Africa-Press – Zambia. We noted with shock the abrupt disruption of businesses in the sweet clean town of Chingola as riots swiftly erupted in the town yesterday.
Residents of chingola especially the youths and women resorted to vandalizing shops and homes because government has failed to engage them and to create opportunities for their involvement in mining activities and damp sites. Hence the residents have been actively earning a living from some pits where they were allegedly chased yet again forcing them to riot.
Firstly we want to make the remark that Chingola people are respectfully hardworking and peaceful and what we witnessed yesterday is very alien and extremely regrettable and we call upon all well meaning Zambians to condemn in the strongest terms.
Chingola and the entire Copperbelt people only know how to work hard to earn a decent living and their main economic activities throughout our history as country has been mining and general stone dealings. And any sane government that expects peace on the Copperbelt ought not to temper with.
The only times we witness unrests and civil disobedience on the Copperbelt it is only associated with politically motivated greedy policies that favor the elite or those in power to disadvantage the majority and their families thereby masculating hunger among our people especially the youth and our mothers.
Judging by yesterday’s activities on the Copperbelt, one can easily or logically deduce that there is no connection between a closed pit and breaking into private shops, looting and vandalism. There is absolutely no correlation. The simplest reason is that there is visible hunger on the Copperbelt due to the failed policies of the UPND even for the blind to see. And we can only but urge government to quickly arrest the situation before it is too late. We need this solution as soon as yesterday lest we lose lives. I want to borrow the words of President Hakainde Hichilema while in opposition, he once said, “hungry people are angry people,” hope he has not swallowed these words together with the hefty corruption money they are getting from the mine investors as kickbacks.
We want to inform this government as a responsible opposition that we don’t support unrests from anyone and whatever motivates them. But it is also true that we equally don’t support the new dawn government policies on mining as they are motivated by corruption, greedy, elitism, neo colonialism and simply aimed to enrich the top UPND leadership especially President Hakainde Hichilema himself. Because it is a proven fact that the policies of UPND in mining have failed and any interventions made have equally yielded no results but have worsened the situation thereby making the lives of the people on the Copperbelt a near death crisis and disaster.
We want to inform them secondly that the Copperbelt is in a tense situation and on a knife edge such that if we both the opposition and ruling don’t act responsibly, we may lose lives.
We note with shame the two statements made by Mines minister and Copperbelt minister on the riots as lacking substance and shallow and very hollow to say the least. The ministers were very casual and provided no immediate solutions and ended up exposing the complacent lack of seriousness with which President Hakainde Hichilema places with matters of a sensitive province as the Copperbelt.
We call upon the people of the Copperbelt to remain calm and peaceful, and patiently wait for 2026 which is around the corner to remove President Hakainde Hichilema and his failed UPND who have no solutions for the problems facing the Copperbelt. The UPND is not a solution but the TONSE ALLIANCE formula that is coming will prioritize the Zambians first and not the back door corruption envelopes the current regime is collecting from mine investors thereby abandoning their own people. That’s why they are failing to act and move in as government to stop the exploitation and abuse of our people and preferential awarding of contracts in the mines. People have no jobs, mines are malfunctional, yet the same government goes ahead to close pits that are the only source of income for our suffering masses the youths and our mothers.
As the TONSE ALLIANCE we are preparing to visit the Copperbelt in a few weeks led by our Chairman Sixth Republican President Dr. Edgar LUNGU to hold a series of meetings with various stakeholders including small scale miners(JERABOS), chiefs, church leaders, investors , union leaders and civil society to explain our programs for the province in terms of mining, agriculture , tourism etc and to give hope to the suffering masses.
We also want to come and appeal for dialogue, calm, peace and unity as a responsible opposition with a leadership that has a proven track record on the Copperbelt in terms of economic development, job security in the mines and job creation in the supporting sectors.
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