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Climate Change Expert Abel Musumali has called on the government to establish a carbon pricing mechanism to help Zambia meet its climate finance goals and international commitments. Dr. Musumali said the country needs to introduce a standard price for carbon , arguing that the current unregulated approach leaves Zambia vulnerable to exploitation. “There must be a standard in terms of how much a ton of carbon is sold for. If Zambia sells a ton of carbon at 20 to 30 dollars, we set a benchmark,” he said. “If we leave it open, someone may buy a ton at five dollars and resell it on the international market at 80 to 100 dollars.” He further proposed that government introduce taxes on plastics and other environmentally harmful products as part of resource mobilization for climate financing . Dr. Musumali said such taxes would compel larger companies and industries to contribute meaningfully to national climate financing efforts. He also stressed the need for greater private sector involve...

Her identity has been protected in line with child-protection guidelines. A  16 year-old girl, whose identity has been withheld for her protection, says she feels deeply let down by her father after he allegedly took a light decision when she was defi led by her 19 year old stepbrother. The abuse occurred when she was 14. I dentified only as Mary, the teenager lived with her three sisters and one stepbrother after her parents divorced. She recounts that that the abuse happened mostly when her stepmother was away from home. Mary said the siblings would play hide and seek and whenever her stepbrother joined the game, he would lure her into a room, remove her clothes and defile her. “We would play hide-and-seek,” Mary said. “When he joined, he would find me, pull me into a room, remove my clothes, and defile me.” She further revealed that on some days, the children were denied food and were beaten by the same stepbrother whenever adults were not present. According to Mary, her stepmot...

For safety reasons, her face has been blurred Fathers are often seen as protectors by their daughters, but this is not the case for 16-year-old  Mary Mwanza  (not her real name), who experienced sexual abuse at the hands of her stepbrother when she was only 14. Mary lived with her father after her parents divorced. Her father, an engineer, moved into a new home with his wife, Mary’s siblings, and his stepson. Mary explained that whenever the adults were away, her stepbrother would mistreat the children and sometimes deny them food. One day, while Mary and her siblings were playing, her then-19-year-old stepbrother isolated her and sexually assaulted her. He threatened her to ensure she stayed silent, and this pattern of abuse left Mary deeply frightened and emotionally distressed. “I wanted to run away because no one believed me,” she said. Another girl living in the household later reported witnessing the incident, but Mary’s stepmother dismissed the claim at first. She only ...

Patriotic Front Chilubi Member of Parliament Mulenga Fube has rejected the apology issued by Victor Kalesha  to the Catholic , describing it as insincere and “premeditated.” Mr. Kalesha formally apologized to the Catholic Church for remarks he made during a recent meeting with President Hakainde Hichilema. The comments, captured in a widely circulated video clip, were interpreted as targeting Catholic clergy and other groups involved in debates surrounding constitutional reforms . In the footage, Mr. Kalesha is heard advising the President to ignore “childless” individuals calling for the withdrawal of Bill 7. He further suggested that those with no “seed” should not speak on constitutional matters  r emarks believed to have been directed at Catholic bishops linked to the Oasis Forum. However, Mr. Fube said the comments were not accidental but deliberately crafted to advance what he called “earthly powers.” “I can’t accept that apology because that statement was premeditated,”...

Patriotic Front Kamfisa Member of Parliament Christopher Kang’ombe says he does not expect to see students from higher learning institutions being paraded by the government to endorse its initiatives. Mr. Kangombe who has clarifying his use of the word paraded, has argued that whenever government wants to implement a policy, the first people they put in front of the camera are students to say they support it, a trend he says raises questions about the state of critical thinking in higher institutions. Mr. Kang’ombe, author of the 2013 book “Students Reclaim Their Place in Society,” grounded in his own experience as a student leader, has wondered what had happened to the once-vibrant intellectual voice of students, recalling that during the push by second Republican President Frederick Chiluba to seek a third term, it was students working with civil society who led the resistance. Mr. Kang’mbe who is Former Copperbelt University Students Union (COBUSU) President, has further noted t...

Patriotic Front Chilubi Member of Parliament Mulenga Fube says he is ready to be suspended from Parliament for insisting that Bill 7 has been brought back to the House through an illegal process. Mr. Fube has argued that the Constitutional Court , one of the country’s highest courts, clearly ruled that the method previously used to handle Bill 7 was wrong a message he says Parliament has ignored by reactivating the same Bill with the same content. He said the Court has already spoken to the legality of the standing procedures, making Parliament’s latest action improper. “We should not have started with the Bill. We should have started with consulting the people first,” he said, adding that this makes the Technical Committee on Constitutional Amendments appointed by President Hakainde Hichilema appear to have been “just for academic purposes” because, on the same day it submitted its report, the Speaker announced the reactivation of Bill 7. Mr. Fube has questioned which version of ...

After leaving her first marriage due to her husband’s infidelity, 33-year-old Clara Katongo of Lusaka ’s Shantumbu area in Chieftainess Nkomesha’s chiefdom met a man she believed was a “heaven-sent husband.” However, she later found herself fighting for her life after suffering severe physical abuse at the hands of her second husband. Clara, who got married at 19, spent more than five years in her first marriage. However, things began to fall apart when her husband proposed to her niece, who had been helping her babysit her child while she worked as a maid. The situation worsened after she discovered that her husband had impregnated her niece, a revelation she received with shock. After informing her mother about the situation, she was advised to keep it a secret in order to protect her husband and the family at large. Later, she decided to confront her husband about why he was sleeping with her niece a claim he vehemently denied despite it being the truth. This left Clara with no opt...