Africa-Press – Zambia. HH would have easily allied himself with Apartheid for ‘economic reasons’ – Sishuwa… what happened to ‘I’m not traveling because we are mourning until we bury?’
He writes:
Ever transactional and with little in the way of principle, Hichilema would have easily allied himself with Apartheid for ‘economic’ reasons. South Africa and Namibia are fortunate that Zambia had Kaunda for president, not this one, at the peak of their struggle for independence!
But someone going by the name Chiyanda leaped to Hichilema’s defence, stating: “HH didn’t go to Tanzania because he agrees with whats happening there, he went to strenghten Zambia’s ties with Tanzania. Zambia can’t afford any disruptions with the movement of exports and imports through Dar. Politics is ugly business…” Sentimental Foodie
But Sishuwa shot back. He stated: “Ok, let me try to put this in elementary form so that even someone with your mind can hopefully understand.
First, what happened to “I am not travelling because we are mourning or until we bury”? Or has Hichilema now added lies to Zambia’s exports? Second, if everything is based on economic value, then why didn’t Hichilema attend Mnangagwa’s inauguration since Zambia, according to central bank statistics, exports more to Zimbabwe than Tanzania? Not going there cannot make Tanzania shut down the port services to Zambia for the following reasons: 1. Not going there or sending a junior official does not mean declaration of war; it just means someone doesn’t support or is uncomfortable with what happened there.
Have you heard what is called taking a principled position on an issue? 2. Zambia’s use of the port of Dar es Salaam is not for free. It benefits Tanzania more than it does Zambia because we pay a lot of port charges to Tanzania.
This explains why each time Zambians appear to gravitate towards the use of Durban, Walvis Bay or Beira ports, Tanzanian authorities always take necessary steps to immediately reverse the trend because that means reduced revenue for them.
Therefore, it is business to them not a favour to us. Look at the US for instance. There are a lot of business transactions between the US and China despite many differences and misunderstandings which exist because it is for mutual benefit.
3. The other presidents from SADC and COMESA didn’t go there except Hichilema, so how does someone think Zambia can be singled out for denial of port services leaving other countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, and Zimbabwe that equally depend on Dar port services? What happened in Tanzania is barbaric, undemocratic and unacceptable.
The decision by Hichilema to ignore this reality, walk on corpses, and dignify the sham election with his presence must be condemned in very strong terms instead of being celebrated or condoned.”
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