Thursday, March 28, 2024

YALI President calls on President Lungu to expedite the process of setting up of the commission of inquiry

Share

The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) has commended President Edgar Lungu for the gesture to visit the former employees at the defunct Mansa Batteries and his commitment to pay the terminal benefits.

YALI president Andrew Ntewewe has observed that the president becomes the second President in the history of Zambia after Dr. Kenneth Kaunda to visit Mansa Batteries and its former employees in Luapula province who have been affected by the effects of privatization.

Mr. Ntewewe notes that this visit could never have come at a more opportune time than this when his organization has been demanding for the setting up of the Commission of Inquiry on Privatization.

Mr. Ntewewe has therefore called on President Lungu to expedite the process of setting up of the commission of inquiry so as to get to the truth, justice and closure to this matter which has haunted the people of Zambia for over two decades.

He said the case of Mansa Batteries makes his heart to bleed but most importantly serves as yardstick to prove to the doubters and the general citizenry that the call for setting up the commission of inquiry is not about settling political scores but genuine and aimed at confronting the evils and scars left behind by privatization.

“Just to refresh and remind our people; the former employees of the once viable Mansa Batteries have never gotten their terminal benefits since the company was privatised in the early 1990’s up to now.Out of the 174 people employed at the time of privatisation, only 81 are alive today. 93 have succumbed to the cold hand of death due to depression and other ailments,their children left in the cold without any future to talk about as they were denied an opportunity to persue secondary and tertiary education.The families left behind wallow in poverty and vulnerability” Mr Ntewewe said.

He said this is not an isolated incident as they are so many other cases in point, others probably worse off than Mansa Batteries and therefore it is time to confront this issue and deal with it once and for all considering that the souls of the departed victims, deceased patriots of our great motherland, the vulnerable widows, the deprived orphans and the poverty stricken general populous are crying out for justice.

“Even as we commend his Excellency the President for to the former workers, we wish to put it on record that this is not an isolated incident as there are so many other incidences and casualties of privatization across the whole country. They all deserve answers and to live in human dignity” he said.

President Edgar Lungu when he toured the factory before addressing the former workers.
President Edgar Lungu when he toured the
factory before addressing the former workers.
President Edgar Lungu when he toured the factory before addressing the former workers.
President Edgar Lungu when he toured the
factory before addressing the former workers.

19 COMMENTS

  1. We are with you because we know that some have started hiding their ill gotten wealth. Remember Panama papers etc. One well known disgruntled politician appears in them

    4
    21
  2. Take your stupidity somewhere else. Who can you fool?

    Zambians don’t need the commission of inquiry because they have realized is sheer waste of resources without any serious outcome.

    PF must go!

    7
    2
  3. Ntewewe and his minions should genuinely pray that PF wins next year’s elections. But if they lose, he can rest assured that I will personally pursue him through courts so that can account for his indiscretions. People in Zambia like Ntewewe have this feeling of invincibility just because he can run to Lungu at the moment. Once Lungu is gone, I am going to show you that stupidity remains stupidity even if you defected to UPND at the last minute.
    The bastard actually annoys me and I will prosecute him privately.

    14
    3
  4. Villagers believe that HH sold Mansa Batteries as Ntewewe keep telling them.
    Ntewewe is getting paid more than Sparks former employees by PF.

    11
    1
  5. Tikki 25 years is not a long time. Germany is still paying for the second world to the allied nations. Wrong is wrong. Privatization crippled Zambia. So any culprits need to own up, I mean all of them. Whether the belong to government or the opposition.

    4
    5
  6. Why did you privatize company in the first place? You failed to run them. Which Zambian company is doing well ag the moment? Just admit that you are inept to run the affairs of the country. Parastatal companies did not make any profit at all.

    11
    1
  7. YALI, a youth organization clearly being used as PF’s puppets on strings. They do not comment on the abuse of innocent citizens rights by the PF ‘Gestapo’, the large debts that have been looming and are on the brink of bringing the country to its knees and the many pensioners that have never been paid their benefits. But they accept to parrot PF’s opposition witch-hunts.

    This is ECL’s continued shameless maneuver to allude to privatization and claim ‘failure’ linked to HH. For those enlightened, this is another pathetic example of ECL’s populist shameless diatribes whenever elections are around the corner and he feels threatened. Haven’t they recently been organizing and bribing people to ‘protest’ about the consequences of privatization – a policy of the MMD regime?

    2
    2
  8. The MMD under Mwanawasa viciously went for Zambians who participated in corruption as well as privatization during the 90’s . This resulted in the conviction of some Ministers, Army Chiefs , Senior Government officials, including Francis Kaunda who chaired the ZCCM privatisation.
    HH was not arrested nor convicted for any crimes during this period.
    30 years later ECL and his minions want to bring back the issue of privatization just because their main political rival is poised the win the 2021 elections.
    Its an exercise in futility cause their will be no Zambia left for them to rule if they go ahead with their evil plans.

    13
    2
  9. Look at the building behind him……

    The corrupt theif has been in power for 9 years and is not embarrassed to be visiting decaying structures like that one in the background for photo opportunities………..

    Reminds me of when this useless sausage lungu visited a market for a photo opportunity and was proud to be seen buying produce layed out on the floor…..

  10. How about a commission of inquiry on misappropriation of donor funds for governance programs by this NGO? We see you!

  11. Lungu has shown he has heart for Zambians. He must continue to listen to the cries of ordinary Zambians, especially former workers and children of Privatised companies, while the UPND tries to undermine us. Lungu will now have my vote in 2021.

    2
    8
  12. We are tired with the foolishness of Andrew Ntewewe, the president of YALI. He can’t even think how much money will be spent on the commission of enquiry? That money can go to build factories, industries or agriculture to depopulate unemployment. Andrew should ask the president why the buyers winded up some of the companies like Mansa Battery and why the government in power failed to stopped stripping and taking away the asset to other countries. So, the buyers of those companies should be summoned and testify before the enquiry that they took advantage of Zambia at the expense of Zambia. President Lungu should put a stop to privatization enquiry that would cost us lots and lots of money.

    1
    1
  13. You won’t stop Bally this time around….with or without this inquiry,HH is gonna be Zambia’s next President kwasila!

    8
    2
  14. LUNGU YOU WERE BEING TOLD STOP CORRUPTION, STOP CORRUPTION. NOW SEE YOU WANT TO DISTROYED ZAMBIA. YOUR TIME IS OVER JUST PACKING, WE WON’T MISS YOU, NOT EVEN REMEMBERING YOU.

    4
    1
  15. Unfortunately FTJC, the chief architect of privatization is long gone. We had ample time to find answers from him when he was still alive but you always cried foul when LPM tried to pursue him. Now that he (FTJC) is gone you want a commission of inquiry. You people, let your son of the soil (FTJC) rest in peace please…. he can not appear before the commission.

    1
    1
  16. The Privatisation Inquiry will propel HH to presidency as he will come out so clean that even the perpetrators of issue – NTEWEWE ET AL – will be so embarrassed that they will start saying it was intended for a good cause and not aimed at one man.

    They will swallow their words one day, mark my words.

Comments are closed.

Read more

Local News

Discover more from Lusaka Times-Zambia's Leading Online News Site - LusakaTimes.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading