15 MP’S FROM LUAPULA PROTEST AGAINST MINISTER’S “POVERTY OF MIND” REMARKS
By Fox Reporter
MEMBERS of Parliament from Luapula Province have protested to Speaker of the National Assembly, Nelly Mutti against Education Minister Douglas Siakalima for suggesting that people from the region are poor because of poverty of the mind.
In a petition submitted to the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Luapula MPs are alleging hate speech against Siakalima who is also Chirundu UPND member of parliament.
The petition comes after Siakalima made derogatory comments against people of Luapula Province during a Committee on Education meeting on October 11, 2023.
During the meeting, chaired by Melesiana Phiri, the Minister was recorded making highly inflammatory and demeaning statements about the people of Luapula Province.
According to radio clips collected from the broadcast, he referred to the people of Luapula as suffering from both “poverty of the mind and poverty as a physical being,” as he repeated these remarks four times.
According to Members of Parliament from Luapula Province, they received numerous calls from their constituents who expressed deep disappointment for the insults and offense from Siakalima.
The MPs are now arguing that these inflammatory statements constitute hate speech against the inhabitants of Luapula Province.
They assert that the role of the government and its ministries should be to serve and uplift all citizens, striving to alleviate poverty levels rather than demeaning and maligning them based on their circumstances, which they may not be responsible for.
The petitioners are urging the Office of the Speaker of the National Assembly to take decisive action against the Minister to address the negative effects caused by his remarks and to restore order, confidence, and decorum in the House.
The Speaker’s office is expected to review the petition and determine the appropriate actions to be taken in response to the concerns raised by the Luapula Province Members of Parliament.
Interesting should he be charged with hate speach like the lumezi idiot or woll he be protected that he spoke within Parliament???
The petition should be to the President copy the Speaker if you want but his boss is HH
It is either the Minister is a real tribalist in the upnd govt or is real ignorant Minister about the poverty kevels in Zambia generally and why it is like that.He is not fit to hold the post of public office when his head is ten months pregnant with either tribalism or ignorance.From Berlin.
HH must check this rookies behaviour in UPND especially coming from southern province ministers and others they talk too much let them learn to sometimes tame their excitement and just shut up!!
I have listened to what Minister of Education Gouglas Siakalima said. There’s no insult here. It’s similar to a teacher telling pupils that they can improve their grades with the right attitude. Luapulans have no reason to feel insulted. The MPs are just playing cheap politics.
Such remarks are dangerous because I know deep down some southerners think this is very true and me who come from that area is not happy then division in the country
There is nothing wrong with what the Minister said all what the Luapula Ministers need to do is to copy the way southerners are brought up from childhood in Southern province you are taught about hard work and business at a young age your mother starts by giving you a chicken maybe at the age of 5 years.And you have to nature and keep that chicken till it start putting eggs you have to make sure it produce more chickens from there you are given one
cow then a field that’s why southern province is so rich its the mind set of the people.Luapula Ministers stop crying for nothing and go to Luapula and do the right thing to your people change the mind set of your people.
I Don t think there was insult intended by his remark of poverty of the mind. English is a very complicated language judged by the way a person speaks. Poverty of the mind could be interpreted to lack of planning it has nothing to do with tribe or region it is people that are making up a mountain from a mole heap.
The “Poverty of the mind” philosophically under logic can refer to lack of Critical Thinking skills.
For example one can argue that most of scientists in Zambia have “poverty of the mind” meaning that they lack innovative and research skills to initiate new scientific ideas apart from implementing what they have learnt in class.
As a critical thinker I do not perceive that statement inflammatory or as a derogatory comment.
On the position side that statement should even encourage you to do more.
Listening to the genesis of the minister’s argument or statement it does not qualify to be a hate speech.
He was emphasizing the importance of education and he is worried why most of parents from that particular place do not encourage their children to treasure school in the midst of free education.
The poverty of the mind in this argument is referred to the mind set or negative attitude towards school. That can not be a hate speech.
We sponsor our relatives and even the people we are not related so that when they complete their education will help their families to come out of poverty.
Plato the Greek philosopher who initiated formal education explained the importance of education and the enlightenment it brings to people.
For Plato used the Allegory of the Cave or a metaphor to explain the mindset of people living with “the poverty of the mind” in the Cave, those who are not exposed to a real reality as opposed to those living outside the cave in the real world who are enlightened through education and experiencing real things.
The point is that the MPs should encourage their people to take their children to school so that they can come out of “the poverty of the mind”, consequently, they will also come out of physical poverty.
For me these mps are the most poor in minds. Poor in mind is a very dangerous disease. There is nothing wrong with what the minister said. They are just taking the his words out of context poor illiterate who didn’t step in a school. Just like someone telling you that you are a fool. Foolishness is not an insult, it shows only that you are not enlightened, or educated or ignorant of what you ought to know.
Nakachinda pf secretary called Zambian as having poverty mentality over the case of former first lady concerning her flats. What is the difference?