OPEN LETTER TO ALL ZAMBIAN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
17 May 2022
Our Honourable Members of Parliament (MPs) from the United Party for National Development (UPND), the Patriotic Front (PF), the Party for National Unity and Progress (PNUP), Independents as well as nominated ones, we are compelled to address ourselves directly to you on an urgent matter of national public interest and concern.
We have the very grave issue of the Africa Command (AFRICOM), which is one of unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense that our President has allowed to set up an office here in Zambia.
We are of the view that you, as Members of Parliament, should have approved the authorization of the entry of AFRICOM as you directly represent the interests of the Zambian people dotted in various constituencies.
Sadly, and to the detriment of desirable national consensus on many similar matters of national public interest, MPs have tended to serve the interests of their respective parties or other political considerations instead of placing the people and national interest first. We need to move away from this scenario and begin to place our constituents, who elected us, first and above our parties. These are the people we represent.
We would therefore like to request and at the same time appeal to you, our Honourable Members of Parliament, to consider and act on behalf of us the Zambian people and do the right thing on this matter regardless of whether you are a UPND, PF, PNUP, Independent or even nominated Member. Zambia must come first.
It is our view that you, as representatives of the Zambian people, should seek further clarification concerning the establishment of a Command Office for AFRICOM in Zambia.
The following questions, amongst many others, need to be raised with our President, as soon as possible, by yourselves, for the avoidance of any further doubt and for the sake of transparency:
1. Has the Agreement with the Americans been signed?
2. If so, why was Parliament or any other arms of Government – apart from the Executive – not involved in the approval of this Agreement?
3. If already signed, when was the Agreement signed?
4. Zambia has had military cooperation before with foreign countries (including the USA) through their Military Attaches but we have so far not seen the necessity for setting up Command Centres for those nations in-country. Why has it been deemed urgent and imperative to set up such a Command Centre for the USA now?
5. What deficiencies have we identified in our existing cooperation Agreements and those we have had with the USA in the past that will be rectified only by the bringing of AFRICOM to set up their office here?
6. What threats are we seeing now and/or in the foreseable future that necessitate this move?
7. How have we accessed training and and technical assistance in the past without infringing upon our sovereignty?
8. Could we have full disclosure of the contents of the Agreement, to the Zambian people through Parliament, in keeping with the need of absolute transparency and accountability in matters of national strategic importance, such as this one? The people, even if it is only through you as their Members of Parliament, deserve to know the detailed contents of the Agreement signed if at all, with AFRICOM.
9. What benefit does Zambia derive from this Agreement?
10. Was the signing of this agreement in the manner that it was, Constitutional?
Our Honourable Members of Parliament, you will note that according to the website of the US Embassy in Zambia, AFRICOM was established to represent and advance US (not Zambian) national interests. Please recall also that American presence in countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq etc., has not left anything but a trail of blood and longterm chaos. Is this what we want for our peaceful nation Zambia?
We would like to ernestly appeal to you, our Honourable MPs to serve Zambians first before your parties or indeed any other interests. Zambia needs you more than at any other time to be patriotic for the sake of our generation and for the sake of our children and their children generations after them.
#LetZambiansWin
CHISHALA KATEKA
President – New Heritage Party