Friday, March 29, 2024

£411,000 worth of assets and cash from the Barotse Royal treasury was distributed to district councils countrywide-VEEP

Share

Guy Scott
Guy Scott

VICE-PRESIDENT Guy Scott told Parliament yesterday that £411,000 worth of assets and cash from the Barotse Royal treasury was distributed to district councils countrywide in 1964.

Dr Scott said according to the information released by former Minister of Local Government Sikota Wina as published in one of the editions of the Times of Zambia newspaper in 1964, the £411,000 worth of assets and cash was distributed to councils after the signing of the Barotseland Agreement.

The Vice-President, who laid the cutting of the article on the table of the House, was answering a question from Bahati member of Parliament (MP) Harry Kalaba (Patriotic Front) who wanted to know how much was in the Barotse Royal treasury and what happened to the money at the time the Barotseland Agreement was signed.

This was during the Vice-President’s question time.

And Dr Scott said the Litunga of the Lozi people in Western Province, like the other three Paramount Chiefs in the country, derives his powers from the colonial establishment and the republican Constitution.

Dr Scott said this in response to a question by Lukulu West MP Misheck Mutelo (MMD) who asked whether or not the Litunga has powers as those of the Chitimukulu of the Bemba, Paramount Chief Mpezeni of the Ngoni and Paramount Chief Gawa Undi of the Chewa people.

The Vice-President dismissed assertions that Government is trying to ridicule the Litunga, describing them as baseless.

And Dr Scott said it is not Government’s desire to see people lose their jobs following the upward adjustment of the minimum wage for domestic, shop and general workers.

He said Government revised the minimum wage to ensure all workers are accorded decent salaries.

Dr Scott said this in response to Mafinga MP Catherine Namugala (MMD) who asked if Government is aware that the implementation of the minimum wage is likely to result in high levels of unemployment.

[pullquote] ZRA collected K1.185 trillion excise duty, K1.7 trillion customs duty, K3.9 trillion value added tax, K4.5 trillion pay as you earn while K7.5 trillion was collected from other taxes last year.[/pullquote]

“If we follow your logic, it will mean reducing wages and increasing the number of workers. But this is not the case with the PF government,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Finance Miles Sampa told Parliament that Government collected K18.8 trillion in taxes from January 1 to December 31 last year.

He said the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) collected K1.185 trillion excise duty, K1.7 trillion customs duty, K3.9 trillion value added tax, K4.5 trillion pay as you earn while K7.5 trillion was collected from other taxes.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

61 COMMENTS

  1. Oh dear!…they thought it was Hundreds of MILLIONS of pounds…

    More importantly, what were the SOURCES of these monies? The truth will expose the lies and duplicity…Even the thieving colonialists knew this kantemba was not economically viable!

    • It is very clear that you lack basic knowledge of the time value of money. That was a collosal sum that would amount to serious amount in today’s world!

      Shut up if youhsve nothing to say…

  2. Imagine having such huge amount of money in your coffers by 1964, Iwe scott tellus how much nothern rhodesia had????

  3. This Chola Boy talks a lot of sense. However, that was a lot of money then. It was huge compared to Billions of dollars today in worth cause the salary for top workers could have been two kwacha only then.

  4. I listened to him on BBC’s “Straight Talk” and he came across as articulate and knowledgeable. My opinion is that he is one of the two voices of reason in the current government, the other one being Chikwanda. Facts and figures are what we want and not mere rhetoric. 

  5. Mr ” Lukulu West MP Misheck Mutelo (MMD)” , Chitimukulu and the other Guys Mpenzeni and Gule are Chiefs Litunga is the ” KING”

  6. The truth is that more money was taken and used for other things, e.g establishing the bank of Zambia. We all know that up to know the BRE seats as shareholder on the bank of Zambia.

    By the way, the Litunga, and all other chiefs in Zambia do not derive their powers from colonial masters. Colonialists found our kings already had powers over their people.in barotseland, colonialist found lewanika an established king with his own government, legislature, judiciary, laws and all governance structures in place.
    Colinialists, and post independent governemnets destroyed our kings and chiefs’s legacies.
    Litunga was not installed by colonialist. Litunga simply, in his wisdom made the colonialsists to respect and recognise his rulership, thus the signing of treatie

  7. I hear you!

    But remember, Whites never respected any treaty they signed with Africans. If you doubt what I am saying, just consider the lack of any significant decisions you can point to by the Litunga while under the protection of the British Monarchy. If the Litunga couldn’t make any independent or transact on an equal basis with Colonialists, that my friend is the definition of colonialism!

    Don’t believe the elusion the British created in order to manipulate the Litunga to go along in their conniving schemes during Europe’s scramble for Africa. These guys wanted some “token King/Chief” to sign the phony treaties they cooked so as to cover their asses if legally challenged by other European imperialists back home.

  8. Oh, so it was only £411,000 worth of assets!

    Surely, even when adjusted for inflation, this sum wouldn’t amount to some of the outragious figures I have seen people throw around!

    Anyway, districts in Western province ( the so called Barotseland) also got their share. Just as they are benefiting from the riches (Copper) of other provinces and Chiefdoms at the moment, the riches of the new founded Nations needed to be distributed equally. So the govt of the day did a wise thing.

    In any case, where did this wealth come from because there was, and still is, no significant economic activities in Barotseland? Anyway, like others have alread said, figures don’t lie!!

  9. The taxe revenues are problematic: how can a country rife with high unemployment collect much of its taxes from PAYE? Given that there are few people in formal employment paying 30%+ PAYE, I do expect that number to be small. Our country is importing country and I expect a huge collection through borders indirect taxes. The other taxes should be a big chuck from mine and mineral taxes. In conclusion, I can see a lot of pilfirage at the boarders. A lot of taxes go uncollected on imports. This is what we should be arguing about and not this BRE emotional thing.

  10. @12. Yambayamba you are very dull. If the whites never respected treaties Zambia would have never existed. Zambia is a product of the treaties signed between King lewanika and Rhodes. The problem with people like you is you can’t bring yourself to accept that the creation of your country has a lot to do with an ethnic group you rabidly hate! The whites with lewanika created your country. They built modern institutions for you. And they respectfully handed a country you never had to you on October 24 1964. What has happened to Zambia since then is a result of your own foolishness. Leave the whites and lewanika alone!

    • You are a liar. Just go to Lusaka Museum and dig how lusaka, ndola, kitwe and other cities looked like at independence. They were more less like villages serve for very few developments like libala where most whites lived. After independence, Super Ken together with Harry Mwaanga Nkhumbula, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe scrumbled and embarked on developmental projects in the name of construction. The modern day luska, kitwe, livingstone, ndola etc by third world standards were actually built after independence and not before as you moron wants to pretend. And how come if barotseland is still a primitive village if Lewanika who used to talk with the british, was as clever as you want to believe. Common sense entales barotseland should have been the first to be developed, but is it the case.

    • Thanks @Coachez, I can’t say it any better!

      For as long as these !d!ots stop keep lying to themselves and refuse to move with the times, Western province will always lag behind the rest of Zambia. The lies they have been fed all these years are now being laid bare. For a long time this phony mistic about the Barotse and their Lintunga have survived due to old politicians’ unfounded fears to openly discuss this issue. Well, the current generation will no longer put up with it.

      @Rod, if you are White and British, please know that your ancestors did not give up Zambia out of the goodness of their heart. Times changed and they could no longer justify imperialism! If your are Lozi, know that the Litunga had no choice but to aliagn with Zambia because “Barotse” was too small and broke!

    • Yambayamba, mwana wesu, that’s why it was called a british protectorate because these swines after running away from Ushaka zulu could not fathom another confrontation with Ibin majidi or ibin Batuta, They opted to cow down when the bembas and ngonis where fighting the arabs with spears against guns. Probably that’s why they take our torelance as bembas as being soft. These runners have no idea umubemba ngabuluma. Thank god we fear Jehovah God more than a human. 

  11. @ibulozinahayaluna, no, WE don’t know what you know. Please put clippings/documents on the table so we can understand. This spinning of conspiracy is just about enough now. Please bring more detail to the table…

  12. @3. Cassava republic. Please kindly tell us how much money from your chiefdom was distributed to councils all over the country at independence. In your usual inbred ignorance you are further asking where these monies were coming from. These were taxes collected in bsrotseland. They ranged from excise tax on beer, cigarettes and sales tax on all goods and services sold in Barotseland. There is one thing you should have noticed in this Scott statement. Despite the denials pf has finally accepted that Barotseland was not just like another part of Zambia. It was a separate territory with its own treasury and taxation system. The Litunga is thus not like the paramount chiefs you have. He is the king of Bulozi.

    • You are an *****. Guy Scott got his information from Sikota Wina a lozi who was a minister tasked with this job. You wanna call Dr Scot ignorant, why dont you find out from wina who happens to know more about this than stupid *****s like you. Ulebepa like you were there when you probably got your information from batuke imenda. Shame on you. Ask the learned lozi sikota wina for he knows and understands this issue more than you yapping ingratiates.

  13. @silent night…so you mean Litunga is king of a village? my foot!!!! a king has own establishment not as ceremonial as your “king” litunga. come to terms that you are zambians and Barose

    • my dear oxomos whatever your name is: History can never ever be re-written! It is a fact. You can interpret it to suit your egos but can never change what has happened. Of course you can change the future. We the people of Barotseland know very well the hatred that exists in this country against us! We are privy to insinuations, targeted hatred and lies to deepen ill feelings against us. But we shall rise above this! All peoples that have suffered the level of suppression anywhere in the world, have always found a way of rising above this. Enjoy your Zambia while it lasts. We were all created in the image of God and no one is above the other. And yet human beings create such conditions for their own greed- so God shall see us through this persecution. Mulena buluka sichaba sa hesu!

  14. Kaunda takafwe mpaka aka sove iyi issue! Ubushikufye akafumyo mupu no kulanda ifyamano pali issue ya barotse nokuya elo akaya mukutusha

  15. #17 Rod
    At independence in 1964, Northern Rhodesia had more foreign reserves than all but two countries in Africa! This money was largely from copper earnings and this copper was NOT in your province. Further, the money in your treasury represented less than 1% of the money held in the Northern Rhodesia treasury! You would be economically extinct if it were not for the money from copper in Lambaland which financed virtually all the development during the first ten years of independence in Zambia.

  16. The colonialist merely pampered the chiefs, clothed some in imperial regalia, gave them a semblance of respect by way of cosmetic recognition of tin-pot paramount chiefdomship, thereby sending them into stupor while the cunning colonialist plundered their ‘kingdom’ and ‘chiefdom’. Nothing to write home, or blow trumpets, about.

  17. Sure the Litunga is a king ??? My foot…he is just like other paramount chiefs. Nothing special about him period.

  18. The Veep doesn’t say this was the total sum from the BRE Treasury, at least from this article.

    He mentions the amount as the money distributed to the districts. Period. Does that sound like an exhaustive disbursement?

  19. Instead of fishing in the air, why don’t lozis ask sikota wina, a fellow lozi who was at the elm of this controverse after independence. If lewanika the litunga and his followers were clever in enough to seek protection from the menacing arab slave traders by signing a protectorate document with the british, how come western province is still a bush. Common sense would warrant that it should have been the first place to be developed even before lambaland (copperbelt), bembaland (northen), ngoniland (eastern) etc. How come you lozis academicians are so learned and yet so dull for not developing a place when you had the backup of the brits whilst bembas and ngonis were fighting for the lives against the arabs?

    • And you call this analysis! Analysis my foot! Don’t expose your mediocrisy in public if your understanding is obscure…

    • Ba @Chimbwi No Plan, if what @Coachez has propounded is a bunch of nothings, give us your learned analysis and maybe people will listen to you. Just insulting someone without any basis make you look like a thoughtless asshole!

    • Yambayamba we mfumu yabene, I am beyond such insults because I have met a whole lot lozis and tongas than these scorpions. They would rather vent their anger, but not address the core of our apprehension. I asked questions and the ***** could not even answer one serve for castigating and insulting me. That’s why aba bakamushi they should thank their stars we have intermarried pantu kubalekela umuchanga. I am patient because we cannot condemn an entire clan/tribe just because of a few very selfish numskers. Ask the common lozi as to whether he has benefited from the litunga’s rule. The only beneficiaries is a small click of very close family members. Like I put it, if litunga is/was so important, then why is western province still a bush?

  20. U pipo u are wasting yo energy and time. Barortseland will one day be independent from the so called zambia. Barotseland has never being part of Zambia in practice. This thing failed becoz of kiluba and his hatred for the lozis.Rubbish panda was an open tribalist who ignored the rest of zambia and concentrated on his village and family. Viva lewanika viva litunga viva bulozi rise yoself up! Viva Mr Sata for helping Barotseland to regain her independence!

  21. Lozis have been fed with selfish sentimental falsehoods about their historical role and importance in the life of mordern day Zambia.

  22. Right now, North western is contributing so much through the mines, and RB started the most expensive (for that distance) ever road construction project in the name of Mongu-Kalabo road in your area, using Kansanshi and Lumwana tax money. Historically, other regions were equally taxed by the colonial government. The Tongas too. Equally the Easterners and Northerners. There is no bloody big deal about it.

  23. Let us go to court if you lozis think you will win,even your so called milupi political part we will never support it chipimo will be the next and no matter how many times you will keep on dreaming we are sorry we will never listen to your allusions.you will remain subordinates with your litunga and will make sure to only be making you mps or deputy ministers bcoz we have seen your interests.Stop wishing kaunda dead things have changed.

  24. This government is shocking… first the use of newspaper article as official evidence of official government policy or document is wrong. Such information should have come from government official records not newspapers. Newspapers have agendas and they are never balanced… after all we know Times of Zambia was, is and will always be a government mouth piece. Or did KK tear down the official records in his shrouded behaviour?

    @Here is a Veep acknowledging in parliament the signing and existence of the Barotseland Agreement in 1964, but at the same time they continue denying its existence or its legitimacy. So the agreement was signed and money was taken from the Barotseland treasury? Will the government of Zambia return this money, with interest and today’s inflation?

  25. About the source of ‘power’ of the Litunga, this guy is really exposing his ignorance. The litunga’s source of power and legitimacy is his subjects; his people. Like someone has already explained above, Barotseland was a well established Kingdom when foreigners set foot on the land… I can’t speak for the other chiefs.

  26. #40 u are a monkey tribalist who will die poor! Barotse will form its govt sooner or later. U are kabokos who rose through corruption of kiluba and RB into govt.why are u bitter about BA64 if u hate lozis. Late them go. U sticking fool.

  27. @coachez and yambayamba. Libala/madras was a residential area for Indians. White residential areas were nortmead, woodlands, longacres, Rhodes park and Olympia park. Africans like kaunda were allocated chilenje. Mixed races were allocated Thorn park.

  28. @coachez, what is the use of invoking sikota wina’s name when you can’t bring yourself to reveal whatever he ‘knows’? That is very stupid I dare say!

  29. @coachez, interesting to note that you wear with pride the badge about Arab slave raiders amongst your Ngoni and Bemba relatives. Ever head of the maurauding Imbangala slave raiders who terrorised Angola and areas of todays western parts of Zambia?

  30. @coachez, you can bark as loud as you want. The fact remains that king lubosi lewanika and Cecil Rhodes created Zambia. You can be bitter as much as you want but facts will never change. Facts are stubborn. It is lubosi lewanika’s signature on the lochner treaty of 1890 and the emmanual II treaty of 1910. It is sir mwanawina’s signature on the Barotse agreement in 1964 that paved the way for your Zambia you swear by. It was from the Barotse treasury that some £7m in today’s money was distributed to all councils in Zambia. Those are facts my dear and if you don’t like you can go hung!

  31. @Rods who is the bitter man here. All you skunks have been doing is crying foul over a document that was signed on the basis of protection by the british from the arabs. As for revealing what sikota wina knows, “uu pamfiwe, e ulya ne chibi.”  It’s for you to confront your fellow lozi sikota to shed more light on this issue since he was the minister of local government right after independence. It’s not for me or any other zambian to do your donkey work for you are the ones barking about the BA crap.

  32. And how can you continue lying about the amount that was in the treasury when sikota wina himself told government there was only 411,000 pounds, the equivalent of K411,000 since the kwacha was equivalent to the pound? Where are you coming up with such absurd figures like K7,000,000 (7,000,000 punds)? Why do you keep lying even when the truth about the amount has been laid bare by your own tribesman? Bushe eko wali or are you the reincarnation of the coward lubosi imwiko lewanika? As for the imbangala moron, you still had the british to protect you whilst we were fighting guns with spear? And who has come out better of the two?.

  33. Coachez 411,000 in 1964 is 7,000,000 today based on the inflation of the British Pound Sterling from 1964 up to now. So that makes it 52,768,513,875 Kwacha (53 billion) at today’s value

  34. But Coachez you’re right about not living in the past, the past is gone, that is one of the most stubborn facts in existence

  35. Whatever amount, remains a fact. I would rather Zambia comes up with a clear roadmap in regard to how it would face and resolve the various social challenges facing our people and unity in diversity, BA 64, family tree (or is it forest?), one region – development oriented agenda, our children rioting in schools and many other ills. We need leaders with vision, able to see beyond today’s political survival, thinking with their heads and not their stomachs.

  36. plz,y insults over tings which ar strght 4ward less just hav resonable leaders,who things like human beings.unlike those who ar ful of insults and painful language.the 1 causing all these problems is ba sata.

  37. One Zambia one nation my fellow country men.Zambia is known for peace and let us maintain our peace always.Remember that we are now one and with many intermariages we should not segregate one another.Less develope our country Zambia.My prayer is decentralisation and we are done.Love you all.
    K.KAMBOLE

Comments are closed.

Read more

Local News

Discover more from Lusaka Times-Zambia's Leading Online News Site - LusakaTimes.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading