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President Edgar Lungu is scheduled to meet Barotseland activists to find a better way of resolving and settling the thorny issues of the Barotseland agreement.
And Mr. Lungu has underscored his government’s commitment to diligently work towards fulfilling campaign promises which the Patriotic Front made to the people of Zambia.
He said he will soon travel to Western province to get first-hand information about the Barotseland agreement.
“I will go to Western province to meet people of Barotseland next week when we get back to Zambia,” he said last night when he addressed Zambians living in Ethiopia.
President Lungu said he will ask the Barotseland activists to show him where the boundaries are and to tell him who the constituencies were so that he could know who was involved and possibly hold a referendum on the issue in the area.
And President Lungu said the issue of tribalism in Zambia was promulgated by people who have the feeling of deprivation.
He explained that although the issue of tribalism was not very serious, Zambians should meticulously speed up their pace towards fighting it.
“Zambia is intact and still One Zambia! One nation. We will keep saying no to any attempts aimed at dividing us because of politics,” he stressed.
Mr. Lungu disclosed that he has also asked chiefs to help find a formula of addressing the matter which can divide the country.
The President said his government will always engage concerned people and parties in dialogue so as to reach a consensus on contentious issues.
“No government has ever survived on arm-twisting citizens but all governments have survived on consensus and compromise,” he said.
He further said government was committed to providing Zambians with a new constitution.
The President explained that there may be delays in delivering the new constitution to Zambians because of the colossal sums of money required to go for a referendum to change certain clauses.
Mr Lungu said his government will always be honest with what it will do for the people of Zambia.
Earlier, President Lungu assured Zambians in the diaspora that the country was intact and that citizens were united.
He said Zambians living abroad should therefore help the government to persuade investors because Zambia was peaceful and full of investment potential in all areas of the economy.
Mr. Lungu said Zambians should also invest in their country because the investment environment in Zambia is very good and profitable.
And Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Susan Sikaneta said her mission staff and other Zambians in that country would work hard in order to help develop their nation.
Ambassador Sikaneta, who is also Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the African Union, said there were many professional Zambians working in international agencies and organisations based in Ethiopia.
She thanked government for helping the mission in Addis Ababa towards developing a property given to it by the Ethiopian government.
The mission in Ethiopia will in the next three month start building flats for workers at the Zambian embassy in order to reduce on rentals.
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Harry Kalaba assured Zambians living abroad that government will this year have a policy that will take care of their interests.
President Lungu, Mr. Kalaba, Minister of Health Joseph Kasonde, Acting Minister of Gender, Jean Kapata and some senior government officials are in Addis Ababa attending the 24th African Union summit, which opened today.
First Lady Esther Lungu is also in Ethiopia attending Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) meeting that is taking place on the side-lines of the AU summit.
Yesterday, Mrs. Lungu attended the First Ladies steering committee meeting at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.
