MONGU MP WRITES ZNBC OVER ALLOWING BEMBA, NYANJA IN ENGLISH PROGRAMME

Nonsense. Every country has a common language used by the majority. When will these selfish idiots called politicians stop forcing the innocent into their inferiority complex disorders?.

Too much fuss over very little. If the Lozi caller could not interpret what she was saying in English, did listeners expect Margaret Chisulo to guess? Without belabouring the point ZNBC should ensure it has local language interpreters on stand-by for phone-in programmers. Or, let us all accept to be subjects of cultural and linguistic imperialism by not allowing for any Bemba or Nyanja on ZNBC 1 phone-in programmers. We should simply allow for English only!

I meant to write “programmes” and not “programmers”.

The letter starts with “ZNBC and your broadcaster” isnt ZNBC a broadcaster as an institution? Chizungu please…
From the time I was a toddler, ZBS on its general service broadcasted zambian languages between 9am-10am before they would change to school programs and between 16hrs and 17hrs in the afternoon. TV was a scarce item, prevalent as we grew. Even when ZBS became ZNBC the program structure didnt change but for additional stations under the same broadcaster.
Is it just me or my lozi cousins just love veing petty. We have options and if they are playing Nyanja or Bembe programs on a station that should play English programs. Turn the dial. The world is an oyster, with so many choices if I can listen to Voice of America or BBC in Sianzongwe. There is no one or law that stops l from turning the another Radio station. Lets not be fixated on tribalism. At some point you will start seeing things that are NOT all because of your mental fixation. As an MP you should be focused on development in your area. Yes, we watched come on tv to show us the progress being done in Mongu when l roads we being tarred. Beyond that what are doing to create a tax base so that you can stimulate the local economic activity in the area? The culture of making “noise to be seen” produces nothing but “noise” and detraction from the real issues that society needs for you to address. That is what people voted for. Write such letters to Human Rights Commission quietly so that issues can be addressed administratively than “Grand standing here for attention” then what? Any can when kicked will rattle and stop. But will the problem be solved? Instead the suggestion (if unfound) will just breed ill feeling towards you and the lozi people. Lets be mature in our approach and discourse as leaders. UNIP leader Bishop Trevor Mwamba reiterated that a day ago. Do we not pick up what is good in some of what our leaders share? We are Zambia for goodness sake. Even in Mongu they speak nyanja. So they understand the message in the programs. Want us to learn Lozi, stop “lipatehele attitude ba MP”
A good idea is create programs in lozi that you can broadcast in your local stations. If the audience grows, the programs will be synicated on ZNBC at a cost to them. As they and their advertisers will have a greater audience to interesting lozi programs….we have Malikobo…what do you have? Quit whinning

Let me take this discussion to the old Zambia Broadcasting Services (ZBS) or Radio Zambia in the late 1960s and up to the 1980s. It had two channels; General Service and Home Service. The former was supposedly an English-only channel but it carried Bemba and Nyanja broadcasts for short periods during the day. Other languages were relegated to the latter where Bemba and Nyanja also had slots in addition to those on the General Service. Other language groups did not like this but the UNIP government did not bother to listen. So we have come a long way since those days. Margaret Chisulo should not face disciplinary action for sticking to what has been virtually state policy, unfair though it has been.

Lies for 2.8 million avoid being emotional and making sweeping statements over such sensitive issues. Not every country has 1 or 2 languages only recognised “ officially “ as you seem to imply. For example, South Africa has 11 official languages which are each given equal status. Even if there would be 1 or 2 “ official local languages “, this must be a government policy gazetted in black and white. It mustn’t only be by implication.

So under ideal circumstances, in Cosmopolitan areas, such as the Copperbelt and Lusaka we would expect to hear people speaking freely their preferred languages. However, it is totally unacceptable for Bemba speaking people, for example, to go and impose Bemba language in Western Province, as seems to be the case now.

Mr.MP my tribe cousin kkkkkkkkkkk l can laugh at you sure sure you are still complaining about the use of bemba language at the media sure sure kkkkkkkkkkk, please learn to co-exist with your cousins and other tribes , we are one Zambia one Nation.Us bembas we are even married to Lozis very happily and we enjoy ourselves, now this tribalism you want to start championing in this 21st century sure, are you doing a good thing to the society or harm to it ? These issues you are trying to be championing are very dangerous to our society and the country at large. Ba cousin concentrate on taking development to your constituency, help our brothers and sisters who sent you to parliament by providing development to them period and stop swimming in dangerous waters , do not disturb our marriages because of your nonsense. I encourage you to start learning bemba language and stop to be petty and irrelevant.kkkkkkkkkkkk.

I don’t really understand what the program was all about but the reaction from the MP just shows how petty our leaders can be! Am Bemba, married to a very understanding, loving beautiful dark Lozi lady. During the 36 years been married to her, have discovered that there are two types of Lozis , there are those who are very accommodating sociable friendly and understanding to Bembas and Easterners, and then there are those who are very unfriendly and hostile and full of hatred to Bembas and Easterners (very few). So people like the Mongu MP fall in the second group, and are very difficult to go along with. To me one Zambia, one nation is just on paper, because there are some smaller tribes, who always feel they are being over-shadowed by the bigger tribes, bigger in that they are more widely spoken like Bemba and Nyanja! But they just have to accept reality, because one can go to any part of Zambia and be able to find somebody who’s going to either understand Bemba or Nyanja or both! In Kalabo, Shangombo, Zambezi, Mufumbwe, Gwembe people understand either Bemba or Nyanja or both, because they are easier tribes to learn. Period. In today’s Zambia people don’t make a damn of it , they are able to understand, and may be speak Kaonde, Lozi, Nyanja, Bemba, Tonga etc. So ZNBC Director should not entertain that nonsense of a backward person. MPs have very important and pertinent issues to attend to, instead of brooding over tribes being used on ZNBC. In Mongu people are sleeping hungry, that’s what the MP should be concetrating on , to find solutions to that so that people in his area are not malnourished or worse still don’t die from hunger!

Hon Amutike, thank you so very much for bringing this topic. In fact, it is not just this particular incidence you have brought that is of concern to some of us. ZNBC is the most tribalistic institution ever in Zambia.When the late former President KK (MHSRIP) had given instructions to ZNBC to be playing Zambian music in all Zambian languages but alas, today most of the music being played is mostly Bemba or Nyanja music at the expense of other major languages. I can even mention the so called DJs’s names who are fond of this. They must stop this habit immediately because I, for one, been taking their names and dates. ONE ZAMBIA, ONE NATION AND ONE NATION, ONE PEOPLE!!

The MP has twisted facts. The presenter never said Lozi was not allowed on the program. The all issue is being blown out of proportion. As a law maker he needs the promote unity and not divide the nation.

What is Broadcasting authority for? A whole MP sure can figure out the approriate organisation to address a Policy matter? As for those attacking ZNBC, I feel so sad like I do for the MP. Cause its important to understand institutions and how they operate. If that young lady announcer was wrong she would have been fired by now. If ZNBC fired her on the grounds suggested, she would be a rich over night.
This was a radio program, do they have interpraters in every language spoke in Zambia on hand for every program? Is it practical or even viable to run a company in that manner? This is a program set to obtain the views of as many callers as possible. Callers are cut off for many reasons some for having their radios on which cause interference. Is that a reason to complain? How many people in Zambia speak and understand lozi? How many listeners understood what this caller had to say? Lozis should stop being “egomanics”. The MP is being petty. The article by Chibamba puts it clear when he speaks of the book translation. The gesture was pure and noble but he had to put the issue into context. I wonder if the contexts that the MP suggests is an informed one or just someone who wants to have his way without thorough thought. Critical thinking is lacking amongst us and our leaders and this is why we will tredging in issues and poverty, because in decsion making we have been swayed by emotionalism instead of objectivity. This woman called to deflect a conversation (the real issue) to make it about her and her tribe. An issue and policy matter that she should have addressed with ZNBC management and The Boardcasting Authority. Not a ZNBC staff who doesnt speak lozi and is not under any legal obligation to know EVERY ZAMBIAN language spoken ( which in itself is rather impossible) even in South Africa as someone suggests. Lets be practical, objective and do some research; free speech or rights that you think you have may have maybe misplaced. I honestly wonder why this new generation wants to act like they have it all when their actual rights and abuses that they should be asking to be addressed but are too lazy to speak up yet are so ready to speak up to issues they have not researched into and are misconcieved

Let us just make Bemba the national language and everyone will he happy.

All other tribes can be our cousins.

I know that the Radio Announcer was bemba and can only understand bemba and nyanja of all the Zambian languages After anyone has called in , the announcer could be expected to pass a comment. How could she regulate the discussions on things she couldn’t understand?

There’s nothing like a local official language here. But the language that is easily communicated by the majority. Mongu people and some other Districts in Western province do use Nyanja same us Southern province, Lusaka, partly Central and majorly eastern. The rest of the provinces have Bemba as a common language. In light we only have 2 common simple languages in Zambia. And Zambians we shall do better to just accept that fact.

It was rude for the caller to assault the panelists with a language the caller knows very well is not understood by many!
English is the official public language!
No Zambian can claim to understand all the 73 languages in Zambia!
Is it a crime to Lozis if somebody does not understand their language?
The panelists were in order to remind the rude caller what languages the people on the panel could understand.
Why should a normal person take offense at that?

Brothers like Tongas and cousins like lozis and Ngonis,
First of all, my cousins in the east have no Ngoni language so they adopted one which was convenient, which actually has spread to many parts of the country southwesward.
Imagine I learnt nyanja in southern province and not lusaka or eastern,
then bemba, the language not the tribe has spread north, part of central westward. So at no time have the other languages it be lozi or Tonga spread beyond their provincial boundaries.
The president himself speaks more bemba or nyanja than Tonga when on rallys and he goes venacular.
Let’s us face facts, public address to be effective need to be in a language which covers the majority and not the minority.
My new foud cousins from western kindly let’s embrace diversity and appreciate the fact that our good language Lozi is not that simple to learn that’s why it has not penetrated beyond western just like Tonga has not penetrated also.
My Tonga brothers have embraced Nyanja more than bemba.
That’s not to say these are minority Languages NO.
I am actually not commenting on what transpired but on the reaction from various stake holders.

The president zpeaks all 7 languages plz dont tell lies. We can use bemba or any language elsewhere but ZNBC is the epitom of national unity and must at all times put up practical expressions of One Zambia One Nation . It is not at ZNBC of all places where we shud be curtailed in our engagements with the nation at large in our own different mother languages. That stupid idiotic broadcaster must be syspended if not fired. It all looks like some pipo dont see where there is fire and wud easily ran into it. This language imbalance is hot and when we are quiet dont poke us.