NAMWALA UPND member of parliament Moono Lubezhi says the distribution of wards that have been captured in the ongoing mobile issuance of National Registration Card (NRC) in her constituency is not equitable as highly-populated areas have still not been covered.
In an interview, Lubezhi complained that so many wards in her constituency had not been captured, yet the programme was nearing its end.
“We are asking the Minister of Home Affairs (Stephen Kampyongo) to extend the mobile issuance of NRCs exercise because speaking for Namwala, there are so many places, which they haven’t touched. And even the way the DC (District Commissioner, Mary Sakala) has been assigning these people, they haven’t been taken to main set-ups. I know we have to cater to everybody in Namwala, but how does it help us where he (Kampyongo) sent them to places where the population is not that much? And you find that probably the whole day, they will only do 30 or 40 people. They have left a lot of big centres. For example, the whole Ndema ward, which we have even divided into two wards, Ndema and Ichila wards. Kabulamwanda ward has also been cut into two. They have only been to Namusonde ward. The whole of Kabulamwanda ward has not been attended to. In Maala, they have been to the outskirts of the fishing camp. They haven’t done Maala Central. The whole of Mbeza ward where the palace for the chief is and it has got four polling stations. They haven’t been in Mbeza ward,” Lubezhi complained.
“Talk of Chitongo ward, they have only been to one polling station, they haven’t covered it all. Going back in Muchila and Itapa, they have just been to one point. And as you know Namwala, it has got the highest population in chief Muchila. And in chief Muchila, they have only been to five centres, meaning that there are two wards, which are unattended to. And in Itapa, they have only been to a place where we border with Itezhi-tezhi and they have only been there for four days.”
And Lubezhi appealed to Kampyongo to consider extending the ongoing phase to capture more voters.
“In short, for Namwala District, this exercise, the way the distribution of centres has been done, hasn’t been done effectively. Only 30 per cent of the people, who are eligible to get NRCs, are the ones who have been issued with NRCs. As people of Namwala, we are earnestly appealing to the Ministry of Home Affairs to extend phase two as it were in phase one. In phase one, they extended. Why can’t they do it for phase two? As I am talking to you, everywhere I have been to; there are queues and queues of people! I am earnestly appealing to the Minister of Home Affairs, Honourable Stephen Kampyongo, to extend this exercise. I personally spoke to Kampyongo to tell him the problems we have in Namwala concerning the programme. I have no problem with the officers on the ground, but I have a problem with the way the distribution of the centres has been done. It has not been done equitably. They have been taking them to the borders where I am bordering with other constituencies and people, who live along the border line are not much. The places I have mentioned like Maala Central; Kabulamwanda; Kantengwa; Baambwe; Ndema Central; Ichila ward; Mbeza Central and chief Mungaila have not been touched. And if they haven’t been to these places, then where have they been in Namwala?” wondered Lubezhi.
