By Mula Mulawa Joe
As I promised that I would wait until I properly analyse Dr.Kaingu’s statement in Parliament on the conditions given under which the two highest institutions of learning being UNZA and CBU could be reopened, this is my verdict.
First, I must warn that this is a long post and is not for the faint hearted, but for those that wish to develop an analytical mind and not accept on face value everything that our leaders tell us, but put our brains to task and foresee the impacts these decisions will have in the future.
I have decided to pick on one of the conditions which I feel will have far greater consequences than good; government’s decision to discontinue student meal allowances. Before I go on, i have some compelling questions for the education minister, “Dr. Kaingu, if government at the time didn’t educate and feed its students at UNZA, do you really think we would have had President Lungu in that office he is today? Do you really think we would have had the Edith Nawakwi’s of today, the Hakainde Hichilema’s (who is obviously a thorn in the neck of the ruling party)? Do you think we would have had the likes of late President Mawanawasa, Veep Inonge Wina and the millions of UNZA alumni who benefited from government sponsorship? Do you really think we would have had such people in high regard and respect as of today if it weren’t for the UNIP government that educated them? The answer is a resounding NOOOOO!”
So why do you and the PF government want to deny this generation the chance to achieve their full potential? Or maybe it is because you have never been to UNZA and don’t fully understand the struggles that UNZA and CBU students go through?
Well, I personally feel government lives in a different Zambia, maybe a Zambia that is the opposite of the one everyone else lives in. Maybe it is a Zambia that has manner falling from heaven every day and its citizens swimming in milk and honey, living the life! Well, sorry, let me bring our government back to reality.
I believe the reasons for removing student meal allowances were unfounded, baseless and lacked merit. If you don’t have money, tell us, we will understand, but do not take us for granted!
Why do I say the reasons are unfounded? The reason is simple! Student unrest in most cases are caused by poor communication between government and the student populace, not meal allowances! They are caused by poor management of the institutions, again, nothing to do with meal allowances. The other reason he gave is that the money paid as meal allowances is used for other things other than food such as buying electronic gadgets etc.
Firstly, whose money is this? It’s certainly not for the ministry, not for the government, but belongs to the people of Zambia, belongs to us tax payers! If I am a student, and I know a laptop is a necessity to fully undertake my course and get the required skills, isn’t it just right that instead of buying Kapenta from Soweto market, I buy a laptop that will see me through the course of studies? Get a phone with access to the internet so that I can download books that cannot be found in our library as our library has books as old as 1870 with maybe 16 copies of the new editions against a population of over 20, 000 students? Am I wrong to do that simply because the book allowance you give us can only buy one book from the street and not from Bookworld? Again, just tell us if you misused the money, we will understand, but will later hold you accountable!
Now, let me take everyone back to 2013 when the government proposed the removal of fuel and maize subsidies, the argument was that government would save about K2.5 Billion (2.5 Trillion old currency) from the exercise, and the money would be channelled to money generating ventures and other social sectors such as health and education! 2014 came, Finance Minister U-turns and says government was not saving anything from the removal of subsidies.
U-turning is the only thing that our government is known for. Other countries are going forward, ours is going the opposite direction. One thing clear is that our leaders are experimenting with our economy. They introduced SI 33 against people’s advice, it backfired and later withdrew it, adjustment to the mining royalty tax, backfired, later changed them, ZESCO tariffs, changed, later reversed the decision plus the many instances where government had to U-Turn on the decisions it was making, simply because they did not listen to the people!
The question we all need to ask due to this unsubstantiated decision government has made is “Where is the money?” “Where is the money that was allocated to the Bursaries Committee, specifically for students’ meal allowances both at UNZA and CBU? Mupeleka kuti ndrama kansi?
Since you can’t tell us, well, we will presume and assume this is the same money that was carelessly used to build a church in Chilenje, when we are clearly not in a spiritual problem but an economic one that has been caused by poor management of our leaders; or maybe the answer will come from the church building? Don’t get me wrong, I am a full time Christian, but don’t we have enough churches in the country capable of bringing spiritual sanity to this country? I bet you have the answer to that!
Or is it the same money that was used for the national day of prayer and fasting, signing a document at Heroes stadium that could have been signed in an office with ZERO cost attached? But you just had to use a whooping K4.6 Million to parade people at the heroes stadium that didn’t even seen the hand that was signing the document! SMH!
Or we should assume the money was channelled to the marketeers trust fund? Or the procurement of about 100 Higer buses at a cost of k60 Million, purportedly aimed at empowering about 3,600 youths? Meaning each bus will employ about 36 people, when ordinary buses usually have two people, the driver and conductor; or maybe these are special buses that will technically need 36 people to fully function? Hhhmmm!
Now, the reality on the ground with regards the use of student meal allowances is like this, and not that conjured fairy tale that was given in parliament!
I will start with giving a real life scenario of myself, how I used my meal allowances and how many other students used theirs. From the meal allowances, I was able to support my family back home, I was able to pay accommodation fees on campus, since we all know accommodation at UNZA is a hustle, unga gonne panja! I had and still have friends that use their meal allowances to pay tuition fees as they are not on 100% sponsorship, they use meal allowances to buy books, make photocopies of academic documents and many other academic and life sustaining ventures, and not the version that was given in parliament.
Now, you remove meal allowances, how will such students I have talked about survive, how will that poor girl from Mapatizya be able to support her campus life and help out her aging mother in supporting her sibblings? Education should never be and must not be a privilege, but a right that every Zambian should enjoy!
What this will do is that our future leaders will be out on the streets hustling for food to feed themselves instead of being in class learning or in the library studying. Chopping off meal allowances for such students will have disastrous effects on their lives, their intellectual capacity and let’s be serious, if someone is hungry, they become angry and aggressive! I see this move to be a recipe for disaster!
Careless, careless and careless spending, this is what my government is known for! Figuratively speaking, least am arrested for not saying the statement is figurative, “Our government has totally lost its direction, in my view, it is running like a headless chicken, with no eyes to see where exactly it is going!” With such leaders, I cry for my Zambia.
BUT, WE HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THINGS, and the ballot is the greatest weapon that has been given to us by the constitution and God Almighty to choose and elect leaders who will put the interests of the people first, and not otherwise! Come August 11, choose wisely! I won’t tell you who to vote for, you make the decision and vote for people you feel will take this country forward, I REST MY CASE.
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Reading your article is like drugging myself with sleeping pills. Let to be succinct .
Long but intresting article
Chagwa is winning……we all know who sponsored the violence at CBU & UNZA……..no wind of change here on the Copperbelt.Climb down from the pompous and arrogant stand that makes you think you are already in State House when you are still far away yet near to a sixth humiliating defeat……..,I can hadly wait for August…….viva ECL.
You are saying Chagwa is winning because you are used to living in poverty and not matter how anyone may want to change your mindset from poverty to wealth, it is a wasted effort. No wonder poverty is a criminal it has even brainwashed you.
Well spoken,does it means this government can’t see all these lapses what is the need of having headless selfish leaders? shame a day of reckoning is at hand.
truly a day is fast approaching when zambians will pound them for all the mess they have caused.
So u mean dis chap spent time writting dis ueseless article? U kids grow up,govt din’t remov bassaries it removed meal allowances.look at Mulungushi hw do the students manage to fend for themselves? Wats special abt UNZA and CBU? U shuold hav thought abt dat before u started vandalising property,I cn assure u ther wil b no agression from any student becoz they wil b expelled.
Checkmate to Vandalism & aggression on Great East road & Jumbo drive. Also use the Money meant for meal allowances on CCTV security & safety surveillance on both campuses . May the cream finish & graduate i
@ counsel, av u ever heard mulungushi University offering bussary to students ? Students who are admitted private universities come frm well to do homes. Unza & Cbu are there to accomodate students who can’t manage to source for finances . Y are u pretending as if u can’t see dat things are bad . Chikala behaving kwati wafumine pa puti…. The article is 100% eye opener
The so called Dr kaingu that useless polygamist of a man how do you put the Zambian education in the hands of a failed parent who does not care what his children are doing if they are making porn on you tube.
Pf has never been in touch wth reality. I mean lungu says he is following a dead man’s vision so what reality is there when zambian is being governed on deaf dreams. Wake up. Students are voting upnd as they have now realised that pf are failures
This is a useless article written by a good for nothing UPND cadre, do you think destroying innocent pipo’s property is the way to go! Go to hell with your under five HH.
@ Klop: Why is it that once someone has divergent views, you put that one to be from UPND? It is not correct. When reality is said, better you keep quiet, other than saying what you have said. Zambians have seen a lot of anomalies in this government. We were all excited when we had to put this government into power. We thought all will be well. Alas! And you know what? people have the right to remove or install any type of government of their choice – of course through a ballot paper. This government has so many unplanned for projects. Such that it has become so difficult for them to run them nicely. This is the reason why there is mis-allocation of funds. It is so sad mwe! Hats off to the well-meaning Zambian who came up with this article. It made me shade tears, as a mother. We want our children to get education that us as parents did not get. If I am a college dweller, I would want my child to reach University level. I thank you and God bless!
Pf cadres with IQ of warthog are failing to read this article and rushing to comment on things they have no clue about just like their clueless president kikikikiki
When an article does not support our beliefs and raises issues that expose failures that affect one’s standing, we insult it or ridicule the author. That does not change what everyone knows already. Government has made a lot of poor decisions which are making life near impossible in Zambia for an ordinary citizen. Please take note: I said “ordinary Citizen”…. because some people, I know, have connections to high places and are benefiting a lot from these same conditions and will not accept that the cost of living is high, and that there is unbearable Load shedding in this country. I remember my English lessons at secondary school, “Burying your head in the sand”…. Pretty much like what an Ostrich will do when it sees danger… Dull bird.
For your information, a UPND cadre has been fished out in the ministry of higher education to explain where K 12 million meant for meal allowances went. The cadre is said to have acted in collusion with others from the ministry of finance.
Well said.
This article is a tranquilizer.
@Mula Mulawa Joe, good article there!! Great literary skill and logical presentation of an argument. Tell you what Joe, at this rate, you may suffer in convincing an Eskimo living in an igloo to buy a refrigerator.
I recall saving to startup a good fund raising venture from my meal allowances at UNZA while some shitheads lost it all in quaffing and shagging dirty spurs from Ng’ombe and Cockpit.
OK, some much about the reverie, Joe, stop!! Go back and start over, fuse in the other hand. In do doing, analyse the advantages of giving student loans over dishing out cash. Yes, some decisions are hard, but they need hard men to make them. Yes, casualties shall be there, but we need to make headway. Who thought there would come a leader who could flush out the ‘Mwaliteta type’ of leaders? Now you know them.
SorryJoe, meant …. you may succeed in convincing an Eskimo living in an igloo to buy a refrigerator…’
This is al abaut trash posting from one of the ka smal god’s puppet.Upnd cadres they are good at blaming and not build.And let me tel u that ADGAR LUNGU is not the outgoing head of state,but the siting head of state til 2021.Muzazonda muzalema”badala”can’t u see that.
it is bcoz this party is mainly of fools selfish uncaring violence pipo from head to toes, nowonder normal pipo ar jumping out. it is now seen clearly on big screen that we hav no presdent but a cadre in state house.
@ real patriot..I do agree we do have a tendancy of insulting each other on both sides…pf and upnd…and i cant comment on a topic im not clear of but i do understand about load shedding…as much as government owns zesco it does not run zesco…it works separate from government ..now about load shedding…recently we had serious droughts that drained a lot of water from kariba… and we were clearly told if we are to have kariba fully functional we need 3 good rainfalls….3 rainfalls does not mean 3days of good rain..its seasonal…..does kariba have water? yes…if it where put to full use….it can sustain us until say august to september then we get into serious shedding…that would be bad..so bare with the government for now…question should b what is this government doing to quench our thirst for electricity …they have just commisioned the itezh tezh damn which will generate extra 240w…not only that…they are building another power plant..they are bringing first to zambia solar power plantation ..they have pumped in money in the coal plant in maamba so as to produce more power…these are a few measures the government has taken to ensure the problem is fixed and also to ensure our next generation is not affected by yesterdays mistakes..solar panels are also being fixed in milling plants so as to have the milling producing thier required quantities ..hence will affect the millng price to a favourable amount…thats some of pfs work.. now tell us what Hakainde plans to do
The heads of the fools on the picture reveal that we have foreigners running the affairs of our country, how then can they be in touch with any Zambian reality?
Am nt n politics bt av seen sense nd i feel wat he ment n dis article.
Thats the fact we are shooting in the dark which is dangerous becoz you may end up shooting your own leg. Back in the day news time was family time we would all sit in the sitting room and watch news while doing a ka nshima. Today news time is time to scatter and play chess or tell stories because we are afraid of the next thing that government will withdraw. Thank you Jesus they cannot withdraw air. abena PF you are all part of the disaster because you are enjoying money that should have been used for meal allowances and other developments in the country. You found money in the box and squandered it all. Now we are living on guess work. We are in trouble. I make that statement from a neutral point of view not as a UPND strongman. I repeat ……WE ARE IN TROUBLE. If there was a way to fast forward the world I would do so and make it election eve 10th August 2016. But as UPND we are a mature party and shall deligently wait for our turn to come in 147 days time. Our time is now and when I say our I mean the entire populace of Zambia we shall improve our living standards.
upnd cant change the living standards of zambian pipo.The party is sorounded by crooks
Unza and cbu are supposed to deal with children from vulnerable families. This is the more reason they should take their studies.seriously. If they riot they will surely be thrown out of the institutions. There many vulnerable children who would gladly take their positions.
and do u think raping and beating sum1 is way to campain?
idiot pf.
Mula Mulawa Joe FOR PRESIDENT 2016
11 th August will teach them a lesson