Government has urged Zambians living abroad not to base their decisions on reports carried by some online media publications as these were misleading.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Harry Kalaba, said in Pretoria on Monday that he sympathised with Zambian diplomats because most of them based their opinions about what was happening in Zambia on some online publications which have only been created to discredit individuals and the country as a whole.
“Zambia is well. I know you get a lot of information from online media, most of which have been planted to discredit Zambia. These online publications would only get someone`s name correct while the rest of the article is baseless. That`s not how Journalism works,” Mr. Kalaba said.
He was speaking when he met diplomatic staff at the Zambian High Commission in Pretoria. This was when he stopped over in South Africa on his way to Angola for an official visit.
And Government says it is approaching the constitution-making process with care to prevent the exercise from collapsing as was the case in the past.
On the constitution, the Minister assured that Government will give Zambians a constitution that will stand the test of time but that it will not do so at the pace that “detractors” wanted things to move. He said the draft document and the report will soon be presented to Cabinet by Justice Minister, Wynter Kabimba.
The Minister advised that people should realise that the several attempts made in the past to re-work the constitution were partial amendments to the document whereas the current exercise involved coming up with a completely new document. He observed that the previous exercises failed because politics took precedence over people`s interests and that it was not the desire of President Sata and that of his Government for the current process to end the same way.
He said the PF Government will always stand with the people unlike some political parties which today wanted to come out as champions after taking part in constitution-making processes such as the National Constitution Committee which failed to come up with a revised constitution after gobbling huge amounts of tax-payers money. He said Government wanted to move systematically and chronologically and take everyone on board including the poor who may not have been represented when the technical committee was receiving submissions.
The Minister said there was no need for some sections of society to call for a road map for the process as this has been in place from the time the technical committee was appointed and went round the country to gather views from the people.
He said it would be dangerous to try to hurry the process as this would still be constrained by certain factors which could emanate as a result of some of the submissions to the technical committee requiring amending the Bill of Rights in the current constitution. If such a thing were to happen, a referendum would then have to be held and one of the pre-requisites in such a situation is a census and then a voting process which requires at least 50 per cent of the eligible voters in the country taking part.
The Minister pointed out that apart from being expensive, this process would be long and tedious.
Mr. Kalaba said Government could not be said to be delaying the process when in fact it is the one that directed the technical committee to wind up after continued extensions to the drafting process. He said had Government wanted to delay the process, it would have left the technical committee to continue with its unlimited extensions.
The Minister also took time to update the staff on Government`s development agenda saying Zambia has now been turned into a “construction site” as a result of the various infrastructure projects being under taken. He cited roads, schools, universities, health facilities and railway lines as some of the major unprecedented projects underway. He said the PF Government is already set to work on a total of over 10, 000 kilometres of road network in the short space of time it has been in office while the MMD only did about 4,000 kilometres for the 20 years it governed.
Mr. Kalaba said Zambia will not be among countries in the region that would be affected by food shortages following a projected bumper harvest of 3.3 million tonnes of maize this season.
He urged Zambians to be vigorous in marketing the country so that it regains its leadership role in the region as was the case in the times of Dr. Kaunda’s reign. He said the PF was alive to this fact and that was why President Sata has brought dignity to Dr. Kaunda which he had lost during the MMD.
“If you don’t respect your own parents, how would you expect other people to do so,” he noted.
Mr. Kalaba commended the Zambian Mission in Pretoria for the successes it has continued to record in strengthening bilateral relations with South Africa as well as in facilitating investment inflows to Zambia.
Zambia’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Mr. Muyeba Chikonde, commended Mr. Kalaba for taking time off his transit period to visit the Mission. His Excellency Chikonde further said that Missions always benefitted a lot from such interaction as this helped raise the zeal to perform better. He said this also served as an opportunity for Missions to be briefed so that they were current with on-going developmental projects and enable them understand Government policy direction.
He said Zambia has benefitted substantially from DBSA and that the country could still tap into this investment portfolio for the development of toll roads through a private-public partnership arrangement in order to free in-house resources for other social programmes.
ba kalabayopolani tyala namwe wat rubish are you talking ?wasnt it part of pf manifesto,?who is fooling who?anyway most educated zambian when they join politics they throw their integrity,how much is kwacha against dollar and you say all is well,zambia is congo in the making already civil servants are not yet paid 3 months in arrears.
Yes all is well since my $100 can give K660. Nice minister, PF is working; now I can get cheap prostitutes….what a country!!!
Update, now 670
It’s now gone to 6.75/$. All is well according this clown!
The exchange rate doesn’t lie Mr. Minister and XE.com is also online media.at the rate the kwacha is going, it’s more money in the pockets of the diaspora when they visit home.
And like @Mann said it’s more prostitutes for him in LSK.
So thank you Mr. minister for you and your fellow ministers for being useless. Please continue with the same spirit until the kwacha reaches K10/$.
More money for us and less for the majority fo.ols who voted for Sata despite being told that he is a loose character
So its a lie that Ba President Sata is suing Citizens? I read online.
It can’t be true that when Kwacha depreciates against major currencies, one has ‘more’ money! You will carry more notes and bigger figures for sure and
NOT more value. One is likely to pay even more in Kwacha (as well as USD
for that matter) for same goods and services than before!
Everybody is a loser here especially the poor. The military in Thailand have
just side lined the current government to re-boot the process. I agree fully
though that Zambia …
is fast headed for the drain …
This just confirms the fact that all of PF ministers are useless. Instead of telling Sata to change course now and begin to govern by consensus and consult all stake holders before implementing crucial policy decisions, you are busy shifting the blame on to the online media. How f00lish!
You think us in the diaspora are not in touch with our relatives in Zambia. Our relatives are telling us how expensive the cost of living is under your government. Do you think even news about the weakening Kwacha is a fabrication of the online media? We check the exchange rate with agencies we send money with each time our relatives ask for some help financially.
PF is entirely to blame for the state of the Zambian economy now. During Mwanawasa, the kwacha appreciated a lot. PF = CNP.
Sata goes to court to prove that he can gather a larger crowd to support him than HH.
What a way prove his popularity!
Reason why i select where to read my news from.Online Media like Mwebantu,Daily mail and Lusaka Times(Not of late though) are balanced in their reporting.And so is the post newspaper to a certain extent.But online Media`s like Zambian watchdog are a no to me because they are very predictable in their Anti-Sata and Pro-Hakainde Hichilema propaganda.Sometimes one has to use discernment to know what is true or not.
Very true! For more progressive news read allafrica dot com. And whatever you do don’t listen to the chaps on these blogs that are sponsored by UPND or those that are abroad courtesy of MMD.
Saulosi enjoy your life of parasitic economic refugee till you can.
As to your choice of “information”, just read opposite of what is written and you will get almost realistic pictures.
I am here and I see daily struggle of people trying to survive. And before you jump with usual accusations, NO, I do not support any party and I am not a “cadre”.
By the way, I am not even a Zambian and therefore Zambian politics (or what pass for politics in Zambia) makes me laugh.
It is beyond understanding that in 21st Century 14 million people are ruled by the bunch of pseudo democrats. But then, even former Yugoslavia was ruled by the pseudo democrats and it took 300,000 innocent lives to effect change. I pray that Zambians will not go through such sufferings before theirs rights as the human are restored.
SATA has taken himself to court to answer question on behalf of the cartel holding him hostage. He has finally yielded to pressure put on him by the cartel to intimidate the courts.
So does this mean Sata has stripped his immunity off? If so then this is good news. He has just opened a can of worms.
Brilliant precedence!
if the clown continues going to court like he did to day, what happens if he is convicted of some sort of crime, will he take himself to JAIL??
Believe nothing . Not even Post and Daily mail online. But if you are abroad on Satas ticket representing Sata, just know that the end is near.
Kalaba ulelaba sana. You talking of the constitution process being expensive, is it your money. And who told you tht your official visit to Angola would be cheap. namutuma kale ama phone ati mulye tu gelo kulya ku Angola at our expense.( tax payer) . Gentle men you had MMD is an example. iam afraid you will be a one term govt like sakozy
Are such meetings discussions or lectures? I would dearly love that this man had the guts to hold such a public meeting in London where he will be open to questioning. The few times he has been to London, its been private shopping sprees. Bwana minsister be brave and come and have an open discussion with Zambians in diaspora in London for us to have a candid discussion on Zambia and where we are headed as a nation. Take this as an opne invitation.
It is good he was telling the PF Diplomats that they are incapable of analyzing and judge what they read about Zambia’s state of the nation online. As for me and others in the diaspora who are not PF Diplomats, we read analytically online media both perceived as anti- and pro- PF Govt. We are also in constant contact (phone, email, Skype, whatsapp, Facebook, etc) with our trusted non-partisan relatives and colleagues back home in Zambia who update us on the obtaining situation in real time. Too bad PF Diplomats have no such facilities, they will have to wait for the minister to tell them what is true and what is false in online media reports about Zambia.
We visit XE.com to see how the kwacha is trading,and falling daily.Lie?
A slightly conflicting reassurance from you bwana Minister. Thanks for that special consideration compared to your boss who is not quite a fun of the pool and wealthy of experience our country has all over the world. am sure those away from home will feel they matter to the motherland. Kaunda a yard? I beg to differ.
stupid minister tell us about the Kwacha is it a lie? Your abnormal boss is in court today without thinking what damage he gas done to that office by appearing in court in person.
BA minister,said govt wanted to move systematically & chronologically and take everyone on board including the poor Who May Not have been represented when the Tc was receiving submissions.
(1)how’ & who will represent them now at this stage of the draft(poor)
(2)the poor are mostly in rural areas and shanties,does it mean there is a secret people conducting the poor ‘s views.
(3)there is No constitution in the world that satisfies every Jim & jack.
(4)sata promised 90days ,then accusation on Tc,then draft stolen,then Not received & kabimba.
While in opposition sata used to voice his blood on the constitution ,so why is this insane minister accusing the opposition of cheap & heaping them with all kind of unwarranted descriptive names.
It seems the pf govt is in…
Oh Yes Kalaba- Belly Politician, i will believe the nonsense You spew!
I will believe P.F is Non Violent.
I will believe the Kwacha is Not tumbling.
I will believe there’s Never been internal divisions / Factions in P.F.
I will believe your gang is Not corrupt, & ripping us off everyday.
I will believe Zambian’s have more money in their pockets since U took over.
I will believe You are tough on Investors ripping Zambia off.
Dare I go on??
I DO BELIEVE YOU HAVE WINGS, & DO FLY MR KALABA the Belly Politician!
The !diot that is pretending to be president in state house is appearing in person mu high court in the case where he sued Richard Sakala for defamation. Trusted PF cadres here, is this normal?
Kalaba, are you denying that you have a girlfriend by the name of Maloni whom you have a child with? Are you also denying that you have appointed this same girlfriend to replace a qualified diplomat at the High Commission in Tanzania? Online media told us so and my friend mud sticks.
This Minister is misleading. We don’t rely on online publications in order for us to understand what is going on in our country. We go there and we see it for ourselves that the country is going into the drain as a result of poor leadership from people like this very minister and Sata himself.
“Silence is Golden” Honourable Kalaba please shut your mouth if you have nothing to offer or say, Each time you open your mouth mouth sound like Kambwila.
You are among the people President Sata said are ‘Useless Ministers”
Is it also a lie that Sata insulted in or around court premises. And I guess its also a lie that Kwacha is almost K7 to 1 dollar!!!
maiwe, it is embarassing the way our ministers lie, kwena is the kwacha gaining or falling like a stone in a pool, can t you guys say one true thing, admit defeat, twachula kuli kwacha, mayo eeeh:
Hon Kalaba also stated that Zambians in the diaspora should not listen to their families residing in Zambia. Hon Kalaba, ‘all is well in Zambia, your families are not telling the truth perhaps it’s a way for them begging you to return home.’ Hon Kalaba, instead wants the Zambian in the diaspora to keep sending money back home, ‘We promised you more money in your pocket, this is now becoming a reality, send the dollar and pound back home, the recipients will have more money just like we promised.
THE ARTICLE DOES NOT MENTION EXCHANGE RATES. It’s funny you guys claiming to be outside then complaining about devaluation of the kwacha. Who are you? Either you were previously used to receiving kwacha-based forex “payments” sent to you from Zambia to wherever you are chewing, or you are in Zambia complaining about your import business going badly (which is understandable but why not try to move towards an indigenous export-based mindset?). If you’re exporting or trying to run a tourist business then kwacha devaluation is good news!
so we should listen to this man who recently sent his concubine as a diplomat to Tanzania?
Kwacha is falling, dont believe it, lol
If your family ask for assistance in Zambia, dont believe it, they are ok, dont send money. lol
“He urged Zambians to be vigorous in marketing the country so that it regains its leadership role in the region as was the case in the times of Dr. Kaunda’s reign”
As long as Mr. Sata is president Zambia is unmarketable, I mean Mr. Sata does a thorough job of de-marketing the country. In the two years in power he has destroyed the image of the country completely. The world looks at us as a laughing stock. They wonder why we elected a crazy president, please don’t try to deny this, the president is insane. That no president has visited our country, save for Mugabe, another charlatan, is evidence of Mr. Sata’s unsuitability as head of state and confirmation of his unbalanced mental faculties.
“And Government says it is approaching the constitution-making process with care to prevent the exercise from collapsing as was the case in the past” !!!
And who collapsed it in the past?? Was it not the PF??
We are tired of your BUFI!
Just give us the CONSTITUTION that we, the Zambian people voted for and PAID for. No more of your delaying tactics and LlES!