Guest Diggers

Zambia’s 2021 election: how ECZ can prevent a disputed outcome
By Sishuwa Sishuwa on 5 Mar 2020
On 23 February 2020, Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chief electoral officer Patrick Nshindano appeared on Sunday Interview, a Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation television programme....
INTERVENE AND SAVE UNZA PART 2
By Tiyaonse Kabwe on 2 Mar 2020
OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA DR. EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU Comrade President, It was not my intention to repeat....
6

Disband Religion Ministry, Sumaili’s actions border on lawlessness
By Dr Julius Kapembwa on 24 Feb 2020
Introduction Since its birth in 2016, the Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs (MNGRA) has been surrounded in controversy. The Ministry was formed without....
1

Class of 2019: Zambians who gravely disappointed last year
By Sishuwa Sishuwa on 14 Jan 2020
In contrast to the shortage of authentic, consistent heroes in public life, Zambia had a huge surplus of disappointing individuals and institutions in 2019, as....
The Significance of Village Chickens in Building Economically Resilient Rural Households
By Chisoni Mumba, PhD on 14 Jan 2020
In the first week of January 2020, Social Media was full of pictures showing the effects of flash floods in Mambwe District. Over 50 families....
1

Legalising Marijuana and Prostitution
By Julius Kapembwa, PhD on 7 Jan 2020
The Patriotic Front government’s legalisation of marijuana for commercial and medicinal purposes is a welcome, if overdue, development. It is a victory of reason over....
2

Class of 2019: Zambians who inspired last year
By Sishuwa Sishuwa on 6 Jan 2020
Across 2019, Zambia experienced no shortage of disappointments and setbacks. Yet there are some individuals whose courage and principles made them inspiring figures in the....
1

TIZ 2019 review: Superficial fight against corruption an injustice to the poor
By Rueben Lifuka on 5 Jan 2020
The PF administration under the leadership of President Edgar Lungu, reached the mid point of its five-year term in April 2019. In total, the Patriotic....
10

What is eating me up and giving me sleepless nights A response to Sunday Chanda
By Sishuwa Sishuwa on 1 Jan 2020
Ordinarily, I do not respond to reactions to my articles that make no attempt whatsoever to engage with the substance of my writing. I believe....
3

AN ACUTELY SEPTIC SCEPTIC – A VERY UNSURE SISHUWA
By Sunday Chilufya Chanda on 31 Dec 2019
One would have thought that by being an academician, UNZA don Sishuwa Sishuwa would be a person whose outlook would be guided by empirical evidence....
5

Lungu should cut his term of office, not the salaries of public officers. Here is why.
By Sishuwa Sishuwa on 29 Dec 2019
A few days ago, President Edgar Lungu announced a 15 to 20 per cent reduction on his salary and the salaries of both cabinet ministers....
1

Every Judgment Is a Lie: A Critique of the Bill 10 Judgment of the Constitutional Court
By Dr Pamela Towela Sambo and Dr O’Brien Kaaba on 29 Dec 2019
Albie Sachs, the celebrated retired judge of the South African Constitutional Court, while delivering a lecture, once asserted that every judgment he wrote was a....
2

State of the Zambian Economy and its Ripple Effects on the Livestock Subsector in 2019
By Chisoni Mumba, PhD on 28 Dec 2019
The Zambian economy has faced challenges of constricting fiscal space and the devastating effects of climate change. Fiscal space is commonly defined as the budgetary....
1

Against the Order of Nature? What about oral and anal sex between man, wife? Think Again!
By Julius Kapembwa (PhD) on 5 Dec 2019
Two Zambian males were recently sentenced to a hefty 15 years in jail for committing a crime not against any person, but “against the order....
Bill 10 – Is Zambia finally on the way to a durable constitution?
By Rueben Lifuka on 4 Dec 2019
The long march towards constitutional stability in Zambia continues. We are yet again at the precipice of possibly another failure at constitutional reforms. Bill No....
2

Some PF insiders want to get rid of President Lungu. And they have a plan.
By Sishuwa Sishuwa on 22 Nov 2019
On 8 November 2019, President Edgar Lungu, speaking in his first press conference for four years, brought up Zambia’s elections scheduled for 2021 before declaring:....
Current Status of Peri-Urban And Urban Livestock Keeping In Lusaka District
By Dr Chishimba Mubanga, MSc on 22 Nov 2019
The nation was recently engaged in a debate on the rearing of livestock in residential areas. This debate arose from reports that the mayor of....
Chaos and Chaos:’ The Trouble with Climate Change and Environmental Protection in Zambia
By Simon Manda, PhD on 17 Nov 2019
Is there such as thing like ‘let us cut a million-tree campaign in Zambia? Yes, there is but only in practice. This submission dares to....

E-voucher Delays: How and why they matter

By CUTS on 7 Nov 2019

While much of the country is waiting for rains to cool the current heatwave, many farmers under the e-voucher are hoping they will hold. Our....

2020 Post Budget Analysis: What will next year hold?

By CUTS on 7 Nov 2019

What will next year hold? Making predictions can make a fool of any of us. But, as the dust settles on the 2020 budget which....

Ministerial statement on 51 houses raises more questions

By Rueben Lifuka on 31 Oct 2019

Transparency International Zambia has followed with keen interest the investigations into the ownership of initially 48 and now 51 houses in Chalala area. Following the....

Goal driven businesses

By Chibamba Kanyama on 22 Oct 2019

Before you consider financing your business, ensure that both your personal and business goals are clearly defined. Even in putting up a business plan that....

Business Risks in Livestock Farming Enterprises in Zambia

By Chisoni Mumba, PhD on 20 Oct 2019

Livestock farming is an investment which most of us venture in because we have seen and heard how successful other farmers are doing. I have....

Load shedding: The underlying causes that we are overlooking

By Douty Chibamba on 19 Oct 2019

In its press release of September 19 2019, the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) Limited informed the citizenry that the hours of loading shedding would....

The Proposed 2019 Constitution Amendment Bill: A Threat to Zambia’s Democracy?

By Felicity Kayumba Kalunga on 18 Oct 2019

1. Introduction Zambia is in the process of amending its constitution for the fifth time since independence in 1964. The most recent change occurred in....

Opinion: The world mustn’t sleep-walk into another debt crisis

By Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth Secretary-General on 17 Oct 2019

Trade wars, protectionism, and nationalist rhetoric are combining to create the possibility of a nightmare debt crisis that could be worse than any previously experienced.....

Inside President Edgar Lungu’s SONA: What went Right?

By Simon Manda, PhD on 16 Oct 2019

Many judges of have characterised President Edgar Lungu’s State of the National Address (SONA, themed ‘Accelerating Sustainable Development for a Better Zambia Amidst the Impact....

The Perils of Elitism in Zambian Politics and Economics

By Simon Manda, PhD on 14 Oct 2019

This feature argues that tendencies to curtail comments on the Zambia economy by some social commentators highlight a worrying trend of possibilities of elitism in....

Vaccinate to Eliminate: Rabies kills, kill rabies!

By Chisoni Mumba, PhD on 30 Sep 2019

28th September is World Rabies Day. It takes place each year on this date, the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur who, with the....

How the razing of Forest 27 threatens the survival of Lusaka’s inhabitants

By Douty Chibamba on 25 Sep 2019

‘Water is Life, Conserve it!’ is the marketing slogan of the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC). What this slogan obscures, however, is the point....

Time: a non-renewable resource

By Chibamba Kanyama on 25 Sep 2019

Business acumen may mean making business decisions on time. Time is an important business value in the life of an entrepreneur! Time is more than....

Prepare for opportunity

By Chibamba Kanyama on 25 Sep 2019

Opportunity is not only in supplying goods and services but in making investments. When you see an opportunity hanging, you respond by making an investment.....

Parastatals can be revived if…

By Chibamba Kanyama on 25 Sep 2019

In the past 17 months, my company Bridges Limited has closely worked with a number of State Owned Enterprises: developing business and strategic plans, building....

Arrears: Real Business Demon

By Chibamba Kanyama on 25 Sep 2019

When I asked my accounts manager to give me a summary of outstanding liabilities, with the hope of clearing them on one transaction, I was....

Resilience defines Zambian businesses

By Chibamba Kanyama on 25 Sep 2019

I was at the Latitude 15 Degrees Restaurant last week sharing notes with a group of American Fund Managers monitoring the performance of the economy.....

Judiciary has the right to make submissions to ‘Bill 10’ committee

By McQueen Zenzo Zaza on 23 Sep 2019

(The views expressed below represent my personal opinion and are not attributable to any organization or institution I may be affiliated with). The Judiciary Arm....

The Type of Permanent Secretary we Need in the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock

By Chisoni Mumba, PhD on 22 Sep 2019

On 3rd September 2019, President Lungu made reshuffles at Permanent Secretary (PS) level. He indicated that he would not renew the contract of the current....

Xenophobic Attacks and Failure of National Politics in South Africa

By Simon Manda, PhD on 16 Sep 2019

This current feature argues that xenophobic attacks in South Africa (henceforth SA) are unfortunate but help highlight three fundamental issues. First is that challenges facing....