Floods should not be politicised, says Levy
Floods should not be politicised, says LevyBy Brighton Phiri in Mazabuka and Monze
Friday January 18, 2008 [03:00]
PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa yesterday advised people not to politicise the floods being experienced in the country. And President Mwanawasa blasted the media for allegedly failing to initiate their own coverage of the situation in the country. Meanwhile, some MMD cadres attempted to harass Mazabuka Central UPND member of parliament Gary Nkombo at Mbiya Basic School where President Mwanawasa landed on his visit to some flood sites.
Addressing people at the school grounds, President Mwanawasa said his visit was not a happy one. He said the floods were not supposed to be politicised or treated on a partisan basis.
“This is not a happy visit but I intend to acquaint myself and government of the problem the floods have caused in Southern Province,” President Mwanawasa said.
He said it was wrong for any politician to go round cheating people that his government was not concerned with the flood victims because it had done what it could to assist them.
“I am not the only one in government. And Southern Province is not the only area that I run and floods are not the only challenge Zambia is facing. I have to deal with all the problems faced by the country. So don’t listen to politicians who say that ‘President Mwanawasa does not care, so do not vote for MMD’. These problems should not be politicised,” President Mwanawasa said.
He wondered why some politicians were cheating people when the government had sent food, clothes, medicine and tents and had allocated money to Southern Province to mitigate the effects of the floods. He disclosed that each of the three constituencies in Mazabuka had been given K20 million to mitigate the effects of the floods.
“We have provided blankets and food and even other well wishers have donated food which we delivered to you. We have provided tents to the people that have been displaced in all the camps in Mazabuka,” President Mwanawasa said. “Some schools have been turned into temporary homes for the flood victims and all this we are doing is due to our concern for our people.”
President Mwanawasa described the situation as a national disaster which required concerted efforts.
“Let us for the time being take off our partisan hats and attend to this national disaster,” President Mwanawasa said.
He challenged journalists not only to demand freedom of the press but reminded them of their duty to inform the world about the flood situation in the country.
“Apart from our own ZNBC and Muvi TV, I have been watching other television stations like Al Jazeera, CNN and BBC, I haven’t heard about the local flood situation but all I have heard about are the floods in Mozambique,” President Mwanawasa said. “I don’t know why you are conservative with your airtime. You want us to bring news on your table. When I talked about the need for humanitarian aid in Zambia, it is headline today in the Times of Zambia and Daily Mail. What is wrong with you? You can’t initiate on your own to film what is happening for the world to see until the President cries for help; you can’t initiate your own coverage of such a national disaster.”
Earlier, some MMD cadres attempted to attack Gary Nkombo accusing him of insulting President Mwanawasa and contributing to the low turnout of people to welcome him. This was at the time President Mwanawasa was having a private briefing with members of parliament in Mazabuka, the three ministers he is traveling with, finance minister Ng’andu Magande, works and supply minister Kapembwa Simbao and community development minister Catherine Namugala and the provincial, government and MMD leadership.
When the police were alerted, they warned the MMD cadres against any acts of violence but the cadres vowed to sort out Nkombo after his meeting with President Mwanawasa.
And Albidon Mine has donated some foodstuffs to the flood victims. What was donated included 250 bags of mealie meal, 500 litres of cooking oil, 250x5 kilogrammes salt, 450 x 2 kilogrammes of sugar and 150 blankets.
And addressing the people later at Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula stadium in Monze, President Mwanawasa said it was not his intention to address public rallies on his fact-finding mission on floods.
He said what the country was experiencing in terms of floods was due to climate change because the world had become hotter contributing to heavy rains in some parts and drought in other areas.
“We seriously need to step up our efforts because we shall all drown,” President Mwanawasa said.
He said food security was being affected because the climate was either too hot or there was too much rain that destroyed crops. He said climate change was caused by man through emission of poisonous gases in the air.
He said African states were not guilty of emitting dangerous gas in the air but that the industrialised countries were guilty of such acts.
“Unfortunately, we are the recipients of the bad things in the industrialised north. In Zambia, we are not doing much to mitigate the effects of climate change or global warming,” said President Mwanawasa.
He appealed the Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources minister to step up efforts in sensitisation on climate change.
Labels: ALBIDON NICKLE MINE, CADRES, FLOODS, MWANAWASA
posted by MrK @ 4:17 AM
2 Comments:
If the party in charge starts to blame the weather, it is time to step aside.
These rains prove that the hydrological infrastructure of the country is just as important as the roads and bridges.
Zambia has a lot of fresh water, but instead of letting it flow out into rivers and lakes, it should be kept on the land as vegetation, groundwater or in dams.
That would solve these flooding issues. It would also make water available year-around for agriculture.
This should very much be seen as part and parcel of what development means.
He said it was wrong for any politician to go round cheating people that his government was not concerned with the flood victims because it had done what it could to assist them.
Apart from getting enough money from the mines to invest in infrastructure. Water management should be part of securing all of the infrastructure, and getting agriculture off depending on rainfall.
So don’t listen to politicians who say that ‘President Mwanawasa does not care, so do not vote for MMD’. These problems should not be politicised,” President Mwanawasa said.
Odd choice of priorities.
He challenged journalists not only to demand freedom of the press but reminded them of their duty to inform the world about the flood situation in the country.
Why? I thought the MMD was so concerned about the country's perception over doing away with the mining agreements. Now the president wants journalists to publicise Zambia as being disaster prone?
Maybe it is new to president Mwanawsa, but water can be stored on land, not only to prevent flooding, but to provide agriculture with it's needs, provide cities with their water supply, etc.
Zambia has massive water catchment areas. I would suggest that the government gets busy utilizing those so the country can develop, and future floods can be prevented.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home