Maravi

Dialogue will save the country - Sata

Dialogue will save the country - Sata
By Chibaula Silwamba
Thu 29 Dec. 2011, 14:00 CAT

PRESIDENT Michael Sata has assured Zambians that no blood will be spilt over the Barotseland Agreement.

Speaking when he met a 12-man group of representatives of Linyungandambo Barotse Freedom Movement (BFM) and the Movement for the Restoration of Barotseland at State House yesterday, President Sata called for dialogue and not confrontation over the Barotseland Agreement of 1964.

"Dialogue will save the country and the people wherever you are but if you want confrontation, you are in a weaker position than government is," President Sata said.

"God created blood which we should not spill for nothing. And we are not going to spill any blood for nothing."

President Sata assured that he would listen to all concerned parties.

"I am not going to behave like the previous government. We will listen to you; any section of the people in Barotseland or Western Province whether they are Chokwes, Luvales, Mbundas, and Nkoyas. If you have anything you want to talk about, this is your State House, you come we talk about it," President Sata said.

"Once we talk, then we will see how the whole situation is."

He acknowledged that there were many misunderstandings between the central government and some groups of people in Western Province.

He said the misunderstandings emanated from the colonial era.

"When the Europeans came to Africa, especially Northern Rhodesia now Zambia the only leader they found and talked to was the King of Barotseland," President Sata said.

"When they met the King of Barotseland, because of ignorance of how the country was, wherever they could go, the King of Barotseland illegally gave them concessions of parts of Tongaland, gave them concession of Copperbelt Province and they in return…that's why you find that Lozi Paramount Chief the Litunga has a British uniform when he is not British himself."

Seventy-four-year-old President Sata recalled that although Barotseland was a protectorate within a protectorate, when the federal government was formed in 1953, the region was not treated differently from the other provinces.

He said Barotseland Western Province was just like other provinces.

"When they went to negotiate for the independence, the negotiators from the Barotse Royal Establishment wanted independence but the British government told them, ‘yes, if you want independence, how are you going to survive? You are just a province like all the other provinces in Northern Rhodesia. Therefore, what we would like to plead is with the Northern Rhodesia government or the new Zambian government to give you the same autonomy'," President Sata recalled.

"The autonomy which was in the Barotseland Agreement…we are going to publish the Barotseland Agreement because a number of people don't understand what is in the Barotseland Agreement. We are going to buy space in The Post, Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily Mail so that people can see what is contained in the Barotseland Agreement."

He said the Barotseland Agreement was about the autonomy of the region.

"I totally agree with you where we are giving timber concessions and people of Barotseland are not benefiting from it. We are giving diamond concessions and people are not benefiting. We should soon start exploration because if there is oil in Angola, I don't see why we shouldn't have oil in Barotseland plains," President Sata said.

He said the problems facing people of Western Province were not exclusive to the region but all parts of Zambia.

"The difficulties, which we have in Western Province, Northern Province, Eastern Province, Central Province, Southern Province and everywhere we are all suffering from lack of development," he said.

"I praise all of you for your courage. At least you have spoken because if you don't speak, by the time you come and realise, it will be too late. Prevention is better than cure," President Sata said.

He said a number of things needed to be looked at.

"Kenneth Kaunda started cashew nuts. What went wrong? Where are the cashew nuts there? Your canals are blocked. Your people are talking about fish bans. At the moment in Barotseland you are growing a lot of rice so we have to assist to create a market for you because if you can create a market for you instead of you relying on APG Milling we can reduce the tension," he said.

President Sata reminded the three groupings that he pardoned and released all the Barotseland activists from jail because he understands the conditions in prisons, having been in prison himself.

"Some of them pardoned activists are saying they want compensation. To be compensated for what? And if you want to be compensated, ask Rodger Chongwe who was your lawyer to prepare a paper for compensation. But I will also ask you to compensate me government for what you damaged. But those are things, which we can talk. We don't want to go back," said President Sata, who was accompanied by ministers Geoffrey Mwamba (defence), Kennedy Sakeni (home affairs), Professor Nkandu Luo (local government) and Inonge Wina (chiefs and traditional affairs, who is also a parliamentarian in Western Province). Western Province permanent secretary Augustine Seyuba was also present.

The group was invited to present their grievances.

During the commissioning parade of officer cadets in Kabwe on Friday, President Sata said he would not use the army to stop people inciting others to rise against the government.

President Sata they were people in Western province that were trying to create a state within a state.

Labels: BAROTSE FREEDOM MOVEMENT, BAROTSELAND AGREEMENT, MICHAEL SATA

posted by MrK @ 6:38 PM