FOURTH Revolution Party (4R) President Eric Chanda has opposed the dual citizenship saying it will only benefit foreigners.
Mr Chanda in an interview said Zambians that wanted to see the country develop must come back and work in the country than going abroad.
“Dual citizenship should not be encouraged, only foreigners will benefit from it. Those Zambians outside must come back and help develop the country than hiding in the Diaspora,” he said.
The 4R leader added that there are other serious issues that needed to be included in the constitution than the dual citizenship which in the end will only benefit foreigners.
Recently, President Lungu assured Zambians in the Diaspora of the much-desired dual citizenship if Parliament approves the proposal in the draft constitution.
Mr Lungu said dual citizenship is one of the non-contentious issues that cabinet at its last sitting considered for presentation to parliament for enactment in the phased constitution-making process.
[pullquote]“Dual citizenship should not be encouraged, only foreigners will benefit from it. Those Zambians outside must come back and help develop the country than hiding in the Diaspora,” he said.[/pullquote]
Addressing Zambians living in South Africa on Saturday at a dinner hosted for him by the Zambian High Commission, President Lungu said Government is comfortable with granting dual-citizenship to Zambians living abroad.
“Government has agreed to allow Zambians to hold dual citizenship with some rights like the presidency (contesting presidential elections) being the preserve of those holding single citizenship.
“If Parliament chooses not to accept this, it will be another situation, but if it is agreed, you will have it,” he said.
He said Government is also considering the issue of voting rights for Zambians in the Diaspora, through the Electoral Commission of Zambia which is expected to make the relevant proposals.
President Lungu said every Zambian should exercise the right to vote, but necessary mechanisms must be put in place and there should be consensus from every stakeholder, especially the opposition.
Mr Lungu said Government is further looking at ways of incorporating Zambians living abroad in national development through access to land and finance.
Government is also considering suitable incentives to attract Zambian professionals in the Diaspora to return to Zambia.
And on the status of local government authorities, President Lungu said Government wants to revamp councils and enable them operate autonomously.
Mr Lungu also assured Zambians abroad that the country is at peace and they should not panic when they hear false stories suggesting otherwise.
I would love him to clearly elaborate on how the proposed dual citizenship will ONLY benefit foreigners and what he means by saying Zambians are “hiding in the diaspora”.
Don’t you think he looks too dumb to elaborate or articulate any issues. And that’s the problem back home such people become heroes. We just chanced Levy and its not about to happen with calibre of majority voters.
Its called ignorance
He is actually right
Trouble he didn’t quiet put this in a more coherent way.
It plain simply wrong and only benefits the people outside, who don’t have Zambia at heart
No one needs your little investment, you are a migrant prostitute , well stay there- If you love Zambia why did you leave?
I am in the same but I gave up my Zambian citizenship, because I prefer being British
Stop wanting the best of both worlds
Anyone advocating this, is quiet frankly a an addlepate
Dont be selfish-No dual. Protect your sovereignty.
Let it be pride to hold a zambian nationality.
Sata, Mwanawasa, Kaunda, Chiluba didn’t entertain it- no drunkard should either.
Thanks
BB2014
ICHIPUBA CHA OPPOSITION
This would be president is a fool Zo-ona. Ati it will benefit foreigners without elaborating how kekekekekekekeke.
Simple Maths if indeed this benefits foreigners then Dual should only be to Zambian born and their spouses and children living in foreign land.
No Vote from me for this stone age thinking man.
Go to Shanghai and see real development. You think it is Chinese alone? No. The Bill boards on those Sky Scrapers tell you it is mainly Japanese Americans, British, Germans who have heavily invested there.
They do not even live in China. They live in their countries of origin and other places of choice in the world. Times have changed, man. Where have you been?
“Hiding in the Diaspora”, kikikikikikikikikikikikikikikikiki as nurses
No dual citizenship because it means being a CHIMBWI.
DUAL CITIZENSHIP WILL BE A DEADLY MONSTER FOR GENUINE ZAMBIANS. IF YOU HAVE DUAL CITIZENSHIP, AUTOMATICALLY YOU HAVE DIVIDED LOYALTY, AND GENUINE ZAMBIANS STAND TO LOSE IN THIS CASE. WHY DUAL CITIZENSHIP? IF YOU LOVE ZAMBIA,YOU LOVE ZAMBIA, AND YOU WILL BE 100% CITIZEN OF ZAMBIA. CAN A PERSON LIVE IN TWO PLACES AT THE SAME TIME? YOU JUST WANT TO SIPHON OUR COUNTRY OF ITS RESOURCES, HENCE THE CRY FOR DUAL CITIZENSHIP. ABASH DUAL CITIZENSHIP!
Eric you have very limited vision and I doubt if you qualify to be a visionary leader. Stop thinking small. Zambia has the potential to be a mega powerhouse. Think of villages big turned into townships countrywide and other major visionary projects. FYI Many Zambians in the diaspora have acquired a lot of useful skills that can be tapped to help turn the fortunes of the country around. You must show self-love for your own people if you really want to develop Zambia. This idea of laughing at your poor neighbours instead of empowering them must come to end. You must learn to differentiate between good ideas from bad ideas by doing long term cost-benefit analysis for the country as a whole. Stop politics of the belly iwe Eric.
Jealous ba Eric. Nobody stopped you from living abroad.
That’s what a constipated brain is capable of – yapping nonsense!
It is clear that Eric Chanda is not a traveled person. How does he make such a comment that dual citizenship will only benefit the foreigners. He is xenophobic. Zambians would greatly benefit for this type of citizenship. How does he expect Zambians to come back and develop the country if they have given up their citizenship?
Dual citizenship is like polygamy, it benefits both women unlike adultary!
ZAMBIANS ARE SO DULL THEY THINK DUAL CITIZENSHIP IS A SILVER BULLET TO SOLVING ECONOMIC PROBLEMS. THEY EVEN MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF GHANA AND A FEW AFRICAN SUCCESSFUL COUNTRIES DUE TO DUAL NATIONALITY. THEY DON’T KNOW THAT ECONOMIC AND INDUSTRIALIZATION SUCCESSES ARE A POLITICAL WILL POWER FOR MAKING GOOD INDUSTRIALIZATION POLICIES THAT SUPPORTS HOME-GROWN INDUSTRIES. LET ME NAME A FEW SERIOUSLY SUCCESSFUL COUNTRIES WHERE DUAL NATIONALITY IS UP TO NOW A VERY ILLEGAL: SOUTH KOREA, MALAYSIA, CHINA, INDONESIA, JAPAN, SINGAPORE, THAILAND,UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, ETC.
This guy is talking rubbish so he thinks we left zambia because we just wanted to stay in other countries, he must stay quiet if he has nothing to say he must remember that they are few opportunities in zambia if you not connected with those in high offices to much wako ni wako system that’s why he is also in politics that is the only thing he can do, who wouldn’t want to stay in their own country it is painful to stay in other people’s country but a man needs to do what a man can do if i come back to zambia is this Chanda guy going to feed my kids.
my brother, eric is this time round right. such rubbish as is being spewed by @THE CHAMP are just that, rubbish. Since time immemorial, societies of choice such as Rome in biblical times which is just what USA is today have attracted domicile interest from wherever and whoever around the world. Freeborn have always paid nothing to enjoy those desires these societies offer. Naturalized as you would call them today have had to pay a fortune to be citizens of their crave countries. Look that is not all, many of your public servants will be citizens of those countries apart from zambia. most of them will have their families in UK, USA etc but they will be living here. they will finance their life styles in those countries using our resources. corruptions yena tamwakulalanda nokulanda
Iwe Eric Chanda uyi cindike. Just because you don’t travel and you haven’t got any chance of getting citizenship from another country. Selela uko tukule imishi shibili. You can use your opposition party diplomatic passport which is only valid in kachasu or ka otezza. Sela twendeko iwe ka monkey kolwe
BY Eric how will it befit foreigner?is it for Zambians or foreigners?They should come back and work in Zambia??How many jobs are there??
Sometimes I feel these “opposition leaders” just talk or “oppose” just so that we should be reminded that they are still there and we should not forget about them, just so that they make headlines. He hasn’t even presented any strong or convincing points on why dual citizenship is not the way to go.
You mean in such a connected world you still have people of this calibre being allowed to aspire to leadership? What an dope!
Never mind him, he is Bemba.
mr jj please live the Bemba out of this
They make noise like monkeys, want to always be on top of things but have no brains to run anything. Whatever they lay their hands on get messed up.
He is scared of foreigners but has a foreign name (ERIC). He reminds me of Mugabe. The man has a phobia against the whites but calls himself Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
Zambia is doing better now than in the 1990s because of foreigners who come here, with their own money, investing in different sectors of our economy.
Congratulations PF, as TONGAS in southern province are now proud of you. I’m sure in 2016 elections, the southern province will be walk over for the PF. As Tongas can not rule this country because we are slow in decision making. Only Bembas and people from the eastern province can manage to develop this country. The rest of lets support this people for the better.
Dual citizenship is for Zambians mambala iwe. It is to allow a Zambian citizen who has acquired citizenship of another country to remain a Zambian. Any foreigner who wishes to become a Zambian citizen will have to undergo the same current process of acquiring Zambian citizenship if he qualifies and if he so wishes. Any foreigner who has acquired Zambian citizenship in the past will be allowed to reclaim the citizenship of his native country only if that country allows dual citizenship too. So where is the problem?
My friend you are just wasting your time explaining these things. When you look at Chanda do you think he can comprehend what you have clearly explained?
Chanda how March moenies have you have you gote for you to be asking us to come back and deveope the country? You murst be a very dull person,
Your a.n.u.a.s are you going to give us jobs when we come back when you have a lot of unemployment in the country.
Zambians hiding in the diaspora instead of developing their country? this is laughable and it shows ignorance. This is why Zambia is under-represented in all international organsiations. Does he know how much the country earns from remittances that come from abroad? does he now how much value it adds to the country if their citizens influence decisions in international organisations based abroad? Anyway, I don’t expect him to know, the reading culture pa zed is terrible.
This boy is just making noise. He doesn’t understand even the simplest thing, am wondering how he can understand dual citizenship.
Eric Chanda, you crazy lunatic. And he is even holding a cross to cheat Christians, what a pretender. No brain, visionless, no style.
To hell with this zambian passport as soon as l get my new citizenship l will burn it!!
Zambia has become a country where our values are defined by the least ethical people among us. We Zambian people in the diaspora would be foolish to expect any change from jealous people like Eric Chanda; people like him have no moral sense. They have no shame. For example the people that oppose me the most when I want to invest money and knowledge in my own country are my fellow Zambians. Another classic case is Professor Clive Chirwa, the most celebrated engineer on the African continent being victimized by fellow Zambians with small brains.
Eric, here is a message for you and your followers with small brains: there are nearly a million Zambians (including children) in the diaspora with two passports. You can’t stop that because Zambia siya ba nyoko.
leave the gentleman alone, he has a very validy point. These people in the diaspora have wiered ideas which they think they can easily bring to the people who have been around for a long time. I can give you a living example of Liberia where some people who were residents in the USA wanted to take power there, and had no idea what the country was going through, talk about the Tolberts of this world, they just brought in ideas of developed USA that could not apply in the Liberian context. For me the fellow has a point. You just end up creating elitist groups in the country hence deviding the country further.
Iwe chi @Rasco, no one that I know of calling for dual citizenship wants to go back to Zambia and takeover govt so they can introduce foreign (or Western Style Democracy). Where are you getting these ideas? To begin with, the new Constitution of Zambia is very explicit as to who qualifies to hold what office in Zambia. And it is ridiculous for you to compare the Liberian situation (a country that was just emerging from years of war) to that of Zambia—the two countries’ histories are very different!
People in the diaspora want this clause, and I hope our govt has finally seen the importance of it, so they can secure the future of their children born abroad. We also don’t want to feel like aliens and be treated like “foreigners” in the country we were born and call HOME!
By the way @Rasco, when did Zambia start to simply hand out citizenship to anybody who shows up? The process of earning Zambian citizenship will NOT be affected in any way by this clause. This is only to bring back into the fold those Citizens the Zambian Constitution has unwisely abandoned. Why should people who, by all account, every shape and form, are ZAMBIANS (except for a foreign passport) be looked at with such suspicion by our own laws/Constitution?
If you don’t see anything wrong with this kind of besure mentality then you are a very wrong character to be domiciled in a foreign land going by your flag.
He is a functional illiterate, a social burden to say the least.
I tend to agree with Chanda on this one. If foreigners born and bred outside Zambia can bring in millions of dollars, what would prevent you a Zambian by blood whose umbilical cord was buried or incinerated in Zambia? With 99% of your relatives in Zambia you claim you cant invest unless you are allowed to eat with both hands. Nima sebela aya.
If dual citizenship is granted, the next thing they say is they want a different tax structure for them to invest in Zambia. They should just say dont have Zambia’s interests at heart. All they want is to come and get land to enable them loans which they will spend in other countries.
Another f00l like Chanda!
@ professional , on target, uyu eric is out of his mind, dual citizenship is the way forward.there are no jobs in Zed so what do you expect us to do, what a disfunctional chap, typical kaponya mentality, u need to travel outside the country for you to understand how backward you are, no wonder Lusaka is so dirty because of people like you.
Takwata amano and he should not be entertained. Whoever interviewed him should have pressed him to fully explain his statements and demand the right the answers. Please do not publish shortcut interviews and answers.
Don’t worry, Erick Chanda will reverse the dual citizenship clause when he rules in the year 2530. Meanwhile Ifintu ni Lungu forward with progressive laws.
The problem with people pa zed is they fear development and have an inferiourity complex towards other races of zambian origin. 50 yrs is too long and if i may ask when did the indians /white people come to zed but still are regarded as second class citizens.whilts the black man is looting the little coffers remaining the other races are excelling in their lives not only pa zed but in all countries.
I fail to understand the arguments here. You do not need the law for dual citizenship. If you are Zambian and you obtain British citizenship, simply use your Zambian passport to travel to Zambia and your British passport to travel elsewhere apart from Zambia. Problem solved! Why travel on a British passport to Zambia and pay visa fees? Unless you are so daffed! Keep your Zambian passports and stop complaining about this daffed law on duality.
I meant daft law, my spell check is playing up!
You are required to renounce your current citizen before acquiring a new one. Failure to do so will land you in trouble if you are discovered. You may end up stateless.
And what in the blazes is a fourth revolution?
Zambia is one of the very few countries that don’t have dual citizenship. So compare what benefits or losses we have had
Can someone explain the benefit to Zambia of dual citizenship. Is Zambia benefiting from those in the diaspora now or it will only begin to happen when Zambians belong to two countries. I shall wait and see the benefit.
I know quite a few people in Diaspora who would love to come back to Zambia and have genuine interests of transforming the country for the better. I truly believe that dual citizenship will have a positive impact on development. Why?
People will be willing to invest and persue business opportunities which will eventualy benefit everybody in the country.
It would also be an incentive to stop the “brain-drain”.
Well guys I have read through all the comments. My only conclusion is that dual citizen will only add up to the number of nationals we shall have as Zambians. Economically there will not be any significant improvement. Why do I say so: if Asians and whites who are not even remotely connected to Zambia by birth or otherwise are able to invest in Zambia, why should Zambians living in the diaspora, (former) Zambians who are connected to Zambia by birth or descent, fail to invest in Zambia even if they have renounced Zambian citizenship? Once a Zambian, you will always be a Zambian! Do not give excuse of absence of dual citizenship as reason for not investing in Zambia.
It is not an excuse. Everything becomes much easier if you are a citizen. Why should I invest in a country where I am not welcome?
You want my money? Give me back my citizenship.
Just try purchasing property or simply opening a bank account when treated like a foreigner.
Btw, more than half of all the states in the world, countries of immigration as well as emigration, now tolerate some form or element of dual citizenship. As a country from a development perspective, we would certainly benefit from DC.
Fontini!! Look around you…Zambia has been giving citizenship to foreigners way before your time. Dual nationality on the underground already exists and legalising it will not only make sense but allow the government to legislate and pass laws which will be in the interest of the country. People who utter such nonsense are either scared of their ignorance being exposed or don’t really know the meaning of dual nationality. No human being is born with a passport in their hand which determines their nationality or where they should live. These are man made rules created by the same people who created dual nationality rule.
This ignorant man looks more like a religious cult leader than a political leader.
Mental health tests would be very helpful in determining whether one qualified to hold a public office, such as party president.
Uko, wapya mudzi dual citizenship good forum Njoka siyenda na Mwana am a citizen of the commonwealth whatever!!!
TONGAS in southern province are now proud of PF. I’m sure in 2016 elections, the southern province will be walk over for the PF. As Tongas can not rule this country because we are slow in decision making. Only Bembas and people from the eastern province can manage to develop this country. The rest of lets support this people for the better.
We Zambian professionals in the diaspora are going back home permanently to develop our country. Evidence of this is the fact that we have all built, or are building, homes we might not have been able to if we had remained in Zambia. What is wrong with that Mr Chanda? As professionals, we have acquired skills that will be essential to the development of our country. Every month Zambians abroad are remitting money to either relatives or their bank accounts. All this is contributing to the country’s development. For all these reasons we want dual citizenship. Look at Ghana which allows dual citizenship. Millions of highly skilled Ghanaians abroad have a stake in their country and it benefits greatly.
Prof Bernard Mbenga
North West University
South Africa
LOL, This (4R) President Eric Chanda and some bloggers here sound like rewinding the clock back to the1950s and 60s. My late Father told me stories of how my late Grand parents back then were opposed to him leaving the village and getting a job in town in the C/belt. They could simply NOT comprehend that it was the beginning of a permanent change in spite of the financial support he gave them in the years that followed. They could not understand this paradigm shift, that needed a change in thinking. i.e. intermarriages across tribes, cultures, new dawn and new off springs who belonged to both the village and town. There are a lot of similarities in to today’s debate on dual citizenship. We will do well to learn from history and how it has played out. Other progressive Countries have.
What a waste of space and a time waster!
Herein lies the difficulty for our country! People with limited intelligence getting into positions of leadership and trying lock out those deemed to be threats. Why not look at the evidence? Most Zambians in the diaspora send billions of Kwacha each year into the country to educate, support and facilitate the medical treatment of relatives. Why the ridicule and insults? Where is the toilet Eric Chanda has erected in his village? Politics of envy have been the cause of the failure to advance anything progressive in Zambia, the constitution is a case in point. Zambia is a country dependent on foreign AID, why? Be real!
Well said, Eric Banda is showing how ignorant he is. He has a very limited understanding of issues
This view that every Zambian in the Diasporas must come back is very backward and ignorant view, especially in this globalized village we live in. Look at China, India, Nigeria and Pakistan, these countries have a high number of people in the diaspora who send a lot of money back home for the development of their countries. Life is about choice, if you want to live in a foreign country you have every right to. Look if you were born in Zambia and have lived the most part of it in Zambia then you are Zambian a foreign passport does not make you British or American. Stop bashing people in the Diaspora please, we also have out mother Zambia at heart.
Ati presidential candidate hahahahahahahah
Chanda chipuba takwata amano!!
We left zed to pursue better lives abroad, be it through education or just plain old hard work. Some of our brothers & sisters returned to work in zed after completing their education. They could have chosen to remain abroad and earn more money, but they chose not to sell their souls for “30 pieces of Silver” and came back home.
Some of you have been living out of Zambia for 10+ yrs and haven’t brought any meaningful development to zed, now all of a sudden dual citizenship will compel you to invest in the development of Zambia!
Choose where your loyalties lie, either to your country of birth or your adopted nation. You can’t serve two masters at once. If you are as patriotic as you claim the thought of sharing your birth right with another country should make you sick to you stomach.
And this is the man who wants to become president of Zambia? God help us.
My fellow country men and women. This Eric guy, how many votes did he get from the last elections? I would not worry about his statement. If the government votes for this dual citizenship to go through, I don’t think this guy would stop it. As Zambians living in Diaspora, we have contributed a lot to our mother zambia in some ways, sending money to our relatives having businesses in zambia and on top of that having created employment to my fellow zambians who are working for my company while I live in a foreign country. Yes I’m a citizen of another country because of situations that we happen to experience in zambia, such as lost employment, finish school and no jobs or couldn’t afford to go to the only university in the country, what would you do if an opportunity comes for you to get…
Out of the country for a better life. Everybody given an opportunity to live the country when you have a chance can easily do it. Eric Chanda must have issues with zambians living in the diaspora sounds personal, I would not worry about him. I gave up my Zambian citizenship not because I don’t love my mother land because I had to make my life better. I have a company in zambia that has more than 35 employees, that tells you that I have heart for my country, I deserve to get a dual citizen, and if that is granted what more can I do for my country zambia. Peace and love for our country. I have a dream that one day our country will have good leaders and things will get better that every Zambian would have good life living in zambia.
Brandishing the crucifix on the political stage. Another fóol who liked to pull that gimmick is now dead.
PF has my support on dual citizenship!
I removed my support for dual nationality when I observed how insufferably Unpatriotic some diaspora folks were. It’s like allowing foreigners (though once Zambian) to run clandestine campaigns for foreign interests.
Parliament should shelve this one for another 30 years by which time the programmes to bring the poor into mainstream development has occurred. Let the poor catch up with all these developments going on then let population grow to allow different types of Zambians. Duals should never walk down power corridors of Presidents Office.
Just go to hell with your mushota
Another dull, s t u p i d zambian politician.
AM OK WITH THIS. DUAL CITIIZENSHIP IS THE STANDARD FOR DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND MANY PROGRESSIVE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. WE CANT BE DEBATING THIS MATTER, WE NEED TO MOVE ON. ERIC IS A CANKER SORE. what i just DONT like about my friends in the diaspora is their attitude. When i was done with school in colarado springs (amrica), i worked there for a year and came back home. With little money i made from a very good job there, i set up my own a establishment in zambia. It was not easy, i didnt see a profit for three years. i persevered (i cant spell). This was 1997, u’d never believe where we are with this company. We are constantly fending of huge SA companies that want to buy off our business. Now u my friends in the diaspora, u get yo degree n u want cushy jobs here. U MUST CREAT JOBS…
SO STOP THIS SICKENING ATTITUDE THAT WE ARE HERE BECAUSE WE CANT GET JOBS IN ZAMBIA. I DROPPED THAT ATTITUDE AND IT WAS THE BEGINING OF WISDOM. JUST BECOZ I GOT MY ENGINEERING DEGREE IN “AMERICA” I SHUD BE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ZESCO? NO WAY!! I WALKED THROUGH THE FIRE TO START UP MY OWN THING. FOR 7 YEARS I COULDNT EVEN BUY MY OWN CAR. BA BOSS JUMPING ON BUSSES. AS IF SIBENZELI KU AMERICA. NKONGOLE KUMA TAXI DRIVER. EMBARASSING. THIS IS WHAT MOST PEOPLE IN THE DDIASPORA ARE AFFRAID OF..THE HUMILIATION OF THE INITIAL STRUGGLE. TRUTH BE TOLD, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE MANY HUGHLY EDUCATED PROFFESSIONALS WORKING OUT THERE, THE VAST MAJORITY ARE STILL DOING MEANIAL MINIMUM WAGE JOBS. OR BBC- BRITISH BOTTOM CLEANERS. THE GUYS I LEFT IN UK AND US 20 YRS AGO ARE STILL ON THE SAME LEVEL
Dual citizenship is the way to go.
it means zambians can become citizens of other countries and borrow to invest back home.
dual citizenship would apply only to zambians, as opposed to foreigners taking up zambian citizenship.
let us go for dual citizenship in a changing world
People like Chanda are jealous of people that are living abroad. Why should people come back and work in unfavorable conditions? A level field is required for anyone with interest to come back to Zambia. If people that have foreign passports become second grade citizens, it will disadvantage them to live and work in their home country.
Zambians should start giving credit to people that have gone abroad and have had successful careers! Some of these people are well respected in their adopted countries. Some are even civil servants and businessmen/women in foreign countries!
Stop looking at these people with a negative eye! These people have had a lot of exposure and our poor country can benefit from their expertise. Zambia payed for their education and should benefit from the investment.
Most zambians in the diapsora are buying and developing properties in zambia big tym.
we are already on the way forward, let us allow dual participation, dual citizenship, to make ourselves global in nature and deeds.
Is he referring to Zambian’s abroad as foreigners?
He is missing the point, earning money elsewhere and spending it in Zambia will benefit Zambia.
It’s simple, as the country develops with more and more jobs Zambians abroad won’t need to be asked, they will come back on their own, he must have missed economics 101, probably it’s the small hat on his head is cutting out blood circulation to his brain.
WHAT AN I D I O T!!! And people actually listen to this S H I T?!!!!