. Wina

By JAMES KUNDA –
VICE-PRESIDENT Inonge Wina has called on traditional rulers to refrain from issuing inflammatory statements against Government as this threatens investor confidence in the country.
Ms Wina censored political, civic and traditional leaders to be responsible and desist from issuing statements that could affect the stability of the country’s economy.
She said it was unfortunate that inflammatory statements against Government were the face of some print and online media, with traditional leaders joining the fray to affront the country’s leaders.
She said this during the Vice-President’s question and answer session in Parliament yesterday when responding to Patriotic Front (PF) Kamfinsa Member of Parliament (MP) Moses Chishimba who asked for Government’s position over the continued publication of offensive language by The Post newspaper.
“The issue of bad language is of great concern and the way people are tearing each other apart in the media sends a very bad message to would-be investors who would want to bring their resources into this country.
“No matter how much we differ as leaders, we are doing our country a disservice by issuing inflammable statements in the media as it just shows that we do not respect one another,” she said.
She said it was more worrisome that some media houses were fond of misquoting sources by publishing twisted information contrary to the actual position.
“Some newspapers are fond of putting words in the mouths of their sources because they are manipulated by those who want to paint a bad picture of Government, let us be civil in the way we conduct ourselves as leaders,” she said.
Ms Wina also said the Ministry of National Planning, which she heads, was devising a mechanism to outline how its mandate would be executed in line with the country’s Vision 2030 development agenda.
She said the National Planning was critical in implementing development programmes to harness the country’s prosperity by 2030.
She added that dialogue was still ongoing in a matter involving the Barotseland Agreement of Western Province.
Responding to MMD Sikongo MP Mundia Ndalamei who queried on the issue, Ms Wina said the Government had not failed to resolve the matter.
The House also heard, through Local Government and Housing Deputy Minister Danny Chingimbu, that Government owed Southern Water and Sewerage Company K1.2 million in unpaid bills for water and sewerage services.
Mr Chingimbu, however, said the Ministry of Finance would release funds to liquidate the debt next year.
Meanwhile, Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general Davies Chama has warned traditional leaders against being used by politicians.
He said the statement attributed to Chief Ntambu of the Lunda people of North-Western Province was unfortunate because traditional leaders were part of the country’s governance system as well.
The traditional leader was quoted in yesterday’s edition of The Post stating that, “Zambians are being ruled by idiots who think that fasting will cause an economic miracle”.
“If it is true that that’s what he said then it is unfortunate because he is part of governance and it means that he was insulting himself.
But it is also important for the traditional leader to be wary of people with selfish motives who just want to use them,” he said.
Meanwhile, scores of right-thinking people have condemned Chief Ntambu and The Post newspaper for their hidden agenda of making Zambia ungovernable.
Several phone calls from as far as the North-Western Province were received by the Times newspaper with some people urging the Government to close the paper and arrest the chief.
One caller from Mwinilunga, who claimed anonymity, said the quoted chief and the paper should be cited for defamation of the ruling Government and of the people who voted the PF into power, calling on Zambians to use their powers to exercise the citizen’s arrest on the chief and The Post.
Most callers questioned whether the paper ever understood the ethics of journalism whereas others said the paper was abusing the freedom of the Press to mean insulting leaders.