(NEWZIMBABWE, AFP) Zambia charges 70 separatists
02/10/2013 00:00:00
by AFP
MORE than 70 Zambian separatists are due in court on charges of treason Wednesday, in one of the country's biggest trials in recent years.
The defendants, mostly from the Lozi tribe, want Barotseland state in the country's impoverished west to secede from the copper-rich southern African country.
Police have arrested 83 people in a crackdown on secessionists, some while they were trying to hoist their own flag or singing songs denouncing the government.
Western province police chief Lombe Kamukoshi said only 72 of them will appear at Mongu High Court on Wednesday.
A treason conviction in Zambia could carry the death penalty.
Barotseland traditional leader and former deputy minister of education, Clement Sinyinda is among those facing treason charges, but will go to court on a later date.
"Sinyinda has been charged with the offence of treason felony and will appear in court on October 10, others will appear on October 2," Kamukoshi told AFP.
The secessionist bid dates back decades.
Barotseland was originally a protectorate of Britain, but entered into a deal at the end of colonial rule in 1964 to become a province of Zambia.
Under the agreement signed with independent Zambia's first president, Kenneth Kaunda, the region was supposed to have limited self-rule, but the Lozi say that agreement was never respected.
The issue had quietened down during the 1990s.
Last year, President Michael Sata ordered the military to clamp down on secession protests.
In January 2012, two people were killed during clashes with police in the town of Mongu, west of the capital Lusaka.
Human rights activist Brebner Changala blamed Sata for not doing enough to initiate talks and called on him to pardon those facing charges.
"It's a sad story that people are arrested and charged with treason," he said.
"Dialogue is the only way out... he should take the lead".
He added that the issue was capable of causing mayhem in the country.
"This issue should be handled with care, he (Sata) should not trivialise it," said Changala.
"This is a matter that can cause serious problems in this country,??? he said.
Last year, Sata said allowing the tribe to secede would cause other tribes to demand the same, in a country with 73 ethnic groups.
Labels: SEPARATISM, TRIBALISM
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Abuse of govt resources for campaigns
By The Post
Wed 08 June 2011, 04:00 CAT
There is little doubt that being in government and in control of state resources and public institutions gives the ruling party and its candidates certain advantages that their challengers are unable to match.
Phineas Bbala, a public administration lecturer at the University of Zambia, is right when he says that Zambians will continue witnessing abuse of state resources and public institutions by those in power for party activities in the name of government projects for as long as there remains no clear separation of the two.
There is no doubt that the ruling MMD is using taxpayers’ funds for political activities rather than government purposes. Recently, government ministers were all over the country with government motor vehicles and support staff on MMD electoral and organisation business.
The taxpayer was paying for all this. This should not be allowed to continue. A thick line needs to be drawn between MMD and government business, and it needs to be done soon. Levelling the political playing field will require creating a thick line marking a distinction between the government and the ruling party. Lack of a distinction between ruling party campaign activities and government business creates a climate of abuse and unfairness.
We do appreciate that the party in power may enjoy the advantages of incumbency, but the rules and conduct of the election contest must be fair.
There are some legitimate arguments that it is difficult to establish a dividing line between when the president’s itinerary is purely party political since he also has to discharge his duties as a head of state all the time. It is further argued that the constitutional responsibilities of the president dictate that the incumbent shall be on duty 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
And this makes it impossible for the president to separate his party political responsibilities from his official government responsibilities. Whereas this may be understandable, what about his ministers and other party functionaries who accompany him using these and additional government resources and facilities?
And Bbala is calling for new laws to stop this practice. We don’t think the problem is really of laws.
It is much more a question of enforcement of the law. We say this because the electoral Act number 12 of 2006 and the Electoral Code of Conduct 2006 prohibit any person from using state resources for political party campaigns, but give the president and vice-president an exclusive right to use state resources. Section 7 (k) provides that “…a person shall not use government or parastatal transport or facility for campaign purposes; provided this paragraph shall not apply to use by the president and the vice-president in connection to their offices”.
Despite this prohibition, those in power have continued to use, or rather abuse, government resources and facilities in their election campaigns. In the 2008 presidential elections, Rupiah Banda and the MMD abused government resources and facilities with impunity. Rupiah’s team of image builders was moving in a Ministry of Health motor vehicle. Photographs of them using a government-owned motor vehicle were taken and published by this newspaper. But no action was taken against anyone.
In short, the law was not enforced in any way. Rupiah had friends from the opposition who were supporting him and they travelled with him using government resources and facilities – sometimes even having a second helicopter for those who accompanied him. Rupiah personally distributed sugar, mealie- meal, cooking oil and other things, bought with government money, at election campaign rallies. The then Attorney General, Mumba Malila, advised that this was wrong but they continued doing so in total disregard of his legal advice.
Probably there is need to understand the background to our people’s opposition to those in power abusing public resources and facilities in their election campaigns. In 1991, the MMD proclaimed that once in power, they would eliminate the unfair access to state resources by the party in power.
However, once in power, the MMD did not address the issue and deliberate misuse of state resources continued. After Levy Mwanawasa came to power in 2001, his government, in response to public demands, initiated electoral reforms to enhance transparency and level the playing field. This culminated in the passing of the electoral Act in 2006 and the Electoral Code of Conduct 2006.
Although there is this law, those in power have continued to operate as if nothing stops them from using public resources and facilities in their bid for re-election. The reason why the President and the vice-president were allowed to use government facilities even during their election campaigns were for security. But we have seen an abuse of all this. We saw it in 2008 when Rupiah used government helicopters and planes as if there was no restriction on their use.
His friends were flying around in these planes and helicopters as if they were part of his security team. Some of these were not even government officials. But he carried them around on his campaigns at additional costs to the taxpayer, taking advantage of these privileges in ways that directly support partisan purposes and disadvantage the opposition.
It cannot be denied that it is these abuses of public resources and facilities that have kept the MMD in power for this long, making it very difficult for the opposition to effectively challenge them.
This explains why our electoral politics have been one-dimensional, requiring a revolution or an uprising to change government. This defeats the whole purpose of having a multi-party political dispensation.
With such practices, we will continue having a political party dominating the politics of our country for a very long time even when they have lost the legitimacy to govern. The opposition should not be made to be effectively competing with the state when they participate in elections.
Clearly, there is urgent need to limit or stop these abuses of incumbency because it is not good for democracy; it is not good for good governance, transparency and accountability. We need to put in place mechanisms that can ensure the playing field is levelled and the abuse of taxpayers’ money for political purposes is avoided.
Labels: CAMPAIGN FINANCE, SEPARATISM
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Munkombwe urges Tongas to change 'isolationist attitudes'
By Mutale Kapekele in Livingstone
Friday April 04, 2008 [04:00]
SOUTHERN Province minister Daniel Munko-mbwe has called on the Tonga Traditional Association (TTA) to change the ‘isolationist attitudes’ of Tongas in the province. And National Constitution Conference (NCC) vice chairperson Leonard Hikaumba has said the biggest challenge the conference faces was reaching consensus on issues.
Speaking when Hikaumba and TTA president Dickson Namwanza paid a courtesy call on him yesterday, Munkombwe said there was need to change the nature of Tongas in the province.
“Help us to unlock the isolative nature of our people in the province,” Munkombwe said. “Isolation is retrogressive to development. I am glad that I have been given total commitment by all the members of parliament in the province.”
Munkombwe said he would work with anyone who recognised the government in the province.
“I am the government here and anyone who wants development should come through me just like you have to go through Jesus to get to God,” he said. “I am not comparing myself to Jesus; I just want to illustrate a point. For instance here in Livingstone I will use Sakwiba Sikota for developmental programs, he will have to cooperate with me because I am the government.”
Munkombwe also said leaders who wanted recognition must show love and commitment and described Hikaumba as one such leader.
“You (Hikaumba) fight with charm and love. You don’t grab people by the neck when bargaining and that has made you a great young man,” he said. “Some trade union leaders have become extremists and can’t get anything for their members. If one is not lovable as a leader then they are part of chaff.”
And Hikaumba said the diverse nature of the NCC composition would make it difficult for delegates to reach consensus on various issues.
“We have 492 members at the moment and all of these have unique backgrounds and the biggest challenge we will face is reaching consensus at every point of the conference,” he said.
Hikaumba also said opposers of the NCC were misleading the nation when they said that some sections of the Constitution would not be reviewed.
“There has been talk that the bill of rights will not be changed, some people even stayed away from the NCC for that reason but I can assure you that no part of the constitution will be over looked,” he said.
Hikaumba is on a tour of the Southern Province to sensitise people on the NCC and its progress so far. The NCC resumes sittings on the 22nd of this month.
Labels: DANIEL MUNKOMBWE, LEONARD HIKAUMBA, SEPARATISM, TONGA TRADITIONAL ASSOCIATION, TRIBALISM
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