Maravi

‘Mukuni’s attempts to become paramount chief will divide Southern Province’

‘Mukuni’s attempts to become paramount chief will divide Southern Province’
Written by George Zulu in Monze
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 7:39:17 AM

THE Tonga Traditional Association (TTA) has warned that attempts by chief Mukuni of the Toka Leya people of Livingstone and Kazungula to become paramount chief of the Bantu Botatwe will divide Southern Province and the Bantu Botatwe across the country.

And TTA has asked the Ministries of Lands and Natural Resources, and Local Government and Housing to quickly consider revising the laws on royalties, alleging that some traditional leaders have become more powerful than others.

In an interview on Saturday, TTA president Dickson Namanza said attempts by chief Mukuni to become a paramount Chief of the Bantu Botatwe was disregarding what the colonial ‘masters’ had put in place before Zambia got independence.

Namanza said the government was aware of the attempts by chief Mukuni because he [Mukuni] had applied to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing.

He said the move was questionable and retrogressive because there was another issue of chief Moonze which government was still resolving.

“It is really sad that even government is aware about these attempts by chief Mukuni because he applied through the former Minister of Local Government and Housing Sylvia Masebo to be a paramount chief. Let government not to delay anymore to resolve the issue of paramount chief of the Bantu Botatwe, Chief Moonze has been paramount chief for Bantu Botatwe not only for Monze or Southern Province but up to Ndola rural, so what we are saying as TTA is that Chief Moonze should be re-gazetted because at no time was he de-gazetted as paramount chief,” he said.

And Namanza said royalties paid to traditional leaders need to be shared equally.

“This issue of paying royalties to an individual chief has made some traditional leaders to be powerful such that some are disregarded, these royalties should be shared equally by all traditional leaders in a particular area, because they do not belong to an individual. These should be taken as provincial royalties not chiefdom,” he said.

He said failure by the government to regulate the laws on royalties would bring problems to the country especially with the future generation, adding that lack of regulation on issues of royalties had created artificial poverty among chiefdoms.

“If there is an investor paying royalty it should embrace all the chiefs in the province such that the social aspect of life of the people can improve,” he said.

He also appealed to the National Constitutional Conference delegates not to allow any chief in the country to embrace natural resources for their personal gains.

“Let NCC also enact a law forthwith to stop the trend, people in these chiefdoms are becoming poor and poorer while individual chiefs are becoming richer through royalties, it is not supposed to be like that, it is a problem we are creating on our own. If they cannot see it then I have seen it and am now telling government that can we bring such to an end,” said Namanza.

Labels: CHIEF MUKUNI, SOUTHERN PROVINCE, TTA

posted by MrK @ 6:39 AM