Zambia's first lady, Maureen Kakubo Mwanawasa, is seen
as the power behind the throne of President Levy Mwanawasa,
and many believe that he wants a third term in five years' time
- via his wife, whose new nickname is Hillary Clinton.
Her alleged ambit...
Under opposition pressure, the government seeks better terms from the latest set of investors in its copper mines
British High Court Justice Peter Smith has found that
ex-President Frederick Chiluba stole US$46 million of state
funds from Zambia between 1991 and 2002 (AC Vol 46 No 20). In
a 220-page judgement, made public on 4 May, Smith also ruled that
two Londo...
On 24 April, the London High Court ordered the Zambian government
to pay US$15.5 million to a 'vulture fund'. Debt relief campaigners
say the payment will undermine efforts to reduce poverty. In 1979,
Zambia raised a $15 mn. loan from Romania to pay fo...
Dealing with King Cobra and issuing arrest warrants for Congolese
Governors signal a new activist foreign policy from Lusaka
As the price of copper edges downwards, Zambia's trades unionists
and opposition politicians are pressing to secure higher mining
royalties and better working conditions. Many targeted companies
are Asian-owned: last month, protests forced China's Pres...
India's Vedanta Resources has pumped nearly US$1 billion
into Konkola Copper Mines. KCM incorporates four mining companies:
Nchanga Mine in Chingola, Konkola Mine in Chilabombwe, Nampundwe
Mine in Lusaka and the Nkana Smelter and Refinery in Kitwe. Wit...
Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the Copperbelt
was cancelled at the last minute amid reports that several hundred
miners working for the Chinese-owned Non Ferrous Corporation had
organised a protest. Nevertheless Hu signed a deal
with the Zambi...
The opposition offered its voters refuge on Noah's Ark, but it sank and Mwanawasa is back
Former Presidents, Kenneth Kaunda and Frederick Chiluba,
have each picked an opposition candidate for the presidential
election on 28 September. President Levy Mwanawasa of the
Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), who is standing for another
term,...
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