This follows a point of order raised by leader of the opposition Jack Mwiimbu who wanted to know why the publication has been sidelining Zambians by publishing the Chinese language and not any other Zambian language.
Mr Mwiimbu who raised a point of order pursuant to Article 23 of the Zambian Constitution indicated that it was, trite law that by virtue of this constitution government should not be discriminating anyone who is Zambian or a Resident in Zambia.
Referring to a copy of a Times of Zambia Newspaper, he alleged that the publication has been discriminating Zambians and against the majority tribes in Zambia by publishing an article under the headline “SADC moods DRC peace whose article is in Chinese language when there has been no such article in the Zambian local languages.
The Leader of the opposition wondered why government is finding it proper and prudent in its own wisdom to start interpreting articles that are appearing in the newspapers in Chinese.
Mr Mwiimbu wanted the Speaker Dr Matibini to make a ruling on whether Information and Broadcasting Minister Dora Siliya was in order to remain quite and not to inform the house and the nation that Chinese is now an official language in Zambia.
” Mr Speaker I need your serious ruling, the Minister should tell us whether Chinese is an official language in Zambia so that we all start learning Chinese”, He said.
Mr Mwiimbu also wondered whether Ms Siliya was in order to abrogate the Constitution of Zambia under the above cited Article.
In his ruling the Speaker said he would render his ruling on Friday 12, October as he needed time to study the point of order.
Poverty manifest in so many ways. I see it every day when a big buyer shows up in a bar. Everyone wants to be nice. What he says is right.
@ Chichi
Because you are all drunk!
Am worried. Immigration dept if they still exist should give us the exact number of Chinese people in Zambia, or perhaps times of pf is trying to inform us that, there is more Chinese people in Zambia then Zambians, thus their aim is to target a new Market audience.
We need to know,
We have got know.
If they can pay for it! Let them live, let them work!
If you go to China…I guarantee you that you’ll never find a single national newspaper containing a Zambian language. There are more people in Zambia who use Bemba and Nyanja than the ones who use Mandarin. And yet Times of Zambia never prints any articles in Bemba or Nyanja, but decides to print articles in Mandarin. Gradually, Mandarin will begin to replace English as the national language. Soon you’ll begin to see road signs, newspapers, books, TV programs, movies, etc, using Mandarin. Remember, a superior nation imposes it’s culture and language on an inferior nation. In the ancient times, powerful nations such as Rome and Greece imposed their language and culture on inferior nations by force. Thus Alexander the Great’s Hellenism campaign. But today, we capitulate without a…
… fight and give in to the superior culture. If we were self respecting, we would’ve demanded that the Chinese learn English if they want to read Zambian newspapers. Instead, we bow down to the superior culture. Even the Indians have been wondering why no articles have ever been printed in Gujarati in Zambia’s national newspapers. It’s because we’re not a province of India. We’re a province of China now.
And why did Garry Nkomba used a Tonga word Ch!kala in parliament ?At least with Chinese/ Mandarin you can use google translator unlike Tonganyoko language is so heavy to speak as if you are in the gym.
I feel pity for you for hating something you can’t destroy. Youo hate is in vain.
Nonsense can’t you express your self?
The problem we have in Zambia is that we struggle and strive to accommodate foreigners and make them feel as comfortable as possible while ignoring the plight of our fellow local people. We have really killing off our local languages/tribes because this trend. With the influx of Chinese people, we should committee them into labour schools were they must be learning our local languages as well as labour laws. The truth is that these people are migrants and have no plan to return to their home. We our mentality exposes our weaknesses hence being taken for granted by foreigners. Let us wake up please!
WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM? WHY WASTE YOUR MONEY BUYING A PUBLICATION THAT IS IN A LANGUAGE YOU CAN’T READ. I DON’T BUY THE MAST NEWSPAPER BECAUSE IT LEAVES ME IN A BAD MOOD. DO THE SAME TO THE TIMES OF ZAMBIA
It is tax payer funded, why should it be in Chinese ?
Mast is a private paper you dull man. My taxes pay for this useless PF times of Zambia
Times of Zambia is a paper owned by the people of Zambia. It survives on tax payers money. So, the tax payers have the right to ask.
Zambians who want to believe this article can verify with times of zambia and check if this article is truely there.
MPs for PF is everything happening in this country correct? In Parliament what ever motion is brought by PF MP is yaaa, yaaa. We consider you to be parents of people who elected you. Why should Times of Zambia be using Chinese language, what benefit are we getting for using Chinese language here. Have you ever heard them using Nyanja, Bemba, Tonga or Lubale, Lozi in China. May be it is poverty?
we should have one of these MP’s read translate the chinese article in parliament
its not poverty, but that the leaders of Zambia have become dumb and deaf ready to be slaughtered, they have closed there eyes deliberately and are not ready to listen to any wise words from their own people but are ready to digest whatever the Chinese people advise them, its that bad, am suprised even our mother the Vice president Inonge wina is tolerating such nonsense
OUR GOVERNEMENT SCHOOLS(GRADE 1-4) USE LOCAL LANGUAGES……NONE OF THE MINISTERS ‘CHILDREN GO TO GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS…… NOW THE TAX FUNDED NEWSPAPER PRINTS IN CHINESE…. AT LEAST IN BEMBA OR NYANGA BECAUSE PF IS FULL OF BEMBAS AND EASTERNERS….. PF IS A CONFUSED PARTY THAT IS STUCK IN ITS OWN SINS…………EVERYDAY IT IS CONTROVERSY AND LIES…….
Ati point of Order, not making any sense at all i mean at all…… but you send you children to study in china. Times of Zambia continue publishing to make money. Ba Minister, have you ever taken time to know why this is happening? Take meaningful issues to the house for the benefit of that person walking 25 kilometers for medical attention in your constituency…
Publishing to make money ? That paper is tax payer funded , the majority of who don’t speak Chinese, why should the majority be discriminated against ?….unless PF are making Chinese an official language because of money, not for any other reason…
Edgars official language which he cant even read him self, I am sure most of the comms in PF will be printed in this language so that they can include their newly acquired members…….chinks
An excellent observation by Jack Mwiimbu. What irrationality this is! Yet, we await patiently the speaker’s ruling.
pa last zambia is full of cadres with no brains.Ague if you want.
We wil surpass zimbabwes problems if we keep going in this direction
When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it. – Frederic Bastiat
Is it true that CHILDISH is a plunderer?
SHRARON, for once just shut your gob!
We are monkeys for sure, how is China allowed to advertise in Chinese? The Chinese are really taking Zambians for a ride.
Is it true that Musankwa is a monkey?
There are plenty of newspapers in china printed in english as i been there so who cares
Tell to set up their own newspaper printing firms, so that they create more jobs , this why we tell you that we don’t hate the Chinese but how you doing business with them.
English is an official recognized language in China. It’s in their school curriculum from Grade 1 for all first tier cities and Grade 3 for other cities. For your own information, official subjects from Grade one to High school are Chinese, English and Maths. All students from Grade 1 to Grade 12 take English as a must.
What are these fox scared of. The Chinese are our Partners. They cant understand that the Chinese are a major economy? Come on lets focus on real issues.
You full, this is a real issue. Times is run by your taxes.
You call yourselves “christian nation” and yet you have sold your national sovereignty to the buddhist.
With English being the official Zambian language there should be no public information signs written in Chinese. No newspaper should print in Chinese because that would be tribalism of the worst kind – FOREIGN TRIBE. All Chinese coming to Zambioa must be able to understand and communicate in the local official language of English. Otherwise we are inviting Chinese illiterates to come and stay here.
Our local language is not published in news papers but Chinese language being published in our news papers .shame
No to Chinese news in our country Zambia but possibly they can come here and create some f*ckn jobs for my fellow tax payers though its full of b*sht. I can f*ck I can bunku ’em all If with powrs
-Prof Lumumba said”those with power lack brains and ideas but those without power have a lot of ideas and brains”…
-So let’s sit down and watch how the Chinese are taking over our country on a fast rate…
-If the head of state has become a yes bwana yes bwana to what ever the Chinese want..
-What happens to a common citizen working for a Chinese company???
When people say you have sold the country, you refuse