By STEVEN ZANDE –

.ECZ

THE Nkoya Royal Establishment (NRE) has alleged that most Western Province residents voted for the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) in 2016 on the understand that this would help detach the province from the rest of Zambia.
NRE prime minister Davy Yowela has also requested the Government to consider creating an 11th province whose administration would be headquartered in Kaoma District to help resolve existing challenges among various ethnic groupings in Western Province.
Mr Yowela said prior to the 2016 general elections, word went around urging residents to vote against the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) so that when UPND was elected into government, Western Province could be separated from Zambia.
He said this yesterday when he submitted evidence before the Commission of Inquiry into Voting Patterns and Electoral Violence which held a public sitting at the Kaoma Trades Institute in Kaoma District.
“We could hear some people saying ‘let’s work together by voting against the ruling party so that we can be cut off from the rest of Zambia’,” Mr Yowela said.
He said some opposition party leaders came and sweet-talked people into believing that Zambia would be divided, and that this was achieved through use of strong analysis of the prevailing political situation.
Mr Yowela said the Government should strengthen resource distribution to the area to help stop secession talks which some named opposition politicians had promoted on the pretext that Western Province lacked development.
He asked the Government to consider creating an 11th province, saying this would help streamline Government’s national development agenda and reduce on area tensions that existed among various tribal groupings due to unequal power administration.
Mr Yowela said an additional province would ensure that districts dominated by Nkoyas, namely, Kaoma, Lukulu, Nkeyema, Luampa and Mitete also received a fair share of development and that this would also result in the creation of more jobs for locals.
NRE praised President Edgar Lungu for constituting the Commission of Inquiry which would facilitate for stronger nation-building and help end regional voting patterns.
Chibeba Mutambo, a 65-year-old Kaoma resident, told the Commission that together with others she decided to vote against the PF to stop the trend where Bembas had been ruling Zambia from independence, but failed to tell commissioners if President Lungu was Bemba or belonged to a different tribe.
Mukumbuta Sansele, a 35-year-old local teacher and an activist said Zambia’s peace was at stake and implored the Government to strengthen State institutions to help curb illicit practices by cadres like beating opponents and distribution of money by politicians during the election period.
Kaoma District Commissioner Kennedy Mubanga, in his opening remarks, said the work of the Commission provided a platform where people could help shape Zambia’s future, especially that the country was known to be a haven of peace which Zambians should guard jealousy.