ON THE DISGRACEFUL TREATMENT OF DR KASEBA

It is disheartening to note the kind of treatment the Former First Lady Madam Dr. Christine Kaseba Sata is being subjected to by the Patriotic Front (PF) Government and Party only about 225 days after the demise of her husband one of if not the most celebrated Presidents of the Republic of Zambia.

As Operation Young Vote and young people generally have hearts left profoundly bleeding at this episode of subjecting Dr. Christine Kaseba Sata the widow to late President Michael Sata the sole founder of the PF party whose benefits and outcomes are being enjoyed by those who are allowing this taboo happen on the former First Lady. The eviction of Dr. C. Kaseba Sata from 8 Reedbuck Lodge to go and leave with her mother in Libala is not only unacceptable but must also be immediately reversed.

Our questions are: Where are our mothers; the current First Lady Mrs. Ester Lungu, the Vice President Madam Inonge Wina, Women in Cabinet, Widows Association of Zambia and right thinking Zambians.

What the PF is subjecting Dr. Christine Kaseba Sata to is a precedent that will erode our respect for widow and Ubuntu. Regardless of the shortcoming of Dr. Christine Kaseba Sata if any, there is no justification under the sun to embarrass and humiliate her in such a manner. 

The current First Lady should remember (if she cannot should find out) that at some point between September, 2011 and October 2014 these same people who may be misleading them (the President and Herself) praised President Michael Chilufya Sata and the First Lady then Dr. Christine Kaseba Sata who today they are seen as a lesser human being going by the humiliations she is being subjected to.

This kind of attitude and treatment of widows let alone the Former First Lady has no place and should have no place whatsoever in our society.

The Republican President and Government in general should take responsibility and account for this embarrassment and make amends.

As a people we must stand together is stop this rot in our society. It is inhumane and sends wrong message to the ordinary citizens who may take this as normal practice.

This but one issue is evidence enough why the New People Driven Constitution is needed sooner than later as the Bill of Rights in the Final Draft Constitution is protective of women and any other citizens who may find themselves in similar circumstances as Dr. Christine Kaseba Sata. Such issues of people’s fundamental rights cannot and should not be left at the mercy of any individual. If the Former First Lady of a party the late husband can be subjected to such humiliation (225 day after the death of her husband by the party he formed), how about an ordinary citizens, what kind of humiliation would they be treated to? 

People Driven Constitution adopted through a Referendum before 2016 Elections is the way to go and only way to have our Rights Respected and stop this rot.

Guess Nyirenda (Mr.)

Executive Director

THE UNIVERSITY CRISIS IN ZAMBIA

OPERATION YOUNG VOTE (OYV)

Lotti House, 6^th Floor, Suite 21, Cairo Road P.O. Box 30153

Email: oyvleader2000@gmail.com Cell: 0955/77-769 688

LUSAKA

                                                                                                

22^nd June, 2015

 

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

 

PLIGHT OF STUDENTS/THE YOUNG PEOPLE, INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING AND ZAMBIA’S FUTURE

The manner in which the Patriotic Front (PF) Government is handling the education sector at tertiary level leaves a lot to be desired. It is now very clear that the PF has no strategy on how to ensure that the institutions of higher learning run effective and efficiently. This lack of strategy and foresight on the effectiveness and efficiency of the institutions of higher learning compromises the quality of graduates offloaded from these institutions which in turn affects directly their performance and lives of citizens generally.

 

As OYV, we are appalled at some insinuations by some senior PF Members claiming that the educated are the people that have destroyed Zambia’s economy. Maybe this explains why the PF has convincingly shown the world that education seems not to be among its priorities.

 

The happenings at the University of Zambia (UNZA) where lecturers and other staff are on go slow and those at the Copperbelt University where the students have given the PF Government a 48 hours ultimatum to pay the over 3000 students meal and project allowances is indicative of some lack of strategy on the part of Government especially that this is not occurring for the first time in this regime. This is testimony of government’s misdirected priorities especially that government is in the process of borrowing to buy motors vehicles. Students who are mainly young people deserve better and not subjecting them to situations of not paying them, pulling them to limits and wait until the threaten to demonstrate or indeed demonstrate before they are paid. The backlog of arrears at UNZA need government’s intervention in that all outstanding arrears must be cleared before engaging whoever governments thinks would be entrepreneurial enough to have UNZA begin to generate its own resources. Whichever team may be brought in to manage UNZA would not perform as long as the arrears/government debt burden on the institution is not settled.

We are of the considered view that the manner in which the PF Government is handling education at higher learning not only compromises the product in terms of graduates but also has an adverse impact on the quality of future leaders, technocrats, thereby putting Zambia’s future at a stake.

If the future of this country is to be secured, education and indeed education at all levels including higher learning must be at the heart of government. It MUST BE PRIORITIZED. There must be serious investment in education as opposed to the luxury of borrowing for consumption such as purchase of motor vehicle.

Guess Nyirenda (Mr.)

Executive Director

ZAMBIA MAY GO FOR EARLY POLLS

OPERATION YOUNG VOTE (OYV)

Lotti House, 6^th Floor, Suite 21, Cairo Road P.O. Box 30153

Email: oyvleader2000@gmail.com Cell: 0955/77-769 688

LUSAKA

                                                                                                

23^rd June, 2015

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

ZAMBIA MAY GO FOR EARLY GENERAL POLLS
It is unexplainable why the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) is running political/campaign adverts in the media when the next General/Tripartite Elections are not expected anytime sooner. The country is not in a campaign period for the PF to be running adverts on radio and elsewhere about President Edgar Lungu. This should send a message to all stakeholders in the electoral process to begin positioning themselves for an early poll unless the PF is able to explain to the stakeholders and citizens in general why it should run a close to 10 minutes jingle in the media.

According to our laws and rules of engagement in the electoral process, such campaign messages are only allowed during the electoral campaign. If the PF has started campaigning for its candidate in the 2016 Presidential Election, H.E. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, the Election Day may as well be announced so that the other political parties start doing the same for their candidates if the playing field is to be leveled.

It is undemocratic to want to catch other players including stakeholder such as opposition political parties and civic society organisations in an election in a democratic society whose values include the rule of law and fair play.

 OYV is of the considered conclusion that since the said paid for political adverts by the PF are already running in the media President Lungu should henceforth dissolve Parliament and call for the Tripartite Election so that all stakeholders are on the same footing. The continuous running of the said political advert by the PF is notification that the country is in the campaign period, as outside the campaign period no such political adverts are condoned as stipulated in Section 27 and Section 8 of the Electoral Act and Electoral Code of Conduct respectively.

 Guess Nyirenda (Mr.)

Executive Director