Chief Macha of the Tonga people has taken a swipe at some government leaders for their alleged lack of respect for traditional leaders.
Speaking in Choma today during an inception workshop on Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Chief Macha said it was disappointing that some government leaders had failed to accord the traditional leaders the respect
they deserve.
He said traditional leaders are important in facilitating any developmental process and therefore, deserve to be respected. He regretted that some government leaders, among them Ministers and Permanent Secretaries, had a negative attitude towards chiefs.
The visibly annoyed chief said while 13 chiefs from Lusaka and Southern provinces had traveled to Choma to attend the workshop organised by the Ministry of Local Government, it was shocking that the minister and
permanent secretaries themselves were conspicuously absent.[quote]
Chief Macha, who is chairperson of the district joint programme monitoring team on sanitation, said he expected the minister or the permanent secretary to be present at workshop which he said was important in
uplifting the lives of the people through proper sanitation.
Chief Macha said some politicians only recognized the influence of chiefs when they were in trouble. “Very soon it will be an election time and you will see government leaders coming on their knees before the chief. This culture is bad. Chiefs are more permanent than the political leadership which can be hired or fired by
the appointing authority,” he said.
The traditional leader said there was need to affirm meaningful involvement of traditional and civic leaders in sanitation through the concept of CLTS.
Chiefs Macha cited lack of capacity in local authorities to manage water and sanitation programme as a hindrance.
He urged government to scale up CLTS by ensuring that the programme becomes a national programme.
And speaking earlier, Ministry of Local Government Senior Engineer in the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme, Marjory Lusaka, said
government has adopted the Community Led Total Sanitation programme to help address the low sanitation coverage. Mrs. Lusaka said government envisages attaining an increase of 50 percent sanitation coverage by 2011 among the rural population.
Currently, the sanitation coverage stands at 13 percent and CLTS has been identified as the answer to the problem.
The workshop, which was organized by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, in conjunction with UNICEF and other cooperating partners, has attracted 13 chiefs from Lusaka and Southern provinces to officially launch
CLTS as an official government programme after being piloted by UNICEF in the past years.
ZANIS
Bauze Bamvetsetse lelo! We need more people like you Macha. Those that are fearless to tell the truth. Whether in support of the present government or opposition. Mwakamba bwino a chifi.
A Chuef must have pride in his HERITAGE not silly brown envelops which will not take you any where. Thank you Chief Macha.
2# Sorry meant Chief
This Chief makes Chitimukulu,Mwata kazembe and Mpezeni look like mmd caders from kulima tower,they wouldnt dare say anything like this against his Honourable Minister of home affairs,never bite the hand that feeds you,
“Very soon it will be an election time and you will see government leaders coming on their knees before the chief.’ classic example of how RnB groveld before the Litunga
Just accept ‘gifts’ that what a chief dreams of every day he wakes up in the morning!