Kitwe Catholic Priest Fr. Patrick Mupula believes Zambia has failed to utilise its mineral resources for its own good.
In his Sunday sermon, Fr. Mupula of Chamboli Catholic Church, said minerals that include emerald, gold, mercury, Sugilite and copper among others are not being utilised to benefit the people of Zambia.
He charged that instead of uncovering these treasures through mineral exploration, Zambians have opted to call foreigners to come and see the value of their minerals.
Fr. Mupula said foreigners benefit more from local minerals at the expense of the locals.
“Which buried treasure are you searching for? In Zambia God has given us a lot of treasures such as Emerald in Lufwanyama, the Kasenseli Gold in Mwinilunga, Sugilite in Mpika, Gold in Luano Valley, Mercury in the North Western Province, Copper, vegetation, water bodies among others. Unfortunately, we have failed to utilise them for our own good. Instead of uncovering these treasures through mineral exploration, we have opted to call foreigners to come and see the value of what we have and we give them permission to get what belongs to us,” he preached.
“It is outsiders who keep enjoying what belongs to the common man in Kandabwe, Buchi – Kamitondo, Chamboli! Why should we borrow money as a country when we can only sell what we have and generate income? It is very difficult to understand why most Zambians are poor when God has given us everything we need to be better. Where did we go wrong as a country? Efyo twalufyanya kuli Lesa Finshi? Look at how dilapidated the road from Kalumbila to Ikelenge is – this is the place which is very rich in minerals. Look at how dilapidated the Mufulira – Mokambo – Pedicle road is. Look at the Ndola – Mufulira road,” Fr. Mupula said.
He urged Zambians to appreciate and utilise the treasures God has given them.
“Look at how dilapidated some fridges at Kitwe Teaching Hospital Mortuary are. Besides, when was the last Kitwe Teaching Hospital painted? Enter the hospital and get the bad smell. You will die not of malaria but the bad stench.Where did we go wrong as a country? Efyo twalufyanya kuli Lesa Finshi? Look at the price of Mealie Meal now; what is it able to afford? In all this it is the common man in Buchi-Kamitonda to face consequences. And when our political leaders go to China, the US and other countries, they never learn anything. They go there to take pictures to post on WhatsApp and Facebook,” he added.
Fr. Mupula concluded:”The Gospel today is inviting us to appreciate the treasures God has given us and make use of them. And we are told that the treasure is hidden, it is never common. And we are told that the treasure is hidden, it is never common. In life refuse to be too common. Umukashana talingile ukuba common. People have to fight to see you, find you, and get you. But it is in Kitwe where we see some ladies who are way too common. Sure, umwanakashi ukulanwa Kombucha, Black Label? You find umuntu, ku bar eko ali, ku Nkana uko baletukana, eko ali, ifililo fyonse kulyapo ubwali, avoid being too common. A treasure is always hidden.”
“Kitwe Catholic Priest Fr. Patrick Mupula believes Zambia has failed to utilise its mineral resources for its own good.”
That’s 25 years of neoliberal/neocolonial economics. Going to the IMF/WB instead of taxing the mines with a windfall tax a decade ago.
In fact what’s more difficult to understand is why Zambians should be rich. Zambians ought 2b poor because they are incapable of cooperating and forging alliances in business. Zambians want push-button solutions and are incapable of sticking it out for the long-term.
This moron of a priest…he lives free and gets free money and he thinks he is rich..he will only understand if he quits and gets a real job
Its because our politicians are too selfish!
It is not difficult because even a blind baby knows that For as long as gay rights are not allowed in zambia, you will not achieve anything positive. This is because when you legalise homosexuality you will get a diverse Ieadershlp of gay people who are highly skilled and motivated.
What makes us poor in Zambia is our mindset. We think money makes us rich therefore we just need lots of it. This is why some of our people despite claiming that they own more than 500 houses, they are still loitering for government jobs. Poverty is in the mind and no amount of money can fix that. Learn how to invest in yourself and future generations. Build things that will stand the test of time not quick wins.
The status quo shall remain the same for as long as leaders have no direction. They’ll cancel 500 Zambian owned mining licenses and begin to issue them to foreigners and f00lishly boast that they are creating jobs. They’ll play every trick to deny Zambians licenses and when they begin to mine on their own, they’ll unleash ZNS guns to shoot them down. They deserve to die because they’re illegal miners
The question are (1)does the government refuse to give exploration and mining rights to Zambians? (2) why haven’t the many trained Zambians in mining skills formed mining firms? (2) why haven’t the giant churches assisted or guided locals to take the root of of using the available resources? 4) do Zambians just want to wait for other people to open companies and just be employed. 5) ist poverty of the minds based on laziness? Yes, resources are there, and some realistic Zambians are utilizing them and are no longer poor.
Most of our people enjoy stealing. We Zambians have a problem that’s why that mortuary is in that state.
Talking and mentioning problems is very easy. Real men ar not identified by trumpeting problems but by comig up with solutions.. What has this priest done in an effort to correct all those problems he has mentioned. By the time he shall leav this earth most of those problems shall still be there regardless of hw many govts wil hv bn in power. Thats the reality. Zambia can’t develop bcoz there ar not many pipo in zambia to cme up with solutions to our problems. Many zambians ar just gd at talkig.
let the priest get involved in the solutions other than just talking. who doesnt know all those problems he has mentioned, let him ask fred membe or emanuele mwamba they write evryday on those same things the priest is talking about. we want pipo with solutions not pipo good at talking.
bwana priest u ar just repeating what everyone else knows already and keeps asking why we ar poor yet we have so much resources. the problem is well known. the dilemma is we dont have pipo intelligent enough to find solutions to our problems, you included. iam sure you know that u have no solution to the problems you just listed. u see now that talking is very easy.
What do we call people who like insulting others when they bring issues on the table for discussion?