By Derrick Sinjela published on Monday 11th July 2011 A LUSAKA District Agriculture Cooperatives (LDAC) Committee Member Mary Sakala has called on women in the rural to take keen interest in agricultural activities for them to contribute to ensuring household and national food security. Sakala says time has come for women till the land pointing out that desist spending time on gossip and idle talk would not empower them economically. Sakala wants the Zambian Government led by President Michael Chilufya Sata to treat women farmers as equal partners in development process as this particular gender had the numbers to economically...

By Derrick Sinjela published on Monday 11th July 2011 CHIEF Chipepo of the Tonga people of Siavonga in the Southern Province says his chiefdom is grappling with early marriage due to poverty and has since called on Patriotic Front (PF) Government to stiffen as an effective check on the rampant vice. Chief Chipepo says prioritizing sensitisation programmes in the area is yet another intervention viewed as an effective curb against early marriages in his chiefdom. Alluding to the hunger situation in the Southern Province, Chief Chipepo bemoaned that poverty was exacerbated as a result of climate change which had negatively...

By Derrick Sinjela published on Monday 11th July 2011 ZAMBIA has too many business licenses and regulations which makes the business environment un-conducive and the cost of doing business in Zambia high in terms of financial costs, effort and time. Zambia needs to establish a Business Regulatory Reform Unit, and the main purpose of the Unit will be to ascertain and vet the quality of all new business licenses to ensure that they meet high quality standards before being legislated and deposited in the e-registry of licenses, recommends ZDA. According to a statement made available by the Zambia Development Agency...

By Derrick Sinjela published on Monday 11th July 2011 AFRICAN Governments should prioritize issues of climate change at both the local and international level Action Aid international Africa (AIA) Policy and Campaigns Manager Henry Malumo has advised. Malumo said Africa was devastated by the issues of climate change thus necessitating continental Governments to allocate more funds the national annual budget meant to foster sustainable agriculture policies and crop activities. He bemoaned the lack of demonstration by previous regimes but urged the Patriotic Front (PF) Government and Agricultural Minister, Emmanuel Chenda to break the noted failure to curb lackadaisical climate change...

By Derrick Sinjela published on Monday 11th July 2011 THE Government of the Republic of Zambia has put in place policies to grow the economy and specifically targeted at infrastructure development. The insistence on infrastructural development has motivated the private sector to emulate Central Government interventions, with Lafarge Cement taking advantage of this incentive. Last year Lafarge Cement launched a new product aptly named ‘Power Plus’ introduced to cater for the growing domestic and commercial construction market. Lafarge Cement Zambia Superset is a product designed from 42.5R Portland Limestone cement used for block making and concrete. The new product is...

By Derrick Sinjela published on Monday 11th July 2011 COMMUNITY markets have since independence acted as employment and income generation platforms for indigenous traders. Chimpwena Market is one of the biggest trading marketplaces in Mufulira on the Copperbelt Province, located on the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Commercial and domestic clientele heavily depend on Mufulira’s Chimpwena market for retail and wholesale groceries. However, a market stall trader, Catherine Kaoma complains of low incomes raised following poor hygienic standards and the growing street vending trend. “My business is going down due to other traders opting to vend...

By Derrick Sinjela published on Monday 11th July 2011 BUSINESS has become a one major source of income in Zambia which like late Aliya sung knows no aged limit as elderly and youthful citizens compete for a share of the national cake. With Finance Minister Alexander Bwalya Chikwanda presenting the National budget on Friday, 11th November 2011, traders are hoping that President Michael Chilufya Sata’s Letter of Intent to parliamentarians will take their collective concerns into consideration. A casual check on Zambian streets and market places unveils traders starting from senior-old age and children as young as five-year-olds. A case...