•ZAMBIA’S first Republican President Dr Kenneth Kaunda with wife Betty.

By ANGELA MWANDU –
INDEPENDENCE is something some people rarely think about unless it is absent. It is something acknowledged, but failed to be fully appreciated.
It is taken for granted without thinking of the cost attached to attaining and sustaining the freedom.  Zambia this year turns 50!
The country’s independence from the British colonial rule in 1964 came at a high price as many people died before getting a chance to enjoy the freedom which they paid for with their blood.
However, 2014 is a special year for Zambians as the country is celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Independence.
October 24, 2014 Zambia will celebrate its Golden Jubilee of Independence under the theme: ‘Commemorating God’s favour of Zambia’s 50 years of independence for continued peace, unity, democracy, and prosperity’.
Reverend Father Emmanuel Chikoya of Saint Andrews Anglican Church West Parish in Livingstone has a number of expectations and one of them is, every Zambian, especially those in the rural areas should be involved in celebrating this year’s golden jubilee.
Fr Chikoya says 50 years is not only significant to the Zambians as they celebrate their freedom but also in the Bible.
“The year 50 is significant in the Bible, as it means the captives were set free and those that were oppressed received relief. So in terms of the expectations of the ordinary Zambian, the expectation of every Zambian is that we need to live in an environment where we are truly free.
He says 2014 is the time to celebrate and appreciate being free.
However, Fr Chikoya feels Zambians should ask themselves what they have been freed from and what they can do with the independence they gained.
“Yes removing the colonial masters is one aspect of celebrating our independence but are we free economically?
We need to be liberated economically. No one will do that for us apart from ourselves. We should act responsibly as independent people,” he said.
Fr Chikoya says Zambia’s independence from colonial masters is not about the October 24, but every day.
He described 2014 as special year and expects the golden jubilee to be celebrated in grand style with big banquets sponsored by the corporate world.
Fr Chikoya, however, challenged the corporate world to make meaningful contributions to the golden jubilee by supplementing government efforts in alleviating the suffering of people, especially in rural areas.
“Cake can be shared but once it is eaten it finishes. Why can’t companies build a classroom block for the rural child, a teacher’s house or provide a pen instead of just sponsoring banquets and other lavish things?” he asked.
He noted that some people in rural areas were still spending three times more than their urban counterparts when accessing their salaries as there were no banks in their vicinities and their children had to walk long distances to get to school.
The clergyman said people could only remain in rural areas if basic infrastructure was available to enable them live decent lives.
As such, Fr Chikoya said it was important to include the rural people in the golden jubilee celebrations because they are still enslaved by harsh economic conditions.
United National Independent Party (UNIP) chairperson for Southern Province Captain Robert Mukengame says he is privileged to walk on the streets of Livingstone without any restrictions unlike the way it was in the pre-independence era.
Capt Mukengame reminisces that some streets, shops and even churches were off-limits to black people before 1964.
He said even simple things such as buying meat from reputable butcheries was a preserve of white people since black people could only buy meat which had overstayed from a designated ‘African Butchery’.
However, Capt Mukengame said even after independence, whites tried to hang on to their perceived supremacy and insisted on implementing rules such as the ‘no dogs allowed’.
“This off-limits and ‘no dogs allowed’ rule was quite serious then and continued just after independence such that our deputy minister for Southern Province, Sakubita Maimbolwa was once beaten for entering the Newborn Accord Hotel which was meant for whites only,” he said.
He said it was sad for Zambians to be discriminated against in their country. Additionally, Capt Mukengame said Zambians have been accused of chasing whites after gaining independence but he explains that this was not the case.
“We never chased the whites and did not seek vengeance for what they did to us because we are peace-loving people. They left on their own for neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe and Botswana because they could not stand seeing us taking charge of our own affairs,” he said.
Capt Mukengame urged all leaders in the country not to lose track of what the founding fathers fought hard to achieve for future generations and urged them to love and embrace each other.
“All leaders in the country should unite us, focus on 50 years of independence and pay tribute to our living God and pray hard for continued peace and prosperity for our nation,” he said.
Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) district facilitator for Livingstone, Moses Sakala feels the golden jubilee is something to appreciate and smile about as it represents political independence.
Mr Sakala, however, cautions that, that aspect of the independence celebrations should not make us be complacent as Zambians.
He says this is so because the country is still in need of economic independence.
“We need to control our own economy because currently, for example, copper prices are being determined outside the country, and as a result, we don’t get much from it,” he said.
Mr Sakala further said disease and high poverty levels were some of the challenges that would prevent some people from fully enjoying the independence golden jubilee.
He said it was imperative for those in leadership positions to ensure measures were put in place to alleviate poverty and other challenges faced by the ordinary Zambian.
“Nakatindi and Zambezi Sawmills Township is just a stone’s throw away from Livingstone town centre area but residents there do not have water borne toilets. How can they enjoy 50 years of independence when they are not comfortable with the kind of life they are leading?” he asked.
Mr Sakala, however, challenged ordinary citizens to supplement government efforts in uplifting the living standards of every ordinary Zambian.
“It is not time to sit and wait, it is time to be active and participate in the decision-making processes of this country. If we don’t, we shall only have ourselves to blame at the end of the day.” he said.
He urged Zambians not to just take interest in participating during events of a political nature but should participate throughout, in all governance issues as this would enhance accountability.
As the country is preparing to celebrate 50 years of independence, Mr Sakala urged citizens to be responsible by not engaging in vices such as vandalism of public property as this retarded development.
On the other hand, he commended government for the policies it was implementing to ensure more citizens had access to education and the massive infrastructure being put in place in various sectors.
Mr Sakala hailed government for promoting gender equity and including more women in decision-making positions.
“This is a milestone for us because this was not the case 25 years ago when we had few women in top leadership positions,” he said.
The JCTR facilitator further gave kudos to government for the efforts put in place to produce enough food for the whole country.
Mr Sakala noted that for the past five years, Zambia had produced enough of the staple food, maize to feed the nation and export the surplus to countries in need of the commodity.
He said this was a positive development which needed to be guarded jealously as it showed that Zambia did not need to beg for food from other nations after so many years of independence.
“We have been doing very well in the agricultural sector due to government’s good policies and God has been merciful enough to give us adequate rainfall so we should be grateful for that,” he said.
Mr Sakala said it was such positive developments that gave every well-meaning Zambian the courage to ‘Stand and sing of Zambia, proud and free’.
He also urged leaders to love one another and engage in unity of purpose for the benefit of all Zambians.
However, Jubilee is not a strange thing as it dates back to biblical times.
Zambia’s Golden Jubilee of Independence has been attached to Leviticus 25:8-12, which reads and I quote; “Count off seven Sabbaths of years – seven times seven years – so that the seven Sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years.
Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land.
Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you shall return to his family property and each to his own clan.
The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines.
For it is a jubilee and it is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from fields,”
It is by God’s favour that Zambians continue to enjoy the independence, peace, unity and democracy as they continue to strive for more prosperity.