35 traditional leaders, led by Senior Chief Siakumbila, met the President at State House yesterday, and commended him for his inclusiveness by constantly engaging them on issues affecting their chiefdoms and the nation at large.
The chiefs, through Chief Siakumbila, have proposed to the President to have their monthly earnings increased from K4, 000 to K15, 000 per month as the current economic happenings did not suit their earnings to sustain their livelihoods.
“Our proposed amount, your Excellency, if it will be workable and I believe, the way I know you that it will be workable, is K15, 000,” Chief Siakumbila said on behalf of other traditional leaders.
The Chiefs informed President Lungu that wrangles of chiefdom boundaries were still rife and an urgent remedy was needed to ensure order and peace prevailed.
Chief Siakumbila further told Mr Lungu that the traditional leaders were concerned with the high price of fertiliser as a 50 kilogramme of fertiliser bag was now costing about ‘’K420’’ and called for his intervention so that the country did not run out of food for both national consumption and export market.
The traditional leaders also called on Government to ensure the poor road network in various chiefdoms was tackled as well as improved health posts, solar power and lack of police posts.
Other issues were the refurbishment of the chiefs’ houses and shortage of boarding schools, which would help school going children reduce on the long distances covered to reach learning facilities.
The traditional leaders, however, commended the President for his inclusiveness by constantly engaging them on issues affecting their chiefdoms and the nation at large.
“They have noted with satisfaction his openness and his approach to governance in particular with respect to his engagements with traditional leaders across the country” Mr Chanda said.
The chiefs said that the President’s inclusiveness in the manner he was calling upon them to seek amicable solutions to the challenges they were facing would help spur development in rural areas.
Mr Lungu committed his maximum cooperation to addressing the many challenges faced by the traditional leaders.
He said that he was committed to taking development to all the rural areas in the country and that rural development would be sped up especially with his directive to have the Rural Roads Unit (RRU) transferred to the Zambia National Service, so as to improve rural roads.
They get tax payers’ money and they own most of the land and they still want more?
surprisingly the mwine Lubemba is in audience but did not reject the proposal. Anyway nipa zed where the chiefs get paid for being a chief. These people should be getting support from their people. Also as a chiefdom they should be thinking of ways of investment. especially agriculture. now see what is happening, that is why chinese are getting our land for just K4000 per month.
Do not rewards these lazy men and women.
They are just parasites that want more for doing absolutely nothing. They take from their poor subjects as well and do nothing to improve the lives of their subjects.
They are so selfish. They indiscriminately sell land and keep the loot.
Please dont give them anything…not a penny… the meals they had when the visited state house were more than enough
Let them work for what they want.
They want more money because of the many wives they have. K15,000 per month for what?
and ECL wants to give them…when are we going to wake up from this nonsense.the country is literally surviving on DEBT and yet those useless chiefs want an increment,ECL has appointed more ministers/deputies etc.what is wrong with us zambians kanshi???this is totally wrong,no-one must be awarded an increment….they must earn it.By the way what do chiefs do to even guarantee a salary ??i cry for my beloved country,we have visionless leaders and hopeless opposition.
It is a subsidy and not a salary for goodness sake! Let them raise the salary from their subordinates and not the tax payers.
This is like the senegalses gang lords in kitwe dishing out money to emerald boys who used to converge on them on the weekends.
Chiefs should have never been on government payroll in the first place. These chaps have all the resources and it beats me why they want to live on handouts.
Ba Man of God ba Sunday, the real devils are PF, who don’t care about the way they manage our resources, who are busy insulting anyone with a divergent view. Honestly do PF behave like they believe in God? How can a Christian charter a plane in the midst of a financial crisis? You don’t see all the plundering of resources and the corruption which has made construction of Zambian roads the most expensive in the world?? It’s sad they managed to hoodwink people like you.No amount of prayer and fasting will change PF as long as they don’t want to change themselves. be careful not to be used by politicians, you are supposed to fight for the poor
Selfish chiefs….! K15000 for doing wat..?
Amazing how leadership from an accident of birth can also milk money from a so called democracy. The more reason some of us have always questioned whether democracy and traditional leadership can co-exist. Here is an example of an institution that practically contributes nothing to economic development yet wants more from tax payers. This is day light robbery!
The Chiefs’ timing is wrong; the PF government is broke.Edgar Lungu and Alexander Bwalya Chikwanda are failing to pay government employees on time because the GRZ is short of cash,so where will the money come from to increase Chiefs’ salaries/allowances?
The Chiefs should wait,the economy is in a mess.
have they also become civil servants? i thought they are to get their livelihood from their subjects produce.now if they are to depend on government, how are they going to care if their chiefdom’s are poor or not. give them insensitive to be productive and self-reliant instead.they already have land
This is shocking to say the least. Our Country is in the middle of the worst crisis in its history. We are supposed to be taking strong austerity measures. For instance, the ZESCO load shedding alone means some companies and businesses have had to downsize, if not closedown altogether. To Govt, this means losses in tax revenue in more ways than one. Chiefs are supposed to be custodians of our traditions and wisdom.
Where is the wisdom in asking for a four-fold increase in allowances at a difficult time like this? Is it wise and exemplary for our Chiefs to JOIN the PF Govt in blatant pilferage of the Country’s coffers? Is it not wise to help solve current economic problems by counselling the President to set an example i.e. cut his salary, which was doubled under Sata, and not hire…
Cont’d … , and not hire US$300,000 planes. Is it not wise to be part of the solution by pledging to offer something from their respective Chiefdoms to lessen the burden on Govt e.g. raise money to pay part of the teachers’ salary just for one month?
If 35 Chiefs can come together and only to come up with this lame resolution at a time like this, then are they really our custodian of our traditions and wisdom? Shocking.
MR HOUSEFLY WHY SHUD U ATTACK THE MWINE LUBEMBA WEN EVEN YO TONGA CHIEFS ARE FOR THE INCREAMENTS.LETS NOT SINGLE OUT MWINE LUBEMBA WEN HE WAS NOT EVEN THE SPOKESMAN.THE INCREAMENTS ARE WRONG AND SHUD BE CONDEMED BY ALL ZAMBIANS.THERSE CHIEFS ARE RICH THRU THE LAND THEY OWN AND ALOT OF GIFTS THEY RECEIVE FROM INVESTORS AND SUBJECTS.INFACT OUR CHIEFS ARE SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMEN AND WOMEN AND SUM ARE AMONG THE RICHEST ZAMBIANS.SO WHY THE INCREAMENTS.
How many votes do the chiefs with their wives and children have, all told? They can go to he’ll with their crazy demands!
Smiles on the face of a tiger does not diminish the danger of its teeth and claws. Chiefs should not think because ECL is accommodating and would just give them such money. Chiefs are the custodians of tradition and therefore must look to their subjects for sustenance. Only then are they going to work hard and ensure every household at least have enough for themselves and a little to give him. Given the kind of loot suggested, the chiefs will go to sleep and get waken up by the pay.
Yes give them something but NOT the whole word.
We have only one King. His name is Jesus Christ. These old men and women need to go some where and plant some cashews for profit. Leave our Tax payer money alone.
One can laugh,these chaps should work/toil for their money not relying on the govt or their subjects,each one should work and nt waiting for free money
Give money to the poor not these thieve,let them sale the land they have
Zambian chiefs have become like zoo animals. Captive, lazy and used to being fed.