The Zambian government's anti-retroviral (ARV) drug programme has managed to provide cheap, life-prolonging Aids treatment, but many HIV-positive Zambian women, denied access by a tradition of subservience and sacrifice, are not benefiting. Traditionally women are taught that they should not be a burden to their family.
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa on Thursday called for the fight against Aids to be stepped up as he opened a meeting between Southern African ministers and United Nations agencies involved in battling the pandemic. Mwanawasa said his government is committed to providing "all the political will that is necessary".
Former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba on Monday appeared before two different courts on corruption and theft charges but both cases were adjourned due to disorganisation in the prosecution team. "It's disappointing that the state never seems to be ready to proceed with these matters," a magistrate said.
Financial difficulties have forced the Zambian government to cancel celebrations of all public holidays this year except Independence Day on October 24, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday. An estimated $1,3-million is expected to be saved by not celebrating public holidays this year.
Zambia's labour movement has declared February 18 a day of national protest against the government's decision to increase taxes and freeze salaries of the more than 120 000 public service workers. Just a week earlier, in a pre-Budget interview on television, the finance minister had assured he would not increase taxes.
A Zambian court on Monday adjourned the trial of former president Frederick Chiluba, who is facing charges of corruption and abuse of office during his decade in power, with the magistrate rapping the prosecution for being disorganised. "I am not impressed at all," Magistrate Jones Chinyama said.
Low wages and unemployment, coupled with high taxes, have forced thousands of qualified Zambians to flee the country in search of greener pastures -- but President Levy Mwanawasa is calling them "coward failures". "They failed to make the grade here and have gone to exhibit their inefficiencies outside," he said.
Media organisations in Zambia are staging a five-day campaign this week to lobby for the proposed Freedom of Information Bill to be brought before the current session of Parliament. This follows government claims that the law needs to be revised.
Placard-carrying sympathisers of popular tabloid columnist Roy Clarke and government supporters clashed outside Lusaka's High Court on Monday as Clarke appeared in a case in which he is contesting a government deportation order. Additional police had to be posted throughout the court grounds.
Human rights activists in Zambia scored another victory recently when they got Parliament to outlaw corporal punishment in the country. Legal Affairs Minister George Kunda said corporal punishment went against constitutional provisions. But not all teachers are happy with the ruling.
Lightning hit a church in Zambia over the weekend, killing one worshipper and injuring several others, a police spokesperson said on Monday. The sermon at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in the capital was about to start on Saturday when it was struck by a lightning bolt.
Four people died and several others were injured in the Zambian capital Lusaka on Christmas after more than 100 houses collapsed following torrential rain, state-run media reported on Friday. Police sources quoted in the Times of Zambia said the collapses occurred in two teeming shantytowns in the city.
Zambia's Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed death sentences for 44 soldiers for their role in a failed 1997 military coup, but ruled that 10 others will not have to hang. Under Zambian law, the president has the final say on whether the death penalty should be carried out in each case.
Six people have died from cholera and another 165 are reported to be in a serious condition as the disease sweeps through Zambia's capital, Lusaka. It appears that local authorities have been caught flat-footed by the outbreak. They are now engaged in a frantic bid to contain the disease.
The trial of former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba, charged with stealing millions of dollars from state coffers, opened in Lusaka on Tuesday, but was adjourned until Wednesday. Chiluba and his six co-accused are faced with 169 charges of theft, corruption and abuse of power involving more than $29-million.
A passenger boat capsized on Lake Mweru on Zambia's northern border with Congo, killing 26 people and leaving 14 missing, officials said on Wednesday. The boat was sailing in rough weather on Monday afternoon when the accident happened, police spokesperson Brenda Muntemba said.
Zambia's Roman Catholic bishops on Thursday launched a scathing attack on President Levy Mwanawasa's government over the way the country's new constitution is being developed. The church demanded that the new constitution be adopted by a conference rather than by Parliament.
The demand for anti-Aids drugs far outstrips supply in many African countries. But, Zambia appears to be an exception to this rule -- at first glance. People are not visiting clinics to get access to anti-retrovirals. However, the Zambian government and Aids groups disagree on the reasons behind this.
An aid package promised to Zambia will be withheld until the government explains how it will offset its $120-million budget deficit, International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials said on Thursday.
Police in Zambia fired tear gas on some 2 000 stone throwing street vendors Wednesday who began rioting after the police tried to shut down their businesses.
