Vice-President Inonge Wina is hopeful that Zambians will know the modalities of the referendum by next week.
Speaking when she addressed Zambians living in the United Kingdom in London during a dinner that was organised in her honour by the High Commissioner to the United Kingdom His Excellency Mr. Muyeba Chikonde at the Zambia House on Saturday,Mrs Wina told Zambians that the August elections will run alongside with the Referendum.
She said the referendum question was being formulated by the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the Ministry of Justice, and the question will determine whether the Bill of Rights will be included in the amended constitution.
“I believe that some of you have already received information on how these elections will be held including the fact that the Referendum will be part of the election process. It means that when Zambians vote they will vote for their President, they will vote for the running mate together with their President, they will vote for their Members of Parliament, they will vote for their councillors, they will also vote in the referendum. The referendum will be a “yes or no” question because in a referendum you are only asked whether you agree or not,” she said.
The Vice President said the Bill of Rights could not be passed with the amended constitution as the original constitution stipulated having a referendum in order to adopt the Bill of Rights.
She said it was not possible to set aside the referendum as the government could not hold two elections within a years due to financial constraints, therefore the decision to hold the referendum and elections simultaneously.
“We have to teach our people on the modalities of exercising their democratic duty, it will take time although, we only have few months to go but i hope by next week, the referendum question would have been dealt with and people will know, how they are going to respond to that issue,” she said.
And High Commissioner Chikonde called on Zambians in the UK to always engage the mission in efforts aimed at safeguarding Zambia’s interests in Britain.
Mr. Chikonde reported that the UK/Zambia Investment forum which Her Honour the Vice President officiated in London last year had continued to bear fruits as evidenced by UK dignitaries who had visited Zambia such as, the Lord mayor of London who visited with a business delegation, Baroness Lynda Chalker, the former minister who is currently Director of Africa matters to form linkages between UK and Zambian businesses, a 14 member delegation composing of six British Members of Parliament who participated in the 134th International Parliamentary Union (IPU) and six companies that registered and traveled to Zambia for the 5th edition of the Zambia International Investment forum (ZIIF) which ended last week.
“Your passion and dedication to our country under the leadership of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu continues to inspires us all,” he said.
xlent speach there by our VP.
There is issue about the Zambian Embassy in UK. In the past they turned away Zambian citizens, showed no interests in the plight and advancement of Zambians in the UK. the Embassy must impress upon the UK gov’t how valuable Zambians residing in the UK are to the UK future and all results from connecting to the UK in Trade must benefit Zambians abroad too, in terms of UK gov’t providing equalities to UK Zambians in accessing Work, Education and creating conducive attitude to Zambians in UK. They do thus for West Africans and Asians who have doors open to them in Local Authority and the business City jobs.
The UK must stop acting in an underhand colonial attitude when they come to the table. They must realise some of us who are citizens here have families with huge farm land tracts which British Investors can benefit from by doing business with us and allowing us to fit into the business environment here so we too can open value addition to our economies at home by having access to Sterling we can use in joint projects in Zambia for both our countries benefit. The UK gov’t pulls all strings to assist Indian/Asian businesses and the citizens of their countries to do well here.
Just yesterday, I was discussing going to my local Wandsworth Local Authority’s Chamber of Commerce to take up their offer of Business/Investors Start Up support programmes, but I often find that the image the UK gov’t creates against ethnic minorities here in the UK, except those they favour. White UK citizens are so detached and uneducated from the reality of what ethnic minorities from countries like Zambia can bring to the table. Mostly they avoid doing business with ethnic minorities, while going to our countries to be Pretend investors buying up our Land assets while never dealing with indigenous populations either.
Please make our embassies PRIDE OF OUR NATION. Please Ambasdor can you get a NEW FLAG and replace that old and dirty one which twists around the pole. I am watching your building….! I go past on the Bus no. 49 to get to South Kensington High Street!!
The gov’t of Zambia must be savvy in offering our Zambian ‘Sweets’ to UK and Western Europeans. The mood here is a regressive one. UK campaigns to pull out of Europe is causing a resurgence of Racism which is impacting the development of ethnic minorities here. Businesses we start here do not thrive mostly because of the divide. I have many friends here who come to UK to push Gemstones, but mostly end up going to Hatton Gardens to undersell to one Asian business man who cheats them to sell at risible prices while he sells at high cost. In contrast, UK citizens are welcome to do business in our countries where our citizens are not spoon fed Racist attitudes to foreigners. The UK go ‘the must do better to prevent negative images to Ethnic minorities.
In conclusion(you’ll be glad to hear), the way Western gov’ts apply, Environmental awareness is going too far against foreign, especially African businesses. White Brits and Western in general are talking about Air Footprints to discourage their citizens from eating Agricultural products from Africa brought into their countries. So pose a while the rand consider how we will be able to create an international benefit from our Agriculture sector? Whites will not even support the local Marketers in Brixton and other ethnic Market places. It’s interesting to go to these markets for research and watch how Whites walk past African stalls with nose held up because of their perceptions.
The Zambian gov’t has been underhand in deceiving citizens of their intentions to create migrations of white citizens into Zambia who are primarily not going to these countries to integrate with locals to spread economic wealth to their black friends. They go to create their own benefit to transfer wealth back to their homelands. This needs to be nipped in the bud by honest deliberate and intelligent integration. If there is one word to the whites seeking wealth in Africa is for them to take their African friends with them on their journey so all benefit. Our Ambassador should not be scraping and ducking to get Western interest. WE ARE THEIR FUTURE as their economies are in decline from overdevelopment and there is little potential for new economic growth except in new horizons.
Ambassador should be watching British TV Master Chef and Menu for Britain, where cunningly, only White Brits win normally through subtle plugging on emphasis on British grown and sourced foods. But that is double edged because it also helps to promote a refusal to support foods from other countries on retrogressive and negative environmental ethics. The world economy has always survived on Battering Goods in exchange for what one does not have. It’s a good model for international trade and we need to be refusing backtracking to closed borders. Airplane footprints can be a thing of the past with Clean Fuel. Freshness of foods can be improved by innovative Air refrigeration systems and tighter time scales from harvest to overseas markets. Usually foods are held up by red tape and…
Held up by Red Tape and arrive past freshness. Emphasis on Ambassador should be for him to uphold his citizens in the UK. Take an interest when people arrive at the embassy. Normally they have a welcoming now and scrape attitudes to white visitors at the embassy while the citizens are shunted into waiting rooms. BY THE WAY, dear gov’t the look and feel of our embassies abroad is important. Apart from cleanliness( which they do very well), we need NEW FURNITURE to create some ambience to promote an conclusive ambience. Visitors leave feeling positive. Please make our embassies PRIDE OF OUR NATION. Please Ambasdor can you get a NEW FLAG and replace that old and dirty one which twists around the pole. I am watching your building….! I go past on the Bus no. 49 to get to South…