HH AUCTIONING NORTHERN ZAMBIA’S ARABLE LAND TO FOREIGNERS-WHY THESE 12 GROUPS SHOULD STOP HIM NOW OR CURSE THEIR FUTURE GENERATIONS- Chris Zumani
By Dr. Chris Zumani Zimba
Introduction
Under President Hakainde Hichilema (HH), Deuteronomy 28:43-44 is being fulfilled in speedy motion in the faces of all Zambians. This scripture says: “The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail”.
If you don’t have your own land as an adult, you are not a complete citizen, you are a squatter. Empirically, there is growing evidence that HH is greedily auctioning our sovereignty by specifically selling off huge arable and mining land portions of predominantly “Northern Zambia” to foreigners and his business associates for dollars with arrogant and treacherous hands. Here are the facts before us:
1. Last week, Zambians were officially informed that 10,000 hectares of Zambian land had been allocated by HH to Rwanda and all paper work was being finalized. Trust me, I am sure that this 10,000 hectares of land is not in Southern or Western provinces but in Muchinga, Northern, Central, Luapula or Eastern Province. The Rwandan ambassador to Zambia H.E Emmanuel Bugingo thanked HH for this “generosity”. While Zambians are sleeping, HH is auctioning their land!
2. In early July, 2024, the office of the Vice President under Resettlement Department advertised thousands of combined hectares in Eastern, Muchinga, Northern, Luapula, Central and part of North Western and Western provinces clearly targeted to be sold to anyone interested (but foreigners and few wealth local citizens with money shall be the main beneficiaries) here. They are demanding a K50,000 non refundable deposit due 16th August 2024.
3. What is the difference between these huge land portions being targeted to be sold by the Vice President’s office in August 2024 and the initial offer of 6 million hectares ZDA gave the Vietnamese investor who had promised HH a miraculous US$72 billion into Zambia? From our eyes, this is one and the same scheme like Mr. Van Tuya’s case.
4. How many Zambians will afford to buy these huge hectarage farms the Vice President is selling so expensive mainly across the Northern circuit in this harsh economy of Bally’s government? Is HH and his Vice President sure that most of this huge territory will be bought by Zambians when money has become brutally scarce?
5. If the non refundable down payments is K50,000, how many Zambians today can raise and pay this amount before even knowing the actual price of the farm? Clearly, this looks like a clear scheme by HH to auction our huge territorial land to foreigners and his associates.
6. In June, 2024, Zambians were shocked and angered to hear that HH through Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) was in the process of securing and auctioning 6 million hectares of land to Mr. Van Tuya, a Vietnamese foreign investor for a “high-technology mixed agriculture project” across Luapula, Northern, and Muchinga provinces. Most Zambians immediately declared ZDA’s DG, Alfred Halwampa and President Hichilema as dangerous nationals and sovereign traitors!
7. More treacherously, HH’s regime were ready to auction this entire Northern circuit Zambia to this Mr. Tuya with seven ‘key criminal offers’ including: (1) Six million hectares of land, (2) No fees or land rate for 99 years, (3) Exempted from import taxes for goods, machinery, equipment, (4) VISA exemption for staff on the project, (5) Citizenship, (6) No other rice to be grown in Zambia other than the project rice, and (7) Exempt from corporate and income taxes for 20 years.
8. It is sure political criminality and moral irresponsibility for HH’s government to scheme such treacherous businesses with foreigners and offer them six million hectares of Zambian land specifically from the Northern cycle with the above seven incentives which contradicts the principles and spirit of the Zambia National Lands Policy. This means that while Zambians are sleeping, HH is busy auctioning their land!
9. We need to commend Mr. Patrick Musole, Executive Director of Zambia Land Alliance (ZLA) and few stakeholders who have repeatedly voiced against such schemes and described HH’s capitalist policies to auction the Northern circuit as “irresponsible”. Objective No. 5 of the National Lands Policy is clear on land ownership by non-Zambians as it limits and reduces the size and tenure of land leases.
10. In December, 2023, we mourned with Mpika MP, Hon. Francis Kapyanga and his people over HH’s sale of over 120,000 hectares of Land around gold rich Kanyelele area in Mpika District to Canadian foreigners for mining purposes. Apart from being rich with gold and other precious minerals, this land sold to a foreign mining company is covering villages, grave yards and farms while traditional leaders and local people were never consulted. HH’s state dealership gesture is both, unacceptable, undemocratic and unpatriotic for sure.
11. According Socialist Party leader, Dr. Fred M’membe on 5th December, 2023, the UK’ Guardian Newspaper revealed that President HH so far has already and speedily sold 10% of Zambia’s forest land to UAE royalists for carbon credits. As nobody knows when and how much is involved, these are secret deals between Bally and his foreigners. With this record, HH is set to auction more sovereign territory for carbon credits and arable farming lands to foreigners by 2026 if he is not stopped or worse still, re-elected.
12. If 1. Chiefs, 2. village head persons, 3. MPs, 4. opposition parties, 5. civil society groups, 6. scholars, 7. media outlets, 8. human rights activists, 9. student groups, 10. church and religious leaders, 11. youth groups, and 12. women groups do nothing to stop him, HH will auction much of Zambian land (especially northern, Eastern, Muchinga and Luapula) to foreigners and his associates anyhow and at free price!
Conclusion
Some people now call President HH as “Madilu System” because, each week and month, his government is advertising, selling off or auctioning some sovereign assets like arable land, mine licenses or contracting foreign companies to under public works using local funds. HH’s capitalist treachery against our sovereign land and public assets must be stopped immediately if Zambia is to survive!
As long as these captioned 12 groups don’t stop HH with his Northern circuit Zambian land auctions or his “second privatization agenda”, expect half of our territory to be in foreign lands in the next few decades and thereby fulfilling Deuteronomy 28:43-44. HH’s appetite to do business especially to benefit foreigners is highest in Africa and selling part of our territory or national assets is something that he has always done in the past in our eyes!
Dr Chris ZUMANI Zimba is a Political Scientist, Researcher, Author & Consultant specialized in Comparative Global Governance and Democratic Theories. He holds a PhD, MA, BA and Cert in Political Science. Zimba was President Lungu’s Political Advisor from December 2019 to August 2021. By philosophical approach, Dr. Zimba is a Pan Africanist as well as Afro-Christian by religion.
Email: chriszumaniZimba.cz@gmail.com