Leadership Movement and Dr. Richard Silumbe ready to work with Zambian media
By Henry Chunza
LEADERSHIP Movement (LM) President Dr. Richard Silumbe says his party and its leadership will always consider the media as its biggest partner and not using them as tools as other political parties think of them.
Dr. Silumbe said that they as a party, want to grow with the media in Zambia, work with them until the end of time because the successes that the country will depends on how informed the public are.
Dr. Silumbe said that media houses in the country should be part and parcel what is happening in the world by ensuring that they capture pictures and stories of the war in Ukraine and other developmental human stories around the globe.
Dr. Silumbe was speaking in Lusaka when he interacted with the Journalists from different media houses at the plush Radisson Blu Hotel on Great East Road, on Saturday, 31st December, 2022, eve of New Year 2023.
The Leadership Movement president has however urged media houses in the Zambia to compete as equals with peers in the world such as Aljazeera, BBC, Reuters, CNN, SABC and other news agencies.
Dr. Silumbe added that every Embassy in the country under the regime of Leadership Movement once they form government will be the home for the media and it should be present through out the world in information dissemination.
And when asked to whether he is too young to become the president of Zambia, Dr. Silumbe said that energy in any matters and people should not continue voting for leaders in a retirement category.
“Imagine you vote for a person at Seventy (70) years, what are you expecting out of that person, you are expecting that person in that position as a retiree,” protested Dr. Silumbe.
Dr. Silumbe further said that the First Republican President of Zambia Kenneth David Buchizya Kaunda become president at Forty (40) years and what he achieved in five years surpasses anybody.
Note:
The Leadership Movement (LM) is a political party in a mission to reclaim the Zambian vision and deliver the great gift to future generations – The Great Zambia
All throughout our generations, it has become evident that civilization begins with the leaders. It is driven by those men and women who sacrifice for the good of the society in which they belong. They pour everything they have in the common good for their society. They often risk their lives, and see nothing in them but common good for their society.
These people become the beacon of light that shines the path of succeeding generations. These are often simple men or women, but only pure in spirit. They see the world in its truest nature and mirror this trueness of the world. Dr. Kenneth David Buchizya Kaunda carried freedom in him throughout his life. At a time when Zambians were struggling in bondage, he had freedom within him. He truly sensed freedom deep in his bones, so much that he could no longer live in an unreal world but to mirror the trueness of the world he carried within himself. Today he shines as a beacon of light of freedom in southern Africa.
Our founding fathers did their part, and gave us a great gift of independence. Now the question is: What great gifts are we going to deliver to future generations?
Today, Zambia faces a leadership crisis, politicians have eyes but do not see, they have ears but do not hear, corruption has consumed them all! Our cherished values of patriotism and love for the people have been thrown away. Slowly but sure, Zambia is being taken over by foreigners. They have come in large numbers, Indians, Lebanese, Turkish, Chinese, and they are buying large chunks of land in cities, towns and villages, often at a give-away price, and getting title deeds.
Thousands of hectors of land around the Victoria Falls, our national pride, have been sold to the Chinese by a chief. Thousands of hectors of land around the Copperbelt, our mineral rich area, have been sold to Chinese and other foreigners by chiefs and politicians. As I write now, Solwezi is going, Serenje is going, Mpulungu is going, Lusaka is going, Livingstone is going, the list goes on and on, and all these have not been spared. The question is where are our leaders? Don’t they know that ownership of land is a birthright? Don’t they know that land is the most precious possession for a country after its people, and it has to be managed as such?
Sooner or later Zambians will be grappling with something worse than a protectorate, something worse than colonialism, it will be modern day slavery where colonial masters hiding in the name of investors systematically get our land that was initially our birthright, then we start working for them. Future generations (our children and children’s children) will come to ask: what happened? How did we come to this no land to inherit? And they will curse our graves.
Remember this is not new, it has happened before. Chiefs were happily receiving presents (mirrors and beads) from these foreigners, signing protectorates, not knowing that colonialism was in the making. Now we have corrupt politicians and selfish Chiefs selling thousands of hectors of land to foreigners in the name of investors. Future generations will fail to comprehend the level of foolishness in this generation for failing to realize that these were the same foreigner mindset who had just removed the colonial master jacket and put on an investor jacket, with the same objective To Take Over Control??.
We see outrageously high interest rates, which should never have been allowed to go unpunished in any state, now part and parcel of the banks and all financial systems in Zambia, and this is where the destruction of production begins: a common Zambian cannot afford a loan to start a business.
This destruction is wreaked by these colonialist theories of economics that have been adopted by politicians, and moreover by the madness of a taxation policy which has given years of tax breaks and tax holidays to foreign investors, while blood sacking the local entrepreneur to death. Mining companies have bloomed and blossomed at the expense of the Zambian people. They have ripped massive profits in selling out Zambia’s copper and other raw materials, traded at London metal exchange in the UK, with very little (income) returned to Zambia, if any. Common sense says: when you export raw materials, you export jobs out of the country.
We see the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) indiscriminately fishing out revenues from our struggling local businesses and traders, as if they were fishing with a mosquito net, yet they leave foreign businesses and mining companies with billions of kwacha of unpaid tax. Local employees and poor workers have not been spared; and now due to a collapsing economy, falling value of kwacha and prolonged loadsheding, we are witnessing how community upon community are collapsing, how hundreds of thousands gradually being driven to despair, are losing their livelihood; and how year after year, thousands of local businesses are drying out and getting bankrupt.
Now we see the army of unemployed Zambians begins to grow in the streets: one thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, one million, two million, three million, four million; today the number might actually lie between four and five million. This is what Zambia looks like today! Under the rule of these politicians. And this destruction and ruin of our nation has continued for years. The only question is, for how much longer?
The Zambian nation must be rebuilt from top to bottom, just as it was destroyed by politicians from top to bottom! That is our program, as Leadership Movement (LM)! We are not politicians; we are reformers – Ba kachinja ba fintu, Basanduhxi ba hxintu, Bakuti bakulukisa lika. And we don’t need politicians, they are all talk – no action; they failed us yesterday, they have failed us today, and they will fail us tomorrow! We need reformers!
We do not under-estimate the challenges ahead because we know that the resurrection of the Zambian nation is not a question of a few days. The resurrection of the Zambian nation is a question of recovering the inner strength and health of the Zambian People.
Zambia is suffering from an illness that no amount of borrowed money can cure! The problem is deeper than changing politicians in state house and in parliament. The problem lies in our minds and our hearts as a people! There is need to put up leadership that will not only lead by example but also inspire our people to achieve excellence! There is need to put up innovative and creative leadership! Leadership that thinks outside the box! Leadership that seeks home-grown solution to national problems!
We all know that every great nation that ever existed was not created by money, but by sheer great will and hard work of its people. Money comes as a by-product of great works! We are not defined by money, money was made by humans! The lack of money cannot define the destiny of this nation! We need a leadership that will inspire our people, a leadership that will speak to what is best in us, a leadership that will not only change laws but also change hearts, a leadership that will lead from the remotest village to the greatest city; we need a new leadership as wise as the three wise men from the East heading to the manger. We need a leadership that is selfless and as bright as the North Star to guide us into the future!
There is nothing wrong with Zambia that cannot be corrected by what is right with Zambia. We have the capacity! Our capacity lies in our ability to serve, our ability to endure, our ability to sacrifice. These are the principles the leadership movement will uphold. These are the qualities the leadership movement is here to instil. These are the standards the LM will fight for and live up to. We are a decent Zambia. This is where our greatness lies. Our ability to welcome a visitor to our home, to feed the hungry, to care for even the far most relatives is what has made our country rich in culture and great in value, a great sense of ubuntu, a creed that I am because you are, you are because I am.
An ability to see all the tribes as equals in One Zambia One Nation is what has made this country an oasis of freedom and peace in Africa. This is where our greatness lies. If we stand together and fight together and serve as pioneers of national prosperity, future generations will look back and say: here lived a great people, a generation that put an end to the scourge of corruption, tribalism and superstition; built our great nation, and made poverty history!
Zambia has a choice to put leaders in government who believe that Zambia can only develop by awakening the spirit of our people to self sacrifice and determination to become productive. A Zambia where a young boy in Misisi compound can become innovative and with the support of the government, be able to realize his dreams of creating a producing company and become the next billionaire in Zambia. In this type of Zambia, we will be seeing a vibrant and confident people whose dreams of self determination are guaranteed.
Zambia has a choice to put an end to corrupt leadership that chiefs and politicians have portrayed for so long now. They sold our people into slavery, they sold our nation in the name of protectorates, they sold our minerals, and today they are still selling our land! What a corrupt leadership!
There are three facets (steps) of development: 1. Understanding your environment, 2. Devising the tools to deal with your environment, 3. Fashioning the skills to handle those tools in dealing with your environment. Until we undertake these steps of development, own our land and put our youths to work, we will never see real development in Zambia.
We don’t want to leave a legacy of words, a legacy of sentiments! We want to leave a legacy of actions, a legacy of martyrdom, a legacy of greatness! The LM is in a mission to build a great Zambia that we will leave to future generations. And a great Zambia starts with having great youthful leaders.
In 2021 our men and women in uniform will beat their swords into plough shares and spears into pruning hooks! And together we will defeat poverty! And build a nation free from hunger and starvation. The leadership movement will not only install a wise leader in statehouse but also a wise councillor in a furthest ward and remotest village!
On Tuesday, 12th March 2019 (Youth Day), we officially launched the Leadership Movement, as a political party that puts Zambia first. With a mission to reclaim the Zambian vision and deliver the great gift to future generations ? the Great Zambia. The agenda for the Leadership Movement is to restore Zambian honour, to restore its due respect and the commitment to it. We aim to replace the colonial mindset that believes that anything foreign is better; with the Zambian mindset that believes that Loko is Laka. We aim to replace the colonial mentality that depends on foreign investors to come and develop mother Zambia; with the Zambian mentality that puts local businesses first, and says: support your local team! The Leadership Movement will bring about the 21st century government in 2021. Therefore, our Manifesto is summarised into four points: Point number 1 ? Land to the Zambian People, Point number 2 ? Jobs to the Zambian Youths, Point number 3 Tax Breaks and Tax Holidays to Zambian Businesses, Point number 4 ? Support your local team, Loko is Laka
??I Richard Silumbe believe that Jehovah God has called me at this particular moment in history to deliver land ownership to the neglected, displaced and disadvantaged Zambian families; to deliver jobs to the helpless and jobless Zambian youths; to deliver tax breaks and tax holidays to struggling local businesses; to deliver massive development to mother Zambia, and I have faith Jehovah God will continue to help and guide me like he has done always. So, my dear friend, if you sense the urgency like I sense, if you feel the energy like I feel, if you see the need like I see, rise up, dust yourself up, row-up your sleeves and begin to work! And together we will deliver the great gift to future generation in the Great Zambia! – Henry Chunza/Today Zambia Newspaper (TZN)/ Leadership Movement (LM)) Rainbow Newspaper Zambia (Limited RNZL) and Kwilanzi Newspaper Zambia (KNZ)
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