Mr. Mwanawasa says this is because traditional ceremonies are an integral part of the oral traditions, folklore and culture of the nation passed on from generation to generation.
President Mwanawasa said this in a speech read for him by Labour and Social Security
Minister, Ronald Mukuma, in Chief Bunda Bunda’s chiefdom during the celebrations of
the 11th Chibwela Kumushi traditional ceremony of the Soli people in Chinyuyu in
Chongwe district yesterday.
He said the cultural events provide the opportunity for children, youth and visitors
to assimilate the country’s values and beliefs.
The President said ceremonies enable Zambians to fully participate in culture and
heritage of the country instead of the Western and global influences that impact
negatively on country’s values and beliefs.
He noted that traditional ceremonies also afford government leaders an opportunity
to fraternize with chiefs in order to learn from their wisdom and counsel.
He added that government leaders utilize these opportunities to explain its
developmental programmes in areas such as agriculture, education, health, mining
among others.
The President reiterated government’s commitment to uplift the standard of life and
welfare of the people of Bunda Bunda.
He said government has since set aside a substantial amount of money for the
construction of the proposed Bunda Bunda Hospital.
President Mwanawasa also assured the people of Bunda Bunda that his government will
not sit idle and watch people die of hunger.
He said his government has put in place measures to mitigate the hunger situation
existing in Bunda Bunda and other parts of the country where there was poor crop
harvest.
And President Mwanawasa has called on traditional rules to take a leading role in
the keeping their villages clean and green in line with the Keep Zambia clean and
healthy campaign recently launched.
He appealed to the Royal Highness to ensure that all headmen under their charge take
the campaign as their serious responsibility.
He said he looks forward to seeing clean and healthy environment in villages and
communities.
And speaking earlier, Chief Bunda Bunda commended government for taking development to his chiefdom.
In a speech read for him by Jim Kaliwa, Chief Bunda Bunda noted that government has
put up projects, such as building of classroom blocks at Mpamba Basic School, and
the construction of teachers houses.
Chief Bunda Bunda, however, appealed to government to introduce Soli and Lenje on
radio so that they become among the seven local languages currently being aired on
Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC)Â and further called on all Solis in
Lusaka Province to use soli in their homes.Â
She also complained of poor network on Celtel, and called on the mobile phone
cellular phone provider to improve on its network coverage in the area.
Chibwela Kumushi traditional ceremony is celebrated by the Soli people of Chief
Bunda Bunda to celebrate the hard work of peasant farmers in the Chiefdom.
In attendance were Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary, Susan Sikaneta, with her
Deputy ,Josephine Kafwembe, Chongwe District Commissioner ,Conrald Tembo, his
Luangwa counterpart, Captain Stanslous Kalunga, Provincial heads and district heads
of government departments.
Others included the royal highness Chief Mpuka of Luangwa, Chief Mpasha and Her
Royal Highness Chieftainess Shikabeta.
His Royal Highness Chief Bunda Bunda received various gifts which included a plough,
bicycle, food stuffs among others.
This is one way of campaigning for 2011. Good strategy anyway.
Why traditional ceremonies of late have gained ground in Zed? Even those that were abandoned 100years ago due to civilisation are now coming back. Are these the fruits of democracy / tribalism? What I know is that democracy has brought tribalism. KUKU & EASY answer me and prepare for 2011. We need a govt in business not just policy making govt. What policies have they made to stop all this nonsense of imperialism.
Be careful about SATA. Sata does not want the new consititution. He will use all the tactics available to make sure the new constitution road map fails. Simple majority as amended by Chiluba is what sata is banking on in 2011.
HK.. What has Sata got to do with LPMs traditional calender. When we where discussing the constitution you were mute. Now you bring an irrelevant topic to a wrong fora. Did you do debate in secondary school?
The same way you are myopic in your professional career and Knowlege, U dont seem to see ahead of wat is making these tradional ceremonies related to political mileage. For example, Ukwingisha, Kulamba, Lwiindi, Likumbe Lyamize..
HK #3. Who is Michael Sata in this issue?
DR CHITUWO’S PERSONAL VIEWS ON MWANAWASA’S SCHOOL FEES COMMENT
I AM compelled by my conscience and duty to comment on the Post Newspaper headline of Wednesday August 22, 2007.“If You Can’t Afford School Fees, Don’t Bear Children – Levyâ€
I read the lead article over and over in order for me to understand whether what His Excellency the President stated was in line with the interpretation.
And on Page four, the President is quoted as saying, “My provincial chairman, you have talked about the fees that are being charged by the schools. I would like it if I could get more details on this: which schools are charging school fees and we know schools have been allowed to charge PTA charges and in this case you know what that is used forâ€. President Mwanawasa said.
It goes on further to state “The fees in essence the money does not come from Government. I ask you that any parent who has a school child should be in a position to pay a little which is called PTA.“I want to encourage you to plead guilty to poverty because if you are so poor that you cannot afford to bring up children and put them in school, then don’t have children because the next thing you will be saying is that we cannot buy clothes for these childrenâ€.
The Government through the ministry of Health and in collaboration with the cooperating partners, UN agencies through a consultative process came up with the 5th National Development Plan. Childbirth is a product of planned sexual activity. Couples therefore who are aware of the natural consequences of sexual intercourse should plan for the outcome of such activities.
In our communities, through tradition, communities planned their families by observing certain traditions for example; the breast-feeding mother was encouraged to breastfeed for at least two years. The husband was encouraged to take a hunting expedition for sometime. Now clearly the issue of hunting expedition is inappropriate in this era, but even science recognises the need for the mother to breastfeed for at least two years. This will allow the mother to regain her strength following the trauma of labour and its attendant risk.
The spacing of pregnancies has beneficial effect also on the other existing siblings, as they are able to have the emotional and psychological support from the mother and the father.
From the economic point of view, the couple is able to plan for the upbringing of the children in terms of schools and general support.Zambia like many developing countries have realised that the birth rate that exceeds the economic growth is a recipe for perpetuation of poverty. Therefore in order to balance between birth rate and economic growth, the ministry of Health has put in place free reproductive health services whose objective are:
To assist couples with relevant information on reproductive health services, which include information on contraceptive, be it oral or injectable, other family planning services and the services available include, antenatal, post natal and free health education on nutrition and immunisation of the new born child.
Having realised the high poverty levels, the Government of the Republic of Zambia under the able leadership of President Levy P Mwanawasa. SC, has instituted the abolition of user fees in 54 of our districts in rural areas, provided free ARVs knowing the high prevalence rate of HIV and AIDS in our country, provided for an increased sponsorship to train more health workers and gone further to institute a rural retention scheme, to improve on infrastructure and equipment in our health facilities etc.
Anybody who cares to analyse the President’s statement surely will appreciate the reminder from His Excellency the President as the father of the nation of the need for each individual family to plan not only for their lives but also for the lives of their unborn children.
The issues of extended families, a good social security has received serious strains in recent years. This extended family system can therefore not be relied upon to provide the necessary support for the many unplanned children. What then is wrong with the President advising the nation to utilise the services in place to assist citizens to plan their families? Can surely such advice be considered as arrogance? It is my considered view that it is not and should not be considered in that manner.
The problem that I see in our country is that we as citizens seem not to appreciate a person who speaks the truth and yet we all know that the truth builds us all.
From the health perspective I would like to advice couples to plan for their families, to plan for the spacing of their children, so that economically and health wise they are able to offer the best for their children.
THE AUTHOR IS MINISTER OF HEALTH, BRIGADIER-GENERAL, BRIAN CHITUWO (RTD), MP.
PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR CANCER HOSPITAL HAILED
GOVERNMENT is happy with the response the newly opened National Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka is receiving from the public. Health Minister, Brian Chituwo, said since President Mwanawasa opened the hospital last month, there had been an influx of people seeking treatment.
In an interview, Dr Chituwo urged people to continue going to the hospital for any cancer related diseasesDr Chituwo said the Government was paying for Zambians that were unable to pay for cancer treatment but charged those sponsored by their companies and those from abroad.
He said since cancer could affect anyone, it was important that people suspecting to have the disease seek treatment on time.The hospital also has a functional renal unit whereas in the past, the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) had to refer all patients that needed haemodialysis, lifesaving medical interventions in kidney diseases outside Zambia.
It was pleasing, he said, that Zambia was now responding to the challenges of cancer, which had continued to claim lives worldwide.He said the construction of the cancer treatment facility would translate into improved national health, health education and promotion of community preventive programmes on the dangers of the disease.
“Cancer can be prevented and the treatment is available and not expensive. As I speak now, we have in our midst people living with cancer or people affected by cancer or someone who has lost a friend or relative from the disease. This is sad,†he said.
The cancer hospital had a radiation oncologist, a machine made to manage radiation therapy, and is also well-staffed and currently offering quality services.
The building of the facility was historical not only for Zambia but the developing world at large.
He said the leadership of Mr Mwanawasa valued securing the health of Zambians saying the establishment of the facility required strong Government support.
Dr Chituwo said the reality would not have been achieved by the Government without support from cooperating partners and commended the donors for making the project a success.
Last month, President Mwanawasa opened the cancer hospital constructed at a cost of over K33 billion and emphasised his administration’s commitment to investing in the establishment of modern facilities for diagnosis and treatment of special cases.
He said his Government was aware of the lack of modern facilities for diagnostic and treatment of specialised cases and that the construction of the facility was in line with Government’s programme to improve the provision of better health .
The savings made would be invested in the development of specialised facilities within Zambia.
NO COMPLACENT, NO COMPLACENT, NO COMPLACENT AND NO COMPLACENT JUST DO YOUR THING.
NO COMPLACENT, NO COMPLACENT, NO COMPLACENT AND NO COMPLACENT JUST DO YOUR THING.
VEEP CALLS FOR HARD WORK IN MMD
From the Times of Zambia
VICE-President, Rupiah Banda, has called for hard work among MMD members if the country is to continue with economic programmes. He warned against being complacent following last year’s victory in the general elections as there was still much work to be done.
When he addressed carders and officials at Nsombo Guest House in Kabompo West constituency at the weekend, Mr Banda said there was need for the party to work even harder and ensure the MMD was strengthened.
Mr Banda said the achievement of the New Deal administration in the first five years were impressive.
Mr Banda cited the revitalised mining, improved agriculture, road rehabilitation, rural electrification and the peri-urban water and sanitation projects, among others.
He commended the unity and organisation of the party in North-Western Province and urged scores of cadres and officials that welcomed him at the guest house to take stock of the party’s achievements and improve on them.
“I am very impressed with the manner the party is ticking in the province. You are a special province politically. We won the elections by far in this province,†he said.
Mr Banda was in Kabompo to check on Government’s developmental projects, on his way back from Zambezi where he officiated at the Likumbi Lya mize traditional ceremony.
He commended the commitment and efforts of party members who had worked tirelessly to ensure the party remained strong.“Now is the time for you to take stock and ensure the MMD Government continued with its ambitious programme of growing the Zambian economy.“Our projects of road rehabilitation, employment creation, electricity expansion and many others are too obvious and we just need to manage that. We have seen that we are doing something and we cannot give up this to someone else,†he said.
The Vice-President asked the MMD members and the nation at large to pray for President Mwanawasa in order for God to give him strength to continue with his programme of economic recovery.He said even after leaving office, President Mwanawasa would remain valuable to the nation saying the next leader would be unfair to himself if he would not seek Mr Mwanawasa’s advice.
Mr Banda toured Kabompo General Hospital and Loloma Mission Hospital in Manyinga area of Kabompo district. At Kabompo General Hospital, Mr Banda inspected some rehabilitation works being carried out.Mr Banda said the improvement being done to the hospital was Government’ s commitment to improve the welfare of Zambians.
He reiterated that the Government would recruit 5,000 doctors and 10,000 teachers to be posted in all parts of Zambia especially rural areas.
The Vice-President’s entourag e included North-Western Province Minister, Kenneth Chipungu and his Permanent Secretary, Richard Salivaji, Agriculture and Cooperatives Deputy Minister, Daniel Kalenga and several Government and MMD officials.
Lusaka police nab 278 for loitering
ABOUT 278 people have been arrested in Lusaka for loitering and other offences in an operation conducted from Friday night. Patrols have been intensified to bring culprits who have been terrorising residents to book. The 278 people were arrested after found moving aimlessly at awkward hours. By yesterday, some loiters were released after paying admission of guilty fines while others had been remanded in custody. Recently, Inspector General of Police, Ephraim Mateyo, announced re-enforcement of police officers to curb criminal activities in the city where residents had been attacked and robbed. Last week, criminals went on rampage in Lusaka’s Kaunda Square township and hacked to death two people while four others sustained serious injuries. Police spokesperson, Bonny Kapeso, said criminals armed with pangas hacked six people in separate locations in which two died while four others sustained injuries
[Times of Zambia]
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