Maravi

Those to boycott NCC will be buried - Mulasikwanda

Those to boycott NCC will be buried - Mulasikwanda
By Royd Mwenya and Ntalasha Mutale
Monday October 29, 2007 [03:00]

Those who will boycott the National Constitution Conference (NCC) will be buried and forgotten, gender minister Patricia Mulasikwanda has said. Officiating at this year’s Chakwela Makumbi traditional ceremony in Chongwe on Saturday, Mulasikwanda said those who had boycotted events before never gained anything.

She said when UNIP boycotted the 1996 general elections, they lost all the seats they had in parliament. Mulasikwanda said because of that, UNIP would never regain power. She said she stood on the word of God and that even God said if those he wanted to do his work failed, he would raise stones to finish his work.

She said God would raise other people to take part in the NCC, adding that those who would attend the NCC will carry the day.

“It is important to gain and not be buried by your decision,” Mulasikwanda said.
She appealed to those intending to boycott to rescind their decision and participate so that their concerns could be addressed during the NCC because boycotting critical national issues was wrong.

She said the government would not manipulate the process of constitution making as some people were made to believe.

She also appealed to chieftainess Nkomeshya to help address the issue of the NCC with fellow traditional leaders.

Mulasikwanda said ceremonies like the Chakwela Makumbi of the Soli people in Chongwe provided a good platform for government to discuss issues of national interest.
Meanwhile, Mulasikwanda said the government would continue with the fertiliser support programme that was initiated to support small-scale farmers for food security.

She said the programme had proved to be one way of reducing poverty among the people.
Mulasikwanda said government had already targeted to support 3,500 farmers in Chongwe district. She said 11,500 by 50 kilograms bags of D-compound fertilizer had already been delivered and now awaited distribution to the district.

Mulasikwanda said the government had undertaken a number of rehabilitation works of the road infrastructure to facilitate transportation of various products from the outskirts of the district.

She said the 64 roads in Chongwe district were being rehabilitated and that the construction of the Kasenga bridge in Chinkuli ward had been completed and was soon to be commissioned.

She also said that the government had recruited 83 teachers and that more would be recruited to cater for the remaining schools in the district.

“Government is considering to construct another basic school, a resource centre at Chongwe Basic School and a science laboratory at Mikango High School to ensure that our children learn in a conducive environment,” she said.

Mulasikwanda advised Zambians to stop cultural practices that promoted the increase of HIV/AIDS. She said government under the District Water Livelihood Support and Sanitation Project had constructed eight VIP pit latrines in Chikwela village and rehabilitated four boreholes in Matako, Shishengula and Katoba villages.

Earlier, senior chieftainess Nkomeshya appealed to the government to allocate another 2,000 by 50 kilogramme bags of fertilizer to meet the shortfall from the initial delivery. She also appealed to the government to urge the Food Reserve Agency to devise a better system of paying farmers for their produce to enable them effectively plan for the coming farming season.

“My concern on agriculture is that farmers in my chiefdom and the district as whole are not paid on time by the FRA, thereby delaying them in preparing the necessary inputs such as seeds and fertilizers in readiness for the next farming season,” she said.

Chieftaness Nkomeshya also appealed to the government to reconsider its decision to establish a provincial hospital at Chainama College in Lusaka and take the project back to Chongwe district.

Chieftainess Nkomeshya also pleaded with interest groups and other stakeholders to participate in the NCC so that the peace and tranquility the nation had been enjoying over the past 43 years could be preserved.

Labels: CHIEFS, CORRUPTION, NCC

posted by MrK @ 6:16 AM