Government has been advised to consider revising the social cash transfer programme in such a way that beneficiaries become self reliant at a certain stage. Development Activist Canisius Banda says the number of beneficiaries under the social cash transfer should be reducing instead of increasing. Dr Banda is suggesting that government comes up with modalities of creating entrepreneurial technical capacity ...

The Nongovernmental Gender Organizations Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has expressed concern that the 2016 amendments to the Republican Constitution have not been adequately popularized. NGOCC acting Executive Director Chilufya Siwale says most Zambians, especially women, remain oblivious about civil and political rights provided in the amended Constitution. Ms. Siwale says a recently conducted baseline survey in Lusaka, Mazabuka and Gwembe Districts, ...

The World Bank has partnered with the Ministry of General Education on a project to construct 82 secondary schools in seven provinces at a total cost of US$62 million. The project dubbed the Zambia Education Enhancement Project (ZEEP) will result in the creation of 25,000 Secondary School spaces. Speaking when he visited the Ministry of General Education headquarters in Lusaka, ...

A rescue vessel operating in the central Mediterranean Sea has had its registration revoked, leaving its future operations in jeopardy. When the Aquarius next docks, it will have to remove its Panama maritime flag and cannot set sail without a new one. It is the last private rescue ship operating in the area used for crossings from Libya to Europe. ...

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has fiercely criticised the US following a deadly attack on a military parade. Gunmen opened fire at Revolutionary Guard troops in the south-western city of Ahvaz on Saturday, in an attack claimed by both an anti-government Arab group, and Islamic State militants. Mr Rouhani said the “bully” US and the Gulf states it backed had enabled ...

A governance activist Leslie Chikuse has noticed that despite government introducing various taxes, the delivery of public services still leaves much to be desired. Mr. Chikuse has singled out the provision of water and sanitation services as being below par despite people being taxed heavily. And Mr. Chikuse has told QTV News that service provision in most sectors is poor because  the taxes being collected are being ...

Housing and Infrastructure Development Minister Ronald Chitotela has disclosed that out of k1.3 billion, k800 million was recently paid to local contractors while k500 million is what foreign contractors earned. The Housing and Infrastructure Development Minister has also refuted claims that the government is in the habit of favoring Chinese contractors at the expense of local ones. Mr. Chitotela says ...

Movement for National Transformation founding President Daniel Shimunza has described as “irresponsible” the move to increase President Edgar Lungu’s salary along with selected government officials by the Ministry of Finance amid austerity measures. According to a statutory instrument signed by the Minister of Finance Margarate Mwanakatwe, President Lungu will now be getting, k487, 839 from k 432,000 as an annual ...