The Cockroach

FORMER MUNALI MINERS PROTEST AGAIN

Former mine workers at Munali Nickel Mine in Chikankata District, Southern Province, have staged another protest at the mine gate after allegedly being denied entry, despite earlier assurances that they would be granted access.

The former employees are demanding payment of outstanding salaries, remittance of 29 months of unpaid Regina Saturnia pension contributions, settlement of terminal benefits, issuance of official clearance letters, and access to exit medical examinations.

The workers say tensions escalated after they were blocked from entering the premises to collect their personal belongings.

GPZ RESET VISION CALLS FOR CABINET APPOINTMENTS OUTSIDE PARLIAMENT.

Lusaka, Zambia — February 23, 2026.

The Governance Party of Zambia (GPZ) Reset Vision Campaign has renewed calls for a fundamental shift in how the country's Cabinet is constituted, advocating strongly for the appointment of Cabinet ministers from outside Parliament a reform that citizens have long demanded but successive governments have repeatedly shelved.

In a statement issued today and personally approved by Jackson Silavwe, the GPZ Reset Vision Campaign argued that appointing Cabinet ministers from outside the legislature would produce a more accountable, independent, and results-oriented executive arm of government.

A Long-Standing Public Demand
According to the campaign, Zambians have consistently raised the matter of separating Cabinet from Parliament during nearly every constitutional review process the country has undertaken. However, the statement notes that ruling parties — dating as far back as the UNIP era — have routinely excluded this proposal from any resulting constitutional amendments, a pattern GPZ Reset Vision describes as deliberate political self-preservation.

The campaign outlined five key reasons it believes Cabinet should be drawn from outside Parliament. A Cabinet constituted in this manner, it argues, would owe its loyalty to the Zambian people rather than to the ruling party and its officeholders. Such ministers would also be less susceptible to political pressure from party cadres and would be driven by measurable results rather than the need to please those in power.

Crucially, GPZ Reset Vision contends the reform would significantly strengthen parliamentary oversight over the executive — a pillar of democratic governance — while simultaneously improving the system of checks and balances, giving both opposition and ruling party legislators a more meaningful role in holding the government to account.

The call echoes a governance model practiced in several presidential democracies, where the executive and legislature are kept constitutionally separate to prevent conflicts of interest and ensure that Cabinet ministers focus entirely on service delivery rather than political survival. Critics of the current Zambian arrangement have long argued that having ministers retain their parliamentary seats blurs the line between the legislature and the executive, undermining the independence of both.

GPZ Reset Vision's push comes at a time of growing public discourse around constitutional reform in Zambia, with civil society organizations and ordinary citizens increasingly vocal about the need for deeper structural changes to the country's governance architecture.
Statement

Zambia!!RESET!! The campaign declared, signaling its intention to keep the pressure on for meaningful constitutional change ahead of future legislative processes.

Jackson Silavwe has approved this Reset Vision.

This report is based on a statement issued by

GPZ Media Team

Happy birthday to the Golden Party Zambia Lusaka Province Youth Chairperson Mr. Vellard Chilengi.

Enjoy your day Sir.

SECRET DAUGHTER CLAIM EMERGES IN MAGANDE ESTATE CASE

By Darius Choonya

The family of former Finance Minister Ng'andu Magande has confirmed that their relative allegedly left behind a daughter born out of wedlock, Namweemba Bianca Magande.

In this matter, Namweemba, aged 38, has petitioned the Lusaka High Court to be recognised as a rightful heir.

She is also seeking an order to have her father’s remains exhumed so that a DNA test can be conducted.

This follows the granting of letters of administration in February 2024 to estate administrators Simwaale Magande, widow Joyce Mudenda, and Nakanjoli Magande.

In her witness statement, Eunice Kachelo, sister to the late Magande, has told the court that she has no doubt that Namweemba is the daughter of the late Ng’andu Peter Magande.

She stated that her brother informed her in 1987 that he had a daughter in Livingstone born out of wedlock and that he had even stayed with the child for six months.

Eunice has further told the court that during a family meeting at the funeral, when elders called for the children of the late Magande, she also called Namweemba, recognising her as the deceased’s child.

However, she said this angered the widow, who allegedly chased them from the funeral house, forcing them to sit outside.

Meanwhile, Aaron Mwiinga, aged 87, a farmer and uncle to the late Magande, says that in 2011, the late Magande visited his home and informed him that he had a daughter named Namweemba who was born out of wedlock.

Nkana member of Parliament Hon Binwell Mpundu NKANA MP joins the Mundubile led PF/Tonse faction.