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Edition: #14 14 March 1997
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ZAMBIA NEWS ONLINE is written by Zambian journalists in Zambia and brings you the news from their point of view. It is assembled and edited by South Africa Contact, the former anti-apartheid movement in Denmark, publishers of i'Afrika, a quarterly magazine concentrating on Southern Africa.
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FEATURE:
ZAMBIAN WOMEN WRANGLE OVER WOMEN'S DAY
STORIES:
1. ZAMBIANS WORRY OVER SALE OF ZCCM
2. GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES ENTICE ZAMBIANS
3. SHORTAGE OF LECTURERS WORSENS
4. TRIBALISM SENTIMENTS ON THE SIMMER
5. HIV-POSITIVE ZAMBIAN DOCTOR STIRS LOCAL CONCERNS
6. ANOTHER MP DIES AS POLITICAL PARTIES RECONSIDER
BOYCOTTING BY-ELECTIONS
7. POLITICAL ATTENTION SHIFTS COURT PETITION AGAINST
CHILUBA
8. STUDENTS STRANDED AFTER CLOSURE OF UNIVERSITY
9. ZAMBIANS NOW PRESS FOR SACKING OF SOCCER COACH
JAILED EDITOR BACK IN LUSAKA PRISON
FEATURE:
ZAMBIAN WOMEN WRANGLE OVER WOMEN'S DAY
A couple of weeks before March 8, the international women's day, several women were angered by some letters published in local newspapers. The authors of the letters were men. They charged that women could, and would never, capably take supreme authority over men. The authors argued that women, especially those in Zambia, will always have to depend on men to succeed in whatever goals they hoped to achieve. The chain reaction that followed saw some men agreeing with the argument while many women regarded this as one of the major reasons why women were perpetually down-trodden. On March 8, the argument grew more intense as some women turned against each other.
On that day, thousands of women in various parts of the country organised marches to commemorate the day with general calls for equal opportunities. Many of them cast aside their political differences and walked side-by-side in the quest to talk with one voice to prove that what women were demanding went beyond the artificial barriers of politics. In Lusaka, the march was crowned by a speech by Nakatindi Wina, the chairperson of the women's affairs committee in the ruling MMD party. She said the occasion was important to remind people of the continued fight by women for equal rights, international peace and social progress. Some women also called on government to declare the day an annual national holiday.
But, not all women saw the need to mark the occasion by marching on the streets or to be addressed by some dignitary or other. Thousands of other women were either ignorant of the occasion or chose to ignore it by going about their daily business. These included street venders, women who crush stones on road sides and women who do the cooking in makeshift restaurants. So it could be said that the women taking part in the marches were the more enlightened ones.
However, among the enlightened women who chose to keep away from the occasion was Zambia's only woman cabinet minister, Edith Nawakwi. She chose to spend the day working on a farm. Nawakwi, who is Agriculture, Food and Fisheries minister, condemned the tendency of women to mark women's day by marching on the streets rather than working. She contends that "Zambia lags behind in development because of such attitudes, by not finding a positive manner in which to mark the day." Nawakwi was a guest at a Field Day organised by 65 women engaged in agriculture production who chose to celebrate the day by demonstrating what they were capable of achieving in the field.
Nawakwi's condemnation of the march drew a sharp reaction from Wina and other women. Wina referred to on Nawakwi's remarks as "indiscipline" and said she would table the issue before a national executive committee meeting of the MMD, to which both belong. But, Nawakwi's remarks also drew support from other women, who said that she was right in calling for a new perspective by women in commemorating their day.
Such bitter differences among Zambian women are not new. In 1995, Zambian women were split on similar lines when they differed over how to present their case and on who was to lead their delegation to the Beijing Women's Conference. Zambia ended up having two delegations, each travelling separately with its own agenda. Against this background, and two years on, the one point all women seem to agree on is that the status of women has not improved. As Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) committee secretary Judith Chomba said, poverty and unemployment have risen while economic and political power is still concentrated among men.
The 150-seat Zambian parliament has only 13 women, with Nawakwi the only minister. And, although virtually all political parties proclaim in their manifestos that they would strive to enhance the status of the woman, this is not reflected in practical terms. In last November's parliamentary elections, the MMD fielded no more than 20 female candidates. The highest figure was fielded by the Zambia Democratic Congress with 25.
For many women, however, political positions are not the issue. All they care about is being able to raise enough money to buy food for their children and to send them to school. It is the inability of some of their husbands to support their respective families, that has forced many of them into such jobs as stone-crushing and the street vending of foods. And, despite AIDS and the renewed efforts of the police to curb prostitution, for some women, this has become the solution to their money needs.
Deputy Minister of Health, Professor Nkandu Luo, believes that despite the harsh economic climate, women could still find a "decent" way in which to earn a living, and that women should be seen to be helping their fellow women. Professor Luo, Zambia's first female professor of medicine, is a founder of a prostitute's rehabilitation centre.
Organisations like the Women's Lobby Group, contend that one of the solutions for inequality is ensuring that girls are given the best of opportunities and incentives for being in school. Girls' pass marks in government schools are lower than those of boys, as a deliberate government policy to ensure that more girls advance in school and eventually get into college or university. Some principals of privately-owned schools, however, argue that setting lower pass marks for girls could eventually work against the same people in the future because they would be advancing through the stages without being fully prepared for an independent and competitive life.
Others, however, argue that more should be done for the female pupil saying that government should also protect girls from early marriage. In rural areas, many girls are married before the age of 16.
For women like Cecilia Makota, however, the solution lies in farming. She notes that most women in the rural areas of Zambia are already engaged in farming and that this is what should be enhanced to improve their status. She contends that mere talk or "walking the street in marches" would not draw the support and sympathy of the government. Ms Makota, a successful farmer and business woman, says that if women are seen to be making personal efforts to succeed, government or foreign support would be easier to source.
Cultural barriers have also been identified as a major drawback in efforts to enhance the status of the Zambian women. In virtually all Zambian tribes, the woman must be submissive to the man. This often means that the woman does not have much, if any, say on issues like the number of children a couple is to have. Organisations like the Planned Parenthood Association of Zambia (PPAZ) has been lobbying government to pass a law that would limit a couple's number of children to four. The effort has so far drawn a minimal response.
Zambian women have evidently identified areas they would like to tackle in an effort to bridge the gap between themselves and the men. In some cases they have also offered steps that could be taken in getting solutions. In many cases, however, implementation of the proposals has been slow. And now, given what could be seen as this problem of differences amongst themselves, some men could just take advantage and reiterate that women will always need the guidance of men to achieve any goal.
STORIES: 1. ZAMBIANS WORRY OVER SALE OF ZCCM
The privatisation giant mining conglomerate, Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines(ZCCM), has begun causing shivers of concern among some Zambians who fear that disposing of the firm will amount to selling the country.
The ZCCM is Zambia's major foreign income earner. The fear is that virtually all divisions of the conglomerate will be taken over by foreign companies who will be under no obligation to reinvest their profits in the mines or in any other part of Zambia. In Zambia, some potentially viable companies have collapsed since being privatised.
However, Finance Minister Ronald Penza has said that the fears are unfounded and that in most of the divisions of the firm, the new owners would will need to inject a lot of investment to get or keep the mines running.
2. GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES ENTICE ZAMBIANS
The civil disorder that has broken out in Albania following a botched get-rich-quick scheme has compelled Zambian authorities to ban any such scheme in Zambia. It has been discovered, however, that the scheme, which promises handsome profits to those who participate in it, is still operating underground.
Not many Zambians are aware of the direct cause of the conflict in Albania and regard that country as a distant problem, but the Central Bank of Zambia has taken note of the Albanian issue and has warned that it is illegal to run any such scheme in Zambia.
3. SHORTAGE OF LECTURERS WORSENS
The quality of graduates coming out of Government-run trades training institutes in Zambia is predicted to fall because of an acute shortage of lecturers. The government needs almost 400 lecturers to fill vacancies and lift the standard of graduates.
In some institutes, students are unable to go through the set syllabus because of the shortage, and it is now feared that this will result in "half-baked" graduates. Chairman of the Teaching Service Commission, Shenge Kapini, hopes that more Zambians will take up the challenge of joining the teaching profession as college lecturers. Poor conditions of service, however, discourage potential lecturers.
4. TRIBALISM SENTIMENTS ON THE SIMMER
Tribal sentiments are constantly on the simmer in Zambia's North-Western province. The province encompasses three major tribes. People of one of the tribes, the Lubale, are now demanding that one of the towns in which they are dominant be renamed Luvaleland.
And in the Central Province, another tribal conflict is brewing. There the Lenje people are demanding that their language be taught in schools in their area, rather than Tonga, which is the most widely spoken language in the province. A spokesman for the Lenjes says the Lenje people can no longer tolerate being dominated by another tribe.
5. HIV-POSITIVE ZAMBIAN DOCTOR STIRS LOCAL CONCERNS
The sacking of an HIV-positive Zambian junior doctor in England is stirring up concern among Zambians who now wonder if local medical staff treating them are subjected to an AIDS test before being allowed to handle patients.
Concern has been expressed in the press that the case of Dr Patrick Ngosa should hi-light how cautious Zambians must be when being treated by any medical worker, especially those who could accidentally contract the virus and pass it on to a patient.
6. ANOTHER MP DIES AS POLITICAL PARTIES RECONSIDER BOYCOTTING BY-ELECTIONS
A fourth member of parliament has died in as many months since the November 18 elections. Mwembeshi MP, Yonah Shimonde, who had been ill for some time, died in Lusaka. His death means a by-election has to be held within 90 days.
Two other parliamentary by-elections are yet to be held. They too follow the deaths of incumbent MPs. One by-election has already been held in which the ruling MMD retained the Itezhi Tezhi seat
Meanwhile, the National Party says that it will be participating in by-elections because politics in Africa have proved that one does not win by boycotting elections. The Zambia Democratic Congress is also reconsidering its stance of boycotting by-elections, a position taken after being thoroughly beaten in the November 1996 elections.
7. POLITICAL ATTENTION SHIFTS TO COURT
Zambia's political attention will, in the coming week, shift to the Supreme Court in Lusaka where the case of a petition against President Chiluba's legibility for presidency comes up in court. All the major political parties are among the petitioners who contend that President Chiluba might not be a born Zambian and therefore is disqualified from being a president.
The petitioners have lined up 53 witnesses, including Luka Kafupi Chabala, the man who claims to be the father of President Chiluba. Chabala has since left the public eye and is believed to be under the protection of the petitioners, because he is a key witness.
8. STUDENTS STRANDED AFTER CLOSURE OF UNIVERSITY
Hundreds of University of Zambia (UNZA) students were left, stranded and angry, after the institution's administration decided to close it for fear of student unrest becoming more violent.
Most of the approximately 4,000 students at the university in Lusaka had gone on a class boycott to demand for payment of their book allowances. The book allowances range between K150,000 and K280,000 (about US$170 and US$260). The university then announced that the institution was closed and every student should leave the campus that same day. Medical students and post-graduates were exempted from the forced vacation.
The university hired some buses to ferry the students to the inter-city bus station. However, the unexpected closure caught many students unawares, and many were forced, under police supervision, to immediately leave the campus whether or not they had sufficient funds for their transport fares.
9. ZAMBIANS NOW PRESS FOR SACKING OF SOCCER COACH
Despite having a clean slate with no defeats since taking over the reigns of coaching the national soccer team, fans seem unimpressed by coach Fred Mwila and want him out. The fans are particularly angered that Zambia could not beat Mauritius in an African Cup qualifying match, only managing a draw.
The pressure on Mwila is also said to be coming from some players who feel that his coaching techniques are out-dated and were doing more harm than good to the players and the team. He is also being accused of favouritism in selection of players.
JAILED EDITOR BACK IN LUSAKA PRISON
The Zambia Independent Media Association (ZIMA/MISA-Zambia) reports Post newspaper editor Masautso Phiri was March 6 moved again to Lusaka Central Prison from Mwembeshi. He was moved to Mwembeshi prison March 3 to begin a three-month hard labour jail term.
Phiri told ZIMA that prison authorities "probably decided to keep him in Lusaka because it was easier to take him to court from Lusaka than from Mwembeshi." On March 6, Phiri, together with the paper's editor-in-chief, Fred M'membe, appeared before a Lusaka magistrate's court on defamation charges arising from a story alleging that President Frederick Chiluba had a child outside marriage.
On March 17, the Supreme Court is to hear Phiri's application to review the decision jailing him for three months for contempt of court. Phiri has complained that he has not been officially notified in writing by the Supreme Court about the hearing, raising fears that prison authorities may not release him to appear in court. Phiri further complained to ZIMA that he was unable to prepare adequately for the case on March 17, in the absence of official notification.
Asked to comment, Home Affairs Minister Chitalu Sampa
told ZIMA he had nothing to do with the movement of
prisoners between prisons. "Once a prisoner has
been jailed, he can be transferred anywhere in Zambia
at the discretion of the Commissioner of Prisons, it
is entirely up to the commissioner of prisons,"
he said. Sampa said he would "investigate the
matter and if he finds there was something abnormal
about the transfers he would act". Edited report
from Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) 12/3/97
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From: AfricaNN@inform-bbs.dk (Africa_news Network) Subject: ZAMBIA NEWS ONLINE #14 Date: 14 Mar 1997 09:11:06 GMT Message-Id: <1262325663.78009644@inform-bbs.dk>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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