ZAMBIA’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Mr. Emmanuel Mwamba has urged Zambians to start preparing to travel to Zambia to vote in the August 11 national elections.
And Zambians in East London, South Africa, have formed a branch affiliated to the Zambia Association in South Africa (ZASA) in order to have effective representation of the nationals.
Mr. Mwamba has said that it was important for everyone to start making preparations now so that they did not miss the day.
On Dual Citizenship which has just been introduced through the new Republican Constitution, Mr. Mwamba explained that there had to be an amendment to the current Citizenship Clause by Parliament in line with what had been adopted before the new law could apply to citizens.
He said the Mission had opened its doors to its citizens and encouraged Zambians living in South Africa to feel free to approach the High Commission whenever they had challenges to do with their welfare.
Mr. Mwamba said this in a message delivered at the launch of a ZASA branch in Port Elizabeth yesterday. The message was delivered by ZASA president, Mr. Ferdinand Simaanya on behalf of Mr. Mwamba.
The High Commissioner encouraged the Zambians to invest back home pointing out that the Mission was working on establishing a system that would make it easier for those in the diaspora to easily access land in Zambia.
Mr. Mwamba urged Zambians in South Africa to remain united as this was important particularly when living in foreign land.
And Mr. Simaanya noted that there were a number of groups that had mushroomed around South Africa with an objective of representing the interests of Zambians. He said all such groups should come to a compromise and affiliate themselves ZASA as this was the body that represented Zambians of diverse backgrounds and embraced an approach based on non-partisanship, non-racial, gender equity, non-tribal and interdenominational.
Mr. Simaanya said there was a lot of potential in the Zambian agriculture, tourism and energy sectors urged nationals in South Africa to start small enterprises as these were the backbone of economies. He said there was also need to invest in education back in Zambia as the education curriculum did not equip graduates with skills that could enable them survive without seeking employment from government or the private sector. “
“We need to promote investment in Zambia and to share information on business opportunities and potential investors. Zambia is ready for business and if anyone doubts that, they will miss the bus,” Mr. Simaanya said.
Mr. Simaanya also pointed out that ZASA was working to change its approach in the manner it handled funerals involving Zambians who died in South Africa by utilizing contributions to the Zambia Welfare Fund.
“We need to change how we handle funerals, we need to stop begging and whether we want it or not, the pace of this change will accelerate. We should make this change work for us. We should make the Zambia Welfare Fund our next frontier. It is a spirit of hard work and commitment that will make this progress,” he said.
The East London branch is headed by Mr. Moses Kalima.
ZASA aims to encourage an inclusive and vibrant Zambian community in which members have the opportunity to expand their horizons, to business network, share job opportunities, defend their culture and heritage and look after each other in times of need through creating lasting solutions to matters that affect the welfare of Zambians living in South Africa.
yes!!! prepare to go for the throat in august
The same Emmanuel Mwamba is being reported to have applied to stand as MP on PF ticket in Matero. If this is true, he should resign immediately. Civil Servants are not by law applied to be active in politics and maintain civil service jobs..but this is Edgar’s PF.
For sure @ Ndobo, on the THROATS of PF visionless Bandits!
All diasporas’ to go back & vote out the blinded inept PF who have abused the power which was mistakenly given to Lungu.
Corrupt blinded PFs Edgar Changwa Lungu (2014) said, “I have no vision” of my own, whatsoever!
157 Days left to do go on the throats of Poor Failures (PF) 2 months of the pathetic felons incapacitation.
Vote Wisely & #Changwa å Kugwa#
The Skeleton Key
~206~
Yes it’s high time a useless Party gets ejected from office
I should say under Mr. Ferdinand Simaanya ZASA are looking by far a much better and organised set up.
Zambians living in SOuth Africa never cease to amaze me. They are hungrey chaps who always trouble fellow Zambians for money for beer and food whenever they visit S.A. They are always hanging around CR, Juldan, Shalom and Park Station wainting to pounce on Zambian based citizens. The want you to buy them food (Chesa Nyama) and beer and yet they boost that they are doing well. You guys just come home and work rather than embarass us with your begging. You find its in the morning thay are already waiting. Those in the surburbs, the will invite you to go to a nice place for a drink up. When you get there, they are not buying any beers at all. They are always condeming Zambia but you cant miss hunger on their faces and in ther pants. Others they just spend time in Internet cafes and sleazy…
@ Mwelwa Mumba, The faces in the first picture should tell you the calibre of the large majority of Zambians in South Africa.
BA MWELWA, IF YOU CAN’T WRITE IN ENGLISH WRITE IN BEMBA OR ANY OTHER ZAMBIAN LANGUAGE YOU HAVE MASTERED INSTEAD OF CONFUSING US WITH THE LANGUAGE THAT IS SEEMING TO BE ENGLISH BUT IT’S NOT. PEOPLE CAN STILL UNDERSTAND YOU IN BEMBA OR OTHERS.
Fellow Chakolwazi yes not civilised and educated ones
Mwelwa Mumba……l bet they are your friends working for buses operating between Zambia and Jhb. Have you met a Zambian at O R Tambo or at Sandton City asking for beers from you? Yes we have fellow Zambians straggling in SA but the majority have decent lives. You cant meet US because we are in PROPER suburbs! So do not generalise your opinion.
Mr Mwelwa please justify your response, we have good calibre of Zambian who do not even know where CR Juldan are situated. Please tell your friends who you buy chesa nyama for to go back home as for me and my family home is here and I will never beg for Chesa Nyama from you!
What does it mean to go home and vote when you don’t allow diasporans to even register as voters?? Last January I was in Lusaka but could not vote because apparently I was not around to register as a voter. It is time to catch up: Let diasporans have the incentive and ability to get to their nearest embassy and vote! Is it so hard to ask? Why does Zambia always lag behind in technological and logistical reality???
EVERY Zambian should have the RIGHT to vote WHEREVER in the world he is!
Can Government organise so that voters can vote by post in advance like South Africans can if they cannot go to polling stations?
Denying us this right is disenfranchisement. If that what PF wants? To steal our right to vote too?
@Mwelwa Mumba
You are right. We cannot even go out because most of us are illegal, we don’t have legal papers to stay in South Africa.
Why can’t we vote right here in South Africa?
If Mozambique can afford to have its citizens vote here in South Africa..why not us?
We backward indeed!
Anyway,for my HH i will go vote
@Peter and Zambian in SA. You chaps never cease to amaze me. Mr. Peter, going by your name and the fact that you are blogging from UK , I take it that English is you native language. That fact that you can even match my name to a tribe in Zambia gives me a feeling that you’re just another wanabe. Iam 100% sure you understood everything I said. I will ignore you. @Zambian in S.A, those I meet at OR Tambo and in Sandton are worse than the ones I mentioned. The very factor that you think that living in Sandton excludes you from being a bother is exactly the reason that you chaps use to bother us. There is always a favour that you guys want whenever we are there……. for free. You dont produce money you chaps!!!! I’ve all sorts of friends that side, bus drivers, pilots, kaponyas, wanabes…
I don’t blame your ignorance.
You got issues bwana….why cant you tell your friends directly than coming on this forum to embarrass them? ( low class like you) bothering you with beers and Chesa nyama?? Since you got so much money hire a bus or charter a plane for them to get home and l m sure you will accommodate them all in your mansion is some dusty road!!
@7 MY THOUGHTS AS WELL
INTRODUCE VOTING BY PROXY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Whether you like it or not, you SA based ZIEDIANS are hungry fellows hiding in Sandton barerly survivnig on kaloba and our visits that side. How can you come back to Zed where you escaped from? Continue living there but don’t inconvinience us when we come there with our families for holidays and work. Just form that SA based Zambians association so that it can take care of your bus tickets and food money.
Narrow minded!!
@Mwelwa Mumba
Your caliber of Zambian acquaintances are those that hang around J’burg CBD and the standard of your lingual says it all.There are Zambians who are senior executives in institutions like ABSA, SASOL,Standard Bank,NISSAN and examples are guys like Mtonga who is senior veep at Standard Bank or Fitz who is a director at MTN.You have never heard of these people because your class is CR bus from Lusaka through beitbridge and straight to Kerk street.Do not generalize things you st.up.i.d PF thug.
In this day and age. Mwamba wants us to go back to vote in lusaka? South africans vote from abroad why can’t we? It’s not rocket science to provide voting services abroad