A do or die match for Zambia

The permutations for the Ghana Vs Zambia game are very simple. Ghana needs a draw to qualify to the last round of the Brazil 2014 qualifier while Zambia requires maximum points to progress. That said the stage is set for Kumasi, some 500 kilometres away from the capital Accra and the reasons for taking this match there is because Ghana has been winning whenever they play there. In fact, the place itself has been dubbed the capital of football.

The Black Stars as the Ghanaian national soccer team is known have called all the key players for this match including those who had retired. Here I am talking about Chelsea’s Michael Essien whose last game for his country was in September 2011, Kevin Prince Boateng, the player who surprised many by moving away from Italy’s AC Milan to join Schalke in Germany and Andre Ayew, a player who stars for the French league one side Olympique Masseille. The Ghana team also boasts of young and exciting players in the likes of Christian Atsu who has just signed a five contract with Chelsea from FC Porto in Portugal and Assamoah Gyan who on a good day can be a thorn in the defence of any team. The inclusion of the three key players mentioned above underlines the seriousness with which the Black Stars are taking this match against the Chipolopolo Boys of Zambia. The danger though is that these players might cause some disturbances in the Ghana setup. This might also cause acrimony in the team especially if the regular players find themselves on bench. You look at yourself I have been with the team through thin and thick and then someone who was not there comes to take my place. This is the feeling going through some players.

Zambia goes into this encounter as underdogs when you compare the kind of talent on display for the Ghanaian team. This match itself is the main focus of the weekend’s qualifiers. The reasons for this are very simple. The two teams have an exciting set of players who play similar type of entertaining football. It is a match that everyone is talking about. The Ghanaians have every reason to respect the Zambian team that has beaten them in two key recent matches. The Chipolopolo Boys knocked out the Black Stars from the semi finals of the 2012 Africa Cup when the former beat the later 1-0. In the more recent encounter played at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia defeated Ghana by 1-0. When you look at these recent results, the Ghanaians have every reason to fear Zambia.

That aside, the match in Kumasi is likely to remain in the memory of many fans because Zambia is capable of upsetting the tables and make it to the last round of the World Cup qualifier. I did talk about some of the Ghana players but I didn’t mention any of the Zambian players. Let me do so. Zambia is going to be missing two key strikers, Collins Mbesuma of Orlando Pirates and FC Utrecht’s Jacob Mulenga, both are nursing injuries. This then means that the task of getting the much needed goals falls on the shoulders of Emmanuel Mayuka who moved on loan to a French team, new call up Rodger Kola and Fwayo Tembo. The midfield genius Rainford Kalaba of TP Mazembe who is slowly getting back to his old good form, Chisamba Lungu and Mukuka Mulenga can cause serious problems to the Ghana team. There is room also for skipper Christopher Katongo in the midfield to add the much needed stability in the team. The defence led by Stoppila Sunzu and Hichani Himonde is good enough to stop any threat from the Ghana strike force and Kennedy Mweene provides some experience needed for this match.

I did not want to waste much time talking about the intimidation that has preceded this encounter because I know football is played on the pitch and not in the board rooms. I wish to state though that there was no need for the team to come back for the prayers which they even missed. They could have connected to Ghana directly from South Africa where they were camping. The other confusion about the chartered plane being denied permission to land in Accra is just a symptom of the last minute arrangements on the part of the organisers. This could have been sorted out a very long time ago rather than on the day of departure. Let us not blame Ghana for this. What we should know is that emotions are normally very high for such encounters and tend to spill over.

Finally, I would say let the best team win but being a Zambian I would be much happier if we can beat Ghana at their own backyard. As you know football is a game which can sometimes produce shock results. Let us forget about all that has happened before this match and think about the game. I hope you will all enjoy the game. 

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Medardo Cardinal Mazombwe dies at 81

We all know that some day we are destined to die. Yet when the cold hand of death visits us, the shock in us all is palpable. I can’t help but provide some reflections on the death of Zambia’s first indigenous Cardinal, Medardo Joseph Mazombwe. The country has been robbed of a much loved son of the land, the man who preached the word of God to all of us and stood for justice. 

I want to take you back to 2010 when in the company of other Zambians, I travelled to the Vatican in Rome, Italy to witness his creation as Cardinal - a historic occasion for the Church in Zambia. It was such a wonderful and memorable experience to witness the events through the lens and provide updates for the nation.

It was on 20^th November, 2010 on that chilly Italian morning that Emeritus Archbishop Medardo Mazombwe joined 24 others to be created cardinal by then Holy Father, Pope Benedict the sixteenth during the Public Consistory. The occasion was a colourful one and was repeatedly spiced by dance, ululations and cheers, mostly from the African travelling delegation. As he stepped forward and knelt before the Pope to receive his red hat, several Zambians who had travelled applauded him and ululated. It was a great moment to witness one of their own become one of the Princesses of the Church as Cardinals are sometimes called. I watched through the lens and was enthused to capture the images on camera in the majestic and iconic St. Peter’s Basilica. Soon after the Consistory, I stepped forward to congratulate him and receive a blessing.  I felt this excitement inside me like never before. It was such a privilege to be one of the first few Zambians to receive such a gesture from the new Cardinal. 

The following day I was to return in that same Church for the Holy Mass on Sunday, a continuation of the ceremony for creating the Cardinals. As usual the Church was full to capacity and many people were beaming with excitement in anticipation of the Mass that was to be presided over by Pope Benedict the sixteenth. On this day, Medardo Cardinal Mazombwe and 24 others were consigned with a ring. The ring is a sign of the bond that exists between the cardinal and the Church. In his usual soft voice, the Holy Father called upon the Christians to pray for the new Cardinals.

“I invite you to pray for the new Cardinals, asking for the special intercession of the Most Holy Mother of God, so that they may exercise their ministry in the Church fruitfully. As the new Cardinals accept the burden of this office, I am confident that they will be supported by your constant prayers and your cooperation in their efforts to build up the Body of Christ in unity, holiness and peace.” 

There were other events too lined up while in Rome. Soon after the Consistory, the Pope had an audience with the new Cardinals, their family members and all the faithful who had come to Rome for the Consistory. During this occasion held on Monday, the Pope delivered a discourse in several languages greeting thousands of enthused pilgrims from around the globe. In English, he said: “I extend a cordial greeting to the English-speaking prelates whom I had the joy of raising to the dignity of Cardinal in last Saturday’s Consistory. I also welcome their family members and friends, and all the faithful who have accompanied them to Rome.”

This welcome from the head of the Catholic Church gave me a sense of belonging to the universal Church. I felt very much a family member of the more than 2 billion Catholics.

During a thanksgiving Mass organized by Zambians based in Rome, Medardo Cardinal Mazombwe called upon leaders to promote justice, love and unity.

“And those of Us who are called into power and leadership, let us remember that justice is love. Where there is no justice, it is a proof that there is no love. The kingdom of Christ is the kingdom of justice, love and peace. The world nowadays is in crisis with regard to justice, there is so much injustice around us,” he said. 

When I spoke to Fr. Moses Haamungole, a Catholic priest who was at the time studying in Belgium, he described Cardinal Mazombwe as a great son of Zambia who contributed to the debt cancellation for Zambia. Fr. Haamungole who was in Rome for the Consistory further said the appointment of Cardinal Mazombwe “confirms the maturity of the Catholic Church in Zambia.”

“I am very happy the Church has recognized his contribution… and I think he still has an important role to play in the Church in Zambia. He (Cardinal Mazombwe) is one of the advisors of the Pope, so in many ways he will be called upon to give his input in the affairs of the Church,” he said.

Cardinals occupy a very important position in the Church. The College of Cardinals is responsible for electing a new Pope whenever there is a vacancy in the papal office and advising him on matters of greater importance. It is also from among the Cardinals that a new pope is elected. Despite holding such an influential position in the Church, Medardo Cardinal Mazombwe did not have a house of his own but chose to live in the parish of St. Francis De Sales in Thornpark, Lusaka. This sums up anything that has been or can be said about this man – a humble and committed servant of the Lord. 

   

According to a statement from the Catholic Archdiocese of Lusaka and the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), His Eminence Medardo CARDINAL Joseph Mazombwe, the Archbishop Emeritus of Lusaka Archdiocese passed away in Lusaka’s University Teaching Hospital (UTH) on Thursday, 29 August 2013 at around 17.40 hours Zambian time. 

Brief PROFILE of Medardo CARDINAL Joseph Mazombwe as compiled by ZEC

Zambia‘s first indigenous Cardinal

Cardinal Mazombwe was born on 24 September 1931 at Katete in the Eastern Province of Zambia. He was ordained a Catholic priest on 4 September 1960 and became Bishop of Chipata Diocese on 7 Feb 1971.  Between 1996 and 2006, he was the Archbishop of Lusaka until his retirement in 2006.

On 30 November 2010 the then Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI created the Emeritus Archbishop of Lusaka, Medardo Joseph Mazombwe, as Zambia’s first indigenous Cardinal, at a public consistory held in St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican. 

Cardinal Mazombwe has held several senior positions in the local and regional Church, such as Zambia Episcopal President (1972 – 1975; 1988 – 1990 and 1999 – 2002); and as Chairman of the regional conferences of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (A.M.E.C.E.A.) (1979 – 1986).

In the months leading to the year 2000, Cardinal Mazombwe, as Archbishop of Lusaka, was an ardent campaigner for the cancellation of Zambia’s international debt, in the Jubilee 2000 movement. Most visible among some of his numerous pastoral initiatives, is the sprawling Cathedral of the Child Jesus (Pope Square) in Lusaka.

Cardinal Mazombwe’s optimism and courage in the face of Cancer inspired many that visited him in the last twelve months. Even as he grew weak, Cardinal Mazombwe never gave up his passion for the affairs of the Church and the nation.

MHSRIP

Lessons from the Zambia Railways saga

Live in Zambia and earn 140,000 kwacha re-based (2600 US dollars)? Is that rich?  Yes by Zambian standards.  

Poor Zambians are waking up to the rude shock that a chief executive of a public company is getting well above many citizens in terms of salary and other conditions of service. I am saying so because many Zambian can only dream to get that amount of money after toiling for more than 40 years in public service.

As if that is not enough, Professor Clive Chirwa lives in a luxury apartment where it costs Zambia Railways about 72 million per month in rentals. His other entitlement of 2.6 million kwacha rebased annual bonus and 25% share in Zambia Railways after working for 5 years were agreed upon by his lawyers and government prior to signing the contract. This was revealed by Prof. Chirwa himself on ZNBC’s Sunday interview. So it must be shocking to learn that a government that had promised to introduce austerity measures aimed at cutting unnecessary expenditure is allowing such extravagancy at Zambia Railways.

In this story, there is also the issue of former board members of Zambia Railways engaging in a brawl with the Chief Executive Officer, Professor Clive Chirwa over allowances. Mr. Chirwa has expressed disappointment over the insatiable appetite for money by some of the board members: "I am very surprised that people in Zambia have got this attitude of getting allowances. This thing should come to an end. Perhaps this story of Zambia Railways will bring up some sanity within the allowance culture where without doing anything, you get allowances. This should be stopped once and for all".

Perhaps, Professor Chirwa has been away from home for too long because this is certainly what is happening in many institutions in the country. The whole concept of being on the board is misconstrued by many to imply a full time job where you must be paid like workers who turn up every day. We have seen this happening, not only with public institutions alone but with even private ones.

 

The board before it was dissolved held a press conference at which they accused Prof. Chirwa of “undermining their authority”. They also revealed that “the man (Chirwa) never wanted to listen to anyone” and that “the man made obscene demands from a company which is insolvent.”

The revelations that have come from both sides send a cold shiver down the spines of many ordinary Zambians. After all these issues have only come out because the two parties did not agree well on how to plunder the finances from the Euro bond. What is happening at Zambia Railways is only an offshoot of the hypocrisy that goes on in many institutions in this country. Many Zambians are left to wonder as to whom they should trust to run the affairs of this country on their behalf. The politicians have failed them and professionals have also done the same.

This matter brings into question the case of public investment into Zambia Railways. Gael Raballand, a senior economist at the World Bank and Alan Whiteworth, technical adviser at Zambia Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (ZIPAR) in their research paper puts it succinctly:

“With the poor economic and financial returns to railway investment and the uncertainty over Congolese traffic, public investment in railways in current circumstances appears highly risky. Few of the new rail routes proposed in the Sixth National Development Plan appear economically viable under any circumstances. While certain new routes could possibly be viable if mines are prepared to sign long term contracts, such decisions are best left to the private sector. Given its poor track record in railways and the underfunding of essential public services, rather than investing in railways itself, the Government’s role should be to: (a) facilitate private investment in the sector; and (b) ensure that trucks cover the full cost of the damage they cause to the roads by enforcing appropriate road user charges.”

The rest will have to be left to time to help us know whether this is a viable project to be undertaken by government.

  

Pope Francis, the friend of the poor

I have known Argentina as a great footballing country that has produced some of the greatest players to have graced the world’s much loved sport - football. Talk of the great Diego ‘Amando’ Maradona of yester-years and now Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, has been added to that list of great Argentines who have shaped this world.

When his name was announced as the man to have risen to the head of the Catholic Church, little did it click my mind who this man is. But by asking us to pray for him before he could give us his blessing soon after his election left me thrilled by this mark of humility. The world certainly needs “a shepherd who is close to his sheep”. This is what has been said by many people about the new Pope. 

From what we are reading concerning his life, he is a man who has chosen simplicity in the world where many use their positions to amass wealth and live in vanity. By the choice of Francis, he has again shown that he wants to identify himself with the poor like St. Francis of Assisi did. We are told Pope Francis had “a reputation as a humble pastor who even in high office commuted to work by bus, lived in a small palace rather that an apostolic palace and cooked his own meals”. 

The argument as to which Francis he has chosen as his guiding model was put to rest on Saturday 16^th March, when he addressed journalists. This is what he said: “During the elections, the Emeritus Archbishop of San Paulo, Claudio Cardinal Humes (OFM), a great friend, when things were becoming dangerous he was comforting me. And when the number of votes was reaching two-thirds, there was the usual applause because the pope was elected. He hugged me… then he said don’t forget the poor and then that word just stuck with me – the poor. Then I immediately thought of Francis of Assisi.

In case you want to read more about St. Francis follow this link:

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=50

Pope Francis described Francis of Assisi as “the man that represents poverty, that represents peace. He is the man who loves and looks after what has been created.” This he said is what he wants to do for the church and for the world. The new pope said he wants to preside over “a poor church for the poor”. During his address to the journalists, he called upon them to use their professional skills to represent well the gospel and the reality of the church.

Through the meeting with journalists, Pope Francis has demonstrated his love and appreciation for the role of the media in society. Journalists report what is bad and good, beautiful and truthful. This according to the new pope is what the church equally represents, therefore the two must work together to advance the mission of Christ. The meeting with the journalists gave us more insight into the life of Pope Francis.