News stories by Kelvin Kachingwe, page 2

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is once again under fire from opposition political parties and some civil society organisations, which accuse it of bias in favour of the ruling party during elections.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is once again under fire from opposition political parties and some civil society organisations, which accuse it of bias in favour of the ruling party during elections.

When journalists were beaten by political supporters for covering the president’s return trip from abroad, and cabinet ministers and police officers looked on without stopping it, it seemed to be the last straw in the victimisation of the media. But it was not.

Pressure is mounting for a new constitution that is inclusive of all citizen’s views as the ongoing delays by the body granted to draft it still continues.

The government’s change of the Budget cycle to improve its spending of money to develop the country is not good enough unless those in charge of the money are made accountable, say civil society.

The acquittal of former President Frederick Chiluba on charges of theft after a seven-year long landmark case, and the refusal by the Zambian government to appeal, has put government and civil society on a collision course.

As the Zambian parliament resumes, civil society organisations (CSOs) have come out strongly to oppose the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Bill, which seeks to regulate their operations.

Nowhere in Zambia is the impact of the global financial crisis being felt harder than in the copper and cobalt-rich province of the Copperbelt.

The desperate need to find an alternative investor for the closed Luanshya Copper Mines (LCM) in Zambia’s Copperbelt has not prevented some Zambians from fiercely opposing the government’s decision to let Chinese-owned Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Company (NFCA) run the mine.

Africa’s contribution to the global economy will continue to be low if there is no investment in infrastructure, delegates heard at the North-South Corridor Conference in Lusaka, where 1.2 billion dollars was raised.