The governments of Zambia and Mozambique have yesterday signed eight legal instruments on bilateral relations which will enhance the living standards of the people of the two countries in many areas.

And President Rupiah Banda and President Armando Guebuza have reaffirmed their governments’ commitment to ensure that the instruments that have been signed are implemented for the benefit of the two countries’ citizens.

The instruments include agreements on transport and communications, tourism and civil aviation and five memorandums of understanding (MoU).

The MoUs are on mineral resources, education, disaster management and early warning, establishment of cooperation ties between chambers of commerce of the two countries and the last one on exchange of students of National Institute of Mozambique and Diplomacy Institute of Zambia.

Minister of Communications and Transport Geoffrey Lungwangwa signed the instruments on behalf of the Zambian government while Mozambique Minister of Foreign Affairs Oldemiro Baloi and Paulo Zucula, Minister of Communication and Transport for Mozambique signed for their country.

The signing of these instruments at the Office of the President of Mozambique was preceded by private talks by the two presidents and discussions by ministers and government officials from the two countries.

At the State Banquet held at the Ponta Vermelha Palace, an official residence of the President of Mozambique, President Banda said the instruments will further strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

He said the two countries share a lot of cultural, political, social and economic relations hence the need for them to increase their cooperation in many areas of economic and political development.

He said the two countries have made a lot of progress in many areas, including the central banks’ plans to repatriate their local currencies when trading.

President Banda said this will undoubtedly increase the two countries’ wealth and consequently improve the living standards of their peoples.

He has also praised Mr. Guebuza for promoting good and democratic governance in his country.

Earlier, President Guebuza congratulated President Banda for being elected to chair a SADC committee on defence and security policy, saying this will help improve peace situation in some countries of the Southern African region.

He paid profound tribute to the role Zambia and her citizens played in helping liberate a number of countries in the region.

He said Lusaka was and will remain in the political liberation dictionary of many countries in Southern African region because of hosting many freedom fighters from other countries.

He added that Zambia was one country that was key in the promotion of regional integration.

President Guebuza also praised Zambia for her economic growth registered in the recent past and expressed confidence that President Banda’s leadership will further enhance these developments.

President Banda, who arrived yesterday morning in Maputo for a three day state visit, will today travel to Beira to tour facilities at the port in the northern part of the country.

First Lady of Zambia, Thandiwe Banda and her Mozambican counterpart, Maria da Luz Dai Guebuza, also attended the State banquet hosted in President Banda’s honour by Mr. Guebuza.

ZANIS

The National Revolution Party (NRP) has observed that Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata has a personal vendetta against former second republican president Dr Frederick Chiluba.

NRP Secretary General Kelly Walubita Jr. said the continued attacks on the former Head of State were regrettable and unfortunate.
Mr Walubita Jr. said the attacks on Dr. Chiluba by Mr Sata were setting a bad precedent on the Zambian politics.
He was speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today.

He described the attacks on Dr Chiluba as immature and without merit.

And Mr Walubita Jr. has advised both the opposition leader and civil society organisations to respect the verdict on Dr. Chiluba by the court of law.

Mr Walubita Jr. said it was uncalled for Mr Sata to maintain that Dr Chiluba is a thief and a non-repentant person when the courts of law have vindicated him.

He said that the judiciary is an autonomous body which operates independently.

Meanwhile, Mr Walubita Jr. has disclosed that his party is over-whelmed by the youths who have so far registered as voters in next year’s tripartite elections.

He disclosed that his party is working closely with the Electoral Commission f Zambia (ECZ) sensitizing the youths on the importance of voting.

Mr Walubita Jr. added that he toured Chawama and Kanyama where he was pleased to see many young people participating in the national programme.

[ ZANIS ]

By Henry Kyambalesa

I am shocked by the National Constitutional Conference’s decision to retain Articles and Clauses in the 1996 Republican constitution which require the president to make appointments to ministerial positions from elected or nominated members of parliament. Such Articles and Clauses are outdated, backward and outrageous for a burgeoning democratic system like ours.

The appointment of the Vice President, Provincial Ministers and Deputy Ministers should be from Zambians who are qualified to be elected as members of parliament (MPs), but who are not MPs for the following reasons:

(a) It can afford a Republican president or President-elect a larger pool of competent people from which he or she can appoint ministers;

(b) It can provide for greater separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of the government;

(c) It can afford presidential aspirants enough time to identify potential ministerial appointees well before tripartite elections rather than waiting for parliamentary elections to be concluded;

(d) It can lead to distribution of income to more citizens and thereby reduce existing income disparities; and

(e) It can reduce the apparent work overload on government officials who have to handle both ministerial and parliamentary functions. (Instead of increasing the number of constituencies because some constituencies are assumed to be too large to be handled by a single MP, would it not be wise for MPs to tend exclusively to their legislative functions?)

Apart from failure to discern the benefits of such a change and the apparent resistance to change, the opposition to the proposal concerning the appointment of ministers from the general public at large seems to be aimed at according greater control of the legislative arm of the government by the Republican president through ministers, and protecting the president from impeachment.

McDonald Chipenzi, for example, has quoted Ms. Mutale Nalumango as having said that the government rejected the recommendation to appoint ministers from outside parliament, saying doing so would put the president in a precarious position because he or she would have no control over parliament and, in the case of an impeachment motion, he or she would be vulnerable. (McDonald Chipenzi, “Government Rejects Recommendation by ERTC to Reduce Voting Age,” The Post Online, February 26, 2005.)

And the argument by Gabriel Namulambe that “it would be difficult for ministers who are appointed outside parliament to execute their duties as they would not understand issues affecting people at the grassroots tells us volumes about the emptiness of some of the government officials who are appointed to serve the people. This is clearly an insult to so many competent and hardworking Zambians who actually understand the problems facing the citizenry and are diligently serving their fellow citizens every day in various positions, but are not MPs.

One does not really need to be an MP in order to understand the socio-economic problems facing the common people. It is, therefore, foolish for anyone to belittle the intellect and competence of Zambians who are not MPs to effectively serve their fellow citizens in ministerial positions.

There is actually the possibility that the ruling political party would want to use the Articles and Clauses relating to the appointment of government ministers as a campaign tool in 2011 by telling voters that they should not vote for presidential candidates from political parties which do not have a majority in parliament, because such candidates will have problems in finding competent individuals among their few MPs to form government.

We should, therefore, not be surprised if the MMD adds this issue to its current arsenal of rehearsed campaign tools, including the following: that we should not experiment with leadership; that the president needs more time to complete his projects and programs beyond 2011; that voters should not vote for presidential candidates from political parties which do not have a majority in parliament because they will not be able to pass new laws; that voters should vote for parliamentary candidates fielded by the ruling party because such candidates will have ready access to funding; that voters should not expect development to take place in their areas if they vote for candidates from opposition political parties; and that one can never become president unless he or she is meant to be.

I have a few caveats for voters who are likely to be hoodwinked by such meaningless campaign tools: many of the current crop of government leaders are deadwood and, therefore, do not hold the key to Zambia’s future; any new Republican president would be obliged to adopt and implement projects and programs initiated by previous administrations which are designed to benefit communities nationwide; any new Republican president would be able to run the country with existing laws; Zambia needs leaders who recognize citizens’ right to vote for candidates of their choice without being threatened that their communities will be excluded from the development process if they do not vote for candidates fielded by the ruling political party; and an individual can become president if he or she is meant to be only through coronation, not through genuine elections!

THE PF/UPND Pact is neither sustainable nor viable because of the ethnic and regional support bases mainly among the Bemba and Tonga speaking people, an opinion poll conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has revealed.

The poll conducted in five provinces of Zambia indicates that because of the ethnic and regional dynamics, the pact alienates other non-Bemba and non-Tonga tribes and has the potential to induce an anti-Bemba and anti-Tonga political mobilisation.

More than 1,000 respondents in the five provinces were sampled, giving a confidence level of 95 per cent reliability, with a margin of error of +/-2.

The poll conducted last month over a two week period in Lusaka, Southern, Copperbelt, Luapula and Northern provinces interviewed 50 per cent women and 50 per cent men.

The tribal inclinations of the respondents could be seen in the choice of candidate between the two leaders.

PF president Michael Sata and UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema’s support was drawn almost exclusively from their ethnic bases.

Of the Bemba speaking people surveyed for the poll, 65 per cent preferred Mr Sata compared to 20 per cent for Mr Hichilema as leader of the pact and 2011 presidential candidate.

The same was true for Mr Hichilema among the Tonga speaking ethnic group interviewees.

Of the Tonga speaking people surveyed for the poll, 67 per cent preferred Mr Hichilema compared to 13 per cent for Mr Sata as leader of the pact and possible presidential candidate in the 2011 polls.

The poll also revealed that between the UPND and PF, the latter has its highest support in Luapula, at 60 per cent but has the least support in Southern Province, at 17 per cent.

On the other hand, UPND enjoys maximum support in Southern Province, at 50 per cent and the lowest in Northern Province, at six per cent.

“While these survey results cannot easily be generalised for the whole population, they are highly representative of national public opinion in as far as the PF/UPND pact is concerned and electoral preferences of the electorate,” the poll reveals.

It is also clear that whoever is eventually selected to be the Pact presidential candidate would not necessarily receive endorsement of the other party to the pact.

While the results indicate that the supporters of the pact would have no problem supporting the other candidate in an event that their preferred choice was not selected, ethnic and regional dynamics would militate against that.

The findings of the poll strongly suggest that both PF and UPND are highly dependent on an ethnic vote and their support bases may not favour a situation where their candidate was not selected.

In the event that their preferred candidate was not selected, they would then prefer to go it alone.

Age and education are not significant factors in the support for both PF and UPND. What seems to be more important are tribe or ethnicity.

The dominant position of the Bemba-speaking people in the five provinces partly explains PF’s electoral support.

It would be important to undertaken a nationwide survey to determine the electoral support of Mr Sata and PF on one hand and that of Mr Hichilema and UPND on the other hand.

The poll report concludes that the PF/UPND Pact is not sustainable or viable given its ethnic and regional support bases drawn mainly among the Bemba and Tonga-speaking people.

The Pact potential alienates other non-Bemba and non-Tonga tribes, thus inducing an anti-Bemba and anti-Tonga political mobilisation.
[ Times of Zambia ]