THE Barotseland Agreement has generated debate in Zambia with various interested parties expressing their views on the matter. Today we reproduce Lusaka lawyer Christopher Mundia’s statement on the agreement.
I wish to state that as one of those that hail from Western Province better known as Barotseland; I am always disgusted to listen to what comes out of Bishop Duffy’s mouth which is akin to a can of worms.
Bishop Duffy and other Catholic clergy cannot speak for the people of Barotseland and Bishop Duffy may not be a Zambian and therefore his allegiance to the Zambian people is minimal.
It is also strange that the Catholic Church with highly educated clergy has chosen to proclaim dooms day language instead of counselling and telling the people the truth.
It has been strange to find that a clergyman who is educated in theology wants to lecture to this world on legal matters.
Bishop Duffy and other members of the clergy who have motives of their own against President Banda’s Administration should not hide behind their so called religious collars because the current record of Catholic clergy world over is that of misery and total disappointment.
The atrocities committed against innocent people by some Catholic clergy in countries such as the United States of America, where the Catholic Church paid over $600 million arising from sexual abuses and scandals of innocent teenagers, the closure of certain institutions in Ireland, in Germany and recently revealed in the United Kingdom during the papal visit to the country clearly shows that the clergy is no longer living by the book for which the priests and bishops were ordained.
Bishop Duffy and the likes in the Catholic Church cannot fool the people of Western Province because in the past six months, I have been to the province three times.
Yes, I agree that Western Province suffered a lot of injustice in UNIP and Chiluba Administration. The province that was the most highly educated province at independence was rendered the least. But since coming into power of the late president Mwanawasa and continued by President Banda, no sensible person can ever say that Western Province is neglected now.
The projects such as Kalabo-Mongu Road, Senanga-Sesheke Road, the forthcoming rail line from North-Western Province via Kaoma, Mongu and Senanga and Sesheke to Namibia and Livingstone, Mulobezi, Sesheke and Namibia are no mean projects.
If we have to borrow to develop our country, we have to do that. Even in Western countries, big economies such as Greece had to borrow to sustain their economies. Is Bishop Duffy not aware of that?
My plea to all my fellow countrymen and compatriots is that this country is ours individually and severally under our Motto of ‘‘One Zambia One Nation.’’
Foreigners should not be allowed to divide us, as Zambians are one in diversity. We should look back to where we came from and where we are going. At Independence, we allowed Dr Kaunda from Northern Province to rule Zambia for 27 years and United as Zambians we voted for Dr Chiluba into office as the second Republican president. We then voted into power the late president Dr Levy Mwanawasa from Central Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces. Following his untimely death, we elected the current president from Eastern Province.
[pullquote]Yes, I agree that Western Province suffered a lot of injustice in UNIP and Chiluba Administration. The province that was the most highly educated province at independence was rendered the least. But since coming into power of the late president Mwanawasa and continued by President Banda, no sensible person can ever say that Western Province is neglected now.[/pullquote]
Looking at this pattern of presidential elections, it is quite clear that most Zambians would like to have a system of guided democracy where the presidents will be rotating according to regions to avoid certain regions being the masters and the others being the servants.
It was very sad to note that some political parties have been promoting tribal politics and candidates from other regions are not wanted.
For example, the remark attributed to the PF Member of Parliament last year that it was wrong for the people of Luanshya to vote for a Luvale from North-Western Province was highly unfortunate.
It was also unfortunate that last year, we had remarks attributed to the current Member of Parliament for Kasama that a Namwanga could not contest for the Kasama Central Constituency because he was Namwanga!
Those remarks were dangerous to our oneness in diversity.
The likes of Bishop Duffy are saying these things because they want the people of Western Province to feel that they are hated by their brothers, when that was not so.
It is very sad that even Archbishop Mpundu can support the unfortunate statement by Bishop Duffy.
To the people of Western Province, I wish to say and endorse what the Royal Establishment has said, that yes, we can have problems of under-development but they are being tackled by this current administration.
We have a new hospital being built in Shang’ombo Boma, a high school at Kaanja, in Shang’ombo District as well.
We have a new high school at Mwandi. We have a high school in Lukalanya Constituency in Mongu District. We have a new high school in Lukulu to be opened in 2011.
To sum up, I wish to appeal to the people of Western Province not to listen to the prophets of doom because doom begets destruction and misery.
Bishop Duffy and any other Catholic clergy that are loud mouthed have no children to worry about, but we worry for the future of our children as they are the future leaders of our nation.
The Catholic Church was antagonistic against the late president Mwanawasa and today with their political quislings are on the same path of destabilising this country.
It is the same Catholic Church that has opposed and continued to oppose the declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation.
Father Mpundu was in Lukulu and I have information that he is a PF sympathiser just as Archbishop Mpundu is defending the undemocratic party of his brother-in-law which party is run by a purported central committee, which committee has neither centre nor commitment to the Zambian people as they have never been elected but hand picked.
I would therefore urge the Zambians to be united and treat each other with dignity and love.
If we are serious about our oneness in diversity, then President Banda should be given every support because he has done wonders in the shortest possible time he has been President.
After he has completed his second term, Zambians under guided democracy should only vote for a president from any of the three provinces, namely Western, North-Western and Southern provinces.
It is dangerous to ignore other regions of our nation and a a good example of a good and stable nation is that of Tanzania where presidents have come from different regions.
My appeal is that parties with rooted foundation in tribalism should never be voted into power because colonialism cannot be replaced by tribalism.
Those fighting President Banda are either racialist or tribalists.
If they are neither of the two then they are poltitical quislings with their own interest to serve through their well defined megaphones.
What is the justification for these daily attacks on the president when the economy is doing so well and was the second best economy in SADC last year in spite of the worst recession in living memory?
The enemies of this country should be ashamed because they did the same thing to the late president and they contributed to his death as he was insulted on a daily basis as is now happening to President Banda.
If the Catholic clergy in Zambia was to be placed under miscroscope, many of them would be found to have committted atrocities such as sexual abuses, adultery and the likes.
That is why it is uncommon to find Catholic priests in queues waiting to be given ARVS because they have made themsevles scribes and pharisees.
Some of them have now rejected the biblical calling of peace makers to the detriment of the church.
The threat by Father Msipu is baseless, hollow and unjustified .
The clergy have never been good leaders in political life as the example of Father Aristed in Haiti speaks volumes.
Bishop Duffy, leave us alone and if you are tired of being a peace maker, please pack up your robes and go home.
