

“The LDCs can be leaders in the post-2015 process by promoting new forms of international cooperation that enables greater solidarity and sharing of knowledge and responsibilities,” he says. “They can act to redefine development assistance by working harder to use their national wealth to meet the priorities of the poor and they can do more to share their lessons and experiences of how to measure development and manage environmental resources.”

Members of the Independent Expert Group will be in New York City on 24-26 June to provide input into a series of meetings about the post-2015 development agenda.

On 24 June, they will attend a meeting organised by IIED, the UN Foundation, LDC IV Monitor and the Southern Voices Network. On 25 June they will be at an open UN event at which UN Under-Secretary Gyan Acharya will speak. On 25-26 June they will take part in an event organised by the UN Foundation and the Overseas Development Institute.

Dr Essam Yassin Mohammed, a researcher with IIED and member of the Independent Expert Group adds: “The Independent Expert Group sees solidarity, rather than partnership, as being the key to effective international collaboration in the post-2015 framework as it implies shared interests and responsibilities rather than the outdated donor-recipient relationship.”

Former US President George Bush to visit Zambia

EARLY next week, Former US President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush will travel to Livingstone to continue their commitment to the people of Africa through the work of their global health initiative at the George W. Bush Institute. 

While in Livingstone, President and Mrs. Bush will work alongside local Zambians, U.S. embassy officials and Bush Institute staff to renovate a clinic that when completed, will serve as a cervical cancer screening and treatment centre.

This is the second time President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Zambia for this purpose. Last July, they renovated and opened the NguNgu Health Center in Kabwe, Zambia.
The work is in direct support of the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon partnership – spearheaded by the Bush Institute, PEPFAR, UNAIDS and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, along with other private and public partners – which combats cervical and breast cancer in the developing world.
In December of 2011, the partnership launched in Zambia, and in July of 2012, it expanded to its second country, Botswana.  As part of the initiative, PRRR relies on private and public partners with the expertise and local networks to reach women who might otherwise die of these cancers.
Work on the Livingstone clinic began last week by volunteers from Dallas, including a group of students from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, where the George W. Bush Presidential Center is located.
The clinic in Livingstone will open to the public on July 1, 2013 and begin screening women that day. Following their trip to Zambia, President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to host the Bush Institute’s African First Ladies Summit,Investing in Women: Strengthening Africa, supported by ExxonMobil, which highlights the critical role First Ladies play as advocates for women and girls, spotlights success stories and best practices, and discusses public-private partnerships that lead to sustainable results.
And Heads of State, current and former First Ladies, government officials, academics, and representatives from non-profit and private sector organizations around the world will gather at the George W. Bush Institute’s African First Ladies Summit, “Investing in Women: Strengthening Africa” in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to focus on effective investments in women that lead to greater stability and prosperity in countries. The Summit will highlight the critical role First Ladies play as advocates for women and girls, spotlight success stories and best practices, and discuss public-private partnerships that lead to sustainable results.
In addition to keynote addresses by President and Mrs. Bush, participants will include Mrs. Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States; Mrs. Cherie Blair, Founder, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women; the Honorable Nancy G. Brinker, Chair, Global Strategy, Susan G. Komen for the Cure®; U.N. Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control; the Honorable Mark Dybul, Executive Director, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; Dr. Martin Fisher, Co-Founder and CEO, KickStart International; Dr. Julie Gerberding, President, Merck Vaccines; Ms. Suzanne McCarron, President, ExxonMobil Foundation; the Honorable Leslie Rowe, Ambassador, Office of Global Health Diplomacy, U.S. Department of State; and the Honorable Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, UNAIDS, Undersecretary-General of the United Nations.
African First Ladies expected to attend include Madame Chantal Campaore of Burkina Faso, Madam Roman Tesfaye of Ethiopia, Madam Maria da Luz Dai Guebuza of Mozambique, Madam Penehupifo Pohamba of Namibia, Madam Sia Nyama Koroma of Sierra Leone, Madam Salma Kikwete of Tanzania, Madam Janet Kataaha Museveni of Uganda and Madam Christine Kaseba of Zambia.

New Lunga district: place of desolation

Mboyalubambe Basic school in Lunga District- By Doreen Nawa

By DOREEN NAWA
WHILE Zambia has made significant improvements and aims to foster sustainable national development, the living conditions of people remain pathetic.
The living conditions would actually be aptly described as desolate.
Lunga, a new district declared by President Michael Sata on December 30, 2011, is one such place.
A visit to this district would make one appreciate the move taken by President Sata of declaring new districts as a plus from a decentralisation point of view.
I recently accompanied Minister of Local Government and Housing Emerine Kabanshi,  who is also area member of Parliament (MP), on a tour of the district.
Having profiled Ms Kabanshi as the first female area MP since the re-introduction of the multi-party system in Zambia, I recalled her mentioning the urgent need for dredgers to be sent to the area to improve accessibility.
This was an opportunity to see the problems Ms Kabanshi had lamented about.
Lunga, which was hirtherto part of Samfya district, is an island on Lake Bangweulu and Luapula River, and accessibility is a challenge.
The water passages are blocked because of silt and weed, hence Ms Kabanshi’s lamentations over the dredger.
The journey to Lunga took over 12 hours  through the Pedicle Road. The 78 km road is a short-cut from the Copperbelt to Luapula and, in future, to the  Northern Province.
The Pedicle Road passes through the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and is being constructed through a Public- Private Partnership arrangement between DRC and the Zambian governments.
We arrived in Samfya on the shores of Lake Bangweulu after 18:00hours on Tuesday, May 28, fatigued.
The trip was so tiring that I over-slept, oblivious of the rage from the waters and had it not been for  a call from a colleague, I would have been late the following morning.
Set for Lunga, we all got on the Police and Ministry of Health speed boats. Lunga has no filling station, so we carried 1,000 litres of diesel but the fuel was still not enough.
The journey was four and half hours to our first stop, Bwalya Mponda chiefdom.
First on the schedule was a meeting with Chief Bwalya Mponda
On the agenda was the issue of Lunga being a new district and the removal of subsidies on fertiliser, maize and fuel.
Commenting on the declaration of Lunga as a new district, Chief Bwalya Mponda of the Unga- speaking people said the move to create the new district would bring development to the area.
A teacher by profession, Chief Bwalya Mponda said, “Decentralisation is what is needed in order to bring fair distribution of resources across the country. Decentralisation seeks to redistribute authority, responsibility and financial resources for providing public services among different levels of government.”
In defining decentralisation, the chief said, “It is the transfer of responsibility for the planning, financing and management of certain public functions from the central government and its agencies to field units of government agencies, subordinate units or levels of government, semi-autonomous public authorities or corporations, or area-wide, regional or functional authorities.”
And he was right. The creation of the new district will result in development of infrastructure, which is glaringly lacking.

The school infrastructure is in a deplorable state, there is no infrastructure to house government officers and just to say the least, the housing units for the local people are pathetic.
We spent two nights in this chiefdom and thereafter, we set sail to other islands which included Chafye, Nsamba, Kasomalunga and Kalimankonde.
We were in Lunga for five days before getting back to Samfya.
We visited structures they call schools and looking at them, one may think Lunga is a war-torn district.
In all the chiefdoms we visited in the district, education is a disaster. Parents prefer taking the children away from school and going with them to fishing camps for months. The schools go up to Grade Seven, depriving the children of secondary education.
Lunga district commissioner Raphael Kauseni described the education standards in his district as a disaster.
“We have a lot of work to do in bringing quality education to Lunga District. Education in Lunga is a disaster. The number of school drop-outs is too high, the infrastructure is the poorest in the country and there are no incentives for one to work as a teacher here,” Mr Kauseni said.
From the information gathered, Lunga is regarded as an open-air prison for truant teachers.
Once the Ministry of Education identifies such teachers, they are sent to Lunga to serve their ‘sentence’ and it is the education of the children that ultimately suffers.
Child marriage is another rampant issue in the district. Children are married off at a tender age of 11.
I met one that was married when she was 12 and her husband was a widower.
My husband was once married and his wife died and he decided to marry me after paying Kr300 to my guardians,” the girl said.
But according to Mr Kauseni, education initiatives that help girls to avoid child marriage must be included as the district is being developed.
“Awareness-raising campaigns for parents and community leaders on the benefits of girls’ education are vital if we are to win the fight against child marriage in Lunga.
Other incentives should include scholarship programmes for girls, female mentors and teachers, equipping schools with sex-segregated toilets and providing training for teachers on how to ensure a safe environment for all students,” says Mr Kauseni.
Like the book of Lamentations in the bible, Lunga district is worthy being called a district of lamentations.
In Lunga, whatever you set your eyes on,  it will have a sorrowful story to tell.

Thabo Mbeki in Zambia to chair a high level panel on illicit financial flows in Africa

 

 

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki is in the country to chair a two-day high level meeting on illicit financial flows.
The high level panel on illicit financial flows in Africa, which was established by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Union (AU), was inaugurated in February 2012 to address the debilitating problem of illicit financial outflows from Africa which is estimated at US$50 billion a year.
UNECA Communications Officer Sampa Kangwa-Wilkie has confirmed.
Ms. Kangwa-Wilkie said illicit financial flows constitute among others things undocumented commercial transactions and criminal activities characterized by over pricing, tax evasion and false declarations
facilitated by some 60 international tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions that enable creating and operating millions of disguised corporations, shell companies, anonymous trust accounts and fake
charitable foundations.
Ms. Kangwa-Wilkie further said other techniques used include money laundering, transfer pricing and corruption.
“Illicit financial flows are a global problem. Their impact on the continent is monumental thereby representing a significant threat to Africa’s governance and economic development and governance. Current evidence shows that Africa lost over US$ 854 billion in illicit financial flows between 1970 and 2008 corresponding to a yearly average of about US$22 billion,” she said.
The trend has been increasing over time and especially in the last decade, with an annual average illicit financial flow of US$ 50 billion between 2000 and 2008 against a yearly average of only US$ 9
billion for the period 1970-1999.
Ms. Kangwa-Wilkie however said these estimates may well be short of reality as they exclude such other forms of illicit financial flows as proceeds from smuggling and mispricing of services.
She added that some of the effects of illicit financial outflows are the draining of foreign exchange reserves, reduced tax collection, cancelling out of investment inflows and a worsening of poverty.
She said preliminary evidence shows that taking prompt action to curtail illicit financial outflows from Africa will provide a major source of funds for development programmes in the continent in the
near future.
Ms. Kangwa-Wilkie said one of the keys to achieving success is the adoption of laws, regulations and policies that encourage transparent financial transactions.
The panel chaired by Mr. Mbeki will be composed of nine other members from Africa and outside the continent.
Over 60 delegates from East and Southern Africa are expected to attend the high level panel meeting in the Zambian capital, Lusaka as part of several regional consultations with key stakeholders on the project Africa including the executive, legislature, judiciary and key civil society and private sector representatives.
Other consultations have already taken place in North Africa and Kenya, Tunisia, Liberia and Nigeria.
Meanwhile the former Mbeki will hold private talks with President Michael Sata to enhance dialogue and policy discourse on the matter.

Budget airline Fastjet to fly to Zambia and other African routes

 

Fastjet, the African budget airline, has been granted permission to launch international flights from its hub in Tanzania to Zambia.



Easyjet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou

The company, which is backed by Easyjet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, will fly to South Africa and Rwanda.

It received route approvals from the relevant governments under Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs).

Fastjet also said it was putting its plans to launch a domestic service in South Africa on hold.

"This is a monumental day in Fastjet's history, and brings us closer to our goal of becoming Africa's first pan-continental low-cost airline," said Ed Winter, chief executive and chairman.

"We have expended huge effort over the past six months in obtaining these rights, and we can only thank the government and population of Tanzania, who have lobbied hard to allow us to gain access to the bilateral rights to operate to these countries.

"We will soon announce launch dates for flights to Johannesburg, Kigali and Lusaka from Dar es Salaam."

The company is hoping to offer early bookers flights between Johannesburg and Dar es Salaam for around $100 (£64), one-way, excluding government taxes and charges.

Separately, on Thursday, the company agreed to create a low-cost airline operating within Nigeria, jointly with Nigeria's Red 1 Airways.

Fastjet was created following its acquisition of the African airline Fly540, and operates from four bases in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Angola.

As such, it already has 10 aircraft serving around 25 destinations within Africa.

Fastjet also announced it had secured financing of up to £15m ($23.5m) through an equity deal with Darwin, a subsidiary of fund managers Henderson Global Investors Volantis Capital.

Waste management everyone's baby

Report By DOREEN NAWA

Some hip of garbage with Lusaka City

IT'S possible to have garbage-free cities in Zambia and many other African cities alike. For Zambia, currently the situation looks impossible following the ever increasing amount of uncollected garbage and the ‘it's government's responsibility' kind of mindset.

The natural beauty of townships and central business districts of cities in Zambia has been spoilt over the years by increasing amounts of garbage. Lusaka, for example, once Zambia's "City of Peace", is now known to many as the "stinking city in the garbage".

Across the country, beautiful cities and towns such as the tourist capital, Livingstone, and Copperbelt towns Ndola and Kitwe are not as clean as they used to be. Yet the situation can be changed. Countrywide the local authorities have made great steps in cleaning up the city by implementing the "Make Zambia Clean' campaign which is thought to have had an answer to the seemingly impossible garbage crisis. But no positive yield yet.

Even with legislation in place, indiscriminate disposal of waste has continued to deface the beauty of Zambia's major cities.

In Lusaka, the Lusaka City Council (LCC) has highly structured legislation on waste management, the waste management by-laws of 2004, but all to no avail. Under this legislation, the city council has arrested and charged a number of offenders.

However, the LCC admits that the arrests and subsequent charging of offenders has not changed anything as there has not been any significant change of attitudes amongst the offenders.

"The challenge we have is that most offenders are able to pay the K450, 000 slapped on them for indiscriminate disposal of waste.

"We would rather see that people serve the three months simple imprisonment because K450, 000 is too little a fine in comparison to the damage done to the environment," says LCC public relations manager Chanda Makanta.

Considering the vastness of Lusaka and other cities, proper disposing and management of waste is a challenge. In order to address the inadequate capacity, various councils have engaged private companies to help in waste collection.

"The LCC through the Waste Management Unit (WMU) has engaged contract franchisers to collect waste on its behalf. When residents in that area subscribe to LCC, the engaged companies will collect waste from their residence on behalf of LCC. We therefore appeal to the public to help the council to keep our environment clean by ensuring that they subscribe directly to LCC's Waste Management Unit," says Mrs. Makanta.

In Lusaka's Kaunda Square, Kamwala South, Kalingalinga, Misisi and other townships, some abandoned or semi-finished structures have been turned into dumping sites.

Without a doubt waste management remains a challenge all over the country, particularly in the townships.

"I pay wheelbarrow pushers to dispose of my household waste because they are affordable and always available. I have no idea of the last destination to the waste I generate. My business ends at paying this guy a K5, 000 to K10, 000 to dump the waste to wherever. As long as it is out of my sight, then I am home and dry," says Kalinda Zulu of Lusaka's Kaunda Square Stage One area.

While it is important to educate the public about the dangers of indiscriminate disposal of waste with a view to changing attitudes, it is also important to acknowledge that the change of mindsets can take a while by which time the damage done to the environment may be too shocking to contemplate.

In a bid to deal with experienced in household waste removal, commitment should be put in ensuring that the destination of the waste generated is known.

"I know that the LCC has engaged private waste collectors but it is not for free and since I cannot afford the required amount I have decided to dig a rubbish pit behind my house and I have no worries. Each household pays between K15, 000 to K20, 000 and this is too much for me," says Grace Ziwa of Lusaka's Kamwala South area.

It is also worrying to see lots of illegal waste collection companies that have mushroomed lately that also dump waste indiscriminately thereby posing a danger to humans and the environment.

But just how best could the challenges of waste management and disposal is dealt with?

During rainy season, the drainage system in Lusaka and many other cities is blocked due to uncollected garbage. This in turn will result into floods.

According to Kennedy Chirwa, the challenges of waste management and failure to generate enough income to manage the waste is as a result of lack of proper planning.

Mr Chirwa, of Lusaka's Avondale Township, says, "I think there is need for proper planning, look at how people are paying for TV licence, water and electricity, if they can pay for these services, it's possible too to pay for the collection of garbage.

All what is needed is for stakeholders to plan just like other service providers such as Zesco and water utility companies. If a collection fee like TV levy is properly structured, people will pay. It is just common sense that everyone should also be able to pay for the waste they generate.

Without doubt the issue of garbage collection will remain a thorny one unless drastic measures are put in place to address it and failure to address this challenge will create not only an eyesore but also an environmental problem.

Most waste produces carbon dioxide and methane among other gases that are harmful to the environment.

The issue of waste management should be given the seriousness it deserves for the simple reason that it poses great danger to both humans and the environment.

Given the devastating effects of indiscriminate disposal of waste to humans and the environment, the need to come up with practical and effective measures aimed at curbing the trend cannot be overstressed.

Disposing of waste in an environmentally-friendly manner is crucial and must be everyone's thought. Waste management is something every person has to deal with.

However, what many do not think about is what happens once their garbage is collected. It is not just about ensuring that garbage is collected.

Waste management is everyone's business. You must take the lead when it comes to waste and start putting more thought into what happens after your trash leaves your house.

Zambia needs to come up with a holistic and sustainable solid waste management system that will result in the efficient disposal of garbage.

The country has been experiencing the problem of proper management of solid waste, a situation that has resulted in drainages being clogged by, creating floods during the rainy season and waterborne disease such as cholera and typhoid.

In order to address this challenge, waste management has to be looked at as everyone's business.

Misisi: where water is not life

Water blues are part of life in Misisi Township.Here women gather at a well to do their laundry

By Doreen Nawa

FOR many years Misisi compound, just south of the Kafue roundabout on Cairo Road in Lusaka, has been home to many thousands of Zambians. 

Even in its state of lacking several basic amenities including proper sanitation, its population increases everyday due to new shelters that are put up by new entrants to this residential area.

Misisi compound is situated on a previously unused area near the railway lines and grew steadily as an illegal compound with no proper facilities.

The high rate of urbanisation placed severe pressure on the supply of shelter, water and sanitation, among other services and infrastructure in Misisi and so is the situation in many other urban and peri-urban areas in Zambia.

Being paramount and key to life, water is one of the pre-requisites to making their (Misisi residents) life better "We have several problems here and have had them for years without a solution. We have had no water closer to our homes. For me, I get water like 3 kilometres from here, at a nearby school and these are communal. We pay K100 for a 20-litre container of water but if you do not have that much, then no water for you," says one of the Misisi residents, Takondwa Zulu.





Ngwenya Dam

Mrs Zulu lives just a few metres away from Ngwenya Dam, which was created as a result of stone crushing. She takes this dam as a second source of water, "We just buy water for cooking and drinking but for other home needs like bathing and washing, we use water from Ngwenya Dam."

Asked whether the dam is safe for anyone to draw closer considering the history of people drowning in the dam, Mrs Zulu says she has no option.

"It's impossible for me and many other residents of Misisi compound to buy water for washing, bathing and watering sometimes. Life has never been easy here in Misisi compound and it worsens because of lack of proper water supply and sanitation. We were happy when we heard that water supply will be brought closer to our homes following a project that Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company was to undertake, but to date, we have had no feedback," says Mrs Zulu.

Residents of Lusaka's Misisi compound have been hit by inadequate water supplies for years and they have a reason not to smile.

This is because the only reliable source to supply water, a project embarked upon by the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC), has been abandoned.

The Ngwenya Dam water extraction plant in the compound has been abandoned because the water has been discovered not to be fit for human consumption.

LWSC spokesperson Topsy Sikalinda says the project has failed due to high levels of pollution that has been caused by pit latrines in the area.

He says treating Ngwenya Dam water will be expensive than extracting water from any other source like Kafue river.

"We had embarked on the water project in Misisi compound but have since cancelled it following the numerous challenges we faced. Among these challenges is refusal by residents to move out of a certain radius to allow commencement of the water project, pollution of the water body by residents through garbage and faecal matter and the huge cost of treating this water," says Mr Sikalinda.

But according to William Kabuku, the project would have narrowed the daily expenses because they (residents) would have been budgeting for water on a monthly basis rather than on a daily basis.

"This failed project is a draw-back. We were counting on it and considering that Ngwenya Dam is not only a danger but also a health hazard, it would have been better if it had some ownership attached to it.

The idea of buying water every day is also expensive," says Mr Kabuku. Misisi compound is home to an estimated 80,000 people, most of them living on less than a dollar per day.

Misisi has been dubbed the 'Cholera capital' of Zambia due to lack of basic amenities such as running water and sanitation provision.

Access to clean water and adequate sanitation are critical in tackling factors related to child mortality and survival, especially given the prevalence of diarrhoea and waterborne diseases and the role of sanitary health practices in preventative and sustainable responses.

These people are dying of poverty because they are not deemed as important enough to receive medical care because of the ever-increasing population and unplanned settlements.

It is believed that the value of life for all revolves around clean water and proper sanitation and this gives the people a sense of dignity and honour.

According to some Misisi residents, water and proper sanitation is everything and it gives someone respect. They vehemently feel that they have been robbed of that dignity because of lack of basic amenities like water and proper sanitation.

 "We need Government through the water utility company to do something if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target on access to clean water and sanitation by 2015," says Geoffrey Sinkala, a resident of Misisi compound.

In 2000, 189 nations made a promise to free people from extreme poverty and multiple deprivations. This pledge turned into the eight Millennium Development Goals.

Halving the number of people without access to clean water and sanitation by 2015 is part of the MDGs.

According to the United Nations report on Zambia's progress on the MDGs, it is estimated that 4.8 million Zambians live without access to clean water and 6.6 million lack access to sanitation.

Water supply and sanitation in Zambia is characterised by wide discrepancies in access to an improved water source between urban and rural areas but the ever-increasing population seems to render these water sources not enough.

In peri-urban areas like Misisi, access has been substantially expanded through the construction of water kiosks or communal taps.

Many of the homes in Lusaka's compounds were built without planning permission from Lusaka City Council (LCC) and placed in areas not suitable for construction or highly vulnerable to flooding, particularly as drainage channels are blocked by buildings or filled with litter.

 Chanda Kakusa-Makanta, who is LCC spokesperson, said council planning section have tried to bring sanity in Misisi and other townships in Lusaka but are fighting a losing battle as residents continue to build houses without considering provision for water and sanitation matters.

"The issues of water and sanitation in Misisi have at the moment no solution because the residents are not doing their part. Such issues call for mutual action not one sided, so at the moment, the council has little to do for now," says Mrs Makanta.

Kapiri gay couple case commencement of trial today

 

By DOREEN NAWA

Central Province Principle Resident Magistrate, John Mbuzi is today expected to commence trial in a case in which two men are appearing in court on allegations of practicing homosexuality.

The two Kapiri Mposhi men are charged with practicing homosexuality.

And defence lawyers in the case have U-turned and applied for  in the magistrates court.

When the case came up for commencement of trial before Kabwe principal resident magistrate John Mbuzi on May 22, 2013, the defence lawyers from SNB Legal Practitioners of Lusaka applied for determination of some constitutional issues which they raised in the matter before the High Court.

This prompted magistrate Mbuzi to adjourn the matter to June 5, 2013 for ruling whether the issues the defence had raised could only be determined in the High Court.

James Mwape, a bricklayer, and Philip Mubiana, a hair dresser, both aged 21 and residents of Ndeke and Soweto compounds, respectively, in Kapiri Mposhi, are facing four counts of engaging in homosexuality.

However, when the case came up for ruling on Wednesday last week, the defence lawyers backed-down and instead applied that their earlier application to determine constitutional issues in the matter be thrown out to facilitate commencement of trial in the magistrates' court owing to the fact that the accused have been in remand for a long time.

In his application, defence lawyer Sunday Nkonde said his team had decided to backtrack and go ahead with trial in the matter in order to expedite conclusion of the case.

Nkonde stated that the determination of constitutional issues would merely delay progress in the case, bearing in mind that his clients were not on bail and had their respective police bonds revoked barely two days after being arrested.

The suspects had their police bond revoked after they were allegedly found committing similar offences at their residence in Kapiri Mposhi's Ndeke compound.

Magistrate Mbuzi also denied the duo bail on May 22, 2013 owing to their earlier abrogation of police bond, which was granted to them after they were arrested for committing similar offences.

And the state applied for adjournment of the case to allow it to prepare its witnesses for commencement of trial.

Magistrate Mbuzi adjourned the matter to today and tomorrow.

This is in the case in which James Mwape, a bricklayer and Philip Mubiana a hair dresser both aged 21 and residents of Ndeke and Soweto compounds respectively in Kapiri Mposhi are facing four counts of engaging in homosexuality.

In the first count Philip Mubiana is charged with committing an unnatural offence contrary to section 155 (c) of the penal code chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia as read with amended Act number 15 of 2005.

Particulars of the offence are that Mubiana, on unknown dates but between 11 and 25 April 2013 in Kapiri Mposhi in central province did permit a male person, James Mwape to have canal knowledge of him against the order of nature.

In the second count James Mwape is charged with committing unnatural offences contrary to section 155 (c) of the penal code chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia as read with amended Act number 15 of 2005.

Particulars of the offence are that Mwape, on dates unknown did permit a male person Philip Mubiana to have canal knowledge of him against the order of nature.

In the third count James Mwape is charged with committing an unnatural offence contrary to section 155 (a) of the penal code chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.

Particulars are that on 5th May 2013 in Kapiri Mposhi Mwape had canal knowledge of a male, Philip Mubiana against the order of nature.

And in the fourth and last count Philip Mubiana is charged with an offence of committing an unnatural offences contrary to section 155 (c ) of the penal code chapter 87 of the laws od Zambia as read with amended Act number 15 of 2005.

Particulars before court are that on 5 May 2013, Mubiana, while at Kapiri Mposhi district in central province did permit a male person James Mwape to have canal knowledge of him against the order of nature.

Let girls be girls, not wives

                               By DOREEN NAWA

Child marriages are an order of the day in Lunga District.

LOCAL Government minister Emerine Kabanshi has attributed the increased cases in child marriages in Lunga District in Luapula Province to poor school infrastructure.
Speaking when she held meetings in four chiefdoms last week, Ms Kabanshi said girls who are victims of child marriages are among those who are least educated, poorest, and living in rural areas.
She said girls with higher levels of schooling are less likely to marry as children.
She said the solution to child marriages lies in building more schools and sensitising parents on the importance of allowing girls to get educated.
“In Lunga, I can estimate that over 90 percent of girls with no education are married off before they reach teenage, compared to the situation in urban areas, where girls get the much needed education and decide to get married after reaching 20 years of age,” Ms Kabanshi said.
According to Ms Kabanshi, educating adolescent girls has been a critical factor in increasing the age of marriage in a number of developing countries like Zambia.
“Getting the out-of-school girls back into education will be crucial to end child marriage, and government alone cannot do it. We need efforts from all co-operating partners like non-governmental organisations to come on board and find solutions to this vice,” Ms Kabanshi said.
Ms Kabanshi, who is also Luapula constituency member of Parliament, was in Lunga District recently to highlight government plans in developing the district.
And speaking earlier, Lunga district commissioner Raphael Kauseni described the education standards in his district as a disaster.
“We have a lot of work to do in bringing quality education to Lunga District. Education in Lunga is a disaster. The number of school drop-outs is too high, the infrastructure is the poorest in the country and there are no incentives for one to work as a teacher here,” Mr Kauseni said.
Mr Kauseni said Lunga is regarded as an open-air prison for truant teachers and once the Ministry of Education identifies such teachers, the teachers are sent to Lunga to serve their ‘sentence’.
Mr Kauseni said education initiatives that help girls to avoid child marriage must include awareness-raising campaigns for parents and community leaders on the benefits of girls’ education.
Other incentives include scholarship programmes for girls, female mentors and teachers, equipping schools with sex-segregated toilets and providing training for teachers on how to ensure a safe environment for all students.
Lunga is one of the new districts that were declared by President Sata in December 2011 shortly after the September 2011 elections.

‘Abortion fight everyone’s role’

 

By DOREEN NAWA
ONE of the serious threats among young women in Zambia’s society is unsafe abortion and it is usually left to doctors alone to deal with.
But recently, IPAS Zambia held a meeting with the Zambia Police Service as a way of incorporating the police in the fight against unsafe abortion.
IPAS is a non-governmental organisation that advocates women’s reproductive health rights.
Inspector General of Police Stella Libongani said in a speech read on her behalf that illegal or unsafe abortion is a growing concern and is a crime that affects females in the country.
Ms Libongani said police will continue to develop strategies in the fight against illegal or unsafe abortions until the vice is curbed.
She said police have a vital role to play in the prevention of all types of crimes, including unsafe abortion.
The meeting, which was held in Lusaka, was aimed at attitude transformation for police officers.
Statistics indicate that unwanted pregnancies and abortion among young girls are on the rise. Observers and experts on the issue believe that unsafe abortions constitute a major contributor to the country’s maternal mortality.
And speaking earlier, IPAS country director Felicia Sakala said abortion is also as a result of social pressure.
“The status quo of ‘single mother’ remains hardly acceptable by society. This fuels young women to escape the “social disgrace” by aborting. Abortion has also been linked to a number of physical and psychological problems such as drug and alcohol abuse.
“Furthermore, psychological conditions after rape, abandonment and betrayal from the father of a child make it impossible to keep the unborn baby,” Ms Sakala said.
According to Ms Sakala, one of the best ways to prevent abortions is through education. She said prevention of unwanted pregnancies is always the best way to avoid abortion.
She said sex education programmes provide young people with a comprehensive understanding of the facts, adding that sexual education does not increase sexual activity, instead it increases knowledge and responsibility, and involvement of men in the process should be considered.
“Men and women should have equal roles in preventing unwanted pregnancies, create new birth control methods. In order to help young people avoid unintended pregnancies, we must provide them with a better understanding of human sexual development, a better education, real career opportunities, job development, training, placement and hope for a better life,” Ms Sakala said.

 

Rupiah Banda barred from leaving country, again

Report By DOREEN NAWA
Former president Rupiah Banda, who is facing corruption charges, was stopped from boarding a flight to South Africa despite a High Court order releasing his passport.
“We did all the airport formalities but surprisingly an immigration officer came and said he had instructions from above not to allow president Banda to travel,” his press aide Kennedy Limwanya said.
“We showed him a court order but he still said he could not allow us.”
Banda was set to fly to South Africa on a morning flight for a conference, after the High Court ruling on Thursday.
His planned trip has been marred by hiccups after a magistrate’s court refused to return his passport, which he had to surrender after being re-arrested in April on corruption charges.
Banda, who ruled Zambia from 2008 to 2011, when he lost power to current President Michael Sata, has been appearing in court over a string of corruption allegations.
Parliament voted to strip him of his presidential immunity in February.
He was stopped from travelling to Kenya on April 9 to attend Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidential inauguration, and last month was blocked from travelling to Ethiopia for an African Union summit.

Building an enduring environmental movement

Report By DOREEN NAWA                  Fractured, underfunded, and on the defensive, the environmental movement must rethink the way it functions if it hopes to bring about a truly sustainable future.

Most environmental groups continue to advocate from a defensive standpoint, many have begun to accept large donations from corporations that undermine their visions and efforts, and the majority of these environmental groups are lacking a holistic approach to the issues they face.

In Worldwatch Institute's recent publication State of the World 2013: Is sustainability still possible?, co-director and contributing author Erik Assadourian argues that environmentalism will require a dramatic reboot if the movement is going to reverse Earth's rapid ecological transformation and help bring about a sustainable human civilization.

Over the past few decades, environmentalism has become increasingly splintered, with groups focusing on specific niches such as conservation, climate change, and land degradation.

"By looking at the issues with such narrow lenses, advocates are failing to fully comprehend the need for a whole-system solution," said Assadourian. "As a result, the environmental movement has been focused on short-term fixes rather than addressing root causes namely societal fixation on growth and consumerism and short-term solutions alone will not bring about a sustainable society."

In his chapter "Building an enduring environmental movement," Assadourian suggests looking to the traditions of missionary religions as a guide for recreating a stronger and more successful environmental movement:

A Deeper Environmentalism

In order to profoundly affect individuals and influence them to change the way they live their lives, environmentalists must create a more comprehensive philosophy-complete with ethics, human's purpose, cosmology, a theodicy, exemplars, and stories of redemption. In calling for a deeper environmentalism, Assadourian posits that as well as mobilizing short-term political engagement, environmentalists should focus on offering deeper opportunities to engage----from weekly gatherings filled with stories of celebration and hope to frequent opportunities to celebrate, mourn, and collaborate with their communities.

The Potential of Missionary Movements

A large part of religious philosophies' success has been a powerful, timeless vision supported with beautiful stories and committed advocates but equally important has been the promise of immediate assistance the offering of food, clothing, education, livelihoods, medical care, even a community. If the environmental movement were to follow this lead providing ecocentric social services eco-philosophies could be spread to much larger numbers, through schools, health clinics and hospitals, homeless shelters, community libraries, community lenders, and other essential institutions.

From Vision to Reality

By building community through social services, environmentalism would broaden its influence and therefore help to change social, cultural, economic, and political norms to recognize humanity's utter dependence on the planet and shift our relationship to reflect this.

 

These efforts could also seed a new population of pioneers to drive resistance to the modern industrial socioeconomic model and create a workable alternative to this.

The hope is that this bold reboot of environmentalism will help us prevent civilizational collapse by establishing a new set of philosophical, ethical, and cultural norms that bring about a life-sustaining civilization, or what eco-philosopher Joanna Macy has called "the Great Turning."


Or if that is impossible at this late stage, Assadourian writes, it could at least prevent our great-great-great-great-great grandchildren from reinventing our same cultural and economic mistakes offering them instead an eco-centric philosophy to rebuild civilization on the ashes of our global consumer culture.

Worldwatch's State of the World 2013, released in April 2013, addresses how sustainability should be measured, how we can attain it, and how we can prepare if we fall short.

 

The concluding section, of which the above mentioned chapter is part, also includes deeper explorations of how to prepare ourselves for the emergency, examining necessary changes in education, governance, and economics.