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Zambia has called on African countries to improve on their education systems in order to compete favorably worldwide.
General Education Minister David Mabumba says provision of quality education will make Africa better and stronger.
Mr. Mabumba was speaking in Maseru, Lesotho during the 10TH Conference for the Africa Federation of Teaching Regulatory Authority (AFTRA).
He said provision of quality education should be a shared aspiration to all African countries, as such, Zambia remained committed to ensuring that teachers delivered quality education.
Mr. Mabumba said that Zambia, under the leadership of His Excellency President Edgar Lungu would support initiatives aimed at improving education.
He said aspirations for a developed Africa would only be realized once learners are taught by professionally qualified and productive teachers.
Mr. Mabumba urged (AFTRA ) member countries to ensure that the teaching profession was adequately researched and well regulated.
He expressed happiness that Zambia has already operationalized the regulation of the teaching profession through the establishment of the Teaching Council of Zambia.
The Conference attracted the participation of over 10 African countries that included Nigeria, Cameroon Ghana and Kenya.
Other countries are Zambia, Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, and Tanzania among others.
The Lumwana copper mine is located about 100 km west of Solwezi in Zambia’s Copperbelt. (Image courtesy of Barrick Gold.)
Reuters Agency Report that Barrick Gold Corp, the world’s second largest bullion miner, is preparing its Zambian copper mine Lumwana for sale in the second half of 2019, looking to target Chinese buyers, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Fresh from two major deals in recent months, Barrick has said it plans to shed $1.5 billion of less productive mines, which have little expansion potential.
It included Lumwana among the possible sales, as a relatively low-grade copper mine whose margins could be materially affected by Zambia’s new mining code and import duty. Analysts value the mine at up to $500 million.
Barrick is holding discussions with investment banks about appointing advisers to the sale, the sources said.
Two of the sources said that a bank with links to Chinese companies was likely to get the advising role for Lumwana.
Barrick didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The group is looking to enter talks with Chinese state-owned companies including Aluminum Corp of China, known as Chinalco, and China Minmetals Corporation, which have been seeking growth abroad and a foothold in Africa, lured by its vast resources.
The sale process, however, may not be easy, the sources said, as the potential acquirer will have to be comfortable with the risk associated with tax changes in Zambia.
Africa ’s second-biggest copper producer, is determined to enforce a new 5% copper import duty and also plans to replace value-added tax with a non-refundable sales tax as part of a plan to keep a greater share of mineral resource profits for the country and tackle its debt.
The new taxes also include a royalty on copper production that increases as commodity prices rise.
Zambia has overcome opposition of some of the world’s biggest mining companies, betting that a global need for its resources, particularly copper, essential for manufacturing electric cars, and cobalt, used in lithium-ion batteries, will keep the tax receipts flowing.
Diversified miners Glencore, Vedanta Resources and First Quantum also operate in the southern African country.
The sale of Lumwana doesn’t signal a complete exit from copper assets for Barrick. The company is interested in acquiring assets that include both copper and gold, and pure copper projects if it has a competitive advantage over traditional copper miners, Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow told Reuters last week.
Over the past six months, Barrick closed a $6.1 billion acquisition of African miner Randgold Resources and formed a joint venture with rival Newmont Goldcorp to combine operations in U.S. Nevada to create the world’s biggest gold complex.
The government of eSwatini on Tuesday angrily denied viral online reports that King Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch who has 14 wives, had ordered men to have at least two marriages or face jail.
The story, carried by the Zambian Observer and picked up by several other online publications, said that Swazi men would have to marry several wives starting from June.
As well as 14 wives, King Mswati has more than 25 children and a reputation for lavish spending while 63 percent of his 1.3 million subjects in the kingdom formerly known as Swaziland live in poverty.
The government of eSwatini on Tuesday angrily denied viral online reports that King Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch who has 14 wives, had ordered men to have at least two marriages or face jail.
The story, carried by the Zambian Observer and picked up by several other online publications, said that Swazi men would have to marry several wives starting from June.
As well as 14 wives, King Mswati has more than 25 children and a reputation for lavish spending while 63 percent of his 1.3 million subjects in the kingdom formerly known as Swaziland live in poverty.
The story, first published on Monday, said the government would sponsor marriage ceremonies and offer houses to men who entered into polygamous marriages.
It said the king “has declared in… Swaziland that men will from June 2019 be required to marry at least two or more wives or be jailed if they fail to do so”.
Government spokesman Percy Simelane called the story “malicious” and “poisonous”.
“His Majesty has not made any pronouncement to that effect as it has never been an issue raised,” by the people, Simelane said.
He said the story was “not only an insult to the monarchy and the culture of eSwatini but a disgrace to journalism”.
The government has demanded that the newspaper retract its story.
Zambia’s Ambassador to France Dr. Christine Kaseba-Sata
TWELVE (12) Paris Descartes University Medical Students have secured Medical supplies to be donated to health centers in six (6) villages of Livingstone, Southern Province.
The Students, who are scheduled to travel to Zambia next week for forty two (42) days on a “Twabuka Project” in Southern Province intend to construct an infirmary at Twabuka Primary School near Livingstone as well as pay for a weekly visit by a Health Professional.
And Zambia’s Ambassador to France Dr. Christine Kaseba-Sata was amazed and encouraged by the level of enthusiasm exhibited.
Ambassador Dr. Kaseba-Sata, a physicianand surgeon, specialized in gynecologyand obstetrics gave the Students a comprehensive talk on contemporary health development issues in Zambia.
“it is gratifying to note that out all Countries in the continent you picked Zambia for your project. The government under the able Leadership of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu is committed to the Universal Health Coverage agenda as evidenced by the implementation process of both the Seventh National Development Plan 2017-2021, and the National Health Strategic Plan 2017-2021, which are resultant and offer the necessary guidance towards achieving the Nation’s vision 2030”.Ambassador Dr. Kaseba-Sata said.
The Ambassador noted also that efforts were being made to improve distribution of health facilities at all levels and enhancing the capacity of healthcare personnel as well as supply of essential drugs and medical supplies Nationwide.
The Students have partnered with two associations namely Solidarité étudiants médecine (SOLEM) and Paving the Way to School (PWS) who are already working on different projects in Zambia.
Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Hon. Christopher Yaluma
Government says it is in the process of revising the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Policy, in order to develop an economic empowerment policy that will promote entrepreneurship and economic growth in the country.
Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Christopher Yaluma says the new economic empowerment policy which will be aligned to global trends, is cardinal in expanding opportunities for economic growth, through enhanced job and wealth creation.
ZANIS reports that Mr Yaluma said the revision of the policy will enable Zambian entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and contribute to the socio-economic development of the country
.
The minister said this when he officiated at the 2019 Zambia Entrepreneurship Summit in Lusaka yesterday.
Mr Yaluma disclosed that the Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) in partnership with the Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA) is developing an entrepreneurship curriculum that will focus on mentoring, coaching and financing entrepreneurs.
He noted that the Entrepreneurship Summit creates a platform for Zambia’s entrepreneurial and business community to network, showcase their business ideas, and explore financing options, and advance business and market opportunities.
He said government remains committed to creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurship development and that the summit will help connect youths and women led enterprises to established businesses, financers, investors, and policy makers, in order to help grow their businesses.
Mr Yaluma also commended the Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission for re-engineering its focus on entrepreneurship development by focusing on the establishment of business centres with information and technology components.
The minister also praised Wecreate Zambia for lending out to over 9,000 women, and called for strengthening of economic empowerment programmes for women in entrepreneurship.
And speaking at the same event, United States of America Ambassador to Zambia Daniel Foote said that entrepreneurship has a pivotal role to play in Zambia’s socio-economic development.
Ambassador Foote said the US government will continue to support entrepreneurship programmes in Zambia because they offer a lifeline to youths and women in the country.
The US Envoy said Zambia should consider boot camps to promote the development and nurturing of entrepreneurship ideas among young people.
Ambassador Foote said the US government will in partnership with Wecreate Zambia and HIVOS launch an Academy to support women participation in entrepreneurship in the country.
Wecreate Zambia Executive Director Nambula Kachumi urged entrepreneurs in the country to take advantage of the summit, and foster partnerships with financiers and investors, in order to expand their businesses.
She said entrepreneurship is key to Zambia’s next step in economic development.
The summit which was held under the theme Entrepreneurship and Innovation; The future now, Leaving no one behind, was attended by over 140 exhibitors.
Government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the environmental protection and worldwide fund for nature (WWF) which is aimed at ensuring that the environment is managed sustainable.
Ministry of Water Development, Sanitation and Environmental Protection Permanent Secretary Bishop Ed Chomba has stressed his commitment in making sure that managing the environment and water sector is priority.
And the Permanent Secretary also pointed out that addressing the effects of climate change that the country has been experiencing calls for concerted efforts from all stakeholders because of the danger it poses.
Bishop Chomba indicated that his ministry attaches great importance to the environment and water because they are key drivers of the economy.
Speaking during the signing ceremony Bishop Chomba also stated that with the dry spells that the country experienced during the last farming season, his ministry is currently constructing water reservoirs in the eight provinces to reduce dependency on rainfall.
He described the signing of the MOU with the worldwide fund for nature as a significant milestone because it spells out the awareness of the value of environmental and sustainable exploitation.
He further assured the nation that government remains committed to the attainment of effective natural resource utilization and environmental conservation as well as improved environmental and resource management.
Chipolopolo coach Aggrey Chiyangi has disclosed that no Zambia Under-23 player will be summoned for 2019 COSAFA Cup duty following the rescheduling of their 2019 U23 AFCON qualifiers.
CAF has administratively shifted the U23 AFCON qualifiers from June to September due to the senior AFCON that kicks off in Egypt on June 21.
Zambia U23 were due to host Congo-Brazzaville in their final round first leg match on June 5 in Lusaka and travel to Pointe Noire for the last leg on June 9.
Both Chipolopolo and Under-23 team’s simultaneously kicked off their weekly training camps in Lusaka last week ahead of their respective June assignments.
Chipolopolo ,who have been handed a COSAFA Cup group stage bye, will enter the competition on June 2 in the quarterfinals of the tournament South Africa is hosting from May 25 to June 8 in Durban.
“The only unfortunate thing is that there is a provisional list that was submitted last Thursday; meaning that these other (Under-23) players cannot be included,” Chiyangi said.
Nkwazi goalkeeper Charles Muntanga and his club mate and defensive midfielder Kebson Kamanga are some of the notable Zambia U23 players who also on the Chipolopolo roaster.
The other Under-23/Chipolopolo players are Zesco United defender Shemmy Mayembe and Buildcon midfielder Lameck Banda.
“But we are working hand-in-hand with the Under 23 technical staff because there is also the 2020 CHAN qualifiers coming up so some of the players will be included in the CHAN team that will go into camp after the COSAFA tournament,” Chiyangi said.
Zambia will face Botswana in July in a 2020 CHAN second round qualifier.
Nkana will be searching for their first win in four matches when they visit Napsa Stars on Wednesday in a rescheduled FAZ Super Division match at Woodlands Stadium in Lusaka.
Struggling Kalampa last won on 27 April when beating FC MUZA 2-1 at home in Wusakile, Kitwe.
Fifth placed Napsa have 22 points, three ahead of seventh positioned Nkana, who have played two matches less.
Both teams recorded draws in their last Stream B matches at the weekend.
With two round of matches left to play in the season, Nkana coach Beston Chambeshi admits Nkana are almost out of the title race.
Nkana are 13 points behind Stream B leaders Green Eagles despite having two un-played matches.
“We just have to maintain our status in the league,” Chambeshi said.
Nkana beat Napsa 3-1 in the first round match played on February 6 at Nkana Stadium.
A 45 year old witch-doctor of Samfya district in Luapula has been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment with hard labour for indecently assaulting 5 elderly people.
Appearing before Justice Mary Mulanda, Bernard Mumba of Mansa district, was slapped with 10 counts of indecent assault contrary to Section 137 clause 1 of the Penal Code Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia; as amended by Act number 15 of 2005.
Facts before the High Court were that on August 20, 2018, Bernard Mumba a witch-doctor of Samfya district willfully and unlawfully assorted Edward Kasuba, Cecilia Mushibwa, Bupe Chitomombo, Delfista Kabumbe and Albina Chapela.
The witch-doctor accused the five people of causing death using witchcraft of a boy who fail off a bicycle and died.
Mr Mumba ordered the accused persons to sleep on the ground and then rolled on them as a way of exorcising them of the charms they possessed in full view of the public.
Mr Mumba continued the exorcism by taking the 5 elderly people to the grave yard where he assigned each of them with a grave and ordered them to undress, which they willingly did in fear of being lynched by the public.
The defendant however denied ordering the accusers to undress saying they are the ones who took him to the graveyard to prove how they practised their witchcraft.
Justice Mulanda read the facts before the court that in addition to the ten counts of indecent assault, the Subordinate Court in Mansa district charged him with conducting activities at the graveyard without a permit from the relevant authorities.
In mitigation, the accused begged the court to exercise maximum leniency on him, saying he was a first offender who also regrets his actions.
Mr Chavula told the court that his client has a sick wife and six children who have no one to provide for them.
In passing judgement, Justice Mulanda noted that after carefully considering the facts, it cannot be denied that the convict ordered the 5 elderly persons to sleep on the ground and also to undress by the grave each was assigned.
She said she does not accept Mr Mumba’s statement that he did not order the accusers to undress for he was the one who was in charge of the whole process.
Justice Mulanda said she is satisfied that the evidence in this matter supports the sentence of indecent assault of all the 10 counts.
She then sentenced Mumba to 18 years on each count to run concurrently adding that he has the right to appeal within 30 days if he is not satisfied with her ruling.
Former UPND President Geoffrey Mwanba meeting with PF Secretary general Davies Mwila while the party’s media director Sunday Chanda looks on
Patriotic Front (PF) Secretary General Davies Mwila has stated that the ruling Party will listen to the people on the National Dialogue Forum (NDF) proposal to reintroduce Deputy Ministers.
Hon Davies Mwila was speaking when he welcomed former UPND Vice President Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba (GBM) to the Party Secretariat this afternoon.
And responding to a question from the media on whether the Party had u-turned on Deputy Ministers, the Secretary General assured the general public that the ruling Party will listen and do exactly what the Zambians will say on the matter.
“On the question of reintroducing Deputy Ministers, the Patriotic Front will listen to the people. In the meantime NDF is sitting and we’ll wait for the process to conclude but we’ll listen to the people”, emphasized Hon Mwila.
On Sunday, the National Dialogue forum by consensus endorsed the amendment of the constitution to re-introduce the position of Deputy Ministers in a measure aimed at resolving the gap that was created in the management of government ministries following the 2016 Constitution that abolished the position of Deputy Ministers.
The NDF further announced that it was exploring avenues to strengthen the position of deputy ministers for them to act as Ministers in the absence of their superiors because in the past arrangement deputy Ministers were not clothed with constitutional powers to act as Ministers in the absence of their superiors.
NDF further said that the proposal to re-introduce the position for deputy ministers was aimed to save money Government spends on maintaining the large number of permanent secretaries, the national dialogue forum has proposed.
Hackers were able to remotely install surveillance software on phones and other devices using a major vulnerability in messaging app WhatsApp, it has been confirmed.
In April 2017, Zambia’s ICT regular ZICTA sensationally claimed that it had the ability to disable any communication devices and read personal messages including on platforms such as WhatsApp.The claim was dismissed by many WhatsApp users who stated that the messaging app’s end to end encryption makes it impossible to hack.
But on Monday, WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, said confirmed an attack which it said was targeted at “select number” of users, and that was orchestrated by “an advanced cyber actor”.
The attack was developed by Israeli security firm NSO Group, according to a report in the Financial Times.
On Monday, WhatsApp urged all of its 1.5 billion users to update their apps as an added precaution.The attack was first discovered earlier this month.
WhatsApp promotes itself as a “secure” communications app because messages are end-to-end encrypted, meaning they should only be displayed in a legible form on the sender or recipient’s device.
However, the surveillance software would have let an attacker read the messages on the target’s device.
“Journalists, lawyers, activists and human rights defenders” are most likely to have been targeted, said Ahmed Zidan from the non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists.
The flaw involved attackers using WhatsApp’s voice calling function to ring a target’s device.Even if the call was not picked up, the surveillance software would be installed, and, the FT reported, the call would often disappear from the device’s call log.
WhatsApp told the BBC its security team was the first to identify the flaw, and shared that information with human rights groups, selected security vendors and the US Department of Justice earlier this month.
“The attack has all the hallmarks of a private company reportedly that works with governments to deliver spyware that takes over the functions of mobile phone operating systems,” the company said on Monday in a briefing document note for journalists.
The firm also published an advisory to security specialists in which it described the flaw as: “A buffer overflow vulnerability in WhatsApp VOIP [voice over internet protocol] stack allowed remote code execution via specially crafted series of SRTCP [secure real-time transport protocol] packets sent to a target phone number.”
A 27 year old man of SS compound Chiwempala road in Chingola district on the Copperbelt Province has been burnt to death in a suspected arson case.
Copperbelt Police Commissioner Charity Katanga who confirmed the development in Chingola today, identified the deceased as Nelson Muhango.
Ms Katanga said the incident is believed to have occurred on May 13, 2019 around mid-night at house number 3 Chiwempala road, where the deceased resides.
She noted that the late Mr. Muhango died of suffocation following the burning of his cabin.
She added that Peggy Muwowo aged 59 years of house number 5017 R Section Chiwempala, who happened to be the mother of the deceased, reported the matter to the police.
Ms Katanga noted that the body of the deceased has since been taken to Nchanga North General Hospital Mortuary, and that investigations into the matter have been instituted.
Government has revealed that about 17 people are admitted to Mpulungu urban clinic for suspected cholera.
Mpulungu District Commissioner Dennis Sikazwe has confirmed the development to ZANIS in Mpulungu today.
Mr Sikazwe said the Ministry of Health has since recommended that schools be closed for the period of one week to ensure that the situation is contained.
He added that all operations of ferrying people from Mpulungu to Nsumbu in Nsama district, by boats has been suspended for the period of one week.
And Mr Sikazwe has revealed that the ministry has put up measures to sensitise people on the need to maintain high levels of hygiene during this period.
The District Commissioner has also urged people to work with the medical staff at the health facility, in order to control a further spread of the disease.
He has also urged people to report all suspected cholera cases to the nearest health centres.
And in Mbala, five people have been admitted at Tulemane clinic for suspected cholera.
Sources from Tulemane clinic who sought anonymity confirmed the development to ZANIS in Mbala yesterday.
And Mbala District Commissioner, Kedrick Sikombe who could not confirm the matter has promised to give a detailed report once he gets details from the Ministry of Health in the area.
MMD President Dr Nevers Mumba on Monday addressed the House of Assembly in Calabar, Cross River State in Nigeria where he was in invited by Bishop Dr Emma Isong to be the main Preacher at the Promotion Oil Conference hosted by his Ministry.
Dr Mumba said the House of Assembly was convened for this Special Address, a first in the history of this distinguished Legislative institution.
Below is his full speech
ADDRESS TO THE MEMBERS OF CROSS RIVER STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY BY THE FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA, AND PRESIDENT OF THE MOVEMENT FOR MULTIPARTY DEMOCRACY, HIS EXCELLENCY REV. DR. NEVERS SEKWILA MUMBA ON 13TH MAY 2019. CALABAR, NIGERIA
INTRODUCTION
Mr. Speaker,
It is my distinguished honor to address such an illustrious assembly of Lawmakers.
I bring you tidings of goodwill from my nation of Zambia. The two peoples of Zambia and Nigeria share wonderful relations from their inception. We both fought shoulder to shoulder to demand for the release of Nelson Mandela and the subsequent independence of South Africa. It is for this reason that within weeks of his release from prison, Nelson Mandela made Zambia and Nigeria as the first ports of call to say thank you.
Unfortunately, twenty-five years later, the young South Africans have missed their history classes and have decided to start killing the so-called foreigners from other African nations upon whose shoulders their independence was secured. Mr. Speaker, the xenophobia that has gripped South Africa has left a huge scar on the conscience of a continent that needs to unite and not to disintegrate.
I am aware that your presence in this house represents more than your individual desire to serve, but falls within God’s mandate for each one of you. A mandate which must be pursued with morality, integrity and great courage.
Mr. Speaker,
In 2003, I stepped into Zambia’s National Assembly for the first time, not only as a Member of Parliament but also as Leader of Government Business having held the office of Vice President of the Republic of Zambia. While it was my greatest joy to serve, I was also aware that I was under the watchful eye of the Lord, God who saw it fit to clothe me with that honor. Today, I have continued to serve my country in the opposition as Leader of the former ruling party, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, MMD.
I pray and hope that all of us in this distinguished house are alive to the fact that God has a divine purpose for your presence here. It remains your responsibility to uncover that purpose.
You represent a wing of government which does not only legislate but also holds the two other arms of government to account, the Judiciary and the Executive.
Until and unless you succeed in moral legislation and as an effective watchdog to the other two wings of government, you would have come short of your mandate. To legislate with integrity and to challenge the excesses of the other two wings of government in Africa can sometimes be a nightmare. It demands for great courage.
The international community, African Scholars and commentators have constantly reminded us of the hopeless state of our continent. They have painted the dark and gloomy picture of failure of leadership on the continent. The unprecedented corruption levels, the abuse of democratic tenets, including blatant rigging of elections, the absence of freedom of speech, assembly and association. They have rightly identified endemic poverty, disease and exploitation of the poor. It is with shame that I concede that these observations are unfortunately true. But this is our Continent, we cannot just become analysts of our own doom. We must find a way to turn our mess into a success story. My policy as an opposition leader in Zambia is to fight and differ, sometimes bitterly with the party in government, but when I step outside the boundaries of my country, I put on honorable robes of an ambassador. I speak well of my country and invite investors to come to my country. I have stretched this same policy to Africa. While on the continent, I raise serious concerns of our collective failures but when I visit other continents, I become a defender of my continent.
Africa has been abused. It has been exploited. It has been impoverished by both colonial powers and now, our own ruling class, whom we have entrusted with power to get us out of poverty.
In 2003, not only did I become the Leader of Government Business in Parliament but I was also the first Full Gospel Pastor to become Vice President of Zambia. My ethos is that, “the equitable delivery of goods and services to any people depends on the morality and integrity of its leaders.”
NEW HOPE FOR AFRICA:
Mr. Speaker,
Africa shall become the world’s leader not far from now. We are already classified as the world’s richest continent and rightly so. We are already credited with the fastest growing church in the world. We are already credited with the fastest growing youth population. All the fundamental pillars that make a people to succeed are in place. The greatest deposits of minerals and precious stones are here in Africa. Africa has abundance of water, great landmass for agriculture and a vibrant workforce hungry for work. All this resource is surrounded by fauna, beauty and priceless tourism attractions.
Besides all these gifts from God, we have endured pain, depravation, hunger, poverty, disease and lack of equitable development. We have paid our price. The prison sentence of pain must now come to an end. Scripture says, “Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.” Africa, our morning is at hand.
PREMIUM ON AFRICAN LEADERSHIP:
To answer the problems that surround us, we must DECIDE to place a premium on LEADERSHIP.
Leadership that thinks outside the box.
Leadership that thinks the future of the continent.
Leadership with morality and integrity.
Leadership that invests in our youth and inspires them to take our continent to heights unknown before.
We need a new leadership all around us. The healing of Africa depends on the quality of leaders we choose for ourselves. There is no magic to the rising of the African continent. All the basics are in place, but we must now invest in a strong moral leadership.
But I am also here to raise a serious objection to the assumption that the problems of Africa can be mitigated simply by asking African leaders to implement the right policies.
The current problem of Africa is not a lack of good policies or a lack of funding to implement those policies, but a consistent carelessness in the choice of its leaders. Africa has continued to use flawed electoral processes that keep away the competent, disciplined and honorable candidates from ascending to positions of power. Until Africa places a premium on leadership, all the grand ideas of mitigating the challenges of the continent will only be a pipe dream. I am convinced that, the equitable delivery of goods and services to any people depends on the morality and integrity of its leaders. Until we achieve this, our many good efforts shall continue to be in vain.
THE CHOICE OF LEADERS
Mr. Speaker,
The choice of leaders of morality and integrity is threatened by the alien system of choosing leaders in most of our nations. Democracy operates more effectively in an environment where the voters are educated and enlightened. In most of Africa, the electoral processes serve the interests of the powerful few who manipulate the outcome of elections using money and riding on both the poverty and ignorance of the electorate. I am of the view that in order for my continent to encourage leaders of morality and integrity to lead, we must interrogate and challenge the current electoral processes, which continue to bar those who wish to play by the rules. The question we must not be afraid to answer is whether Democracy in its current shape is helping our quest for a moral leadership on the continent of Africa. To make Africa great, we must invest in great leaders of morality and integrity. We must change the rules of electing our leaders and create new systems, which are not hostile to men and women of integrity. Most electoral systems in Africa favor the corrupt, who are morally bankrupt and have no passion nor heart for their nations. Such politicians forget that rigging elections is rigging the very future of their own children.
Africa is no longer a child. She has now matured at age sixty after birth at independence. We must now choose our own systems as opposed to those systems we inherited from our colonisers. We must be bold enough to choose our own clothes, food and type of education we give to our children. We must make our own laws away from those of the British Crown. We should not be carbon copies of the British. Some of the laws they left with us have caused us more harm than good, because they were meant to serve their interests only. In most former British colonies we have been left to deal with laws like the public order act whose original intention was to stop Africans from gathering and plan their struggle for independence. Today, this piece of legislation has become the darling of Africa’s oppressive regimes. It is now used to deny the opposition permission to hold meetings. African dictators are using it more effectively than the colonizers themselves.
Yes, some practices of the colonizers can still linger on until we find our own paths, but I personally don’t see the wisdom of us still wearing the heavy, hot white wigs our judges and speakers wear in the hot weather of Africa. If we don’t mind the heat, at least we can change the color of the wigs to reflect the color of our hair. It is called growth. It is called maturity. It is called being weaned off the British breast. At sixty, I think we are ready to let go of the British breast. Time to beat our own path is here. We are looking to the African Parliament to deliver us from the shackles of post colonization hang over. But I must confess that Nigeria continues to make Africa proud in many ways. You wear your own clothes, you eat your own food, you watch your own movies and continue to lead the race of Pan-Africanism. Please do not relent.
Mr. Speaker,
I subscribe to the notion that to strengthen democracy in Africa, we need to strengthen institutions of governance and insist on the principle of separation of powers: The Judiciary, Legislature and the Executive. I however hold the view that Africa is in dire need of leaders of morality and integrity. Institutions in Africa are only as sacred as the quality of leaders in charge of nations. Mr. Speaker, I wish to submit that the key to Africa’s healing and prosperity lies in a new moral leadership.
THE ROLE OF THE NEW LEADERSHIP
The new selfless leadership of Africa must courageously undo the lie that Africa is a God forsaken continent whose future is doomed to persistent poverty and subjugation. The new leadership must rebrand and renew Africa’s name. We must repaint the picture of Africa ourselves. Today’s picture of Africa demands that we depend on foreign powers to live our lives. We depend on Europe, the Americas and China to do for us, things we can do for ourselves. My message has nothing to do with minimizing our role in the global community. We must participate in the global debate and economy. We however must not only take from the global economy but we must contribute to it in real terms as equal partners.
MAKING AFRICA GREAT
Mr. Speaker,
It is time that Africa took charge of her economy. Africa is endowed with resources unmatched by any other continent on earth. We have vast reserves of gold, diamonds, copper, cobalt and emeralds of all shades. We must own these resources by adopting the unpopular policy of Donald Trump. Instead of America, we must say, AFRICA FIRST. This means that all our resources shall be managed by us. The London Metal Exchange has no business determining the cost of our minerals here in Africa. The United Kingdom does not even have a single copper mine. To put Africa first, we must be courageous enough to create a single economic market to determine how we value our products.
It is time that Africa wrote her own books. It is time that Africa printed her own business cards. It is time that Africa sang her own songs, and I must add that it is time Africa paid her own bills. The new leadership shall demand a proper place for our continent. That is in front of the line of the continents of the world.
The stories of overcoming all odds are painted across history. In a shocking upset, young David of the bible defeated Goliath. In the recent past, Liverpool football club stunned the world by beating Barcelona when all hope had been lost. Such is life. Africa’s looming upset of the status quo is at hand, but we must invest in a leadership of morality and integrity for this to happen.
PARTNERSHIP
Mr. Speaker,
I wish to express my deepest gratitude to you for the honor you have bestowed upon me and through me, to my party the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) and my nation Zambia to be the first Zambian to address this House of Assembly. I wish to extend an open invitation to you Mr. Speaker, other Members of Cross River State House of Assembly and the people of Cross River State to visit Zambia and explore ways in which we can do business together. I have been informed that your state is a leader in rubber, rice and cocoa production. We have similar weather pattern to yours in the Luapula Province of Zambia. It would be to our mutual benefit to explore possibilities of partnership in the production of rubber, rice and cocoa in Zambia. We would benefit from your expertise and hopefully, you shall benefit from ours as well.
CONCLUSION
Mr. Speaker,
I do not take this honor to address this House of Assembly lightly. I wish to place this honor on my party the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, the Government of the Republic Zambia and the people of Zambia. May the Lord our God strengthen the bonds of friendship between our two peoples.
God bless you and may God bless our two Republics.
