THE PLATFORM

  By Raphael Banda ZANEC Press Statement on the International Day of the Girl Child 11 th October. 2023 Zambia National Education Coalition (ZANEC) is pleased to join the rest of the world in commemorating the International Day of the Girl Child which falls on 11 th October. This international commemoration gives us the opportunity to reflect on our achievements and shortcomings in addressing the challenges that girls are facing in realizing their right to education. The theme for this year is “ Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership, Our well-being” .   Investment in girls and women spurs productivity and economic growth in any given society. Girls and women's participation in education and leadership positions is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 in Zambia. Moreover, women and girls represent more than half of the country’s population and therefore their full participation in the economy can increase our development prospect...

  The Role of Radio in Sustainable Development. Community Radio plays a key role in Sustainable Development as it provides a platform for local voices to decide their own future. In the developing and developed world, radio gives information access by bridging the information gap. Besides, radio helps in the preservation of local customs and languages which contributes to long-term sustainable cultural heritage safeguarding. In the wake of climate change, radio promotes the sustainable practices, such as promoting environmentally sustainable agricultural and resource management approaches. Radio also promotes social cohesion as it advances community togetherness, communication, and inclusivity. On disaster response communities receive timely weather and agricultural information before and after the rainy season. In the education sector, communities and schools will learn about school feeding programmes,re-entry policy and adequate desks in schools and their challenges. ...

  Zambia: Farmers turn to gliricidia to improve soil fertility Raphael Banda   |  June 11, 2023 soil-fertility Share this: Twitter Facebook Download this story It’s a cool morning around 10 o’clock, with a clear blue sky. The wind is blowing gently and Josephine Tembo is busy inspecting her maize crops that are intercropped with a tree called  Gliricidia sepium . The 53-year-old farmer looks at the maize cobs full of smiles because she is sure she’ll have a bumper harvest. Mrs. Tembo plucks a dry maize cob from a nearby stalk and whistles a joyful tune. She continues checking moisture on the cobs to determine the right time to start harvesting. She says: “I learned about the benefits of intercropping maize with gliricidia in 2016 on Radio Breeze in Chipata, here in Zambia. I tried it the same farming season and the harvest was very good.” Mrs. Tembo is a small-scale farmer who lives in Kakumbi village in Mambwe district, about 120 kilometres from Chipata city in the ...

 By Raphael Banda May 1st 2023-Zambia. For journalism/radio training/ facilitation/consultancy bandaraphael55@gmail.com +260979208286 President Hakainde Hichilema today led the the 2023 Labour Day commemorations in Lusaka and called for hard work and collaborations among the workers, employers federation of Zambia and the government to foster economic development growth. Earlier, Chama North Member of Parliament Yotamu Mtayachalo issued the statement below. "Fellow country men and women as a former trade union leader may I take this rare opportunity to" congratulate our working class in the country and the world at large for commemorating labour day which is an important event on the worker's international calendar. This important day is celebrated world wide by workers to appreciate the important role they play in the economic development of any country and such the working class globally takes this opportunity to reflect on their achievements and also challenges in vari...

  ACC moves in -April 13th 2023 BY Raphael Banda ACC RESTRICTS PROPERTIES WORTH OVER K400 MILLION  The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has revealed that it has seized and restricted properties worth over K400 million in its current crusade against graft. Giving a quarterly report for the first quarter of 2023, the commission said as at March 31,  the commission was investigating over 1,000 corruption cases. “During the quarter, the Commission received a total of 113 reports of suspected corruption. Of these cases, 110 reports contained elements of corruption and were authorized for investigations, while three were pending further action. 28 arrests were also affected during the quarter. As at close of the quarter, the Commission had 1,341 cases under investigations,”ACC Public Relations Manager Timothy Moono said in a statement. He highlighted the conviction of Former  Development Bank of Zambia (DBZ) Managing Director, Samuel Bwalya as among the key points in the f...

 By Raphael Banda CEEC PARTNERS WITH AIRTEL MONEY ZAMBIA FOR DISBURSMENTS & REPAYMENTS OF LOANS The Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) has partnered with Airtel Money Zambia to quicken the process of disbursing and receiving repayments of business loans.The partnership was announced today and comes into effect immediately. CEEC Director General, Dr Muwe Mungule said that the partnership is providing real value by enabling CEEC clients on the Airtel network to repay their CEEC business loans through a secure, fast and convenient manner. “We are certainly delighted with this partnership with Airtel Money as it gives CEEC clients, not only marketeers a modern-day experience with CEEC. Going forward, the Commission would like to increase its technology touch points for better service delivery,” Dr Mungule said. Speaking at the signing event, Country Director for Airtel Mobile Commerce (Airtel Money) Mr. Andrew Chuma said the Airtel Money business had seen growth in...

  Load shedding hits the manufacturing sector in Zambia. Jan11 th 2023. By Raphael Banda The Zambia Association of Manufacturers (ZAM) has noted   the efforts that the Government is putting in place to mitigate the challenges associated with load shedding in the country. In the statement, the association observed that hydro remains the main source of energy in Zambia contributing about 81.5% to the total national installed electricity capacity as of 2021. However, the Association expressed concern with the inconsistencies in the communication regarding the number of hours of load shedding and adherence thereto Load shedding came into effect on 3rd January 2023 . “ On 8th January 2023, another statement was issued announcing a reduction in the power outage period from 12 hours to 6 hours effect 9th January 2023.Despite this split in the power outage period, the effect on the sector is still immense. Load shedding has increased production costs for most manufacturers ...