IT’S ONE ZAMBIA ONE NATION

IN the first place, I would like to apologise to my readers for my absence last week. I suffered a writer’s block due to stress caused by many unforeseen circumstances. Many thanks to those who phoned to find out what was happening to me.

As we inch towards the election year 2021, political parties and other interested stakeholders are strategising to ensure they get their parties or their preferred candidates the victory at the close of voting day in that special August which only comes every five years.

The big worry that should bother every patriotic Zambian is the tribal accusations and counter accusations that seem to be trending as though this country has never been or is not One Zambia One Nation.

These tribal strategies are even made more dangerous by the mudslinging which is based on lies such as the recent allegations by one UPND cadre in a recorded message sent on social media. Tribalism was the core message of this cadre’s message.

The cadre targeted minister of Trade and Commence Christopher Yaluma and accused him of neglecting his constituency and practicing tribalism.

He goes on to say that 90 percent of the ministers and permanent secretaries were Bembas and they were all thieves who had done nothing to develop the Northern Province but were stealing money for their pockets and that they had invested in Lusaka and built New Kasama where they live in luxury instead of developing their province. Which political party leader lives in his province?

Mr Yaluma is accused of sending his children to schools in Europe and America as well as owning lodges and other businesses in Lusaka instead of creating employment for youths in his constituency. He is also accused of owning companies in Malaysia and Europe.

I made inquiries and the general comment or answer I got from many people I spoke to, is that politicians from the Northern Province are nationalists who believe in serving all the people of this country whenever they occupy government office.

They believe that this country is One Zambia One Nation and that development must be undertaken equitably throughout all the regions of the country. Therefore they aspire and strive to serve every Zambian regardless of their origin.

The cadre who made this video does not know the history of this country very well. During the Unip and MMD administrations, the Northern Province was left underdeveloped with very poor infrastructure. There was only the Great North Road which was a national road providing a gateway for Zambia’s imports and exports.

The Great North Road was tarred following the deaths of many drivers and loss of product as well as expensive bridgers. It was a perilous route called the “Hell Run” but patriotic Zambians took the risks to drive to Dar-es-Salaam to collect refined fuel products to keep the wheels of our industries running. A branch of the Great North Road was built from Mpika through Kasama and Mbala to Mpulungu Port. On this route, fuel used to move from Dar-es-Salaam by rail to Lake Tanganyika where it was then loaded on the SS Liyemba and transported to Mpulungu Port in Zambia.

It was then loaded on road tankers to Lusaka and Ndola. The road from Mpulungu to Mbala could easily be called the Hell Run branch. The terrain is hilly and many drivers died until after the Zambian government managed to tar the road.

The other major project through the Northern Province was the Tanzania Zambia Railway. This again was a project built out of necessity to service the country’s imports and exports. It was not built to open up or develop the Northern Province.

The Northern Province before 2011 was a backward place to which no investor wanted to go despite all the land and water and other abundant natural resources found in the area. Travel between towns in the province was another “Hell Run.” For example, it used to take between six to nine hours for journeys between Mporokoso and Luwingu to Kasama, today these journeys only take one hour and forty-five minutes. Buses depart from Luwingu and Mporokoso in the morning and arrive in Lusaka the same day. Previously they used to take two days.

And thanks to the PF administration, the provincial centres of Luapula and Northern provinces are now linked by tarred road. So one can travel from Kasama to Mansa and vice versa within three hours. This journey used to take 16 hours and one had to replace the tires after a round trip.

Similarly, Mafinga in Muchinga Province has been connected by tarred road. This area was part of Northern Province and used to sound like it was in another country because it was only accessible during the dry season. The people of this area are very productive peasant farmers.

The same has happened to Malole constituency. The tarred road now goes up to the Chitimukulu’s palace and continues to Isoka. Kawambwa and Luwingu have also been linked to each other by tarred road through the Kawambwa Tea Estate.

These infrastructure developments have created an environment for businesses to operate and create employment. It is therefore wrong to allege that the PF government has not taken development to Luapula, Northern and Muchinga provinces.

Besides the road infrastructure, the regions are now connected to the National Grid with a 330 KV power line running from Pensulo Village in Serenje up to Kasama. The mini Hydro Power Stations have also been upgraded.

If you look around Zambia, similar developmental projects have taken place such as the Solwezi to Chavuma Road, the Mongu to Kalabo Road and so on.

As regards the accusations concerning Mr Yaluma, the truth is that Mr Yaluma does not have any school going children in Zambia or anywhere else in the world.

Mr Yaluma was my senior by one year at school. He left Mungwi Secondary School in 1971 and all his children are adults and where educated in South Africa at the time he worked for Eskom in that country. The allegation that he has lodges in Lusaka is also not true. At any rate, it is not the responsibility of a Member of Parliament to employ all the people in his constituency. The role of an MP is to create an environment for investors to open businesses in the country so as to create employment; and this is what Mr Yaluma and his fellow MPs from Northern Province have done very well since 2011.

The UPND cadre ends his video by urging youths in the three provinces to try Hakainde Hichilema in 2021. This cadre is either ill-informed or is a pathetic liar or he thinks that all Zambians are stupid.

Most importantly, Mr Hichilema has never disassociated himself from tribal remarks made by his supporters. He is leader of the UPND not on merit but because it was publicly and emphatically stated that only a Tonga could lead the party. How safe is it to try such a person for national leadership? I would like to urge that when people discuss tribalism, they should remember history. The tribalism story in this country is well documented. We all know which politician retreated to his tribal enclave during the struggle for independence, we all know the results of the first one man one vote election in this country. One region voted against independence purely on tribal grounds.

But this is history we should bury and talk about things that can open up people’s thinking for positive living. We are One Zambia One Nation and we should choose our leaders on “Merit,” not on tribal or family affiliations.

Yours truly, Troubleshooter. ecchipalo@yahoo.co.uk/pentvision@gmail. com/ecchipalo@ icloud.com