.Lungu

By BRIAN HATYOKA –

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu and 26 traditional leaders of Southern Province yesterday held a constructive, frank and successful meeting in Livingstone, Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda has said.
The meeting was aimed at discussing the alleged tribal remarks attributed to Patriotic Front (PF) Secretary General Davies Chama.
Meanwhile, President Lungu has agreed to launch three developmental projects in Southern Province in August and September this year.
These are the ground breaking for the tarring of the Bottom Road in Sinazongwe, the strategic plan for Chief Macha’s chiefdom and the Mbeza project of revamping the cooperatives movement in Chief Nalubamba’s area.
“The plan is the modern way of managing the chiefdoms and villages. The chief has devised a mechanism to improve governance at a village level.
“The President will later on launch the project on sanitation and how to improve sanitation and household hygiene in October this year but all these will be encompassed under the strategic plan by Chief Macha,” Mr Chanda said.
Mr Chanda said the Head of State and his delegation of Ministers held a constructive, frank and successful meeting with Southern Province Royal Highnesses.
Mr Chanda said the President met the traditional leaders to discuss the controversial remarks that were attributed to Mr Chama.
He was addressing a media briefing at Chrismar Hotel in Livingstone yesterday after a closed-door meeting between President Lungu, his delegation and 26 chiefs and chieftainesses of Southern Province.
Mr Chanda said the meeting had been very fruitful and cordial between the two parties and the President requested the traditional leaders to come up with a concrete position paper for him to make considerations.
“The conclusion of the meeting is that their Royal Highnesses will support the President in his bid to unite the country and have encouraged him to continue pushing the agenda of One Zambia, One Nation.
“They also agreed to consolidate dialogue across all areas of life such as politics, religion and traditional affairs,” Mr Chanda said.
Speaking on behalf of all the traditional leaders, Chief Hamusonde said his team had a successful meeting with the Republican President.
“The chiefs of Southern Province have talked quite at large with the President and our message was quite clear.
“The President feels that he has not been offended in any way; neither do we feel we have been offended in any way. The President has taken everything we talked to him and we have left to him to think for himself and act for himself and he will come back to us quickly,” Chief Hamusonde said.
In his closing prayer after the meeting, Chief Chipepo shamed critics who thought the meeting would not take place as planned.
Chief Chipepo, who also quoted the Bible from Romans 13: 1-7, said it was important for citizens to respect their leaders as they were chosen by God.