Thursday, March 28, 2024

Collapse of Bill 10 Unifies Zambians

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By Hakainde Hichilema, UPND President

There is no doubt that the whole process surrounding the attempted enactment of Bill 10 has polarised our communities,perhaps to levels never seen since our independence in 1964. This is an indisputable fact and one that calls for a collective national soul searching.

We must however use the fall out of Bill 10 to foster an energy of unity despite our political differences, because Zambia’s greatest strength lies in its diversity. The intense debate the Bill generated must strengthen our democracy, our values and ideals that provide that even though we hold different views, we are one people and citizens of one mother land under one God.

We must rekindle the shared values with which this great nation was founded upon, that any human has a value far greater than any label, stereotype or misconception and that multiculturalism is an intergral and deep rooted part of Zambia’s national identity. We must strive for the ability to exist as one people in which we see each other as people first, without defining ourselves by race or tribe or deploy fear mongering by pitting citizen against citizen in order to maintain political power. This is dangerous and has ramifications that can affect how our communities relate to each other now and in future and most tragically, can endanger national security.

The rejection of Bill 10 must not provide an array of weaponry by those who opposed it against those that were its proponents. Instead it must provide all stakeholders an opportunity to inspire renewed hope, brotherly love and support to our nation and its citizens and also help us search for answers on the best way forward to resolve many challenges(and there are many of them) that still face our nation, especially on the electoral process as we lay the ground work for the 2021 election.

In this regard I wish to extend our profound gratitude to all citizens who moderated this intense national discourse for or against. My heartfelt thanks also go to various professional bodies, Civil Society organisations, Labour unions, Church Mother Bodies, different Churches and other organisations of other religious faiths. I wish to particularly express our gratitude to the Catholic Church for its sustained vigilance and consistency in providing leadership and spiritual guidance to the nation during the entire period of the debate, the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) and the Zambia Congress of Trade Unions for their forthrightness in the whole process despite a lot of pressure from the Patriotic Front and its surrogates.

My sincere thanks also go to different political parties and fellow politicians for affording citizens an opportunity to explore the Bill 10 debate from two sides of the coin, and lastly our MPs from all political parties that debated and expressed their views for or against the Bill and finally voted, abstained or voted against the Bill.

The failure of Bill 10 is a prerequisite for change of the status quo and the way the PF conduct public affairs that ultimately negatively impacts the lives of our people and the nation. It is a clarion call to duty for all citizens to demand for accountability in the running of national affairs from the PF.

People want decent jobs and proper healthcare, the ability to put food on their tables, pay school fees for their children and buy medicines in private pharmacies, because of lack of essential drugs in public hospitals. This can only be possible under a new government with fresh ideas and renewed vigour. You can’t put new wine in old wine skins.

PF is totally bankrupt on how to reinvigorate this country back to where they found it. The people of Zambia fully recognised this impotence and will vote them out next year.

UPND has a good economic plan, capable team of managers and technocrats to create the much needed economic recovery, once our citizens vote us into office next year. We have the political will and the capacity to fight corruption and any economic crimes, vigorously and without fear or favour. This is time for change!

30 COMMENTS

  1. You stole the Bill of Rights from Zambians. You have stolen Bills that would have improved our constitution. You stole from Zambians during privatisation. You are not a leader but a criminal that’s why Zambians have rejected you 5 times before and will do so in 2021 again!!!

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  2. What a total a$$ hole this Akainde. Tomato yapya – flop!

    You will be the one crying in 2021 with your surrogates

    This time you lose Mutinta will divorce your home and returns to Chilala. Koswe!

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  3. Let’s now deal with MPs that want to represent us for quarter a century. They are not just greedy and selfish but think they have the monopoly of wisdom. It’s time we changed the game. 25 years for an mp is far too much.

  4. PLEASE HH,IT IS TIME TO TELL THE ELECTORATES WHAT MEASURES YOU TAKE TO RECOVER THIS DIMINISHED ECONOMY.
    WE NEED MORE ALLOCATION OF FUNDS IN THE HEALTH SECTOR
    WE ALSO NEED LONG TERM PLANS THAT WILL SEE THE TRANSFORMATION OF ZAMBIA INTO AN INDUSTRIALISED NATION
    WE NEED TO MAKE DO WITH WHAT WE HAVE AND REDUCE THIS BORROWING TENDECY
    LOOK INTO LABOUR LAWS AND MAKE SURE OUR PEOPLR ARE NOT EXPLOITED BY THE SO CALLED INVESTORS
    TAME THE CHINESE AND THE PATELS
    LET ZAMBIA BE FOR EVERYONE WHO RESPECTS ZAMBIANS
    CREATE AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR THE DIASPORANS TO TAKE PART INTO THE AFFAIRS OF THEIR HOME COUNTRY,THEY HAVE RELATIVES HERE AS WELL MIND YOU?
    #ZAMBIANS WILL LOSE IF YOU LOSE THE 2021 ELECTIONS,YOU WILL NOT LOSE ANYTHING CUZ YOU GAT EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!

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  5. You would expect these words to come from lungu…….

    But the corrupt theif is cowering in state house planning revenge on his Mps and those who voted against bill 10.

    Completely presidential. That’s how he has destroyed the economy. Concentrating on wrong things…

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  6. Hehehehe ……

    Look at the two rats above….Antonio mwanza and kudos …

    Hehehehe, bane , chill, your lungu is still presido ,

    why the anger over a bill you can
    re-introduce after you win in 2021 ????

    Hehehehe…..you are clowns

  7. Thanks HH. We are PF and we have already surrendered. We will try to fight and pretend but we know things are not okay, even the bloggers attacking you on this forum, it’s just stubbornness, they know that as PF we are done and it’s just a question of bye bye polio

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  8. HH is a very dull person, even people who follow him its just based on tribe. Didnt they see it strange and abnormal that when they converged to celebrate fall of Bill 10 at Hichilema’s house they were basicaly one tribe. Normal adults should have asked themselves if they were doing the correct thing! Where were the other 72 tribes that they hope to get from votes to win next year? Its a non starter for them because Zambia is bigger than all the Tongas put together. UPND Hichilema think because economy is bad then they will win next year. In 2015 they had won in their little brains because Michael Sata had died. Please dont base victory on other factors, it never works that way. Look at yourselves, and think whether you are capable of winning or not! Not depending on other factors. UPND…

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  9. Electoral commission, please open early voting, we want to vote for HH. I was PF but after seeing mediocrerism, we have joined where things are happening.

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  10. Mandanda

    “…when they converged to celebrate fall of Bill 10 at Hichilema’s house they were basicaly one tribe. …”

    No , we saw zambians …….

    You have a polisioned mind…..lungu has messed you up …

    why do you see tribe in every thing ?????

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  11. How does the collapsed bill unify Zambians when there were those who were for it and those against it? Those against it were so dead against it from the start that they never even wanted to debate it. They always run away from Parliament and were only good at drawing allowances by false pretences of representing people when they could not put across people’s views.

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  12. Just hyperbore. Those words tinged as they are in Tonga tribalism, I am afraid, wont wash. Your hoped-for-presidency will forever remain a pipe dream.

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  13. Hakainde, not sure you understand what you are writing about. You have been celebrating that the people of Zambia have won because of the fall of Bill 10. What is this ” polarisation” you are now talking about. I remember Hakainde saying that Trump is coming to fix dictators in Africa” who ever he was referring too. Hichilema is mute after his friends term of office. And now he is talking about polarisation- my word. I sincerely hope that we will not make the kind of disastrous trials that Americans made to vote in Trump by voting HH into state house.

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  14. Lufubu is a constituency of the National Assembly of Zambia. It covers a large rural area in the Ngabwe District of Central Province,It was created in 2016.

    WE USED TO HAVE 150 CONSTITUENCIES NOW THEY ARE 156, HOW DID THE 6 COME ABOUT MINUS BILL 10? ACTUALLY THIS LUFUBU CONSTITUENCY IS UNDER A PF MP, SO THE 2016 CONSTITUTION ALLOWS THE CREATION OF NEW CONSTITUENCIES.

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  15. Tonga’s are very clever or i meant bus.tards …they will never vote for other tribesmen..and only want all others to vote for them….stu.pid i.d!ots. We will also vote for our own .Wenyo!

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  16. It doesn’t help to talk about unity and then to decry your opponents in the same breath Mr Hichilema. You should have kept the later part of the post for another day. Today is not the day of victory and jubilation. The death of Bill 10 is an indictment on the present political climate. We have an incorrigible government and a stubborn opposition. No one seems to work for the good of country. The ones in power want to remain in power for ever and the ones not in power want to wrest it from them at all cost. Let us for once return to the crossroads and build bi-partisanship. Let us rejoice when government does well because it is for the good of country.

  17. Some one is celebrating the failure of a bill that has never existed and thinks that translates into winning elections. He will cry again in 2021 when he loses. He never learns.

    Can some one help me understand how the Democrats winning in USA automatically translates into UPND magically winning zambian elections? I am baffled by this thinking. Is this one of hh political theories? Nadabwa. It seems being educated does not make you immune from f00lishness. Seek help.

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  18. I can never be part of a sata.nic party with a hidden agenda. Ba under5 wants to come and remove the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation you can’t fight God and win.. 2021 iam voting for Pf not these freema.sonry who want to bring homo God forbid …ba red for danger to form government next year. No manifesto ati 10 point plan criminal.

  19. HH will never will even if 1000 Tongas write on social media that hes winning 2021, it will not happen! We shall vot on tribe lines, and HH dreams Bembas can vote for, no they cant because Tongas wont vote for a Bemba even Jesus appeared today! So where is going to get the Bemba votes from. Please maintain him as wamuyaya UPND president, he has no country presidential qualities!

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  20. You should not have celebrated the way you did alone with your MPs. You should have held a rally to celebrate with the entire nation to roof that this article is accurate.

  21. Kleptoh² is an empty tin.
    I could not keep up with the blabbing in this article.
    It’s funny how this loser would capture his MP puppets and turn them into his personal representatives at the expense of the electorates.
    In any case the problem also is that we have heavy tribal voters who are default voters like spaka.
    A divisive kleptoh² is so selfish and this article portrays a picture of an hypocrite.
    Kleptoh² is a miserable hypocrite. He is an u5 crooked fraud.

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  22. Wow. I read the comments and all I see are the uneducated racists crawling out of the woodwork. You don’t believe in a unified Zambia – you hurl insults at a man purely because he comes from a different tribe. You are a disgrace to what this nation stands for. You find his success in life threatening when reflected against the mediocrity of your own.
    People like you are the reason our country is full of corruption, poverty, abuse and lies.

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