THE Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has unveiled a 50th Independence Anniversary K50 commemorative banknote bearing portraits of former Presidents and the current Head of State.
Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda launched the note in Lusaka yesterday as Zambia’s tribute to founding President Kenneth Kaunda, former presidents Frederick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa and Rupiah Banda, and the incumbent President Sata for their visionary leadership which has united the country.
“The K50 commemorative banknote, unlike previous commemorative coins which the Bank of Zambia issued to celebrate various historical events, will circulate side by side with the current K50 note,” he said.
Mr Chikwanda said the commemorative banknote bears the same features as the currently circulating K50 banknote except for the portraits of the five heads of state and the “50th Independence Anniversary” wording.
And BoZ governor Michael Gondwe noted that this is the first time a commemorative banknote is being circulated as legal tender in the country.
Dr Gondwe said printing and minting of banknotes and coins is a global phenomenon that is done to preserve important events.
Dr Kaunda was grateful for the honour bestowed on him and urged Zambians to continue to build the nation together using the “One Zambia, One Nation” motto.
Mr Banda, who was touched by the gesture, urged Zambians to maintain peace, love and unity.
Representing late President Chiluba, his widow Regina Chiluba said it was a great gesture for the government to recognise her husband’s contribution to Zambia.
“I would like to congratulate Zambians for being peaceful. My late husband would have been happy,” she said.
And representing late President Mwanawasa, his widow, Maureen, thanked Government for recognising the role her husband played in the development of the country.
Ba PF nika gimmick to print more money ,teifyo fine? Print some more so that you can do away with the wage freeze.Piece of advice
Good good, as long as Chiluba was on that K50 pin no problem. I just realised that there were 3, I mean 3 MMD presidents? That was far too many. RB is the luckiest man I have ever seen, how did he find himself among those ?
These ldiots’ priority should have been to create employment so that the new notes and money in general could be available to the majority suffering Zambians. Has the word visionary been redefined? I don’t see any visionary leadership in some obvious leaders named in the article!
This is NOT enough.
A naming of a town after President Sata would be the minimum acceptable gesture for me
Thanks
That’s very interesting! Thank God am Zambian because we do enjoy the peace and we shall continue to live a peace life. I love bana KK, you are my hero on earth.
I refuse to touch this Bank note. It has too many thieves and corrupt men. If it only had Mwanawasa’s portrait, I would perharps accept it. I will forever refuse to use this currency. Sata is in Pain!! The truth hurts.
RB and MCS need to be struck off. I protest!!
Well Done, respect to elders we appreciate and was a good thought especially for the fallen heads of states. Thanking them all for their contribution.
Going Forward: No Presidential Candidate should be 55 years old at the time of getting to power. we should have an age Ceil. MP’s should have a 2 term limit as well. If he does not deliver citizens have the right to remove him or her.
No old Papas allowed as we want to move Zambia forward.
Brick Layer,
You sincerely believe Mwanawasa was not corrupt? Hehehehehe. Ask those who were close to him.
There is only a limited number of towns. and cities, next stop celebrate jubilee then carry on with our lives.
Many people will pretend to forget the corruption, nepotism and arrogance of Mwanawasa, simply because he is dead. This guy was running an oligarchy. Corrupt to the core! Relatives were given jobs with little or no qualification. Abuse of government resources were rampant. Ask me, I was there!
The initial idea was to revert to the old system of portraying our currency with incumbent presidents but, on second thoughts, that was discarded as it would been misunderstood and could have caused a public disapproval. Some of these presidents were/are not even visionaries and do not merit this recognition.
I totally agree with you. Has PF got visionary leadership which has united the country. Actually they have brought hatred between a tribe from Northern Zambia and those from the rest of Zambia.
Good Bank notes: But we should remember our former presidents by naming facilities such- RB Stadium, FTJ Shopping complex, why Chiluba is not named after a facility is shocking. Chiluba brought development to Zambia–Privation, Liberalisation, communication–cell phones, Land ownership. So why neglect RB and FTJ
Hey, that’s good guys, we remember the contribution each played, whether negative or positive..Amen.
Peace and Prosperity to mother Zambia.
The initial idea was to revert to the old system of portraying our currency with incumbent presidents but, on second thoughts, that was discarded as it would been misunderstood and could have caused a public disapproval. Some of these presidents were/are not even visionaries and do not merit this recognition. How are we gone rub off their portraits off this currency if they happen to fall from grace in future?
Nice gesture. Great that they decided to have all the Presidents on it unlike the earlier idea which did not include Rupiah Banda. Can’t wait to get one of the notes
BoZ it is not the printing of more cash we are interested in bu the values of the money.
The last time we had a picture of a President on our money it BECAME WORTHLESS!
KK took 27 years to bankrupt us with US$ 7 BILLION of debt
Sata and his PF have taken only 3 years to indebt us by US$ 4.7 BILLION
Waiting to see how long it will take this time?
Those 2 guys looks they can make a good team:
President: Chikwanda
Vice-President: Gondwe
How old are they? You want to also spend money paying for their hospital bills.
THis is BAD , i will never use this NOTE, will be using the OLD K50 note, HOW CAN I BE CARING SATA’S FACE IN MY POCKET WHEREVER IAM GOING,,,,EEEHHHH GOD FORBID
You are still a ‘John Solye ubwali’ so you don’t have to worry about k50 notes, i would have symphathised with you if the portraits were on k5 note or coins.
Instead of putting freedom fighters we put people who have done nothing for this country like Sata.
@Observer
THE FIRST THING SATA HAS DONE IS TO GIVE YOU THE FREEDOM TO BE INSULTING HIM EVERYDAY ON SITES SUCH AS LT AND ZWD. AT LEAST APPRECIATE THIS.
@Chisanga
First of all Sata gave nobody no freedom to blog freely. He is still hounding Chanda Chimba for exercising his freedom of speach. Remember Sata is still hunting down ZWD and bloggers like Field Ruwe who are espousing contrary views to what he wants. Sata has never known freedom, he is a bully and a Dictator. So please get that in your head!! Sata is still in Pain!!
After more presidents, that note won´t have enough space, they will have to print a note as big as a calender.
One Zambia one Nation indeed. Can’t wait to see the notes. Great thing PF for making this possible and honouring the former and current president(s). Good move comrades.
Making what possible?
This is a good gesture by Government. Esp even including even
Comrades, all Governements regularly prints new bank notes to replace old ones. We can not be be myiopic and petty about this noble. We get it the value of the kwacha is another discussion altogether.
Now it is more HEADS on the money, from more money in your POCKETS….hahahahaha, Pathetic Failure (PF)
Useless BOMA wasting money printing Monopoly money.
I don’t support this.
I am just wondering how big the American note would be if they traded the same route!
Now that we’ve had 5 men presidents from the pre independence-freedom era, it is time to thank them for the good work done and ask them to REST. We should now usher in a BORN FREE leader (if possible a female) to take the country forward come 2016.
Kuti twaisa mufwayapofye! (joke).
A complicated presidency has been set. Each incoming head of state will be on pressure from within the ruling party required to appear on the national currency. However, should this trend come to be opposed, this launch of bank notes bearing former and current heads of state is what I call ‘Temporal Self pleasing Gestures’.
waste of money and paper.
i dont support this idea because Zambia doesnt end with the fifth president. The sixth president would want to be included too, therefore printing another note which will include him or her. By the time we get the 50th president space would run out. My question is how many notes will BOZ going to launch to please the next presidents? I guess the nation should be getting accustomed to lots of launches yet to come as long as there will be new presidents. It will also mean costly budget, confusion and stupidity. Whose idea was it anyway? This is the first time I have differed with my government that I support so so much.
I wish in future we will be involved in voting so that we can help shape our nation than just talking!
This is very good under 5 will die of heart attack if he see’s Sata’s portrait on the note.
They should have included Chishimba Kambwili too. Am sad he has been left out.
This idea must have been picked at a round about in Ndola towards Kitwe road there is a billboard potraying the same features.
Regina, you mean your stolen husband
the way chikwanda carries himself shows a man who lacks confidence. Like always scratching their head, bending it, stooping syndrome. signs of feeling yourself inferior. i cant blame him though, he was born in the colonial era, if you didnt bend and bow, the whites thought you insubordinate and so punishment was meted out to you. so to show your submission to power, you always had to do these actions. unfortunately for the man, even after independence, kalishalamo kalya. Maybe its just old age, but from the way he carries himself, you can tell what role he played in the struggle for freedom if any? Take a look at all the pictures yakwa chikwanda and you will see what i mean!!!!
You Mean “Kiluba” & his wife Regina, who despite not having a proper job, was about to buy a Shopping Mall in Finland worth millions of U.S. Dollars? Wheres that Cash now??
CELEBRATING CROOKS, PIMPS, & PIRATES, Sickens Me to the pit of my stomach, & thats why most of Africa is a Laughing stock, & Basket Case of the world.
levy is probably the only one that deserves the respect. Bashi panji too for the support rendered to our neighbors during the liberation struggle. The rest of the pimps, crooks and plunderers can go straight to where the shine never shines. glad God has his way of dealing with plunderers as the majority of MMD plunderers balifwa bafikala.
Zambia’s misery is SA’s beneficiary as printing is done in SA
Only the firebrand Chishimba Kambwili’s portrait would make a good fit, the rest is rubbish. Anyway, dont worry, this not wont last because each president who comes into power would want to have his/her face on the note until there will be no more space left on the note after 200 years. I guess by that time, Zambia will need the size of a newspaper for a K50 note to accommodate all the presidents that would have ruled in 200 years of Zambia’s independence. Therefore, Zambia will make record as having the biggest bank note on earth. What a sheer waste of money. Expect more launches in years to come to accommodate other portraits. Instead of spending the money on printing this useless note, it should have been spent on civil servants’ wages and stop talking about wage freeze.
….its not fair for the incumbent to be included….very soon other portraits will vanish leaving MCS’s only…like I had said in earlier article about portraits on bank notes..it will be unfair during elections…