ACTING President Inonge Wina has urged all political parties in Zambia to ensure that they adopt more women at all levels of this year’s General Elections to meet the 50-50 gender parity that is required by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) protocol on Gender.
Ms Wina, who is the Republican Vice President, said this year’s elections were very important not only because of the 50 plus one threshold to elect a Republican President but also because of the need to have more women participation.
She was speaking in Livingstone yesterday at Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport upon her arrival.
Ms Wina, who was accompanied by Home Affairs Minister Davies Mwila, is today (Tuesday) expected to officiate at the Zambia Correctional Service conference at AVANI Victoria Falls Hotel.
“We want more women to be councillors, executive mayors, council chairpersons and Members of Parliament (MPs) in various parts of the country.
“This can happen if political parties adopt more women. It is the responsibility of political parties to ensure that more women are adopted so that they fill the numbers that are required by the SADC protocol which requires that women achieve 50 per cent representation in parliament and in other positions,” she said.
Ms Wina said political parties had the capacity to adopt more women to ensure that women were given more space to participate in the political parties and their country.
“This election will show the commitment of political parties when it comes to gender parity and we will see at the end of the day which political party will have adopted more women so that come 2021 in the next elections, we can meet the 50-50 requirement if we can’t meet this year.
“Southern Province should lead by example. It is here in Southern Province where UPND is intact where we want to see more women adopted on the UPND ticket. In other Provinces where other political parties are dominant, we want to see more women adopted,” she said.
Ms Wina said it was high time the women of Zambia took the lead in the political life of their country and governance of their country.
She was also glad to hear that the Cholera outbreak in Monze and Mazabuka had been contained and hope that the disease would not reoccur because it was preventable.
“The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has informed us that the preparations for this year’s elections are on course.
“Some of you have already visited your polling stations to inspect your particulars to ensure your names and other details are not misspelled and I am urging those who have not yet verified their details to do so,” she said.
Speaking earlier, Southern Province Permanent Secretary Sibanze Simuchoba said the cholera outbreak in Monze and Mazabuka had been contained and that the schools which delayed to open managed to reopen on Monday this week.
“The province is generally stable. The people in the province are now busy harvesting their maize. The season’s crop is already on the market and we expect a good harvest,” Mr Simuchoba said.
Meanwhile, some UPND cadres yesterday almost caused confusion in the central business district of Livingstone as they allegedly wanted to disturb Ms Wina’s convoy as her way from the airport to the Hotel.
But alert police officers, who were stationed at Mukuni Park and near the Post Office, kept vigil of the town centre and ensured that the cadres did not disturb the convoy.
Bo Inonge your PF has failed. Am not UPND but i believe we need a change of leadership in Zambia. You PF cadres, tell me, is this what you call a working govt when it has reduced people to the streets like this? And is this the quality of roads from Eurobond? Roads without lines for motorists to stick to their lanes? See below and judge for yourself
https : // w w w. youtube.com/watch?v=meR3-qP1fRk
So you don’t know how to attach links?
The adoption process does not favor women at all. The process is marred with corruption with men favoring fellow men. The men go out the whole night bribing the electorates while the women are in their homes looking after their families.
Samu walasa. Women lets keep on fighting. Our menfolk have no fairness in most cases. Bo Inonge keep on hammering.Most women support you in this cause.
she’s tired..let her rest..look@her face
THE LADY WORTH TO BE PRAISED. IT’S PF NAFUTI NAFUTI , PF HAPE NI HAPE.
ONE OF THE GREATEST AND STRONGEST WOMEN ZAMBIA HAS EVER PRODUCED. WHAT SHE IS SAYING IS STRAIGHT FORWARD. WOMEN SHOULD PARTICIPATE IN POSITIONS OF DECISION-MAKING TO ENHANCE DEVELOPMENT IN ZAMBIA. FOR A LONG TIME A LARGE POPULATION OF WOMEN HAS BEEN LEFT OUT MEANING HALF OF THE IDEAS AND EFFORTS ARE NOT AT PLAY. HENCE, SLOWED DOWN DEVELOPMENT.
The idea of promoting women is good although its coming at 11th hour. All countries in SADC have long done the foundation of ensuring that 100% of their girl child complete Grade 12 or Form 6 whether with teenage pregnancy or not. Have we relaxed G12 cert or equivalent requirement, of which most men are casualties too? We have allowed parents to continue marrying off their daughters in Grade 7 on pretext that she has been damaged by a man. The little that complete Grade 12 are married off to minibus drivers & conductors who can manage to pay lobola. The remaining are exported as models to the USA, UK, Australia for no lobola. How many remain & will Thomas van Royern & others allow them to go out campaigning for months?
Anything to get votes! We all know that if the get the hopeful women now, they will get them to campaign then drop them after the elections. Good strategy but not a nice one ba lady imwe!
Wake up bane.This is just another cheap song and PF gimmick.Firstly:All dictators are surrounded by women.From Mugabe next door,thru Boko haram to Muamor Gaddaffi.Dictators dont trust men because of power capabilities.Its easy to manipulate and abuse a woman and she still stays on.While Men will revote.This is the logic behind it.Edgar only promotes women for this reason only and nothing else.For his safety.In simple terms,he is a Pimp.
Secondly:Enonge Wina did not become vice president because Edgar wanted a vice women,NO!During the Guy Scott fiasco in 2015,E wina was the PF chairlady(just like Nalumango for the UPND),she was the one who practically went to the fake court to get a fake injunction at 1am middle of the night.So she mustn’t talk bull,she is Vice president by default,and…
and not thru PF policies.She further went to chair the raising of hands in kabwe. With due respect,This is woman is the reason why Zambia is on fire now.She must be charged with treason,which court operates at night?where she got an injunction from.
If this lazy bum was really serious about having a vice woman president and women in positions at large.He would have included it in his new PF constitution,to say;from now onwards,The law demands that:all Zambian vice presidents should be women,and the Cabinet should be half women half men.Including parastatals and private firms operating in Zambia.This assures people that even if Lungu died today that legacy will continue there on. But as things are right now,The woman story remains as it is,just another political story from another day,another party,another time.Real life will come back when real people are voted in as Presidents.