Mutharika wants northerners extinct – Aford
By Moses Dande, Nyasa Times
December 27, 2011
Northerners are the major target of structural and systematic discrimination by the DPP led government with the agenda to bring about extinction of a people alleged to have dominated education and employment opportunities in Malawi, the Alliance for Democracy (Aford) has claimed.
The party said in a statement that President Mutharika decided to impose quotas in employment, University and every where as one way of fighting northernors.
“In other instances, northerners cannot access small loans to start up some Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)… confirming the fears that the decision was indeed personal..to initiate systematic genocide against a people,” Aford’s Chairperson for Elections Dan Msowoya said in statement made available to Nyasa Timeson Tuesday.
Aford leader: Gowa Nyasulu
Aford further claims frequent pronouncements by President Mutharika during his so called press conferences about disparities in employment opportunities by comparing demographic statistics of districts in the north with the others elsewhere, is indicative of his hatred for northerners.
“He argued for instance, that Chitipa’s overall population is far less than that of Chiradzulu. In his view, no matter how many competent professionals there might be in Chitipa eligible for top positions in employment it is unfair. By inference, this implies rewarding failure and condoning mediocrity,” said the statement.
Msowoya queried how a Head of State and Government chooses to premeditatedly plan to harm the very people that elected him.
“Chitipa a sample of his research is an underdeveloped district. Its people are poor, their hope of survival is in education and employment… His policy seeks to perpetuate poverty on these citizens,” he said.
Malawi government verbose spokesperson Patricia Kaliati refused to comment on the allegations saying northerners always want publicity on ‘small things’.
But the party hit back saying it is not the first time Kaliati has deliberately attacked northerners.
“She has repeatedly raised issues against northerners. She has incessantly castigated northerners for possessing mansions in the Southern or Central regions and not in the north,” Msowoya said.
Aford is the party which has its base in the northern region. It has two members of parliament, Khwauli Msiska and Enock Chihana.
The party is currently led by Dindi Gowa Nyasulu.
Labels: BINGU WA MUTHARIKA, REGIONALISM, TRIBALISM
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PF is not tribal, says Limata
By Correspondent
Fri 07 Oct. 2011, 08:00 CAT
NORTH Western Province minister Josephine Limata says the Patriotic Front is not a tribal party and has advised locals in the region to rally behind the PF government.
Limata said when she met members of North Western Development Council of Elders at her office on Tuesday that President Michael Sata was not a tribalist but "a man of action" who wanted to unselfishly develop the country.
"I am happy about him; President Sata is a man of action. There is no tribalism in PF. This is Zambia; it is not Zambia for one tribe but for everyone. And President Sata is President for everybody. If we do that shunning his government because of belonging to other political parties then we will be left out of the development of the country," she said.
Limata said when President Sata appointed her as provincial minister, he told her that North Western was important to the country and that she needed to work hard to uplift its agricultural, educational and health delivery standards.
"President Sata told me that 'I am sending you to bring people together'. Tribalism will not take us anywhere. And he told me that 'I will give you the money needed to do all the projects there'," she said.
Limata asked the elders to give her constructive guidance to manage the complexities of the region.
And chairperson of the council of elders Lucas Chikoti told Limata to assure President Sata that the province had welcomed her and would support the government's agenda for the region.
He noted that North Western had massive resources but that it benefitted very little and called on President Sata to give it a priority.
"This province lacks a lot in terms of development. This has been our cry for quite a
long time. The resources are coming from here. I am hopeful that we shall be helped," said Chikoti. "We are also happy that the President has sent you here. Women are better leaders than men and are more committed. Tell the President that he should not listen to rumours coming from this province that people had rejected Limata's appointment because she came from outside North Western."
And former health minister in the Kenneth Kaunda regime, Alina Nyikosa, praised President Sata for being gender sensitive and trusting a woman to head what she described as a "difficult province", calling the move an exciting real change.
Labels: MICHAEL SATA, NORTHWESTERN PROVINCE, PF, REGIONALISM, TRIBALISM
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We’re fed up of regional politics - Imbwae
By Mwala Kalaluka
Thu 31 Mar. 2011, 04:01 CAT
HAKAINDE Hichilema’s Western Province campaign manager in the 2008 presidential election says the UPND leadership in the area defected to the PF because they are fed up of practising regional politics.
And politicians doubting the seriousness of the defections by the UPND leadership in the Western Province to Michael Sata’s PF have been urged to wait and see.
Induna Imbwae Imikendu said in an interview in Lusaka on Tuesday that he was in agreement with what Col Panji Kaunda had revealed about UPND leader Hichilema’s parochial type of politics.
“All what I believe in is that we can no longer practise regional politics. If we wanted to maintain regional politics some of us could have joined Charles Milupi’s Alliance for Democracy and Development party but we couldn't do that. We opted to go for Sata who has vast places, who has more support than Hakainde,” Imikendu said.
Induna Imbwae said the UPND had almost gained ground in North Western, Western Provinces but that this had now diminished because of the regionalised politics in the opposition party.
“I even did make mention that you see Hakainde almost gained ground in North Western, and Western but this is now gone,” Induna Imbwae said. “People are coming out like we have done ourselves. We have come out with about 160 just within the period we said we are going along with PF.”
Induna Imbwae said although he was still in the ruling MMD at the time, memories of the tribal politics that characterised the 2006 UPND national conference held at Lusaka's Mulungushi International Conference Centre were still vivid.
Induna Imbwae said the tribalism that characterised the UPND politics in 2006 would also haunt them during this year's general elections.
He said those in UPND that would want to cheat themselves that the Lozi people can vote for Hichilema because they were tribal cousins should just count the number of parliamentarians or councillors the party had in the province.
“In fact, we need a change this time around. You remember I said we have a problem in Barotseland and that problem needs to be addressed and you can only address that problem with a government that needs to talk than the one that wants to slaughter people like...,” Induna Imbwae said.
Induna Imbwae disclosed that in the run-up to the 2008 presidential elections he was among those that met Hichilema to tell him of the tribal politics that was prevailing within his party but nothing changed.
And Col Makumba, who was the UPND provincial chairperson before his defection to PF, said it was unfortunate that people like Hichilema and the UPND were still promoting regional politics at this time and age.
“When I read the statement from Col Panji Kaunda, I could not believe it. I thought it was not true but then I realised that it was the truth,” Col Makumba said. “I have been in UPND since 1998 but there has never been a time when this issue of tribalism was ever tabled in the National Management Committee. We used to express our concern as a province but it was never discussed by the National Management Committee.”
Col Makumba said they had opted to join Sata’s PF because the change that they wanted could not be attained through narrow regional political interests.“Those that think that our defections are not there, let them just wait and see,” said Col Makumba.
Labels: REGIONALISM, TRIBALISM, UPND
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COMMENT - Remember that GDP is merely a measure of economic activity, even when that economic activity is foreign mining companies dragging Zambian copper out of the country without paying for it, or whether it is the government cleaning up their mess. Finance Minister Musokotwane stated that under the current neoliberal system, there will be no significant dent in poverty for at least 30 years.
Economic indicatorsBy Daaram Simakungwe
Fri 31 Dec. 2010, 04:00 CAT
Editor,
As we end the year, we have a chance to analyse the performance of our government, the economy and the general living standards of the Zambian citizens.
It is a fact that as much as we see Bank Of Zambia (BoZ)’s impressive statistics, the poor in Zambia is getting poorer. The employees have no future as the so-called "investors" have casualised the jobs.
Chinese and Indian plumbers and welders are getting work permits in Zambia and our MMD government sees nothing wrong with it.
President Rupiah Banda keeps spending more money on almost weekly foreign trips and MMD-orchestrated by-elections.
This is costing the poor Zambians hundreds of billions of kwacha, money which could have been used on Development.
Today I see no hope for Zambia until the economy starts benefiting the Zambians. BoZ keeps singing misleading MMD songs about Zambia's economy.
What Dr Fundanga fails to tell us is that all the money made by the big "investors" is deposited in their foreign offices and only expense money comes back to Zambia.
In my opnion, Zambia's gross domestic product performance is just paperwork drama which does not reflect the true living standards of the Zambians.
In reality our economy is in recess.
Look at the social standards in Mufulira and Kitwe towns, the roads and general infrastructure.
Mufulira is now a ghost town with rundown buildings.
Mine companies abuse and damage public infrastructure at no cost.
Until the Zambian in Luapula starts enjoying lower prices, better income, the whole BOZ story about our economy makes no sense.
I have never seen a president from a poor country anywhere flying across the world like our Rupiah Banda does.
He must cut down on his expensive trips for the sake of the poor Zambians.
Happy 2011.
Daaram Simakungwe,
Durban
High copper prices
By Gady Mwamba Museka
Fri 31 Dec. 2010, 04:00 CAT
Editor,
The government needs to improve the living standards of the people, most of who are living on less than a dollar per day.
We have many areas the government needs to attend to, like creation of employment.
For once, the government needs to heed advice on the windfall tax because copper prices keep rising as the latest information shows that on the London Metal Exchange, the price of the commodity has risen to a record high of US$9,437.50 a tonne.
We have to ensure that the mining sector is really part of the national development process through its equitable contribution to the taxation in Zambia.
One wonders why the government has remained adamant on this issue and yet there will be a lot of benefits for the Zambian people if we reintroduced windfall taxes.
I hope the government will listen to many voices over the issue of windfall tax.
Gady Mwamba Museka,
Mazabuka
Regionalism in politics
By Felix Tembo
Fri 31 Dec. 2010, 04:00 CAT
Editor,
Allow me to express my displeasure with the comments alleged to have been passed by Hon Moses Muteteka, a deputy minister in the MMD government.
It is unfortunate that the MP chose to lower himself to campaign against Enoch Kavindele on tribal grounds just to win sympathy from the Republican Vice-President who hails from Lalaland in Serenje.
It’s not so long ago when Muteteka was dropped from government, and he became very critical of this government but now that he is back in the comfortable seat, he has opted to forget about the suffering masses.
You can't defend a position because the one holding that it is a tribesmate.
Those sentiments are very dangerous and should not be entertained in this era and time of democracy.
People should be voted in positions on the condition of what they are capable of doing and not on the shape of their nose or which stream they draw their water from!
The honourable minister should apologise to Kavindele and the people of Central Province for misrepresenting them. Should he fail, let the President discipline him by firing him.
What the minister is promoting is division along the region. In short he is insinuating that even if Mulongoti is capable of being vice-president, he cannot vote for him because he comes from the Lambaland and not the Lalaland.
Those are just political offices. Tomorrow you will not be there and someone else will.
Ba minister learn to love your neighbours!
Felix Tembo,
Lambaland
Labels: CALEB FUNDANGA, ENOCH KAVINDELE, GDP, MOSES MUTETEKA, NEOLIBERALISM, REGIONALISM, TRIBALISM
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Alliances based on regionalism
By The Post
Thu 25 Nov. 2010, 04:00 CAT
Virtue must be nourished but vice springs up spontaneously like weeds and grows by itself. If we do otherwise, while nourishing virtue, we are simultaneously paving way for vice. That’s the reality we must not lose sight of.
What are things coming to? For a man like Vernon Mwaanga who has fought so much against tribalism and regionalism, on the one hand, on the other to be promoting them, it raises a lot of questions about the state of our country’s politics. But there is a sort of chain of events here.
For if good ideas foster other good ideas, bad things can foster on the other hand, other bad things. Today, Vernon is calling for an alliance between the MMD and UPND on the promise that in 2016, they will back someone from Southern Province to be president. There is nothing wrong with political alliances or coalitions.
In fact, wherever there is a good basis for them, they should be encouraged because they will help strengthen the positions of our political parties and improve the stability of our politics.
But these alliances should be based on principles that are opposed to tribalism and regionalism.
We say this because tribalism and regionalism have been weighed and found wanting and as such cannot be the basis of a sound political alliance.
The obligation that all our political parties have is to stand up for what is right.
They don’t have to accept our country as it is, they have the right to seek to make our country what they want it to be.
But the society they seek should be a more fair, just and humane one.
The imperfections of our society today should move our politicians and inspire them to struggle for a much more superior society and not to deepen or worsen those imperfections.
If there are any elements of tribalism or regionalism in our politics, these should not be deepened by forming alliances that strengthen them or perpetuate such outlooks.
Constructing a better society has never been an easy undertaking for anyone, for any nation.
And if we are honest with ourselves, we should realise that this will require a lot of work.
And there are times when it seems that a better society is an impossibility – days when our opposition and the imperfections that we daily live under may tempt us to take an easier path that avoids our responsibilities to one another.
But this calls for sacrifice if we are to see the triumph of principle over mere power.
Winning an election can be an easy thing. What is the difficulty in forming tribal alliances that bring together a motley assortment of contradictory elements simply to win an election?
The dishonesty of men like Vernon is very disheartening. This is a highly experienced man who was given maximum exposure by his people at a very early age.
But what type of experience Vernon has raises a lot of questions.
And as it has been observed, “in judging our progress as individuals, we tend to concentrate on external factors such as one’s social position, influence and popularity, wealth and standard of education.
These are, of course, important in measuring one’s success in material matters and it is perfectly understandable if many people exert themselves mainly to achieve all these.
But internal factors may be even more crucial in assessing one’s development as a human being.
Honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, pure generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve others – qualities which are within reach of every soul – are the foundation of one’s spiritual life.
Development in matters of this nature is inconceivable without serious introspection, without knowing yourself, your weaknesses and mistakes.
Never forget that a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying”.
We wish, above all, to recall the past, so as to foresee and plan the future better. Vernon knows very well what happened at the UNIP congress of 1967 when regional alliances were created around Simon Kapwepwe and Reuben Kamanga.
UNIP, probably, never recovered from the wounds of that tribalism and regionalism infested congress.
Kenneth Kaunda was extremely disgusted and disappointed with the tribalism and regionalism that was unleashed out of that congress and resigned as president of the Republic because he was not ready to lead a tribally and regionally divided party, government and country.
It took a lot of effort to persuade KK to change his mind. Vernon knows all these things very well.
If today Vernon is promising an alliance that will deliver the presidency of this country from one individual or group to another on the basis of tribe and region, then he is unleashing a force in our country that he and his friends will not be able to control.
What this will mean is that the country will not have one tribal or regional alliance – we are bound to have more and more of these.
And there is nowhere in the world where tribalism or regionalism has been the basis for national unity, peace and stability.
They have always been a recipe for tribal or regional conflicts or strife.
Vernon knows very well that the struggle to defend and consolidate unity after independence demanded permanent vigilance and action to neutralise and eliminate the manoeuvres of political opportunists who were ready to use the tribal or regional card.
And by defining tribalism and regionalism as enemies to be fought against, just like colonialism, this deprived the opportunists of their chief instruments in their anti-people manoeuvres.
It is necessary to understand the grandeur diversity and complexity of our country.
Knowing this complexity means studying the divisiveness in our country and the ways of combating it.
Why is there this blindness to all this reality?
Why is there this inability to reckon with the moral and spiritual facts?
Why is there this forgetfulness of the ideals by which our Republic was inspired?
If one promises the people of Southern Province that come 2016, the president will hail from there, they are creating a very big problem.
There is nothing that should stop anyone hailing from Eastern Province to be president of our country next year and another one from the same area, even the same town or village to take over from him in 2016.
What matters is not where one hails from but what type of leadership that person is able to provide our people.
What difference did Frederick Chiluba’s presidency make to the lives of our people who hail from Luapula Province?
And is the president going to be allowed to use national resources to prop up one region of our country – the area where he comes from – at the expense of the rest of the country?
Are the Zambian people going to tolerate such abuses? Kaunda hails from Northern Province.
But can anyone, in all honesty, accuse him of having done one thing in that region of our country simply on account that he hails from there?
Chinsali is as poor as any other part of our country, notwithstanding the fact that it is KK’s home district – a district that has produced many heroes of our independence struggle.
If this is the alliance Rupiah Banda wants with UPND, let it be.
But the Zambian people are not fools to support such a backward and nationally divisive political alliance.
And we have no doubt that those who engage in such an alliance will in the end be smeared with their own offals.
An alliance between the MMD and UPND that is simply premised on making someone who hails from Southern Province a president will not do.
Let them find many noble and more acceptable reasons to justify such as alliance.
There are many serious challenges and problems facing our people.
There is no need to create unnecessary ones for them – tribalism and regionalism just to benefit a few selfish and greedy politicians seeking power for themselves.
We cannot encourage tribalism and regionalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought and in action.
Advocating tribal and regional political alliances is being narrow-minded, being narrow in thought and in action. We must hold together.
Unless we face this fact, we shall pay the price that must be paid by all those who trade principles for political expediency.
We need to pay a lot of attention to the politics of our country.
We say this because judging by the record of the past, the two most decisive factors affecting the future consolidation and expansion of our democracy will be economic development and political leadership.
We say this because economic development makes democracy possible; political leadership makes it real.
Labels: REGIONALISM, VERNON MWAANGA
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VJ mustn’t champion regionalism - Mwale
By Chibaula Silwamba
Thu 25 Nov. 2010, 04:01 CAT
VERNON Mwaanga must not champion tribalism and regionalism for political mileage, a pro-democracy activist has advised.
Commenting on MMD parliamentary chief whip Mwaanga’s statement that an alliance between opposition UPND and ruling MMD would be good because the former could support a candidate from Eastern Province Rupiah Banda in 2011 and that would in future enable the Southern Province to produce a head of state, Michael Mwale said Mwaanga must encourage people to vote for credible leaders and not on the basis of the region where a particular candidate hails from.
“People should look at the credibility and what someone can offer and not looking at the tribe or province where someone comes from,” he said.
Mwale warned that Mwaanga’s approach to political campaigns had a danger of causing ethnic conflicts in Zambia.
“If Zambians will continue to campaign on tribal lines, at the end, it will bring ethic problems and people will be fighting each other that ‘this one is a Bemba, a Nyanja, Tonga…’ and that will cause anarchy,” said Mwale, who is Anti Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) co-ordinator in Luapula Province.
“Vernon Mwaanga should not champion that for political mileage. Let him allow people to choose a leader who they think is credible and can address their aspirations,” said Mwale.
According to yesterday’s Times of Zambia, Mwaanga encouraged a formation of an electoral alliance between the UPND and MMD.
“We have a President from Eastern Province who came in to complete the mandate of his late brother Levy Mwanawasa, but the current President is entitled to his own tenure of office so that thereafter, we include the Southern Province and they can be supported. This idea is attractive,” Mwaanga was quoted by the Times of Zambia as saying.
He said the idea of an alliance between the two parties was overwhelmingly supported by the people of Southern Province as they had realised that it was an opportunity for somebody who hails from there to be head of state.
Mwaanga said after supporting the MMD candidate in next year’s polls, the MMD would gladly support an individual from the Southern Province wishing to contest the presidency.
Labels: MICHAEL MWALE, REGIONALISM, VERNON MWAANGA
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Khupe backs devolution calls
by Staff Reporter
08/07/2010 00:00:00
DEPUTY Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe has backed calls for the devolution of power, seeking to influence a process underway to draw up a new constitution.
On a visit to the United Kingdom this week, Khupe said the debate on devolution was often clouded by “unfounded fears” that its proponents were seeking to divide the country on tribal lines.
“When we talk about devolution, people must not think that we are talking about promoting tribalism,” Khupe told a public meeting called by the Zimbabwe Diaspora Focus Group in London on Tuesday.
Khupe said devolution of power would ensure local problems are tackled with local solutions instead of central government prescribing uniform policies for different communities.
To applause, Khupe said: “Central government could choose to construct a road in Plumtree, yet the people there may prefer a deep tank or something more important to them.”
Senior figures in Khupe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party including party leader, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Water Resources Minister Sam Sipepa Nkomo and Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga have all backed devolution calls which are strong in the south-western parts of the country.
Khupe says while there is unanimity on devolution, divisions may occur around the country on the scope of the devolution and how it would work in practise.
The opposition ZAPU, which welcomed Khupe’s speech in London, has proposed the division of the country into five regions -- Mashonaland, Masvingo, Manicaland, Matabeleland and Midlands -- from the current 10 provinces.
“Elected governors and regional assemblies with power to manage public services and resources would politically and economically empower Zimbabweans and encourage cultural and social diversity,” ZAPU said in a statement.
Parliament has deployed teams throughout the country to gather people’s views on a new constitution, and devolution is expected – along with gay rights, police powers and presidential powers and term limits – to dominate the hearings.
Labels: REGIONALISM, THOKOZANE KHUPE, TRIBALISM
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Matebeleland: Flames of a crisis within a crisis
by Thembani Dube
01/02/2010 00:00:00
OUR attention has been drawn to the Matebeleland crisis once again by various leading personalities, political parties and organisations inside and outside Zimbabwe.
The issues that have featured prominently in the media are issues of national healing in the context of the Gukurahundi massacres of the 1980’s, the Matebeleland Zambezi Water Project and the glaring lack of fairness in the granting of scholarships for the students who come from this region.
I must say the attention to these issues have kept me intrigued. It is very important that these issues remain in the radar of media focus as Zimbabwe nears its defining moment in history and most importantly recognising the fact that the region is meant to be our paradise bequeathed to us by our great founding African fathers and mothers.
Our founding fathers and mothers fought and defended this region with every spear they ever made and every shield they could get against the marauding colonialists who rampaged throughout Africa, destroying Africa’s glorious Kingdoms and institutions of significance and the very fabric of our existence as Africans.
While the Matebeleland crisis has its original sources in colonial history, in this debate, I will pay particular attention to the crisis within a crisis in Matebeleland post 1980, highlighting its variant external and internal sources in today’s Zimbabwe and their symbiotic relationship that exist to keep the region under siege.
I will start by briefly paying attention to the external sources of the crisis in our beloved Matebeleland and then focus on the internal factors and how these have come to drag Matebeleland down the garden path of self destruction.
The last part will focus on how Matebeleland can rescue itself from such self destruction tendencies and rediscover its glory as a region of excellence and merit.
External factors
This might sound to some as an old record but it lays the foundation in understanding the flames of crisis in Matebeleland.
It is therefore glaringly obvious to any observer that the flames of crisis in Matebeleland that are affecting the region’s progress in a pervasive manner are to a greater extent externally induced. Their origins are in the corridors of power in Harare. It is no secret that those in power in Zimbabwe have always sought to annihilate the peoples’ of this region and wipe them out of the face of this earth in a program they dubbed Gukurahundi like what Hitler attempted to do with the Jewish people in German.
Let me digress a little. I recently read an article on national healing by an eminent personality from the region contending that the massacres of the peoples of the region were not tribally motivated. I was honestly shocked by this suggestion and I am not sure whether the good Dr Nyathi honestly and genuinely holds this view or he was merely posturing to induce controversy on this issue.
There is evidence pointing to the fact that while these massacres were politically motivated, they were clearly an act of ethnic cleansing. The majority members of the 5th Brigade were recruited from mainly the Shona ethnic group and the victims of this brigade were the Ndebele ethnic group. Even though PF Zapu had Shona supporters in its ranks these were spared this gruesome genocide on the tribal index of being Shona.
Therefore to suggest that the massacres were not tribally motivated is to be economic with the truth. The nature of facts is that facts are always stubborn and we can not manage to alter them in any shape or form.
The long and short of it is that people from this region are basically the Jews of Zimbabwe who have survived Zanu PF’s machinations to exterminate them as a people. After Zanu PF’s failed attempt to physically exterminate the peoples of this region, Zanu PF’s program turned into an economic, educational, developmental and cultural embargo with the intended aim of turning the region into a theatre of beggars so as to establish and sustain political control over this restive region while on a cultural front pushing the envelope of black internal colonialism.
Julius Nyerere, when condemning African dependence on aid, once said and I quote: ‘he who pays the piper calls the tune’. This is the situation that Matebeleland has always found itself in since 1980. It has been methodically and systematically turned into a ‘piper’ region whose existence and progress has to depend on some bread crumps falling off the tables of those in the corridors of power in Harare.
I have always heard those who hold a different view to this contending that there is no crisis in Matebeleland and that this so called crisis is just but a figment of the wild imaginations of the people of this region. I totally respect their views as they are entitled to them but the facts on the ground in Zimbabwe tell us a different story. There is no denying the fact that the political system in existence in that God forsaken country is very hostile to the region and the aspirations of its people.
My intention today is not to dwell too much on the external factors inducing the crisis as they are well known and well documented. My take today is to focus on the internal crisis within the region that sustains and perpetuates the externally induced crisis to keep the region under siege. This is introspection on the internal issues of this region that have stagnated and strangled its growth and its potential to glow and be glorious once again.
I must say that this introspection on internal issues afflicting the region is very important for the men and women of the region and indeed those leading personalities of the region for progress to take root.
Internal factors
The embodiment of the internal flames of crisis within Matebeleland is that of leadership crisis and the willingness to dabble in the politics of appeasing the ruling political system in Zimbabwe by those engaged in politics as representatives of the people and by those who are leaders in shaping the opinions and ideas about the vision of this region.
They tend to develop cold feet when the situation demands that they articulate the issues of the region without fear or favour for the collective interest of the region. Individual responsibility to defend the collective interests of the region is thrown in the gutter for a veneer of acceptance within the hegemonic system of Zimbabwe.
Once Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo’s leadership was decapitated by Zanu PF with the support of the British through the Rhodesian forces in the 1980’s, and once uMdala succumbed to the military and political blow he was given by the combined forces of Zanu PF and the Rhodesian apparatus as evidenced by the so called 1987 unity accord, there emerged a leadership crisis in our region.
The unity accord was total surrender for Joshua Nkomo and his PF Zapu political outfit. This surrender, while saving lives by stopping the genocidal carnage brought with it a heavy long-term cost with regard to the collective interests of the region.
Joshua Nkomo and his political outfit were meant to be ‘national’ leaders first and then leaders of Matebeleland last while Mugabe and his political outfit were regional leaders first under the guise of being ‘national’ leaders.
The regional interests of Mugabe and the Zanu PF apparatus were to be defined as national and those from Matebeleland as regional and tribal. A Zanu PF revisionist definition of what was national was swung into gear and up to this day the so called ‘national’ issues of Zimbabwe are defined in this narrow, myopic and dangerous way.
The most shocking aspect of this whole saga in the context of Matebeleland leadership is that this became the accepted norm in exchange for positions of power and privilege. The great and ultimate principles of championing the collective interests of the people of the region were swept under the carpet and what then mattered most was the individual interest over and above the collective interests of the region.
Those great and ultimate principles collapsed in the conscience of our leaders and Zanu PF exploited this situation to its maximum benefit and used the politics of individualism in our region for its politics of patronage.
Zanu PF had now a collection of PF Zapu leaders under its wings whose main existence was to satisfy their individual interests rather than the collective interests of our region and whose existence in politics was to please Mugabe in order to protect their privilege and political power.
Mugabe and Zanu PF would then use the politics of patronage to further create a wedge between and among these Zapu leaders so as to keep them divided, at each others throats and never to get an opportunity to regroup for the region’s collective interests.
This was another political blow for the region which Mugabe has been using and exploiting to his political advantage to keep the region under his political control and surveillance.
The ascendency of John Landa Nkomo to the vice presidency in Zimbabwe is based on the patronage system rather than on the representation of the collective interests of the people of the region. He is basically a window dresser.
Morgan Tswangirai has made his party a carbon copy of Zanu PF in dealing with the leaders of the region from his party. If the truth can be told, Morgan’s party is a mirror image of Zanu PF in every shape and form. The leaders of the MDC-T in our region have fallen prey to the same fate that Joshua Nkomo and his PF Zapu outfit faced. They exist in MDC-T as individuals rather than a collective unit from the region whose interests should be to champion the interests of the region first rather than playing the politics of pleasing Morgan Tswangirai to curry favour with him and his politics of patronage that runs parallel to that of Zanu PF.
The much despised and vilified Jonathan Moyo calls this parallel patronage that Morgan is building a ‘parallel government’. The reality is that Morgan is not building a parallel government but a parallel patronage system to that of Zanu PF that is meant to help him conquer power at all costs.
The recent actions of one Siphepha Nkomo, an un-elected MDC-T minister whose appointment to cabinet in the current government is purely based on the patronage of Morgan Tswangirai, is one example of the kind of leaders that the region and the system has produced. They shamelessly use the issues of Matebeleland to sing for their own supper, make empty promises to obtain votes in Matebeleland only to disappear after being voted into power and to resurface again come election time.
The suggestion by Siphepha Nkomo that the MZWP should be national by the mere fact that he has now prefixed the word ‘National’ for the project’s name is remarkably insulting. Instead of Siphepha Nkomo fighting wars with Dabengwa and the likes of Welshman and Coltart, he should be closing ranks with these leaders and those from the community for the collective interest of the region to oversee the successful implementation of this project rather than dabbling in party politics over a crucial issue of concern in the region.
There is a need for the leaders of our region to find common ground on critical issues that affect the region whether one is MDC-T, MDC-M or the now revived PF Zapu. Failure to do so will always perpetuate the status quo and delay the commencement of the much needed development and progress in this region.
Linked to the crisis of leadership from our region is the engagement in the cancerous politics of appeasement by some in our region. They use this kind of appeasement politics to serve the hegemonic system that is in existence in Zimbabwe.
There is now a growing tendency for some leading personalities of the region to try and gloss over issues of the region in order to gain the veneer of acceptance as either ‘national’ leaders or ‘nationally’ accepted personalities.
The tendency means that our people shy away from calling a spade a spade and would invent and manufacture excuses for the crisis that afflicts the region in order to carry favour with a system that needs to be challenged for the collective good of the region.
This takes me down the memory lane of the early 1990’s when the great late Malunga, the then Mayor of The City of Kings, Malinga and the then governor of Matebeleland north, Mabhena rocked the system by challenging its discriminatory tendencies in the spheres of development and the enrolment of students in higher education that clearly disadvantaged those from the region.
This outcry was met with accusations of tribalism from our very own senior leaders of the region who were in bed with Zanu PF.
The result is that Malunga, Malinga and Mabhena lost the battle to these treacherous individuals and to the hegemonic system. Malunga got involved in a mysterious incident along Masiyephambili Drive road and died under mysterious circumstances. The actions of our senior leaders in Zanu PF at the time were a clear example of the politics of appeasement to curry favour with the system.
This cancerous politics seems to be emerging in the MDC-T formation under Morgan Tsvangirai and we are already seeing those willing to be used as tools for such a deadly and dastardly agenda for the region. We should stop them in their tracks.
The Solution
The solution is located in having a strong regional party led by a brave and dedicated figure that will not shy away from articulating the collective interests of the region. The politics of appeasement should be replaced by the collective politics of building alliances in the region for the collective interest of the region.
A case in point is the existence of the revived PF Zapu and the MDC-M. I have seen an article suggesting that these parties should merge and become a formidable force in the region. This will be good if it comes to fruition.
Such a development will however demand that the leaders in the two camps rise above individual interests and push the collective interests of the region at the forefront by building a strong and formidable regional political base through a merger.
It should not be a sin for the people of this region to articulate and work towards creating conditions for the implementation of progressive political programmes to serve the collective interests of the region through a powerful regional political party.
In the British union we have the Scottish Nationalist party articulating and indeed implementing progressive political programmes to serve the collective interests of the Scottish people without fearing that they will be called tribalists.
We should run roughshod over this attempt to keep the region under siege using Zanu PF’s old and tired tribal card. There are serious issues to be dealt with in the region of which the issue of justice for Gukurahundi victims, infrastructure development and the Matebeleland Zambezi Water Project are major ones.
These issues will demand common ground and common purpose among the inhabitants of this region for progress to take root. Only through such intervention will Matebeleland be able to rescue itself from self destruction tendencies and rediscover its glory as a region of excellence and merit.
Thembani Dube is a human rights and cultural activist as well as a poet. He is currently the Director of Programmes for MAGGEMM. He is writing in his personal capacity. He can be contacted on: thembani_mthembo *** yahoo.co.uk
Labels: REGIONALISM, TRIBALISM, ZIMBABWE
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Kamlepo warns DPP government on tribalism
By Nyasa Times
Published: October 20, 2009
Malawi’s known political rubble-rouser, Kamlepo Kalua has warned the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that he will call for mass action if it continues to promote tribalism and regionalism.
Kalua, president of Malawi Democratic Party (MDP) told Straight Talk programme on Capital FM radio on Tuesday that he will never allow Malawi to play hosts to tribalism and regionalism.
“Next year (2010) if we see DPP manifesto is not implemented. If we see there is too much tribalism, too much regionalism as we have seen, I will come out and I will tell the people that this is not what we fought for, what we wanted,” said Kalua.
The outspoken politician denounced and condemned tribalism in a radio interview programme.
Kalua, self-styled political heavyweight said he cannot be intimidated.
“I am a political heavyweight. I am the only one that can stand up to [President] Bingu wa Mutharika and say that this is nonsense. Nobody can stand up and say this Bingu is nonsense. I am the only one that would go and challenge Bingu,” said the vocal politician who was among pioneers who championed Malawi change from one party dictatorship to democracy.
“I am the only one that challenged Dr Bakili Muluzi. I am the only one that challenged Dr Kamuzu Banda and I marched in Blantyre to Sanjika,” he said.
Asked by programme host, Brian Banda, whether he was a ‘spent force’ for not having a seat in parliament Kalua said what mattered to him is to participate in the democrtisation process.
“The success of a political party is not always in winning a general election but how you conduct and put yourself involved in the affairs of the country,” he said.
“In 1999 I was third (in the presidential race) and the one who is President today (Bingu wa Mutharika) was the last person to have acquired the presidential vote. Without him joining a political party that was ruling at that particular time, he could not be President today. It’s a trial, trial and trial in politics,” said Kalua.
Pressed on reports that he was given a Land rover and minibuses for backing former president Bakili Muluzi bid to return to power, Kalua described the reports as false.
“You can come home and people have gone out and have verified and have seen that all the reports are just political gimmicks, political lies that people will ferment whenever they see you associate with somebody,” he said.
Kalua said he associated with UDF and Muluzi out of his political conviction to support “the vanquished”
MDP president said he is not a political opportunist and that he cannot join the ruling DPP.
“If I was practicing politics of bread and butter, I would have joined DPP,” he said pointing out that people are joining the ruling party for monetary favours.
“In Malawi, we have this tendency that when you have got something you create friends. Friends that you create at a party, at a banquet, those are not genuine friends. But friends should be with you through thick and thin,” he said.
Kalua was also pressed to name other office holders in the party and disclosed that MDP deputy president is Lyson Milanzi, treasure Nick Chavula while publicist is Mwayi Mkandawire.
He said MDP has structures “but we are talking of politics of opposition in Africa, politics of opposition in emerging democracy that a winner takes all, a winner dominates, a winner is everything, and sometimes people worship the winner.”
Labels: DPP, KAMLEPO KALUA, REGIONALISM, TRIBALISM
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Kopulande accuses W/Province MMD of practising regionalism
Written by Patson Chilemba
Monday, June 29, 2009 2:44:48 PM
SEBASTIAN Kopulande has charged that the MMD Western Province executive committee is setting a bad precedence of division and regionalism in the party over the vice-presidency.
Commenting on the position taken by the MMD Western Province executive committee to field a vice-president who hails from that region at the party convention, Kopulande, who is MMD chairman for commerce and industry, said people would be elected based on their capacity to deliver and not which regions they hailed from.
"I'm afraid that's [the position taken by the MMD committee] a very dangerous precedence. That will be very divisive, we do not encourage regionalism in the MMD," Kopulande said.
"No other organ in the party has the power to elect a person to any position except the convention. So the issue of vice-president shall be resolved at the convention. On what basis are they telling us that a vice-president should come from Western Province?"
Kopulande said the MMD did not share leadership positions before the convention as candidates stood on their own without backing from their regions.
MMD Western Province chairperson Simasiku Namakando last Friday maintained that the province would field a vice-president from that area, saying they would not be turned into hunting dogs.
Namakando was reacting to MMD chairperson for elections Mike Mulongoti who accused the Western Province executive committee of encouraging polarisation in the party over their planned move to field a vice-president who hailed from the province at the convention.
He said there was no turning back on the position taken by the province.
Namakando said the vice-presidency was a stepping-stone to attain even higher positions.
But MMD spokesperson Benny Tetamashimba yesterday said the Western Province would lose if they fielded a plunderer who had been convicted by the courts to be vice-president.
He said records existed of some Lozi politicians who were convicted by the courts for stealing.
"I don't see any problem with Western Province coming up with a position to field a vice-president at the convention. They have credible people, not thieves, who can be vice-president," said Tetamashimba.
"Every province, those who feel they can field, they can field a candidate. They are entitled. All the other provinces including Eastern, although it will not be politically correct for Eastern Province because they already have a President."
President Banda recently said he was disappointed with Namakando for saying that the party in the province would only support the President in return for the vice-presidency.
But Namakando maintained that the party in the province had already taken a position to field a vice-president at the MMD convention.
And Kopulande said he backed President Banda's statement that those who were concentrating on his presidential candidature for 2011 were enemies of the party.
Asked if he would challenge President Banda for the presidency at the convention like he did in 2008, Kopulande refused to comment on the matter, saying he did not want to be an enemy of the party.
He said the MMD could not concentrate on discussing the presidency for 2011, when there were so many issues which confronted the party.
"The Zambian people need leadership that is concentrating on issues. That is why I cannot comment," said Kopulande.
"President Banda made it clear that all those concentrating on his candidature for 2011 are enemies of the party, that they are diverting the attention of government and his own attention from delivering."
Reminded that President Banda only issued that statement after the MMD national executive committee (NEC) endorsed him as the sole candidate for 2011, Kopulande said he would go with the President's official statement made at the press conference at State House.
Labels: REGIONALISM, SEBASTIAN KOPULANDE, WESTERN PROVINCE
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Ndlovu backs devolution calls
05/06/2009 00:00:00
by
FORMER cabinet minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu has called for an “informed debate” on devolution after Water Resources Minister Sam Sipepa Nkomo said the MDC would support the decentralisation of government to five provinces.
Ndlovu said: “The Matabeleland region is the richest in terms of resources but it is home to the poorest people. ” The former Information Minister and Zanu PF politburo member said devolution, “as long as it is for equitable distribution of resources might be the way to go”.
He added: “We have been complaining as Matabeleland of lack of resources. Even while in government, some of us were complaining about this. Roads have not been completed and we are lagging behind other areas in terms of development.
“Matabeleland South has gold and cattle while Matabeleland North is rich in minerals, has the Hwange National Park and the country’s premier resort, the Victoria Falls, but proceeds from these economic ventures are not necessarily developing the province.
“In Lupane, you find children in classrooms without benches when they are in the middle of a forest with plenty of timber. Let us have an informed debate on it, and with development at the centre. ”
Nkomo advocated for the country’s 10 provinces to be reduced to five, each with their own elected local government officials. He said South Africa’s regional parliaments were a good model.
The campaign for devolution is set to take centre stage when a new constitution is drawn up in the next two years.
The matter is a political hot potato in Matabeleland in particular where opposition to centralised government is strongest. The main political parties in the region are keen to pull the rug from under the feet of the revived ZAPU, and may all find themselves supporting devolution.
Paul Siwela, leader of the Federal Democratic Union and also a member of ZAPU, has been a vocal advocate for a variant of devolution – federalism.
“The term devolution sounds erudite but at the end of the day, the political architecture to achieve this is federalism,” he told the Chronicle on Wednesday.
“The concept is based on the fact that much power should rest with the constituent members of that federation than in a centralised government. In other words, the province or region has its own parliament, its own judiciary and an elected leader as opposed to the present set-up where Provincial Governors are appointed.
“In terms of taxation you might have a system where the region collects taxes for its own use and also revenue for the federal government. In that way, locals are able to benefit from local resources.
“The main issue is power in its real sense. The Provincial Governors have no Cabinet, no constitution, no budget for the development of the province — no power in other words. ”
Pathisa Nyathi, a Bulawayo-based historian weighed in on the debate, saying devolution was the “missing tier in governance in Zimbabwe”.
He added: “The concept of devolution of power is very simple. We need to differentiate it from de-congestion. When we talk about de-congestion, we are talking about assigning certain functions of central government to a region, which is an aspect of decentralisation.
“What we have in Zimbabwe are regional offices of a central government with no legislative powers. Our Provincial Governors have no legislative powers. They might have powers but they are not legislative.
“That is the missing tier. At the lowest level there is representation through the rural district councils in the case of rural areas, and urban councils in the case of towns and cities, which are elected bodies and to an extent have legislative powers, although defined, in that these councils can make by-laws and also collect revenue and taxes but the same thing does not exist at provincial level.
“So, devolving power would fill that void in the case of Zimbabwe. We are talking of a situation where a province has its own parliament with an assembly of elected representatives including a prime minister in the same manner as South Africa for instance.
“Devolution will give the various regions a knife with which to cut the national cake. Essentially, the system allows for local autonomy. Anybody who opposes devolution is selfish. What do you lose by devolving legislative power?”
Labels: DEVOLUTION, REGIONALISM, SIKHANYISO NDLOVU
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Female candidates and the politics of regionalism
Steve Shara
17 March, 2009 12:36:00
With two months to go before Malawians vote in presidential and parliamentary elections on May 19th, 2009, the soup du jour has evolved around two developments, the recent arrest and release on bail, on embezzlement charges, of former president Dr. Bakili Muluzi, and the visits of an African Union delegation of two former African presidents. These developments have overshadowed a major breakthrough that has changed the political landscape for women candidates in Malawi politics.
In the first development, Dr. Muluzi already served two terms from 1994 to 2004, but he claims the constitution allows him to run again, a claim that has received mixed reactions in the country.
In the second, former presidents of Ghana and Mozambique, John Kuffour and Joachim Chissano, are attempting, unjustifiably, according to the blog Chingweshole, to prevent what they fear might be a potential violent conflict in the run up to the elections and possibly in the aftermath.
However, eclipsed behind all this drama are two breakthroughs that in early February everyone was talking about as two Malawian firsts: a woman running mate on a major presidential ticket, and another woman as a presidential candidate in her own right. The two women are Hon. Joyce Hilda Banda, currently serving as Malawi's Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Hon. Loveness Gondwe, a member of parliament and president of the newly formed, break-away New Rainbow Coalition Party.
While Hon. Loveness Gondwe's candidacy had been speculated about and expected, it was the choice of Hon. Joyce Banda that shook the country when the incumbent president Dr Bingu wa Mutharika presented his nomination papers to the Malawi Electoral Commission on February 6th, and it became known that the Hon. Joyce Hilda Banda would be Dr. Mutharika's running mate.
This was after names of running mates for the main contenders had become a much-discussed guessing game in which it appeared each of the candidates was unsure who to choose, waiting to see who the other would pick first. It was a “stage-managed” and “secretive” process, according to blogger Boniface Dulani.
Much of the speculation on who was going to be Dr. wa Mutharika's running mate centered around Malawi's Minister of Finance, Hon. Goodall Gondwe, a highly respected economist and former International Monetary Fund (IMF) official widely regarded as the brains behind Malawi's economic and agricultural turn-around since 2004, alongside Dr. wa Mutharika himself.
Hon. Goodall Gondwe was recently awarded a prize as the best performing finance minister in Africa in 2008. Adding to the anticipation was the fact that Hon. Goodall Gondwe comes from the northern region of Malawi, seen as historically marginalized given its relatively smaller population compared to Malawi's two other regions, the center and the south.
Malawi's first president, Dr. Hasting Kamuzu Banda, came from the central region, where political power was concentrated throughout his 30 year rule.
From 1994 to 2004 the center for power shifted to the southern region, where erstwhile president Dr. Bakili Muluzi, hails from. Current president Bingu wa Mutharika, who comes from the southern region, is seen as having given the northern region a much-denied political boost, with Goodall Gondwe's finance portfolio being seen as one such example. It was therefore a point of much debated anticipation as to whether Mutharika was going to select a northerner as his running mate.
Reactions to the news created a heated debate especially on Internet forums, where it was quickly observed that Dr. wa Mutharika's choice of Hon. Joyce Banda was a departure from the norm in which the vice president since 2004 has always been from a region other than the president's. Some also saw it as a betrayal of the northern region, a loyal constituency.
Blogger-Journalist Bright Sonani observed: “Its no longer a secret. The Livingstonia Synod of the CCAP has finally come out in the open expressing disappointment over President Bingu wa Mutharika’s choice of Joyce Banda as his running mate instead of Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe, whose name was at the centre of debate as the likely person to pair up with the DPP leader.”
Some claimed the president had played a “regionalistic card”, while others suggested that the president was being pragmatic as well as promoting gender equality, noting that in fact Hon. Joyce Banda's husband, former Chief Justice Richard Banda, is himself a northerner.
Other reactions focused on her achievements and rise to influence, observing that she was the 1997 recipient, together with then Mozambican president Joachim Chissano, of the Africa Leadership Prize, awarded by the New York-based Hunger Project.
The blog Malawi Politics went on to add that: “This appointment follows service as a Member of Parliament and Minister for Gender, Children's Affairs and Community Services where she fought for Malawi's recently enacted Domestic Violence Bill, which had failed for seven years previously. In addition, she designed the National Platform for Action on Orphans and Vulnerable Children and the Zero Tolerance Campaign against Child Abuse.”
The Honorable Joyce Banda has advanced legislation and generated educational opportunities to assure the economic well-being of countless women and girls and forever changed Malawi.
But for blogger Isaac Ziba, a self-identifying northerner himself, it did not matter that Hon. Joyce Banda came from the south. Ziba saw the move as part of a much needed “exorcism” the country needs to undergo to get rid of the “regionalism” mentality:
“I, for one, am happy with the pick of Joyce Banda as running mate of and to President Dr Bingu wa Muntharika in the forthcoming general elections. This is because I totally believe that Malawi can and should be one and Malawi can be treated as one country – with only one fragment – Malawi.
“There are those that think Malawi can only be represented if Malawi has three fragments – the North, the Centre and the South. We have tried this platform for ages on end – it is not working for our people – and we do need - not just a paradigm shift but a paradigm change in the way we do not only our politics but our national endeavours as well – including on the development front.”
Mzati Nkolokosa, another blogger-journalist, identifies himself as not coming from the north by listing his friends who are from the north, in a post titled “My Friends from the North.”
He says his generation, aged between 25 and 35, is ushering in a new Malawi which looks at ideas rather than region. He points out that sports in Malawi is currently dominated by administrators from the north, but Malawians of his generation have no problem with that, as long as they are delivering the goods:
“My generation does not care that Mutharika and Banda are from the South just as we don’t mind that Sports Minister Symon Vuwa Kaunda, Fam president Walter Nyamirandu, Fam CEO Charles Nyirenda, Fam administrative officer Sugzo Nyirenda and Flames coach Kinnah Phiri are from the North.
“Whether they hold their meetings in Tumbuka or Tonga, my generation does not care. All we care is that they have delivered and continue to do so. They have turned the Flames from perpetual losers to winners. They are in their positions on merit, not based on place.—Global Voices
Labels: BAKILI MULUZI, REGIONALISM
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Northern region remains undeveloped
TIMAU with Sembe Gondwe 20 February, 2009 01:50:00
We are not stirring a debate nor is our aim to sow seeds of tribalism. Ours is a polite reminder to the President of the Republic of Malawi, Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika, that there is no development in the northern region of Malawi.
In addition, we would like to enlighten the President that, perhaps, he has overlooked the fact that he has marginalised northerners in all strategic positions. It will not be a great surprise if Ngwazi Mutharika is still President after the May elections.
What will be interesting to see is whether his stay will bring changes to the northern region and its people.
At first, we thought it was an oversight but now we have seen that this is Bingu’s leadership style.
The north is always neglected.
It was the same with the previous regimes. Now, the DPP hastily assembled ‘bag of all sorts’ appear to be attempting the same thing with their boss Bingu.
The DPP aren’t working for the north.
What we have here are ‘soldiers of fortune’ who choose where they want to perform, generally only for the Southern and Central regions. They are now an increasing embarrassment to their supporters in the North, where the DPP enjoys 99.99% support.
Do not dare to lose your temper, for its northerners and not government that should be angry. We are going to show you now why this should be the case.
We know that some overzealous people will deliberately turn a blind eye to our line of argument and begin to spit at us, like the fools who spat on Jesus Christ, for no apparent reason.
The seeds of national destruction contained in the Bingu ‘Development Policy’ are maturing into a fully fledged threat to the prosperity of thousands of northerners.
Northern Region politicians should be thoroughly ashamed of their failure to wholeheartedly rally behind their supporters.
The fact is, as people of the other two regions celebrate the birth of Development Projects everyday, the people in the Northern Region are anxiously waiting for development as Christians are awaiting the second coming of Christ - He shall come unannounced.
And possibly, development in the North shall come unannounced.
Examples of this argument are as follows:
Rumphi
The only development here is the District Hospital, built during the MCP era, a Post Office that cost Mr. Mwanza his job during the Kamuzu days and an extension of the tarmac road to the Boma by the UDF government, initiated by Chakufwa Chihana.
Yet, there is the Nyika Plateau, which one lady Minister has personal interests and the historical Livingstonia mission. The road networks are very poor. We are unable to describe them here.
Nkhatabay
As their brothers and sisters in Thyolo district are dancing to the birth of a new hospital, market, University and roads, people in Nhkatabay district can’t even dream of a public toilet at the bus station.
Chitipa
To a complete Mlambya it’s a crime punishable by death to mention the word development in Chitipa. They don’t know whether they’re in Malawi or elsewhere. They’re unconnected. The Karonga/ Chtipa road has been sleeping ever since it was born. There’s a referral hospital in Mzuzu and one wonders how people from Chitipa are ever referred to this hospital when there is no road to connect them to Malawi. They support DPP.
Mzimba
Ironically, this district is as big as the Southern Region but it is not connected. The ever fighting spirit of the Ngonis we all know from Tchaka Zulu, has been diluted to hero-worshippers. Decorating every leader with names, Bingu has been honored with the name Ngwazi, and yet he hasn’t even given them any good road networks in return.
Karonga
In Karonga, the catastrophe has not spared them either. All they see is the rehabilitation of Kamuzu’s Karonga-Chiweta road.
APPOINTMENTS
We join the President in blaming the opposition for frustrating his development programmes. Yes, we give him our benefit of doubt.
If the opposition hadn’t pushed and pulled him too much, Bingu could have focused on developmental projects that could have even flourished to the ‘dead north’.
But should we hold responsible the opposition for the Presidents failure to appoint northerners in tactical positions.
Let us look at this together.
President-Bingu Wamtharika
Speaker-Louis Chimango(not elected by Bingu)
Chief Justice-Lovemore Munlo
Army Commander-General Chiziko
I.G-Olive Kubambe
Head of Civil Service-Bright Msaka
Attorney General-Jane Ansah(nee Mjojo)
Clerk Of Parliament-Mrs Katopola
Governor of Reserve Bank-Victor Mbewe
Vice Chancellor of the University of Malawi-Prof. Kadzamira.
Only 1% of Principal Secretaries are from the north.
Now sample this:
MBC-Patrick Khoza
TVM-Bright Malopa
Escom-Peterson Zembani
Admarc-Charlse Matabwa(the Presidents Nephew)
Maneb-Mathews Matemba
The tribalistic list continues in foreign services where almost all of them are from the south and the central regions
USA-Bernard Sande
UN-Steve Matenje
UK-Dr. Francis Moto
China-Thengo Maloya
South Africa-Agrina Mussa
Zimbabwe-Benson Tembo
Zambia-Dr. Chrissie Mughogho(only married to a northerner)
The list is so mind-numbing that we cannot continue writing it.
The only northerner is Roosevelt Gondwe.
Leaders have instilled nepotism in Malawians to the point that only one northerner is in the Timau Crew.
Even though the northerners have proved their pedigree with remarkable qualifications, Bingu has decided to leave them out-of-the-way.
We now begin to believe the words of the sacked Minister, Richard Msowoya.
BRAINLESS
It will be absolutely brainless for someone to claim that the Timau crew is promoting tribalism for speaking on behalf of the voiceless northerners, when in actual fact; tribalism is being exported from the State House itself.
The President should work up from slumber and put the mess in order before it is too late.
LOBBY
The President should allow people to lobby from other sources for development aid without fears of political threats. We hear one northerner is a friend of President Barack Obama through Harvard University.
REVENUE
The little revenue collected from the northern region should be left there to develop the ‘dead north’.
NATIONAL CAKE
It is unfortunate that when sharing the national cake, the President has cut the parts with icing sugar and shared them between the Southern and Central regions and left Northerners to scramble for ‘maluvuvu’.
THANKS
We thank our ancestors for teaching us the saying “wandisokosela nkulinga utamva”
sembegondwe@yahoo.com
We dedicate this article to the twins who turn 4 on 24th February, Tina and Wati; perhaps they will develop the north one day.
Labels: DEVELOPMENT, MALAWI, REGIONALISM, TRIBALISM
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Rupiah is wedded to regionalism
Written by Editor
It seems Rupiah Banda is permanently wedded to regionalism and tribalism. During the last election campaigns, Rupiah elevated regionalism and tribalism to levels that this country had never experienced before from a presidential candidate. In broad daylight, he publicly told the people of Chipata not to entertain anyone coming to campaign in that province who hails from another region. He directed them to chase such people away and tell them to go back where they come from. And today, this same Rupiah wants to cheat that he promised unity of the people of Zambia.
It is very clear to everybody that Rupiah believes in regionalism and tribalism and sometimes uses this in an extremely patronising way. Rupiah yesterday said to the people of Kasama: “People of Northern Province, I sent you an Eastern bull, he is very quick to learn, he is already speaking Bemba fluently so that others cannot say, ‘you sent us somebody who cannot speak our language’.
I know him very well, he performed in Eastern Province, and I know he will perform well here because he is in front of his own cousins.” This was in reference to Northern Province minister Charles Shawa. What has Shawa’s coming from Eastern Province got to do with his performance in Northern Province? What is this nonsense of tribal cousin got to do with a government official performing his duties?
Clearly, contrary to his claims of unity, Rupiah is a dangerous regionalist and tribalist.
And sometimes in life, it is better to be honest about things and not credit oneself with collective achievements. Peace in this country is not a product of Rupiah’s presidency. If anything, Rupiah, more than any president before him, has endangered national unity and peace in this country the most. It was not his political abilities or values that have enabled this country to stay united and peaceful after the October fraudulent elections in which Rupiah exhibited, to the highest level, political and electoral corruption. And there is no need for Rupiah to start reminding people of the wrong things he did to enable him to become president. His embarrassing corruption record in the last elections is still very fresh in the minds of people for him to go around bragging and saying senseless things. It is better for Rupiah to avoid talking about things that are divisive and concentrate on trying to tackle or solve the many problems our people are today facing. Today, Rupiah wants to mislead Zambians that he promised them peace and they are enjoying that peace under his leadership as though peace was lacking in Zambia before he became president. And Rupiah must understand that peace is not just the absence of conflict, of war. Hunger disturbs peace more than anything. Unemployment leads to more instability than even differences over the number of votes each presidential candidate got in an election. It is said that a hungry man is an angry man. Since Rupiah came to power, there are more hungry people, there are more people without jobs than before. How does Rupiah expect thousands of miners and others who are every day losing their jobs to enjoy and contribute to peace in the nation?
Peace cannot be reduced to the mere absence of open political conflict; it is the tranquility of order. And to guarantee peace, all are called to maturity, tolerance and responsibility. And the peace that we have today cannot be said to be a product of Rupiah’s maturity, tolerance and responsibility. It is actually the maturity, tolerance and responsibility of his opponents who could have chosen to act otherwise. It cannot be a product of somebody who is going round provoking the situation as he was doing yesterday in Kasama.
Rupiah is today conveniently avoiding to mention the many things he promised to deliver. He made so many promises during the election campaign. However, we will just remind him of a few of those promises. Rupiah promised to create more jobs as soon as he was elected, to reduce the price of fertiliser and make it more accessible and affordable to the farmer, thereby increasing food production which in turn was going to reduce poverty which he said was demeaning to human beings. Rupiah also promised to reduce mealie-meal and fuel prices; to increase Constituency Development Fund from the current K400 million to over K1 billion. He promised to improve road networks, especially in the rural areas, health and education services, among many other things. And more importantly, Rupiah promised to improve the economy from where Levy left it because he believed his predecessor left a solid economic foundation. However, the moment Rupiah ascended to power, Zambians started experiencing the opposite of his promises. The economy is in shambles, with no promise of an immediate reversal of fortunes. And things are going to get worse. Zambians should brace themselves for more difficulties, for more hardships, for more sacrifices and for more suffering. Rupiah is not only incapable of being a magician or someone who can place alchemist to the problems of our economy, but he also seems to be empty and inept when it comes to running the affairs of this country.
And given the global challenges that are today hitting the hardest the poorest of the world’s countries like ours, Rupiah is certainly at sea. And this is why he is telling the people of Kasama that he is not a magician who will solve all their problems overnight. No one expects Rupiah to be a magician. People are simply asking or reminding Rupiah to fulfil his election promises. They are not asking him to turn stones into nshima, chicken, meat or fish because they know that he is not capable of doing so. The promises they are reminding him to fulfil are the ones he made of his own free will in his quest to become president. So people have the right to remind him to deliver because he became president on the basis of those promises. And the Zambian people are not interested in his litany of excuses or mitigations. It is said that “people who promise things that they never give are like clouds and wind that bring no rain” (Proverbs 25:14). Rupiah will live with the consequences of everything he said during the election campaign (Proverbs 18:20).
What we should realise is that true democracy is not just about emerging with a few thousand votes over the other candidates and claiming to have the support of the majority. True democracy is a growth in the confidence in the power of ordinary people to transform their country, and thus transform themselves. It is a growth in the appreciation of people organising, deciding, creating together. It is a growth of fraternal love.
And no one should cheat the Zambian people that things are going to be easy for them because Rupiah is President. They must be prepared to meet difficulties, hardships and suffering. They have difficulties today, and they will have even greater ones tomorrow.
Rupiah should not be allowed to make a virtue out of his inadequacies by claiming he is not a magician. Although no one can build an economy or a society purely on the basis of entitlement, there is nothing which makes people more appreciative of a government than that it should be able to deliver services. And this is what and why the Zambian people are reminding Rupiah of the promises he made during the election campaign.
Again, this should serve as a reminder to all of us that democracy itself guarantees us nothing. It offers us instead the opportunity to succeed as well as the risk for failure. It is both a promise and a challenge. It is a promise that as free human beings working together, we can govern ourselves in a manner that will serve our aspirations for personal freedom, economic opportunity and social justice. We say it is a challenge because the success of our democratic enterprise rests upon our shoulders as citizens of this country and on no one else. In the end, we get the government we deserve.
Labels: REGIONALISM, RUPIAH BANDA
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Division and tension
Written by Editor
Last week, the Catholic bishops in their pastoral letter observed that last month’s presidential election has left the country more divided than ever before.
And this week, Council of Churches in Zambia secretary general Rev Suzanne Matale and Patrick Chisanga have made similar observations.
It cannot be denied that there are serious divisions in the nation. It cannot honestly be disputed either that there is tension in the nation.
Why should this be so after the country is said to have held free, fair and democratic elections? How can such elections result in divisions?
The truth is the seeds for the divisions and tension we are seeing in the nation today were sown at the very beginning of last month’s election campaigns. It started with Rupiah Banda’s call in Chipata to the people of Eastern Province not to entertain presidential candidates who hail from other regions of our country coming to campaign in the province. He appealed to them to tell them to go back where they come from. We criticised him heavily for that careless, reckless and highly divisive statement. Rupiah never denied having made that statement. And he was right in not attempting to do so because we have a recording of what he said.
Rupiah never attempted to retract or apologise for what he said. Instead, Rupiah and his campaign team decided to go for us for reporting and commenting on what he said.
It is time the nation realised that we reap what we sow. If we plant seeds of division, we should not expect to harvest peace and unity in the nation. The divisions we are seeing today were created by our politicians, especially Rupiah and some key members of his campaign team, some of whom are today Cabinet ministers in his government.
We hail from all corners of our country and have joined together for a common progressive purpose – to develop our country for the benefit of all of us. And if we are to achieve this objective, we must all show concern for everyone, and all our people must be taught to care for each other, must love and help each other.
We must all realise that the unity of our people and of our various regions is the basic guarantee for us to achieve our objective as a nation. Only through the unity of the whole nation can we overcome the problems and challenges facing our country. And for this reason, it is imperative to overcome anything that impairs this unity.
Whatever politics we engage in should as far as possible promote unity. It is not possible for us to seriously talk about democracy in a country that is divided, in a country that is gripped by tension. For us, democracy means that governments are closely linked to the people, arise from the people, have the support of the people and devote themselves entirely to working and struggling for the people and the people’s interests. Democracy implies the defence of all the rights of citizens, including the right to dignity and honour. For us, democracy means fraternity and true equality among all the citizens and equal opportunities for all the people and for every human being who is born.
The type of democracy we are practicing doesn’t seem to contain any of these elements. How can we talk of democracy in a country with so much division, so much inequality? What chance do the poor, especially those who live in far-flung areas of our country, have in this democracy of ours? What we have is simply an old trick, an old tale, an old story. What we have done is to establish a system of domination with all the resources of wealth and everything else in the hands of a group that maintains discrimination and excludes the rest of society from any real or meaningful political participation and from any real or meaningful possibility of exercising their rights. We have seen this type of politics before in history. It was there under Greek democracy.
People used to cite Greek democracy as an example of democracy from the classical age of Greece. Athens, which was a prototype of democracy, had 40,000 citizens – men, women and children – and 90,000 slaves. Around 35,000 of the slaves worked in workshops and in agriculture, 20,000 were women who were house slaves, 10,000 were children who provided various services and 25,000 worked in mining. For every free man, woman and child in Athens, there were more than two slaves. Even the great historians and philosophers had slaves – we are not criticising them, because they were products of their society. A slave wasn’t anything; they were human beings who could be bought and sold, or even killed.
We wonder, really, what great difference there was between that society and this society that we are trying to exalt. It is really difficult to accept and identify with this kind of democracy which is being used to weaken our country and divide our people into ten, 72 or 150 pieces so that they can’t solve problems. There is no real participation by the people in this kind of democracy. What we are calling democracy is nothing but a mechanism that serves as a tool for the abuse of the ordinary people of our country.
For us, democracy is something else. One can’t say that democracy arose in Athens. People have spoken of Athens, but it was a divided society, it was a society full of inequalities and injustices, discrimination and abuse. We think that divisions and certain injustices must disappear before we can have real democracy. We are absolutely convinced of that. As long as there are enormous inequalities and divisions among human beings, there isn’t – there can’t be – any democracy. There can’t be democracy in such a society because it is the supreme expression of the savage struggle, lack of equality and fraternity among people.
When you analyse this problem from all angles, you see that you can’t call what we have democracy because true democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people – a government in which all the people participate.
And since we have declared this country a Christian nation, let us try to look at the whole issue from a Christian perspective. With divisions, inequalities and other injustices that we are creating or we are tolerating, what type of nation or nationalism can we really talk about in this country? We say this because nationalism is a true and well-thought-out love for one’s country, an expression of fraternal love, of solidarity and of service to the common good.
There are indications in the Gospel that Jesus loved his own small country, so little thought of and maltreated at his time. He shared its destiny, its sufferings, its humiliations. He was completely an Israelite: his physical appearance, his clothes, his language, his customs, the examples which he gave, the stories which he told, his style of speaking, his whole way of life showed that he was a Jew, faithful to his race and to his people. As our Lord loved his country, so we love ours and wish it to have peace, prosperity and a fully representative government in which everyone shares and participates.
Nationalism, like many other good things, can be deformed or distorted. This fact should put us on guard against those dangers which weaken national unity. The first deformation is to be found in the narrowing of scope of true nationalism, when it is reduced to fostering the interests of only one section or group of inhabitants of the country. Some have wished to identify nationalism with an unrestricted adherence to a particular type of government, or even to a specific ruling party.
Others consider true nationalism to be the perpetuation of the spirit and form of a particular historical epoch. There are those who attribute a monopoly of nationalism to a single sector of the community, an influential sector, without doubt, but one which cannot pretend to exhaust the human reality of the country. No single sector has a monopoly of deciding what the true national interests are.
Nationalism should be expressed in actions, in daily works and tasks, in justice and in solidarity. Citizens should cultivate a loyal spirit of patriotism, but without narrow-mindedness, so that they keep in mind the welfare of all.
Another deformation of nationalism is tribalism. It is the competitive and excessive exaltation of one’s own tribe. It seeks to assert its superiority over the others. The Christian vision is universal, with all human beings seen as brothers and sisters within one family. It is not necessary that my tribe should be superior to other tribes in anything. It is enough that it be faithful to its own identity and purpose, that it contributes what it can to the common cause and receive the contributions of others in a mutual collaboration and exchange. All throughout history, tribalism has been the cause of innumerable divisions, conflicts and wars.
Among the tribes, as among individuals, dignity is a virtue and pride is a vice.
Tribes, like countries, are not closed groups. They are but a small part of a wider society: that of the human race. It is not by segregating ourselves from those who are different that we shall preserve our own particular achievements. It is by sharing them that we become richer. It is by spreading Christian values that we shall defend our faith. Refusing to share our achievements is one form of underdevelopment; refusing to learn from others, is another. We should open our minds and hearts to the human values to be found in the language, customs and culture of the people who are about us.
It is for these reasons that we urge Rupiah and his sponsors to find ways to remedy the divisions they planted in the nation through their divisive campaigns. They have a duty to find a painkiller to the toothache they planted in the nation that is today causing so much tension in our compounds, townships and other places. An ostrich approach to politics will not do. Continual denials of reality will not do.
Rupiah has to face the realities of the divisions and tension he has planted in this country. Sometimes it’s not easy to clean up one’s mess, help may be needed and it should be given. But it has to be sought or they have to open themselves to it. If they don’t deal efficiently, effectively and in an orderly manner with these divisions, with this growing tension, these may soon devour them. And they may perish in this tension because, as they say, when the rain comes, it won’t fall on one man’s house.
Labels: REGIONALISM, TRIBALISM
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AfDB calls for strengthening of regional economies
By Joan Chirwa
Thursday August 30, 2007 [04:00]
ZAMBIA and other African countries must strengthen institutional and technical capacities at a regional level before a United African government could be established, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has advised.
And the AfDB has said delays at most border posts in southern Africa cost the region US$48 billion annually, mainly due to cumbersome inspection regimes by customs officials on goods transported across borders.
AfDB vice president for infrastructure, water and sanitation Mandla Gantsho said African countries cannot successfully integrate into a United Africa government with weak Regional Economic Communities (RECs) that were dependent on aid.
“The AfDB can play a role in terms of providing human and financial support and sharing experiences between African RECs and economic groupings in other parts of the world,” Gantsho said in an interview with the bank’s press department.
“That is, we must acknowledge that we are disadvantaged in the global economy if we remain as small, landlocked and fragmented countries with relatively weak RECs that are dependent on aid.
These are weak pillars, and we cannot integrate our continent on the basis of weak pillars.”
Gantsho noted the need for strengthening regional institutions and countries that make up the RECs for the effective implementation of the planned United African government.
“Doing so would strengthen the foundations of the continental government we are trying to build,” Gantsho said.
“However, the immediate establishment of a continental government would be tantamount to trying to place a roof on walls of straw or on walls that are built on foundations of soft sand. We have a role to play.”
He said the United African government would also ensure a more effective and efficient provision of regional public goods that are needed to catalyse both the integration as well as the development process across the entire continent.
“I am a proponent of the school of thought that sees regional economic unions as the basis for the Union Government, where the constituent countries yield some sovereign powers to the RECs.
This would fast-track sub regional political and socio-economic integration through investment in regional economic infrastructure,” Gantsho said.
And Gantsho said the costly delays at border posts in southern Africa had a negative effect on transport and logistics service providers.
“Transport providers are forced to pay huge penalties for failing to meet their service obligations to their clients. This is why transportation costs in Africa are the highest compared to other regions of the world. These constraints would be resolved in an integrated Africa,” said Gantsho.
Labels: AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, REGIONALISM
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Mask no difficulties
By Editor
Tuesday August 21, 2007 [04:00]
We believe in regional integration. This is what we believe in and we are not ashamed to state it publicly and strongly so. We do believe in ideas with unshakeable steadfastness and we defend them and we will defend them. Every country has its interests; every country has its pride; every country has its honour, regardless of its ideas, its culture, its beliefs of different kinds. And all that cannot be ignored when we start to look at regional integration.
There are no economic miracles. That is clear now. It would be worthwhile to assess the risks for each country of regional integration and include these issues on the agenda. The concerns raised by Simon Zukas about the development in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states being uneven and that some countries may be disadvantaged and become dumping grounds is valid and needs serious consideration. It is not regional integration for the sake of regional integration.
It is integration for the benefit of all our people as a region. In this regard we exhort all our leaders - political, business or otherwise - to meditate on this issue, to research, delve deeply into it; to help, advise, disseminate, as an essential thing, truthfully, without any dogmas and with broadmindedness, listening to everyone, without thinking that we are the owners of the absolute truth. On the contrary, if we believe in something, we are interested in enriching and substantiating what we believe.
If we have a conviction, we are interested in delving deeper into that conviction, and in rectifying any idea, in correcting it, perfecting it, and that can only really be done with great broadmindedness, gathering and synthesizing ideas, knowledge and information.
If something we believe in or think about is shared by others; that is, if this were true, only the effort and intelligence of many would be able to corroborate it, to draw conclusions that no one will be able to refute.
There will no longer be one single thinker. Hundreds of thousands, millions of thinkers can make up for the thinker our times need. New ideas to prepare our people for the future are needed, but we must start struggling right now. Beginning today, we must start building awareness, a new awareness. It is not that there's a lack of awareness today; but such a new and complex epoch as this one requires principles more than ever and requires a lot more awareness, and that awareness will be built, by adding together the awareness of what is happening and the awareness of what is going to happen.
It has to be built by adding together more than just one revolutionary thought and the best ethical and humane ideas of more than one religion, of all authentic religions; the sum total of the preaching of many political and economic thinkers, of many schools and of many religions.
Whatever position we take on regional integration we shouldn't take it out of vanity, or out of chauvinism, or out of pride. It should stem from a sense of responsibility and of duty.
In this regional integration we will need a lot of input out of the ranks of the intellectuals; first of all, of the economists. Of economists with a political sense, not economists to serve the trans-nationals, or economists to play the simple role of advisors. Of course, they have to advise as much as they can, economists that develop ideas and convey them to their people based on profoundly scientific foundations, based on science and human experience gathered for so long.
Economists of the people, and today to be economists of the people they must be political economists; and politicians must be politicians with a minimum economic knowledge and if it is possible with a maximum of knowledge in that field, that today is really the basis on which the fate of our people depends, the basis on which our struggles are being carried out. And the politicians who do not understand, or do not want to understand, or who do not strive to know economics, are not worth of exercising the duty they exercise as such politicians.
The new realities under which we are living should force us to reanalyse, work out anew and speed up the development of new ideas. The solutions to the problems in the hard conditions in which we are today living are not written in any book. We have to simply become creators of new formulas to confront our current difficulties with resolve. We are convinced that we will find solutions to the difficult problems we today face - we are absolutely sure of that. Doomsday, although following the saying about more haste, less speed, because we are in a hurry in some things but we have to do it well, on a solid basis, and analyse all the experiences.
Yes, regional integration is a very good thing and as we have already stated we believe in it. But this doesn't mean we should hide the difficulties and challenges inherent in it. We should hide nothing about the problems and challenges of regional integration from the masses of our people. We should tell no lies about the difficulties we are likely to encounter in this effort. And those who attempt to tell lies about regional integration should have their lies exposed whenever they are told.
Let us mask no difficulties, mistakes and failures as we try to integrate our region. And above all, let us claim no easy victories in this struggle to unite our people and integrate our region. For this reason, critical but extremely patriotic voices like that of Simon need and deserve to be encouraged and listened to attentively and with great respect. Regional integration is undoubtedly a good thing, a positive development. But like all good things, it won't come easy.
There will be a lot of work to be done, and problems and contradictions to solve and resolve. There will certainly be no economic miracles as a result of this regional integration. What will come out of this integration will only be that which we ourselves will be able to create out of it.
Labels: EDITORIAL, REGIONALISM, SADC
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