President Edgar Lungu has expressed deep concern over reported xenophobic incidences going on in the Republic of South Africa.
However, Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations, Amos Chanda, told journalists in Kabwe that no Zambian has been attacked in the current xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Mr Chanda revealed that the reports reaching Zambia so far are that South African nationals are targeting Malawians in the xenophobic attacks that have rocked that country in the last few days.
He said in retaliation, Malawian nationals yesterday set a South African bus, a situation which he described as ugly occurrence.
Mr Chanda said President Lungu, as Chairperson for Troika, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) organ on peace, defence and security, has since called SADC Chairperson and Namibia’s President, Hage Geingob to express his concern.
He said President Lungu has urged President Geingob to rally solidarity in support South African authorities to deal with the problem as soon as possible so that peace and security is restored immediately.
Mr Chanda said President Lungu wants to ensure that the problem is sorted out soon so that SADC retains its exemplary character as a peaceful bloc in the African Union.
He said the President Lungu and President Geingob will soon engage their South African counterpart, President Cereal Ramaphosa, in the shortest time possible to deal with the matter so that it is brought under control.
He said so far, the Ministry of International Development and Cooperation in South Africa, through its Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, will soon convene an urgent meeting for selected SADC members, among them Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana and Namibia.
Mr Chanda said president Lungu does not want to see citizens of one country to be averse to the citizens of other countries within the SADC region.
He added that the High Commission in South Africa was working closely with the South African Department of International Relations to ensure that the Zambian community in that country was safe.
Concerned at the incidents of xenophobia in S/Africa, Pres. Lungu has telephoned Namibia Pres. Geingob, the chair of SADC, to rally regional solidarity to support S/Africa deal with this ugly stain on the region. SADC Organ chair also concerned at retaliatory action from Malawi.
— Amos Chanda (@AmosNChanda) March 30, 2019
First tell him to sort out his violent militias the cadres then, and only then, can he meddle in those issues abroad. Otherwise he will be embarrassed if Ciril Ramaphosa asks him to do what I have just said !!!!
@Kopala dude; You mean the same militia that fired live bullets at the Delusionals Dictator HH for 8 hrs with no casualties while HH played director in filming the said attack?
Lungu just develop your own country and you wont have this problem of begging other leaders….your People will be ok as long as you stop stealing and start managing the economy well…..Zambians wont be economic refugees anywhere in the world not only in RSA…..
We need to think deep and do some soul searching…..just leave Ramaphosa alone and concentrate on developing Zambia and stop putting all the money in your pocket…..share with fellow Zambians……we dont have war in Zambia but as a president ask yourself why Zambians prefer to stay in the Diaspora
What engagement! Can Mickie Mouse Lungu engage anyone seriously? He is such a push around with a just bribe me face he has sold out the polisario the PLO and even sold his people to the Chinese
True its embarrassing if you look at how much resources we have….way much more RSA but we choose to mismanage our resources and beg other countries to accommodate us as economic refugees…..shame on you Lungu….just stop enriching yourself…you and your fellow ministers
“Prresident Lungu will engage South African President over Xenophobic attacks.” The headline says it all. In matters involving human life he should already do so last week. This is way too little and way too late
There’s nothing significant that Lungu will do to make things any better. You think Ramaphosa will sit there listening to clueless, corrupt Lungu about how he should open his country up to African economic refugees? Lungu needs to concentrate on finding ways to develop his country. If anything, Zambia is supposed to be the most developed country in Southern Africa, given the fact we have an abundance of natural resources and we became independent much earlier than many Southern African countries. But we’re currently the worst, and the poorest…because of incompetent, corrupt, clueless leaders like Lungu. Botswana is developing much faster than us, because they have effective leaders. And you’ll not find many Botswanans relocating to other African countries as economic refugees.
The earlier Ramaphosa’s Govt is told to do its duty to protect the affected people the better. Lungu must also provide logistics to repatriate those Zambians that may wish to come back. We would rather be dealing with natural disasters like Idai and not man-made problems, it’s embarrassing. There’s still slavery in Libya, just in case you forgot
Send the Gulf Stream Jet to repatriate your citizens, at least it would bave saved a purpose…
….quite embarrassing…we have reduced ourselves to beggers and have no bargaining powers whatsoever…. Imagine a life without South Africa… Can we really survive, I doubt…. Ramaposa doesn’t care, deep down within him he is even convinced and laughing at other nations coz he knows the bazungu has given him pride and can do whatever he wants to the others… Coz really what is South Africa without muzungu…nothing…. Really it all boils down to us Blacks…there is definitely something amiss with our race…we may proclaim to be independent but we still worse off slaves in our minds….
@Shaa if I were you I wouldn’t be too hasty to condemn the black race in the manner you do. I know you try to mean well but deep in your statement is a hidden black inferiority complex & it is in people with such a mentality like yours that these xenophobic attacks emanate from. They think black people can’t do anything on their own. They think blacks are worthless & they don’t see harm in attacking each other. South Africa comes from a long history of apartheid. They suffer an inferiority complex that came with it & it has been passed on to another generation. These people haven’t healed from it. The whole nation needs special counseling. I don’t condone xenophobic attacks in whatever form but to spit on the whole black race because a few people who haven’t healed from the…
I don’t condone xenophobic attacks in whatever form but to spit on the whole black race because a few people who haven’t healed from the nightmare of apartheid is nonsensical. Anyway, nayenda ine
Andulu
Get serious, you mean you cant see for yourself the serious inadequacies in an African?Then you are part of the problem, no use debating with you…
There will be no amount of engagement that will quench the thirst for blood and diffuse the burning urge to brutally kill other human this people have. The government of SA knows this, it will be there every day, All the gvt officials will say is ‘its not xeno, it is elements of criminality’. and one wanders wether criminality is OK? And because criminality is justified their people will employ the skills of criminality to deal with foreigners.
BOYCOTT SOUTH AFRICAN GOODS….
WORTHLESS EXERCISE…Zambians with genuine immigration / borders papers are respected and treated like citizens in SA. I know of 5 Zambians who have lived and worked in SA illegally for 15years.
BOYCOTT SOUTH AFRICAN GOODS..
As 1.1 Anonymus has said,ALL WE NEED IS TO DEVELOP OUR ECONOMY,through industrialisation.Zambians hardly wanted to go and squat in other countries,till senseless privatization killed our industries and handed our copper mines into foreign hands Let us rethink our economic engagement with the region and world at large,let us look at what we can produce with value addition and stop importing everything,including simple tropical fruits!!
The answer to all this for Zambia and other countries, let us get focused and develop our countries, let us use our resources and talent to move our economies! Zambia before end of apartheid was fending for herself,employed,fed and treated her people. Today the President is the first one to seek medical help in S.Africa!! How can we be respected?? Let us develop our industries and cut down on dependence on S.Africa,after all some of their industries are driven with help from our own experts!! Why should S.African chain stores dominate our retail sector and sell 90% of imported products obliterating our own manufacturers and struggling local retail entrepreneurs?? Why should foreigners dominate, haulage,construction, supply to mines and hope to grow the Zambian economy and reduce poverty,…
BOYCOTT SOUTH AFRICAN GOODS…
Why is it that, where ever you go, whites get more pay than blacks? RSA, Zambia, UK, USA, you name it
Don’t look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but at the log in your own.
Here, we have the beginnings of institutionalused xenophobia through legislation against foreigners.
Simply put; the number of foreign nationals that have moved to RSA from many countries are numerous especially from countries where it’s easy to work in groups. There are countries were most nationals move out because there is absolutely no other option, or the only reasonable option.
In the case of Zambians (except for a few), they have mainly moved for either business or jobs. For those who have gone for jobs most of them have reasonable permits to work there. There are lots of labour exchanges and there is no country in the region and Africa as a whole where you won’t find South Africans. The only thing is that those who perpetrate xenophobia have never been outside or have no idea that even South Africans are out in Africa working. They even displace locals for jobs that locals can…
This issue is too big for a dull incompetent chap like Lazy Lungu to deal with as he is a bootlicker to Ramaphosa….the man is in Kabwe threatening municipal councils whilst his boy Amos Chanda is handling issues like he always does.
There is a genuine problem in SA of Xenophobia created by too much influx of foreign nationals. People like Lungu have no right to trivialize this problem because they are the creators of the same. Moreover, a hard core tribalist like Lungu has no moral right to poke his nose in this issue because what he is doing to his countrymen is the same as xenophobia.
@ Daniel I couldn’t agree more with your comment on Lungu being a tribalist. Tribalism has become way too pronounced under his rule.
We have enough to share in our country. We have helped other countries in the region. We have done our part. Lets now focus on our country. Make at least one of your relatives better and at the end we shall have a better community and country. Let’s love one another. It starts with you and me
We have enough
South Africa ‘s freedom was not attained single handedly.and the fact is that south Africa without the neighboring support it could have been the worst country one can ever dream to go to.No wonder in bemba they say” uluse Lwalile inkwale”.i believe there are a lot of South Africans over like for Zambia most South African companies are making money on our soil but we have no negative thoughts about them Look at the shopping mals they are flooded all over but no one is complaining that they are depriving our local business men.We’ve had enough of this no sense.Africa is for Africans if they can mingle with white south Africans why should they discriminate their fellow blacks.off course every country has rules yes those who do not meet the rules there immigration laws that can apply…
@ chapamo Geraboo that’s not true, in the UK we get same salaries if you have same qualifications and employed to do the same job regardless of race,I do not know which part of UK you are talking about.In fact black people like to work more hours and some get more money than the indigenous British people