By Frazer Bwalya Musonda
Having finished watching the special interview of Hon. Cornelius Mweetwa on Muvi TV, held on 23.12.2021, my inference is that the appointment of ministers with an eye for “provincial/regional” balancing is somehow affecting good service delivery. While I don’t fully agree with Hon. Mweetwa’s arguments surrounding the “subsidies removal” topic, I am very impressed with how he defended his government’s performance in their few days in office so far.
Why then was this person, the national spokesperson for the ruling party, “relegated” to the position of minister for Southern Province? I deliberately wrote “relegated” because traditionally in Zambia, provincial ministers have been considered lower ranking compared to cabinet ministers. I am not sure what changes that have been made to our constitution lately, entail regarding this thought. I stand to be corrected… Even in an event that provincial ministers are on the same level as “cabinet ministers” in our new constitution, a minister for a province is definitely not equivalent to a minister of information.
The previous government of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu was on several occasions accused of tribalism, stemming from their appointments on ministerial and civil service levels. Cabinet, DC, and Permanent Secretary Positions were dominated by appointments of people who hailed from Luapula, Muchinga, Northern and Eastern Provinces. I feel that this argument, shouldn’t be contended especially that it is coming from me, someone who hails from Luapula province.
So now back to the topic, Hon. Cornelius Mweetwa has done what the current ‘minister of information’ plus ‘presidential spokesperson’ have failed to do in just one Muvi TV appearance. I am sure that President Hichilema is and has always been aware of Hon Mweetwa’s capabilities regarding articulating party positions because he has worked with him for a very long time. However, the pressure created by the “tribalistic” appointments of the previous regime and the need to correct this, is definitely affecting a minister from Southern Province to bail her out? The presidential spokesperson has tried to an extent but hasn’t been as factual as Hon. Mweetwa.
My thinking is delivery. How then can one explain the reasoning behind the appointment of a minister for information who can’t even defend government’s position and has to wait for that, the president had once considered appointing Hon. Mweetwa as minister for information and then thought to himself, “I had promised a balanced cabinet”… Hon. Mweetwa is Tonga and I will be seen as favoring my tribemates seeing that I have already appointed a few. You see… this is actually the dilemma we find ourselves in as a country. We are now so sensitive to names more than we are to qualifications.
The whole tribal balancing idea is not very feasible if one can perform give them the position regardless of tribe or gender .Not ifya balancing
Hey kid, that talk is tribal. Watch it.
Neither mweetwa for the party nor chushi for the government makes any sense here. Fuel just got hiked against their promise and there is a pending electricity tariff hike.
I don’t know what you heard from that boy mweetwa that got you mesmerised but your article, though short, is tribal and just shows how you kids got hoodwinked by this non performing grouping from the dungeon of liars.
Malabish! please give us facts not just concocted opinions. PF did not only loot state resources, it is becoming evident that they also distorted the mental health of our people. How does one use PF way of thinking and then conclude that UPND way is not working because in PF it was seen as relegation? seriously. This reminds me of when Bowman said the Kaunda era minsters were stupid because they didn’t know how to steal. Please remember that you can be a thief for some time but not all the times. Regional balance is designed to unite us and make us appreciate our diverse culture. In fact former president Lungu is a product of this. Many see Lungu as a bemba and not from eastern which can only be a good thing.
@ FutureZed
Have a look at Lewanika hospital in Mongu and those in Muchinga area. (Hated and loved)
Appointments must Be on merit.
He can appoint Tongas to all positions for I care. It doesn’t add or subtract anything from my well being. We saw it happen in ZCCM. Are they still managers? 90 percent are destitute.
@Kanjimaano, it is obvious that there is an imbalance with development in Zambia and if you look at past archives, I’m on record to actually state the obvious when PF diverted resources meant to develop NorthWestern to the newly created Muchinga. It was also clear that Western, NorthWestern and Southern were MMD / UPND strong holds. This is actually healthy for our young democracy because the people from these areas will vote based on who protects their interests. I have also noticed that tribalism just like racism sends the perpetrator into denial when the roles are reversed. Let’s develop our Zambia by at least meeting the bare minimum standards for each province. Each of our provinces should be home to us all.
Future zed.
You are so divisive you said money was diverted to muchinga province are you telling the truth or you are just another bigot who cannot see anything beyond your nose.
What every civilised Zambian knows is that every province either old or new do have their own budget so no one can divert any budget to next province.
All this hullabaloo about tribalism, nepotism, regionalism and multiple negative isms that impede Zambia from forging forward in advances will only go away when Zambians emancipate themselves from mediocrity of mind and start getting unified behind knowledge, aspirations for success and, rewarding each other as one people for success either it be individually or communal! Zambia needs to behave like one big village with residents looking out for each and every resident!
@nshilimubemba, yes funds from Northwestern province generated from the mining activities in the province were prioritised elsewhere including Muchinga. How many universities, hospitals and airports do you have in Muchinga compared to NWP or Western? How much government revenue does NWP create in comparison to Muchinga? Each of our provinces should be equal to the others so let the ones which have been neglected by selfish leaders catchup. Nothing tribal or divisive about that.
#9 FuManchu do agree with you somehow. It’s a waste of time trying to please every clan by so-called balancing. This cost some people their Political career such as Siamanene, Mulusa and others. Just get on with job and deliver. People will eat delivery not appointments. Is the appointment of Felix Mutati benefitting Bembas? No… it’s Felix and his relatives who are eating well from this appointment.