Not without Dr Sampa, doctors vow
THE Resident Doctors Association of Zambia
(RDAZ) will only go to the negotiation table with Government if their president, Brian Sampa is allowed to attend the meetings, vice president Kenly Chisanga has said.
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary for Administration Emmanuel Ngulube said Government was ready to commence discussions with the legitimate executive of the association on understanding that Dr Sampa will not be part of it.
Dr Chisanga however said the constitution of RDAZ only recognises its president as the official voice of the association and none of the members of the executive, including the vice president, can go to the negotiation table without the president’s consent.
“RDAZ is ready to have a meeting with the Ministry of Health provided that the association’s president, Dr Brian Sampa will be in attendance,” he said.
He said Dr Sampa remains a registered medical doctor and president of the association despite the suspension of his practicing license by the Health Professionals Council of Zambia.
“We would like to state that we respect our constitution and therefore, nothing will move forward without the president of the Resident Doctors Association of Zambia,Dr Brian Sampa,” Dr Chisanga said.
Meanwhile, Mr Ngulube said Dr Sampa could neither practice as a medical doctor nor participate in any activity related to the profession while on suspension.
He said the RDAZ constitution cannot override the Health Professions Act No 24 of 2009.
MUCH as it is painful for Sishuwa Sishuwa to see his preferred Presidential candidate facing the same man who defeated him twice again, he should respect the court decision, Lusaka lawyer, Tutwa Ngulube has said.
Mr Ngulube said Dr Sishuwa was swimming in dangerous waters for disrespecting the Constitutional Court ruling over President Edgar Lungu's eligibility case in which he together with his team lost.
He accused Dr Sishuwa of being bitter after realising that his preferred Presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections would again lose to President Lungu.
Dr Sishuwa, who is a University of Zambia lecturer accused the Constitutional Court of open bias and favourism towards the ruling Patriotic Front and its presidential candidate, President Lungu.
Dr Sishuwa reportedly said the Constitutional Court construed the provision of the constitution to benefit one individual.
But Mr Ngulube said Dr Shishuwa was not only a danger but an embarrassment to the legal fraternity.
He also warned Dr Sishuwa that he risked being cited for contempt of court.
"Sishuwa is swimming in dangerous waters because the court can curtail with freedom of movement for contempt of court.
"Litigants who lose cases must show the same amount of respect they show during court sessions," Mr Ngulube said. He added, "We will not sit idle as lawyers while fishermen insult the Judiciary."
Mr Ngulube also challenged the
Law Association of Zamba to guide Dr Sishuwa on how to conduct himself when he lose the case in court.
AN agreement which will give prominence to risk management practices in Zambia has been signed between the Institute of Risk Management Zambia (IRMZA) and the Swiss Institute of Management and Innovation (SIMI).
The core focus for the MoU is for IRMZA to offer globally and fully accredited certification programmes to risk management practitioners in Zambia.
The MoU establishes the terms and understanding between IRMZA and SIMI to facilitate collaborative activities that are mutually beneficial for IRMZA members and the risk management fraternity in Zambia.
In particular, the memorandum is primarily designed to drive forward four key areas of collaboration such as knowledge sharing, training and capacity development and supporting and developing joint international activities, among others.
Commenting on the MoU, IRMZA Executive Director, Francis Ziba, said enterprise risk management provided a robust, strategic road map to empower organisations to achieve this.
At IRMZA, Mr Ziba said, it was its mission to propagate the knowledge and ensure that Zambia could combat similar challenges successfully, going forward.
He said that as efforts were being made to rebuild the economy over a year after the pandemic struck, it was critical for the Zambian industry to retrospect and incorporate learnings from 2020, to secure businesses against future crises.
“As Zambia’s preferred professional body for Risk Management qualifications, we hope to make an impact at the grass-root levels.
“This partnership with SIMI will go a long way towards bolstering our efforts to build a greater understanding of Enterprise Risk Management in Zambia, and to educate industry leaders and students about the business value of managing risk in a holistic way,” he said.
The primary objective for SIMI is to be a world leader in providing high-quality, fully accredited, and globally recognised academic and executive programmes to an international clientele.
SIMI Dean of Banking & Finance Faculty, Christopher Goh, said his organisation was pleased to be working with IRMZA.
Dr Goh said this strategic partnership was a key milestone for SIMI in developing risk professionals in Zambia and the region.
HARARE– World Bank President David Malpass this week met a delegation of the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), led by African Union (AU) Special Envoy Strive Masiyiwa, to discuss the multibillion dollar financing of vaccines for African countries.
Malpass later tweeted a screen shot of the meeting showing him and the bank’s top leadership, discussing with Masiyiwa, Dr John Nkengasong, and Dr Vera Songwe, the UN Under Secretary General at the Economic Commission for Africa.
He wrote: “Great discussion yesterday (Saturday) with @_ AfricanUnion Envoy Strive Masiyiwa, @JNKengasong & @SongweVera. The @ WorldBank Group is partnering with African Union countries & @AfricaCDC. Together, we will finance #AVATT #COVID19 vaccine options & get needles into arms.”
Malpass was attending the G7 meeting and he met with the African delegation prior to the meeting.
The World Bank has been working with the AU/AVATT for more than six months in a bid to help African countries secure vaccines valued at more than $3bn, that were secured from Johnson and Johnson and other suppliers.
Explaining the partnership, Mr Masiyiwa said Africa Export-Import Bank (AfriEximbank), and the World Bank, are the principle finance partners for the vaccine finance.
“AfriEximbank put up the guarantees we used to make an advance purchase, and the World Bank then provides loans and grants to member states who wish to buy the vaccines.
The World Bank has set up an expedited process for this, and countries can get loans to buy vaccines and to implement their programmes,” Masiyiwa said, adding that the World Bank and the AU teams meet almost every week.
Meanwhile, Masiyiwa said that all 220 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson