Politics and Government

Trim Ministerial Positions, Please

Administrator — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The recent massive reshuffles of Permanent Secretaries and government Ministers are a clear indication of President Rupiah Banda’s utmost insensitivity to the expectations of the Zambian people. Instead of trimming his government to make it smaller and more efficient, he seems to be more obsessed with lining up the pockets of his friends, political supporters and sympathizers. It is both irresponsible and inexcusable for Banda to continue to maintain sinecures at public expense while the country drifts further into socio-economic decay and backwardness. In fact, his failure to abolish the positions of Deputy Minister and District Commissioner, and to reduce the size of his Cabinet, defies his own sentiments and the sentiments of the late President Levy Mwanawasa.

In his speech in June 2009, for example, he decried the fact 50% of government’s domestic revenues are spent on 1% of the population, including Ministers, and wondered how provision for roads, hospitals, schools, energy, and defence and security could be met. The late Mwanawasa, too, expressed his misgivings about the bloated government when he revealed that 65% of the national budget was devoted to the sustenance of a bloated state apparatus, and that only a paltry 35% was left for education, agriculture, healthcare, roads and bridges, and so forth.

There is a need to reduce the size of the government to a smaller number of Cabinet portfolios, such as the following:

(a) Education, Training and Sport;

(b) Public Health and Sanitation;

(d) Finance and Revenue;

(e) Commerce and Industry;

(f) Defence and

Security;

(g) Works, Supply and Transport;

(h) Culture and Community

Services;

(i) Justice, Prisons and Immigration; and

(j) Foreign Affairs.

Government functions which cannot be accommodated by these ministries can be delegated to executive government agencies. The savings to be made per year in this regard are enormous, as calculated below using data mainly from the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices (Emoluments) (Amendment) Act No. 18 of 2008.

1) Permanent Secretary:

K102,866,638 Salary

2) Cabinet Minister:

K75,117,124 Salary

K26,382,673 Special allowance

K26,680,000 Utility allowance

K128,179,797 Total

3) Deputy Minister:

K70,953,196 Salary

K24,107,904 Special allowance

K26,680,000 Utility allowance

K121,741,090 Total

By reducing the number of Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Permanent Secretaries for the current 23 government Ministries to 10 Ministries, Zambia would make the following savings:

13 Ministers x K128,179,797 = K1,666,337,361

43 Deputy Ministers x K121,741,090 = K5,194,866,870

13 Permanent Secretaries x K102,866,638 = K1,337,266,294

Total Savings: K8,198,470,525

These savings plus savings from the abolition of the positions of 72 District Commissioners and savings from allocations of automobiles and other assets for affected government officials are enormous.

A radical and fundamental reduction in the size of the national government is the only viable means by which Zambia can ultimately pay off the national debt, reduce taxes and interest rates to stimulate the economy and job creation, and provide adequately for the needs of education, public health, agriculture, public infrastructure, civil servants, civil service retirees, and so forth.

By Henry Kyambalesa

MMD Has Failed to Fight Crime

Administrator — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Current reports by some news sources around the world concerning the unprecedented incidence of crime and xenophobic sentiments in South Africa have got me pondering whether there is anything we can do in Zambia to save ourselves from experiencing a similar situation.

At present, government leaders in Zambia seem to be oblivious to the spate of criminal activities in the country, probably because their families are relatively safe since they are provided with security at public expense. But as the unemployment situation worsens, and as we continue to spill nearly half of the children who enroll in Grades 7 and 9 onto the streets every year, crime is very likely to get out of control and make it difficult for anyone to live, work and/or shop in a safe environment.

Moreover, violence and threats of violence by MMD riff-ruffs against individuals within and outside the MMD party who are perceived to be enemies of President Rupiah Banda and other government leaders have become a serious threat to safety and security in the nation.

So, failure to contain the widespread unemployment, the increasing number of street kids and violence by MMD hooligans and other political thugs is a good reason why it would not be wrong to conclude that the MMD government has failed to address the escalation in crime in the country. Every family and business in Zambia today has been directly or indire ctly affected by robberies, burglaries, van dalism, and other sen seless crimes—but there seems to be little effort by the Ministry of Home Affairs to address the situation.

Let me suggest a few initiatives for addressing the current crime wave in Zambia. Firstly, we need to create a National Crime-Prevention Board and charge it with the responsibility of formulating an effective and efficient national crime-prevention strategy. The Board should be made up of police, pri sons and paramilitary com manding officers, as well as represen tatives of cham bers of commerce and industry, private legal practitioners, and civil rights organizations .

Secondly, we need to seriously consider the prospect of transferring the superintendence over the civil po lice to provincial governments after creating semi-autonomous pro vinces to be administered by elected provincial governors and district mayors—in which case the Ministry of Home Affairs would have to be abolished. Close superintendence over police functions by local gove rnments is more likely to make it possible for police officers to discharge the following duties more effectively: (a) pro tection of life and property; (b) preser vation of peace and prevention of crime; (c) detection and apprehension of law breakers; (d) enforcement of laws and ordinances; (e) safeguarding the rights and freedoms of members of so ciety; and (f) developing sound police-community relations.

The national government should then work with provincial governments th rough the Ministry for Local Government, for example, by allocating adequate financial and material resources to police units in order to enhance their capabilities in terms of communications, transportation, crime-fighting gadgets and equipment, and security cameras for installation in town centers and on major roads and streets.

Thirdly, there is a need to continue with the concept of a Police and Prisons Public Complaints Authority at the district level in order to provide an effective mechanism through which members of the public can be afforded the opportunity to keep the operations and conduct of police and prisons officers in check.

Fourthly, it is important to address the factors that induce criminal activity. Although habitual criminals cannot easily be reformed, creation of adequate jobs by stimulating supply and demand through lower taxes and interest rates can greatly reduce the number of citizens who are likely to engage in criminal activities for the purpose of obtaining financial and/or material resources to meet their basic needs.

We also need to provide for free education, and abolish elimination examinations in Grades 7 and 9. Besides, there is a need for pieces of legislation designed to provide for long jail terms and/or heavy fines for gun-totting.

Fifthly, it would be a good idea to make the training of prisons, corrections, and civil police officers the res pon sibility of the Defence and Secu rity ministry. If such an arrangement can be deemed to be viable, the Lilayi training school could be converted into a Police and Prisons Aca demy designed to prov ide cen tralized, state-of-the-art training for prisons, correc tions and civil police officers. Training costs could be met by the central govern ment, while sti pends and room and board for trainees could be financed by provincial govern ments.

The Academy should also be open for enrolment of trainees spon sored by local security compa nies, and gover nments and security companies in the African Union (AU). Pri vate and foreign govern ment spon sors should meet the full cost of training for their sponso red trainees.

The Academy should also provide for driving lessons to all trainees who would need such training. Selected trainees should be provided with training designed to equip them with skills in operating security helicopters. Eventually, the central government would need to purchase at least 10 helicopters—1 for training purposes at the Academy, and the remaining 9 to be shared among provincial governments for security operations by the civil police. A maintenance facility for the helicopters could be established in Kabwe district.

It is high time we started pursuing radical, comprehensive and realistic policies designed to make it possible for our people to reap the benefits of independence, democracy and economic liberalization within a short period of time. This may sound highly ambitious, but I believe very strongly that we can uplift the majority of our fellow citizens who are currently wallowing in abject poverty through simple, practical and commonsense solutions to the socio-economic problems facing our beloved country.

Funding for these kinds of endeavors can come from savings which can be realized from reducing the number of Cabinet portfolios by merging and/or abolishing some government ministries and agencies, abolishing the positions of Deputy Minister and District Commissioner, reducing the number of foreign missions by having single embassies to cover clusters of countries, and initiating many other cost-cutting measures.

Government revenue would also be enhanced through income taxes on holders of jobs created through lower interest rates and taxes, and the value-added taxes they would pay through purchases of products. These are some of the issues MMD leaders should be contemplating instead of their current obsession with discrediting the UPND-PF pact and enacting legislation designed to regulate NGOs and the private media.

By Henry Kyambalesa

George Kunda in Southern Province

Administrator — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Vice President George Kunda’s visit to Southern Province (reported in the *Zambia Daily Mail* article of November 16, 2009 by Wallen Simwaka entitled “UPND ‘Sold’ to PF) is worrisome, especially that it is designed to sensitize people in the province “about the evils of the pact between Mr. Sata and Mr. Hichilema.”

In the article, Kunda is quoted as having “urged [UPND MPs] … to join the ruling party.” In the same article, he is quoted as having accused some private media institutions as “promoting anarchy by their failure to observe professional ethics.” In other words, he seems to be suggesting that the private media should only cover stories which shower praises on the unseen accomplishments of the MMD like the Zambia daily Mail, Times of Zambia, ZNBC, and ZANIS. That, to him, is professionalism; any news media which engages in anything else is deemed to engage in “quack” journalism!

It is now becoming clear that the MMD wants to take us back to 1972 when Zambia became a single-party system. This can be interpreted from the contemplated legislation of the independent media and NGOs to an overt attempt to swallow up major political parties!

If the MMD government cannot re-think the idea of limiting the operations of NGOs and the media, and the apparent swallowing up of major political parties, Zambia is clearly headed toward dictatorship! And there seems to be no way in which the government’s intentions can be thwarted, since the vibrant civil society and independent press which helped us secure a multi-party system are seemingly under the threat of rules and regulations designed to limit their operations.

There are a lot of important projects and programs which Kunda would have have gone to Southern Province to tell the residents how and when such projects would be started and/or completed—projects and programs which would improve the socio-economic well-being of residents. These projects and programs include the following:

(a) Hiring of more healthcare personnel, and ensuring that healthcare facilities throughout the province have adequate stocks of medicines and medical supplies and equipment. Healthcare facilities in the province are in dire need of personnel and supplies—including the Gwembe, Kalomo, Zimba Mission, Kafue Gorge, Mazabuka, Chikombola, Research Station Clinic, Riverside Farm Clinic, Chikuni Mission, Stage II, Namwala, Itezhi Tezhi, Mtendere, Siavonga, Maamba, Choma General, Macha Mission, Livingstone, Chikankata, and Monze Mission medical centers.

(b) Construction of more primary and secondary schools in the province (and rehabilitation of old ones) in order to make it possible for each and every child in the province to have access to education near their homes in all the districts—that is, in Choma, Gwembe, Itezhi-Tezhi, Kalomo, Kazungula, Livingstone, Mazabuka, Monze, Namwala, Siavonga, and Sinazongwe districts. Further, there is a need to address the problems facing educational and training institutions in the province, including the lack of teachers, instructors, housing, educational supplies and equipment, inadequate salaries and allowances, and sports and recreation. It is also important to ensure that salaries and allowances are timely disbursed to all parts of the province so that teachers and other civil servants will not have to trek to designated locations to pick up their money only to be told that their dues are not yet available.

(c) Planning adequately for both the prevention and the containment of diseases like the Contagious Bovine Pleuro-Pneumonia (CBPP) disease (which hit the border area between Kazungula district in Southern Province and Sesheke district in Western Province in recent years) and effective control of the tse-tse fly in order to reduce the incidence of sleeping sickness.

(d) Improvement of the availability of safe and clean water throughout the province through boreholes, dams, water pipes, and protected shallow wells, and also provide for modern sewage facilities and both public and private conveniences.

(e) Completion of the construction of irrigation schemes at Simupande, Nzenga and Sinazongwe, including the electrification of the three irrigation schemes. Moreover, there is a need to ensure that the dam at Buleya Malima irrigation scheme in Sinazongwe district is rehabilitated and maintained on a regular basis.

(f) Provision of incentives for the exploration of gas and oil deposits at Kanesiya stream near Sianeja in Senior Chief Mweemba’s kingdom in Sinazongwe district.

(g) Upgrading of resettlement schemes in the province by providing financial and material resources for constructing and/or rehabilitating boreholes, water wells, irrigation dams and canals, feeder roads, culverts, low-cost houses, clinics, basic schools, police posts, and other essential public services and facilities. Such schemes include the Masasabi scheme in Itezhi Tezhi district, the Kasiya scheme in Livingstone district, the Harmony scheme, and the Siamambo scheme in Choma district.

Funding for these kinds of projects and programs in Southern Province, and in other provinces as a matter of fact, can come from savings which can be realized from reducing the number of Cabinet portfolios by merging and/or abolishing some government ministries and agencies, abolishing the positions of Deputy Minister and District Commissioner, reducing the number of foreign missions by having single embassies to cover clusters of countries, and initiating many other cost-cutting measures.

It is high time the MMD and its leaders started considering criticism of this kind with an open mind. Otherwise our beloved country will continue to move backwards in huge steps.

By Henry Kyambalesa

The Solwezi Central Parliamentary By-Election

Administrator — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

There is never a dull moment in Zambia nowadays, particularly during Parliamentary sittings, and during campaigns for Parliamentary by-elections.

In campaigns leading to the Solwezi Central Parliamentary by-election, for example, Solwezi district has become another battleground for political hooligans after violent incidents during the recent Chitambo and Kasama Parliamentary by-elections. And Vice-President George Kunda has not ceased to embarrass himself by making meaningless statements.

It is surprising that Kunda would go Solwezi to campaign for the MMD candidate and make irrelevant statements that: (a) MMD is committed to retain the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation in the new Republican constitution currently being crafted by the National Constitutional Conference (NCC); (b) Hakainde Hichilema was in Solwezi to campaign for Michael Sata because he was unlikely to stand in 2011; (c) the MMD has maintained peace and stability in the country from 1991 and that is what the party wants to continue doing; and (d) that MMD has never been violent.

Many of these statements do not address the issues which are haunting the people in Solwezi District or North-Western Province.

Besides, there was peace and stability during the UNIP era before the MMD assumed power. Also, violence perpetrated by MMD cadres recently has been condemned by all peace-loving Zambians nationwide, and are still fresh in people’s minds. Even in campaigns leading to the Solwezi Central by-election, MMD hooligans have already gone on record as having engaged in violent activities.

And by asking residents to “vote for a candidate that will have an easy access to government resources in order for development to flourish in the area … [and] so that development can continue”, Kunda is sowing seeds of secession. Such language is likely to make people in North-Western Province to start seeking secession due to potential neglect for not voting for an MMD candidate.

President Rupiah Banda needs to remove Kunda from one of the two portfolios he currently holds. He seems to be suffering from stress caused by work overload, or has he become senile at such a young age?

By the way, there are a lot of important projects and programs which the government needs to pursue in the North-Western Province in order to improve the socio-economic well-being of residents, such as the following:

(a) Construction of a nursing school in Mwinilunga, and upgrading the Solwezi School of Nursing so that it can offer Registered Nursing services. (b) Construction of a bridge on the Zambezi river to connect the east bank

to the west bank where discoveries of oil and gas deposits have apparently been made in Chavuma and Zambezi districts in order to facilitate the exploitation of, and further exploration for, oil and gas and other minerals.

(c) Completion of the tarring and maintenance of major roads in the entire province, including the Mutanda-Chavuma (M8) road, Solwezi-Lumwana road, and the Solwezi-Kipushi road.

(d) Tarring and maintenance of local streets throughout the province, such as the Kimasala, Kyafukuma, Mbonge, Messengers, Kyalalankuba, and Kansanshi Mine streets in Solwezi district in collaboration with the Kansanshi Foundation.

(e) Construction of the planned railway line from Chingola to Benguela in Angola through Solwezi and Mwinilunga districts, maintenance of the Mwinilunga-Jimbe road which links Zambia to Angola, and active participation in the construction of a dual carriage way from Chingola to the Lumwana Mine being developed by Australian Equinox Minerals.

(f) Improvement of infrastructure at Solwezi airport, rehabilitation of all airstrips in the province, and expansion of Kifubwa, Solwezi, Mutanda, Mundanya, and other major bridges in the province.

(g) Development and maintenance of roads leading to tourist centres—that is: the Kifubwa National Monument, Mutanda Falls in Solwezi, Nyambwezu National Monument, Zambezi Source National Monument, Zambezi Rapids in Mwinilunga East and West, Lunga National Parks in Mufumbwe and Kasempa, Chinyingi Foot Bridge, Chavuma Rapids, and the Zambezi beach.

(h) Improvement of accommodation standards in tourist centers by providing incentives for the construction of motels and 5-star hotels (similar to the new Royal Solwezi Hotel and Villas in Solwezi) throughout the province.

(i) Speeding up the connection of areas of districts in the province that do not have electrical power to the national electricity grid, and provision of incentives for private investment in revamping the Mwinilunga Cannery factory.

(j) Construction of barracks in Chavuma, Mwinilunga and Solwezi for army officers at border towns, revival of the Kafumfula Zambia National Service (ZNS) camp in Kasempa district, as well as construction of houses for ZNS, police, military, and immigration officers in the province. An additional immigration border post would also need to be built in the province at Ndunga in Kabompo district on Zambia’s border with Angola to control illegal traffic and trade across the border.

(k) Improvement of the availability of safe and clean water throughout the province through boreholes, dams, water pipes, and protected shallow wells, and also provide for modern sewage facilities and both public and private rest rooms.

(l) Upgrading of resettlement schemes in the province by providing financial and material resources for constructing and/or rehabilitating boreholes, water wells, irrigation dams and canals, feeder roads, culverts, low-cost houses, clinics, basic schools, police posts, and other essential public services and facilities. The schemes include the Kazhiba scheme in Solwezi district, and the Litoya and Luwe schemes in Kabompo district. The planned Chikenge scheme in Chief Kalunga’s area, the Kayombo scheme in Chief Chiyengele’s area and Mumbeji scheme in Senior Chief Sikufele’s area should also need to be provided for in terms of essential public services and facilities.

Funding for these kinds of projects and programs nationwide can come from savings which can be realized from reducing the number of Cabinet portfolios by merging and/or abolishing some government ministries and agencies, abolishing the positions of Deputy Minister and District Commissioner, reducing the number of foreign missions by having single embassies to cover clusters of countries, and initiating many other cost-cutting measures.

*Henry Kyambalesa*

The Government Is the Problem, Not the Media

Administrator — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

The statement made in Parliament recently by Vice President George Kunda that the government was treading carefully on the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill because it can be used for espionage by what he referred to as some irresponsible and unpatriotic media houses does not make sense because state secrets are not supposed to be made available to the media even if the Bill was to be enacted.

Besides, voices of dissent and criticism of the government come from citizens who love their country. There is a need for George Kunda to avoid using rehearsed statements designed to brand Zambians who are critical of mediocrity in the governance of the country as being unpatriotic citizens. We are fed up of such language, which was often used during the UNIP era, and which has now been adopted by the MMD government.

In fact, the preoccupation by President Rupiah Banda’s administration with enacting legislation designed to regulate the operations of NGOs and the private media is a clear case of misplaced priorities. Zambians have now become tired of asking MMD leaders to address their demands on the government. Among other things, Zambians want a smaller and more efficient government, free formal education, merit-based scholarships for vocational training and university education, low-interest educational loans, free life-saving healthcare for all Zambians, greater and sustained food security, and greater employment opportunities.

Moreover, they want lower PAYE and value-added taxes, lower interest rates, safer local communities, improvements in garbage collection and disposal, improved socio-economic conditions in rural areas, improved public infrastructure, lower water charges and electricity tariffs, a system of justice that is free and impartial in both word and deed, greater care for children and the handicapped, a genuine effort to address the scourge of corruption, sustained protection of the fragile natural environment, and consolidation of our oneness and common future as members of the Zambian family.

Criticisms of the MMD government by some segments of Zambian society are clearly a result of government’s failure to address these demands. If the government can start tending to these demands and set timeframes for meeting them, they will be surprised how quickly the criticisms will subside and give way to genuine praise from both the private media and the general public. It is as simple as that!

Private media institutions are, therefore, not the problem; it is an inept government that is actually the problem—a government that has clearly failed to address the sources of the discontent among citizens and continued to castigate the private media through which such discontent is expressed!

If Zambians expect the Rupiah Banda administration to address their basic needs, they are fooling themselves; they will eventually realize that they have government leaders who are more interested in lining up their pockets, and the pockets of their kith, kin and sympathizers.

By Henry Kyambalesa

Chiefs and Partisan Politics

Administrator — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT

Of late, the behavior of some of our chiefs has become inimical to the functioning of a vibrant and peaceful multi-party political system that we are attempting to create. I have two examples of such behavior.

The first example relates to Paramount Chief Chitimukulu, who has been quoted by Chibaula Silwamba of *The Post Newspaper* as having said the following in an article entitled “Chitimukulu Vents His Frustration on The Post” of October 23, 2009:

“We have to be on the side of the governing party and the government. There is no chief who could be on the side of opposition political parties. I can never be on the side of an opposition political party.”

The second example pertains to comments made by Chief Puta, which appeared in an article by Patson Chilemba of *The Post Newspaper* entitled “Rupiah Won’t Go Anywhere with ‘Terrorists’—Puta” of May 5, 2009. In this article, Chief Puta is quoted as having said that President Rupiah Banda should rid himself of people like Mulongoti and [the late] Tetamashimba because of their comments concerning Katele Kalumba, who had been found with a case to answer for alleged corruption.

He is also quoted in the same article as having said that he would instruct his subjects to start throwing stones against the government if government leaders pushed him too hard, and that he would tell his people to de-campaign President Rupiah Banda, who he supported during the 2008 presidential by-election!

In an article by Ernest Chanda of *The Post Newspaper* dated November 1, 2009 entitled “Chief Puta Bans PF Activities,” Chief Puta is quoted as having banned Patriotic Front (PF) activities in his chiefdom on grounds that the party’s leadership is opposed to former Republican president Frederick Chiluba’s acquittal. In the same article, he is also accused of having tried to block the nomination of a PF candidate for the November 19, 2009 local government elections.

Since independence in October 1964, there have been complaints and sentiments from some segments of Zambian society about the use of traditional leaders by ruling political parties to gain political advantage, particularly during political campaigns. The revelation that chieftains in the Eastern province were consulted in the process of picking an MMD candidate for the Milanzi parliamentary by-election last year, and that the Republican president urged chiefs to support the MMD candidate in the Chitambo parliamentary by-election this year, are cases in point.

If we are not careful, we could be paving the way for anarchy in our 286 chiefdoms by pushing chieftains into the political arena. We could be planting the seeds of destruction for the Zambian nation, and for our nascent democracy; we could be starting a vicious fire for our children and grandchildren to extinguish—and they will not judge us kindly if we leave them a country that will be in flames!

I believe very strongly that the partisan stance by some of our chiefs is partly promoted by the subsidies, electrification of palaces and the car loans extended to them through the office of the Republican president.

*I, therefore, wish to call upon President Banda to initiate, by Executive Order, the removal of public assistance to chiefs from the office of the Republican president and placed under the aegis of the Parliamentary Committee on Local Governance, Housing and Chiefs’ Affairs in order to forestall any suspicions that assistance to chiefs is designed to woo their support for the ruling political party during elections*.

There is also a need to uphold Articles 65 (clauses 3 and 4) and 129 of the 1996 Republican constitution (as recommended by the National Constitutional Conference), which bar chieftains from participating in or joining partisan politics unless they formally abdicate their traditional leadership roles. If they are allowed to participate in partisan politics, they can
consciously or otherwise abuse the absolute traditional authority they wield by imposing their political views and choices on their subjects — a situation which can lead to tribal politics in our country.

Moreover, traditional leaders’ participation in politics can lead to the disintegration of their chiefdoms. Let us consider a number of scenarios which can culminate in such a situation.

Firstly, a chieftain is, ideally, an impartial leader of all the people in his or her chiefdom regardless of their political affiliations. However, his or her participation in partisan politics can inevitably place him or her in an adversarial position against subjects who may have different political alignments.

Secondly, the political arena naturally requires participants to advocate certain causes and articulate their ideological convictions which, for a traditional leader, are likely to be at variance with the causes and convictions of some of his or her subjects. Thirdly, partisan politics is fraught with slander, snobbery and discourtesies to which traditional leaders can choose to subject themselves only at the immense cost of losing the abounding and unconditional respect accorded to them by their subjects.

Further, chieftains’ participation in active politics can frustrate efforts aimed at creating a level playing field for all political contestants, since they (the chieftains) already have a faithful following in their areas of jurisdiction.

We would do well to address allegations of election-rigging, vote-buying, intimidation, and access to public resources by the ruling political party without opening up other avenues for unfair political advantage.

By Henry Kyambalesa

Zambia: The Cost of a Larger Parliament

Administrator — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

I have noticed that the news article by Patrick Jabani entitled “NCC Adopts New Electoral System in Zambia” recently appeared in both the *Times of Zambia* and *The Post* newspapers. In the article, Comrade Jabani has made a good summary of arguments for and against the adoption of Article 159(1) of the Republican constitution that is currently being crafted, which is intended to increase the number of Members of Parliament (MPs) from 150 to 280. [It is perhaps important to note here that the current membership of Parliament is actually 150 elected MPs + 8 MPs nominated by the Republican president.]

Unfortunately, the article does not address the cost associated with the proposed increase in the number of MPs.

In this regard, I wish to reiterate my initial position that Zambia cannot afford to implement the proposal that has been recommended by the National Constitutional Conference (NCC). There is really no wisdom in seeking to increase the number of constituencies when some of the existing constituencies cannot even generate enough tax revenue to meet the cost of maintaining their MPs.

It is unfortunate that such a recommendation is made at a time when tens of thousands of Grade 7 and Grade 9 students have continued to be spilled onto the streets every year, the healthcare system cannot meet the basic needs of the majority of citizens, the majority of Zambians have no access to clean water and electricity, the country still faces problems with garbage collection and disposal, a critical shortage of decent public housing has compelled so many of our fellow citizens to live in shanty townships nationwide, public infrastructure and services are still deficient, civil servants are still not adequately compensated for their services, and, among many other socio-economic ills, crime and unemployment are still widespread.

I have, therefore, found it necessary to provide some information about the cost of increasing the number of MPs from 150 (as suggested by Jabani) to 280. In this endeavor, I have assumed that the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chief Whip, and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament are remunerated the same as a Private Member in terms of salary, special allowance and utility; I have also assumed that the constituency allowance available to each MP is equivalent to that paid to a Nominated member in Zambian Kwacha (K) per year, and that there are no costs associated with personal-to-holder cars and other fringe benefits:

61,009,773 Salary

16,665,752 Special allowance

23,200,000 Utility

11,600,000 Constituency allowance

-------------------

K112, 475,525 per MP x 150 MPs = K16,871,328,750.

-------------------

And

K112, 475,525 per MP x 280 MPs = K31,492,147,000.

The cost of additional MPs per year:

K31,492,147,000 – K16,871,328,750 = K14,620,818,250 (US$3,187,377).

It seems the huge allowances which members of the National Constitutional Conference are receiving have intoxicated them so much that they have become incapable of thinking about the catalogue of socio-economic woes which the government cannot address mainly due to the lack of financial and material resources.

Rather than increasing the number of MPs, we should actually have been considering the prospect of reducing the number and restricting their functions to legislative matters. Parliament would still be representative and able to function effectively as the legislative organ of our national government, with only 72 elected MPs, for example, so that 1 MP could be elected from each of the existing 72 districts.

If we cannot reduce the number of MPs, we need to continue to have a parliament with 158 members (or 150 as suggested by Jabani). Representation in the governance of the country by women and the youth, among others, can be achieved through appointments to Permanent-Secretary positions, and to positions in Cabinet and government agencies.

It is irresponsible and ill-advised for NCC members to think about representation without seriously considering the cost associated with it.

Our country’s meager tax revenues will not be sufficient to maintain such a large parliament and a highly bloated cabinet. And we cannot continue to borrow until we push the country back into the debt trap. Besides, donor countries too are not likely to continue extending a helping hand while we continue to misuse our meager resources.

There is a need for NCC members and the government to realize that donor countries do not have unlimited resources. They have to make do with scarce resources by going through public expenditures line by line, program by program, agency by agency, department by department, and ministry by ministry in order to eliminate unnecessary application of public funds.

We need to start doing the same in order to wean our country from its current addiction to loans and its over-dependence on donor funding, as well as to attain economic independence and sustained socio-economic development, predominantly with our own local resources.

By the way, MPs should not be involved in the implementation of development projects; this should be the function of government ministries and local authorities. Besides, the provinces are already saturated with such portfolios as district commissioners, provincial ministers and provincial permanent secretaries, all of whom are supposed to complement the executive branch of the government in the implementation of development projects. To reiterate, we need to restrict the role of parliament to legislative functions — that is, law-making.

By Henry Kyambalesa

Re: CHANGE HOW WE THINK AFRICANS

Administrator — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

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President Rupiah Banda’s Legacy

Administrator — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

There has been so much talking about “continuing with the Mwanawasa legacy” by Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) leaders recently—a legacy whose content they have not been able to explain to the Zambian people.

If the so-called “legacy” includes the introduction of free education up to Grade 7, it does not match the legacy of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), which provided free education from Grade 1 through university from independence until the mid-1980s.

If the “legacy” includes the provision of “free” healthcare to rural dwellers, it does not match UNIP’s free healthcare for all Zambians from independence until the mid-1980s. If it is about the fight against corruption, the scourge had never been pervasive until the MMD assumed power.

There is, however, still a great opportunity for President Rupiah Banda to leave his own legacy rather than continue to sing about someone else’s questionable legacy. Let me suggest some of the potential initiatives which President Banda can pursue if he is interested in leaving a legacy after his term of office:

1) Creation of a smaller Cabinet with fewer Ministers, and abolition of the positions of Deputy Minister and District Commissioner, among other sinecures.

2) Operationalization of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in order for the broadcasting industry to be regulated by an independent body.

3) Enactment of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill and make it possible for journalists to access information that is vital to both the media and members of the public.

4) Creation of an autonomous “Bureau of Statistics and Archives” and place the *Zambia Daily Mail* under its auspices. The Bureau should replace the Central Statistics Office (CSO) so that it can freely and independently collect, process, maintain, and publish essential data and information about our beloved country, and should incorporate the National Archives of Zambia.

5) Establishment of an Electoral Complaints Authority of Zambia (ECAZ), which should assume the functions of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) stipulated in Clauses 6 through 8 of Article 112 of the Draft Constitution prepared by the Mung’omba Constitutional Review Commission (CRC). These functions could be designated as a separate Article and amended accordingly.

There is a need for a separate governmental watchdog designed to monitor the activities of officers of the ECZ, and the conduct of elections in the country. This will hopefully lessen the vulnerability of the ECZ and the electoral process to the influences, manipulation and/or machinations of unscrupulous politicians and political parties.

6) Conversion of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), which is currently vested in the Office of the Vice-President, into an autonomous “National Emergency Management Agency” (NEMA). The agency needs to be made autonomous in order for it to perform its duties without any political meddling or manipulation by government officials to achieve partisan objectives, and should incorporate the functions of the Public Welfare Assistance Scheme currently administered through the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, which includes the Social Cash Transfer Scheme. NEMA should be accountable to the Parliamentary Committee on Health, Community Development and Social Welfare.

I make these suggestions knowing very well that some of the MMD leaders are likely to interpret the gesture as an insult to the President and his administration.

Henry Kyambalesa

Government Uncovers Plot: What Plot?

Administrator — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Lameck Mangani’s recent claim that the government has unearthed a scheme in which some prominent Zambians and some diplomats accredited to Zambia are conspiring to destabilize Zambia is a scam and an embarrassment to the people of Zambia.

Such a claim tells us volumes about the caliber of some the current crop of government leaders. It is a clear depiction of the shallowness of some of our leaders.

The allegation that some diplomats accredited to Zambia are conspiring with citizens to destabilize the country is a very serious matter. It would be understandable if it was an MMD riff-raff who had made such an allegation, not a government Minister responsible for Home Affairs, even if such an allegation had any merit at all.

What Zambians expect from the Minister—and other Ministers as a matter of fact–is to get the police and other investigative organs of the government to investigate his suspicions thoroughly. If the findings of such an investigation confirm his suspicions, the government can seek to prosecute Zambian citizens involved in the alleged plot through the existing legal channels. And rather than rushing to the media to castigate the diplomats, a sensible government would logically write to the home governments of the diplomats involved for their action if their diplomats are found to be wanting.

It is not in the interest of any one for the Minister to unashamedly alarm the nation with unfounded allegations of a conspiracy to destabilize the country. If there is any truth to his allegations, why can’t he name the individuals involved?

Making such a serious claim without naming the culprits can only lead to rumor-mongering and mistrust among the citizenry. President Rupiah Banda needs to caution his Ministers against making such reckless allegations. If they do not have anything important to tell the people, they would do well just to shut up than to continue to embarrass us.

*Henry Kyambalesa*

Zambia: A Leadership Vacuum

Administrator — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT

We received the following from Henry Kyambalesa.

Zambians have harbored very high expectations about the socio-economic prospects of their country since October 1964 when the country gained political independence from European colonial powers. Equating political independence with not only self-rule, but also with genuine democracy and prosperity, they have continued to believe that the transfer of political power to African hands will eventually create greater opportunities for them to enhance their socio-economic well-being.

Unfortunately, the country has continued to wallow in waves of misfortunes from the time of what has come to be characterized as “nominal” or “flag” independence. It has become equated with a catalogue of unprecedented socio-economic ills – including poverty, malnutrition, disease, ignorance, illiteracy, corruption, widespread unemployment, rampant crime and lawlessness, and homelessness.

But how could a country that was once described by the World Bank as having been one of the richest countries in sub-Saharan Africa at independence in 1964 become one of the poorest 44 years later – with nearly 70% of its people wallowing in abject poverty? How could this happen to a country that was born with a copper spoon in its mouth?

The Achilles’ heel of post-independence Zambia seems to be the lack of competent leaders needed to initiate and successfully implement viable policies designed to tackle the Herculean tasks of the post-colonial era.

In this Press Release, I wish to provide a bird’s-eye view of the contribution poor leadership has made to the country’s socio-economic malaise. It is not intended to be an indictment on MMD or UNIP leadership. Rather, it is an attempt to share my views concerning some of the salient and unbearable effects of incompetent leadership on the well-being of Zambians.

First, our initial failure to diversify economic activities away from the mining industry subject ed the national economy to the vagaries of steep decreases in copper prices and production levels. To date, we have continued to give lip-service to the issue of economic diversification from copper mining to manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, and other sectors of the country’s economy.

Second, the creation of the Central Committee (a somewhat parallel structure to the National Assembly) and the position of Prime Minister that followed the introduction of a one-party State in 1972 contributed to the mismanagement of our beloved country’s meager public resources.

Third, socialist policies during the UNIP era barred both local and foreign private investors from certain commercial and industrial sectors of the country’s economy and recommended the creation of state companies to operate in such sectors of the economy from the late 1960s to 1991. The policies (which former president, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, promulgated through his April 1968, August 1969, and November 1970 addresses to the UNIP National Council) ushered in an era of state enterprises.

Naturally, the monopolistic position enjoyed by state companies in the country’s economy culminated ed in complacence and gross inefficiency be cause, in the absence of competition, they apparently found it unnecessary to seek innovative ways and means of improving the quality and quantity of their product offerings. The rampant commodity shortages which the country experienced during the UNIP era were largely a direct result of the socialist policies of the government of the day.

Fourth, our country’s postponement of macro-economic adjustment on May 1, 1987 exacerbated the socio-economic problems facing the country. The adjustment would have enabled us to create a competitive and more productive socio-economic system early enough to forestall any further deterioration of the economy.

Fifth, there have been just too many political appointments by Republican presidents that have not seemed to add any value to the resolution of the catalogue of socio-economic woes facing the majority of Zambians. Such appointments to sinecures have apparently become a routine feature of governance! As a result, we have created a nation-state where the common people are generally left to their own devices while the Republican President, the Republican Vice President, Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers, District Commissioners, and other government officials have continued to revel in conspicuous, state-financed luxury.

Recently, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane was quoted as having said that Zambia will not stop seeking loans because it does not have adequate resources. How then are we going to pay back the loans?

Clearly, the MMD government wants to continue to mortgage our country and the future of our children and grandchildren through such loans. There is no attempt whatsoever to trim the highly bloated government in order to make it live within its means!

There is a need for government leaders to realize that donor countries, like Zambia, do not have unlimited financial and material resources. They have to make do with scarce resources by going through public expenditures line by line, program by program, agency by agency, department by department, and ministry by ministry in order to eliminate unnecessary application of public

resources. We need to start doing the same in order to wean our country from its current addiction to loans, its over-dependence on donor funding, as well as attain economic independence and sustained socio-economic development mostly with our own local resources. If we had leaders with vision and compass, the strikes and go-slows by teachers, nurses and resident doctors which have currently engulfed the country would have been prevented by planning ahead to improve the conditions of service of employees on government payroll. Unfortunately, we have leaders who would rather buy hearses and plan to secure a US$53 million loan to purchase mobile clinics!

And what kind of leaders do we have in the MMD who keep trekking to foreign countries for medical treatment without making any meaningful effort to improve healthcare delivery in their own country for every citizen, including them?

Sixth, there is a seemingly unwritten requirement that the Republican president needs to reshuffle his Cabinet occasionally, which has resulted in government ministers being shunted from one ministry to another as though they are jacks of all trades. There seems to be no meaningful purpose for such reshuffles, other than to use them as a means of reminding the Cabinet ministers about who their boss is – the President! Seventh, the apparent obsession for speedy privatization of state companies by MMD leaders during the 1990s without considering the fact that they were merely shifting the monopolistic positions enjoyed by such companies from government to private hands caused dislocations in the national economy. As could be expected, new private investments were not quickly made in the lines of business involved to provide the necessary competition to the buyers of the companies.

There was a need for a cautious and well-calculated pace of privatization designed to enable the government put in place a sound competition policy, a strong market for securities, and the necessary legislation to enforce contracts, among other things. Also, it was essential for the government to determine whether or not there were some economic sectors in which it would make sense for continued involvement by the government.

The privatization of state companies could not, therefore, yield expected benefits, which would have included the following: stimulation of private investment, economic empowerment of citizens through stock ownership, promotion of competition and efficiency in commerce and industry, beefing up government coffers through the sale of government holdings in state companies, reduced public-sector borrowing and government spending, and easing the financial burden of state companies on the public treasury.

Eighth, the prevalence of both petty corruption and grand corruption in the country has been a clear reflection of poor governance. The situation is likely to get worse with the single-source procurement which President Rupiah Banda’s administration seems to have adopted. Meanwhile, corruption will continue to subvert the political process in our beloved country; it will continue to thwart economic growth and stability; it will continue to undermine honest enterprise; it will continue to discourage foreign direct investment; it will continue to tarnish Zambia’s image; and it will continue to erode the country’s moral fiber.

Ninth, Zambia has lacked leaders who understand the need to make a quick transition from campaigning to governing upon being appointed or elected to positions of authority, and has also lacked 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.

Tenth, the monopoly which the party and its government have continued to maintain over the public news media is a clear reflection of dictatorial tendencies among government leaders. One wonders how public officials gauge the needs and expectations of the citizenry when the *Times of Zambia*, the *Zambia Daily Mail*, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation, and the Zambia News and Information Services are maintained mainly for the purpose of showering empty praises on government leaders!

We, therefore, need government leaders who are willing to develop new attitudes, skills and strategies in order to wrestle successfully with the complex and volatile socio-economic conditions of our time. As such, we need leaders who consider themselves as being on job-on-training regardless of the extent of their previous experience in politics and governance. And such leaders should be technocrats, rather than clueless figureheads!

As we get closer to the 2011 general elections, we are going to be continually warned by MMD cadres and supporters that we should not experiment with leadership – somewhat suggesting that the deadwood among our current crop of government leaders hold the key to Zambia’s future!

We are also likely to be bombarded by rehearsed calls from the same folks that the President should be given more time to complete his projects and programs beyond 2011. Such calls are, of course, meaningless because any new Republican president would be obliged to adopt and implement existing projects and programs that are designed to benefit communities nationwide – projects and programs initiated by previous administrations!

One would perhaps do well to conclude the Press Release with the following depiction of the depressing state of affairs obtaining in our country excerpted from a 2004 Social Watch report (cited by Bivan Saluseki in *The Post* newspaper of July 2, 2004):

“Even though the country has not formally been at war since independence in 1964, prevailing conditions affecting human existence are equivalent to those in a country at war.”

Politics and Government

Zambian Author — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Zambian Politics and Zambian Government

The President’s Press Conference

Administrator — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

This Press Release is intended to provide a few comments and observations on President Rupiah Banda's speech presented during his Press Conference on June 24, 2009 at State House.

*Cost-Cutting Measures*:

President Banda has revealed that 50% of government's domestic revenues are spent on 1% of the population, including Ministers, the civil police and soldiers, and wondered how provision for roads, hospitals, schools, energy, and defence and security can be met.

Unfortunately, the measures he announced to address this problem are not enough - that is, rational use of personal-to-holder vehicles, suspension of purchases of luxury vehicles, limitations on trips abroad by governmentofficials, and reduction in the number of workshops held by government ministries.

The following would have made a more meaningful contribution to the resolution of the problem: a drastic reduction in the number of Cabinet Ministers, abolition of the positions of Deputy Minister and District Commissioner, and reduction in the number of Zambia's foreign embassies by having clusters of countries to be served by single embassies.

*Salaries and Wages Commission*:

The Salaries and Wages Commission proposed by the President to reconcile disparities in salary structures in the public sector is a sheer waste of time and resources. The dissatisfaction among public-sector employees and the 7 unions which represent them is about the inadequacy of compensation. What employees on government payroll want is for the government to provide for the following, which would lead to improvements in their livelihoods:

(a) Provision for home-ownership and car-ownership schemes, and adequate upward adjustments in their salaries and allowances;

(b) Provision of free life-saving healthcare to all Zambians that is respectful, that recognizes personal dignity, and that adequately provides for personal privacy;

(c) Provision of free formal education, abolition of examination fees and Grade 7 and Grade 9 elimination examinations, provision of scholarships for high-school graduates who obtain a Division 1 and low-interest loans for other high-school graduates and working Zambian men and women wishing to pursue further studies in classroom-based or correspondence-based study programs offered within Zambia; and

(d) Improvement in Zambia's food security through government-financed irrigation dams and canals, cattle re-stocking and disease control, free seeds and fertilizer for 2 years, a seed and fertilizer subsidy at 50% after
2 years, zero value-added tax on agricultural inputs and raw food, promotion of food canning, and promotion of agricultural schemes by municipalities, the civil police, the prison service, the defence forces, and educational
and training institutions.

*Good Governance*:

Zambians expect their government to apply the elements of good governance in both word and deed. The mere mention by the President that his government believes in transparency and accountability is meaningless without applying
these elements of good governance in practice.

Transparency, for example, requires members of the public to have access to information about the state, its decision-making mechanisms, and its current and planned projects and programs. The procurement of hearses by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, which the President has sworn to have had no knowledge of when he has been both Vice President and President, provides a good example of the lack of transparency in government.

Accountability, on the other hand, entails the availability of a mechanism for ensuring that civil servants and public officials are directly accountable and liable for the outcomes of their decisions and actions, and the appropriation of resources assigned to them. The re-appointment of Dora Siliya to a Cabinet post after she was alleged to have defrauded Petauke District Council of K12.5 million in fake refund claims, mishandled the appointment of RP Capital Partners in respect of its valuation and potential sale of Zamtel, and cancellation of a duly awarded contract for the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of a Zambia Air Traffic Management Surveillance Radar System (ZATM-RADAR) at Lusaka and Livingstone international airports provides a good example of the lack of accountability in government.

There are, of course, other elements of good governance that are not applied by President Banda's government, including the following:

(a) The existence of non-discriminatory laws and law enforcement organs of the government that are efficient, impartial, independent, and legitimate - an element that is undermined by failure by the police to arrest MMD cadres who have continually harassed journalists, newspaper vendors and other innocent citizens;

(b) Availability of channels and mechanisms through which the citizenry and non-governmental institutions can have an influence on the actions of public officials, such as the procurement of hearses and mobile clinics; and

(c) Fostering the development of a free press to facilitate the exposure of unscrupulous activities in institutional settings, such as the K10 billion theft at the Ministry of Health.

*Public Procurements*:

The President's call for the strengthening of procurement systems through the enactment of new procurement regulations is weakened by his government's adoption of single-source procurements - particularly with respect to the construction of the Kasumbalesa border post, consideration of a decision to buy a radar system, the evaluation of partial privatization of Zamtel, and consideration of the decision to buy mobile clinics.

*The Call for Sacrifice*:

The people are sick and tired of being told to make sacrifices from the 1970s to date by successive government regimes. Today, the waists of the majority of Zambians do not have any more room for further belt-tightening! The common people do not really need to make any more sacrifices than they have already made over the years. On the contrary, it is government leaders who need to avoid wasteful spending of meager national resources on maintaining sinecures, for instance, so that they can apply the savings on projects and programs that would bolster socio-economic development and lead to poverty reduction.

It is not fair for the President to ask the poor people to sacrifice any portion of their meager incomes after government leaders had given themselves hefty pay packages late last year through the Presidential Emoluments Amendments Bill and the Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Emoluments Bill.

In other words, sacrifices need to be made by government leaders - even to the extent of reducing their own pay packages, and/or instituting a freeze on the not-so-essential political appointments.

So, rather than give examples of workers in Ireland and at British Airways who have taken cuts in their salaries, the Zambian government would do well to emulate the example of an African country - that is, Senegal - whose President recently announced a new Bill aimed at cutting salaries and scaling down cabinet size. According to the Bill, the President's salary would be slashed by 30%, government ministers and senators would lose 25%, while members of parliament would have their pay packets cut by 20%.

*Increase in ZESCO Tariffs*:

The President's backing of ZESCO's proposal to hike electricity tariffs by 66% is unfortunate. Unreasonably high tariffs are likely to fan away skilled personnel and locally based investors to other countries where utility and other costs are relatively lower and more stable. In fact, low and stable utility costs, among other factors, can enable the national government and local governments to lure investors from countries which have relatively high and unstable utility costs, while retaining business operators currently doing business in Zambia.

Besides, the rampant depletion of woodlands occasioned mainly by charcoal burning and fire-wood collection can be reduced greatly through affordable electricity tariffs.

*Peace and Stability*:

Sustained peace and stability, as the President has observed, are essential in Zambia's quest for heightened socio-economic development. Unfortunately, the politics of disrespect, violence and hooliganism that he says he is opposed to is being practised with impunity by cadres in his own political party.

Recent mass demonstrations by MMD youths in Lusaka and Ndola against continued membership of Ng'andu Magande, Elias Mpondela and Sebastian Kopulande are a case in point. Also, the attack on a newspaper vendor in Solwezi and the regular harassment of journalists by MMD cadres do not augur well for the maintenance of peace and stability in our beloved country.

Henry Kyambalesa

Democracy and Public Opinion in Africa

Rév. Freddie N Nsapo — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Let me elaborate a little on some of the things I have in mind. A democratic society needs a well informed and effective public opinion. This is often lacking in African States. It should not be impossible along with rapid economic development to encourage a free and honest Press, or voluntary associations, or free trade unions, professional bodies, or farmers' associations which represent a variety of interests and protect a variety of liberties. Yet when some new African States have failed to resist the temptation to bring all such organisations under centralized control, they have sought to justify their action by saying that such controls are demanded by the need for rapid economic growth.

I am thinking also of organised opposition parties. I do not find economic development inherently incompatible with the institution of a political opposition. Every government, if it is to remain democratic, needs to be under constant observation and scrutiny. Criticism and the free expression of opinion should help a government to discover truth. Yet when some of the new States in Africa have severely limited or denied opportunities for an opposition to exist, or to criticise the government, or to offer the electorate an alternative government; when they have stifled freedom by arbitrary arrests and imprisonment, without even the opportunity of a trial, they have sought to justify those actions by stating that democratic institutions, such as an organized opposition, are alien to Africa, and some have gone further to evoke something called the African Personality in justification. The meaning of this concept is not clear, since Africa is a land not of one culture, but of many cultures.

The truth is that the problem is really one of values and choice. It is a problem of choosing measures which combine effectiveness with freedom, rather than those which menace freedom.

If all the new African States were uniformly authoritarian or dictatorial, it would lend some truth to the claim that parliamentary democracy was unsuited to Africa. When we look carefully at the nations of Africa, however, we see different political forms emerging or being maintained - by respective choices and not by any inherent Africanism or so-called African Personality. Some of the new African States are developing rigid one-party rule, reminiscent of fascism others are trying to maintain democratic forms based on federated regions, whilst in some others, hereditary monarchies are striving to direct the change from traditional chiefdoms to modern democratic States presided over by constitutional monarchs. The wind of change is not blowing everyone to the same haven. Whilst there are African leaders who are busy destroying democratic institutions, there are others who are determined to secure and maintain them for their countries.

The claim that parliamentary democracy is alien to Africa is sometimes advanced by putting questions which look back to the past. Did African communities possess Western parliamentary institutions? Did they have the ballot box? Did they have opposition parties? Are not these alien institutions? The implication being that since these did not form part of African political systems in the past, their rejection in present circumstances is justified.

Yet this line of reasoning is not applied to all the borrowed political institutions, for some of those who profess it do so when speaking as a President, or Prime Minister, or Cabinet Minister, or Party Official. These are statuses and roles which they owe to borrowed political institutions.

Nor is the same argument applied to other cultural borrowings, such as economic institutions. What provides the setting to the contemporary social and political problems of Africa is the fact of rapid social change. African culture is not static. New ideas, new inventions, and new institutions are constantly being borrowed, adapted, and fitted into existing cultural patterns. The background to the problems of Africa is the speed of cultural change due principally to the impact of European science, technology, ideas and institutions. If that sounds Utopian, I can only plead that it is the privilege and duty of Tomorrow's Citizens to see visions and dream dreams, if the people are not to perish.

By Rév. Freddie N. N'sapo
Editor for Democratic Republic of Congo Topix
www.gospelfoundationministry.vpweb.com

Democracy and Public Opinion in Africa

Rév. Freddie N Nsapo — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:00:00 GMT

The truth is that the problem is really one of values and choice. It is a problem of choosing measures which combine effectiveness with freedom, rather than those which menace freedom.

By Rév. Freddie N. N'sapo
Editor for Democratic Republic of Congo Topix
www.gospelfoundationministry.vpweb.com

What do you think about "The British Migrant Tax"?

albe — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Just would like to get people’s thoughts on the followingsubject,

Thursday 19March 2009 09.56 GMT, economic migrants and students coming to the UK from outside theEU will have to pay a £50 levy towards the costs of the public services theywill consume, ministers confirmed. This is something which has come tobe known as Migrant Tax and will be effective later this year… I am living and workingin the UK at the moment and I am a Zambian citizen and hence subject to thistax. Would it be possible to impose this tax as well in Zambia, and in factevery other country in the world for any British person to also pay the equivalentin tax? It would certainly prove to be a very good source of income for thegovernment…

The 2008 Presidential By-Election

Administrator — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

We received the following from Henry Kyambalesa.

My Fellow Zambians,

I have found it necessary to write to you about the need to vote wisely during the forthcoming presidential by-election. We need to remind ourselves about what is actually at stake in the by-election: our beloved country is facing many socio-economic problems which need to be addressed — including poverty, hunger, ignorance, illiteracy, disease, widespread unemployment, disadvantaged children, crime, corruption, and moral decay.

Besides, civil servants are not adequately remunerated, and the payments of their meager incomes or retirement benefits are sometimes delayed; education and training are not adequately catered for; the healthcare system cannot adequately meet the basic needs of the majority of Zambians; public infrastructure and services are deficient; taxes and interest rates are extremely high; and, among many other socio-economic ills, the national debt is still unsustainable.

While there are no quick fixes to any of the problems facing us as a nation, I believe there is a lot we can do to make each and every citizen to start experiencing some degree of improvement in their socio-economic well-being within a short period of time. In other words, the problems we are confronted with are not insurmountable; they can be addressed easily through simple, practical and commonsense initiatives.

Fellow citizens, let me provide a testament of our dreams as citizens of Zambia: we have the same dreams in spite of the different political parties we belong to, the 73 different tribes to which we belong, or the different languages we speak.

Among other things, we all want a smaller and more efficient government, free formal education without Grade 7 and Grade 9 elimination examinations, no examination fees, merit-based scholarships for vocational training and university education, low-interest educational loans, free life-saving healthcare for all Zambians, greater and sustained food security, greater employment opportuni-ties, lower Pay-As-You-Earn and value-added taxes, lower interest rates and corporate taxes, safer local communities, improved socio-economic conditions in rural areas, speedy rural electrification, abolition of TV licensing and fees, lower water charges and electricity tariffs, greater participation by women in national affairs, greater care for children and the handicapped, sustained protection of the fragile natural environment, preservation of our cultural values and traditions, a genuine effort to address the scourge of corruption, and consolidation of our oneness and common future as members of the Zambian family.

Fellow Zambians, these things will not come to our beloved country like manna from heaven; we will, therefore, have them only if we vote for leaders who have promised to treat them as absolute priorities for the national government.

In this endeavor, we need to vote for individuals and a political party whose contemplated projects and programs will give our country a new beginning by putting aside our political alignments, tribal identities, religious convictions, and professional affiliations. We need to do so individually and collectively in order to vote for leaders who are committed to redeeming our beloved country from its current bondage to want, misery and destitution.

Let me present some of the national priorities which potential leaders need to espouse in order to deserve your precious vote.

Priority 1:
Existing Projects and Programs

Fellow citizens, the new leaders would need to adopt and implement all the national projects and programs that were started or planned by previous governments in Central Province, Copperbelt Province, Eastern Province, Luapula Province, Lusaka Province, Northern Province, North-Western Province, Southern Province, and Western Province.

They would also need to honor all bilateral and multilateral agreements, conventions and protocols that have been consented to by the current and previous Zambian governments with countries and institutions within the African Union and beyond.

Priority 2:
A Smaller National Government

There is a need to perform existing and planned government functions with fewer Cabinet Ministers, and to abolish the positions of Deputy Minister, Provincial Minister, Provincial Permanent Secretary, and District Commissioner. There is also a need to initiate restrictions on leaders’ trips to foreign countries. And, among many other cost-cutting measures, we need to reduce the number of Zambia’s foreign embassies by having clusters of countries to be served by single embassies.

Besides, we should not entertain any calls for the creation of the position of Prime Minister.

The savings to be realized from the cost-cutting measures should be invested in improving education and training, healthcare services, infrastructure, crime-fighting, and agricultural production and food security.

We also need to apply the savings to be realized from getting rid of meaningless top-level positions in the national government on employing more teachers and healthcare personnel, and on improving their conditions of service.

Besides, we need to ensure that retirees and retrenchees from the civil service and privatized state companies are promptly paid their overdue terminal benefits. It is high time we made it possible for them to enjoy the fruits of their labor!

We need to create a smaller and more efficient government that will not over-burden taxpayers or resort to heavy borrowing of funds to finance the provision of public services. In other words, we need to rescue our country from its current addiction to loans. We can, therefore, not wait to embark on the process of creating a government that will live within its means!

Priority 3:
Decentralization of Power

We should decentralize economic and decision-making power to provinces by ensuring that districts and provinces are administered by elected district mayors, provincial governors, provincial police commanding officers, and provincial prisons commanding officers. We need to make it possible for citizens nationwide to assume and exercise greater authority over the socio-economic affairs of their communities.

There is a need for citizens to elect leaders in their respective districts and provinces rather than have leaders like District Commissioners, Provincial Ministers and Provincial Permanent Secretaries imposed on them by the central government!

Besides, such decentralization of power would make it possible for districts and provinces to function as nurseries for national leaders.

Priority 4:
Free Life-Saving Healthcare

We should provide free life-saving healthcare to all Zambians that would be respectful, that would recognize personal dignity, and that would adequately provide for personal privacy. Besides, healthcare facilities and personnel are in serious need of a government that would really address their needs and expectations with respect to medical supplies and equipment, housing, transportation, salaries and allowances, and retirement benefits.

In all, there is a pressing need for leaders who are committed to waging a vicious and relentless war against HIV/AIDS, malaria, cholera, diarrhea, cancer, tuberculosis, whooping cough, and other deadly diseases.

Priority 5:
Free Formal Education

It is essential for government leaders to abolish examination fees on inauguration day as an initial step in the provision of accessible education for all Zambians. Besides, there is a need to abolish Grade 7 and Grade 9 elimination ex-aminations within 1 year of assuming office, and to provide for free education through Grade 12 at least.

In March 2007, the National Assembly recognized the need for such a policy by supporting calls to phase out Grade 7 and Grade 9 final examinations. But given the current bloated national government, free education from Grade 1 to Grade 12 will remain a pipe dream until the people elect leaders who are committed to the creation of a smaller and more efficient government.

To promote scholarship and academic excellence in education and training, high-school graduates who would obtain a Division 1 would need to be automatically awarded scholarships upon being accepted at any Zambian college or university.

All other high-school graduates and working Zambian men and women wishing to pursue further studies should be granted with low-interest loans upon being accepted into classroom-based or correspondence-based study programs offered within Zambia. Loan recipients who would graduate with “Distinction” should be excused of 75% of their debt obligations, while those who would graduate with “Merit” should be absolved of 50% of their debt obligations.

And all citizens who would graduate from Zambian colleges or universities with “Distinction” should be automatically awarded scholarships to pursue higher education or training programs within Zambia or in foreign countries — that is, upon advising the government that they are accepted by accredited educational or training institutions to pursue further studies.

Besides, we should provide for the establishment of computer laboratories at educational and training institutions nationwide, and for eventual connection of computers to the Internet. We need to equip the youth with the computer skills they need in order to compete successfully in the modern socio-economic sys-tem.

And we should establish an accreditation board to monitor, regulate and boost the standard and quality of formal education and training nationwide.

Fellow Zambians, we need to make a sustained effort to cater for the basic needs of the educational system. Some of the basic needs are as follows:

(a) Schools and classrooms that are adequately equipped for both teaching and learning;

(b) Qualified, self-motivated and well-paid teachers or lecturers in every classroom; and

(c) Competent school administrators on competitive conditions of service, and adequate office supplies and fixtures.

The youth are our beloved country’s most important treasures — they are the jewels of our Motherland! It is, therefore, surprising that we have continued to pay lip-service to the educational and other basic needs of our country’s youth.

The issue of Grade 12 students in private schools not being able to sit for examinations due to the lack of examination centers also needs to be tended to with the urgency it deserves. In this regard, government leaders need to work closely with the Private Schools and Colleges Association to have examination centers at private schools at public expense.

We need to be seriously concerned about the education of all citizens, irrespective of whether they are in government-funded or privately operated schools.

Priority 6:
Agriculture and Food Security

We should boost agricultural production through government-financed irrigation dams and canals, cattle re-stocking and disease control, a fertilizer subsidy, and zero value-added tax on agricultural inputs and raw food. We should also pro-mote food canning, efficient marketing of agricultural produce, and agribusi-ness.

Besides, we should promote agricultural schemes by municipalities, the civil police, the prison service, the defence forces, and by educational and training institutions in order to enhance Zambia’s food security and self-sufficiency.

We should also revitalize Farmer Field Schools nationwide to teach integrated plant nutrition in order to enhance soil productivity through the application of both mineral fertilizers and organic sources of plant nutrients.

We should strive to make food readily available and affordable in order to make “good milile” or “kulya bulotwe” the norm in each and every Zambian household within the shortest possible time!

Priority 7:
Sustainable Rural Development

We should foster development in rural areas through attractive incentives for investors in such areas. And we should provide adequate public services and facilities in such areas — including police protection, an inter-modal road network, postal services, fire protection, low-cost housing, electricity, and access to clean water.

We also need to provide for educational, vocational, recreational, telecommunications, and healthcare facilities in rural communities.

Priority in providing for these essential public services and facilities should be given to resettlement schemes nationwide.

There is also a need to streamline the process of issuing title deeds and make it possible for the deeds to be issued in the shortest possible time.

Priority 8:
Economic Growth and Job Creation

We should bolster job creation through heightened promotion of both private-sector investments and small business ownership. Moreover, we should reduce interest rates by at least 2 percentage points per year over a period of 4 years. Also, we should reduce Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) and corporate taxes by 5 percentage points, and value-added tax (VAT) from 16% to 12.5%.

It is high time citizens had a government that would make it possible for them to keep more of their hard-earned incomes for investment, savings and consumption!

This is one of the practical ways in which leaders can stimulate the national economy and create more jobs. And it should be one of the practical ways in which the government can broaden the tax base by getting more citizens to work who are going to pay taxes.

Besides,

(a) We need to achieve at least 7% annual growth in our national economy’s output.

(b) We need to attain at least 3 percentage points annual reduction in unemployment.

(c) We need to attain at least 2% annual growth in per capita income.

(d) We need to attain a 5% annual growth in exports through an ambitious promotion of non-traditional exports and attractive incentives to local suppliers of products currently being imported.

(e) We should expect to attain a relatively high annual rate of inflation of around 20% owing to contemplated reductions in taxes and interest rates intended to stimulate both the supply of goods and services and the demand for goods and services in order to bolster job creation and economic growth. We need to reverse the current emphasis on stabilizing inflation at the expense of job creation and economic growth. By the way, the attainment of single-digit inflation is a target that is appropriate for countries that have already achieved a high level of job creation and socio-economic development. Zambia is clearly not one of such countries!

In matters relating to the economy and job creation, we should earnestly seek the active involvement of the Zambia Association of Manufacturers, the Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Economic Association of Zambia, the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction, the Zambia Federation of Employers, and the labor movement in the provision of decision inputs.

Priority 9:
Affordable Water and Electricity

We should provide for strict and direct governmental superintendence over the supply of water and electricity to facilitate the charging of lower re-connection fees and lower rates and tariffs by utility companies. Besides, we need to provide for rapid rural electrification and accessibility to clean drinking water nationwide.

In this endeavor, we should initiate cost-cutting measures to be adopted by suppliers of water and electricity as follows:

(a) We should work with executives of water supply and sewerage companies in devising a standard and lean organization structure to be adopted by the companies, except private providers that exclusively serve their employees;

(b) We should provide for a forum at which utility companies would be afforded an opportunity to suggest viable ways and means by which the government could facilitate the process of making public utilities less costly to consumers; and

(c) We should require all public utility companies to find ways and means of reducing marketing, public relations and administrative costs, and to seek low-cost suppliers of machinery, equipment, office fixtures and supplies, sub-contracted services, and so forth.

We cannot talk about electricity without considering other important sources of energy. Among other things, we should provide for attractive incentives to the private sector to engage in the exploration and/or supply of other forms of renewable and environmentally friendly sources of energy — including natural gas, solar energy, wind-generated electricity, methanol, ethanol, and propane.

Moreover, we should re-structure the Energy Regulation Board in order to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness.

Besides, government leaders need to work with the Zambia Association of Manufacturers, Zambia Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and oil marketing companies in designing a mechanism for pricing diesel, petrol, jet fuel, kerosene, bitumen, and related products that should take into account the needs of the transportation, manufacturing and agricultural sectors, among others.

And there is a need to seriously consider the prospect of either reducing or completely phasing out the Strategic Reserve Fee and value-added tax on sources of energy.

Priority 10:
State-Financed Housing Schemes

We should seek to convert the National Housing Authority into an autonomous, self-sustaining and revenue-generating entity, which should incorporate all exist-ing national public housing programs. Its mandate should include the following functions:

(a) Implementation of home ownership schemes for all civil servants;

(b) Provision of low-cost housing units for low-income families nationwide; and

(c) Management of a home-ownership scheme for low-income families to be financed through low interest mortgages.

In this endeavor, we should also prohibit forced relocation of squatter compounds nationwide until:

(a) Low-cost public housing units are made available by the National Housing Authority; and

(b) Site and service areas designated by local authorities for re-settlement are furnished with running water, electricity, public transportation routes and portals, and other essential public services and facilities.

To bolster the availability of low-cost building materials nationwide, we should provide attractive incentives designed to induce investments in the production of cement, timber, window panes and frames, paint, bricks, roofing materials, doors and door frames, and construction equipment.

Priority 11:
Caring for Disadvantaged Citizens

We should make an earnest effort to care for adults and children who are economically and/or physically disadvantaged through such institutions as the Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Children In Need, the Zambia National Federation of the Blind, the Zambia Heroes and Freedom Trust, the Salvation Army, the Zambia Red Cross Society, the Twalumba Senior Citizens Organization, the Senior Citizens Welfare Foundation, the Zambia Interfaith Networking Group on HIV/AIDS, independent operators of orphanages nationwide, and many other non-governmental organizations and agencies of foreign governments.

With respect to the unemployed youth who are currently roaming the streets, we should fully and promptly revitalize the Zambia National Service (ZNS) production camps and make it possible for them to enroll in government-financed entrepreneurial and other skills-training programs to be offered in the camps on a voluntary basis.

The Chiwoko ZNS Camp in Katete, the Chishimba ZNS Camp in Kasama and the Kitwe ZNS Camp should periodically recruit unemployed youth to pursue vocational training programs — which should include courses in carpentry, automobile-mechanics, agriculture, bricklaying, plastering, tailoring and designing, and shoe-making and repairing.

The vacated refugee camps dotted across the country should also be utilized for skills-training purposes.

Graduates from skills-training centers should be encouraged to form joint busi-ness ventures, and should be provided with start-up kits and financial resources through relevant government ministries, the Youth Empowerment Program, and the Resettlement Department under the Office of the Republican Vice President. And institutions like the King George Centre in Kabwe should be expanded to accommodate larger numbers of graduates.

Priority 12:
The Fight against Corruption

We need to seriously fight corruption because it has subverted the political process in our beloved country; it has thwarted economic growth and stability; it has undermined honest enterprise; it has discouraged foreign direct investment; it has eroded the country’s moral fiber; and it has tarnished Zambia’s image.

But like any other problem confronting us today, corruption cannot be effectively fought without first understanding its causes. Since independence, the causes of corruption in Zambia have included the following: an unstable political setting; regular reshuffles of political appointees; a weak legislative system; a weak judicial system; excessive, cumbersome and/or rigid administrative routines and procedures; inadequate wages, salaries and fringe benefits; and delayed payment of wages and salaries for employees on government payroll.

We should, therefore, bring corruption under control through:

(a) Sustained political will and zero tolerance of the scourge;

(b) Streamlined administrative and bureaucratic procedures;

(c) Provision of adequate remuneration to civil servants and public officials;

(d) Compulsory ethics education in educational and training institutions;

(e) Passage of strict pieces of legislation designed to prevent conflicts of interest in institutional settings;

(f) Limitation of recourse to immunity by public officials and business leaders and their organizations;

(g) Fostering the development of a free press to facilitate the exposure of unscrupulous activities in institutional settings;

(h) Provision for an anti-graft hotline for individuals and organizations to report acts of corruption anonymously or otherwise;

(i) Strict enforcement of the code of conduct established by the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Act of 1994 for deputy ministers, Cabinet minis-ters and members of the National Assembly; and

(j) Active participation in bilateral and multilateral conventions, protocols and declarations designed to fight corruption, particularly in the areas of prevention, prosecution, asset recovery, and international cooperation in generating rules for extraditing alleged fugitive perpetrators of corrupt practices.

Priority 13:
The Fight against Crime

We should combat crime and other social vices nationwide through localized police units by allocating more money to the police units to enhance their capabilities in terms of communications, transportation, crime-fighting gadgets and equipment, and security cameras for installation in town centers and on major roads and streets.

Moreover, we should provide for the electrification of houses for police officers nationwide. There are just too many law-enforcement officers who are having a hard time preparing meals and uniforms in readiness for work due to the lack of electricity in their houses.

Priority 14:
Competent Government Leaders

Let me now discuss the issue of experience in politics and governance.

Clearly, socio-economic conditions in the domestic, regional and global environments are changing constantly. As such, yesterday’s approaches to the resolution of our country’s problems are not likely to do an effective job; after all, they have evidently and lamentably failed to do the job in the past!

We, therefore, need leaders who are willing to develop new attitudes, skills and strategies in order to wrestle successfully with the complex and volatile socio-economic conditions of our time.

As such, we should expect all government leaders to consider themselves as being on job-on-training regardless of the extent of their previous experience in politics and governance. And such leaders should be technocrats, and not clueless figureheads!

Accordingly, the citizens we should consider for top-level government positions should come from a diversity of institutional settings — including the Bank of Zambia, the World Bank, educational and research institutions within Zambia and in the Diaspora, professional associations, the civil service, the business sector, and existing political parties and alliances.

They should be among Zambia’s sons and daughters who are adjudged to possess the necessary knowledge and skills relating to the overall missions and objectives of the government ministries and agencies which they would be expected to administer. Accordingly, they should be expected to translate national policies into concrete benefits for all Zambians.

Besides, we need leaders who understand the need to make a quick transition from campaigning to governing upon being appointed or elected to positions of authority.

We also need leaders who recognize citizens’ right to vote for candidates of their choice without being threatened that their communities would be excluded from the development process if they do not vote for candidates fielded by the ruling political party. After all, every person and every place in our beloved country deserves a fair share of the national cake!

We should also make an earnest effort to promote the active participation of women in all spheres and facets of Zambian society through high-level presidential appointments at Cabinet and Permanent-Secretary levels. Also, each of Zam-bia’s 9 provinces should be well-represented at Ministerial and Permanent-Secretary levels.

Priority 15:
Promotion of Zambian Culture

We should make an earnest effort to preserve our country’s national treasures, including national monuments, museums, and historical sites through the National Heritage Conservation Council and a new Ministry for Culture and Community Services. Besides, we should promote our cherished cultural and traditional values, as well as promote traditional music and culture-related crafts.

We should also provide for government subventions to support the local publication of biographies on notable citizens in any field of human endeavor. We have an obligation to catalogue the exemplary accomplishments of our fellow citizens for future generations.

In this regard, I am thinking about outstanding individuals in sport, politics, journalism, broadcasting, music, art, business, teaching, science and technology, trade unionism, the military, law enforcement, community service, civil rights, and traditional leadership, among many other facets and spheres of human endeavor.

The government subventions should also be made available to support the publication of books and booklets on traditional ceremonies nationwide. And we should require municipal councils to provide for the naming of some of the new streets, parks, playgrounds, residential sites, and public buildings in their areas of jurisdiction with names of traditional ceremonies or deceased prominent Zambians.

Priority 16:
Garbage Collection and Disposal

Zambia’s towns and cities are currently experiencing serious problems at all stages of solid-waste management — that is, the collection, sorting, transportation, and disposal of garbage.

Unfortunately, the accumulated garbage in our midst is a very serious health hazard. For instance, piles of uncollected solid-wastes facilitate the formation of pools of stagnant water and create breeding grounds for mosquitoes and, as such, dispose residents to the deadly malaria parasite.

Besides, outbreaks of cholera, meningitis and other contagious diseases in the country have been directly linked to the absence of effective solid-waste disposal systems, together with the lack of potable water in some communities and un-hygienic street-vending of foodstuff.

National leaders should, therefore, provide for adequate financial grants and incentives to local municipal councils and private organizations in order to facilitate the regular collection and recycling of solid wastes, the production of biode-gradable products which can naturally break down into elements that are less harmful upon being discarded, and the manufacturing of reusable products and parts of products.

Priority 17:
Libraries and the Internet

Provincial governments should be expected to provide and run public libraries in their areas of jurisdiction. The national government should bolster the efforts of provincial governments in this endeavor through sustained financial and material support.

And we should strive to narrow the gap between Zambians who have access to the Internet and those who do not have access to such a facility by making the Internet available at centrally located public libraries nationwide.

Priority 18:
The Fragile Natural Environment

We should provide adequately for the financial and material needs of the Environmental Council of Zambia, created under the Environmental Protection and Pollution Control Act of 1990 to protect the environment and control pollution so as to provide for the health and welfare of persons and the environment.

We need to make it possible for the Council to perform its mandate of coordinating environmental management efforts nationwide, fostering awareness about the need to protect the fragile natural environment, and enforcement of regulations pertaining to the control and prevention of air, water and solid-waste pollution.

Priority 19:
Reformation of the Public Media

We need to seriously call upon the government to open up the Zambia Daily Mail, Times of Zambia, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), and the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in order to make it possible for all segments of Zambian society to articulate their needs, demands and aspirations through them. We should not allow the ruling party to continue to maintain a monopoly over the use of public media institutions. It is high time we demanded to gain fair access to such institutions!

There is also a need for the government to break up the public media through privatization. The role of a free press in the creation of a system of governance in which accountability, transparency, rule of law, and public participation in governmental decision making cannot perhaps be overemphasized. We should not expect our multi-party democracy to function effectively without such a system of governance. The following is what each of these essential elements of good governance entails:

(a) Accountability: That is, availability of a mechanism for ensuring that leaders are directly and fully liable for the outcomes of their decisions and actions, and the appropriation of resources assigned to them;

(b) Transparency: That is, public access to information about the state, its decision-making mechanisms, and its current and contemplated projects and programs — except for state secrets and matters relating to public officials’ right to privacy;

(c) Rule of Law: That is, the existence of non-discriminatory laws, and law enforcement organs of the government that are efficient, impartial, independent, and legitimate; and

(d) Citizen Participation: That is, availability of channels and mechanisms through which the citizenry and non-governmental institutions can have an influence on the behavior and actions of public officials either directly or through representation.

There is also a need for the government to spearhead the creation of a “Public Broadcasting Corporation” designed to provide for the following:

(a) Coverage of parliamentary and judicial proceedings as shall be sanctioned by a board of directors to be constituted by Parliament or any other impartial organ of the government;

(b) Regular broadcasts of Zambian, African and world news;

(c) Non-partisan and non-sectarian educational, cultural and informational programs to be generated by ministries and government agencies;

(d) Coverage of sporting events and ceremonial activities; and

(e) Programming of government-censored movies and music which do not have the potential to promote moral decay in our country.

Finally, the effective checks and balances we seek to introduce into our system of government are not possible in a political setting where the government is a prominent player in the fourth estate — that is, the media. On the other hand, members of the private media need to be professional and responsible if they are to play an important role in exposing abuses of power and deficiencies in governance. They, for example, need to avoid statements or actions that are de-meaning, inflammatory and/or harmful to others.

Fellow citizens, press freedom carries with it a great deal of responsibility on the part of journalists. It is, therefore, important for journalists to remember that other members of society have constitutional rights which need to be safeguarded, too. In shorthand, a journalist’s freedom to report on any given issue ends where societal members’ rights also come into play — such as the right to privacy.

Priority 20:
Sustained Peace and Stability

We should foster the evolvement of a society in which people’s rights and freedoms are fully recognized and respected by the government; and a society in which ethnic, cultural, racial, and religious diversity should be appreciated, tolerated and celebrated. Moreover, we should relentlessly pursue lasting peace and stability within Zambia and the African Union, as well as foster sound relations between our country and all peace-loving nations worldwide.

Fellow citizens, what I have outlined thus far are great priorities for our beloved country; they reflect the desires of many Zambians to give our beloved country a fresh start. And they are the kinds of priorities that will make it possible for us to make meaningful improvements in education and training, agriculture and food security, public health and sanitation, infrastructure and public services, commerce and industry, job creation and economic growth, crime-fighting, and the overall well-being of all citizens.

But these priorities are meaningless without our individual and collective commitment to pursue them. We, therefore, need to give the mandate to a new cadre of development artists to jump-start the country’s socio-economic system so that it can adequately meet our basic needs and expectations, and the needs and expectations of future generations.

Together, we can realize the benefits of independence, democracy and economic liberalization by means of simple, practical and commonsense solutions to the problems facing our beloved country.

May God bless you all, and may He also bless our beloved country.

Thank you.

Henry Kyambalesa
www.agenda123.com

Sympathies from California

Administrator — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT

We received the following message from Prof. Ramesh Manghirmalani.

Editor,

I am so sorry to hear of passing away of of His Excellency Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, I spoke to him 3 months ago and discussed various issues, NAM, Global Peace initiatives. My sympathies to people of Zambia and his family.

When you stand in Levy Patrick Mwanawasa shoes, and assume the responsibilities that he has borne so well, and perhaps even more after you both lay down the burdens of high office and work together in a nonpartisan spirit of patriotism and service.A few days ago a neighbor offered an insight, saying, "He was one of us." And he was. And that made him special and needed in a dark and dangerous hour for Zambians .. He was a patriot who knew that freedom is precious and that it comes at a cost. I'm grateful that.

He chose words from the book of Ecclesiastes. Here was the verse:

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
A time to be born, a time to die.
A time to kill, and a time to heal.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh.
A time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

May God bless His Excellency Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, and his strong and loving family. And may God bless the country he loves so much, served so well, and did so much to heal and strengthen, keep him firm in the hearts of his countrymen. And may God bless his wonderful family.

Yours in time of need

Prof. Ramesh Manghirmalani

War and Piece

Administrator — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT

We received the following from Giuseppe Biondo

Dear Companions

I am readdressing with humble concern the report on the subject of the heaviest issue.
There is a necessity of immediate attention, accuracy, consideration and examinations of the conditions heretofore exposed.

On the fifty-fifth session, 7th September 2001, 11th plenary meeting, the UN General Assembly adopted the Resolution 55/282.

The General Assembly proclaimed the 21st of September of each year as the International Day of Peace.

The General Assembly also addressed the subsequent statement embodied in paragraph 3 of the aforementioned Resolution;

3. Invites all Member States, organisations of the United Nations system, regional and non-governmental organisations and individuals to commemorate, in an appropriate manner, the International Day of Peace, including through education and public awareness to co-operate with the United Nations in the establishment of the global ceasefire.

Considering the Provision of the UN Charter and taking into account the role of the above mentioned relevant resolution adopted by the competent organs of the United Nations, each State has the duty to comply in full and in good faith with its international obligations under the principles of International Law.

Non-violence, non-proliferation and global disarmament are of primary importance and essential conditions to ensure order and education within the International Community.

Bearing in mind the paramount importance that the faithful observance of international law subsume and considering in consequence that the prosperity and peace of the International Community are to a remarkable extent endangered, each State has the duty to co-operate with one another, irrespective of their differences in their political, economic and social systems, in the various spheres of international relations, in order to maintain international peace and security and to promote international stability and progress, the welfare of nations and international co-operation free from discrimination based on such differences.

Desiring to draw diligence and respect to the aforesaid objective and therefore to adopt and maintain collective effective measures for the prevention and removal of breaches and threats to the peace and to bring adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations, I have humbly requested the attention of national and international institutions or bodies disclosed into the present report, addressing the necessity to comply with the requirements that the resolution referred to above entails.

The institutions or bodies I do now raise objections to are heretofore reported.

UN Security Council;
UN General Assembly;
UN Peace Building Commission;
UN Non-Proliferation and Disarmament departments;
UN Secretary General;
UN Security Council Presidents;
UN 193 Permanent Mission Representatives to the United Nations;
The Vatican City in Rome;
UN Spiritual Foundation;
International Court of Justice;
Court of Justice of the European Communities;
The Council of the European Union;
European Court of Human Rights;
European Commission;
Eurojust;
Inter Parliamentary Union;
Association of Secretary General of Parliaments;
National Parliaments;
World Embassies;
Amnesty International Worldwide;
Fundamental Rights Agency;
NHS Mental Health Departments Worldwide;
The White House, the President of the United States of America;
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom;
The President of the European Commission;
The President of Zimbabwe;
The President of Uganda;
The President of Russia;
The President of France;
Russian Politician, Founder and Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia;
The President of Sri Lanka;
The President of Sudan;
The President of Iran;
The president of Somalia;
The President of Pakistan;
The President of Burma;
The President of Afghanistan;
The President of Kurdistan;
The President of Turkey;
The President of Somalia;
The President of Kashmir;
The President of Senegal;
The President of Nigeria;
The President of India;
The President of Ethiopia;
The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo;
The President of Yemen;
The president of Chad;
The President of Tanzania;
The president of Egypt;
The Prime Minister of Kenia;
Committee of the Regions of the European Union;
European Social Committee;
Office for Official Publication of the European Communities;
The World Council of Religious Leaders;
European Ombudsman;
United Kingdom Ombudsman;
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales;
Her Majesty the Queen Elisabeth the ii;
UK Royal Court of Justice, 16 Judges informed;
UK Inspectorate of Court Administration;
UK House of Lords;
UK House of Common;
UK Ministry of Justice;
UK Ministry of Defence;
UK Her Majesty Stationery Office;
UK Government Offices;
UK London Government Communication Headquarters;
UK London Local Government Association;
UK Greater London Authority;
UK London Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
UK London Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration;
UK London Improvement and Development Agency;
UK London Cabinet Office;
UK Security Service MI5;
UK London Secret Intelligence Service;
UK London Government Human Rights Unit;
UK London Metropolitan Police Forces, Working for a Safer London;
BBC News;
First Minister and Deputy First Minister, UK, Belfast;
Youth Justice board for England and Wales;

It is discernible that the institutions or bodies reported have neglected to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of national and international law can be maintained.

The cessation of violence and of any other form of abuse, corruption, maladministration and the eradication of conflict within the International Community are relevant factors consequently unattended.

Notwithstanding the fact that concrete and heavy situations are pressing upon the people of all States, political and religious conditions remain unchanged.

I do object contemporary arrangements.

A war of aggression constitutes a crime against the peace, for which there is responsibility under international law.

States shall settle their international disputes by non-violent means in such a manner that international peace, security and justice are not endangered.

All States shall pursue in good faith negotiations for the conclusion of a universal treaty on general and complete disarmament and strive to adopt appropriate measures to reduce and eradicate tensions and strengthen confidence among States.

The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breaches of the peace or act of aggression and shall make recommendation to maintain or restore international peace and security.

Notwithstanding the fact that the situations resulting from a violation of international law, also situations in which co-operation in the economic, political, social, cultural, educational and health fields is deprived of at the national and international scale, the disregard and contempt for human rights and fundamental freedoms and malfunction of the promotion and maintenance of the essential development of friendly relations between nations all do imply a violation of moral obligations, the establishment of the global ceasefire is to date by States neglected.

I do raise objections to States armaments.

To my Sons and Daughters: RISE UP, BE STRONG AND STAND IN PATIENT ENDURANCE!

Your Brother

Giuseppe Biondo
Postal address: 1 Barkston Gardens, Earls Court, London, SW5 0ER, UK.

NOTE,
Please visit the subsequent web address and add your signature in list for the establishment of the global ceasefire. http://www.peace365.org.

The Death of a King

Mubita Nawa — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Oh king how great it was to know you

You were there when I needed to go to school

You taught me how to fight

You showed me what is right

You stood when others wanted you to sit

You were my king and we fit

I will miss you my king

I still have you in my mind

Your wind of change still blows in my sail

I am so sure I will not fail

How I miss you Oh king

I will always wear my ring

I will stand up and be counted

I will mourn you by fighting

I won't fight for supremacy or positions

But I will fight for democracy and justice

Oh king how I miss you

Oh king I will stand with you

I will see you when you return, if you return

May I celebrate you by doing what you taught me

By defending justice for the born and the unborn

Oh king, my king, my leader, my king