During his press briefing at State House where he called for prudent utilisation of public resources especially during this critical period of energy and food insecurity induced by the drought, President Hakainde Hichilema bemoaned the culture of bush burning.
How many times are we going to be warned about the dangers of burning bushes or deforestation?The Earth is already warming up, rainfall patterns are changing, and sea levels are rising hence increasing the risk of heatwaves, floods and droughts.
A lot of things had gone in this country; we deserve a lot of schooling. For instance, in the farming block where we’ve a small holding, children have a habit of burning bushes as they hunt for mice during this time of the year as adults equally go on rampage cutting down trees, indiscriminately, for various reasons!
While those of us that haven’t disturbed the environment that much, unless for cultivation purposes of course, get to enjoy the mushrooms, caterpillars and wild fruits (amasuku which unfortunately now face extinction) during the rain season; their land can no longer yield anything and they resort to stealing from us in the night……the very reason why we intend to get a revolver!
This is not the only area where our people need salvation; let’s consider waste management for instance……every other day, we see plastic materials and disposable bottles flying-out of moving vehicles on the highway while residents in the townships have no qualms choking the drainages with garbage and littering the the streets with all manner of rubbish! Little wonder why cholera is a perennial problem in this country.
We don’t surely expect the President to be always addressing such issues. Cabinet ministers; what are you doing to help the President deliver? We expect the one responsible for the environmental portfolio to be in the forefront of raising awareness on the causes and effects of climate change while their local government counterpart must focus on ensuring our people keeping their surroundings clean at all the time.
On our first visit to England, a friend of ours invited us to a McDonald’s outlet……finger licking good! After our feast, we were hastily heading for the exit only to realise our host had remained behind to clear the mess on our table. You can imagine the Ostrich egg on our face!
How many of us walk out of Hungry Lion leaving litter strewn all over the place? How often do we see school going children munching their jiggies and happily discarding empty packets or indeed adults helping themselves behind trees after they’ve had one too many?
We’re doing injustice to mother earth! Let us be good stewards of what God has bequeathed to us.
Prince Bill M Kaping’a
Polical/Social Analyst
The Sustainable Fuelwood Agency’s mandate would eliminate a lot of that unnecessary burning
Bill Kapinga Vuvuzela Number one. It should be: “You’re doing injustice to mother earth; stop frequent flying!”
Why beat about the bush and focus on soft targets like our bush-burning smallscale farmers? Point your crooked finger at the main culprit of global warming: HH. HH is diverting blame to bush burning yet he is culprit number one.
Iam reading a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC which you should read so that you can educatedly discuss climate change. Dont just repeat what your master at Community House shouts
I don’t really like your Political commentary but on trees yes am 100% with you and also on the McDonald’s issue yes am with you 1000%….people back home should learn to clean after themselves….in dine in restaurants always you find waiters but in fast food /take out Joints its just common sense to clean your mess
Macdonalds! Thats where he goes to? One of the world’s worst producers of junk food. And a big culprit of global warming
Our people have been burning bushes for centuries for various reasons and the weather was never adversely affected. What has destroyed earth is not a small bush fire in Mwansabombwe but advancement of technology which has disturbed the equilibrium of the atmosphere. Period.
Stop burning Bushes or forests?
@ Deja Vu
Yes the West and the East are coming to collect our natural resources….kill our wildlife in the lower Zambezi….mukula trees heading to China……the Vietnamese have bought almost half of Zambia ….unregulated Mining is killing our environment…look at how ugly Kabwe looks with those unsightly open pit mines and the quality of air in Kabwe is very bad
The best way is through children they can educate their parents. If teachers were to point out how important and valuable it iss to look after mother earth, you learn from past mistakes no point in blaming we all suffering across the world.
I was very disappointed when I walked to our agriculture office to ask for some soil sample test kits only to be told they have none. I went to an agriculture shop with the intention of buying some professionally made compost for my little garden only to be given a very strange look. Do these things only happen abroad or they should happen here? what is going on with our schools which have no projects to supply already made compost?
Drought used to be there long ago. Long time ago, people in Zambia used to pray for runs through Chief Shaibila.
There is drought in Zambia because we have not punished the long hands. We have to punish them before runs otherwise GOD will punish us again. We can not have a President who used to say that people love money and when he goes to heaven, he is going to bribe an angel at state house and he wants to stand again!
In my opinion, Zambia should halt pit hole mining and promote eco-friendly practices. Consider starting small earthworm farms, utilising materials like potato skin, mango skins, banana peels, and brown cardboard boxes (stored in a cool, dry place) etc. as compost. This approach allows us to produce our own manure and utilise waste, rather than relying on some government departments.
Why doesnt HH incorporate you into his ignorant cabinet? We never used chemical fertilizer until the Europeans invaded us and now we think we cant do without it.
Many Africans, including some educated individuals, need to learn about environmental cleanliness. I had a personal experience that highlighted this issue. While visiting an African friend in Europe, I dropped a piece of paper on a clean train and instinctively picked it up. To my surprise, my educated friend was upset with me for doing so. I replied that this mindset – not taking responsibility for our actions – is why many African countries struggle with filth and pollution. My friend was baffled, and I was equally perplexed by her behavior. It’s a shame that some of us Africans still hold this mentality.
I concur with the author of this article. In fact, I have encountered many Africans exhibiting similar behavior here in Africa. We need to be educated on cleanliness in Africa, not just in Zambia. Lack of cleanliness is in our DNA big time.
You have been brainwashed to blame yourselves for all the negative things on earth. How did Kagame clean up Kigali? Did he import expatriates to think for a clean Rwanda? No he knew Rwandans were as good as any other world citizens
Uncomfortable truth: I’m willing to face criticism for speaking out. Why do many of us Africans struggle to keep our environments clean, even when we are in other parts of the world? This is something I genuinely find difficult to understand. While there are certainly many clean-conscious Africans, unfortunately, they seem to be the exception rather than the rule.