Zambia will always be counted among nations that ‘came together as one’ and helped crush the hated apartheid system in South Africa in 1994.
But at home Zambia seems to have failed to crush tribalism – which is another form of apartheid – that is rearing its ugly head in various parts of the country.
Zambia was declared a Christian nation by former president Frederick Chiluba decades ago, but clearly Christianity seems to have done little to combat the scourge of tribalism and its offshoots because Zambians have ignored what the Word of God says about love.
Instead of being their brothers’ keepers, some people have chosen to turn their backs against fellow Zambians, branding them foreigners who must be denied access to jobs being created in their respective areas.
Strangely even the servants of God – evangelists, deacons, pastors and prophets are victims of this new version of apartheid emerging especially in the more natural resources-endowed districts and provinces.
Reports and cases of Zambian evangelists and pastors being ‘hounded out’ of the churches and parishes on account being ’aliens’ from other regions of the country are legion.
The good news, however, is that the Zambian Government is taking remedial measures to stop this cancer that is threatening to tear the country apart chiefly. I understand that some chiefs, with the covert support of local politicians and councilors, are insisting that jobs created by investors in their domains, must be reserved for their sons and daughters.
This kind of thinking is not only alien to most peace-loving Zambians but also a dangerous manifestation of xenophobia that was totally unheard of during the colonial days particularly on the Copperbelt; and other urban centres, where people from every part of the country have always lived in harmony.
Migrant workers from various neighbouring countries like Nyasaland (Malawi), Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Belgian Congo (Zaire-DRC), and Tanganyika (Tanzania) found gainful employment anywhere in the mineral-rich country.
These people did settle and work anywhere in the country without fear of being discriminated against on account of their places of origin.
So why should any Zambian start championing separate development (which is what apartheid in South Africa was all about)?
Lest some selfish individuals forget, Afrikaners and other supremacists since 1948 when the Nationalists came to power advocated policies that ensured that only their ‘kith and kin’ enjoyed all the economic benefits flowing from the Rand gold mines and commercial farms that survived on African ‘cheap’ labour.
I was shocked to learn  at a recent funeral service held Ndola’s St Andrew’s Church that a former University of Zambia (UNZA) graduate  -with many years’ experience as an accomplished administrator within the parastatal sector (when it was vibrant in the 70s-80s)  – had his employment contract terminated prematurely at a company in Southern Province.
The reason: Management had come under intense pressure from a chief who insisted the ‘post should not be filled by an ‘outsider’ at the expense of his subjects.
Management tried to convince the chief and his team of councillors that the job had been advertised and the company needed the services of the man who had been recruited purely on merit, but to little avail.
The fuming chief would not relent – the man simply had to go because “there were many educated ‘locals in his domain who could do the job’.
The man was reduced to tears at the thought of being branded an alien simply because he hailed from another province within Zambia. Not only that, his offspring, who possesses an engineering degree from a university in the United Kingdom (UK) could not be employed allegedly because he, too, was a ‘foreigner’.
Another shock awaited me at a separate church service on Sunday when a fellow congregant I had not met for a long time explained his absence: He had been away job-hunting in the new Zambian Copperbelt of Northwestern Province.
Why he could not be employed – despite being suitably qualified – is a unjust slap in the face of heroes who fought for Zambia’s independence like Fines Bulawayo, Samuel Mbilishi, Harry Nkumbula, Mungoni Liso, Munukayumbwa Sipalo, Rueben Kamanga, Simon Kapwepwe and even founding President, Kenneth Kaunda.
In Ndola Rural it is said that job-seekers from other provinces cannot be employed at the new industrial plants without a letter of recommendation from local chiefs who have instructed employers to ensure all jobs are reserved for the ‘locals’.
As some one who grew up on the Copperbelt and Lusaka (among friends from different parts of the country and Africa) I remember that tribe or place of origin did not matter to most people, including employers. Service delivery was the primary concern to every businessman and woman.
Even among the miners, there was  no discrimination based on tribe. I recall that it was always a time of celebratioin Mufulira’s Kantanshi Mine Townships, for example, whenever our seniors like Winell Simukonda, Samuel Lwando, Green Simpungwe, Simon Mwewa, Alan Kibombwe, Patrick Chamunda, Ken  Chavula, Jason Chama, Stephen Mushinge, Francis Ngosa, Eugene Mukwasa, Frank Sondashi, Mike Kamanga (who used to go to Basutoland), Kenneth Simwanza (Bechuanaland), Webster Moyo, Gerry Siame, Carson ‘Elvis’ Simbeye, Rueben Mwape, George Simwinga, and Goodwin Mwangilwa returned ‘home’ from Munali, Chiwala, St Mark’s and Mungwi secondary schools for the holidays.
They were our role models irrespective of where they or their parents came from. That was the power of the Copperbelt; it pulled all tribes, whites (particularly from South Africa and Southern Rhodesia), Indians, and coloureds.  There was much co-existence despite racial differences and limited job opportunities at the time.
The development of new copper mines in the Northwestern Province should be seen as a huge plus for all Zambians.  In fact all industries, including shopping malls springing up across the nation, must benefit all Zambians because if a Zambian cannot find a job in his/her own country where else can he/she hope to get one?
Why should a Zambian be required to produce a political party card or hail from one particular province before he/she could be hired or allocated a plot of land 50 years after independence?
When the Zambian economy collapsed in the late 1980s, Zambian professionals from all parts of the country left en masse in search of greener pastures in countries with vibrant economies like Botswana.
They were not rejected or snubbed as foreigners but were warmly  welcomed as brothers and sisters by locals in Kasane, Francistown, Palapye, Mochudi, Gaborone, Lobatse, Kanye, Maun, in fact  everywhere in the diamond-rich country.  Some trekked to South Africa and Namibia and found jobs.
So why should a Zambian job seeker be resented by fellow Zambians in Kasama, Mongu, Chipata, Luwingu, Petauke, Lundazi, Kasempa or Solwezi simply because he/she happens to come from Western, Northern, Luapula, Central, Eastern, Lusaka, Southern Province or Muchinga Province?
All Zambians are protected by the Zambian Constitution and must have equal access to employment opportunities in areas where their services are needed in the country.
If they do not qualify that is another matter
President Edgar Lungu must put his foot down. Chiefs and councillors trying to take undue advantage of new jobs created by Government and foreign investors must be stopped before they plunge the country into chaos.
It must be appreciated simply shouting ‘One Zambia One Nation’ is not enough to unite the country because some people do so as a matter of routine and do not attach any seriousness to it.
So to promote national unity, it would, perhaps, be a good idea to introduce an annual award for traditional rulers. Chiefs found to have excelled at accommodating more Zambians from other parts of the country in their chiefdoms should be recognized and publicly rewarded probably at a State House ceremony by the State President.  District commissioners would come in handy and help the President in this regard.
I believe many organizations and foreign donors would be willing to sponsor such an award whose prize could be both in cash and kind.
True inter-marriages have worked wonders in breaking down tribal barriers and bringing Zambians closer together.
Tongas have married Bembas, Ngonis have married Lozis, Kaondes have married Bembas, Lenjes, Tumbuka, Lundas, Mambwes and Namwangas etc, which is what it should be.
But in the light of the emerging xenophobia, the ministry-in-charge should also work at ensuring our traditional leaders increase their interaction. Instead of just meeting once or twice in Lusaka when the House of Chiefs convenes for its usual business, they should be seen to be touring each other’s districts and provinces at frequent intervals to familiarize themselves with various developments in those areas. They should also endeavour to learn to at least greet the people in their local language. The impact of this gesture is enormous – it will go a long way in promoting love and cementing ties and curbing the apparent hatred for the perceived ‘foreigner’.
Another benefit of such visits is that traditional leaders will learn more about what is happening on the ground and make informed comments whenever they speak in comparative terms about their areas lagging behind and vice versa.
Zambians will also need to change their attitudes towards our chiefs. For example, the Litunga of must be treated and welcomed as such by all Zambians whenever he ventures out of Mongu to tour the Northern, Luapula, Copperbelt, Central, Eastern or Northwestern provinces.
The Chitimukulu is also not only a paramount chief of the Bemba people but a paramount chief of all Zambians and should be treated and welcomed in the same way wherever he goes in the country.
The same applies to all paramount chiefs and other traditional leaders recognised by Government because although they represent their respective tribes they are national leaders answerable only to Republican President. They should not allow themselves to be used by self-seeking and frustrated individuals out to woo unsuspecting voter.
That way, hopefully, Zambia will succeed at nipping in the bud this new version of apartheid rearing its ugly head in our beloved country.
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