Maravi

It’s dangerous to resist demands for change, says chief Ndake

It’s dangerous to resist demands for change, says chief Ndake
By Christopher Miti in Nyimba
Fri 24 June 2011, 03:10 CAT

A TRADITIONAL leader in Eastern Province says it is very dangerous to resist popular demand for change. Chief Ndake of the Nsenga people in Nyimba made the remarks when People’s Pact Forum acting national chairperson Colonel Panji Kaunda paid a courtesy call on him at Sikwenda village.

Chief Ndake said former president Dr Kenneth Kaunda made a very wise decision in 1991 when he paved way for political change.

“If we had not allowed change to take place, there was going to be chaos in the country because people were going to think that their ideas have been undemocratically crushed by a dictator.

So there it is, if you can manage, you will bring change but we as chiefs are still in the same shoe or plane with the ruling party, the MMD,” chief Ndake said.

He said UNIP was broken by its opponents, the MMD, in 1991 because they all worked together.

He allowed Col Panji to proceed with his meetings in his chiefdom, saying it was up to the people to choose.

“In fact, nature has it that there is nothing that is constant. Everything is static, everything is in a constant state of motion, constant state of development. Each time, each era is superior than the former.

If people insist on stagnation, then we are saying we don’t want the superior form of development or existence. So sometimes it is very dangerous to resist popular demands for change,” chief Ndake said.

He said in his view, nobody would dispute Col Panji’s observation on the road to Mwape, Luembe and many others.

“Now if we are going to talk about mobile hospitals, what is the aim of introducing mobile hospitals?

I believe the aim as you have stated is to let the people in the rural areas far from the existing hospitals along Great East Road to access the health services so that they can have a chance to be seen by mobile doctors.

Now it becomes meaningless for the introduction of this facility if the roads are not there. It’s logical for the planners to put up several rural health centres in those places than introducing something that will not reach the targeted population,” chief Ndake said.

Chief Ndake, a former governor and Nyimba member of parliament, said Col Panji’s message was very clear.

And Col Panji said he had been to rural areas and the poverty levels there were unprecedented.

“Yes, our friends give examples of Shoprite, mansions, they look at traffic jams they see in Lusaka to be development but there is nothing in rural areas.

I hope the people who bought those mobile hospitals will tomorrow take them to chieftainess Mwape, thereafter they take them to Luembe and chief Nyalugwe and come back,” Col Panji said.

“If they can do that, I will praise them and say it is a good idea but not what I have seen. They will never do that.”

He said the whole idea of the mobile hospitals was not to take them to Nyimba hospital but the actual rural areas.

Col Panji said the purpose of purchasing mobile hospitals deprived the people in rural areas of the money, which should have been used to build clinics.
“This is one of the reasons that we tell people why we should change government and change must come with the meaning of change.

In your government UNIP we had a government that cared for Zambian people that’s why you gave us a member of central committee in-charge of rural areas, a minister in-charge of rural development because they knew that the majority of Zambians live in rural areas,” he said.

Col Panji said chiefs should not follow politicians but speak on behalf of their people.

“Can Rupiah Banda’s son go to Chinambi School in Luembe area? Can Rupiah Banda’s wife give birth in Nyimba Hospital? If they say yes we shall praise them. If they say no something is missing.

We want institutions in this country where they leaders will go to and other people will go to. A lot of Zambians have been denied the stake of our independence for 47 years,” said Col Panji.

Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CHIEF NDAKE, EASTERN PROVINCE, MMD, PANJI KAUNDA

posted by MrK @ 4:32 PM