Lusaka PF youths roast Harrington

Mon, 20 Feb 2017 10:40:49 +0000

By CHARLES MUSONDA

 PF YOUTHS in Lusaka have warned former Transport minister William Harrington not to use the UPND loss in the last August elections to revive calls for the separation of Western Province from Zambia.

Lusaka Province PF youth chairman Kennedy Kamba said in an interview yesterday that Mr. Harrington should not ‘‘lick his wounds’’ of the UPND loss by trying to create unnecessary tension over the Barotseland Agreement.

He was reacting to  Mr Harrington’s remarks last week that the Barotse National Council (BNC), to which he belongs, had recognized the urgent need for a roadmap for the implementation of the BNC’s 2012 resolutions.

Mr. Kamba said the PF government publicized the BA in the print media and everyone who read the document knew that it did not have any provision for secession of Western Province (Barotseland) from Zambia

“So those sentiments from William Harrington are coming from a bitter person because they lost the elections. He wants to divide the nation but the Zambian people will not tolerate that because as far as we are concerned we are One Zambia One Nation, including those people in Western Province.

“What is it that he wants to be implemented in the Barotseland Agreement? This document was made public to the Zambian people and there is nowhere it talks about secession. Let them not bring confusion to this country just because they lost elections,” Mr Kamba said.

He said if Mr. Harrington and others continued with calls for secession, the PF would challenge the police to take action against such individuals because it would amount to stirring confusion and inciting people of Western Province to rise against President Edgar Lungu.

Mr. Kamba said a good number of voters in Western Province voted for President Lungu because they agreed with his policies and the PF’s development agenda for the entire country, including the western region.

Mr. Harrington said the BNC council had also observed the need to draft a constitution for Barotseland and guide dialogue with the Zambian government on the disengagement process of  Barotseland from Zambia.

In 2012, the BNC resolved that the Barotse government should within 30 days put in place a transition process leading to taking over of all government functions in Barotseland and the election of the Katengo Legislative Council (parliament).