Japan recently donated KR17m ($3m)to the Education Sector Pool Fund to improve education standards. Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda and Japanese Charge D' Affairs Interim, Hideki Yamaji signed the agreement at the Ministry of Finance. The funds would be utilised on among others, education materials and equipment in secondary and primary schools, education leadership, management training, infrastructure completion, rehabilitation of both primary and secondary schools countrywide and improvement of management information systems. This seems very little and a little baffling to see the fan fare. But I suppose beggars aren't choosers and every little helps! More detail via Times of Zambia.

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Information Minister Kennedy Sakeni believes PF has achieved a great deal to improve media freedom in Zambia since it came into power :

It has taken this Government less than 12 months to actualize the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) which the MMD Government shelved for many years. The IBA is now operational under the refurbished offices at the Mass Media Complex in Lusaka. The process to recruit a Chief Executive officer and other staff at the organization, is underway.

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The Fisheries Department in Monze recently echoed the views of other departments across the country that the fishing industry continues to be overlooked in the national strategy for development. It is calling on the government to pump in a lot of money to revamp the industry.

Water accounts for 20% of our land mass, but fisheries only accounts for around 1% of GDP. Fish production in Zambia has averaged between 70,000 and 85,000 tonnes per annum in recent years. With only 10% coming from fish farming.

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Government has threatened to shut down all hotels/lodges across the country that are operating below the required standards. Tourism Minister Sylvia Masebo says some hotels/lodges were not fit to operate because some lodges operated as brothels. She says brothel business was illegal in Zambia and should therefore be discouraged at all levels. She is urging lodge owners to ensure that their premises are well maintained and meet GRZ set standards.

This is a difficult industry to understand. It is chaotic. In 2007 GRZ introduced Tourism and Hospitality Act that supposedly gave GRZ power to deal with these problems. But two years later in 2009, Government announced that a new Hospitality Act was needed to enable the industry "to trade in a transparent manner" and deal with "the mushrooming ...

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Life has never been better for civil servants. GRZ has announced a new Public Service Microfinance Institution which will be giving loans to civil servants at less than 5% interest. According to Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda the "mini bank" will become operational soon and is intended to "trigger downward movement in interest rates". GRZ has also increased salaries for civil servants with some (not all) getting as high as 200 percent effective September 1, 2013. This follows successful conclusion of negotiations with Civil Servants and Allied Workers Union of Zambia.

Details are needed on the new "mini bank". The idea was suggested last year but now appears to be materialising. The rationale seems very poor. It certainly won't trigger rates downward! There are many ways of getting ...

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Another political party is born! The party is called Peoples' Party (PP) led by Mike Mulongoti. He plans to hold a convention in a few months time after "funds mobilisation and massive recruitment of members".

The last party to be formed was called 'People of This Way' led by Bernard Mumba. It has the Bible as its party symbol. That one disappeared. Before that N'gandu Magande created National Movement for Progress Party (NMPP) with the dea of becoming president in 2011. It's nowhere to be seen. In case you have forgotten there other one man / small parties : Mulipi's ADD ; Sondashi's FDA ; Saviour Chishimba's UPP ; the mysterious ZANC ; Chipimo's NAREP; and, let us not forget Fred Mtesa's Zambians for Empowerment and Development (ZED) party and the short lived Leftist Progressive Party ...

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By Chola Mukanga

Economic diversification is the holy grail of Zambia's economic policy making. And yet despite successive budgets placing it at the centre there has been minimal public debate on what it means for Zambia's economic development. As a result the ideas and goals remain opaque.

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The High Court last week ruled that former local government minister Nkandu Luo breached the rules of natural justice when she banned Tujilijili - leading to damages to be awarded to the 15 liquor companies:

"I award damages to the applicants for loss of verifiable stock or equipment which must be assessed by the learned Deputy Registrar of the High Court in the absence of agreement. In awarding these damages, I am satisfied that if this was a claim made in ordinary proceedings by way of writ, the applicants would have been awarded damages as a remedy for the losses..."

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The three Church mother bodies [CCZ, EFZ and ZEC)] recently released a press briefing with a critique of the current political and economic stitution. They also made the following observation on parliamentary bye-elections:

"Even though these elections are being held within the provisions and confines of the law, we are also increasingly seeing more and more by-elections being instigated or motivated by greed, individual interests and a selfish propensity for political dominance by the ruling party....Also we question the integrity of these by-elections. Who is really behind the current spell of elections? What value are these by-elections adding to our political environment? Why are our leaders so ready to waste such colossal sums of money in the campaigns whilst our hospitals still face a ...

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A Solwezi magistrate was arrested recently for corruptly receiving K7000 (rebased). Henry Aongola aged 35, a Magistrate in Solwezi was arrested alongside other two individuals. He was charged with corrupt practices by public officer. It is alleged in April 2010 the magistrate corruptly received money from Joyce Nshindo as an inducement to pervert the course of justice in a criminal case concerning her son Justine Lukanga. Justine was facing a charge in the magistrate's court.

We need more of such arrests. Corruption in the judiciary must be top priority. A clean judicial system can help deter corrupt practices. A dirty and corrupt judiciary encourages even greater corruption. Corruption in institutions which are tasked with combating corruption is likely to encourage corruption in other ...

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