Absence of Lambas in Chiefs ministry questioned

Thu, 15 Feb 2018 10:10:39 +0000

By MUYANI SHINJABALE

THE Lamba-Lima Royal Council of Zambia has expressed grief over the lack of Lamba speaking people serving in the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional affairs in the Copperbelt Office.

Lamba-Lima Royal Council of Zambia chairperson and executive committee, Josephat Nsundwe noted that there was no Lamba -Speaking person that was serving in the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs in Masaiti, Mpongwe and Lufwanyama Districts on the Copperbelt Province.

In an interview with the Daily Nation, Mr. Nsundwe said even an alien would wonder if there were any educated Lamba speaking people to serve in the traditional systems on the Copperbelt.

“The Common Law would expeditiously require that the culture, customs and traditions, wishes and aspirations of the Lamba speaking people to whom they apply must be addressed now than ever.

“Lambas are displaced and not firmly represented in many areas of the government forums, hence, it is an unpardonable sin to be treated unequally in our own mother soil,” he bemoaned.

Mr. Nsundwe warned government to quickly consider engaging officers who were familiar and Lamba speaking in the three Districts on the Copperbelt.

He noted that the new culture, customs and traditions by Government officers who were non Lamba speaking, did not conform to the Lamba traditional systems, established rule of rites, rituals and doctrines.

Mr. Nsundwe said those officers purely lacked a clear understanding of incontrovertible cultural customs and traditional procedures which subsequently resulted in injuring the traditional systems of the Lambas.

He said the association’s statistics and research also indicated that the non-local personnel were not well vested in the traditional thesis.

“The non- local personnel are not experts on various subject matters that are handed down from generation to generation of practices which non-local officials may be able to cope with or comprehend,” he explained.

Mr. Nsundwe urged the Government to re-organise the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs on the Copperbelt Province to create balance by engaging the Lamba-speaking people in order to keep the original cradle of a particular clan and tribe as a united nation.