Zambians make landmark decision

CHARLES CHISALA, Lusaka

TODAY Zambians flock to their respective polling stations to cast their vote in the general elections to elect their president, members of Parliament (MPs), executive mayors, council chairpersons and councillors.

By now those who have been closely following Zambian politics are able to see the direction in which the wind is blowing. Only those who have chosen to bury their necks in the sand are harbouring any doubt.

All indications are that President Lungu and the Patriotic Front (PF) are headed for victory. A combination of old and new factors have put Mr Lungu and his party far ahead of the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND).

This, however, does not mean the opposition party is a pushover. Over the years, it has gained experience and support to give the PF a good run for its money.

For example, it is banking on the presence of its vice- president for administration Geoffrey Mwamba, popularly known as GBM, former televangelist and now ousted MMD president Nevers Mumba, late President Michael Sata’s son, Mulenga and former Matero MP Miles Sampa to snatch some votes from the PF’s Bemba-speaking strongholds of Muchinga, Northern and Luapula provinces.

The UPND has also campaigned aggressively, covering almost every district. Besides, its ranks have been bolstered by former MMD MPs mainly from North-Western, Eastern and Western provinces.

The other factor that favours the opposition party is the fact that its president Hakainde Hichilema and his running mate, GBM, are successful businessmen who may use their experience to manage the country’s economy.

So, despite its dismal performance in parliamentary by-elections since 2011, the opposition party seems to stand a better chance this time around.

However, these attributes fall far short of wiping out the PF’s advantage, which emanates from a cocktail of geopolitical and sociological factors.

President Lungu is by far a stronger candidate than Mr Hichilema, although the latter has already been declaring himself winner even before the vote is cast.

The huge crowds Mr Lungu has been attracting in Luapula, Northern, Muchinga and Eastern provinces are a clear indication that nothing has changed in the behaviour of the voters.

These provinces are still solidly behind the PF. Nothing has shaken their loyalty. In fact the PF seems to be enjoying the same support it received from these regions in 2011, if not more.

A string of miscalculations, poor choice of the presidential running mate, aggressive, demeaning attitude towards the Presidency, its attacks on the Church and historical demographics have as good as sealed the UPND’s fate.

The party’s disrespectful and confrontational relations with law enforcement agencies, its penchant for violence and uncivil language have eroded its support base.

Mr Mwamba, for example, has not missed an opportunity to hurl the vilest of words at President Lungu and other PF and government leaders.

At his last rally in Kasama a few days ago, he dedicated much of his address to spewing unprintables at the President and threatening to arrest his opponents.

These factors have seemingly eroded much of the respect many Zambians had for the party and confidence in its ability to unite the nation if it was given a chance to govern.

The odds are piled high against the opposition party. It will need a miracle of Old Testament proportions to unseat the PF.

While the PF may lose a few seats to independent candidates, it is still enjoying unshakable support in its traditional strongholds – Luapula, Northern, and Muchinga provinces, and now Eastern Province.

These are the regions that have consistently been cancelling the UPND’s massive votes in its strongholds of Southern, Western and North-Western provinces since 2006, and indications are that they will do the same today.

The UPND clearly enjoyed a huge advantage over a weakened PF in the last presidential election of January 20, 2015. It is, however, facing a rejuvenated and rebranded ruling party today.

This is because the PF has not only fully recovered from the 2015 wrangling but has also formed a formidable alliance with the MMD which has robbed the opposition party’s remotest chance of snatching a seat in Eastern and Central provinces.

The alliance has also given the PF an unshakable foothold in Central Province.

Another factor that has put the PF miles ahead of the UPND is the massive infrastructure development and appointment of former women’s rights activist and community worker Inonge Mutukwa Wina as the first female Vice-President of Zambia.

This has helped the PF to bite away a significant chunk of the UPND’s hitherto unassailable support in Western Province.

As already mentioned, in January 2015 when Zambians flocked to polling stations to replace the late President Michael Sata who had died months earlier, the odds were stacked heavily against the lawyer-turned-politician.

The fierce infighting that followed the death of Mr Sata threatened to rend the ruling party in the middle and strip it of any chance of putting up a decent fight against the UPND.

On the other hand, the opposition party had been campaigning since Mr Sata was flown to London, United Kingdom, for treatment. After the news of his death had been broken, the UPND’s campaign train was in overdrive.

The opposition party’s president, Hakainde Hichilema, was confident that his time, the UPND’s time had finally come. While he and other leaders of his party traversed the breadth and length of the country in relentless campaign, the PF was in the throes of a crippling power struggle.

As the clock ticked towards January 20, the UPND’s leaders and supporters had even changed the way they walked and talked. They were on the threshold of the elusive power that had eluded their party since 2001.

Some leaders and cadres were addressing Mr Hichilema as His Excellency, a title reserved for a sworn-in President, and the man openly revelled in the flattery.

By the time Mr Lungu took control of what had remained of the PF, he had only 20 days in which to campaign. The PF did not have resources to help it reach as many voters as it would have wanted to, yet Mr Hichilema and his party were free-wheeling across the country, campaigning unfettered.

But President Lungu has entered this year’s race fully prepared and has campaigned throughout the campaign period, which kicked off on May 16.

Many ministers and MPs have been systematically depositing money in the ruling party’s accounts besides donations from non-members who either believe in its policies or are simply impressed by its development projects.

His humility and simple, down-to-earth disposition has won the hearts of the huge Christian community, traditional leaders and ordinary, grassroots Zambians who will express their approval of his leadership by voting for him and the PF today.

Looking at the current statistics and at the way Zambians have been voting in the last three national elections, even if the UPND won 100 percent of all the votes in Southern and Western provinces, got 60 percent in North-Western Province and grabbed at least 50 percent apiece in Lusaka and the Copperbelt it will have the PF strongholds to be scared of.

Luapula, Northern and Muchinga provinces would wipe out its advantage and give the PF a comfortable lead with over 50,000 votes. Of course these are extreme assumptions for it is nigh impossible to the UPND to share Lusaka and the Copperbelt by half.

Whichever way one looks at the picture, the numbers point to Mr Lungu and the PF as the most likely victors.(Daily Mail)

SHULE ZA FEZA HAZITAFUNGWA

Na Dotto Mwaibale

UONGOZI wa Shule za Feza nchini umeibuka na kukanusha taarifa zilizozagaa kwenye mitandao ya kijamii, kuwa wao hawana uhusiano na Fethullah Gulen wala serikali ya Uturuki kwa vile hawajawahi kupokea misaada toka pande hizo mbili za uendeshaji na kuwa shule hizo hazitafungwa.

Kauli hiyo imetolewa baada ya hivi karibuni kuenea kwa uvumi kuwa shule za Feza zipo hatarini kufungwa kwa madai kuwa mmiliki wake ni yule aliyejihusisha na jaribio la kuipindua serikani nchini Uturuki.

Mwenyekiti wa Bodi wa Shule hizo, Habibu Miradji aliyasema hayo alipokuwa akizungumza na wanahabari Kawe jijini Dar es Salaam leo asubuhi.

Alisema Watanzania wanapaswa kufahamu kuwa Shule za Feza ni kama asasi zingine zilizosajiliwa kishera na serikali, hivyo ni mali ya watanzania.

“Shule za Feza zitabaki kuwa kiwanda cha kuzalisha wazalendo wa kitanzania na raia bora wa duniani, hivyo wazazi wanapaswa kuondoa hofu,” alisema.

Alisema toka mwaka 1995 shule hiyo imepata mafanikio ya kujenga shule za awali tatu, shule za msingi mbili, sekondari tatu na shule ya kimataifa moja.

Aliongeza kuwa huo ni uwekezaji wenye mchango katika kukuza pato la taifa, kutoka awamu ya pili, tatu, nne hadi awamu ya tano chini ya Rais John Magufuli.

\Alisema shule ya Feza ni hazina kwa Tanzania kwani shule zake zimekuwa zikishika nafasi ya 10 bora toka mwaka 2004 hadi leo.

Alisema wanatoa wito kwa wazazi kuwasiliana na uongozi wa shule hiyo kujua kinachoendelea kwenye shule husika kwa manufaa ya wanafunzi wetu na taifa bila kusikiliza uvumi huo unaoenezwa na watu wasiopenda maendeleo ya shule hizo.

International Youth Day

International Youth day celebrates young people as essential partners in promoting human rights and development. Photo: © UNFPA

12 August was designated as International Youth Day by the UN General Assembly in 1999. It is an annual celebration of the role of young women and men as essential partners in promoting human rights and development. It is also an opportunity to raise awareness of the challenges and hardships facing the world’s youth. The theme of this year's International Youth Day is "The Road to 2030: Eradicating Poverty and Achieving Sustainable Consumption and Production." 

Young people are powerful agents of change and progress when they are educated and empowered to participate in decision-making. Yet around the world, too many youth are being left behind. They receive a substandard education or no education at all, and find few decent employment opportunities. They struggle to access basic sexual and reproductive health information and services. Without these tools, young people – young women, in particular – find themselves grappling with poverty, early pregnancy, disease and other challenges.

There are more young people in the world than ever before: Some 1.8 billion people are between ages 10 and 24. Most of them live in developing countries, often comprising a huge proportion of the population. How well they navigate adolescence will determine not only the course of their own lives, but that of the world.

Yet too many youth are unable to participate fully in society. Around 175 million young people in low-income countries cannot read a full sentence. Among those aged 15-24, some 500 million live on less than $2 a day, and over 73 million are unemployed. For girls, the barriers to participation are even higher.

But when empowered and given the right opportunities, youth are effective drivers of change. UNFPA partners with young people, helping them participate in decisions affecting them, and strengthening their ability to advance human rights and development issues such as health, education and employment.

- See more at: http://www.unfpa.org/youth-participation-leadership#sthash.muNkny9a.dpuf

- See more at: http://www.unfpa.org/events/international-youth-day-3#sthash.HPinPKq0.dpuf

Vijana nchini wapewa elimu kuhusu kujihusisha na shughuli za maendeleo

Na Hashimu Ibrahim

Kuelekea kilele cha siku ya vijana duniani, vijana mbalimbali nchini wamekutanishwa kwa pamoja na kupewa elimu jinsi wanavyoweza kukabiliana na changamoto mbalimbali za maisha pamoja na kukamilisha Mpango wa Maendeleo Endelevu (SDGs).

Akizungumza katika kongamano hilo mgeni rasmi ambaye ni Mwakilishi Msaidizi wa Shirika la Mfuko wa Idadi ya Watu la Umoja wa Mataifa (UNFPA), Christine Mwanukuzi-Kwayu, aliwataka vijana kushiriki katika shughuli za maendeleo ili kusaidia kubadilisha maisha yao binafsi na kwa taifa.

Mgeni rsmi katika kongamano hilo Mwakilishi Msaidizi wa Shirika la Mfuko wa Idadi ya Watu la Umoja wa Mataifa (UNFPA), Christine Mwanukuzi-Kwayu akizungumza na vijana.

Alisema vijana wengi wamekuwa hawajihusishi na mambo ya maendeleo na hivyo ni wasaa sasa na wao waanze kujihusisha ili waweze kuchangia kuleta maendeleo katika taifa kwani hata takwimu kwa sasa zinaonyesha vijana wanashiriki kwa kiasi kidogo kutokana na wengi wao kutokuwa na ujuzi.

"Vijana hivi mnajua kama nyie ndiyo mnatarajiwa kuongoza taifa lakini bado mmelala hata katika uchunguzi uliofanyika unaonyesha vijana asilimia nne ndiyo wanajihusisha kwa karibu na shughuli za maendeleo kwa nchi yetu ila wengi mnakuwa hmajui," alisema Mwanukuzi-Kwayu.

Nae Meneja Miradi wa Shirika la Restless Development Bw. Oscar Kimaro amesema kuwa matatizo wanayoyapata vijana duniani yanatokana na kutokua na ushirikishwaji wa vijana katika masuala mbalimbali ya kimaendeleo katika nchi.

Meneja Miradi wa Shirika la Restless Development Bw. Oscar Kimaro akiwapa vijana njia za kupata mafanikio na kuwaeleza mambo ambayo yanachangia wao kushindwa kufikia malengo.

“Changamoto zinazomkabili kijana nchini Tanzania ndio hizo hizo zinazoweza kumkabili kijana nchi nyingine, lakini haya yote hutokana na kutoshirikishwa kwa vijana katika sekta mbalimbali za uzaliashji na za kimaendeleo chini,” alisema Oscar

Mtendaji Mkuu wa Chama cha Vijana wa Shirika la Umoja wa Mataifa (YUNA), Arafat Bakar akitoa burudani kwa vijana waliohudhuria kongamano hilo.

Baadhi ya vijana waliohudhuria kongamano hilo.