The petitions by Zambians in the diaspora for government to constitutionally allow them to have dual citizenship have continued to emerge with the latest coming from those living in Scotland in the United Kingdom.
And government has expressed scepticism on the matter of dual citizens, saying unscrupulous people may abuse the privilege and end up denting the image of the country abroad.
Meanwhile, Zambians living in the United Kingdom have been urged to always have valid documents that allow them to stay in the region.
Scotland-Zambia Partnership (SCOZAP) Chairman, Lazarous Chisela, said allowing Zambians in the diaspora to have dual citizenship would promote their participation in the economic growth of their country of origin.
Mr Chisela pointed out that dual citizenship would enable Zambians abroad to freely apply their skills, knowledge and investment in their country.
He said this in Glasgow yesterday when Vice President, Guy Scott, and Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Paul Lumbi, met Zambians living in Scotland.
Mr Chisela also said Zambia and Scotland should further enhance their already warm relations and consequently increase social and economic benefits for the peoples of the two countries.
He further said Zambians in Scotland were preparing for a huge celebration of the country’s golden jubilee in that nation in October this year.
But Dr Scott said much as government would want to allow its citizens abroad to have dual citizenship, it feared that some crooked people might abuse the privilege thereby putting Zambia at risk of losing its positive image of being an oasis of peace.
“I think we all realise that having just one passport in this time and age is an inconvenience but at the same time there is potential of abuse by citizens concerned,” he said.
He has since appealed to the Zambians in diaspora to understand government’s fears but did not rule out the possibility of allowing them to have dual citizenship.
The Vice President explained that government was studying ways of strict monitoring of the system if dual citizenship was introduced.
And Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Paul Lumbi, has warned Zambians in the region against staying there without valid passports and other relevant documents.
Mr Lumbi said his mission staffs were always ready to process relevant documents for Zambians in order for them to stay in the UK freely.
“I know some of you are living here illegally because your passports have expired. I appeal to you to get the right documents and live here legally,” he said.
There are over 1,000 Zambians living in Scotland.
Meanwhile, Dr Scott earlier in the day attended a meeting on sustainable trade and investment: trade plus aid which was held at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow.
Dr Scott, who was one of the panellists in one of the discussions, said poor lending conditions by banks in Africa were hampering the growth of infrastructural development in many countries of the continent.
He said countries in the west have developed because of favourable lending terms and conditions to individuals and companies that want to invest in infrastructure.
He noted that financial lending institutions in most African countries were demanding high interest rates on loans over and short loan repayment period.
Dr Scott is in Scotland where he witnessed the official opening of the 20th Commonwealth Games at Celtic park in Glasgow on Wednesday, July 23, 2014.
Zambia has 43 athletes representing her at this year’s Commonwealth games.
ZANIS
Scotland,they mean Scott himself right?anway,am in Mzansi and i support the move..we want double tobela
But Guy Scott never dreamed of dual-citizenship himself.
I think Zambians, who obtained foreign citizenship, and tell their parents back in Mumbwa that they are no longer Zambians must be idyots.
“No no Bashi kulu, I can’t thatch your house this rain season, am no longer Zambian”. Diaspora diaspora mwe mbwa mwe.
We say No to dual citizenship
This ‘campaign’ is just a smokescreen
Thanks
I believe Mushota you are in Scotland did you attend the meeting or you were busy washing plates in the nearby Restaurant
We expressed our displeasure with the response from Guy Scott on this and surely, lack of knowledge and capacity to police abuse of dual citizenship was a sickening excuse. Why not learn from other countries how they have managed this issue. There are more benefits to Zambia if DC was implemented. But again Zambia is a Christian nation and we believe in miracles, meaning we can’t expect reason to prevail keno fye ba yawe batwebe. Bane twaifwanta ichimuti palukasa.
We are already Dual Citizens. What are you all talking about?
I use all my three passports to enter Zambia and I have never been caught
Kufisafye your other passport ngawafika pa zed.Thats what i do
I bet Guy Scot has dual citizenship.
Not only Guy Scott but also Sata’s relatives two of whom are based at embassies in Turkey and China. By the way I hold triple citizenship myself, lawfully.
Sata and his PF are selfish, they just want everything for themselves and their families while blocking the rest of Zambians.
“THERE is a scramble for a Zimbabwean citizenship following the passing of the new constitution which allows dual citizenship, the Registrar General, Tobaiwa Mudede, said yesterday”……………. source: zimdiaspora.com
I guess this is motivating the Zambians in diaspora to pick up the fight for dual citizenship. Good luck.
Why don’t we have this again?
The illiteracy of many African politicians amazes me. These guys are so illiterate that they do not even understand the benefits of dual citizenship. They also act like freighted little rats. South Africa to which most of our sick presidents and relatives rash too has dual citizenship clause. What it simply means is that a south African who obtains a British citizenship can bring the wealth of Britain without being treated like an outcast in his own mother land. A Zambian born in Chitika and raised there becomes a Surgeon say in America and obtains American citizenship, only a stupid country with retrogressive legislation will deny it’s own. most Zambians who have acquired other citizenship, have done so to help their own families in Zambia. And most that I know have done very well.
Did you bump your head when you where young? That’s the most stupid rant ever!
@Chekov, go fcuck yourself you !d!ot, kelvin Mulanga is very right!!!
Well Said Kevin. Zambians deny their own family when they notice they have progressed in life. They want the money and free goods but will not accept their brother or sister and they are not ashamed to stand up and shout they are God fearing people, born again or the rubbish. A lot of people left Zambia to work abroad in the 1980s and this move will continue. Zambia has potential for development, but as long as there are stupid and selfish people in the country Zambia will never develop. War torn countries are doing far much better than Zambia, a country that has never been to war. Why should we all remain in Zambia where there is no progress? The country does not even own a national airline. Hospitals are shunned by their own politicians – they even go to India for treatment but hate ….
I bet, for most of these politicians their pre-occupation is to fill their own bellies not the people of Zambia. This Scott guy, you may be surprised that he holds to nationalities. But he chose to live in Zambia because he can better provide for his own family.
Chachine Twaliifwanta icimuti palukasa. Abena PF nindoshi! The Muzungu is trying to fit in the PF stupidity thats why he sounds non committal. He knows that his PF Governments fears are unfounded by he has to toy the terrible Party’s line. Awe bwafya mwandini. If all Governments in the World were like PF there could be no need of having them.
@mamen, it is NOT just PF with this problem of looking at fellow Zambians living abroad with deep suspicion. For some reason this PHOBIA (if at all it has a name) runs deep and wide even among ordinary Zambians. Just look at some of the comments here, and you will know the kind of backward/myopic mentality we dealing with on this issue.
There are plenty other countries around the world with dual citizenship clauses in their constitutions/laws, and none of the DOOMSDAY scenarios most Zambians against this provision spout have ever happened to these countries. If other countries with more to lose implementing dual citizenship have only gained more positive benefits than negatives, what does Zambia got to lose that these other nations have? A GOOD NAME!? Give me a freaking break!
Dual citizenship is a economic driver for Zambians living abroad to invest back home. Those criminals Guy Scott is focused on will be sorted out by Scotland Yard or FBI. Zambia should learn from other African countries that have embraced dual citizenship like Ghana have developed. Use live examples. In Kabwe, Zambians working in Botswana have built homes. That is development. Am sure it happens everywhere in Zambia. Empower all Zambians to benefit from their fellow Zambians living abroad. Already western union is benefiting.
Perhaps the good man may give us examples of where this dual citizenship has tarnished a country’s good image abroad. Why does the Zambian government criminalise its very decent and productive citizens?
Nonsense there are no benefits with dual citizenship, come back from the diaspora and fight on your own. We have other important things rather than fighting for people washing dishes Scotland, USA, etc
@Dead,
I do not get your point, do you mean in Zambia people do not wash dishes? What province of Zambia are you from where you do not wash dishes after use?
By the way being in the diaspora is neither your business nor PF’s and there is nothing you can do about it.
This shows how primitive you are. Just shut up on issues you do not know and continue singing party slogans and eating chisense. You will die with your jealousy you primitive lot. You will never develop with such mentality.
I was about to comment on your comment @Dead, but I have decided not because of your name Dead which tells me something about your brain
There is no known occupational discrimination for one to move from one country to another in the search for a better income. In Sesheke many young men have been moving to Caprivi, Namibia to practise their skills in cattle herding and many have benefited from the higher incomes – sometimes paid in kind-cattle. Back home in Zambia, our brothers from Kalabo travel seasonally to ply their physical strength at Nakambala as labourers. Prior to as late as 1970, Zambians from Eastern, Southern and Western provinces used to travel to Southern Africa (Zimbabwe, South Africa) to work as labourers on farms, mines and even as house servants. What is wrong or laughable about our brothers and sisters working in so-called inferior trades such as washing plates, security guards, home-workers etc abroad?
Most Zambians at home would rather beg than wash plates, that explains why Zambia is always in reverse gear.
So you want Zambians to stay home and suffer from unemployment when there are opportunities elsewhere. You want them to stay so you can “enjoy” showing off your so-called success to them while they grieve in poverty. If you ever travel out of Zambia to the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand where there are sizable Zambian communities living and working there, try and compare their standards of living with their counterparts doing similar or the same jobs, i.e. cleaners at UTH and cleaners at hospitals in those countries. I tell you, they are incomparable. The cleaner in UK, Australia etc owns a beautiful car, lives in a nice apartment, their children go to decent schools, no party cadres, they have internet at home, a free-call landline phone, and the job is respected!!!!!
Give our brothers and sisters in the diaspora dual citizenship so that they can access wealth (i.e cheaper bank loans) and invest in Zambia. Gone are the days when only children of senior politicians and civil servants used to “shine” by being the only ones to fly to UK etc while ordinary Zambians “admired”. It is now over and open to all. Are you jealousy? Come on. You are also free to try. The world is a small village.
—-and the Nurses you push around here in Zambia? They are very respected in the developed world. They earn a lot and live comfortably. No Kalingalinga, Misisi, Chilenje etc. They live in beautiful homes. They want dual citizenship so that they and assets can move freely across borders. They cannot come back to Zambia to work. They can only come back to visit or…
They can only come back to visit or retire at their place of choice. In the diaspora you are not respected because of the high profile of your job. No. Every job is respected. Think of any job……..it is respected. In Zambia? Oooooh. You are only a cleaner, you are only a mere driver, your are just a clerical officer,….you are malukula (these are people who take care of your beloved departed…respect tham)…that and that place/facility is for senior officers….you are not entitled to drive….you are not entitled to free– that and free that…..SICKENING. In the diaspora Zambians are relieved from stress caused by dominant politicians. Pictures of people who are not your relatives, fans or role models in your business premises…..
@Let me say this: I can only say thanks for setting the record straight.
Sometimes you wonder where some of these people get their so called “facts” from—it is really sad!
Tulemufwaya uyu wine dual shitizenshipi
Discussing such an important topic with Guy Scott is simply a waste. Even his response does not make sense at all.
A person who lives in the UK and has a permanent residency; is citizens of GB also and have exactly the same rights as a white indigenous Briton. If they commit crime in GB they are in the same position as a white indigenous person committing crime in GB. There is no added discrimination, of ALSO being guilty in Zambia, because the crime is committed on British soil. Zambian gov’t has no jurisdiction in such cases and the sentence is applied on British soil only.
Zambia politicians are very ignorant of dual citizenship. The Zambian lady Ms Clark found guilty of fraud recently is in fact British as her name suggests. The British press referred to her as ‘from Zambia’ only to raise a racist image. UK Permanent residents are already dual citizens, Zambia gov’t withholds right to 2…
Osapanga chongo iwe
Guy Scott is taking the mick. He is in fact a citizen of GB because, he/parents was born here and he has automatic right in British law since there is dual nationality. This is a disgraceful white man playing with lowly African minds. What he is doing is far much more crooked, trying to load Zambia with ‘investors’ who will try their best not to pay tax to the people of Zambia. As for his agenda on this trip, he seems to have set himself as parliament. If Zambian parliament is in recess why is he dealing with parliamentary matters. Zambian politicians have an inferiority complex and are always supplicating themselves before their former colonial masters. Britain was never ashamed of it’s runaway citizens colonising blacks and has never paid reparations.
He was born in Livingstone iwe chi kala
why have a zambian passport???burn it like i did))
Hmm but did he even state any position? He said dual citizenship has advantages and on the other hand, some potential disadvantages. So what is the story? Another non-story from the diaspora
MUSHOTA one day you will regret your stupid comments.
You are allowed dual citizenship but only one traveldocument.
If anything a good number of Zambians living in western countries secretly have dual citizenship. Our government has no capacity to monitor such issues effectively. Remember the woman from Kitwe married to a Senegalese man who was in the press for some scandal? She had 4 passports if I am not mistaken.
Come to think of it, I would expect the UK to be up in arms against allowing people from countries like ours Zambia to obtain their citizenship.
Consider a UK/ Zambian, or USA/ Zambia dual citizen, what is the flow of wealth and knowledge/ skills? Is it Zambia -> UK or UK -> Zambia?
We are shipping tipper trucks and other utility equipment that help create employment. When you go to the UK, u travel very light, but coming back … excess baggage because we have to provide for families and invest.
Why only focus on criminals? Stupid mentality. Can you refuse to build good roads because some people will abuse them by overspeeding. Almost anything is open to abuse, just manage it, but more to gain.
Give us Dual Citizen ship, we wnat to move Zambia FORWARD!
People born in Zambia a Zambian Nationals and Citizens. We are all Zambian citizens whether we have foreign passports or not. Most Zambians are not indigenous Zambians anyway. If the current government doesn’t want to include the dual national clause it is fine – it is just politics. The child molesters in Zambia who committee crimes in Zambia or robbers that trouble people do not have dual nationality – they are local people and carry on committing crime and govt is powerless. It is not the double nationality that commits crime – it is the people..! Move on and create jobs for all, healthcare and education for all. Zambia has potential for growth, cut red tape and create jobs for all. The country doesn’t even have a national airline PLEASE!!!! dual citizenship is an issue?????? YABA