09/06/2024
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9th June 2024
The President of Zambia
HE Hakainde Hichilema
Independence Avenue
State House
Plot 1
Lusaka
Dear Sir,
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Following your address to the nation Mr. President, I have with authority from the organization (PAC) taken the liberty to write this open letter to address the issues you raised as a way of giving suggestions to the government as you indicated that those with ideas can come forward. This letter is open in order for the public to add if there is anything I would have left from your address.
I do sympathise with you following the events that have rocked the country in the last few weeks which have prompted you to address the nation on national unity, law and order, the fight against corruption and the economy.
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I do agree with you that you suffered one of the worst forms of discrimination and in extension my people on my maternal side the Tongas. As you may be aware I remember we discussed this the two of us in the past, where I informed you that I am from the East (paternal) and South (maternal) and went to secondary school in the south coincidentally the same school you attended earlier at Kalomo Secondary School.
While it is commended to stiffen laws to deal with discrimination in totality to avoid such occurrences like the case of genocide in Rwanda and similar ethnic conflicts in Africa, I would as a way of suggestion request that the issue be dealt with squarely and then amend the laws.
It is important to note that ethnic divisions historically do not just emanate as a result of weak legislation, but mainly as a result of inequalities in society. It is also as a result of how other members of society feel treated by those in authority, especially when there is open biasness in accessing opportunities by one group either on ethnic or political affiliation and unjustly application of the law against another. It motivates people to spew tribal remarks and support another person on tribal grounds hoping when that person ascends to power, they can have a better shot at accessing opportunities and be treated fairly. This is what has made politicians to prey on this and become ethnic entrepreneurs.
The point I am trying to address in addition to stiffening laws, we need to ask honest questions, for example based on the discrimination that yourself and other Southerners and maybe the Westerners and North-westerners may have faced in the past, what policies and reforms has the UPND government put in place to avoid a reoccurrence and ensure that jobs, contracts promotions, recruitment and other opportunities are based on competence, equal distribution as opposed to being on ethnic and political affiliation? Has the law been applied fairly regardless of ethnic or political affiliations?
It is important in amending existing laws to ensure that society will not feel like certain laws are being made to target one group of people. Your excellency, we know how notorious such amendments can be where individuals in future government can use the same against those who enacted them as arguably being the case currently.
I also commend you for your cabinet's initiative to include in the national curriculum the importance of teaching children national unity. Actually it is my considered view that the quality of information being taught in school is more important than free education. What is the point of teaching a million children education that will not help them make better decisions?
It is for this reason I suggest that teaching children about national unity is not enough but imparting the truth, starting with the history of Africa and the origins of tribalism which I cover in Chapter one of my book (โEconomic Systems Dismantling โ Why Zambia can be the model of African transformationโ, out on 22nd August 2024) its impacts on divisions and governance also covered extensively.
Children need to further be taught truthfully and in a language they all understand and use on a daily basis ( Zambian language) how politicians have used this deformity of the demarcation of Africa from colonialism to become ethnic entrepreneurs and appeal for ethnic votes. This will not just help work for national unity for the better good of the country but enable children make better decisions in future to avoid voting into government people campaigning or governing on tribal lines as it is the biggest problem.
Again as a matter of emphasis, regardless of the education given, if we do not put in place strong institutions that awards merit and competence as opposed to ethnic and political alliances, we will be on the same subject for the next 100 years.
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The other issue you addressed was law and order. May I take this liberty to squarely blame this on you your excellency? You and many have suffered a lot as result of the unprofessionalism of the law enforcement agencies. It was expected that immediately you formed government the first thing you would do and I am sure many Zambians wanted to see were reforms that would help especially the police and judiciary operate independently. I must mention that so far, I do not believe the public has any confidence in the law enforcement agencies under the UPND government, just in case those in whatsapp groups are not delivering the truth.
Now when it comes to the cadres, unruly cadres, the jobless youths, junkies who are mostly sponsored by political party officials and pressure is put on the police to pay a blind eye on their criminal behaviour especially from the ruling party, I have said it times without a number that it is not an issue that the Zambia Police can fail to handle. It is a fact that just like they easily handle opposition supporters, they can easily deal with any unruly cadres from the ruling party hence, the Army are not needed anywhere near to handle this.
Your excellency, may I remind you of one of the great sons of soil I know called Shapa Wakunguma, actually your aide de camp the man who stands behind you how he unfairly lost his job in the Sesheke by election by trying to discipline both the ruling PF and opposition cadres? While the intimidation of the police by ruling party officials may not be visible to the public, let us accept it Mr. President if we want to deal with this issue it is there. Also police are demoted, transferred or fired even under your government based on their dealings or their relationship with the ruling party officials on the flipside others get favors and promotions based on their proximity to the ruling party. Mr. President this is a fact.
Again, what reforms has your government put in place to insulate the police and in general government officers from political intimidation from senior government and ruling party officials? I believe the conduct of the police which has also added to the tension in the country in the past few weeks can give an answer. Has your party clearly put in place policies that make them not take advantage of their position and abuse the police? Has discipline been applied on UPND officials who misbehave and sponsor cadres?
May I also make mention that should the police continue paying a blind eye to the cadres, and where ruling party officials think this is the norm in todayโs politics, the vice will be worse going towards elections. Letโs remember one of the key issues that made the PF unpopular and caused them lose elections by one million votes was this issue.
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Ghanaโs founding President Kwame Nkrumah modified Matthew 6:33 in the campaigns for independence when he said โSeek ye first the political kingdom and all else shall be added to youโ. The elephant in the room Mr. President is the economy. If I was to further modify Matthew 6:33, I would say 'Seek ye first economic progress and all else shall be added to you.'
I commend your government for making an effort to tackle all issues that are taking away our attention from the most important things to deal with the economy such as hate speech, cadres, politics, law enforcement etc. However, majority of voters would not pay attention to any politician spewing hate speech if the economy was sound.
The 2021 campaigns was characterized by some grave tribal remarks against you and the Tongas and as you indicated in your address you suffered one of the worst discrimination but people still voted for a Tonga because they didnโt care as long as you are Zambian and all they wanted was someone who would deal with the economy.
May I hasten to mention, that if there is anything that can unite the country today is our focus on economic issues. This part was not clearly and convincingly addressed such as the worst energy crisis ever, unemployment, high cost of petroleum exacerbating commodity prices, unstable currency etc. Peopleโs incomes have been wiped out due to the high cost of commodity, worse for those like guards and house helpers whose incomes were already meagre and a catastrophe for non-income earners. It is one thing to encourage people to get solar systems, but another thing when it comes to the question of can they afford?
My position Mr. President is that while your government has squarely blamed the PF for this mess, I believe that single thinking is misplaced. Our economic structure is not correct. We are chasing against the winds at the direction we are moving. The single thinking of foreign owned mining sector revival or debt restructuring is far from the solution. With technology there is no enough jobs in the mining sector to uptake millions of unemployed youths.
In as much as the Minister of Finance indicated that to help those without jobs make ends meet, the government is coming up with what is termed as public works. The question is out of the millions youths how many will be employed and where will the money come from to pay them when we know the government has no money? Will these jobs be dignified, pensionable and sustainable or it's just a cushion?
There has to be a radical shift and restructuring of the economy to ensure its focused on the local people. One of the key issues is that there has to be a rapid reversal of the foreign dominance of the economy starting with small issues like second hand car sales, block making, most services, and other many sectors. Financial institutions must respond and stop focusing on making profits from government. CEEC, CDF, incentives, free solar taxes, social cash transfer are far from being adequate to turn around things.
We need to entrust the economy in the hands of Zambians, there will be failures and that is fine. We also need a plan on how Zambians will be prepared to be key participants in production in the mines, not just artisanal or suppliers but mine owners. We can leverage on the projected demand for copper as a result of energy transition and demand that a significant portion of investment is channeled towards locals while we guarantee the raw materials needed in the developed countries. LET US SLOW DOWN OR EVEN STOP GIVING MINING LICENSES AND LAND TO FOREIGNERS, THAT IS WHAT IS KILLING AFRICA.
If we do not ensure that significant profits from the private sector are reinvested within the local economy but are exported, that is a disaster in waiting. By the way that is exactly the colonial economic structure. An economy cannot grow based on government taxes but also on the profits reinvested within the economy from the private sector, a structure as it works in all developed economies. Our situation is that all profits are expatriated. With that structure we should not expect to stop begging from the west. That is why there is no enough money to invest in agriculture, health, education and other social services.
While World Bank country Director Nathan Belete is right that Zambia needs to create over 10 million jobs by 2050, translating to approximately 400,000 a year he forgot to mention that probably 50% of those jobs must be created almost immediately. It is for this reason that you may also want to revisit the 7/10 ratings of the new dawn achievements, it is definitely based on wrong parameters or targets.
May I also make a suggestion, expensive as it may be, put together a commission of inquiry to deal with all PF matters such as Hon. Jay Jay Bandaโs police raid which I believe was tackled by the courts, the gassing, grand corruption, debt acquisition and many issues so that we can put PF to rest, leave whatever needs to be delt with LEAs and focus on the economy. It is in my considered view that the continuous reference of PF and statements like we are reopening the case, umulandu tawubola are considered to be more vengeful than solving the issues.
As I conclude the great son of the soil, Nelson Mandela once said "As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison.โ
May the good Lord continue to bless you as you lead this great country Zambia.
Yours in National Service,
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