THE dynamic nature of politics means that it's almost impossible to predict who will govern our country during what period. The very fact that Mr Edgar Lungu is Head of State in Zambia today underscores our point. In 2011 when the Patriotic Front formed government, if anyone pointed at Mr Lungu and said ‘this guy...

LAST month, president Edgar Lungu said his government would be buying more than one million tonnes of maize this year for strategic reserves during the forthcoming maize marketing season. This is a huge quantity of maize. In fact, if that is achieved, it would be more than double the amount of grain that the Food...

THE government has taken great exception to the conduct of PF cadres who disrupted a radio programme in Muchinga Province where opposition UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema was featuring. Describing another incident in Mpika where the said opposition leader was blocked from featuring on radio, Chief Government Spokesperson Dora Siliya said the act of lawlessness from...

As far as stereotypes go, a step child is hated simply for not being someone’s biological child. No matter how well they do or how good they are, the step parent is never pleased with the efforts and accomplishments of the step child. In fact, hate-filled parents find it normal to punish the step child...

LAST month, Transport and Communications Minister Mutotwe Kafwaya announced that the already much-delayed launch of the national carrier, Zambia Airways, has been pushed back yet again because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Speaking in his constituency recently, Honourable Kafwaya said that the Covid-19 pandemic had affected business and the aviation industry had been badly affected. As...

While we are still talking about our government's insatiable appetite for borrowing and its superficial commitment to the International Monetary Fund, it would be the right time to look back at the conflicting statements that have come out of government. This review says everything that we, as citizens, need to know about why there will...

CONSIDERING the nature of loans that the PF has continued to contract, it can no longer be in doubt that the PF government is not committed to debt sustainability. This regime has such an extreme insatiable appetite for borrowing that they don't care about the implications any more. At this rate, it is becoming increasingly...

MANY critics of the Patriotic Front government have been heard describing this regime as being lost. We find that to be unfair. How can someone who doesn't know where they are going get lost? Only a person who has a clear understanding of where they are going can get lost along the way. The Patriotic...

IF government conducted about 170 Covid-19 tests in Nakonde and out of those 76 were found to be positive; and if those tests were taken randomly, then we are talking about a likelihood that one in two people in Nakonde are infected. Now, this news should speak to the conscience of those who are providing...

LET us commemorate this year's World Labour Day with women in mind. Specifically, we want to celebrate women in agriculture. Women in the front line of export market leading in horticulture, front line of plant production. Many women in Africa do not make a living wage, work in unhealthy and unsafe workplaces, are denied basic rights,...

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“I AM not responsible for the debt crisis. I ran the economy very well under the difficult circumstances. I made my own contribution. I tried to prevent financial irresponsibility and so on," says Mr Alexander Bwalya Chikwanda in reaction to a letter authored by his predecessors addressed to the President and the incumbent Minister of...

Dr Bwalya Ng’andu is a good man, but his hands are tied. And those tied hands of his are not helping him make the right decisions as Finance Minister. He has had to take political considerations on board. He has to think of the continued survival of an incompetent and corrupt PF government. He has...

“I run this institution, and when I make a decision, it’s final! You are not supposed to be here! When I do a press briefing, they are not supposed to be here. That’s a decision I have made because they don’t cover us. Chapwa! You can leave. I have made a decision, they can leave....

In Eastern Province, there is a proverb that says "kang'oma kolilisa sikachedwa kutulika". In literal translation, this means "a loud drum doesn't last long". What happens to a drum that sounds the loudest is that everyone wants to play it, and in the end, this reduces its durability. A loud drum stands a higher chance...

IN expressing his displeasure about the manner in which police officers dispersed some Bread of Life Church congregants in Mkushi recently, Honourable Stephen Kampyongo said not even him, as Minister of Home Affairs, has the power to order police to go and beat up citizens. The minister feels what the police are doing to night...

Former Bank of Zambia Governor Dr Caleb Fundanga, former finance ministers Ng'andu Magande, Situmbeko Musokotwane and Felix Mutati, former Commerce minister Dipak Patel and former Economic Advisor to late President Levy Mwanawasa have written to President Edgar Lungu and incumbent Minister of Finance Dr Bwalya Ng'andu, expressing concern over Zambia's current debt position. These eminent...

Our country has been caught napping by the Coronavirus pandemic. Our leadership was in slumber! With billions of dollars to pay in external and domestic debt, we have been hit by a calamity with no recovery plan. This is a stark reminder of why a country needs visionary leadership. Every year, governments of every country...

Glencore subsidiary, Mopani Copper Mines has placed its mining operations in Zambia under care and maintenance until further notice, subsequently putting over 11, 000 direct jobs on the line. In plain English, this means the mine contractors and suppliers have been condemned to starvation with immediate effect. Mopani raises two major reasons for this decision:...