GOVERNMENT says it has enhanced the capacity of the Government Printing Department in Lusaka to print various materials, including ballot papers locally.
Works and Supply Minister Mike Mulongoti said the Government Printing Department is well-equipped and ready to print ballot papers for the 2011 tripartite elections.
Speaking during the recording of `Culture Remodelling’, a Ministry of Finance and National Planning programme at the ministry’s headquarters in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Mulongoti said the Government Printing Department is prepared to print electoral materials for the 2011 tripartite elections if requested by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
He said his ministry would indicate to ECZ the capacity of the Government Printing Department to do the job locally.
“We are considering printing ballot papers here. We are ready to do it for 2011, if they call on us. All we need to do is building confidence in our own systems,” Mr Mulongoti said.
He said Government Printing Department has got all the necessary equipment for the job and is also able to do colour printing.
[Zambia Daily Mail]
Big platform for rigging
I don’t think this can work in Zambia at the moment. Considering the corrupt government we have, who would believe if again we hear Rupiah has won the election? I wouldn’t believe it!!
Let us decide to use government printing department after MMD is out of power!
We’re fade up with Rupiah and his clan. God will save us.
Ballots should be printed in Zambia if the capacity is there. Why spend money importing ballots that may not even be counted properly anyway! Come 2011 no headman/peanut growing farmer from Chipata is going to be president again. We are sick and tired of being sick and tired of inept leaders.
Government Printing Department works for the good of the government of the day not for the people.
That’s the dirtiest trick this devil of a government could ever pull. Whilst relying on ourselves for printing is a good and progressive move, neutrality is lost all together. We can now conclusively say the MMD is here to stay another century. Those rabid rascals!
Oh oh!! I smell a rat in this. Why be ready for that duty at a strategic time like this one. This should not be allowed in a place like Zambia, where government machinery is totally controlled by the politicians from the ruling party.
hey children, think before vomit ur useless points or else you might “stink”, the elder has spoken.
Iyeeee, elo lwanya nomba. Ni MMD for ever? I feel its better to continue with the old system. Those are some of the tactics learnt from somewhere, I dont want to say where. We havent reached a stage in politics where the ruling party is trusted by the opposition. It will just bring chaos.
Hope this will be more transparent than printing out side Zambia.
Ask the stakeholders if they will be happy with the idea.
I think this is a good idea.
If the opposition does not trust the govt in printing ballot papers, they could always send observers to observe the process of the ballot paper printing.
#8 nebo, we shouldn’t wallow in old filth. Let us embrace change. Print the ballots at home and work for a free and fair election. A few years ago none of us thought Govt. officials will be going to prison for theft. We are making steps and we all have to stick together in the fight for corruption
No need to outsource printing of ballots when the country has been privileged to receive some multi million dollar printing technology from friendly nations. Save every ngwee henceforth.
Those unpatriotic chaps who want outsourcing after the internal capacity of Government Printers has been restored must be made to raise their own money to cover such extravagant expenses. Never again should we outsource. UNIP for over 27 years never outsourced ballot printing.
Lets Protect Zambian employees. Outsourcing is funding foreign jobs in foreign labor markets.
The only mistake Zambians made was to bring back UNIP. If it was mamuyayaya for 27 years, expect wamuyayaya to go up to 50 years.
The opposition want foreign outsourcing because of their inferioty complex , hate for zambian workers, natural selfishness to be flown and lodged there with allowancies, unpatriotism when it comes to buy Zambia, disrespect for the Zambian expertise and irresponsibility.Don’t give them a chance print every ballot in Zambia to serve megre forex. Do not curve in to this unpatriotism.They can go to hell if they want or use existing legal institutions.If anything,nothing has potential to change in their titular blog driven parties.Regionalism cannot just spam them a miracle they are counting on.MMD as a national party will renews the mandate keeping our country united and progressing.Theirs is ranting while Zambians are for a people’s Government they call their own and after UNIP, its only…
Mwafwafye all those of you in Zambia.
OMG! 2011 elections already rigged…ballot papers to be printed in Zed!!
Deep thinking – adds a new deimsinon to it all.
For those who are interested in mature and informative discussions, there are three excellent interviews on zambiablogradio dot com featuring in separate sessions, Former Minister Ngandu Magande, the great Dennis Liwewe and Faz President Kalusha Bwalya.
Hope things will work out for the better.. I mean no rigging stories and stuff…..
# 18, Where on earth have you seen a Poor Finishing party accept the ballot verdict when it knows no intraparty democracy?The good thing is that life goes on and the winner will always be the Governing party.It makes no difference with those bad losers’ hyperboles.They will always be Chibuku drunkards and fantasizing kaponyas peddling bath tubs in market centers and street corners hopelessly.
To me i see this as a well planned move recently Rb was talking of standing for the 2011,& people were asking why e.g Nawakwi anyhow he is stiill eligible to stand thats not a problem. But he has seemed more confident than ever even after people are complaining he still thinks of going ahead. It is likely that the election are to be rigged. If they want things printed why dont they make an agreement with private companies in Zambia to print for them. As we all know clearly that things that are run by government are to serve the government e.g Times and Daily mail News papers they can never critized government they support. Why then should the government printing company not print in favour of MMD. Good move but cant work in Zambia, unless there private companies hired as good possibilty.
we cant allow such to be done by the MMD govt printing department. Unless its a private company or companies to do that for mother zambia and not MMD driven departments.This is will be tantamount to sangwapooooo rigging of votes. we are so educated now in zambia and we cannot be fooled again by these guys anymore. Just know that we are watching you with your tricks !
#3 Woman of substance, wot’s your problem? Have you got a problem with people from Chipata? If you have an issue with a particular individual, just say so instead of stereotyping us. Such attitudes are wot’s keeping this country a banana republic.
Country-men and women, just calm down …. this is also about patrotism and the ability to believe in ourselves to do small job like printing ballot papers.. jwhy export jobs to RSA when you we have the skills and equipment to do it. Nothing wrong with this…except other stakeholder need to agree on a transparent process… infact the process is more prone to manipulation if done outside the country as GRZ has more resources outside the country compared to any other.
#12 Iwe ci Pasifeaces, ilicipuba. Which opposition party has ever accepted defeat in Africa and why?
Rigging Made easier. At least the Master Rigger has been saved from travelling to SA during the printing of the ballot papers. The chronic ear infection will be treated at UTH for a change. Has anyone noticed that this man was In SA and Malawi during the just concluded elections in both countries. God save African Democracy from this Monster.
Oh NO!!!! Here we go again! Rigging has already started….WTF???
RIGGING MADE SIMPLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There should not be a problem if opposition members, civil societies and selected ordinary citizens are present at all times during the printing. Govt and opposition can come together and work out a framework of the printing process should be undertaken. It would be preferable if a non-interested was the main player in the printing process.
Iwe number 19,paci fimo-fimo,mind your language taulechepa.
# 19, i am sure you are one of the MMD kaponya….what about the MMD women dancing for your stupid leaders at the airport….they cant even dance for their hubbies at home….
RIGGING MADE SIMPLE!!!!!! MORE SIMPLE IN FACT
# 19, very silly….what about the naked women dancing 4 the MMD leaders at the airport….they dont even dance for their hubbies at home…
Let the rigging begin bigtime!! Unless you show responsible management but looking at the numbe rof power hungry people, i am not sure rigging will not be possible.
……rigging for dummies…
long over due..but…….it will be abused come 2011
..thats whey am working on a new book……rigging for dummies…
Good job GRZ. I particularly like “Speaking during the recording of `Culture Remodelling’, a Ministry of Finance and National Planning programme at the ministry’s headquarters in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Mulongoti said the Government Printing Department is prepared to print electoral materials for the 2011 tripartite elections if requested by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ)” for we must stop giving money to South Africans and/or others to do jobs we can do in Zambia.
It is shame to have our elections material being printed in other countries for big democracies are doing everything by themselves. Let us thus also get UNZA and CBU Computer Science students work on a project to get us electronic voting so that ballots papers and the electronic results are compared.
are you sure christians you politicians, liers, cheaters, God is see in dark, water in short he see everywhere