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Top news items in major Zambian media outlets

Xinhua, May 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The following are the highlights of Zambia's major media outlets on Saturday.

-- Zambian President Edgar Lungu has told opposition political parties who are not comfortable with the work of the country's electoral body should boycott the coming elections.

Lungu said in southern Zambia's Livingstone city that opposition political parties should boycott the August 11 general election if they are not ready, adding that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) was one of the best in the region and the rest of Africa.

Opposition political parties have expressed concern over the electoral body's proposal to award a Dubai firm a contract to print the ballot papers, claiming it was a ploy to rig the elections. (THE POST)

-- The Zambian government said it was firmly working on a goal of providing universal access to clean water and good sanitation to all citizens.

Minister of Local Government and Housing said government intends to provide clean and safe drinking water and enough sanitation in line with the Vision 2030.

He was speaking during a ground breaking program of water, sanitation and drainage system in Lusaka, the country's capital.

The 355 million U.S. dollars project funded by the United States of America's Millennium Challenge Corporation is the single largest investment in water and sanitation in the country in 30 years. (TIMES OF ZAMBIA)

-- The Zambian government has expressed concern over the shortage of midwives and limited materials in the country, a situation that has brought challenges in providing quality services to expectant mothers.

Minister of Health Joseph Kasonde said the resolve to reduce maternal mortality was being threatened by the shortage of midwives and limited materials but added that the government was committed to improve the human resource capacity in the health sector.

According to him, midwives have contributed to Zambia's maternal mortality reducing from 727 to 398 per 100,000.

On the other hand, Zambia has increased the number of births assisted by a skilled attendant from 50 percent in 1992 to 64 percent in 2014. (DAILY NATION)

-- The Zambian government has said road traffic accidents have increased from 13,000 in 2004 to 33,700 to date.

Minister of Transport and Communications Kapembwa Simbao said the country recorded 13,005 accidents in 2004 out of which 892 were fatal but that to date they have been 2,113 fatalities out of 33,700 accidents.

He said the major cause of accidents in Zambia is human error, which accounts for 87.3 percent of the accidents.

Other causes include vehicle condition at 1.5 percent, road conditions at 0.4 percent while bad weather conditions account for 0.1 percent. Other causes account for 9.6 percent. (ZAMBIA DAILY MAI