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File: President Rupiah Banda with his supporters at Lusaka City Airport before departure for Eastern Province to open MMD provincial Conference
PRESIDENT Banda is today expected to travel to Luapula and Northern provinces on a two-day working visit during which he will also officially open MMD provincial conferences in Mansa and Kasama.
This is contained in a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday by special assistant to the President for press and public relations Dickson Jere.
The President will today travel to Mansa where he will officially open the MMD provincial conference tomorrow which is expected to elect a new party leadership in Luapula ahead of the national convention.
After opening the Luapula conference, President Banda and his delegation will proceed to Northern Province where he will open another conference in Kasama on January 17.
The MMD has so far successfully held five provincial conferences in Central, Copperbelt, Eastern, North-Western and Western provinces.
President Banda will be accompanied to Luapula and Northern provinces by MMD national chairman and Deputy Minister of Lands Michael Mabenga, MMD chairman for elections and Minister of Works and Supply Mike Mulongoti, Parliamentary Chief Whip Vernon Mwaanga and other senior Government officials.
The President and his delegation are expected to return to Lusaka after completing the scheduled business in the two provinces.
Meanwhile, President Banda has expressed grief at the death of the mother to senior private secretary Rapson Chilufya, Elina Fulenge, who was 79. She died on January 14 at Ibenga Hospital. President Banda implored the bereaved family not to lose hope during the time of bereavement.
This is according to a statement issued by the press and public relations unit at State House. Mrs Fulenge is survived by six children and grandchildren.
Maamba Colliries (MCL) Coal Processing Plant (CPP) which is being replaced for a modern one
Maamba Collieries (MCL) in Sinazongwe district in Southern Province is expecting machinery to start arriving in the country in the first week of March to resume mine operations.
Chief Executive Officer Kalunga Mumba disclosed this when Vice President George Kunda toured the mining area today saying the thermal power plant had been earmarked to start operating after 29 months.
Mr. Mumba said the Chinese contractor would work on the thermal power Plant and about 600 people would be employed.
He explained that within six months the contractor would be on site to start working on the thermal power plant that would use coal to generate power.
The Chief Executive officer also pointed out that U$20 million had been planned for environmental protection which would include tree planting around the open pit area and for recycling water.
He added that U$6 million would be used to expand the water treatment plant for both domestic and commercial use.
Mr. Kalunga further informed the Vice President that the company had also planned to build 600 houses for its employees at the Council and Kabula areas reapctively once negotiations were completed with local leadership.
The Vice President was accompanied to Sinazongwe by Southern Province Minister Elijah Muchima, Sinazongwe District Commissioner (DC) Oliver Pelete and other senior government officials.
THE Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ) has instituted investigations to ascertain the extent of contamination Konkola Copper Mine (KCM) has caused to the Kafue River before imposing sanctions against the mining company.
This is the third time KCM has polluted the Kafue River.
And KCM says it is ready to co-operate with the ECZ investigation into January 10 incident and has already been working in close liaison with the regulatory authority, having reported the Muntimpa Power failure within two hours of occurrence.
In a statement issued on January 14, KCM says the power outage led to the failure of the pumps at its Muntimpa tailings disposal site in Chingola.
Immediately after the power outage, two plants, the concentrator and the Tailings Leach Plant (TLP), were stopped and the matter was reported to the ECZ, the Mines Safety Department and local water utility firm Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company as a precautionary step.
The statement says ECZ officials were on site for preliminary investigations and took samples from the Kafue River and Mulonga pump station. All the readings proved to be within the allowable parameters.
The statement says KCM welcomes the ECZ’s investigation into the matter and is prepared to provide any information that might be needed.
Making the submissions to the Parliamentary Committee on Energy, Environment and Natural Resources, ECZ executive director Paul Banda said the ECZ is investigating KCM to establish the source and cause of pollution to help Government to take appropriate action to prevent such incidents in future.
Mr Banda said this in response to a question from the Committee chairperson, Kankoyo member of Parliament Percy Chanda (Patriotic Front), who wanted to know the measures ECZ and Government are taking to prevent KCM from polluting the Kafue River and the environment.
But Mr Banda said the ECZ is disappointed at the failure by KCM management to adhere to the Environmental Protection and Pollution Control Act which is currently under review.
“KCM has failed to put in place adequate measures to prevent the pollution of the Kafue River.
“We have instituted investigations to ascertain the extent of damage the effluent has caused to Kafue River before taking action. This firm is not adhering to the Environmental Protection and Pollution Control Act. We are going to take action against the company to protect the health of people,” Mr Banda said.
He said it is important for KCM management to invest in modern technology to prevent environmental pollution.
“This is not the first time KCM has polluted the Kafue River and we are now worried about the health of people.
“The maintenance of the plant is a problem. The entire Copperbelt Province has been highly polluted by mining firms and other companies. So we have to do something to address the situation,” Mr Banda said.
In 2007, the ECZ ordered the mining firm to close its tailings leach plant after it polluted the same river, the main source of water for residents on the Copperbelt.
More than 300 bags of maize have gone to waste at Kazungula’s Manyemu-nyemu satellite depot in Southern Province after being soaked with rains.
The development has incensed District Commissioner Albert Chifita who wandered why maize was rotting when Government had given FRA tents for proper storage.
The District Commissioner also took to task a maize buyer Anderson Mfuzi who failed to give a logical answer on why the maize was soaked.
Mr. Chifita told Manyemu-nyemu residents that Government could not afford to waste resources by buying maize in bulk which would only go to waste saying such scenarios should be avoided.
But Kazungula District Cooperative Union Marketing Manager Mwachila Mwiinga expressed ignorance about the rotten maize.
Mr. Mwiinga said all the Depots were given tents and Manyemu-nyemu was given six tents to protect the maize bought.
He also revealed that at Ngwenzi Satellite Deport there was still maize awaiting collection because all transporters suspended the exercise due to the bad state of the road.
“For Ngwezi, we are in the process to talk to Mulobezi Railways to bring it here at the Holding Depot”, he said.
Mr. Mwiinga further assured the nation that the maize would not be soaked at the Holding Depot.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world’s largest retailer, has applied to Zambia’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to buy Massmart Holdings Ltd.’s operation in the southern African country, the commission said.
A final decision on whether to let the company operate in Zambia will probably be made before Feb. 26, the Lusaka-based competition agency’s spokesman Brian Lingela said in an e-mailed response to question yesterday.
“They are seeking authorization for the acquisition of 51 percent of the issued share capital of Massmart in Zambia,” he said.
Wal-Mart is seeking to buy 51 percent of Johannesburg-based Massmart to help boost sales internationally. The South African company operates Game stores in Zambia. Massmart shareholders are to vote on the transaction on Jan. 17.
The commission wants to ensure Wal-Mart doesn’t “restrict or distort competition to an appreciable extent in the relevant market,” Lingela said.
Lucky Msiska has said he is almost resigned to his under-23 team playing without any foreign-based players against Zimbabwe in Harare next week.
Zambia and Zimbabwe Under-23 teams will meeting on January 22 at Rufaro Stadium in their Maputo 2011 All-Africa Games preliminary round return leg match with the latter leading 3-2.
Msiska said the possibility of striker Fwayo Tembo of FC Basel in Switzerland featuring in the return leg was bleak.
“The club have said they will not release him because it is not a Fifa match date and they only planned to release him for just one game,” Msiska said.
Fwayo played in the first leg on January 8 held at Nkoloma stadium in Lusaka.
“It looks like I will only feature the players I have at home, there is nothing much I can do,” Msiska said.
And Msiska and his team are in Chingola en route to DR Congo on Saturday where they will face TP Mazembe in a friendly on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Zambia women’s national team on Saturday hosts South Africa in an Olympic Games first round, first leg qualifier at Nkoloma Stadium.
South Africa who hold a six-to-one win edge over Zambia in seven meetings since 1993 will be looking to avenge their first ever defeat at the hands of Zambia that they suffered exactly a year ago in the Fifa Under-20 Cup qualifier.
Zambia won 2-0 in the return leg in Lusaka to pick-up their first ever win over South Africa in a women’s football competition but bowed out 6-2 on aggregate.
Government has announced that Hundreds of people have been arrested and detained in Mongu in Western Province for threatening the country’s peace and security.
And Government has confirmed that two people died today in Mongu following violent activities.
Home Affairs Minister MKhondo Lungu also disclosed that five people have been arrested in Lusaka for inciting people in Mongu to engage in riotous behaviour.
On culprits arrested in Mongu, Mr. Lungu said they were arrested after they went on rampage destroying property and pelting stones at police officers, and attempting to set ablaze a filling station.
He said Government would not tolerate such behavior from a group of people agitating violence hence jeopardising the lives of other innocent citizens and the nation’s security.
The Minister told journalists at a press briefing in Lusaka today that Government would do everything possible in its powers to ensure that all those involved in the violence were brought to book.
He said it was the Government’s duty to ensure that the lives of Law abiding citizens and the country’s peace were protected.
[pullquote]“Zambia is one, and as Government we will not dialogue with anyone over the issue and we urge people to desist from engaging in violent activities or risk being arrested” Mr. Lungu said.[/pullquote]
And Mr. Lungu has stated that Government would not dialogue with anyone over the Barotse Session Agreement of 1964 as it had the potential to divide the nation.
He said no part of the country would be separated from the rest of the nation as a result of few selfish individual.
“Zambia is one, and as Government we will not dialogue with anyone over the issue and we urge people to desist from engaging in violent activities or risk being arrested” Mr. Lungu said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Lungu has confirmed that two people have died in Mongu following today’s violent activities.
He said among the dead was an innocent child who was killed by a stray stone from people who were pelting stones at police officers while the other person was shot at by police as he attempted to burn a filling station.
)Youths blocks the road that leads to the palace during the riot in Mongu over the Barotse agreement.
The Minister said police were left with no option but to shoot the person as the consequence would have been grave, if he was left unchecked.
‘’It’s not that the police take pride in killing people but it’s just that they were left with no option as setting a filling ablaze was going to result in serious consequences” The Minister said.
Mr. Lungu has since advised Mongu residents to remain calm as the situation was being adequately addressed by law enforcing wings.
And The Baroste Royal Establishment has been prodded to come out in the open and help address the issue surrounding Barotseland Agreement of 1964.
A senior citizen in Mongu Evans Musialela sounded the call following violent activities that ensued in the district Friday morning prompting business stoppages.
Mr. Musialela said the BRE was to blame for the current situation in the Province because it had not taken keen interest in issues surrounding the Barosteland agreement of 1964.
All Government and Private schools, and business houses in Mongu remained closed in fear of the impending fracas by youth groups advocating the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement of 1964, in both Limulunga royal village and Kapulanga compound,
Radio Liambai was equally closed down by police and its equipment confiscated but efforts to contact the Manager Mukeya Liwena over the matter revealed that he was out of Mongu.
Remains of burnt car on the main street as a result of riots in Barotseland
A check by a ZANIS crew at most schools in the district found that all school going children did not report for classes on Friday.
Business was equally affected as shop owners did not open their shops forcing business activities to ground to a halt.
Meanwhile, police officers and other security wings were on the ground to quell riotous youths who attempted to go ahead with the meeting which was scheduled to take place in Limulunga royal village.
Some youths in Kapulanga compound mobilised tyres and burnt them barricading Limulunga road to motorists.
MMD Eastern province chairman Kennedy Zulu in blue
Eastern Province Movement for Multi-party and Democracy (MMD) Chairperson Kennedy Zulu has appealed to the party cadres in the province to respect public service workers.
Speaking on a Good governance programme on radio Maria yesterday, Mr Zulu advised the cadres to embrace public servants because they are carrying out government works which aims at improving the life of every Zambian.
Mr Zulu said there is need to encourage civil servants to support the government of the day for them to effectively implement developmental programmes.
He also emphasized the need to respect traditional leaders who he said are the custodians of people of various tribes.
Mr Zulu said chiefs and headmen guide both their subjects and political leaders on various developmental issues hence the need to ensure that they are respected.
And Mr Zulu says the recruiting new members to the ruling party must be done by convincing people about the visible developmental programmes taking place in the province.
He said the construction of schools, hospitals and roads is visible and people can appreciate the developments that have been brought to various areas.
Mr Zulu reemphasized the need to support President Rupiah Banda if developments of social and economic sectors are to continue.
He observed that the province has seen a number of developments during the two years of President Banda’s rule.
He stated that apart from the schools, hospitals and roads; President Banda has reduced poverty at household level through subsidized farming inputs.
Luapula province minister Besa Chimbaka has charged that the opposition in the country have run out of campaign ideas and have thus resorted to empty criticism of government social and economical development programmes.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with ZANIS yesterday, Mr Chimbaka charged that the opposition political parties do not have agenda to stick to.
He has told off the opposition political parties that are not able to tell the people what their parties are capable of doing when in power.
He advised the opposition to stop undermining the achievements the MMD government has continued to score especially in the Luapula province.
The provincial minister said the negative criticism on government will not deter its focus to ensure that various development projects are undertaken in all parts of the country including Luapula province.
Mr Chimbaka said the opposition must convince Zambians what they will offer them instead of hiding their manifestos and taking to enticing the people to believe government is not doing enough.
The minister said Zambians will not accept such people because they have nothing to deliver.
He accused some of the opposition party leaders as people who have questionable character and may just perpetuate plunder of government resources.
Mr Chimbaka said that everyone has been witnessing how President Rupiah Banda’s government is developing the country at a fast passé.
He further advised people in Luapula province to ignore all sorts of violence during the period of campaign.
Two people have died following the riot in Mongu today over the Barotse agreement. Home Affairs Minister Mkondo Lungu confirmed the two deaths and arrest of about hundred people in connection with the riot.
And Government has said that it will not condone any group of people that will continue spreading hatred, tribalism and violence in the country.
Acting government spokesperson Dora Siliya said that anyone who wants to take the law into their own hands will be dealt with firmly to send a signal to all thinking that government is soft on the matter.
Youths block the road that leads to the palace during the riot in Mongu over the Barotse agreement.
Ms Siliya has called on people of Western province to remain calm and not to allow the situation to worsen.
Addressing a press in Lusaka today, Ms. Siliya said it was unfortunate that the group calling itself the Black Bulls are taking advantage and misleading youths.
Ms. Siliya said youths should be vigilant and ensure that they are not victims as they will only be the ones to be exposed to the police.
She said it is the reason why government has sent a full force of police to diligently deal with the matter in the province.
And Radio Lyambai in Mongu has been closed. Sources at the radio station confirmed to QFM that the radio station was closed this morning when police stormed the station and confiscated computers.
The source says the station was closed for airing voice pops of people on the Barotse agreement.
Remains of burnt car on the main street as a result of riots in Barotseland
Sikalamba bridge along the bottom road from Sinazongwe to Gwembe
VICE President George Kunda has directed the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) and the ministry of works and supply to repair three bridges that have been washed away along the Bottom road in Sinazongwe district.
The Vice president who inspected the damaged bridges along the Bottom road yesterday said the situation must be handled as an emergency because some areas have been cut off from the rest of the country.
Mr. Kunda issued the directive when he addressed a mammoth rally at Maamba mine stadium in Sinazongwe yesterday.
The Vice President was on arrival accorded a ceremonial welcome by the valley Tonga Budima traditional dancers.
Vice President Kunda said during his tour of road infrastructure in the district, he had seen for himself the massive damage to bridges caused by floods in the valley district.
He said it is for this reason that DMMU under his office, together with the ministry of works and supply, should quickly repair damaged bridges and easy the suffering of the people.
Vice President Kunda assured thousands of Sinazongwe residents who attended the rally that government remains committed to the reconstruction of the Bottom road which he said was so dear to the
people of the three valley districts of Sinazongwe, Gwembe, and Siavonga.
He also assured the residents that government through the ministry of tourism and natural resources will look into the problem of the swelled population of crocodiles on Lake Kariba which have become a big threat to human life.
Vice President Kunda said during his meeting with Chief Sinazongwe, the traditional ruler had raised concern about the increasing number of people killed by rampaging reptiles on the lake.
And the Vice President has said government through ZESCO will electrify the shores of the entire stretch of Lake Kariba to attract more tourists and tourism enterprises.
He said government has good plans to develop the valley districts and called upon the people to support the programmes aimed at boosting economic development.
The Vice president is on a tour of five districts of southern province inspecting development programmes.
He is today expected in Kalomo where he is expected to inspect various developmental projects before addressing a public rally in the afternoon.
He is accompanied by livestock and fisheries deputy minister Albert Mulonga and community development deputy minister Adonis Mufalali.
Lusaka mayor Daniel Chisenga(R) -His office was allocated 10 Plots
THE Patriotic Front-dominated Lusaka councillors and officers have allocated themselves over 80 plots at the Lilayi Housing Development Project in a swap deal.
This followed the swapping of Farm 915 in Lilayi between the Lusaka City Council and Messrs Lilayi Housing Development. The plots went to the mayor and his deputy, town clerk and some members of staff.
According to minutes of the second ordinary meeting of the plans, works and development committee held at the Civic Centre on November 17 last year but read during the third ordinary meeting on January 3 this year, out of the 102 plots at the site, council officials allocated themselves 82 plots while 11 went to members of the public and eight to litigation.
The minutes obtained by the Zambia Daily Mail in Lusaka on January 13 also show that 45 plots have been allocated to councillors, 10 to the office of the mayor, five to the office of the deputy mayor and another five to the town clerk’s office.
Members of staff have been allocated 16 plots, office of the councillor for Lilayi Ward 4 has two plots, litigation eight plots and members of the public only receiving an allocation of 11 plots.
During the meeting, the acting director of legal services presented a report on the allocation of plots at Lilayi Housing Development Project. Members were informed that following the successful swapping of the land, a meeting attended by the acting director of legal services, acting director of city planning, Lusaka mayor Daniel Chisenga, Kanyama member of Parliament Gerry Chanda and the chairperson of plans, works and development committee discussed the allocation of properties in Lilayi.
The acting director of city planning said the Lilayi Housing Development Project had provided the council with temporary numbers to be used to identify properties before the formal numbering was done by the Commissioner of Lands.
It was also learnt that following the meeting held on December 23 last year, the councillors, acting director of legal services and acting director of city planning agreed that provisional offer letters be issued pending a formal decision by the plans, works and development committee.
It was at that point that the acting director of legal services availed the meeting with the proposed format of allocation of the plots to councillors, mayors, town clerk, members of staff and the public and a few for litigation.
Before this meeting, the acting director of city planning had tabled a report on the proposed land swap between the Lusaka City Council and Lilayi Housing Development Farm 915, Lilayi.
It was planned that the area would be serviced with water, sewer system, street lights, paved roads, storm water drains and street scape in addition to the erection of a wall fence with one secure entrance.
Committee members were informed that the piece of land measured approximately 6.3 hectares comprising 102 residential plots on an average of 400 square metres which the council valued at K40 million per plot, considering the difference in land value between the unserviced Lusaka City Council land (Sub A/915) and that of the Lilayi Housing Development.
The committee was told that plot beneficiaries would be required to pay a premium as top-up on the value of the land.
During discussions, the committee learnt that should the council agree to the land swap proposal, Messrs Lilayi Housing Development would proceed to develop some roads leading to their site to bitumen standard level at their own cost.
Other proposals presented to the committee meeting included the regularisation of stands 25090 and 25091 in Emmasdale and the existing commercial plot off Mumbwa Road, creation of two commercial plots on the Great East Road Chelston area, residential stands near Parliament compound and a plot on Commonwealth Avenue next to Petroda Filling Station.
Members who attended the meeting were a Mr C Msiska (chairperson), a Mr J Ngosa (vice chairperson), a Mr P K Chabala, Colonel Chanda (Kanyama MP), a Mr M Daka, Mandevu MP Jean Kapata, J. Mandeva, J. Njebe, Lusaka Mayor Chisenga and his deputy as ex-officio members of the committee.
THE women’s movement has called for the immediate arrest of Kasama Central member of Parliament Geoffrey Mwamba for allegedly threatening violence against his sister-in-law.
The Non-Governmental Organisation Co-ordinating Council has also demanded his resignation from Parliament.
But the police are still investigating the matter before they can make any move, Lusaka province commanding officer Mhlakeni Zulu said in Lusaka on January 13.
Zambian National Women’s Lobby public relations officer Nelson Banda said the law enforcement agencies should not hesitate to arrest Mr Mwamba because threatening violence is a criminal offence.
On January 11, Mr Mwamba allegedly threatened violence against Doreen Mwamba, his younger brother’s wife, over a debt of K11.5 million which he reportedly refused to pay.
“The police should cage Mr Mwamba until he is proven innocent. He is a danger to the well-being of women,” he said.
Mr Banda said in an interview in Lusaka on January 13 that no one is above the laws of Zambia and that Mr Mwamba should not be spared. He said Mr Mwamba is not fit to be an MP because his behaviour is a disgrace to the house that makes laws.
“Parliament is an honourable house and we cannot afford to have people like Mr Mwamba,” Mr Banda said.
He said MPs are supposed to take the lead in enforcing what they preach in Parliament, instead of doing the opposite.
Mr Banda said the majority of voters in Zambia are women and that Mr Mwamba should be wary of his actions.
“Very soon Mr Mwamba will be soliciting for votes from the same women and he should not be surprised if he is not re-elected to Parliament,” he said.
Women and Law in Southern Africa regional co-ordinator Matrine Chuulu said it is disrespect for an MP to threaten violence against a woman.
“The National Assembly is currently revising the amended Anti-Gender Violence Bill through its parliamentary committees on legal affairs, governance, human rights and gender matters which Mr Mwamba is part of and the behaviour he is exhibiting is uncalled for,” she said.
“Parliamentarians should be championing zero tolerance against gender-based violence,” she said.
And Leadership in Development executive director Moses Kalonde has given the Patriotic Front (PF) leadership a 48-hour ultimatum to discipline Mr Mwamba, failure to which it will mount a massive demonstration to force Mr Mwamba to resign on moral grounds.
Mr Kalonde said it is the responsibility of the PF leadership to deal with Mr Mwamba.
Non-Governmental Organisation Coordinating Council (NGOCC) chairperson Beatrice Grillo said she is disappointed with Mr Mwamba’s behaviour of perpetuating violence against women, especially that it is barely three months after he allegedly assaulted his wife.
“It seems Mr Mwamba is not remorseful. We reiterate our call for Mr Mwamba to step down as a member of Parliament for Kasama Central as he is not fit to be a leader. He lacks leadership qualities,” Ms Grillo said.
She said gender-based violence in any form should be condemned because it does not resolve conflict.
Ms Grillo said Mr Mwamba allegedly has a history of violence and wondered which other cases he has been involved in that have not been reported.
“As the women’s movement, we urge Mrs Mwamba (Doreen) and indeed any others who may find themselves in similar situations not to accept out of court settlements as this makes the perpetrators continue committing violence on others,” Ms Grillo said.
Meanwhile, Mr Mwamba has accused the MMD of using his sister-in-law to tarnish his political career.
But MMD acting national secretary Chembe Nyangu denied the allegations.
And Mr Mwamba’s brother George (Doreen’s husband) said the issue will be resolved within the family.
Mr Mwamba was speaking at a press briefing at his residence in Lusaka on January 13.
THE Zambia Police Service has maintained that the planned meeting today by a group calling itself the Linyungandambo and the Barotse Freedom Movement (BFM) remains cancelled and protesters will be arrested if they go ahead.
Western Province police commanding officer Peacewell Mweemba said the police will arrest anyone who will attempt to assemble in Limulunga.
“The organisers of the meeting have been informed that their meeting has been cancelled and those who will attempt to defy the order should be ready to collide with the law,” Mr Mweemba said.
He said the message of the cancellation of the meeting planned for today is clear and those who will want to test the law will find out what it means to break the law.
Northern Rhodesian provinces in the 1920s
The Linyungandambo group and the BFM are insisting on a meeting which they are calling the Limulunga Declaration.
Sources within the Linyungandambo and the BFM say the planned meeting will go ahead with or without a police permit. The sources said the Linyungandambo is not calling for violence and that there is no need for the police to surround the Limulunga Village, the royal home of the Litunga.
“We are peaceful people. We have always been peaceful and all we want are our rights,” one source said.
[pullquote]He said the message of the cancellation of the meeting planned for today is clear and those who will want to test the law will find out what it means to break the law.[/pullquote]
So far, the situation is calm. In the market place in Limulunga, some people are not even aware of what is going on and are wondering who the Linyungandambo is representing.
Some teachers at Limulunga Basic School described the planned meeting as a scandal which Government should not allow.
The teachers said it is not right for the Linyungandambo and the BFM to cause confusion and panic in Mongu because Zambia is a country of many tribes.
The teachers said those who are threatening to expel non-Lozi-speaking people from Western Province should also start calling for Lozis outside Western Province to go back to the province.
The Western Province administration has named a Mr Maxwell Mututwa as the man who is allegedly behind the clandestine acts of calling for secession. A team of senior citizens in Mongu early in the week went to Senanga to meet Mr Mututwa to urge him to stop his activities.
The Linyungandambo and BFM have been going around homes in Mongu and Limulunga asking for donations towards the planned meeting.
Meanwhile, REBECCA CHILESHE reports that the Kuomboka Kufuluhela Committee of Lusaka has endorsed the stand of the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) that discussions on the Barotseland Agreement should focus on a unitary state.
Committee chairperson Oliver Saasa said during a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday that it is important to resolve the issue.
Professor Saasa said as a cultural association, the Kuomboka committee would like to assure all ethnic groups in Western Province and outside that anyone who recognises past kings of Barotseland who brought tribes together must recognise members of these tribes as equals.
He said besides, there is no such tribe as Lozi as the Lozi group consists of many ethnic and tribal groups and the Lozi language itself is not even originally Zambian but a derivative of the Sesotho language following the invasion of the Barotseland by Kololos.
“The committee would like to call upon both Government and the BRE to provide the needed leadership in facilitating dialogue as this is the only way that unresolved issues can be dealt with,” he said.
File: Delegates to the MMD eastern province conference casting their votes for the new leadership.
By Daimone Siulapwa
Following the violence experienced in the Mufumbwe parliamentary by-election last year, whose results have since been nullified by the Lusaka High Court, there is genuine, and understandably so, concern that the general elections to be held later this year, may not be free and fair.
But truth be told, this is not the first time that we are having violence in an election. We all, or atleast the majority of us remember the Mkaika, Chawama and Mapatizya formula. Most of the people who were involved in this violence are still active political players, and more worryingly, they have not come out in the open to condemn violence or to urge their supporters to restrain from possible violence.
Otherwise, one of the persons to have been singled out as instigating violence is Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) Lusaka province chairman William “Tekele” Banda.
Those who know him from his days as governor in the Eastern province during the UNIP understand the man perfectly well. But make no mistake, he is not the only one – there are a lot of his kind not just from within the MMD but also from the opposition ranks.
But singling out individuals as being in the forefront when it comes to election violence is not necessarily solving the problem. Why have we reached a stage in our democracy where we have to use violence during elections? This is a far more important question than most people realize.
This violence comes against a background, where as a nation, we have always prided ourselves in being a peaceful nation. While almost all our neighbours have had to deal with violence in the various stages of their history, we have largely remained a peaceful nation.
That includes our return to multi-party politics in 1991. While the country could have easily descended into chaos if Dr Kenneth Kaunda, then State President, had refused to accept the results which gave the MMD a landslide victory, he showed how true a Statesman he was by conceding long before the last vote could be counted.
However, since then, all subsequent elections organized under the MMD government have largely failed to inspire confidence, and have ultimately ended-up in the courts of law.
This started with the 1996 general elections which were boycotted by then biggest opposition party, UNIP, who claimed that the voters roll, popularly known as the Nikuv, did not inspire confidence that free and fair elections could be held.
Against all advice, Dean Mungomba, exuding confidence with his Zambia Democratic Congress (ZDC) went on to participate in the elections, believing they stood a good chance of winning. Well, let us just say, they only managed to win two Parliamentary seats with President Frederick Chiluba winning about 58 percent of the Presidential vote. This election also resulted in a petition in our Supreme Court.
After that, followed the 2001 elections, which were also fiercely contested as there was no incumbent running. The number of presidential aspirants were a record 11, Levy Mwanawasa (MMD), Anderson Mazoka (United Party for National Development), Christon Tembo (Forum for Democracy and Development), Godfrey Miyanda (Heritage Party), Tilyenji Kaunda (UNIP), Michael Sata (Patriotic Front), Nevers Mumba (National Citizens Coalition), Ben Mwila (Republican Party), Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika (Agenda for Zambia), Gwendolyn Konie (Social Democratic Focus) and Yorum Shamapande.
Again, the outcome of the result was highly controversial with Mwanawasa winning by only a few percentage points. The aggrieved parties, mainly Mazoka, Miyanda and Tembo went to court again with a petition. After a long-protracted hearing and ruling, the court ruled in favour of Levy.
The 2006 elections were no different ,if not better. The two main opponents were Mwanawasa and Sata who had worked hard to build his party into being the main opposition party despite only having one MP in 2001. Again, it was closely contested with Mwanawasa winning by a few thousand votes. Sata was not impressed, he went to court. Same story happened in the 2008 presidential by-election won by Rupiah Banda of the MMD although Sata withdrew the petition later saying the outcome in the courts of law was almost a foregone conclusion.
That said, why do end up with election petitions all the time we have general elections? The answer is simple, few people except perhaps the ruling party have confidence in the electoral system. Few doubt whether the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) is capable of holding free and fair elections. Many people believe the body is a stooge if not an appendage of the ruling party.
With that therefore, one way to ensure that we have credible elections results respected by all is to work at our electoral system. We certainly do not want a situation similar to that one obtaining in Ivory Coast or indeed the one we saw in Zimbabwe and Kenya.
On the other hand, the violence we have been witnessing in recent elections has got everything to do with our political players failing to articulate issues. This is also evident in our media, where we have seen very little intercourse in terms of policy and issues. What we have are mostly personalities with little on how they are going to improve the lives of the Zambians.
With this lack of policy issues, when they go into a campaign, instead of addressing the problems affecting the area, all they will be doing is attacking each other, using, mostly unemployed youths drawn outside that constituency or even district and province in certain cases.
The result of all this is that the electorate is unable to freely express their view through the ballot, which in itself is an affront to democracy. As we therefore gear towards the general elections, we would want to see political players addressing more issues as against personalities.
