Commentaries


Verbatim; President Michael Sata’s Labour Day speech 

Speech for H.E President Michael Sata at this year’s labour day celebrations May 1, 2013 . 
Below is the exact wording of the comedy (speech) president Michael Sata delivered at this year’s labour day celebrations as monitored and recorded by our reporters. The event was live on both ZNBC radio and television, but will be heavily edited by ZNBC later in the night to save the embarrassment. But we challenge the state ZNBC TV to run it as it was delivered.Shamenda: Your excellency, I don’t want to make a long speech, it is now my rare honour and privilege to invite you your excellency to deliver the key note address for labour day. Your excellency sir: 
President Sata: Thank you sir. Well done Mr. Minister, Mr. Fuck-well……. (Sata shuffling papers meant to be a speech). 
I was quarrelling with Mr. Shamenda and Mr. Hikaumba because I told them I was a councillor in Bauleni, MP in Kabwata, was MP in Mpika and Dr. Kaunda was annoyed with me that this boy is not presidential material but governor material.
And say thank you very much Dr.KK (with emphasis on KK). An we used to say KK wamuyayaya, kumwamba mulungu pasi KK (crowd cheers).
And KK was boasting when was 89, am also 76, so what is there for him to boast. He can boast to Mr Edgar Lungu who is a baby.
But you see you workers we have met here today…………secretary general of our party, I started saluting Mr. KK wamuyaya, Ms. madam Chief Justice….muletuka muletuka mulebeba ati acting bushe niba acting kabili abanabo tabalipo ninshi eba chief justice. Naba Matimbini ba Speaker ba pa Chibombo, members of the central committee……..I have only seen Mr. Chumbwe…..and Mr. Jean Kapata naba Dorothy Kazunga……….who else have I seen……….oh…. Mr. Patrick Kazhila, eeh Mr. Kazhila stand up……batoteleniko ba Kazhila. Honourable ministers and deputy ministers, your excellences……employers and fellow workers.
At least me you are my employers all of you and you are very good employers.
And today Mr. Nevers Mumba is not here…..Mr. HH is not here because they are ashamed they have been preaching Sata is dying…….does a dying man look like me?
And even if I die………even if I dropped dead because my life belongs to God. We have too many leaders in PF who can take over from me. They (PF leaders) are not fighting but they are waiting. They (PF leaders) try their witchcraft but it can’t beat that witchcraft from Mpika. Mr. Edgar Lungu goes to Petauke but the witchcraft in Petauke is very light it can’t touch me….so go and tell them Mr. Sata is still alive.
And what type of a leader who wish others to be sick and dying……and if you want to aspire to lead this country, come here because all you workers we understand your difficulties whether you have nice uniforms in the army, whether you have nice uniforms in the police there are still other difficulties, accommodation and transport and a number of things.
So if you are leaders and you are aspiring to lead the people of Zambia come here and celebrate with them………..including my boys who are sitting in the trees They are not from Mpika those who are in the trees some of them are from Petauke. Because Edgar Lungu was saying they are from Mpika and I said why, and he said in Mpika you eat monkeys. So baiche imwe ngaisa Edgar Lungu ku Chawama…………. sort him out.
It is with great pleasure that I join you and the rest of the world in celebrating this years labour day. This day is unique because it accords us an opportunity to recorgnise the untiring efforts of workers in transforming our country.
Fellow workers ladies and gentlemen…….….imwe muyenda kuti………iiiimweee ba youth……..ba yenda kuti abo bayenda yenda. Make sure they don’t yenda….lift them by air.
The theme for this year is transforming the economy through job creation, labour law reforms, better conditions of service and improved work culture. The theme highlights the areas that we need to address in order for us to transform the economy in a manner that is meaningful to the majority of our citizens.
Mr.Shamenda at one time if you ask KK this country we were to import labour. We had no Zambians who could break stones, we had to import them from Tanzania and Kenya and why cant we do it now…So Mr. Shamenda take-off your jacket and put on your overall, and take your Mr. Hikaumba with you…and take that ka ma Joyce(Nonde)
In celebrating this occasion, government pays tribute to all fellow workers for your immense contributions and sacrifices you have been making towards transforming our economy into what it is today. For this reason I salute you all.
Our government is implementing forward……forward looking macro economic policies and ultimately lead to sustained inclusive and equitable economic growth as well as increased productive employment opportunities in with PF the manifesto.
We are happy to mention that the PF government has created more than 175 700 jobs since we came into power and we are creating jobs anymore. And you have seen the new little incoming workers they are going to be dancing,…… singing for us. These are the little …….…whose that woman who came from South Africa……….Dorothy Masuka.
Our government have in the past one year made a number progressive changes aimed at improving the general standard of living for the people of Zambia. Notable among these has been the raising of minimum wage for various categories of workers and the unprecedented generous salary increase for public service workers.
We can do what we can do as government…….the rest we leave it to the unions. If the unions are sleeping, am not going to do the job for you. If you knock on our door we are ready. We have shown that we are ready to give more, because the current workers……if you look at those children their……their parents don’t earn enough that is why some of those children have no shoes.
 also moved the lowest paid civil servant following the recently held salary negotiations from 1400 gross pay to 3000 or three million, why the food basket as calculated by the general statistics office is at 2900 or 2900000.
We therefore wish to urge you all my fellow workers that improved salaries and conditions of work should be matched with hard work………especially people from Eastern Province. Because every time we call we find you at work but you are not doing anything. You are just speaking chakwanu chinyanja and smoking…..smoking balani.
Let me emphasis that the transformation of the economy requires that in discharging our duties we ensure that we uphold integrity accountability and transparency, especially when this relates to the use of public resources.
Our fight against corruption and least financial flaws is a priority as these vices divert resources from activities that are vital for employment creation, poverty eradication and sustainable development.
When we are talking about job creation, some children are looking the way they are looking because their parents can’t find employment. We are very lucky here……….. we have a person like Kenneth Kaunda………. we are lucky in the sense that Kenneth Kaunda saw this country as Northern Rhodesia. When he came from Chinsali………he was walking from Chinsali to come and look for my late sister from Mpika……he did not know how to wear trousers. He was just wearing shorts…….so he has struggled for this country to be what it is and that’s why today it pains him greatly………….. that he doesn’t even want to keep his hair………he has removed all the hair from his head. Because I remember one time when I was one of his youths here in Lusaka….….he said he will only eat meat when everybody in Zambia starts eating meat.
And one time the old man in Cairo road wanted to go and buy meat through the window……….when Africans were buying through the window. Now you find that we young Zambians we can’t emulate people like KK. You are making short cuts. Even removing all the head hair in your head………why don’t you emulate the girls. You saw when the girls were matching………..,they were very smart. Our men without hair,………are you not ashamed……..are you not ashamed. If God has not given you a Pala………don’t make one because you can’t sustain it. Look at that one there………. looking at me without hair…….,he is hiding his head. What about my women selling in kamwala……..who are selling combs you want them to die from starvation because you don’t want to keep your hair.
For our men in uniforms I thank you for working hard. Some people have engaged security guards, they don’t know that security guards are more brutal than my policemen. For the army, when there is no war, some people in Eastern province are trying to provoke me. But when I send the army in Eastern province, Mpenzeni will be the first one to run away.
Thank you for keeping you here, without lunch. Thank you for coming Mr. (Hi)Kaumba…but does it mean that there are no names in Southern province other than HH. Thank you……..this one has hidden his name….Simukoko……
And you whats your name……are you related to Rev. Masumba……ooh you are also a reverend.
I am now moving towards the people receiving awards……where are the people receiving the awards……..
Thank you.

         The Red Card 

                          (Kalaki's Korner)

          The bishop walked to the lectern, opened the Good Book, and announced ‘The reading this morning is the Parable of the Red Card, as recorded in the Gospel according to St Kalaki, Chapter 23 Verses 12-36…’ 

          There was in the Land of Zed at that time a young priest by the name of Francis Bwabwata, who liked to speak out against sin and corruption. He had just been ordained as a priest and was keen to make a name for himself.

          So one day he knelt down and prayed to the Lord, saying ‘Oh Father in Heaven, where can I find some sin and corruption to expose? When people are in church they are always on their best behaviour, and I have failed to find a single case of theft or even fornication within the holy precinct of the church.’
          ‘Fear not,’ answered the Lord, ‘for the world is full of the sins of greed, covetousness and gluttony which lead to corruption. You must follow your congregation to find out where they go after church.’
          And so, the very next Sabbath, young Father Francis followed his flock out of the church and into the nearby Soccer Coliseum, where the local team, the Neanderthal Warriors, was playing the Chibuku Chola Boys.
          And what the innocent Francis saw was too awful to behold, so much so that he had to scurry back to his church, fall to his knees and pray to the Lord, saying ‘O Lord I have seen terrible things. The referee is paid to see the sins of one side rather than the other, while the local team has dug special muti under the goalposts, and the crowd participates by hurling beer bottles in a most partisan fashion. O Lord, I have come back here to pray for peace and goodwill to prevail on Earth.’
          Whereupon the Good Lord, who can get really annoyed sometimes, roared ‘It’s no good coming here to pray, you are supposed to go out there and do something about it! Show them all a red card!’
          And so, fortified with this backing from such a famous celestial mentor, the good priest Francis went forth courageously to the next match armed with a red card. And when the referee failed to award an obvious penalty, Francis raised his red card and shouted ‘In the name of the Lord, send him off’. Whereupon, a crowd of Neanderthal supporters ran onto the pitch, picked up the referee, and carried him off.
          After this initial success, Father Francis immediately formed a supporters club, which he called the No Nonsense Neanderthals, and kitted them out with red cards, red whistles and red shirts. And before long Father Francis became a national hero for his Christian Crusade against corruption in football, extending the his campaign off-field to the rigged election of club directors, backhanders in stadium building contracts, illegal selling of players, and so on.
          Even better for Francis’s reputation, he was soon arrested by the Police Farce on charges of having a red card without a licence, inciting a football crowd to shout at a referee, and wearing a red shirt without permission from Manchester United. As soon as the various laughable charges had been duly laughed out of court, he was carried shoulder high to the clubroom of the Neanderthal Warriors and made Chairman of the Club alongside a new board of directors.
          That evening Father Francis again knelt in prayer. ‘Oh Lord,’ he said, ‘I humbly thank you for this opportunity to lead football towards the Kingdom of Heaven, and to do my small part in your work to rid this Earth of sin and corruption.’
          And the Lord spoke unto him, saying ‘Just watch yourself, and make sure you don’t get pompous.’
          Father Francis was soon so busy reforming football that had no time for either church or prayer. But one evening he was so pleased with his own good work that he thought of asking the Lord whether he didn’t deserve promotion to an even higher calling. ‘O Lord,’ he prayed, ‘I trust you have been appreciating my good work, and I’m humbly asking whether you would back me for the presidency of the Land of Zed at the next election, so that I may extend your fight against sin and corruption.’
          ‘My son,’ replied the Lord solemnly, ‘I have seen that you have fired two directors who disagreed with you.’
          ‘I’m pleased you appreciate that,’ purred Father Francis. ‘Maintaining unity in the club is always my top priority.’
          ‘My son,’ intoned the Lord, ‘I see that you have never been available to hear complaints from the Supporters Club.’
          ‘It’s difficult to attend to everything,’ explained Father Francis, ‘I have had to spend so much time attending high-level FIFA meetings in Switzerland.’
          ‘My son,’ continued the Lord, ‘What are you doing about the continuing complaints of corruption in the Neanderthal Warriors Football Club?’
          ‘Unfortunately, O Lord, my disciplinary committee was sent on forced leave.’
          ‘My son, I have no choice except to give you a red card. You must take leave from your present job and devote yourself to forty years of prayer and fasting.’
          ‘But after that, O Lord, shall I ascend to the presidency?’
          ‘No my son,’ intoned the Lord solemnly. ‘You will ascend to Heaven.’
          ‘Thank you, O Lord,’ replied Father Francis. ‘And shall I sit at the right hand of God?’
          ‘No, my son,’ said the Lord firmly, ‘you shall sit at the left hand of Judas.’
Kalaki's Korner

Even KK called Zambians ‘stupid idiots’ 

April 28---Editor, I notice that in Zambia its only an insult because HH said it…..

1.Kenneth Kaunda called Zambians ‘Stupid idiots’……Zambians stood by and even laughed out loud,no govt spokespoken or media condemned that not even the private media.
2.Wynter Kabimba recently called the entire UPND leadership including HH as ‘Dogs of War’…….the entire Zambian population was mute.
3.The Post Newspaper has repeatedly and brutally assaulted others with the word ‘stupid’ and yet Zambians sit back and actually cheer the editor on. The govt spokesperson and the outspoken NGOs will lock themselves in their offices reading the Posts unpalatable writings.
4.President Sata has used more demeaning, derogatory and insulting words, expressions and remarks than any Zambian I know. Its actually insults, jokes and lies that have gotten him into state house and nothing else. I have even lost count of the numerous accounts of our president baptizing his opponents with insults and inappropriate remarks both as an opposition leader and head of state.Do you remember what the president said about George Kunda’s widow and you all kept quiet and simply murmured in the corners of your living rooms? Do you remember what HH said about Nawakwi and you all stormed out of your rooms into the streets just to demonize HH? Sata called mwanawasa a cabbage, RB nyama soya, Chanda Chimba as Chanda Cimbwi,Mpongwe women as vinkubala, HH as under 5 etc …..and when HH likened Sata’s style of governance with that of a clueless hyena you all descended on him with shocking speed.
5.Hon GBM honourably used the expression ‘bushe nindalama shaba wiso bafikala’…….and that according to ‘Zambians’ is no insult unless HH is linked to it.
6. Please add more examples here.
There are many examples of foul expressions that have been abused by our politicians to score political points or indeed offend their opponents but HH is one who has used his Nyanja phrases very accurately to summarize his analysis. In brief, lets not selectively vilify HH for making a statement of fact. While its not clear whether HH actually said those words or not it is clear that Scott’s actions fit HH’s alleged description and if HH didn’t say it he should have said it because its true. Can you imagine what amount of condemnation HH will get from you,ECZ, civil society, churches, the media, govt etc if he goes campaigning after the campaign period in any election?
Please conceal my identity
WHY CHAMBISHI NEEDS TO BE A DISTRICT
Someone may question me why I always canvass for Chambishi to be declared a district. Well, that is where I grew up and still have my relatives there whom I visit regularly. In any case Chambishi is less than 30km from Chingola and is part of Zambia.
A critical analysis of the advertisement by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing in The  Times of Zambia newspaper dated 24th April, 2013 for the 2013 tender for the rehabilitation and upgrading of selected Urban Roads to Bituminous standard for Kalulushi District, indicates that a total of 20.75km(20 Roads) will be worked on. Amazingly, 15.35km (about 14 Roads) have been selected from Kalulushi while only 5.4km (about 6 Roads) are from Chambishi. The question is, how fair is such selection? As if that was not enough, NFC, a Chambishi based copper mine is currently erecting a boundary wall at Kalulushi Boma whether as part of their corporate social responsibility or on concessionary terms. All things cannot always be for Kalulushi as it is totally unfair. President Sata you are the only one to correct this hurting anomaly.   
Ultimately, it was outrageous to further note that the Ministry of Local Government and Housing only catered for 3 towns in this exercise namely; Kalulushi District(20.75km), Chililabombwe(11.7km) and Mufulira(20.05km) leaving out Chingola which  is still supposed to qualify for about 30km this year. The contractor Mivami who is currently on the ground is working on the 2009 approved roads which were disserted by the first contractor Red Lion.     
McDonald Mulongoti
Chingola-Former Chingola Mayor


The pendulum ACC begins investigations at ZRL
24 April 2013
The pendulum Anti- Corruption Commission has commenced investigations into reports of alleged corrupt practices and abuse of office against Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) Chief Executive Officer Prof. Clive Chirwa and the dissolved at ZRL Board of Directors.
ACC is like a pendulum that waits until the President tells it who to follow and what to do in order for them to investigate most of the cases in Zambia.
Zambians cried foul at the revelations of the Board ZRL but Transport Minister Christopher Yaluma did the very opposite of want Zambians had expected by dissolving the board.
Kudos to the President for suspending his appointee though there more reservations of this move which may be aimed at removing Prof Chirwa temporally and later claim he was clean.

According to the press statement by ACC public relations manager Timothy Moono, the move was made following a thorough analysis of the allegations of corruption levelled by the Zambia Railways Board of Directors against Prof. Chirwa, as well as those levelled against the Board of Directors by Prof. Chirwa.

Mr Moono said the Commission also took cognizance of President Michael Sata’s suspension of Prof. Chirwa from his position as CEO of ZRL, in order to pave way for the smooth conduct of the investigations.
“The commission would like to assure the government and the general public that thorough investigations will be conducted in the matter,” he said.

By Yona Musukwa

PROF. CLIVE CHIRWA SAGA! Have your Say

The news coming out of Zambia Railways Limited with regards to one Prof Clive Chirwa and the Board makes a sad reading for the nation. 

From the start Prof Clive Chirwa showed opportunistic tendencies, but we were all excited with his academic credentials to notice anything else. 

From nowhere, with no political history of any sort or traces of activism, Clive Chirwa appeared on the Zambian political scene wanting to be the president through MMD. 

When it occurred to him that this was not a possibility, Prof. Chirwa changed his game plan and joined the UPND at the speed of light. He was rewarded with a position in the UPND. Typical of position mongers, when he smelt the PF victory, he started posturing towards the PF and made a lot of headlines embarrassing his own party UPND prior to the 2011 general elections and eventually joined the PF. 
Now what matters the most, is Prof. Clive Chirwa the messiah to revamp Zambia Railways? The Answer is a likely NO, because; His conduct so far does not inspire confidence, he gives the impression that he is more interested in revamping himself than Zambia Railways Ltd. 
Secondly, if you look at his profile or CV, the man has no corporate credentials to talk about, he has no corporate experience. His CV tells us that Prof. Clive Chirwa is an Academician. 
Prof. Chirwa owns a failed company called Clavel Incorporated Limited. If he failed to run his own company, what about ZRL? This remind me of what the classical Greek Athenian philosopher Socrates said, “Let him that would move the world first move himself”. 
I conclude by saying Zambia Railways will not go anywhere, that has been the history of our parastatals, they always start with bang, but die slow and painful deaths. 
The solution to the Zambia railways Ltd question is in Government/Investor partnership. As long as politicians are involved nothing will come out it.

Editor faces 2 years in jail for criticising judge
One of Swaziland’s few independent source of news, The Nation magazine, has been found guilty of “contempt by scandalizing the court” following its publication of two articles in 2009 and 2010 that criticised Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi.
Editor of the monthly magazine, Bheki Makhubu, and the its publisher, Swaziland Independent Publishers, were on Wednesday (17 April 2013) ordered to pay Emlangeni E200, 000 (approximately US$20,000) within three days. If payment is not made, and an appeal by the magazine is dismissed, Makhubu will be sentenced to two years in jail.
According to a High Court of Swaziland judgment sheet dated 17 April 2013, under the title Criminal case no: 53/2010, Judge Bheki Maphalala said that “failing payment of the fine of E200,000 (Two hundred thousand Emalangeni) within three days of this Order, in respect of both respondents, the second respondent [Bheki Makhubu] will be committed to prison forthwith for a period of two years”.
The two Nation articles in question – published in November 2009 and in December 2010 – praised Judge Thomas Masuku for his dissenting opinion against two other supreme courts judges in cases dealing with evictions on land held by King Mswati III.
Vuyisile Hlatshwayo, a veteran journalist and current national director of the Swaziland chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA-Swaziland), called the judgment “deeply disappointing” and an “assault to media freedom and free speech”.
Hlatshwayo, who is also a director and founding member of The Nation magazine (and therefore himself liable, along with Makhubu, to pay the US$20,000 fine) said:
The Nation is the only publication in Swaziland that speaks truth to power and is the voice of the voiceless in a country that is fast becoming a police state. The fine imposed by the judge is also a total clampdown on media freedom – it sends a strong and disturbing signal to the already censored newspapers and broadcast media.”
Secretary-General of the Swaziland Editors’ Forum, Jabu Matsebula, said he was “shocked” at the ruling against The Nation, adding that it is one of the heaviest fines ever handed down in the kingdom.
“It will certainly have a chilling effect on the press and on citizens constitutional rights to freedom of expression,” Matsebula said.
Speaking to MISA-Swaziland, Makhubu – who is also a law student at the University of South Africa – said “today is a sad day for Constitutionalism in Swaziland”. He said he was still “taking it all in” and admitted to feeling “a bit numb”.
However, despite the ruling of criminal contempt against him and the very likely prospect of going to jail for two years, and despite speaking through obvious shock, he said he is “still a great believer in the Swazi constitution”.
The summary of Justice Maphalala’s ruling mentions the “right to freedom of expression and opinion” and says “judges and courts are open to criticism provided that the criticism is fair and legitimate and does not exceed accepted boundaries”. In this case, however, the judge told The Nation it was “guilty of contempt by scandalizing the Court”.
The Nation has since instructed its lawyer to lodge a speedy appeal in the Supreme Court.
MISA continues to follow this development in Swaziland and will be issuing updates.

CHINGOLA ROAD CONTRACTOR



With about six months to go, Mivami Road Contractor is yet to tar a kilometer out of the 23.35km of 16 Chingola urban roads. 



I always wonder what kind of road contractors Chingola Town gets. I think we are jinxed in this area. Why do we mostly get bogus contractors who do shoddy works?



I hope a miracle will happen for us to see quality works done and within the required time frame because this contract was approved way back in 2009 but the first contractor who was awarded the same failed and abandoned the works.


McDonald Mulongoti
Former Chingola mayor
 
The merry go round of constitution making in Zambia                   
                            By Brig Gen Godfrey Miyanda 
                                            (Personal View)
Zambians are habitually good at shooting themselves in the foot. When they identify that something is wrong or not backed by law, they nevertheless go ahead to support, promote and/or contribute to the same wrong thing! Just now there is a second circus that has been going on for some time now, unjustifiably gobbling up billions of Kwacha, in the name of writing the so-called new constitution without legal backing.  


General Miyanda
When we first used the term “Tower of Babel” against the fallen NCC we were roundly condemned. Later that NCC (the First Twin) died in the manner we had predicted, in the process leaving behind its twin sister, whose name is still not yet clear. The Second Twin Sister was first named “Committee of Experts” by the President but did not seem to have any experts in the name of draftsmen. 

The President also appointed three Catholic Bishops to sit on the committee, but they did not accept, confirming that ZEC were never consulted. No enabling Act with defined terms of reference was promulgated. 

Many citizens and civil society organisations, including Transparency International, cried foul but are now quiet.

The Government has to date not indicated under which law the creature came into existence. Previous ones used to be under the Inquiries Act which civil society condemned. But today there is not even the Inquiries Act or any other provision of the law – it is ‘Donchi Kubeba’ all over again. 

The persons sitting on this Committee later dubiously claimed that they were created under “Article 44” even though the President never indicated so.

When the President announced the establishment of this so-called “Committee of Experts”, he did NOT state under which law he had done that. Further he included a Cabinet Minister, the then Minister of Justice Hon Sebastian Zulu. 

Justifying the inclusion of the Minister, he stated that this would make it easier for the Committee to resolve problems that may arise in the course of their assignment since Minister Zulu who had direct access to the President would revert to him. 

This obviously meant that the President would be kept up to date on what was going on (was he a secret member of the committee?) No wonder the President always condemned the contents of reports being presented to him even BEFORE he had read them. 

He knew in advance what was in a report that had not yet been presented to him! Now we are told the Silungwe Committee will take their report to the President; under which provision? At least the NCC was created under an Act of Parliament, the NCC Act.

What is our issue? It is that without an enabling law we, the People, remain at the mercy of the Executive to decide as they please.
I recall attending the last public meeting of the Committee at the Government Complex sometime in April 2012. 

The committee was about to embark on their paper trail of expensive but unjustified tours of the hinterland. Since there was no proper or legal definition, I asked them two questions: how were they going to decide who attends the regional meetings that they were embarking on? How will they decide which submissions to accept after the people have submitted? 

The Chairman, His Lordship Mr Justice Annel Silungwe, categorically stated that they would not allow new submissions but only comments. He avoided the second question. We ask this question again: how will the Committee decide which submissions or even comments to accept or not accept? What is their mandate to do so? Why should a Committee that was tasked to use existing materials decide to conduct their own plebiscite after the failed NCC fiasco? 

Is the President obliged to follow the recommendations that will be submitted by this irregular Committee? One of the Members of this Committee, Mr Kabanda, popularised the maxim “process protects content”. What law is his committee following?
A Government of laws and not of men means one that respects and observes the law at all stages of an undertaking such as the constitution-making process. 

We are convinced that Zambians will once again be taken for a ride. With the routine poaching of opposition MPs, promoted by the President himself, the numbers in the National Assembly are daily being manipulated and inflated in favour of the Executive with no legal safeguards. Fellow Zambians, the writing is on the wall; do not come and say that we did not ‘kubeba’ you!

GODFREY MIYANDA,
BRIGADIER GENERAL,
HERITAGE PARTY

      
VISIT YOUR CONSTITUENCIES
Save for nominated Members of Parliament, all elected MPs should visit their constituencies now that Parliament has adjourned sine die. In fact for such visits, MPs do receive constituency allowances quarterly.

Whether someone will seek re-election or not, time to work is now up to 2014. The last two years will be election preparatory period. Do not say you were not reminded.

McDonald Mulongoti

 Chingola

MUSENGE RIGHT ON CORRUPTION
I like to associate myself with leadership which seek to fight corruption resolutely as demonstrated by Copperbelt Minister Mwenya Musenge on no party lines. Mr Musenge has castigated and warned all corrupt PF councilors against involvement in corrupt activities such as illegal land allocation which appears to have reached alarming proportions especially on the Copperbelt, Chingola in particular lest they face the wrath of the law.
I laud you Honorable Minister; we need more of such leaders to help President Sata fight corruption. As you may be aware, the head of State is allergic to corruption. Therefore, there would be no sacred cows in this fight.
Best regards,
McDonald Mulongoti
Chingola


‘We are suffering at the hands of police in Chililabombwe’ Kindly allow me space in your respectable paper to expose the police brutality on innocent civilians here in Chililabombwe under the guise of controlling smuggling.
What is happening in Chililabombwe has not been seen in many years only comparable to the infamous 1980s of the Kaunda regime which killed a lot of people here in Chililabombwe over the same issue of controlling smuggling.
The issues that I am talking about are;
1. Traders in Lubengele area are being assaulted and beaten with impunity by police simply for selling mealie meal above kr 60 when they have bought the same commodity from wholesalers at kr65. One trader was even locked up for talking back to the police.
2. Taxi drivers who pirate between kasumbalesa and Chililabombwe are being beaten and detained just for carrying passangers who have bought one or two bags of mealie meal for consumption to the Kasumbalesa area.
3. Ordinary citizens who live at the border area are victims. Kasumbalesa border area has over 500 people and these people are not even allowed to transport the staple food. The police have stopped trading in any form of mealie meal at the border and this has pushed the price to above KR 90. And any trader who has the commodity is even followed to his or her house and mealie meal confisticated from the house and the owner beaten and taken to the police station! There is total disregard for human rights and the rule of law.
FACTS
We know the fact that with the mismanagement of the agriculture input support program by the Government and the senseless export of maize to the neighbouring countries by the FRA, there will be hunger in this country. And a prudent use of whatever little grain we have is necessary, but this should not be at the expense of the ordinary Zambians at the border town who have lived and traded in peace for a long time now.
In 1991, the MMD government under the late president FTJ Chiluba, (to which our current president was part of) liberalised the grain marketing and never again was the trading in Mealie meal and maize criminalised at the border area.
Trading with the Congo in grain and other agricultural products will never end especially that Kasumbalesa Town in Congo and its surrounding arrears has over 500,000 people and Lubumbashi city which is less than 100 km from the border has over 10 million people. And any controls like what has happened now has pushed the prices to very unrealistic levels.
Currently a 25kg bag of mealie meal is ranging between KR100 and KR150. On the RDC side it is between KR 150 to KR 200. These unrealistic prices have created unscrupulous trading by people from all over the Copperbelt. The biggest smugglers are not the two bags traders, but the truck and trailers who are ferrying thousands of bags to the border.
Please help us so that there is no bloodshed again in Chililabombwe. Currently, our taxi business is suffering, people at Kasumbalesa have no food in their homes and traders are living in fear. The DCs Office and the local leadership are quiet and watching their citizens being brutalised because they are party cadres.
But we all voted and when the PF and Sata won, we celebrated with a new hope that we will now move forward further than to where MMD had left us; not going back a century again. Please your reporters should come to Chililabombwe and move around especially in the night then you will see what I am talking about. I know that this report cannot be publicised by the post or any other Government controlled newspaper.
Bernard
Chililabombwe
Sata, Barotseland Agreement and the people’ stupidity
By George Lubasi
THE greatest comedy of our time is that we voters allow politicians to come into our homes, tell lies, and we vote for them on the basis of their lies. When they win and do not honour their promises, we do not look at our gullibility and stupidity. We sit down and say, ‘ah these politicians’.
After the Mongu fracas on January 14, 2011, Michael Sata went there. He said he had gone to Mongu because the people of Western Province “have no one to speak for them.” He had appointed himself spokesman for the Western Province. On his visit, he earned a headline in The Post: “Barotse Agreement Is Liberating – Sata”. At the time Sata said the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement would provide an example to other provinces about devolution of power. He was in opposition and it was nice to say all that. But Westerners could only treat his promises with an element of suspicion. That suspicion was definitely not from without.
During election campaigns, Sata was in the Western Province. To win votes, Sata again promised the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement. MMD and UPND may have had their own selfish reasons for saying what they were saying about Sata. But we cannot deny the fact that they warned us about Sata and the promises he was making. They both said there was no Barotseland Agreement that Sata was going to restore. They have since been proved right.
When Sata appointed Roger Chongwe’s Commission of Inquiry, Hakainde Hichilema again warned us that Sata was just being evasive over the issue. Having promised to restore the Agreement, it was expected that Sata would move quick and do as he had pledged. The Commission of Inquiry was totally unnecessary; it was public knowledge that the police used excessive force in dealing with the January 14 incident. The people who were in charge of the police and in charge of that particular operation were known. That could have been dealt with without all the drama of the creating a Commission and spending so taxpayers money.
The shootings in Mongu were just a tiny part of the larger grievance. The issue was the Agreement and its restoration. It was not therefore surprising that a huge chunk of the submissions to the Commission had nothing to do with the January 14 shootings, but with the restoration of the Agreement. In essence, that was the issue Sata should have been addressing himself to. So again Hakainde has been proved right when he said Sata was just using the Commission to evade the real issue.
Interestingly, restoring the Agreement or not was not part of Chongwe’s terms of reference. The reason it has come up in the report is because, as stated above, the majority of submissions centred on the Agreement. If Chongwe had omitted those submissions, he would essentially have had nothing to report about. I am even surprised that Sata did not just tell off Chongwe that he had overstepped his mandate.
Not once, not twice, but several times Sata promised to restore the Barotseland Agreement. But this is a man whose record on this matter was well known. In 1994 he was part of the Committee of Cabinet Ministers appointed by Chiluba to look into the matter. He was blunt about it and said it was a dead issue. But in 2011 he was promising restoration of the very Agreement he had labelled ‘dead’. In 2012, according to Sata, restoring the Agreement would “open a Pandora’s box.” When did he discover this? How can other provinces, as he now claims, also start demanding autonomy? On what basis? Do they also have similar Agreements? Didn’t he earlier say they would learn from Western Province about devolution of power? What has changed?
For me I am not blaming Sata, cunning as he is, because his record on this matter is well known. I am even surprised that some people had high hopes over this issue. Just go in the archives and you will find what his real position has always been.
Sata willfully went to Western Province to tell lies, to deceive the people, and on the basis of that, earned their vote. The rest is none of his business.
Sata fails to honour his word on Barotse
On December 29, 2011 I used this story The Barotseland Agreement: Will it be honoured? And my analysis has come to pass that the agreement won’t be honoured. The answer is simple, Zambia is a unitary State which has managed to foster and maintain national unity on a continent replete with civil strife and conflicts that have left indelible marks on many nations and their inhabitants.
President Michael Sata blamed the former president Rupiah Banda for taking a firm stance on the subject and he used the Mongu killings as a milage for his campaigns. Mr Banda was condemned for using riot police to curb the rioting people.
I think to day he feels it.
The peace and tranquility which our country has enjoyed for 47 years is particularly enviable when one considers the tribal diversity which makes up Zambia, and the fact that the preponderance of tribal conflict that has torn apart many African countries has not manifested in any ugly form at home.
Peaceful co-existence among the 73 tribal groups and dialects has fostered unparalleled unity and harmony in our country, creating a conducive environment devoid of the propensity for violence that has spawned fratricidal strife in many countries. But this is not to suggest that there have been no upheavals in Zambia.
Those who are old enough, and others who are abreast with our country’s history, will recall the violence which characterized the Lenshina uprising of 1964 and the numerous casualties recorded in north-western province during the insurgency led by one Adamson Mushala.
Although the Lenshina uprising was quelled with the use of excessive force and the Mushala insurgency ended dramatically when the rebel leader, Mushala, was eventually ambushed and shot dead by the Zambia army in the early 1980s after a protracted rebellion lasting several years, so many innocent victims had lost their lives.
Against this backdrop, President Michael Sata’s concerns about activities of some pro-secessionist elements in western province are understandable, for such activities could polarize the region further and lead to unnecessary conflict.
What is clearly discernible in the midst of the political posturing currently going on over the Barotse Agreement of 1964 is that there appears to be no unanimity on the way forward by the various groups lobbying for the restoration of the Agreement.
There is also an attempt to misrepresent the facts as outlined in the Agreement which was signed by the then prime minister of Northern Rhodesia, Kenneth Kaunda, and Sir Mwanawina Lewanika III, the then Litunga of Barotseland in May, 1964.
The gist of this Agreement was to unify the two territories, namely Northern Rhodesia and Barotseland so that they could become the sovereign republic of Zambia at independence on October 24, 1964. The full import of this Agreement was that the Government of Northern Rhodesia and the Litunga of Barotseland, his Council and the chiefs and people of Barotseland agreed that “Northern Rhodesia should proceed to independence as one country and that all its peoples should be one nation.”
It was further agreed that when Northern Rhodesia became an independent sovereign republic of Zambia, all treaties and agreements subsisting between Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Litunga of Barotseland would terminate.
What appears to be a matter of contention is the provision in the Barotse Agreement which says that the Northern Rhodesia government and the Litunga of Barotseland were to enter into “arrangements” concerning the position of Barotseland as part of Zambia to take the place of the treaties and agreements signed between the Litunga and the British government—the same treaties that were effectively annulled by the same Barotse Agreement on attainment of independence on October 24, 1964.
On financial responsibility, the Agreement says: “The Government of the republic of Zambia shall have the same general responsibility for providing financial support for the administration and economic development of Barotseland as it has for other parts of the Republic and shall ensure that, in discharge of this responsibility, Barotseland is treated fairly and equitably in relation to other parts of the Republic.”
The Agreement goes further to outline issues pertaining to local administration, the management of land, fishing, forests, control of hunting and bush fires and game preservation.
There is nowhere in the Barotse Agreement where the parties talked about secession, whether directly or indirectly. It is important that those lobbying for restoration of this Agreement study the document thoroughly and uphold the letter and spirit of what was agreed upon instead of introducing extraneous issues.
Since the lobbyists appear to be fragmented, there is a danger that what began as a peaceful lobby by individuals genuinely concerned about advancing the development agenda of their province could be hijacked by some elements hell-bent on fomenting strife.
Lobbying government for a redress of grievances is a fundamental liberty which all citizens ought to enjoy, but such a lobby should be peaceful and should not degenerate into agitation for violence. President Sata has appointed a commission of inquiry into the shooting of protesters in Mongu in January, this year.
An opportunity has been availed to all affected parties to make submissions on their grievances. We hope the Barotse Royal Establishment and other concerned parties will afford a chance to the inquiry team to delve into the sticky issues surrounding the Barotse Agreement and come up with a viable solution. Dialogue is the only answer.
Indisciplined footballers never ssucceed
Allow me to add my voice to the calls by some section of the society in appealing to the national soccer team trainer Herve Renard to give Clifford Mulenga another chance.
Chance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes second chance indeed. May be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The people making such appeals may have reasons in asking Renard to hand the former young footballer of the year a second chance.
But Mulenga and the people backing him should have known that indiscipline footballers do not succeed in their footballing career.
Mulenga is a great player who uses his mysterious left foot with thrilling experience. But even great players like Carlos Tevez of Argentina (having his stint at Manchester City) would have lectured him that he (Tevez) failed to win a coach-player battle until he apologized.
Football is a game of discipline.
In Zambia we have had great footballers who failed to make a grade simply because they lacked discipline.
I may not have the much needed history but all of us would remember the young talented Dabwiso Nkhoma. At one of his interview the current Football Association of Zambia President Kalusha Bwalya during his hey days was asked of who he thought would tie his laces and fit in his boot after he retired.
Kalusha quickly cited Dabwiso the player he had seen in action. The rest about Dabwiso is history.
Thereafter came another enterprising Emmanuel Zulu the player who could stand on top of the ball to elude his markers. Simply put, Zulu was amazing to watch.
Many of the soccer fans had high expectations from the multi-talented player but he soon became big-headed and thought he was superior to everyone.
Today Emmanuel Zulu too is history in Zambian football.
The Zambia Voluntary Soccer Fans Association (ZAVOSOFA) seems to miss the point of football and its rules.
How can ZAVOSOFA patron Peter Makembo say the decision by Renard was unfair?
The fact that the coach was given a second chance it does not mean that he should be allowing indiscipline players to infiltrate the winning team.
Makembo should know that Egypt with local players has posted great success in football which he knows too well that the key to their success has been discipline.
But the exact opposite is England. With world class players England has failed to win any trophy since 1968. That is the opposite of discipline which Makembo needs to bring to Zambia.
In South Africa; English player went on a game viewing and drinking spree even before advancing to the next level. How honestly could they have won the world cup?
Its good Renard won the AFCON trophy or else the scape-goat could have been Mulenga and the coach could have been demonized to the last degree.
Chingola neglected
By Phahlani Moyo:
Government after Government the message of infrastructure key to sustainable development becomes a major concern of every citizen whether in a village or town as every sphere of economic activities to be undertaken in mining, agriculture, commerce industry or communication and transport requires good infrastructure like roads, railway, buildings, airstrips, markets among others.
At this point in time our country is in great need to improve on infrastructure which is completely in dilapidated state.
For example the township roads, feeder roads are pathetic with full of potholes. Taking a look at Chingola district it is sad to note that the once cleanest town in Zambia is now the dirtiest with completely run down township roads. I
f you are driving or living in Nchanga North, Lulamba, Chiwempala, Kapisha and Chikola Townships you will agree with me that the roads are completely bad with big potholes all over the road, poor drainage system, filthy sewage system and garbage is seen as a common feature with very little effort done by the local authority.
It is clear in the mind of many Chingola residents that the town centre –Kasompe and Lulamba roads were worked on by a certain contractors but the work was abandoned. If most of the roads were done well the status of the township roads could have been the thing of the past.
At times you tend to wonder whether the local authorities exist to take care of such cases. What are the Members of Parliament (MPs) and councilors doing? Have they forgotten their civic duty? To provide services to the public in terms of the provision of clean and safe water supply and sanitation, maintenance and grading of township roads, collection of garbage, street lights maintenance and others.
The two MPs though are always seen in Chingola but seem they do not see the potholes which have turned into pit holes. The road from town going to Buyatashi market and the place near Sekela High School has such features. It is clear that the local authorities throughout the country collect levies from bus, tax and market operators everyday but potholes at are not repaired and garbage in the markets is never collected. The ministry of local government should do something of this neglect.

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