Introduction
The die is cast. It is less than twenty-four (24) hours before Zambia goes to the polls to elect its sixth Republican President. This is a bye-election. It comes as a result of a constitutional requirement for the nation to elect a Republican President within three months of a President dying in office. The incumbent President Michael Chilufya Sata died after serving for only over three years. The President Elect will only rule for slightly over a year as the nation is holding a General Election in 2016. Most political commentators have indicated that the candidate who will emerge winner in these election will most likely also win the 2016 General Election. This has made the bye-election hotly contested. There are eleven (11) candidates, one from the ruling Patriotic Front (PF)and 10 from the opposition. The front runners are Edgar C Lungu of the PF and Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND)
Key campaign Promises
The PF and their candidate's campaign message is continuity. They are requesting the electorate to let the party complete its original five (5) years mandate. In order to consolidate this message the ruling party has recently reduced the price of fuel. This reduction came only a few days ago. The campaign has however been negatively affected by the delayed payment of money to farmers who sold maize to the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), that is financed from the National budget. Another contentious issue that threatened the party's campaign was the failure of the Government to enact a new Republican Constitution and provision of a 'road map' outlining the route to be followed in the enactment of the same. After intense pressure and the release of a 'road map' by the opposition UPND the Government succumbed and release its 'road map'.
The UPND and other parties especially the former ruling party, the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) have promised free education. Other parties especially the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) have highlighted the fact that it is a fallacy to promise free education instead promising to implement the decentralization policy that will allow ordinary citizens to actively engage in governance at the local level. Other promises include the commercialization and distribution of the 'Sondashi Formula', a herbal medicine whose franchise is owned by Dr. Ludwig Sondashi, one of the candidates and leader of the Forum for Democratic Alternatives (FDA). The formula is believed cure HIV/AIDS, though this is contested as it is still undergoing some clinical trials. Peter Sikamba, President of the Green Party has promised to legalize the cultivation of 'marijuana' for medicinal and export purposes. There have also been some very outlandish promises such as the demolition of the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) and construction of an ultra modern hospital by the MDD candidate Paster Dr. Nevers Mumba.
Violence
This election has recorded some violence involving clashes mainly between the ruling PF and opposition UPND. The violence has been widely condemned by the Church and other stakeholders. However, it has continued with the PF and UPND accusing each other of being violent. Until now it has mostly involved brandishing of offensive weapons especially machetes and actual fighting between opposing groups.
Media coverage
Print and electronic media has covered all candidates in the news. There have also been a number of discussion forums including a Presidential debate that was televised live on Muvi TV. The PF candidate missed the live debate and was widely criticized for this. He preferred to be on the ground in North-Western Province campaigning. Some of the candidates that participated in the live debate where Nevers Mumba, Hakainde Hichilema, Edith Nawakwi and Peter Sikamba. Some of the media institutions have been accused of giving negative publicity to some of the candidates. The PF and UPND have been able to run a number of sponsored advertisements both on radio and on television. There have also been widespread use of the internet for campaigning on various platforms especially facebook. Traditional media especially music is also being used. It is now not unusual to see a vehicle driving on the road playing loud music of a certain political party with cadres showing their party symbols. T-shirts, posters, billboards. 'chitengis' have also been used.
Tribalism
Zambia has more than 72 ethnic groups that co-exist as one people. However, politics always somehow bring in the issue of tribalism and regionalism. The recent endorsements of PF candidate Edgar Lungu by the former Republican President Rupiah Banda and the UPND candidate Hakainde Hichilema by Vernon Mwaanga, a veteran and retired politician and the controversial Daniel Mukombwe, a veteran politician serving in the PF Government as Southern Province Provincial Minister have ignited tribal issues in these elections. The politicians who have made these endorsements have been accused of supporting the candidates coming from their ethnic groupings. However, both the PF and the UPND campaign teams have refuted these allegations saying that the politicians are free to endorse who they like. Daniel Mukombwe has however being accused of being tribal and some media reports said that he had been 'disowned' by the UPND because he uttered tribal remarks at a UPND rally in Choma. Most politicians are aware of the sensitivity of the subject and are avoiding directly engaging with the issue. The UPND campaign manager Dipak Patel has been reported in today's news to have issued a statement to the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) saying that all Zambians have a right to stand for President regardless of their ethnic group arguing that Tongas are nationalists despite notions that they are not. Hakainde Hichilema is Tonga from Southern Zambia while Edgar Lungu is from Eastern Zambia where there are several related ethnic groups e.g. Chewe, Ngoni, Kunda, Tumbuka etc.
Conclusion
This has been a hotly contested bye election. The main contenders Edgar Lungu and Hakainde Hichilema have campaigned in almost all parts of the country at various rallies. They have used the print and electronic media to speak to the voters. They have also appointed media campaign and publicity teams to distribute campaign messages to various audiences. With only a few hours remaining before the polls it is clear that the two main contenders will be competing neck to neck in the polls. This election will be decided mainly by those that do not vote based on regional loyalties or die hard party cadres.It will be decided on the calibre of the candidates and their capacity to deliver their promises and nostalgia about the death of a sitting President and the need for continuity. The PF has been in power for over three years and therefore they will win this election based on their performance and the belief that they have the capacity to deliver on the promises that are yet to be fulfilled. The UPND has a tougher mountain to climb based on performance. They will win this election based on the failures of the PF as perceived by the voters. They can win on the issue of the Republican Constitution and the rising cost of living. However, the recent fuel price reductions and the release of a 'road map' as well as the re-recruitment of nurses that were fired for taking part in an illegal strike by the Government may work against them. The election will also be won by the recent prominent endorsements particularly among disgruntled MDD members who may opt to give their vote to their preferred candidate rather than their own. Of course there is a lot at stake for the losing candidate. Losing this election may also spell doom for any of the two front runners in 2016.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
What's in Election Endorsements? Do they really result in votes?
Introduction
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Edith Nawakwi, FDD President
Photo: Courtesy of
https://www.facebook.com/edithz.nawakwi/photos/
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This upcoming election has exposed the weaknesses in intra-party governance structures manifesting in party succession wrangles. It has also exposed weaknesses in the Zambian Constitution regarding the vacancy in the office of the President. The most intense of wrangles were in the ruling PF. There were two schools of thought on how a replacement should be found for the deceased party president. Before leaving for his trip to London, United Kingdom to seek medical attention the Republican President Michael Sata appointed Edgar Lungu as acting President. Mr Lungu was also the serving Minister of Defense and Minister of Justice. Following the untimely death of the incumbent President he handed over the instrument of power to the Republican Vice President Dr Guy Scott as provided for in the Zambian Constitution. This raised some dust among some PF supporters and some members of the general public who believed that Edgar Lungu should have continued to act until a substantive office holder was elected. A court injunction lodged by Newton Nguni followed to resolve the issue.
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| Late Zambian Republican Michael Chilufya Sata, Photo: Courtsey of /www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Chilufya-Sata |
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| Acting Republican President Dr Guy Scott Photo: courtsey of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Scott |
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| Edgar Chagwa Lungu, PF Party President, Photo: https://www.facebook.com/search/more/?q=Edgar+Lungu&init=public |
Main Contenders
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| Rupiah Banda, Zambia's fourth Republican President Photo: courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupiah_Banda#mediaviewer |
Party succession wrangles
At PF party level there were also some different schools of thought on how to find a leader to contest the election. One school of thought was that a party convention be held while another was that the PF Central Committee elects a Party President. After protracted discussions and fall-outs the two schools of thoughts finally settled for a convention. Accreditation for the convention which was planned for the Mulungushi University in Kabwe was marred in irregularities with accusations from the two main differing schools of though. There were more than 5 candidates for the PF presidency. This included Edgar Lungu, Miles Sampa, Chishimba Kabwili, the former First Lady Dr. Christine Kaseba Sata, Musa Mwenya ,Robert Sichinga and Given Lubinda. The late President's son Mulenga Sata withdrew from the race shortly before the convention in Kabwe. The process of selecting the successor was affected by conflict and in the end there were 2 election processes. The first had Edgar Lungu unopposed and declared winner while the second elected Miles Sampa. Following protracted legal battles the second election was declared null and void and in the end Edgar Lungu successfully filed in the nomination as PF candidate.The MMD also sought legal intervention to resolve the issue of who should stand on the party ticket. Dr Nevers Mumba and Rupiah Banda were locked in a legal battle with both claiming to be the MMD candidate. Some of the party official supported Rupiah's candidature arguing that he was a much stronger contender compared to Dr Mumba. Meanwhile Dr. Mumba sought legal interpretation of the MMD constitution over the issue and in the end the courts declared him the rightful candidate. Meanwhile the wrangles have continued with some members refusing to back Dr. Mumba in his campaign.
Endorsements
The era of political elections started with the reintroduction of multi-party elections in 1991 in Zambia. However, the issue of endorsements has been taken to a new level in these upcoming elections. Prior to this elections the endorsements were mainly sought from the traditional leaders. This is because these are supposedly in a position to influence the voting patterns of their subjects. There are a number of traditional leaders in Zambia but endorsements are mainly sought from influential Chiefs especially Paramount Chiefs. Presidential candidates have been reported in the media to have been visiting these traditional leaders whenever they have been on a campaign trail in rural areas. The rural vote is highly sought after because previous election outcomes have indicated that the voting patterns in these areas tend to be highly skewed certain favorites depending on the region. Most of the Presidential candidates with financial resources have therefore focused their campaign rallies in these regions. |
| Hakainde Hichilema, UNDP President. Photo: Courtsey of https://www.facebook.com/hakainde.hichilema/photos |
The question is, do they really have any influence in the voting patterns? Recent Presidential elections in 2008 and 2011 have shown that Zambians in urban areas mainly vote based on the popularity of a given candidate and also based on the campaign promises. In 2008, the MMD main campaign message was continuity. Given the good work particularly in the fight against corruption embarked on by the 'New Deal' Government led by Levy Patrick Mwanawasa it was an easy election for the MMD to win. However, regarding the rural vote there were some elements of regional voting with the UPND, MMD and PF who were strong contenders retaining their regional strongholds. The 2011 PF campaign which removed the MMD Government was based on 'more money in your pocket'. The campaign strategy made some significant changes in the voting patterns across various age groups. For the first time most of the youth were interested in voting because the PF message appealed to them. Whilst the 3 main competitors retained their rural regional strongholds there were some significant shifts in the urban vote. The ruling MMD lost its stronghold in Western Province and there was a shift in voting patterns in the urban voting. One can easily argue that the MMD won a sympathetic vote in 2008 while the PF won the 2011 election based on the message. There is very little evidence of the endorsements being a key factor in shifting voting patterns. Previously these endorsements have mainly being by traditional leaders. The rise of individual endorsements may have some significant influence but this remains to be seen.
Other factors likely to influence the outcome
Financial resources will definitely be a key factor in the outcome of the forth coming elections. For the first time we have seen political parties using elaborate media strategies during the campaigns. The main contenders have dedicated websites and are using social media especially facebook to a very wide extent. There are elaborate media advertisements on radio and television and print media. In addition, there are street based campaigns involving dedicated campaign songs sung by popular artists. On the ground campaigns have involved hiring of chartered planes. This also means that the losses will be huge for the losing candidates given the resources that they have employed in these campaigns.
Conclusion
The forth-coming presidential election on 20th January 2015 will definitely change Zambian's political history given the interesting new phenomenon that has emerged in political campaigning of 'individual' endorsements. These are endorsements that have been made by 'prominent' Zambians and some political parties in support of one presidential candidate or the other. For the first time we have seen members of the same political party support different presidential candidates. The classic example is the MMD where members of the party are either supporting the ruling PF candidate, or the UPND candidate or indeed the MMD candidate. There are also some political parties that have thrown their weight behind other political parties e.g. Frank Bwalya's Alliance for a Better Zambia. This is an interesting area of research. It would be interesting to see whether these endorsements will really have a significant impact on the voting patterns and the final outcome. Another new phenomenon is the use of social media in campaigning. Most of the candidates have dedicated facebook accounts for the campaign. Further, the ability to hire chartered planes and hold campaigns in remote areas is also expected to have a significant effect.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Savings Groups- What to do with growth?
20th November, 2013
Arusha
Arusha
This afternoon I attended a discussion on Savings Groups (SG) as part of a training course that I am attending at Arusha's Snow Crest Hotel, Tanzania. The panelists included Kuria Wanjau of Financial Sector Deepening (FSD), Francis Songela of Care Tanzania W -Power Project, Simon Karoki of CRS Kenya and Courteney O'Connell of World Relief (WR).
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Savings Group tool kit
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There is no doubt that there is a SG revolution in Africa. SG are a group of self selecting individuals that come together for purposes of saving and lending to achieve their financial aspirations. Formation, training and mentoring of groups in an area is initially initiated by external agents such as International Non-governmental Organisations (INGOs), local NGO (could be faith based organisations or non faith based organisations) using various methodologies. Groups birthed out of these first generation groups either form spontaneously or are replicated by trained field agents, group members who have graduated from an SG and so on and so forth.
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| Savings Group at work in St. Theresa, Ibenga, Zambia |
In today's discussion some of the key issues on the table were: the pressure for results and meeting targets by implementing agencies (IAs) versus the quality of the trainings and sustainability of the groups; is linking SGs to formal banks the way to go?; are SGs really reaching the poor as claimed by many IAs? what is the future of the savings movement? What are some of the concerns?
These are some of the views expressed by the discussants:
- SGs are becoming attractive to formal banking. This will help in expanding the outreach of formal banking institutions into rural areas. Formal Financial Services play a complimentary role to SGs especially for security reasons e.g. when the amount of money in the 'box' is huge especially towards 'share out'. Opening an account with a bank would guarantee the safety of the funds.
- The financial market should develop products that are attractive to the SG.
- Linking SG to formal banking will give raise to issues of consumer protection. Information sharing with groups will be key in ensuring their interests are protected.
- The constantly changing operational environment is affecting quality of programme delivery.
- There is concern that government policy (or regulation) may dilute the original purpose of SGs e.g. by introduction of formal registration/taxation or promotion of conflicting approaches.
- Introducing service providers e.g. banks gives a wider choice to the SG and individual members.
- Lack of transparency e.g. trainers are in some cases taking advantage of groups and members leading to people losing money.
- Technology will improve the efficiency of SGs e.g. mobile phone technology can reach those who do not want to below to groups but would like to save/or borrow.
- There are opportunities for linking SG to other initiatives e.g. clean energy.
There is no doubt that many practitioners and keen followers of the savings revolution are eager to see what will follow. The most important thing is that the SGs should define how they will evolve so that the are not 'swallowed' by banks or other formal institutions. They should continue to re-invest themselves and to service their interests and those of their members above anything else. Their destiny is in their hands.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Choices of a career woman: it's complicated!
Freedom of choice is when you can decide what you want, where you want to be and how you will get there in any aspects related to your life. Every worker has aspirations on where they see themselves in the near future and beyond. However, choices that some people have may be limited by a number of factors. This is more so if you are woman. In today's world many people believe that it does not matter whether you are a woman or man the sky is the limit. But is this really true for all women in all parts of the world? Granted the answer is no. There are several traditional values and norms that dictate what women can and are able to do. This is also true for girls in some cultures.
The story of Malala of Pakistan which hit headlines around the world tells it all. Girls may freely choice to go to school but their choice is limited in some cases by the society or culture in which they are born. For some girls the choice may be limited by the socio-economic classes in which they are born. In post-independence Africa may girl children did not go as far as high school because their parents thought it was wiser for them to pay for the boys in their households' education than for the girls. After all in their thinking the girl would marry and be taken care of by her husband in the future. These assertions have slowly changed even in the most traditional societies. Girls and boys are now given the same opportunity to go to school and attain higher education. Affirmative action by many institutions of higher learning have also contributed to attainment of higher education by girls in many developing countries.
Now back to the issue of women. In Zambia's modern society most of the traditional barriers to women's progression in life in urban set ups have been minimised. Women are free to marry who they want, have the number of children they want and own their own property. However, there are still some barriers when it comes to climbing up the corporate ladder. Despite being a signatory to the SADC Gender Protocol Zambia has not yet achieved a 30% representation of women in decision making in many sectors of society. The number of women in cabinet positions keeps on fluctuating between 2-6 at any given time since independence. The number of women Members of Parliament is also much lower in relation to men. There have been several campaigns (e.g. 50-50 campaign by the Zambia Women's Lobby Group) and projects to prepare women for election to ward councils and parliament but these have yielded little results. In the corporate world women have not fared any better. A few women have held senior positions in prominent companies and banks. Some of these include Mizinga Meru (Standard Chartered Bank Zambia Limited Managing Director), Ireen Muyenga (Zambia State Insurance Corporation Managing Director) to mention a few.
The question is why has this situation changed so little? What factors affect women's progression at individual, household, community, national and global levels? There are no simple answers. One of the key things to consider is the trade offs that have to be made with any choice. There are trade off between focusing on your career or your family and friends at a personal/individual level. This may also be a key factor at community level. To excel in any position, in the corporate, political, business or any other sector you need to be results oriented and dedicated to what you are doing. In many societies, women are regarded as the nucleus of the family. Therefore this means that whatever choices they make have to ensure that the family is not adversely affected. This means that women may have limited choices when they have a young family and more when their children are older. The limitations that comes with a young family may result in missed opportunities. This is more so in societies where there is stereotyping of gender roles.
Until recently, most cultures in Zambia reserved the role of child care for women. Children between 0-5 years would naturally be expected to be taken care of by their mothers or other women and girls in the family. However this trend is slowly changing especially in urban societies where women are increasingly working away from home. Even then most people who take up child care jobs are women. In my experience, I have only heard of one case where a young mother opted to employ a male nanny for her children. In this case the her children were male. Many mothers continue to trust female 'helpers' more when they need to leave their children in someone else's care.
Some women choose to take up part-time jobs or to work from home so that they are not deprived of the opportunity to participate fully in raising their children. Again, such a choice will affect one's ability to take on more demanding responsibilities in their career. From a family perspective choosing to engage fully in raising your kids by working from home or not having any formal job at all is an excellent thing to do. It requires a lot of self sacrifice to contribute to raising your children at the expense of your career progression. Working away from home may sometimes require working away from town and having to send days from your family. This is even more demanding in terms of the trade off involved. This can be quiet stressful for some women especially when they have young children or a baby to take care of. Some employers have flexible working conditions that allow women to travel with their infants especially when they are nursing.
Working women will continue to face some of these tough choices. What matters is where you are at in your career and what you think is important for you. One of the things that I always do when I am faced with tough choices is to have a serious reflection over whatever situation I am facing and look at what is best for me and the people that I care about. One thing is for sure. The first instinct is for one to base their choice on what is best for them. However, if we have to be honest we also need to reflect on how our decisions directly affect those we care about especially our family. This is where it really gets tricky and it is only when selfless interest are at play when rational people will put the interest of others before their own. It takes a lot of sacrifice to do this and more often than not most rational women will put their family first at the expense of their own climb up the career ladder. However, like anything else there are always some exceptions.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Removal and Reduction of Subsidies by Zambian Government: What a reaction?
The Zambian government recently announced the reduction and in some cases complete removal of some consumption and production subsidies. This has resulted in widespread reactions from various quarters of the Republic. Nearly everyday there is a headline or inside story in print and electronic media about subsidies from politicians, faith leaders and other interested parties. Subsidies have been removed on fuel, maize and reduced on fertilisers. Government has been subsidising fuel and fertilisers for over ten years while maize subsidies were introduced in 2012 in reaction to rising mealie meal prices. Maize is a political crop and maize mealie meal political food. Elections are won and lost based on how government handles the production and marketing of maize as well as the production and sale of mealie meal. As a result, there have been a lot of reaction both from leaders from the ruling Patriotic Front and the opposition political parties over the removal and reduction of subsidies.
The ruling party and government are justifying the removal of fuel and maize subsidies by arguing that millions of kwacha that can be used to develop infrastructure development in rural areas are spent on subsidising the rich. Further, they have argued that the funds that will be saved will be used to build schools, roads, hospitals and other capital goods and services in rural areas. They have also reduced the amount of fertiliser subsidies on the Farmer Import Support Programme (FISP) where beneficiaries will be required to pay 50% on every bag of fertiliser. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the funds that will be saved will be for agriculture diversification, irrigation development, research and extension, post-harvest management and infrastructure development (Post Newspaper, 6th June, 2013, pg 17).
Opposing views argue that subsidies should not have been removed. Attempts have been made to reverse the government policy through civil pressure but this has not yet succeeded. According to these views removal of fuels subsidies will increase the production costs in the economy and therefore result in rising prices of essential commodities in the short term. They have predicted that inflation will rise and the purchasing power of consumers will be eroded in the longer term. They have further argued that the removal of subsidies on maize will push up the price of mealie meal leaving the consumers at the mercy of private milling companies. It is further argued that increased fuel prices will push up transportation costs and further increase the cost of living. Reduction of fertiliser subsidies are also predicted to directly affect the food availability at rural household level as well as national food security.
Both opposing views are valid. However, since they have been delivered with great emotion from both ends it has really confused most common Zambians who are left wondering 'what is the truth?' Subsidies like taxes are measures that are implemented by government to address market failure or to redistribute income in the economy. There is no doubt that consumption subsidies such as the ones on fuel and maize in the long run are not sustainable. However, in the short run they assist in cushioning the negative impact of high fuel or food prices at the household level. If they are well managed and well targeted they can be used as a means of supporting very poor and vulnerable households to meet their basic needs. However, blanket provision of fuel and maize subsidies is unsustainable because even individuals that can afford the commodities at prevailing real market prices are also subsidised.
It is no secret that Zambia became a food deficit nation following the complete liberalisation of the agriculture sector in the early 1990s. The policies of liberalisation fostered very rapid change that removed government involvement in input supply and crop marketing. This policy was disastrous because the vacuum left by the collapse of the National Agricultural Marketing Board (NAMBOARD) was not immediately filled by the private sector. This prompted government to reconsider its policy and re-engage in input supply and maize marketing through the establishment of the Food Reserve Agency and the Farmer Input Support Programme in the early 2000s. Fertiliser subsidies were introduced at 50% the cost of inputs. This was raised to higher levels in subsequent years. There is no doubt that the introduction of subsidies on fertilisers resulted in some positive impact on small holder farmer productivity. Over 80% of maize production in Zambia is done by small holder farmers. Therefore, the fact that Zambia became a food sufficient and surplus country in the last 10 years points to the fact that farm productivity increased. Of course, the provision of subsidies fertilisers and other inputs could be just one of the factors. Other factors are good climate, adoption of good agricultural practices such as conservation agriculture, early planting and so on and so forth. The direct benefits at farmer level were increased food availability and income. This increased the purchasing power of rural households who were now able to afford their nutrition needs as well as invest in capital assets such as iron roofing sheets, generators e.t.c.
The down side to this is that even individuals that were not eligible to benefit from the FISP also benefited through corruption. Huge amounts of money meant to benefit the vulnerable were instead supporting the elite. Several attempts were made to prevent this abuse but they were not very successful. In addition, the provision of maize seed with the fertiliser promoted maize production at the expense of other crops. This lack of diversification was a serious threat to household food security in low rainfall areas and during times of poor rainfall distribution in other areas. Maize is highly dependent on water and can not with stand long dry spells. There was also very limited funding to other institutional support relevant for efficient production at farm level such as agricultural extension. These gaps affected adoption of innovations at farm level. In addition, the available human resource was directed towards administering FISP leaving very little time for provision of technical extension services. Further, there was little investment in irrigation despite the constant threat of drought induced by climate change making many agricultural dependent livelihoods highly vulnerable to food insecurity in poor rain seasons.
The assurance by the MAL that savings from subsidies will be used for diversification, irrigation development, research and extension, post harvest management and infrastructure development is highly welcome. It will be a pity if these funds are not retained in the agriculture sector budgetary allocation but redirected for staff emoluments and/or other sectors. It is widely agreed that agriculture has a lot of potential of reducing rural poverty by increasing food availability and utilisation as well as income accumulation. Whatever the case one hopes that this debate on subsidies will be constructive and result in a consensus that will move our nation forward and most importantly improve the well being for the rural poor for whom it is being said this sacrifice is being made.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Vincentians Celebrate Christmas at St. Joseph, Makoka
On Sunday 23rd December, 2012 the Society for St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP) Conference at Chelston’s Our Heavenly Father Parish joined in the giving spirit that characterises Christmas by sharing an afternoon meal with community members around St. Joseph’s Parish in Makoka. Makoka is one of the Out Stations in Chelston Parish situated around 15 Kilometers from the Airport roundabout in Chongwe District. Over 20 adults and 20 children from the community attended the party.
For several years now SSVP Chelston Conference has been holding annual Christmas Parties with the needy in Venter Compound at the Christian Brothers in Villa Wanga. To close off the theme of Unity and Collaboration the Conference decided to give a Christmas treaty to members of the Community in Makoka. Earlier in the year, Chelston Conference established contact with St. Joseph and the relationship has been growing from strength to Strength.
Cooking for this special event started at around 07:00hrs at Sr. Mbewe’s home situated in St. Stephen in Avondale. Various food stuffs were prepared including beef, chicken, potatoes, cabbage and Nshima. With the sky overcast with rainy clouds, Vincentians braved the rains and completed cooking to satisfaction around 12:00hrs. Thereafter, the food was ferried to Makoka using three motor vehicles in a heavy down pour. Thankfully the rains subsided by the time the entourage arrived at the Church where some community members were waiting to receive the visitors around 14:00hrs. It was a joyful occasion of sharing as Vincentians dished out the food and joined the community in taking the meal.
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