By Charles Ngoma
The 2021 budget was unveiled by the minister of finance Hon Dr Ng’andu. President Lungu’s government wishes to spend 7.3% of the budget on defence and security, that amounts to K8.722 billion. It has been reported that the minister of home affairs was delighted with this news. In June this year, the US was rocked with demonstrations and riots in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. One of the police reforms that people have put forward is dubbed ‘Defunding the police.’ The idea has frightened some privileged people not because it is bad but simply because they deliberately do not want to understand what this means. There is a social theory that suggests that crime goes hand in hand with social deprivation, poverty and other community and social ills. While this is not completely true, there is some evidence that supports it. There must be a balance between arming the police to the teeth and improving the social conditions in which people live. It is clear that suburbs with improved street lighting have less street crimes than those without. Prevention is better than cure. So, prevention of crime is better than dealing with it after it has happened.
The Zambia police paraded its recently acquired arsenal in readiness for expected criminal activity among the Zambian people. Millions of Kwacha were spent on militarising the Zambia police to deal with potential riots in the streets which could happen after elections in 2021. Zambia has never had post election rioting although someone hinted that they stopped their followers from doing so after they lost elections. In reality, it has never happened. Zambians have always taken their quarrels with election results to the courts of law and left the result in the hands of the judiciary. It is difficult to understand why the present government is expecting that the Zambian people will act differently in 2021 and so they have to prime the police to kill citizens in 2021.
I am baffled by this. Zambians experience crime every day. The police have none of the wherewithal to deal with burglaries, thefts, murders, cyber crimes etc that plague Zambians on a daily basis. Is it wise to fund the police for a theoretical one off event in a year, when they do not have enough resources to deal with day to day crimes? When I was a child, it was common place to meet a police officer walking the beat in the streets of Zambia, armed only with a button, a whistle, handcuffs and a lanyard. Today, police officers are only found at road blocks and financial institutions. If you do find them elsewhere, they are bunched in a police van going to God knows where.
Our people need decent housing. The budget committed only K2.2 billion to housing and community amenities of which less than K50 million is not for water and sanitation. Inadequate housing is a very big problem in Zambia. This defines poverty more than anything else. People who live in mayadi may not have a tarred road, but no one would call them poor. People who live in komboni may have a tarred road by their shack but they are still poor. This government has spent an average of K2.7 million ($136,000) per house for members of the security wings. This is definitely excessive. The majority of police houses can be built for K400,000. Why has the contract to build these houses been given to AVIC International and not the Zambia National Service, Zambia Army Engineering Corp or National Housing Authority? This wastage has produced only 2,350 police houses (Ref: Zambia police website (). If this government was prudent, this money would have built more than 10,000 housing units for the Zambian people. The members of the security wing will live in these houses during their terms in service and will not pay rent. When they retire, they will have nothing but a pension with which they will not be able to afford to buy their own houses. If the houses were built outside camps, they could be sold on mortgage to the occupants and the treasury could in the long run recoup the investment.
I may be wrong, but I think that improving the lives of people in the community, with decent housing, water, sanitation and electricity is better than tarring roads at fighting crime and preventing insecurity. Furthermore, housing is an investment that eventually pays back if the people pay rent or buy outright. Instead of buying tanks for the police and spending so much more money on the military in peace times, perhaps we could improve living conditions first.
Can they pay the pensions of people who operate this equipment whn they retire from service? Totally needless.
When we say Zambians will not get rid of lungu through the ballot even if the wanted , this is what we mean.
Lungu is hoping to look after the security wings well so they are on his side against the majority of the population……..a tactic learned well from Mugabe and MU7……
The problem we have is to always play the best. You have just given us the social theory that supports or may not support………well since social looks at both sides of the coin, your opinion may not be true. Why, this is because of the very fundamental importance between economic development and economic growth.
The problem we have is to always play the best. You have just given us the social theory that supports or may not support………well since social science looks at both sides of the coin, your opinion may not be true. Why, this is because of the very fundamental importance between economic development and economic growth.
The PF are scared of their own shadow and are worried how the people of Zambia behave when the elections are rigged next year.
This is how dictatorial corrupt regimes work…….
The use more money on security policing then social amineties and social budgets and expect the donner countries to cover the short fall.
Western countries don’t fall for this trick. This is where the Chinese come in they don’t mix aid with politics.
The corrupt dictictorial regimes will give and sell the whole country to China in exchange for money to enrich them selves and pay the security forces handsomely to keep the impoverished population incheck ………an exact playbook by lungu.
This is total misapplication on the part of this government… One wonders what they are upto!!!
I totally agree with this. Militarising the police is aimed at brutalising the citizens when they complain about the deprivation and decide to use their vote to remove the incompetent regime. UNIP built thousands of houses for the citizens in the first 10 years of independence. This government has built zero but only for security officers to butter them. I hope these officers realise that they will be homeless once their service is over. Their senior officers are building mansions for themselves around the country. The only hope for the constable is to save from roadblock money.
Hahahahah naseka. This is not the USA or Britain. Stop trying to bring you problems in your newly adopted countries to us. Here we don’t have a police force that kills people due to the colour of their skin. Those are your problems there abroad. We didn’t force you to move to countries where you are seen as second class criminal due to your skin colour. Fight your battle there and don’t bring your nonsense here. We are black here and rule our selves in a black majority country.
@Kaizer Zulu. What is wrong with building affordable houses for the citizens and improving their livelihoods? What is written here is in the Patriotic Front manifesto 2016-2021:
-Introduce a social housing scheme that will empower councils to construct low cost houses from government guaranteed loans and Public Private Partnerships;
-Upgrade squatter settlements through Urban Renewal in order to improve the
living standards of the inhabitants.
I ask sir, has this been done?
There is something sinister about to happen in Zambia next year, something planned hence the continued propping up of the defense forces and the police by the current government.
Each member of parliament will receive on average close to £50,000 tax-free cash at the end of this parliament for 5 years work. Meanwhile, the pensioners will receive on average £1,000 for a lifetime of public service.
May God Almighty be in Zambia our motherland a peaceful nation in Jesus mighty name
May God Almighty be in Zambia our motherland a peaceful nation in Jesus mighty name