Simwinga urges support for Sata's devolution efforts

Simwinga urges support for Sata's devolution efforts
By Mwila Chansa-Ntambi
Tue 06 Mar. 2012, 11:59 CAT

THE Barotseland Agreement should be understood in the context of a devolved system of governance, says Ali Simwinga.

And Simwinga says there is need to support President Michael Sata's efforts of devolution, adding that countries that had devolved were doing better in terms of development than those that had not.

Commenting on the ongoing debate over the Barotseland Agreement of 1964, Simwinga, the immediate past Kitwe town clerk who was also the longest-serving town clerk in Zambia for 19 years said at his residence in Kitwe last Wednesday that if people isolated the Barotseland Agreement from the principle of a devolved system of government, they would be shooting in the dark.

"I have had the honour to serve as member of the Constitutional Review Commission under the Willa Mung'omba which was constituted by the late president Levy Patrick Mwanawasa and if you recall, that commission undertook a tour of all the 150 constituencies in Zambia. So I know what our people said, what they submitted and I am also quite familiar with what the commission after gathering all this evidence, both oral and written, did recommend on this particular issue of the Barotse Agreement," Simwinga said.

He added that when the Mung'omba CRC deliberated on the issue of Barotseland Agreement, commissioners proceeded to consider people's submissions on the Barotseland issue within the framework of local government and in particular devolution.

Simwinga explained that the Mung'omba Commission was in agreement with the observations of the Mvunga Commission that the issue could only be settled by the parties concerned in terms of the provisions of the agreement in question.

"The commission also noted that even the Mwanakatwe Commission recommended that the government and the Barotse Royal Establishment should negotiate over the agreement. However, it was the commission's view that since these submissions were motivated by the desire that power should devolve to the royal establishment, the matter should be considered within the context of devolution of power to provinces and districts and that is the issue," he said.

"The commission recommended on page 511 as follows: 'the commission recommends that the Barotse Agreement should be addressed through the devolved and decentralised system of local government as recommended in this report."

Simwinga observed that because the above recommendations had not found themselves in the country's laws, the people of Western Province felt, and legitimately so, that they were not getting an equitable share of the national cake.

"Now I have heard debates that no President Michael Sata during the campaigns indicated that he would restore the Barotseland Agreement. Well, I did not accompany him on his campaign trails but the few times I heard him, I heard him say he will respect the Barotseland Agreement because it accorded him an opportunity to practice a devolved system of government and I think we should not quote people out of context and that is my understanding of the issue at hand," Simwinga added.

He urged Zambians not to shelve documents but read and understand them so as not to mislead others.

"So I think those of my colleagues who are arguing on the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement without reference to a devolved system of government, in my humble view, are arguing out of context," said Simwinga.

And Simwinga said it was sad that people were complaining about realignments and increase in districts.

"Let me tell you that the Netherlands as a country is much smaller than the Copperbelt Province but it has 385 districts compared with ours which is a massive country with over 70 districts. So tell me, which one is easier to manage, the smaller unit or the bigger one?" Simwinga wondered.