A Senior civil servant at Cabinet Office has called for submissions from all Zambians on successful stories, events, national heritage sites and any other phenomenon worth noting which should form part of the jubilee that the country will be celebrating next year upon attaining 50 years of independence.
Permanent Secretary for Administration at Cabinet Office Anna Mwitwa made the call in Kawambwa on the sidelines of Ntumbachushi waterfalls where she addressed government workers from both Kawambwa and Mwansabombwe districts of Luapula province.
She said Zambia will be celebrating 50 years of independence next year under the theme “Celebrating Gods favour of 50 years of independence for continued peace, unity, prosperity, democracy and patriotism”.
Ms Mwitwa said submissions of proposals of how it should be done should be submitted through the offices of District Commissioners countrywide or brought to her office in Lusaka.
She said the event will be a countrywide issue and all districts through offices of the District Commissioner should find positive things from which they should develop success stories to share on the day.
The Cabinet office Administration Permanent Secretary said September 15, 2013 will be the deadline for receiving submissions so that her office could start preparing for the events before the national budget consolidation period was over.
Ms Mwitwa said it would be important for people to write about restoring national heritage sites like the Ntumbachushi waterfalls site and other sites which were of historical significance.
She said even people who were born in the same year when Zambia got her independence and have demonstrated notable feats of patriotism for the country should be part of the event.
And speaking during a Dinner at Henry Courtyard in Mansa on Wednesday, Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska said the jubilee celebrations should be a reminder of the great things that were happening in Zambia.
Dr Msiska said the significance of a jubilee according to the Hebrew practice was that it was a year to free slaves and releasing people who were living in debt.
He explained that jubilee meant restoration from a bad state to a better one and Zambia has since demonstrated that through re-naming National Airports by names of people who exhibited resilience and an unwavering attitude towards demands of patriotism during the Independence struggle.
He said Harry Mwanga Nkumbula, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, Kenneth Kaunda International airports were good examples of celebrating the achievements of the founding fathers of the nation.
And Kawambwa District Commissioner Ivor Mpasa urged the government workers to submit the proposals in good time so that they could be a part to the bigger picture of 50 years celebrations.
ZANIS
Please save tax payers. Do not buy suits for civil servants. They can now afford them. If you are to spend money, let it be on projects which will improve people’s lives. Leave the military style matching to soldiers, cadets, ZNS, WW11 veterans, former freedom fighers, police, prisons, security guards, immigrations, shushushus, masquaradors (makishi and the equivalent of Eastern Zambia), not the satanic haloween which is a foreign practice (Zambians do not immitate ghosts etc), get people from Zambia’s regions to dress in traditional attire and match. I acn assure you, it will be much more colourful and meanigful. Ask for ideas from more Zambians. Do not confine it to the public service, please.
Just broaden the tax base by reducing the threshold eg.K500-k1000 at 5%,k1000-k2000 at 10%,k2000-k3000 at 15%,k3000-k5000 at 20%,k5000-k7500 at 25%,k7500-k10 000 at 30% then above k10 000 at 35%.Also strategize on how to collect tax from the informal sector i.e housing rentals.Free things are not sustainable please.
What role did sata perfom as a freedom fighter
I did a soul search and shocked myself to discover there’s nothing to celebrate about. There just aren’t successful stories to write home about. This jubilee should serve as a reminder of how shameful our history is. Go ahead and drink to drown your sorrows but don’t call it a celebration. 50 years for goodness’s sake! and what have we got? Nix!
You just don’t celebrate the following:
• A filthy and congested capital city whose CBD doesn’t grow
• Formal employment has been and still hovers around 500,000 since 1964.
• 40% of all the water in SADC and we still have food shortages.
• Thousands of street children.
• Arrogant leadership that has no respect for traditional leaders.
• Endemic corruption
• Unheard of poverty levels upwards of 70%
• Bloated government with…