Banda Sakanya
Copperbelt ~ Kalulushi
STOP FERRYING PEOPLE TO NRC AND VOTER REGISTRATION CENTRES – INONGE WINA
While ECL was in Eastern, Luapula and Northern Provinces encouraging chiefs and his MPs to urge more and more people to register in huge numbers, the vice president to the contrary is discouraging MPs from regions perceived as UPND strong holds to desist from transporting many people to registration centres as that is putting unnecessary due pressure on NRC and Voter registration staff.
The Vice President in parliament on Friday was responding to Bweengwa UPND MP Kasautu Michelo who charged that government was discriminating against some regions in the ongoing voter and NRC registration excercise.
The answer that the vice president gave lacked merit because it contracted the call by ECZ to encourage many people to register to reach the 9 million projected number of people by the end of this month.
The vice president must understand that Zambia’s population has grown big as compared to 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and having one NRC registration centre and same limited number of staff and equipment can not match the out grown population.
The government through the Ministry of Home Affairs and ECZ should have increased the staff and equipment at NRC and voter registration centres to meet the overwhelming number of people eager to register and take part in the forth coming 2021 general elections.
The answer the Vice president gave did not match reality.
PF newly acquired big buses and trucks on the Copperbelt and regions percived as PF strong holds are being laddened with people to NRC and Voter registration centres.
There is no law that prohibits one using his bus or any form of transporting people to NRC and voter registration centres.
The vice president on many instances is always off key at answering key pertinent questions and in some way the Vice President is discouraging people from turning up to register in numbers.