Zambezi region not created by us, we are voicing out what we hear – Oasis Forum
By Thomas Ngala(The Mast)
LAW Association of Zambia (LAZ) president Lungisani Zulu has clarified that the issue of the Zambezi region is not a creation of the Oasis Forum.
During a briefing on Monday, interim Oasis Forum chairperson Grace Sinkamba said there are concerns from some sections of society that the so-called Zambezi region is favoured when it comes to appointments to key governance positions.
The remarks prompted Chanda Chiluba, a “concerned citizen” who stormed the briefing and introduced herself saying “I come here representing myself as a citizen of this country, first of all, and secondly as a young Bemba mother who is raising a Luvale child.”
Chiluba claimed to have been ignorant about the Zambezi region that Sinkamba was talking about and called on her to clarify what she meant.
And a named journalist asked the panelists if talking about the so-called Zambezi region would perpetrate regionalism further than it already is.
Taking up the questions, Zulu said the country must be willing to talk about matters as they are.
“I think as a country, if we must make progress, we must be willing to deal with issues as they are. If we bury them and pretend they don’t exist, because we are speaking on national television and otherwise, yet these are conversations everywhere else, then we will not make substantial progress,” Zulu said. “So the issue of the Zambezi region is something…born out of a perception. That is why the Oasis Forum is calling on the government to take decisive steps, not to ignore the perception. Because ignoring that it exists is what is fuelling what is happening in the country.”
He said there is need for the country to appreciate that the matter in question exists and it is a sense of marginalisation from a certain group of Zambians.
“… it could be right, it could be wrong. But saying we should not discuss it, we should not even pay attention to it, will not result in any progress for the country. But looking at what it is and taking steps to ensure that there is inclusivity, there is a deliberate effort by the government to pay attention to this complaint, then we will make progress as a nation,” said Zulu. “I think that is where we are standing. So we are not debating whether it’s not a creation of the Oasis Forum. The Zambezi region is not created by us. We are just voicing out what we hear.”