THERE’S BREATH OF FRESH AIR
…let us guard and protect our unity in diversity
By Fanny Kalonda
FREEDOM fighter Vernon Mwaanga says there is now a breath of fresh air in the nation after a change of government in August last year.
In his message ahead of the Heroes and Unity days which fall on July 4 and 5, Mwaanga who is also a veteran politician emphasised unity, adding that the country should no longer be divided as it was under the PF.
‘’Unity in Diversity is an important ingredient as we continue to build Zambia in unity. There is now a breath of fresh air in the country, at markets, bus stations and others, where party cadres reigned supreme. We also went through a dark period, when some of our citizens lost their jobs in the public service, purely on account of where they came from,’’ he said in a statement.
“This grossly undermined our national motto of One Zambia One Nation, which has kept our 73 ethnic groups at peace with one another since independence. We have regrettably had a few narrow-minded politicians at different levels, who have been demeaning other ethnic groups, using very unpalatable language, and to my shock, no disciplinary action was taken against them by their leaders.’’
Mwaanga gave accolades to founding fathers and mothers, and urged the nation to uphold unity in diversity.
‘’As for unity, we should thank our founding fathers and mothers for their foresight and for coming up with our national motto of ONE ZAMBIA, ONE NATION, which prior to 2011, was being observed religiously. Presidential appointments and others, were representative of the Zambia we want to see,’’ Mwaanga added.
“Thankfully, the 12th August, 2021 tripartite elections, clearly showed that President Hakainde Hichilema, was elected nationally and not regionally as was being alleged by some of his critics and opponents. He also appointed a government which represented the diversity of our country, in some cases at the expense [of] performance.’’
He explained how Zambia’s unity has made citizens unanimously reject corruption and other vices through the vote.
He also reminded the new dawn government never to let the people down after receiving an overwhelming mandate.
‘’Our unity has kept our country together since independence. Our people live side by side in peace and inter-marriages have become the norm. The overwhelming national mandate given to President Hakainde Hichilema last year, was intended to change what then existed and bring about sanity, peace and more particularly, economic growth, which would consequently create jobs for young people. The people of Zambia through their vote last year said no to corruption, no to cadreism, no to ethnic discrimination, no to non-performance and incompetence and yes to One Zambia One Nation,’’ he said further.
“Let us all work together to develop our country, guard and protect our unity in diversity and bequeath it to generations yet unborn. The new dawn government should not let down the people who placed so much faith and trust in them.’’
And Mwaanga called on Zambians to record their country’s history instead of recording that of other countries.
‘’In a few days’ time, we shall be honouring our heroes and our unity. This should be a time for reflection. Have we done enough to honour our heroes? We have men, women and youth who sacrificed so much for Zambia to be free. We have other Zambians in different fields who have become heroes by virtue of what they have achieved in their respective areas’ specialization,’’ said Mwaanga.
“My main concern is that we have done little or nothing to record the history of our struggle for independence. The younger generation has no idea as to what happened and what their peers went through. Students at our schools, colleges and universities don’t learn about this, because it is not part of the syllabus. They learn more about the American War of independence, the French Revolution and so on. We should correct this situation.’’