Unity Day
By Editor
Tue 06 July 2010, 04:00 CAT
Today is Unity Day. And on this day, we remember all the efforts made to unite our people into a strong nation.
On this day, we remember our national mantra of 'One Zambia, One Nation' and how the founder of our Republic comrade Kenneth Kaunda used to recite it repeatedly at every gathering, waving his white handkerchief. It sounded nice but there was much more to it than that – it reminded us of the need for unity.
A nation without unity can’t tackle its basic problems and becomes easy prey for foreign domination.
It is said that a diversity of political parties in a country is an artifice aimed at dividing the people. This can, to some extent, be said to be true. We think that this is true in the conditions of our country, and we can go farther and say that the last 20 years of African history have demonstrated the many problems associated with all these concepts. We also think that the present circumstances in Africa, which are so terrible in all spheres, also demonstrate the problems associated with such concepts. The form of political organisation should promote unity, if possible.
It is possible to have a very high level of unity even in a multiparty political dispensation. But this is only possible if our political pluralism is anchored on values and principles that are accepted by all and held dear by all.
To have unity, all of us must have a belief in society. Working together, cooperating with each other in solidarity and in love. What is needed is unity that is rooted in a straightforward view of society; in the understanding that the individual does best in a strong and decent community of people with principles, standards, common aims and values. We need political parties that realise that they are part of a community.
We need to also realise that politics is about the search for improving the lives and security of our people in this continually changing world. We need unity to build a strong and active society that can provide this. We must do it together. We cannot buy our way into unity, to a safe society. We must work for it together; we must plan for it together.
We say this because this can only be done together. Leaders lead, but in the end the people govern.
Although unity is an expedience, it cannot be meaningful and enduring if it’s not based on principles. There is no choice between being united and being principled. We should unite because of what we believe.
We know that our country has changed a lot, and a lot of things, including our national mantra of One Zambia, One Nation, have been abandoned in this change.
Well, change is an important part of life. We have changed as a nation. We were right to change. Those who don’t change die. If the world around us changes, and we don’t, then we become of no use to it. Our principles cease being principles and just ossify into dogma. We shouldn’t change to forget our principles, but to fulfill them; not to lose our identity but to keep our relevance. Change is an important part of gaining the nation’s confidence.
Let’s make our country a nation of tolerance, innovation and creativity. Our people have an innate sense of fair play. We have a great history. And when great challenges face us, we rise to them. But we have a great weakness, and it is that unless roused, we tend to let things be. Selfish, greedy and corrupt politicians encourage this weakness. They thrive on it. And it’s time we were roused because things are falling apart – our national unity is weakening; we are being fragmented into petty political parties that offer no national guidance other than just simply being vehicles for people to get into public office and enjoy the benefits of being there. Our country is increasingly being divided along all sorts of lines, albeit in a silent way. But what is silent today may become loud tomorrow.
Let us strive to build a nation that is united, a nation with pride in itself; a thriving nation that is secure in social justice, a nation in which our children can bring up their children with a future to look forward to.
But in struggling for unity, it is necessary to combat firmly the abettors of division. Let us seek to clarify this position to the masses of our people, and not leave them impeded by divisive political positions. We should combat the division of our people into regional or tribal-based political parties, even if this is presented as multiparty or plural politics, as democracy. To struggle for unity is, necessarily, to struggle against divisionism on whatever lines, tribal or otherwise. It is therefore also necessary to unmask and isolate those who look at politics on the basis of tribe or region and want to carve our country into small Bantustans which they use to do deals with others as if they were in a casino. Let’s unmask and isolate them wherever they appear, conduct their campaigns of division and intrigue.
The policy of unity has always been part of our people’s struggle for independence. Every real political hero in this country has struggled for national unity.
The unity we are talking about, the unity we are today observing is for today and for tomorrow. We should be ready to travel together and in unity with all those who wish to unite in the struggle for the same objectives.
We should not understand unity as mere declarations of goodwill and good intentions. Unity is expressed, manifested, consolidated and developed in common activity and struggle.
And it is from beginning to end the popular struggle that determines the course of events. A proper solution to the great national problems is impossible without the struggle of the popular masses. In the present political situation, unity will make the forces of democracy invincible, and the democratisation process irreversible. The unity of our people decides the present and will decide the future. Its consolidation is a especially indispensable in the period leading up to next year’s elections, and after the elections in the peaceful work of developing our country that will follow.
The unity of our people and the unity of all our regions and our political organisations – these are the basic guarantees of the sure success of all our endeavours. It is only through the unity of all our people that we can defeat poverty and move our country to prosperity. It is therefore imperative to overcome anything that impairs this unity.
Let’s reflect and meditate deeply on this day, the holiday of unity, on the need to move our people away from divisive tribal or regional politics.
Labels: NATIONAL UNITY DAY
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Unity and political opportunism
Written by Editor
Today, July 7, is Unity Day in our country. It is a special day that requires all of us to deeply meditate over the issue of unity. Despite our country’s social diversity, we have been able to hold together for over 44 years as citizens of Zambia.
Today many Zambians have married or have strong friendships across ethnic or racial lines. Many Zambians have also settled in different parts of the country which are not their native homes without any feeling of insecurity or not being accepted. Zambia also has become home to people of different racial backgrounds who play an active role in our country’s social, political and economic spheres.
This achievement has by no means been accidental, but a result of great vision and determination on the part of our founding fathers and mothers, those selfless heroic freedom fighters, to build one nation – Zambia – from numerous ethnic and racial groups. We should cherish and nurture this bond and never take it for granted. We should diligently guard against anything that would, through political expediency, threaten it.
Yes unity, itself is an expedience and not a principle, but a very important and necessary one. And it is imperative to overcome anything that impairs this unity because it is the only basic guarantee for the progress of our people and our country. Only through unity of all our people, of the whole nation can we overcome our poverty and backwardness.
But unity can only germinate from the seeds of unity. Like if you plant the seeds of tomatoes, you cannot expect to harvest maize, if you plant the seeds of disunity, division, you cannot expect to end up with unity in the nation.
We know there are many politicians in our country who go round talking about unity when they are actually planting seeds of division. But they expect to harvest the fruits of unity at the end of the day. Yes, they may want unity, but a different kind of unity. They want a type of unity that perpetrates them in leadership, that gives them what they want from the people. We have heard Rupiah Banda eloquently talk about unity, propounding all the good virtues of unity. But we have also heard the same Rupiah preaching, planting the seeds of division, of tribalism and regionalism. Rupiah last year, out of political expediency, went and told the people of Eastern Province in Chipata that they chase away anyone coming from other regions of our country to campaign there; they should tell them to go back where they come from. This is not a concoction on our part. We have repeated this statement several times because it is true; we have it on tape. And Rupiah has never denied or repudiated this statement. And worse still, Rupiah has never apologised for this barbaric statement. What does this mean?
The unity which all our people seek – and not that of Rupiah – can only be built on honest dealings, honest politics. It cannot be built on deceit, manipulation and lies. Those who seek unity by trying to manipulate and deceive others so that they get a lion’s share out of this political dispensation will not achieve much in terms of unity. What we are saying applies even to the pact between the Patriotic Front and UPND.
If this pact, this unity is simply a matter of opportunism for one individual or two or three to make themselves presidents, it will not work. If it is simply a way of trying to manipulate the situation to revive declining political fortunes and throw themselves on top of our politics again without much merit, it won’t work. Meaningful unity cannot be built on the shifting sands of evasions, manipulation, deceit, lies, illusions and opportunism. The challenge is to move from rhetoric to honest action, and action at unprecedented intensity and scale.
Meaningful unity is only possible among people who are truly honest with themselves and with others. Yes there is need for unity because no man is an island, and there are no men of stone who can’t be moved by the noble passions of love, friendship and human compassion. We need unity among all our people because where there is no unity, the possibility of conflict is very high. And as we know, conflict threatens not only the gains we have made but also our collective future. And we should therefore treat the question of unity in our country as a common challenge.
Let’s not forget that the driving thrust of the leaders of our independence struggle was to forge pride and unity amongst all the oppressed people of this territory, to foil the strategy of divide and rule, to engender pride among the masses of our people and confidence in their ability to unite and throw off their oppression. Unity was therefore a weapon in the struggle for independence and it still is a weapon in the struggle against poverty, disease, ignorance and backwardness in our country.
We should not fear to discuss the issue of unity in an honest manner and to openly criticise those who violate it. One of our strongest weapons in the defence of unity is our ability to speak out whenever it is threatened.
Let us now, drawing on the strengths of the unity that our heroic freedom fighters have helped forge for our country, together grasp the opportunities and realise their vision of One Zambia, One Nation. What is important is not only to attain unity at independence and a few decades after that, it is to retain national unity forever. Unity and progress are inseparable because those who are ready to unite, to join hands can overcome the greatest challenges. And for us, our independence means nothing if we will not be able to live in a way that deepens our unity and enhances the lives of our people. Again, political honesty is a necessity in sustaining national unity because as long as legitimate bodies of opinion feel politically cheated, vile minds will take advantage of justifiable grievances to totally destroy whatever unity we may today enjoy. Clearly, the important thing is to give happiness to all our people in their complexities and diversities.
We detest tribalism, regionalism and racialism because we regard them as barbaric. And this is why we have never spared Rupiah on his reckless statement on this score. Tribalism, regionalism and racism pollute the atmosphere of human relations and poison the minds of the backward, the bigoted and the prejudiced. It is therefore intolerable and unacceptable that the cancer of tribalism, regionalism should be allowed to eat away the fabric of our society today – almost 45 years after independence because of the political opportunism of characters like Rupiah. We must ensure that tribe, colour become only God-given gifts to each one of us and not an indelible mark or attribute that accords a special status to any. We should never allow our country to play host to tribalism, regionalism or racism nor shall our voices be stifled if we see that one of our politicians is stupidly and dangerously engaging in it. This cancer must be consciously combated and not discreetly tolerated. The very fact that this cancer degrades both the perpetrator and the victim commands that, if we are true to our commitment to national unity and dignity, we should not spare anyone who engages in tribal or regional politics. All of us know how stubborn the cancer of tribalism or regionalism can cling to the mind and how deeply it can infect the human soul. We hate the practice of tribalism or regionalism, and in our hatred, we are sustained by the fact that the overwhelming majority of the people of this country hate it equally.
Tribalism and regionalism are not different from the cancer of corruption becasue they are a product of corruption themselves. And as we have stated before, if you are honest, truly honest, you won’t be corrupted, you won’t fall into the barbaric practice of tribalism or regionalism. If you are unassuming and have a clear understanding of the worth of people and of yourself, you won’t be corrupted, you won’t engage in this barbaric practice.
Therefore, we should be unassuming and limit ourselves to doing our duty to the best of our extremely limited possibilities instead of engaging in barbaric and corrupt political practices of tribalism and regionalism. We think human beings should never draw away from the honest goal they seek and let themselves be influenced by political opportunism to indulge in tribalism and regionalism. Political honesty is the surest way of guarding oneself against these vices.
Labels: NATIONAL UNITY DAY
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Remember Levy during Heroes, Unity days - Bishop Chihana
Written by Agness Changala
Tuesday, July 07, 2009 3:12:39 PM
Zambians must commemorate Heroes and Unity days to reflect on the good works late president Levy Mwanawasa did for the nation, International Fellowship of Christian Churches president Bishop Simon Chihana yesterday said. In his message to commemorate the Heroes and Unity days which fell on Monday and today respectively, Bishop Chihana said as the country remembered the fallen heroes, it was important to remember Mwanawasa because he died as a hero owing to his fight against corruption, poverty and many other evil vices.
“Mwanawasa is a hero. We can remember so much even as we commemorate these important events because of the work he did and I urge all Zambians to reflect on the good things he did,” he said.
Bishop Chihana said it was also an opportunity for politicians to exercise a sense of forgiveness towards one another.
“Despite their political differences, it would be nice for once to see Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata, United Party for National Development president Hakaiinde Hichilema, President Rupiah Banda and many others sit at a round table and drink some tea together and reflect on the peace and unity that the country has had,” he said.
Bishop Chihana said Zambia was a country that had not allowed the division of people on political and tribal lines. He also urged the church to continue speaking against vices, preach love for one another and help the vulnerable in society.
Bishop Chihana further urged the police service not to be partisan because of the important role they played in maintaining peace in the country.
Labels: HEROES DAY, MWANAWASA, NATIONAL UNITY DAY, SIMON CHIHANA
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Meaningless Heroes holiday
Written by Editor
The Heroes holiday is now almost meaningless in Zambia. It doesn’t seem to be there to honour the efforts, the sacrifices, the selflessness and the memory of those who fought, those who struggled for our freedom, for the independence of our country and for our collective and individual dignity. It seems to be much more a holiday for us to drink beer and have some rest from work. It is something that we seem to be continuing just because we found it on our calendars and we don’t seem to have a good reason to remove it.
We say this because of the way we have treated and are continuing to treat the people who struggled selflessly, sacrificing everything – their lives, their education, their jobs, traditional or other privileges – for the independence of our country. A big number of that selfless and heroic generation are dead, buried in unmarked graves – most of them don’t even have a stone on their graves to just say ‘the remains of heroic freedom fighter so and so lie here’. And those of that generation, who are singled out to stay the longest and bear the pain of seeing their comrades go, are today living in abject poverty, with no respect, dignity or identity accorded to them.
We shouldn’t forget that these heroic fighters fought a noble battle and lived their lives in pursuit of a better life for all of us. The democracy in which we have buried them, in which we are making some of them suffer while we enjoy and live in comfort is the sweet fruit of their lives of struggle and sacrifice.
And here we are not talking of young people. The majority of these heroic fighters are over 70 years old, they are old people with no jobs, no pensions, no discernible source of income whatsoever. And we shouldn’t forget that when Frederick Chiluba came to power in 1991, he took away even the little benefits, the extremely modest retirement benefits the law had provided for them. And these same characters that robbed those humble fighters of their meagre benefits are today paying themselves all sorts of benefits, including mid-term gratuities for people who do nothing of benefit for the nation. They even shared the houses and parastatal companies these same freedom fighters had with extraordinary effort built. Is this the way to reward the efforts, the sacrifices, the selflessness of these apostles of our nation?
Is this the way to treat old people, especially old people who have given so much to us? In this country, old people are entitled to nothing. Even in terms of paying taxes on their income, if they have any, there are no exemptions, they are not treated in any favourable manner. They are not treated favourably anywhere or over anything. This is truly a society under the leadership of extremely selfish wolves who think of nobody else other than themselves.
It is said that a society that does not value its older people denies its roots and endangers its future.
Even when it comes to naming streets, buildings or other infrastructure, they have rushed to name them after themselves and their friends. They seem to live only in the present. The past seems to owe them nothing. Even the future doesn’t seem to owe them anything. All they think about is the present and themselves in that present.
When these mercenaries came to power, their first act was to remove the face of Dr Kenneth Kaunda from the national currency. They should be ashamed that Kwame Nkrumah’s face is on Ghana’s currency. Instead of putting monkeys, buffaloes and other creatures on our currency, wouldn’t it be a befitting tribute to our freedom fighters to have the faces of Dr Kaunda, Harry Nkumbula, Simon Kapwepwe, Reuben Kamanga, Sipalo Munukayumbwa, Julia Chikamoneka, Mukwae Nakatindi, Mary Fulano, Fines Bulawayo, Aaron Milner, Arthur Wina, Humphrey Mulemba, Mainza Chona, Grey Zulu, Sikota Wina, among many other freedom fighters, on our currency? We have so much infrastructure in the country that has meaningless names. Yet we have so many names of heroic freedom fighters that we need to remember.
There is need for a change of attitude. We are teaching our children a very false history of our country. They will never truly know what it took to get our country where it is today. This requires a leadership that is humble, that is selfless and is able to place the dignity of others before self. We may be asking too much from this generation of vampires that knows nothing but to suck the blood of the suffering masses and lord over them. It’s only a humble person who is able to live with great respect for his neighbour and others. A leader with humility lives an ordinary life, not trying to be distinguished, except by his great diligence in the practice of common virtues. He practices the daily duties of his state of life. His main goal is first of all the sanctification of his interior thoughts and sentiments. A humble leader is fore-bearing and accepts crosses.
Truly, we have no right to be ungrateful to this generation that has given us so much, that has given us everything we have and asking nothing from us in return. Just look at the way we live today and the way they live today – and even the way they lived when they were in power. This is a generation that had total control of the 755,000 square kilometers of the land of this territory, but look at how much land they took for themselves and compare that with what we have taken for ourselves since 1991! Who is more selfless – us or them? Who selflessly honoured a public duty – us or them? Certainly there is something wrong with us as a people, as a nation that needs urgent correction. We are a disgrace and we should be very ashamed of ourselves over the manner in which we are treating these heroic fighters and builders of our country, of our nation. Until we start to address the plight of these freedom fighters and give them the respect and dignity they deserve, Heroes Day will continue to be a meaningless holiday in this country. It will actually be a day of mocking these heroic fighters instead of honouring them. These selfless human beings are not asking for too many things from us, they are not asking for the impossibilities. They are asking for very basic things that constitute the dignity of any human being. And as freedom fighters and old people, they deserve our respect and compassion. Let’s give them what is legitimately due to them.
Labels: HEROES DAY, NATIONAL UNITY DAY
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Sikota urges inclusive commemoration of Heroes, Unity days
Written by Agness Changala and Mwala Kalaluka
Monday, July 06, 2009 12:04:17 PM
VETERAN politician Sikota Wina yesterday said freedom fighters in the country’s rural areas have been left out in the commemoration of Heroes and Unity days. And a former councillor in the UNIP days, Patrick Makukisi, also complained that Heroes and Unity days have been turned into an event for the urban-based freedom fighters.
Wina said in an interview that it was extremely important to re-organise the commemoration of the days to encompass the rural liberators because they were the true freedom fighters and owners of the struggle.
“Let the celebration go to the people in rural areas because it belongs to the nation,” Wina said. “I was so touched when I went to Ghana to see the change of currency and they were using Nkwame Nkhrumah’s portrait on its currency as a sign of tribute, when most of them seem to have forgotten these most important events.”
Wina said as Zambia celebrates Heroes Day today, it was important for the leadership to enhance service delivery to the people for the country to continue to be peaceful.
He noted that Zambia was one of the few countries that had not experienced any trauma of bloodshed since its independence as a result of peace. Wina also said it was a wonderful thing to celebrate the day because Zambia was renewing its dream of a united nation and delivering the promises of its founding fathers.
And Makukisi, who witnessed the forced relocation of the Tonga-speaking people from the Gweembe Valley to pave way for the construction of the Kariba Dam, said rural-based freedom fighters had not been sufficiently recognised and considered.
“We have Heroes and Unity days for the haves and the have-nots have nothing in terms of recognition for the job well-done of liberating the country,” Makukisi said from his base in Siavonga’s Lusitu area. “My observation is that there should be consideration and recognition of those people who fought, not only those in town. Those in town are just political.”
Makukisi, who is now a senior advisor to chief Chipepo of Siavonga, said there were some rural-based freedom fighters that were wallowing in poverty despite losing their limbs during the liberation struggle.
“There is one old man in Siavonga who lost his legs during the fight for independence and I want the government to support him with a wheelchair or something else,” he said. “The rural people must be considered ...”
Makukisi said the people in his area gave up their land to pave way for the construction of the Kariba Dam before the country’s independence from Britain, but had not benefited from that displacement.
“Up to now, we are languishing in poverty,” said Makukisi, a former Zambia Air Force officer.
Labels: HEROES DAY, NATIONAL UNITY DAY, PATRICK MAKUKUSI, SIKOTA WINA
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Unity
By Editor
Tuesday July 08, 2008 [04:00]
In unity lies and will always lie the success and strength of our country. Whatever our problems, we will solve them if only we work together to build our country. And the greatest task of all our politicians and other leaders today is to unite our people in their struggle against poverty, ignorance, illiteracy, disease and general backwardness.
History shows that there is no difficult struggle that has succeeded without the unity of the people. Without working at unity, whatever good intentions, we will not achieve much for our country.
It is therefore imperative for us to overcome anything that impairs unity in the nation. The unity of our various political and social forces will be the basic guarantee of the success of our efforts to defeat poverty and backwardness. It is only through the unity of the whole nation that poverty, and all its offshoots, can be wiped out in this country.
There is urgent need for deepening unity among all our country's political and social forces. And all calls for national unity - in whatever form - deserve support.
But unity cannot just be a feeling or something abstract. Vital unity can only be sustained by a clear concept of objectives and a precise understanding of the tasks that need to be accomplished by our people at this moment.
And while we appreciate the fact that unity is not a principle but an expedience in the struggle for power, in an effort to effectively confront common difficulties, we think in the circumstances of our country today, nothing, or very little, can be delivered to our people without unity.
Lack of unity may also prevent our leaders from realising the greatness of our country and our people's unending struggle for progress. Disunity makes it impossible for our leaders to understand the complexity of our country and, above all, they disperse our people's political capacity.
Let us not forget that generally all our people - in all our provinces, districts, villages and indeed political parties - bear the same scars; all have known the same hunger, the same poverty, the same suffering, the same widowhood, the same orphanhood, the same tear caused by social and economic difficulties they daily have to endure.
We should be united through the discovery of common wounds and scars but above all, we should realise through common effort, that links are forged through collective action against life's challenges.
It is only through the unity of all our people that the eradication of poverty in our country can be achieved.
We have come together from every corner of our country and we should be good and uniting in our work not only with those who hold the same views as we but also with those who hold different views.
And whatever form of political organisation we adopt, it should, as far as possible, promote unity.
Before, the tactics of those who used to go to rule over our destiny consisted of dividing us and setting one humble section of our people against another. They set every faction of our people against the other factions as part of the international strategy of the big reactionary interest of the world. They set sister nations against each other and they set the various sectors of each of our nations against each other to serve their own interests.
They weakened the people by their practice of setting one humble sector against others. They divided the people into petty political parties that brought no guidance to the nation. They divided the ignorant and misled people into factions supporting unscrupulous and greedy politicians. Thus, they weakened the people. Thus, they confused the people.
We have faith in our people's ability to solve their country's problems if they work together. So the greatest challenge of all our leaders today is to unite our people so that they can pool together their efforts and overcome the problems facing their country.
And on this day which we every year dedicate to unity, we call on all our politicians who are tasked to manage the affairs of our country while the President is indisposed to do so in the spirit of unity.
We need unity in Cabinet; we need unity in the ruling MMD and we need unity in the nation to be able to face all the challenges that our President's illness may bring.
Leaders have a big role to play in uniting the nation and should not do anything that brings disunity among our people. Moreover, if our leaders don't show the way, don't practise politics that unite people, it will be very difficult for our people to listen to them when they start calling for unity.
They cannot call others to virtues which they themselves do not make an effort to practise. They should be aware that politics is an area of great importance for promoting unity in the nation and for mobilising our people to develop their country.
Selfishness and greed should be totally eliminated from our leadership. We say this because selfish and greedy people only think about themselves and their own particular group. And when this happens, there is division and frustration.
Unity cannot be separated from solidarity. Actually unity is strengthened by solidarity - and solidarity is a basic fact of human existence. No person is an island, cut off from others and self-sufficient. And the African proverb reminds us of this: "I am because we are, we are because I am."
And if we are to achieve meaningful levels of unity in our country, we should avoid paying exaggerated attention to accidental differences within our nation in all that we do. Therefore, the participation of all our people in the political life of our country should be guided by the spirit and desire for national unity.
Labels: NATIONAL UNITY DAY
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Unity is key in every situation, says KK
By Laura Mushaukwa and Mwila Chansa
Tuesday July 08, 2008 [04:06]
UNITY is key in every situation, Dr Kenneth Kaunda has said. In an interview ahead of Unity Day which falls today, Dr Kaunda called for the unity of all Zambians through the forces of genuine love. "Unity is key in every situation and Zambians must continue to stand together all the way, that was why this day was established," Dr Kaunda said. "Love thy neighbour as you love yourself."
And UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema expressed confidence that Zambians would continue demonstrating unity when it was needed most. He said Zambians were good spirited people who always united for a common effort.
"They demonstrated unity when they fought for independence, they demonstrated unity when they fought for multiparty politics.
In President Mwanawasa's illness they have demonstrated unity and I have no doubt at all that they will unite for their
country to be run better," Hichilema said. "They will unite for a viable country that will look after the sick. They may take
long but they do come together for a common effort."
Hichilema underscored the need to work on commonality as a country instead of pulling each other down. He also urged
government leaders to show leadership by exhibiting strength even as President Mwanawasa received treatment in France.
He said in such situations, people tend to be emotional but that there was need for the government leadership to provide
confidence to the people.
Hichilema also urged Zambians to remain calm, prayerful, thoughtful and collected.
"It is important that in this situation, we remain calm. We should not panic or create alarm. We need to be strong and
government leaders should provide calmness and leadership of some kind," Hichilema said.
He reiterated his wish for President Mwanawasa to quickly recover. He said it was important to ensure that even as President
Mwanawasa remained ill, issues that should keep the country running were addressed.
Hichilema cited the pending strike at the University of Zambia (UNZA) as one of the issues that needed to be seriously addressed.
And President Mwanawasa's family friend, Dale Litana, yesterday asked all Zambians to kneel down in prayer for his quick
recovery. Litana, a Kitwe-based businessman, said although God did not answer all prayers, he was hopeful that out of the
so-many prayers said for President Mwanawasa's quick recovery, God would listen and respond accordingly.
"I would like to encourage all my fellow Zambians to kneel down and pray for Levy," Litana said. "I am convinced that God has
something for Levy because he picked him for a purpose. Zambia has done very well under Levy’s leadership. This has to
continue."
And Litana said although the government had accepted an apology from South African President Thabo Mbeki concerning his announcement that President Mwanawasa had died, he personally found it hard to accept the apology because a person in President Mbeki's position had all the instruments at his disposal to quickly verify that information.
Labels: HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, KENNETH KAUNDA, NATIONAL UNITY DAY
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