By Wesley Ngwenya
As I type these thoughts to my computer, there are about five Zambia Air Force jets flying over our neighborhood. They have been doing this for the last five days. At first, when I saw these jets flying over the city of Lusaka, I thought well maybe we were practicing in order to rescue our neighbors south or provide military support elsewhere in Africa. Then I was told the jets were getting ready for the opening on the National Assembly. What?
It is an absolute shock for me to see the government burning expensive jet fuel when there is so much poverty going on in the country. Kanyama residents are still stuck with floods in their front yards and cholera claiming their dear ones. Mazyopa residents are still living in tents after the government demolished their houses. Food is still expensive for many families across the country. Farmers have been unable to buy inputs because they are too expensive.
What is it about our leaders’ lack of vision? They are so shortsighted that they are always thinking about the now. What drives them to run for political office in the first place? It is no other than protecting their selfish interests over the interests of the majority of Zambians. These leaders cannot even distinguish between what belongs to the government and what belongs to their political parties let alone to themselves. Unfortunately, to them it is one and the same thing. They change their minds so often on important issues to fit their agenda. They have no morals and their work ethic leaves much to be desired.
What kind of leaders would see sense in spending taxpayers’ money flying jets in the sky for hours? I take it our money that is spent on their expensive SUVs, fuel, allowances, phone bills, girlfriends, and boyfriends is not enough. They are so addicted to abuse that they are always looking for opportunities to mismanage the resources entrusted to them.
In a couple of years let us show them that we have the power to hire and fire. Let us use the power of our vote to hire new and sober minded politicians. There are some good and well meaning politicians that we can count on. Let us take advantage of them. Let us even encourage people we know have exceptional leadership qualities to run for political office next time we have elections. They could save this country from total disaster since the current ones have completely failed.
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thats the connsequence…
yes u’re right!
TWO typical!
Let me see. b-)
The power of the vote no longer work pa Zed Wesley. You that very well
Quizz for the discerning Blogger:
What do you give Matworld so that he gets well soon?
4real this is not in order,they burn a lot of JetA1 and it takes them more than a week rehearsing.Thts why i want 2join the Airforce kaili fyonse ku provider,iya rent,mealie meal,stove name them.Baby C why i tel u we join?Training panono we jus enter as PQEs and voila.
I agree with Wes. It is nice to see the jets flying over but it is more nice to feed the hungry.
You guessed right ….. its a KEYBOARD!
Our buddie just needs a keyboard and a new story …. ha ha ha
Get well soon you lazy chap, Baby C has alread lost 2kilos bcos of missing you.
Zoe
Let our men in uniform do something that reminds them that they are in the military. If those jets remain idle, yaza chita nguwe ka? this is why you see our soldiers just totuturing their own citizens. they miss these things. Lekani ba flyinge muma jet please!
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is it mandated that jets should fly ‘umungulu’when oppening the national assembly? thats a good concern mr wesly.
#6 let me send him an email soonest,am his psychatrist,u will be informed,dont worry umugazebo….
Mis-Placed priorities indeed. They are rehearsing the oppening of a toothless Parliament. it has failed to deal Mine Closues, famine, cholera & shoddy road workmanship to football (so many calamities in our midist). One wonders if at all we need it, when they are on recess, the Country is better auto pilot managed than when they are in session. I wonder what they discuss apart frm increasing their salaries & getting double income frm NCC & same parliament(for sleeping instead of debating). Shame on these collective law makers, shame!!!!
Guys these chaps dont give a hoot! come Africa Freedom day, there’s gonna be some serious feasting while my cousins in Choma boil poisonous tubers and eat wild fruits!
Did i hear Animal farm …. some body whispered something..
You people the Air force exits for a reason and that’s why it has its own share of the budget too just like every other government sector. It also offers employment to sound pilots and engineers and part of their work is to burn that fuel whether its costly or not **==
Let them fly kites instead,its cheaper!
Gazzie
How do know? Am fearing for my health.Wish him a quick recovery. Give him all the love from baby C and Zoe. This is for him :x:*>:d<:o)
Zoe
Physical training yaba ZAF yalikosa… are you slender babes or….
Ka’doyo
I agree one hundred percent!
#15
You made me laugh my lungs out=))
……natasha #18 Ba Moze ^:)^
YOU MAY AS WELL BROADEN THIS TOPIC!! HOW MUCH MONEY IS SPENT ON FIREARMS AND HOW MUCH IS SPENT ON THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY??!!!
MANY AFRICAN COUNTRIES HAVE ADOPTED THE MISCONDUCT OF THEIR COLONIAL MASTERS!!! CREATING A SYSTEM WHERE WHITES NO LONGER SUPRESS THE BLACK BUT EVEN WORSE BLACKS CONTINUE TO SUFFER UNDER A BLACK GOVT!!
AT LEAST THE WHITE RULERS HAD FEAR FOR A REVOLUTION FROM BLACKS;OUR BLACK GOVT HAS NO FEAR OF THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE!!!
IT IS NOT THAT DIFFICULT TO SEE!!!
I APPEAL TO THE GOVT OF THIS REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA TO REFLECT ON THESE POINTS CAREFULLY!! THE PROPLE SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED!!
STILL I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE PEACE THAT ZAMBIA PORTRAYS!!
Anyway, what can I say? Its only God who knows lets leave everything in him, one day we will be ok. [-(
Wesley, did you hear the sounds of those guns? You and i must live in the same neighbourhood.
Hearing the sound of the jets provides us the local residents with entertainment. So if sounds of jets is the music of the soul, I say fly on! =d><:-p
There was 2.2 trillion to supplementary by budget (Whatever it is called) last year. But now I have just found out that we are able to approve supplementary expenditure that is not anywhere near to improving the lives of our people. Things like Buying tickets for people to attend the inaugural for Obama. Flying the body of LPM all over the country for nothing. Going to Kasaba Bay for another working holiday or property prospects. I wonder if the cost of doing any of those are budgeted for they are just ad-hocs. I don’t know I can go on philabasting.**==
Na Kay
Awee that attitude is wrong. Ati God knows Shani?? No. Let us help ourselves please. One day we will be shani??
Imwe bantu, they are employed to fly, so let them fly!
surely, should i stop sleeping with my wife just because there is poverty in the nation? The former is a priority for me! Remember, one mans meat… shanshani??
Let them fly. Bali pa job.
…….and then we complain why pilots and engineers are looking for jobs abroad. Let government source money and budget effectively to eliminate poverty, but just not at the expense of somebody else’s career. [-(
Fellow citizens of Zed, you may even find that they are the only jets we have. Anything is possible. Wonders never cease, pa Zed
After all, that is the only time those jets ever gt to be flown and maybe pa independence am not sure. Fly on!!
Ka’doyo
What type of kadoyo are you?
#29 Sister
For your own information, we probably have the following only”
5 mig fighter planes (the ones you saw)
2 choppers
0 buffalo planes (the last one went down in the atlantic over Gabon
10 missiles (@ 2 per plane), and exactly
5 parachutes
iliko bad!!
#30 ANT(very tiny, but effective) :d
Ba Moze
Why mutaila Airforce pansi so?
Balibe vochita, thus why basobela so.
No comment unless Mpombo locks me up for treason 😕
but those are not Migs
Pumpy #33
Tafili bwino ifintu pa Zed. Late LP brought the Police Ma TATA vehicles from India. Have you seen the state of those remaining are in? You would think we are at war! Kanshi balepunkisha fye muma bottle store buildings in compunds!
Sony Ericsson
Call them what you like. The fact is they are only five!
#37 very funny =))
That’s probably very true Ba Moze, 5x Hawk Trainer Jets from the UK (but I only see 3..?). Anyway I have no comment on where the Migs are up to this time and why. No comment :d
#40
There were 5 of them when they were doing dress rehearsals. I suppose the other two must be grounded by now due to some technical fault or……no fuel! anyway, the next time we see those planes will be on 24 october
At least as a country we have planes, whether they are two or five. LPM bought some before he died.
I don’t think those jets are expensive to run unless you have some figures straight from the military. The two Jets are Karakoum Hongdu’s with a fuel capacity of 250 litres each, and each gallon of Jet fuel costs $154 per gallon( bearing in mind 250 litres is 55 gallons) . Then the cost of refuelling one jet is $8470 filtering in other costs probably it costs $10000 . I don’t think thats a high price for a government with deep pockets because it is not everyday that these jets fly tyhe total bill probably came to $50K. The bill of the government vehicle fuel monthly costs is far worse .
Mr Banton I think you are not factoring in how many times they go to refuel every day… Anyway the vehicle fuel bill you are right
Chiyofyela nkhwiba
#31 Ba Moze. You see. Why waste them on such occassions? What are we going to use when we are in trouble?
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banton,you sound two be a military personel,data yapakisa!!!
Ba Moze, if what you say is true, how come the ZAF are always recruiting all those people every year, to man (pardon the expression) the five jets? Pray pipo that we do not get into conflict with anyone, the army is no better I gather, let us remain a “peace loving country” imwe bantu!
CRY OUR BELOVED COUNTRY:((:((
The opinion of the author is misplaced.Any air force in the world flies planes.That’s why there is a budget line for spending & jet fuel has its own allocation.
As much as I agree with the author that the country is facing many challenges as highlighted in the article, to suggest abandoning flying the jets is a mere exageration.
Next time Wesley, please research on your stories. Dont just peep in the sky through your window & present us with such an article.
@ Gumu Gumu
you are clearly the former anonymous under an alias.
How is the authours opinion misplaced, its his opinion and he is entitled to it! Furthermore Air Forces around the world, fly their planes when there is purpose, not just becaus they can, Zambia is a poor nation, our courrupt govt has to import maize cause they misappropriated the last bunch to buy electoral votes. So fly planes needlessly is ridiclulous and an insult to honest hard working Zambians ( who are not eating from the current administration!)
#48
simple! to replace those that are dying from HIV/AIDS. Ili bad ka? No war, so kulachita fye the usual fimo fimo!!
#46 Sister
At that time, God will now help us. Kabili ninshi yazanda!
I have to go now, later
Your Excellency Miss President
You’re right to say there should be purpose to fly the planes. Opening of National Assembley was the purpose. We’re talking about 3 to 5 jets flying for less than 7 days. This is not an issue for you to get excited that money was wasted. And how much was spent? Ask the author for figures so that you base your arguement right.
zambia airforce
Operational aircraft[1]:
* Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF – 12 upgraded in Israel to MiG-21-2000
* Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19S – 12
* Antonov An-26 – 4
* de Havilland DHC-5D Buffalo – 4
* Harbin Y-12 – 4
* Yakovlev Yak-40 – 2
* Aermacchi SF.260
* Aermacchi MB-326 – 23
* Nanchang PT-6
* Hongdu K-8 Karakorum – 6
* Xian MA60 – 2
* Mil Mi-17
* Bell UH-1H Iroquois – 6 (recently purchased in South Africa)[1]
sindife bosila guys ,we have something
Mmm! Aermacchi? Working up to this time? Nadabwa
#53. Baza tulikita bad
Are all those government vehicles that we see on weekends at Manda Hill running on free petrol from the Government or do those people pay for private use?
This guy is absolutely right. We need to tackle these issues head on. These so called leaders are actually so short sighted that one wonders which planet they came from. On one hand you hear them say 51% would be too costly and yet they are abusing a meagre resources day and night. VJ even wants to increase the number of PMs, for what purposes? Our MPs are the greatest worst of resources as they are toothless and very greedy. We need a revolution.
There are some good and well meaning politicians that we can count on. Let us take advantage of them. Let us even encourage people we know have exceptional leadership qualities to run for political office next time we have elections. They could save this country from total disaster since the current ones have completely failed.
2011 fire cheap suckers
We can have the right people in place, if we stop recircling people even those who cannot live without tax payers money. These are people who cannot do anything for themselves, nor do simple business to create employment for people before occuping GRZ offices. In short they cannot do anything for themselves and their families and then you want to put them in charge of GRZ money. It will be like putting a monkey in a green maize field and expecting it not to bit any.
When one is aspiring for political office, they should be telling us what they have done for themselves first, because we do not want dependants in government to rule us and enjoy our little money.
One of the main problems I have noticed with our elderly leaders is that they had no foresight of what they wanted achieved after liberation of our respective countries. That’s why we see that after a certain period, it’s things fall apart because no one knows what to do with what we have inherited.
We should appreciate what our leaders have done for us to secure our freedom, but then they need to step aside and let people with the know-how or a clear vision to take it from there. It has been more than 44 years since we got independence, yet we have nothing to show for it!!! It is highly disturbing and embarassing that we are still not able to stand on our own two feet. SAD MAN!!!
And how long have the jets been flying every year? Since 1964
Guys get serious: those so called jets are our only reliable arsenal. They are only good for fly past:they cann’t be used in combat. It is expensive business to run defence forces: not in terms of feeding and corrution allowance but in terms of ensuring they have effective hard ware that can suffice to defend our soverignty. And the Military have a duty to show allegience to civilian authority.Traditionally such allegience is shown on such occassions.Yes we need to address poverty and infrastructure development but should we be proud of a Shaka type of army? We are one of the least equipped in the region! :-?:-?:-?:-?:o:o:o:-?:-w
It is not proper for go government to spend precious jet fuel for marking the resumption of parliament.It is also a big embarasment if government does not display that they have an air force before parliament.
Let us ask ourselves who is the government?
I believe the government of our republic is anyone of our citizens who are contributing positivesly for the good of the republic without uttering petty complaints.If you do not volunteer to work for the republic in any way and are stil in the forefront of launching compaints then let the citizens like Kenneth Kaunda,Given Lubinda,H.H,&R.B be your judges.I hope the verdict will be on your side.
MR WESLEY NGWENYA, RB IS COMING FROM A UNIP BACKGROUND WHERE STATE PROPERTY AND FUNDS, WERE NOT DISTINGUISHED FROM POLITICAL PARTY PROPERTY OR FUNDS. THATS THE STYLE IN WHICH KAUNDA AND HIS FELLOW CROOKS ROBBED THE ZAMBIAN PEOPLE IN DAY LIGHT. SO, THE LOOTING AND RAPING OF ZAMBIA CONTINUES BY RB AND HIS MEN AND WOMEN.
NOW, THE QUESTION IS, IS THERE ANY CREDIT CRUNCH IN ZAMBIA AT ALL? OR LEADERS OF ZAMBIA ARE JUST A BUNCH OF IRRESPONSIBLE CROOKS?