Today's letters

Fri, 16 Jun 2017 10:20:26 +0000

Elected officials are servants of the people

Dear Editor,

There is a growing outcry by electorates in most communities of our beloved country for lack of representation from most Civic Leaders.

Most Civic Leaders after being voted into power have gone to sleep; not even showing their faces in the midst of those who vigorously campaigned for them and made them Honorable.

Honorable, by its definition is a very distinguished title that should go with corresponding exploits by those accorded it.

However, it is sad that most have decided to shun their electorates and instead are in the fore front advancing their personal welfare.

This has brought a lot of misgivings within our society where most Civic Leaders have become absentee landlords.

This is however a wakeup call for us electorates to know the quality of those we always want to be our representatives in governance.

Most of them have even developed an arrogance attitude much to the disappointment of the bosses (the electorates).

It is for this reason that President Lungu not too long ago threatened to fire Ministers who find solace in Lusaka at the expense of associating with the voters to know and even address their challenges where need be.

This is because he realizes the fact that they are drawing salaries and allowances because of us the electorates.

Wisdom Muyunda

Chingola

Lungu’s support for farmers encouraging

Dear Editor,

The President’s visit to Mkushi has brought a new and refreshing dimension to the entire debate about agriculture produce pricing policy. It also exposed the dynamics to which farmers are exposed in their effort to feed the nation.

Firstly, the policy regarding pricing requires very serious review because of the very real danger that farmers who spend so much of their effort, time and resources to produce will be discouraged if the consumers will continue to dictate prices without considering the amount of effort that farmers put in the exercise.

It is understandable that maize is a political crop whose price is dictated by many factors including the Government’s wish to keep maize meal prices low for political expedience, but it must also be realised that farmers have needs to meet from their sweat and effort.

Prices of agricultural commodities must, therefore, be maintained at a level where more individuals will be encouraged to enter the field rather than get discouraged by poor prices and equally very poor returns.

It is encouraging that the President took note of the volatile prices of cotton and soya beans. These crops have impoverished many farmers who invested in them in the hope of making a reasonable profit but suffered the worst possible price crash.

The Government must provide a safety net to protect farmers. If the Government can subsidize consumption in time of scarcity, it should also provide a net in which farmers suffering from negative market forces can find support.

All developed countries have put in place strategies and mechanisms to support their farming communities, hence the huge butter mountains in Europe which are fully supported by Government. Our own Government must also provide for the needs of farmers who are on the frontline of economic activity that holds the most promise for jobs and value addition.

Thomson Ngenda

Speaker’s action deserve commendation

Dear Editor,

I write to commend the Speaker of National Assembly Patrick Matibini for suspending the UPND MPs who boycotted the official opening of Parliament by President Lungu last Friday.

The Honourable MPs should show respect for not only the President of the Republic of Zambia but their electorates who need their continued presence in the august house.

Zambia and Zambians should not be taken for granted by those we chose to represent us.

The suspension should serve as a wakeup call for our civic leaders.

Let the stubbornness being exhibited by some of our civic leaders be brought to an end with the urgency it deserves.

We should not be paying people salaries who fail to show respect to the one who actually holds the key to the treasury.

I hope the measure taken by the Speaker will finally bring sanity to the House.

Wisdom Muyunda,

Chingola

Find alternative space for Lusaka street vendors

Dear Editor,

My heart almost bled to death when I watched on Africa Freedom Day at State House, His Worship the mayor of the City of Lusaka, Mr. Wilson Kalumba proudly announcing that, the Council is to relocate street vendors in the alleys of the central Business District.

Surely, this is running out of ideas by the City fathers.

I stand to be corrected, but an alley is a narrow passage intentionally reserved for loading and offloading of goods into shops and offices away from the busy streets of the town centre.

They equally serve as roads for sanitary works and removal of waste of all kinds created or accumulated in the conduct of business and service areas for utility companies such the Water and Sewerage, ZESCO, ZAMTEL etc… and can be easy access routes into buildings in firefighting.

So, it is shocking that the local authority cannot resolve to turn these areas into markets and shops, thereby sealing access points just to get rid of streets of vendors, that is, solving a problem in short term but creating a more serious and lasting one. I call it laziness in thinking.

We have adequate space away from town centre, and in most cases, markets with empty stands. But these vendors are attracted to the town centre because of the dirty state in which the town centre is, as dirty attracts dirty. In fact, Lusaka is to be segmented into town councils, why crowd Lusaka Central town Council with all the vendors from the entire city.

Take for instance, the standards at Levy Park, Manda Hill, Arcades and Crossroads scare away dirty activities, therefore, the Council stands guilty of the dirty because business houses in the town centre are allowed due to the Council’s negligence to maintain buildings in ruins and yet they make astronomical profits from the citizen who deserve better.

The Central Government through the line Ministry in charge of this Council should not allow this temporal measure on street vending. Majority of the land space in Lusaka is now prime land, but the Council has failed to put up standards, hence the state in which the city is.

This is the problem we have in Zambia. Public officers are convening countless development meeting, claiming allowances but resolving nothing to help the general public, and it is not peculiar to the Council but most institutions.

Adeodatus Matafwali

Lusaka