Friday, September 15, 2006

Kazembe whips MMD Cadres

The Zambian election campaign this week turned a dry leaf when Paramount Chief Kazembe in Luapula Province on September 10 ordered that MMD cadres and people campaigning for president Mwanawasa and the parliamentary candidate be whipped.
 
Mwata Kazembe confirmed on September 12 saying the MMD cadres he whipped were foolish and had no respect for his throne.
 
The cadres included five women and a man had gone to Mwata Kazembe's guest house singing and chanting Mumbanga's support songs and those of president Mwanawasa.
 
Mwata Kazembe later took four of the cadres to police where they were locked up around 22.00 hours and were only released on Monday September 11 around mid-day.
 
But isn't this not only a violation of freedom of _expression but also abuse of authority by the chief? It is interesting to what extent these elections are making people do or act extraordinarily!


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Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Just a Dream

In 1964, young at 19 I had high hopes of what Zambia would become once independence was attained on October 24, 1964.
 
In 1968 after working for three years my hopes increased as I entered the University of Zambia to study for my first degree. I was part of the several hundred young under graduates being trained by the UNIP government under first president Kenneth Kaunda.
 
Didn't Kaunda repeatedly tell us that Zambia had less than one hundred graduates at Independence. This was a young country hungry for manpower - for doctors, nurses, teachers, pilots, engineers, mechanics, truck drivers and many other jobs that would turn Zambia into a modern state.
 
I completed my first degree in 1971, did some research in 1972 and by January 1973 I was on my way to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland to study for an MLitt research degree. By December 1975 I had completed a long research thesis with a pretentious title - Approaches to Development in Northern Rhodesia.
 
And I returned to Zambia, still enthusiastic, still among the young men and women ready to take Zambia through its heights. Then came the publishing bug - first very innocent - publishing eduucational books to feed the ever hungry educational system.
 
But another bug entered - writing columns, commenting on the politics of the country - the one party state that befell Zambia while I was out of the country. And yet another bug entered in the form of Sunday Post - a newspaper I started in 1982 that didn't go far.
 
Disillusioned and unemployed - tried farming but drought put paid to that.
 
Then found solace at the American Embassy - Political Assistant - doing everything and nothing for Uncle Sam until that bug - the inquisitive journalist in need of expression returned in 1990. One party states were dying or about to die. Zambia was no exception - people were hungry - they wanted an outlet to express themselves.
 
Thus came a newspaper project that resulted in the Weekly Post (now The Post).
 
The new vision through the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) gave hope but just. As soon as the new rulers came to power in November 1991 the new vision immediately died.
 
Abandoned the Americans for a new battle, a new goal and a new dream. But it is 15 years now - through two governments of Federick Chiluba and one of Levy Patrick Mwanawasa State Counsel  - the dream has faded.
 
It is 2006 and new elections on September 28. The parties and their presidential candidates do not do much for the dream. What will it be? I am still wondering what type of dream it will be.
 
 


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A Look at Zambia's News Headlines

The forth-coming September 28 elections provide the backdrop. In this regard headlines scream at you - Scores Defect to MMD - that refers to the ruling party the Movement for Multiparty Democracy - this is the party that ousted first president Kenneth Kaunda in 1991. The news headline claims people were defecting from United democratic alliance (UDA), the Reform Party of former republican vice president Nevers Mumba and Michael Sata's Patriotic Front.
 
In the same vein Godfrey Miyanda - the Heritage party president is said to be undaunted by the low poll rating. There have been four polls - three suggesting that Mwanawasa will win the elections and one opting for Sata. I agree with Miyanda on one thing - all the polls appeared biased in one way or the other.
 
Amid the politicking ordinary life continues in Zambia. You become aware of this through headlines such as Two survive in Livingstone Plane crash - referring to a chartered plane that crashed in Livingston September 12 - the pilot and his passenger survived. An articulated refrigilated truck carrying chickens to the democratic Republic of Congo crashed and the driver survived. No mention is made about what happened to the chickens in a country that is full of hungry and poverty stricken people.
 
And without a government - all ministers ceased to perform their duties with the dissolution of Parliament and the calling for elections - though vice president Lupando mwape continues to perform his work illegally say the Law Association of Zambia and everyone else.
 
But according to the Law as prescribed by Levy Mwanawasa State counsel - it is important to refer to his being State Counsel (similar to the Queens Counsel in the United Kingdom) - it is legal. In zambia since Mwanawasa became a lawyer president our law is interpreted according to his understanding of the law. That is what he calls a government of laws and not men.
 
And without government - the state still worries about out-of-school children, according to the Ministry of Community Development and social services which has now expressed its concern. The public workers are promised a housing loan scheme while a father impregnated his 18 year old daughter in Kabwe and police arrested him.
 
In Mazabuka the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) opened a depot - the FRA is an agency charged with buying Zambia's crops - mainly maize. Now Mazabuka is one of the district that used to be in the maize growing areas of Southern Province.
 
Other mundane stories include a rural school sending an SOS as it needs K920 million for teachers houses and an ablution block for girls; Mufumbwe chief and some Koreans agree on mining terms, a United States expert on TB says monitor the administration of TB drugs while the frederick Ebert siftung representative in Zambia Gerd Botterweck advises the media and politicians to work in harmony


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Elections Fever Grips Zambia

Zambia is going to the polls on September 28, 2006. Five presidential candidates are fighting for the seat that second Republican president Frederick Chiluba once called very sweet.
 
All the five presidential candidates are promising Zambians heaven once elected to power. First president Kenneth Kaunda on September 13 reiterated his support for young Hikainde Hichilema - the United Democratic Alliance presidential candidate. He denied allegations that he has given his support to Hichilema because two of his sons are in alliance with him. The two sons are Tilyenji Kaunda, the United National Independence Party (UNIP) president who is chairman of the UDA and Kaweche Kaunda who is seeking election as Member of parliament in Malambo constituency.
 
Tilyenji stood and lost the disputed presidential race in 2001 which all observers believed were won by the later Anderson Mazoka but which were rigged in favour of current president Levy Mwanawasa.
 
Hichilema is new in politics. He resigned as a managing partner of Grant Thorton. in his declaration before Chief Justice Enerst Sakala, the UDA presidential hopeful declared assets of over K23 billion acquired in a short period of 15 working years. This has raised a lot of eyebrows because, observers allege, was earned through the administration of liquidated parastatal companies. Further observers allege that Hichilema mismanaged an Export Fund which was supposed to be accessed by business entities. They allege that he created shadowy companies which accessed this fund ahead of other eligible companies.
 
The other controversy surrounding Hichilema relates to the UDA presidential candidate's accession to the United Party for national development's presidence. They allege that Hichilema bought his way to the position and the party. In this regard his detractors claim that Hichilema bought support, first from Anderson Mazoka's widow and later to key members of the party.
 
They further allege that he rose to the party's position through tribalism because most of the people from Southern province belonging to the Tonga tribe publicly proclaimed his candidature. This briefly earned his the tribal tag which has not fully disappeared.
 
Thus first president Kaunda's support has not taken into account all these issues. Asked on Radio Phoenix on the link to his sons and whether he wanted to rule Zambia by proxy - the first president denied all this. However, he came out strongly against one of the most popular candidates Michael Sata, whom he claimed was not presidential material. And with regard to Levy Mwanawasa, the first president claimed Mwanawasa had allowed a known criminal and prohibited immigrant to return to Zambia to continue the plunder of Zambia's emeralds.


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