Category Archives: Community News

Breeze FM founder and Managing Director Mike Daka has challenged journalists to develop a culture of reading books.
Speaking when he featured on Radio Phoenix’s Book Club radio programme this morning, Mr. Daka stated that the quality of writing will remain poor if journalists do not develop an interest in reading books.
Mr. Daka also advised journalists to develop a culture of serving and investing, which most media people do not do, so that they can prepare properly for their retirement.
And Mr. Daka observed that print media including those in other parts of the world have started struggling due to competition from social media.
He however, stated that radio still has a long time to survive the competition from social media as long as they understand who they are broadcasting to, who they are writing for and the needs of their audience.
Mr. Daka further stated that radio in Africa has a great opportunity to survive because most ordinary people cannot manage the costs associated with being online meaningfully.
He also observed that despite social media being a threat, it lacks meaningful content that can assist people in their lives.
And Mr. Daka took the opportunity to advise people to buy his book titled “A journalist in pursuit of three freedoms”.
He explained that those that would read the book would find it interesting and learn from it, as the book looks at various issues in his life, which have made him successful as a journalist, trainer, administrator, a businessman and a farmer.

Seventeen suspects of Mchini Compound in Chipata who were charged with conduct likely to cause the breach of peace yesterday appeared in the Chipata Magistrate Court for mention.

James Banda and 16 others who appeared before Magistrate Moses Phiri participated in the riot that broke out in Mchini last month, after the death of a Magazine resident.

Magistrate Phiri has set September 23^rd 2019 as a day for commencement of trial.

He said the suspects will remain in custody, until they meet the bail conditions. Each suspect is required to pay 500 Kwacha cash and present two working sureties, attracting a sum of 5,000 Kwacha in their own recognizance.

The Ministry of Agriculture has reviewed modalities to be used under the 2018- 2019 conventional system of input distribution.
Agriculture Marketing Directed Kezia Mbita Chityamba says the ministry has targeted a total of one million farmers to benefit from the 2018-2019 farming season countrywide.
Mrs. Chityamba says farmers will still be required to deposit their contribution the way it was done under the electronic voucher card.
She explained that farmers under the conventional system will get three bags of D Compound fertilizer, three bags of Urea and a ten kg bag of maize seed of different varieties.
Mrs. Chityamba adds that additional packs of groundnuts, Sorghum and Soya beans will be given to farmers, in a continued effort to promote variation in the agriculture sector.
She was speaking in a separate interview with journalists at the 2018-2019 Farmer Input Support Program FISP sensitization meeting in Chipata yesterday.

ZAMPOST Postmaster General Mcpherson Chanda has been suspended with immediate effect.
This is to pave way for investigations relating to the administration of the Social Cash Transfer Scheme.
Mr. Chanda has been suspended together with the Director Finance Best Mwaichi, Director Operations Isaac Kamwimba, and Assistant Director Operations Moses Musonda.
ZAMPOST Board Chairperson Musenga Musukwa confirmed the development in a statement to the media.
Mr. Musukwa said a Special Board Meeting was held to discuss the administration of the social cash transfer scheme and resolved to suspend the officers in management for a period of SIX months.
He explained that the Board has resolved to appoint an interim management team, with Brighton Ngoma as Postmaster General , Stanely Phiri Director Operations and Ms Dorothy Mulenga as Finance Director.

The Zambian Kwacha is now trading at more than 11 Kwacha against the United States dollar.
The country’s currency is struggling to maintain its stability against other convertible currencies.
A check by Breeze Business News, found that the United States dollar is buying at 11 Kwacha 14 Ngwee and selling at 11 Kwacha 35 Ngwee.
The British Pound is buying at 14 Kwacha 70 Ngwee and selling at 14 Kwacha 98 Ngwee.
The Euro is buying at 13 Kwacha 4 Ngwee and selling at 13 Kwacha 29 Ngwee while the South Africa Rand is buying at 77 Ngwee and selling at 78 Ngwee.
The poor performance of the Kwacha this week has already worried the business sector that fear it might have an adverse effect on the economy.

Tobacco Board of Zambia TBZ says that some people are frustrating the board’s efforts to restructure the tobacco industry.
TBZ Executive Officer James Kasongo however, says that he will not allow anyone to frustrate his efforts and that of the board.
Speaking at the official opening of a stakeholders’ meeting in Lusaka yesterday, Mr. Kasongo stated that in a quest to change the operations and brining sanity, the Board has engaged a specialist to capture data that will help in farmer Registration and their specific locations.
He says that he is targeting to work with the government to ensure there is a conducive working environment for all entrepreneurs in the Tobacco industry.
Meanwhile, government says it expects all players in the industry to observe laid down procedures and avoid doing things outside the legal stipulation.
Acting Director in the Department of Agriculture Alick Daka also called on all farmers that have not remitted levies to do so through the Tobacco Board of Zambia.
Mr. Daka emphasized that children should not be used in the cultivation and farming of Tobacco despite the sector being profitable and a quick win cash crop in the agriculture sector.
He noted that research shows that in Zambia Tobacco is seven and half times more profitable per hectare than maize production and fourteen times more profitable than Cotton production.
Mr. Daka pointed out that Tobacco has great potential to contribute to the growth of the economy through employment and wealth creation.

Eastern Water and Sewerage Company plans to engage an external debt collection agency to recover the outstanding debt of about 10 million kwacha.
Company Acting Managing Director Aaron Mulinda says demand notices are currently being distributed to affected customers.
He says out of the 10 million kwacha, about 4 million kwacha is the amount owed by government while the rest of the amount is owed by individual customers.
He was speaking to journalists after a stakeholders meeting organized by the utility company in Chipata yesterday.
Mr. Mulinda says the outstanding amount had reduced after engaging bailiffs whose mandate expired, but that the debt is again going up.

The Ministry of Agriculture has assured farmers that it will cover up for those who did not have their cards activated in the 2017-2018 farming season.
This was disclosed by Agriculture Business and Marketing Director, Kezia Mbita Katyamba in an interview on the sidelines of a 2018 -2019 Farmer Input Support Program FISP sensitization meeting in Chipata this morning.
Mrs. Katyamba also disclosed that the ministry is working on a system that will enable farmers get the value of their support for previous 2017-2018 farming season.
The Director says this will be done using the data that was captured during the previous season to identify the affected farmers.