HH betrays Nsingo, Kenneth Kaunda and all voters by selling Zambian land to foreigners so cheaply
By Chris ZUMANI Zimba
1. In President HH, each week, it is becoming increasingly clear that Zambians mistakenly voted for a ripe sovereign auctioneer, passionate government privatization agent, chief national resources gambler and master imperial dealer;
2. This December, 2023, we mourn 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. This betrayal is both unbelievable and unacceptable indeed;
3. Apart from being rich with gold and other precious minerals, this land sold to a foreign mining Canadian company is covering multiple villages, grave yards and farms while traditional leaders and local people were never consulted. Thus, HH’s state dealership gesture is both undemocratic and unpatriotic for sure;
4. 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 seem to be secret deals between Bally and his foreigners;
5. If this HH has made record of being the First Republican President to auction and sale 10% of Zambian Forest Lands to Dubai based foreigners in two years of being in power, Zambians must prepare to lose more than 50% of sovereign territory to foreigners by 2031 if this man is re-elected in 2026;
6. In December 2022, Zambia’s Dr. Sishuwa Sishuwa lamented that president HH “cut extremely generous tax concession deals with mining multinationals such as First Quantum Minerals (FQM), a Canadian firm that invested in Hichilema’s election as well as made sure the Zambian government relinquished its 20% shareholding stake in the FQM-run Kansanshi Mine in return for a paltry 3% royalty payment on revenue”;
7. Although President HH is shamefully winking at the ‘dog bite IMF loan’ with harsher penalties that are already cooking most Zambians, this country is believed to be losing more than U$ 3 Billion Dollars in revenue annually due to the UPND’s tax holidays for their election funders-foreign mining companies like FQM;
8. It’s clear that HH’s priority and goal is to please his foreign funders and starve Zambians-his voters. This explains why the idea of selling thousands of hectares of Zambian land to foreigners is so easy and normal for him;
9. On March 14th , 2023, Golden Party President Jackson Silavwe revealed and condemned HH’s New Dawn Government’s decision of giving 20,000 hectares of land for maize farming to Kenyans instead of giving Zambian youth or ZNS;
10. In 1890, The Lozi King of Barotseland, King Lubosi or Lewanika willingly gave up his territorial control to the British South African Company (BSA) by giving them Commercial Concessions over minerals and wildlife in exchange with a “salary” of less than 3,000 British Pounds and ‘security protection’ from invaders;
11. Historically, this “uneducated” and innocent Lozi King is the first “Zambian” who unknowingly and freely “sold” half of modem Zambia under his control to British foreigners for imperial purposes, exploitation and colonialism;
11. Factually, it is clear that the innocent Lozi King of Barotseland was cheated and manipulated by the BSA Company agents as he was made to sign concession treaties to surrender his vast territory to them in English as he could not read and write;
12. But when the BSA company decided to take over the remaining “Northern Rhodesia” called North East Zambezi, the Ngoni people led by Prince Nsingo Jere, son of King Mpezeni Thuto Jere openly refused and decided to defend their territorial sovereignty with their lives in the Anglo-Ngoni war of 1898-9;
13. Although the BSA company later killed and defeated Ngoni warriors using their guns and assassinated Zambia’s first freedom fighters leader, Nsingo Jere in modern Chipata in 1899, the invading foreigners remained warned that not all local people smile at colonialism and imperialism;
14. Since HH’s government is not issuing grand mining licenses or giving out such huge sizes of land to Zambians covering this magnitude except to foreigners, it is true that Nsingo Mpezeni Jere and Kenneth Kaunda’s sacrifice and efforts to defend territorial sovereignty has been insulted, betrayed and undermined today;
15. While we understand that King Lewanika was duped to freely give up his Barotseland to foreigners because he was uneducated, ignorant of territorial wealth and ‘fearful’ of British guns in 1890, we don’t understand why this educated, sophisticated and exposed HH is behaving like an ancient and uneducated African king in this modern 2023;
16. Although Kenneth Kaunda feared only HH to become the county’s president as he was the worst threat to “One Zambia, One Nation”, HH’s new passion to auction, sale and privatize this country is another source to “declare national mourning” because future Zambians will be indeed entangled in more colonial servitude and new imperial chains;
17. If we allow this president to be dishing out and cheaply selling our only God given land to these descendants of Cecil Rhodes in this manner and fashion, we risk losing everything for ourselves as Zambians and our children’s children will be like foolish foreigners in the land of their ancestors;
18. Empirically, it seems like the gamble of selling Zambian land to foreigners has emerged to be HH’s new privatization passion and the New Dawn’s imperial auctioning goal;
19. This is huge betrayal to Nzingo Jere, 10, 000 Ngoni warriors and thousands of freedom fighters who died for our liberation. Moreover, as Zambians owning land is the only physical property that qualifies you and me to be true Zambian citizens;
20. Therefore, this unpatriotic and treacherous behavior of HH to auction our land to foreigners in this fashion must be condemned by politicians, scholars, voters, traditional leaders, NGOs, students, youths, the clergy, media practitioners and all well meaning Zambians.
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.