Posts Tagged ‘Sakwiba Sikota’

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FOCUS ON MAIZE OVERSHADOWS OTHER FOOD CROPS – SAKWIBA

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

By ZAMBIA NEWS FEATURES CORRESPONDENT

OPPOSITION United Liberal Party (ULP) says the emphasis on mass production of maize as a basis for food security in Zambia is disadvantaging other food crops such as rice, wheat, soya beans, millet and cassava.

ULP leader Sakwiba Sikota said in a statement made available to Zambia News Featurse Thursday that the fertilizer support programme should be extended to cover massive production of rice, wheat, millet, ordinary beans, soya beans which have become local staples of the producing districts.

FRA silo

FRA silo for mostly maize storage

Sikota, who is also Livingstone Member of Parliament, said government must balance support in the 2010/2011 farming season for the production of maize and other food crops including plain beans and soya beans to help reduce the high levels of malnutrition in the country.

“Achieving food security will require the government to increase support for the mass production of rice, millet, soya and ordinary plain beans. Food security should also include preparing in advance proper storage facilities that will preserve the bumper harvests of these crops for many years without any damage.

“Today we are faced with a situation were part of the bumper maize harvest from the last farming season might go to waste because of inadequate storage capacity,” Sikota said.

The ULP leader said his party believes that food security would be attained if the majority of citizens had access to adequate quantity and quality nutritive food and that government should also resolve some of the main causes of food and nutrition insecurity which include inadequate investment in physical and human capital, adverse agro-ecological and climatic conditions, political instability, poor health services and the spread of HIV/AIDS as a firm strategy of attaining food security in the country.

(Edited by Gershom Ndhlovu. Contact us on editor@zambianewsfeatures.com)

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INSTALL EMERGENCY LIFT POWER GENERATORS – ULP

Monday, June 21st, 2010

By ZAMBIAN NEWS FEATURES CORRESPONDENTS

ZAMBIA’S Opposition United Liberal Party (ULP) has prodded mining companies to put contingent safety measures in place in case of a power failure like the one that affected the whole country last week.

ULP president Sakwiba Sikota said in a statement Monday that was wrong for mining companies to pass the blame on the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) management for the danger posed to lives of workers trapped underground as a result of the power outage.

During last week’s power outage which affected most of the country, close to 110 workers were trapped underground in a cage at Konkola Copper Mines.

He called on the mining inspectorate at the Ministry of Mines to ensure that all mining companies installed emergency power supply for underground cages to avert any loss of life that could occur as a result of power outages.

“ULP is concerned by the deliberate lack of commitment by management of some mining companies towards the safety of workers during the ZESCO power outage that occurred on June 18, 2010. It is wrong for companies to pass the blame entirely on ZESCO management for the danger posed to lives of the workers that were trapped underground as a result of the power outage.

“The United Liberal Party (ULP) is not saying ZESCO should not be blamed for the problems caused as a result of the power outage on June 18, 2010; what we are saying is that the mining companies are primarily responsible for the safety of their employees whether there is a ZESCO power outage or not,” Sikota who is also Livingstone Member of Paliament, said.

He said the decision by the KCM management to pass the blame on ZESCO for the safety of KCM workers was tantamount to transferring their responsibility to ZESCO.

The ULP also called on KCM management and Mineworkers’ Unions to be pro-active and ensure that management installed emergency power supply dedicated to the underground cage in order to protect the lives of miners.

“The ULP believes that it is not only ZESCO that needs to answer questions over the danger posed to the lives of miners and other workers as a result of the power outage that happened on June 18, 2010; equally to blame is KCM management and the Unions,” Sikota said.

Sikota lamented that over the past years most industrial negotiations and strike action have emphasized salary increments and ignored the safety and health of workers at the workplace.

“Strike action by miners, teachers, judicial officers, nurses, doctors, council workers and other public service workers have mostly been dominated by issues of salaries and allowances.

“Evidently over the past years both public and private employers around the country have ignored the importance of the safety and health of a worker which has in certain instances led to fatal accidents and even death. The safety and health of workers at the workplace has rarely been on the agenda of industrial negotiations as evidenced by KCM’s decision to pass the blame for the safety of their employees on to ZESCO,” he said.

He appealed to union leaders to include the safety of workers at the workplace during negotiations with their employers.

(Edited by Gershom Ndhlovu)

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SIKOTA CALLS FOR SHANTY UPGRADE

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

By ZAMBIA NEWS FEATURES CORRESPONDENT

THE UNITED Liberal Party is concerned about increased crime and disease in shanty compounds if they are not upgraded.

ULP President Sakwiba Sikota, who is also Livingstone MP, said in a statement this week that government should not allow poor living conditions in shanty compounds to become a perpetual challenge that can be resolved but put in place measures that would improve the living standards of people by upgrading their housing units.

“The main reason ULP is calling on government to start upgrading compounds is that people have a fundamental right to live with basic dignity and in decent conditions. It is also in the best interest of cities around the country to upgrade compounds and prevent the formation of new ones,” Sikota said.

He said there were many factors that were needed for government to implement a successful compound upgrading programme and two most important ones being strong political will on the part of government and strong buy-in on the part of communities.

“Government should show political will and start the upgrading of compounds around the country,” Sikota said.

He stated that compounds were not homogeneous, with many diverse vested interests that existed there.

“In addition to the poor who are simply looking for a decent place to live, there can be criminal elements who take advantage of the informal space, or landlords who make small fortunes renting out shacks to people over time.

“All of these interests must be properly understood and brought into the planning process. The best way to do this is through negotiated development, in which people participate in negotiating their rights and understand that all the different interests have rights that need to be brought into the equation,” said the ULP leader.

In the past, he said, shanty compound upgrading projects had failed because there were people in the community who believed they would not qualify for an upgrading programme because they did not have enough resources to occupy upgraded housing units or they were not citizens or residents of the country.

He proposed that government should undertake a massive sensitization exercise for people in shanty compounds to understand why it is important to start upgrading their localities.

“The sensitization process will also create a sense of partnership between the government and the communities in the affected compounds,” Sikota said.

He warned that if compounds were allowed to deteriorate, government would lose control of the populace and compounds becoming areas of high crime and disease that would impact badly on our country.

He said improvements to the economic condition of households and infrastructure in compounds and the resolution of conflicts between the community and local authorities should form part of this upgrading process.

(Edited by Gershom Ndhlovu)

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