North-Western province chiefs bemoan raw development deals: they say mines not benefiting subjects

“WE may be poor, but we deserve better.”

These were the words of Solwezi Catholic Diocese Bishop Charles Kasonde in his opening speech at the three-day North-Western province Chiefs Indaba held recently in Solwezi.

In truth, the theme was: “Our Land, Our Future” but you would be right to say the deliberations at the indaba were centred on the eight worded sentence by Bishop Kasonde.

The indabe which was convened by Caritas Zambia with support from Swedish faith based organisation Diakonia under the Strengthened Accountability Programme (SAP) attracted about 24 chiefs and representatives from Solwezi, Kalumbila, Kasempa, Mufumbwe, Manyinga, Kabompo, Zambezi, Mwinilunga and Ikeleng'e districts.

The SAP which is now in its second phase aims at advancing the rights of women, men, the poor and youths to hold duty bearers accountable and to demand improved service delivery and sustainable use of natural resources.

It also seeks to enhance target media’s ability to produce programming that improves duty bearers; accountability and responsiveness to rights holders’ demands for improved service delivery, sustainable use of natural resources, gender equality and corporate social responsibility among others.

And that is exactly what was being advanced at the indaba.

North-Western which in other circles is referred to as the new Copperbelt is endowed with many natural resources that range from natural water bodies, forest reserves and mineral wealth among others.

But despite all the wealth and potential, the province is still regarded as one of the poorest in the country.

It is on this backdrop that Bishop Kasonde urged duty bearers to trade cautiously and only allow development that benefits the people, while promoting peace and justice in the region.

“I am not saying we become enemies of development but we pay attention to what sort of development that enhances us and improves the lives of many people and not a few with egoistic tendencies," he said.

Bishop Kasonde said there is need to guard jealousy the land resource because not all investment can benefit the people.

He said duty bearers should embrace development which is appreciated by the people and benefits the local communities.

"I encourage you our traditional leaders to continue being proactive and work with the Government in safeguarding our cultural heritage, land and environment for the sustainable ecological well-being of our people," he said.

North-Western Province boasts of many sources of Rivers that run their waters throughout the year because of the environment that has been well preserved but are now under threat from industrialisation.

"Due to development and industrialisation, our land may remain vulnerable and susceptible to the depletion of forests, excavation of River sources and rampant degradation of our environment," he said.

Chief Ishindi of the Lunda speaking people of Zambezi district suggested for a mechanism that allows for chiefdoms to have a 10 per cent stake on taxes collected from mines in the region.

Whether that is feasible or not, the suggestion was backed by other chiefs, including Caritas Solwezi projects officer Lewis Miyanda.

He suggested that chiefdoms push for a law that will enable them to own shares in mining companies in the region as opposed to depending on corporate social responsibility programmes to improve the livelihoods of people in communities.

Mr Miyanda said passing such a law will give chiefdoms a sense of ownership to their natural resources.

"There is no way you could be living at the mercy of the mine investors through corporate social responsibility. These natural resources belong to you and your people," he said.

The chiefs also petitioned Government to prioritise the awarding of mining licences to local communities to enable local people benefit from their God given natural resources.

The chiefs wondered how some mining and exploration licences are issued without their consent.

They urged the Government to only issue mining and exploration licences to prospecting investors only after consent letters are given by the chiefs and communities have agreed to the proposed investments.

"While the Ministry issuing these licences is in Lusaka, we only receive documentations which we are expected to sign. In such cases, various chiefs have been robbed off their land," they said in a communique read by Chietainess Nyakuleng'a of the Lunda speaking people of Zambezi district.

"We are concerned about the lack of a prescribed criteria for the issuance of exploration and mining licences which disadvantages potential investors that could bring meaningful development to the host communities because the dormant investors hold on to licences for too long without doing anything," they said.

The chiefs are dismayed with assertions that they consent to selling land to foreign investors.

This came as a result of Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) North-western provincial principal inspector Morrison Songwe cautioned chiefs against consenting to certain projects without consulting.

He said: “The problem is that some of you agree to these developments before the implementation stage, making it difficult for us to act once the project has been approved already.”

But in the communique, the chiefs argued, saying: “How can we be accused of selling more than 250 hectares when we are not allowed to do so. We the chiefs understand the need for our land which is our birth right and that of our children that will live on it for years to come."

How about the gold rush in Mwinilunga?

It is real!

Chief  Chibwika’s representative Isaac Mungwala said the situation in Kasenseli village has normalised after the deployment of over 45 police officers to the area to keep vigil.

“We do not need any investor from overseas to come and get the gold and leave without our people benefiting,” he said.

Chief Musele of Kalumbila district advised Chief Chibwika to source for a mining licence to permit the chiefdom to mine the gold legally, for the benefit of his subjects.

“That gold is yours! Just follow the guidelines of the law and start mining it because what we should be discouraging is illegal mining,” he said.

From the deliberations and with the words of Bishop Kasonde still echoing, it is clear that most of the chiefs in the region feel they are getting a raw deal from the mines and the natural resource endowment in the region.

Senior Chief Sikufele of Manyinga district bemoaned the bad state of roads and bridges in his area despite having many investors in the area.

“We don’t even have any Government girls’ school in the province apart from Mukinge Girls Mission Secondary School which is a Catholic school. This is not right,” he said.

The chiefs also urged mining companies operating in the province to be consultative and prioritise the needs of the people when implementing corporate social responsibility programmes.

Government on the other hand expressed concern on the increase in land wrangle cases in the province.

In a speech read for him by assistant secretary Beatrice Muyambango, North-Western Province permanent secretary Willies Mangimela called on chiefs to ensure proper land management and administration to avoid the land wrangles as they push for better deals.

Community radio as watchdog: making listening clubs effective in holding leaders accountable

LESSLY Chibele is a member of the Voice of Kalomo Community Radio station’ Luyaba radio listening club.

Luyaba is a satellite community in Zimba about 54 kilometres from Kalomo town.

She says being a member of the club has helped her in more ways than one.

“Before I joined the radio listening club, I did not know that I had the power to question our leaders on matters affecting us,” she says.

Lessly

Ms Chibele is one of the 35 members of the listening club that gather under a tree every Monday to listen to the People’s Voice, a radio programme that airs on Voice of Kalomo.

The hour-long programme is a Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia Chapter sponsored programme.

The programme is made possible with funding from Diakonia, a Swedish non-Governmental organisation under its Strengthened Accountability Programme (SAP II).

Under the SAP II programme, Diakonia is working with MISA Zambia, Women for Change and also Caritas Zambia to increase people’s awareness on good governance and enhance citizens’ participation in governance.

The project started in February and will run for two years.

Because of the project, Ms Chibele foresees a tough time for all those that will aspire for public office in the coming elections.

“Things have changed from the time that we launched the project and all those aspiring for public office will not have it easy this time around because now, we know what we want,” she says.

How does it work, perhaps you might be wondering?

“We meet every Monday and listen to the radio programme that features civic leaders. After that, we pick topics that are closer to us and dissect whether or not our interests are being represented,” explains Frank Siluwaile, the club’s chairperson. 

Not only that.

“We have also been empowered with a phone to call in on these radio programmes and hold these leaders accountable. Where we can, we applaud them and where we want them to do more, we tell them,” he adds.

And on this particular day, the host on the radio programme was Zimba Town Council chairperson Grave Muleya.

As usual, the group is gathered under a tree, surrounding a car with doors open, listening to the radio programme.

Others would be seen with paper and pen, busy taking notes and waiting for the phone lines to open so that they can ask Mr Muleya who touched on a number of cross cutting issues, their burning questions.

The group listening to a radio program.

“For a long time, pregnant women have cried for a maternity wing at the clinic and up to now, there is nothing. You also said you were going to build us a market shelter but up to now, we have not seen these things. What is happening,” he was asked.

Another one queried Mr Muleya on when Government will consider upgrading the clinic and introduce a dental facility.

“Whenever we want to seek dental services, we always have to go as far as Zimba to access them. We want one here too,” he said.

Among the other issues the club members raised were the need for speed humps, improved water supply, cattle diseases and also the model being used by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) to sell maize.

Yes! Mr Muleya did attend to most of the issues that were raised.

“Government will try to address most of the issues raised though some of them might not be attainable, most of them will be addressed,” he said.

Well, whereas calling in and holding the civic leaders accountable is one thing, implementation and fulfilling them could be another.

Nonetheless, the people of this community are happy that they have been empowered with skills of holding their leaders accountable.

“We never used to pay attention to these things. But ever since this programme started, we have been taught a lot of things and we now understand that these leaders owe us and they should be answerable to us,” said Barbara Simbwalanga who is the vice chairperson of the Njokwe radio listening club.

Jane Chirwa is MISA Zambia programmes manager and she is optimistic that the project is yielding fruits.

“The project is all about increasing awareness of good governance and encourage communities to take a leading role in holding civic leaders accountable,” she says.

How does MISA Zambia come in?

“As MISA Zambia, we have running projects with partner community radio stations under our Good Governance programme and it is with those same partner radio stations and their audiences to encourage and engage communities through different platforms and fora,” she says.

Participants pose for a group photo.

Diakonia programmes officer Maimbo Kalenge says her organisation will continue to empower communities with knowledge and skills that will lead to livelihood change.

“How we work is that we will not give people money or handouts, but we will impart knowledge in people, through our partner organisations with a presence where we are not that will open their eyes and change the perspective and mindset towards self development,” she says.

In Mapatizya, WfC is at the SAP II centre stage there.

The organisation has been holding training camps with traditional leaders to sensitise them on issues to do with gender equality.

WfC monitoring and evaluation manager Shadreck Chembe says the organisation has partnered and trained a number of headmen in the small mining community and surrounding communities.

“I am very happy that today I have been given an opportunity to learn about the dangers of gender imbalance. Before this workshop, I always used to fancy a male child to a female,” says Edwin Mweene, a local that underwent a gender mainstreaming training.

The SAP II project is not being implemented in Southern Province only.

With different partners, Diakonia which has been in existence for over two decades is implementing the project countrywide.

Up close with Zambia’s Public Protector

DO YOU have any complaint about the services offered by a public institution or any public official?

Mrs Zulu

Don’t worry. Caroline Chuma Sokoni may be able to help you.
Who is this Mrs Sokoni? Perhaps you might be wondering.
She is the country’s Public Protector, or, in other words, the ombudsman entrusted with the mandate to promote and safeguard the interests and the rights of an individual in their quest to receive a ‘public service’ that is not only just, but also fair.
That is who Mrs Sokoni, 51, is – Zambia’s Ombudsman.
The concept of the institution of the ombudsman dates back to 1809 in Sweden, when the Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsman was established in order to safeguard the rights of its citizens.
The ombudsman’s office was set up to be a supervisory agency which was independent of the executive branch of government.
In the 1960s, the institution spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Zambia was the second in Africa to establish this office in 1973.
The institution has been recognised as an office provided for by the constitution and is headed by the Public Protector, formerly designated as the Investigator General.
The name change came about when President Edgar Lungu signed the Constitution Bill number 17 of 2015 which, among other clauses, changed the office of the Investigator General to the Office of the Public Protector.
This constitutional innovation provides the institution of the public protector with the necessary protection required for it to properly carry out the functions of the ombudsman with integrity and independence.
This reporter caught up with the Public Protector recently.
She said her office, which has been in existence for many years, is open to anyone, regardless of their status.
“Everyone can be vulnerable due to a bureaucratic system. It could be as a result of their social, economic or even biological status,” she says.
The institution itself may have been there for a long time, but it is still not popular among the general populace – whose interest it was set out to protect.
According to Mrs Sokoni, the office of the Public Protector is not popular due to many reasons, one being lack of coordination between political will and implementation.
“For people to know and have confidence, they must see you perform. The law has given us the mandate to protect people. We have been given the legislative mandate, but we haven’t really been given the institutional mandate just yet,” she says
The transformation from the old system was to give the institution autonomy over the executive.
“As it is, all the operatives are from the old system. We haven’t really been given the autonomy and powers that we require, especially by the implementers,” she says.
Mrs Zulu says her office has had challenges attending to cases and increasing her office’s visibility because it was still operating under the old system.
She adds, “We want to be weaned off from the executive completely. Let them give us the institutional autonomy by cutting off all the links they still have with us.”
Mrs Zulu is however hopeful that once the new system is fully implemented, people will come to know and appreciate the office of the Public Protector.
“I still don’t have deputies, registrars, directors, and I only have very few investigation officers. All the operatives are from the Public Service Commission, which shouldn’t be the case,” she says.
However, as the saying goes, ‘a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step’, the office has been doing everything within its means to attend to cases.
One major milestone has been advocating for the change of the Ombudsman’s Office from an Executive Ombudsman which made the operations of the office restrictive as it operated in camera to a Parliamentary Ombudsman Office.
“We are getting there,” she says before adding that her office’s mandate is bigger than that of the Anti-Corruption Commission.
“With us, we can investigate any case. We have unlimited jurisdiction within the confines of maladministration,” she says.
Under the former constitution, the office of the Investigator General merely made recommendations to the institutions complained against.
The office of the Public Protector goes further. It may, among other functions, investigate an action or decision taken or to be taken by a state institution in the performance of an administrative function.
It may bring an action before a court, hear an appeal by a person relating to an action or decision taken or to be taken in respect of that person.
The office may also make a decision on an action to be taken against a public officer or constitutional office holder, which decision shall be implemented by an appropriate authority.
About Mrs Sokoni – the Ombudsman.
She began her professional career after admission to the Bar in 1989 as a State Advocate under the then Ministry of Legal Affairs (now known as Ministry of Justice).
In 1997, she pursued a Masters of Law in Criminology from Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London in the United Kingdom.
She served under the Ministry of Justice for 15 years.
It was during her time at the ministry that her professional career began to rise. From State Advocate (1989-1993) to Assistant Senior Advocate (1993-1995) to Senior State Advocate (1995-1998), Assistant Principal Advocate (1998-2001), and Deputy Chief Advocate (2001-2004), till her appointment as Acting Director of Public Prosecutions for the Ministry of Justice in February 2004.
In November 2004, she was appointed as the Investigator General for Zambia’s National Ombudsman Office.
At the time of her appointment, the office was known as the Commission for Investigations.
Currently serving as Public Protector of Zambia, Mrs SokonZulu has served under the position of the country’s Ombudsman for 13 years.
As Zambia’s Ombudsman and through her passion and dedication towards her professional career, she continues to fulfil the core mandate of the office, which is to combat vices of maladministration in the Public Service by promoting principles of good governance, democracy and the rule of law.
She has used her position as Ombudsman of Zambia to advocate for the rights of Zambian citizens that face abuse and discrimination through the public service system.
Besides her success as Zambia’s Ombudsman, Mrs Zulu has contributed to the growth of the institution of the ombudsman on the International platform. She served as the Africa Ombudsman Mediators Association (AOMA) SADC Coordinator from 2009 to 2014 and currently holds the position of treasurer general. Between 2009 and 2013, she served as Regional Director for Anglophone Africa on the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) board.
She has been elected twice, in 2013 and 2016 respectively, to hold the position of IOI Africa regional president which she currently holds.
She attributes her success as a woman in a male-dominated industry to her stance on accomplishing her duties with excellence and integrity as her personal values and mantra.
So, if you are a victim of an unfair or delayed public service delivery system, do not suffer in silence. The Public Protector is there for you. You have the right to a fair, efficient and expeditious public service.

Putting shine on Dundumwezi

DUNDUMWEZI, was a little-heard-of place until the 2016 general elections. After that, it made headlines and became almost a household name.

The reason: it produced one of the most shocking electoral results for the incumbent President Lungu. 

The opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema got 30,810 votes while President Lungu got a paltry 252.
Mr Lungu did not sound bitter about the few votes he was given by the people here, saying: “If I didn’t get those 252 votes in Dundumwezi, I wouldn’t have gotten the 50 percent plus one.”But that did not stop the negative publicity about Dundumwezi. President Lungu, however, emphasised the fact that Dundumwezi should not be isolated or left behind in development.
Dundumwezi lies 107 kilometres from Choma, 109km if one is going there from Kalomo. It is highly productive in agriculture.The constituency, whose name the locals say is an adulteration of “Dundumwenze”, which can loosely be translated as a male mountain, is situated in Chief Siachitema’s area, south-west of Kalomo.It is a hard-to-reach, underdeveloped constituency with a poor road network. In the rainy season, the road to Dundumwezi usually becomes impassable.And yet, that is not the only communication challenge facing the people of Dundumwezi. It is hard to find a phone network signal in the constituency, and some residents have devised ingenious ways to get a signal on their phones, such as climbing a tree standing on an anthill to gain more altitude.“Sometimes, we feel neglected as the people of Dundumwezi. We lack basic infrastructure and necessities such as hospitals, schools, and proper roads,” said a teacher at a local school.
But there is hope on the horizon for the people of Dundumwezi.In an effort to improve telecommunication in Dundumwezi, network towers are being erected at four sites in the constituency. “I am grateful for the four towers, but they will only answer for like 60 to 70 percent of the challenges of our communications troubles,” says Dundumwezi member of Parliament Edgar Sing’ombe.He adds: “Ideally, I would have loved to have six communication towers in the constituency because we have a lot of people [and] as a result, we fail to communicate between rural health centres and hospitals,” he says.Since 2006, when he became MP, Mr Sing’ombe has been pushing for mobile phone connectivity. One of the biggest challenges he faces is the disbursement of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).“As an MP, I don’t have any other funding apart from CDF. But if that money is taking forever to come, and when it does, it is not coming in full, we will be having problems,” he says.Mr Sing’ombe says a number of projects in the area have stalled and others have not even taken off because of the unavailability of the funds.He also decries the fact that he is not directly involved in approving projects to be funded through CDF. But he still counts a number of successes.Mr Sing’ombe has sunk a number of boreholes to improve people’s access to clean and safe drinking water. He has also undertaken a number of projects such as classroom blocks in Kasukwe ward, Sichimbwali in Kamuka and another one by three classroom block at Muchindu.A mother’s shelter at Bulyambeba rural health post is also in the pipeline. President Lungu in July this year launched the Kalomo-Dundumwezi, Itezhi-tezhi-Namwala road project. Construction works have since started and will cost US$18.78 million.There are also plans to construct the Nkandanzovu bridge in an effort to ensure that rural areas were more accessible.“The rain season is coming soon, these are some of the things we need to look at otherwise, we will be cut off,” he said.Solar hammer mills have been installed in Kasukwe, Mikata and Omba in an effort to ease people’s lives. Mr Sing’ombe is also lobbying for the construction of the Nanyemu dam and the Kalomo–Chikanta road.  EDUCATION: Dundumwezi has seen primary schools such as Habulile, Kasukwe and also Nkandanzovu upgraded into secondary schools, in order to improve education infrastructure and access to quality education.

AGRICULTURE: Dundumwezi is well-known for maize production. In fact, Kalomo district, where the constituency lies, is the second largest producer of maize in the country, and this constituency accounts for a large portion of that. But there are now efforts to encourage production of other crops, as well as boosting poultry and livestock production. With the help from Care International, land has been identified for vegetable production, and training in vegetable production, poultry and livestock management.

HEALTH: In terms of health, the constituency has received four health posts out of the 650 health posts Government is building across the country. “In 2011, President Sata assured us of these health posts, so far, we have four. We need boreholes now,” says Mr Sing’ombe. Mr Sing’ombe also wants Dundumwezi to be connected to the national electricity grid.