IN this audio, Petauke Central PF member of parliament Dora Siliya says Tongas have risen against Easterners in a bid to grab the presidency from them, adding that this is a war which must not be lost.

And Siliya has advised traditional leaders to lie that they are poor and vulnerable when they face Social Cash Transfer officers so that they can benefit from the fund to buy clothes and look smart.

Meanwhile Siliya told traditional leaders in Sinda that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema was on TV where he vowed to remove the Chitimukulu once elected into power.

Speaking on Sunday when she addressed about 300 village headmen, women and indunas at Mwala Hills, Siliya knelt down and asked the people to forgive government for the wrongs committed in the past five years.

She said Tongas must not be allowed to grab the presidency before Eastern Province exhausts the privileges that comes with it, and urged traditional leaders to make sure that the UPND is not given any votes.

Below is the English translation from Siliya’s vernacular campaign address, which has also been reproduced verbatim in Nyanja at the bottom:

Take a listen:

I have heard that you traditional leaders don’t benefit from Social Cash Transfer (SCT). We are here to tap about issues that affect our lives, we must not forget. I have heard that you are not benefiting, but the government has said if that was the case, it must not continue. Headmen should be taking social cash transfer as well. So those of you who would like to benefit from SCT, you must go to the DC’s office so that you can be told how to do it. They will ask you questions:
Does your house have iron sheets? Yes
Do you own cattle? Yes
Do you own a bicycle? Yes
How many times do you eat? You say we manage to eat four times a day…

As you are answering the machine is recording. It will say that you are not a poor person and you cannot benefit with such answers. Let me share some wisdom with you if you want to benefit from Social Cash Transfer. The DC will teach you that even when you live in a house with iron sheets, don’t say the truth so that you can be included on the social cash transfer programme. That way you can have money to buy shoes and bicycles so that you look presentable.
 As government we know that you traditional leaders have lot of problems.

I have also heard that you traditional leaders want to be paid. This started around 2015-2016. The laws of Zambia are contained in the Constitution. In 2016 we change the laws to the effect that the government or the President must not be helping traditional leaders. Do you remember? But in 2017, some senior traditional leaders went to complain to the President that this law was bad and it must be changed. The president said ‘I have heard but I need to ask the rest of the people of Zambia what laws they don’t want from the Constitution. The minister of Justice went round the country to collect recommendations. There are a lot of things that people demanded to change in the Constitution, over 20 things. All these things were put in a document called Bill 10. Have you heard about Bill 10? That’s the document that has the changes which you want where government can be paying you.

But when we now took this document to Parliament to enact it into law, the UPND, the Tongas said ‘this is a waste of time’. They said ‘why do you want to have a law for helping traditional leaders when in other countries like Tanzania, there are no traditional leaders. Why should we waste money?’ Us PF want to help but UPND is saying that’s a waste of money.

I am not lying, you saw when Hakainde was telling the Paramount Chief of the Bemba People, the Chitimukulu that when I become President, you will be the first chief I will remove from your throne. Are you listening? It was on TV, I am not making this up, he said when I become President, the first chief to remove will be Chitimukulu. So after he removes Chitimukulu will he not come to Eastern Province to remove you? This is why you must support Bill 10. The Bill will be debated on Thursday this week and that is the day when we will know if the laws of Zambia will change. If you see on TV, a lot of traditional leaders are supporting Bill 10 because they want government to be helping them. But the UPND is challenging the Bill because they feel helping traditional leaders is a waste of time. Is it a good things for UPND to say there must not be traditional leaders in Zambia? Are we not gong to lose our tribes and culture?

When the President helps you traditional leaders, he does it because he is a good man, but there is no law that says government should help traditional leaders. So pray for us this week so that this Bill can pass.

Our rivals in UPND are saying they don’t want Bill 10 because it will prolong President Edgar Lungu’s stay in power. But that is a lie. In Zambia a president can stay in power for 10 years, the law says if you only serve less than three years, that term doesn’t count. So President Lungu’s term only counts from 2016. So we need him to rule from 2021 to 2026 so that he can make it 10 years.

Take a listen:

These Tongas, we don’t hate them, let me make this clear. We don’t hate Tongas, they are Zambian and so they are our relatives, but they have risen against us Easterners. They want to remove us from the presidency. If they remove us from the presidency, will we drill boreholes, will we build schools and hospitals? If you remember we had another Easterner, Rupiah Banda who was Chewa President, he used to give us eight bags of fertiliser, do you remember? But we were lazy and we made him lose the presidency. Here in Eastern Province we had over 700, 000 registered voters but only 244,000 went out to vote, so Rupiah ended up losing. In 2013 to 2014 we used to call PF as Paya Farmer (kill the farmer), because Michael Sata who was president believed in cassava as his staple food. But does cassava need fertiliser? So agriculture has started ticking again now that President Lungu has taken charge. This is because Edgar Lungu is one of us and he knows that our agriculture is centred on maize and maize is dependent on fertiliser. So if Edgar is removed from power, will agriculture progress?

So we must work hard to ensure that our province protects and holds on to the Presidency because we want fertiliser, dams and employment. So we need Edgar to continue so that we can also continue with the programme of developing our province.

We will decide to give the presidency to Tongas after we rule for 10 years. That’s when we will tell them that we have done what we wanted now you can also do what you want with the presidency. They cannot stop us midway before we are finished. Even in a household, you cannot allow someone to come in and order you to stop what you are doing with your wife and you give him your wife just like that. You have to give it a fight, you cannot just stop and give up. So we have work to finish our projects.

We are not saying the presidency will never leave Eastern Province, but we are saying in the past we only had the presidency for three years and God felt pity for us and has given us another opportunity to rule again. So only after 10 years is when we will give the Tongas.

Voting will take place on August 12. This week that is coming is for registration of voters. We must all go and register to vote. Those old voters cards will be useless next year because they have expired. Everyone who is 18 years and above must go and register. We must not feel lazy like we did on our relative Rupiah whose presidency we lost. We thought since he is from Eastern Province, he would win, he can win here but if the votes are few, the Tongas vote in big numbers. That means he will win here but the Tongas will grab our presidency.

The 2021 elections are not just about voting, it’s a war for survival, we need to make sure that we vote so that the Tonga’s don’t get the presidency. Today I was looking at the number of votes for here in Sinda. In 2016, President Lungu got 7,000 votes and the UPND got 5,000. Our friends the Tongas, they meet as traditional leaders like we have met and they agree that ‘we don’t want Edgar Lungu so we will give him zero votes’. It happens, am I lying? Now us here we are meeting as traditional leaders, how can we allow UPND to get 5,000 votes from here? In Dundumwezi, Hakainde got 40,000 our president, got zero. So our friends the Bembas are laughing and asking us to say, ‘you Dora and Kazungula, do you want the presidency to stay in Eastern Province or not? What are we going to tell them? When we go back to Parliament, what are we going to say?

I am begging you my traditional leaders, please! I know we do wrong things in government but you should be forgiving us, you should pray for us. We know that we have gone through problem in the past five years, but please we must not lose the presidency. If we lose the presidency, we will never get it back as Easterners. By the time the presidency will be returning to Eastern Province, none of us will be alive. We still want the leadership of this country so the we can finish the hospital and school projects. We are lucky that after Rupiah we have gotten back the presidency, but if we lose it, we will not be alive to a time when we will get it back.

Below is the vernacular verbatim of Siliya campaign in Sinda

Ninanvelako kuti imwe mafumu simungatengeko ndalama za amwasauka… Pano tazolabila nkhani zaumoyo wasu so osati tilube. Namvela kuti ma headmen simungatengeko ndalama, ah ah! Boma inakamba kuti kuyambila manje, kapena zenze telo kumbuyo uku koma manje nama headmen bazitengako ndalama za amwasauka. Manje motengela, munimvesese. Kuti munthu atenge ndalama za amwasauka kumankhala makonsho ai. So imwe bamene mufuna kutengako nikuyenda kuona a DC kuti amuphunziseni motengela. Azamufunsani:
Nyumba yanu ili na malata? Eh
Muli na ng’ombe? Eh
Muli na njinga? Eh
Panyumba mukudya kangati? Ah olo folo tikwanisa ise.

So pamene muyankha chi machine chilemba, pobwelo siliza, ati iyayi sindimwe osauka imwe.
Manje imwe nikuuzenikoni tunzelu twakuti mukangenemo, imwe mukayenda kuja, tiziba ndimwe a mfumu koma mufunika ka thandizo ka K700 muzifolako amfumu azioneka avala bwino agula nsapato agula njinga ai? (applaud).
Imwe mukayende kwa aDC akakumpunziseni kuti akamukoshani ichi akamufunsani ichi moyankha teti. Olo muli mu nyumba yamalata, penango nikukambako teti kuti awe ine nilibe nyumba yamalata kuti mungenemo. Ise aboma tiziba kuti imwe mafumu muna vambili vamene vimamufikilani panyumba panu, koma a DC sangakambe kuti atenge K700 ati bapaseni amfumu, boma izakamba ati yai mwaiba. So imwe kuti mukangenemo mufunika kuyenda kwa DC amumphunziseni mongenela muli ija system ya ndalama za amwasauka. Boma inakamba kuti olo mafumu azifolako ndalama za amwasauka.

Namvela problem ya number three. Mukamba kuti naise mafumu tizifolako pa mwezi ai? Iyi nkhani inayamba 2015-2016 sitelo, manje apa timvesesane bwino. Malamulo a ziko ya Zambia yali muchipepa chamene tiita kuti Constitution, mwamvesesa? Mu 2016 tinachinja malamulo amu Zambia. Malamulo amu Zambia pamene yanachinja mu 2016 ikulu maningi yokumana naimwe yenze yakuti kuyambila manje, osati boma olo a President azithandizako mafumu. Mafumu azayamba kunkhala beka, nayeve boma payeka. Mu 2016, mwakumbukila? Munikonkhe bwino. Mu 2017, mafumu akulu akulu bambili banayendo ona ba president, kuti iyi lamulo niyoipa. Iyi lamulo yamene yaikiwa mu Constitution niyoyipa chifukwa ise mafumu tigwila nchito yamene imwe ba boma naimwe mugwila, naise tisunga banthu. A President anakamba kuti ine namvela, kansi, tiyeni lekani nifunse Zambia yonse kuti chamene banthu bambili chamene sibafuna mu Constitution muli malamulo ba Zambia yasopano nichani?

Ba minister ba Justice, ba Honourable Lubinda banayenda Zambia yonse, konse kwamene banapeza mafumu banakamba kuti iyi lamulo yakuti boma osati izithandiza mafumu niyoipa. Benangu bakamba kuti lamulo yakuti teacher akachita retire akazinkhalilila ango fola, bana bathu sibapeza nchito. Nivambili vamene banakamba kuti bafuna vichinje mu Constitution. So a President anakamba kuti vonse ivi vamene bakamba banthu bafuna kuchinja… one, two, three, four, five, kapena kufika pa twenty kuikako nayamene iyi yamene ikamba kuti boma osati izisebenza namafumu, bathu bakana bafuna ichinjiwe, vonse ivi vitengeni muviike muchi pepa chimozi. Ndiye ija yamene mumvela kuti Bill number 10. Munamvelako? Bill number 10 ndiye mwamene muli malamulo yamene tifuna kuchinja pamalamulo y aZambia, kuikako naija lamulo yamene ikamba kuti osati boma ikazithandiza mafumu. Vonse tinaviika mu Bill number 10. Ise tinakamba kuti okay, tiyeni manje tikavichinje ku Parliament ai? Kwamene kuli a Kazungula naine, tiyeni tikavichinje ku Parliament. Koma bazanthu ba UPND ba Tonga, anakamba ati mutaya nthawi. Why muzichinja lamulo yakuti boma izithandiza mafumu? Kuvyalo kwinangu monga ku Tanzania kulibe vaufumu, why tiziononga ndalama? A presdient anakamba ati nibanthu bakamba, nimafumu bakamba kuti bafuna kuti boma yao izibathandiza. Banzathu bayumilila kuti uko nikuononga ndalama.

Sininama, munamuona pa TV Hakainde pamene enzo uza mfumu yachibemba kuti ine nikankhala president wamene nizachosapo paufumu number one ndiwe chiti mukulu, munanvela? Venze pa TV, sindine ninakamba, munamvelako ka? Kuti ine nikankhala president niyamba kuchosa mafumu kuyambilila mfumu yachibema Chitimukulu, manje akachoka ku aBemba sazakonkha ise ku Eastern? So pali ino thawi ndiye pamene tili. Iyi Bill number 10 kuti tikachinje malamulo aZambia ibwela ku Parliament iyi week yayamba lelo pa sondo. Ibwela pachinai 29 October, ndiye pamene tiikamba ku parliament. So iyi week ndiye pamene tizaziba kuti malamulo a Zambia azachinja olo sazachinja. Chifukwa ise a PF na President tankhala pamozi nama fumu. Nichifukwa chake mukayamba kutamba TV, mubaona mafumu yambili yabwela pa TV kuti bafuna Bill 10, niboza? Mafumu yambili olo yamene yachitonga yabwela pa TV, kuti “a Edgar ise tifuna Bill 10. Chifukwa bafuna kuti boma izibathandiza. Koma banzathu nao ba UPND bakosapo akuti ah ah sitifuna kuononga ndamala ise kumafumu. Muganiza kuti vamene bafuna kuchita beve nivabwino kuti mu Zambia osati munkhale mafumu? Mitundu siizasila? Myambo yathu izaonongeka sitelo?

Pali pano a President akathandiza mafumu ochitila mwaubwino wao. Kulibe lamulo u Zambia yamene ibapasa mphamvu kuti athandize mafumu. Koma a President akamba kuti ah ah, makamaka mafumu akulu tiyeni tibathandize. Nichifukwa chake ise tapapata mutipemphelele kuti iyi week yamene ibwela ndiye pamene kuzankhala Bill number 10. Monse mukaike matu ku Parliament radio, tizayamba kuchita debate vija vizungu vikulu vikulu va Bill 10.

Banzathu bakamba kuti chamene sibaifunila Bill number 10, muli malamulo yakuti aPresident bathu osati akachokepo pamupando. Iyo ni boza, mu Zambia tiziba kuti President ankhala 10 years, ikafika 10 years achokapo ai? A Edgar Lungu pamupando anangena 2015, mu 2016 tinayenda kumasankho. Kuchokela 2015 kufika 2016 ni chaka chimozi. Malamulo a Zambia akamba kuti ngati kuti tikambe munthu analamulia full term, afunika kunkhala vyaka vitatu nakusogolo five years. Kapena siunakwanise five years, ndiye kuti ija term yamene walamulila sitiipendelako, tizayamba kupendelako ija ya five years. So pali manje a Edgar tipenda 2016 kufika 2021 vyaka five, kuchoka 2021 kufika 2026 kuti ikakwane 10 years.

Manje anzathu, a Tonga sitibazonda, nikambe bwino pano, a Tonga sitibazonda nibamu Zambia nabale bathu, koma batiukila tonse ise bakum’mawa kuti imwe timuchoseponi pamupando. Akatichosa pamupando tizawamya museu? A Edgar akachosewa pamupando manzi tizasiliza kukumba, ma skulu tizamanga kuno? Mukumbukile kumbuyo uku a president tenze nao a Chewa a Rupiah Banda, enzo tipasa vi fataleza eight, eight tikumbukuila? Koma tinachita ulesi kuti tibasunge pamupando. Kuno ku Eastern Province banalembesa ma vote 2011 tenze over 700, 000 sebathu, koma bamene tinayenda kuvota tenze 244,000, mpaka a Rupiah achosewa pamupando. Mu 2013-2014 tenzo chita kukamba kuti paya farmer paya farmer chifukwa a Sata penze a President, Sata akudya tute, manje tute bafakako fataleza? Ulimi wayamba kubwelelako pamene ayamba a Edgar Lungu sitelo, chifukwa a Edgar Lungu nibakuni kwathu aziba kuti ulimi wathu niwa chimanga, chimanga chifunika fataleza. Manje chaka chibwela ichi, a Edgar kuti achokepo pa mupando ulimi uzapitilila? Tifuna ma cooperative yambili yazitengako fataleza. Elo fataleza uyu si nsima chabe, chifukwa iyi fataleza, tikalima bwino ndiye pamene tiphunzisa bana.

So tifunika tiikeko nzelu kuti a Edgar apitilize pa mupando chifukwa tifuna fataleza, tifuna ma bolehole, tifuna ma dam, nchito ikaliko kuno yakuti a MP amusebenzeleni, koma a MP afuna president apitilile kuti tipilize programme yaku Eastern. Ikafika 10 years, ndise tizabapasa a Tonga kuti awe, ise tachitako namwe muchiteko. Manje beve bafuna atipoke panjila. Munthu angalobe tyala mung’anda mwako ati akupoke mukazi iwe ati okay tenga? Muchitako ndeo ai? Ah ah… siuchitako ndeo? Muthu awele tyala ati weo lekeza panjila atole mukazi wako? So kuli nchito yakuti tisebenzele bathu. Osati ise tikamba ati uPresident siuzachoka kuno kumawa, uzakachoka. Koma kumbuyo uku, tinankhala nao chabe vyaka vitatu wa a Rupiah Banda. Nchito sinasile, lomba Mulungu kutichitila chifundo kutibwelesela futi a Edgar Lungu tikamba iyi nchito ikaliko ipitilile, ikafika 10 years, ise tizapasa Tonga lomba ichi tolanikoni osati panjila ai?

Ma vote yali chaka chibwela pa 12 August. Iyi week yamene ibwela pachitatu, pa 28, tiyamba kulembesa ma vote nama card yangawani. Yaja ma voters card yakudala yalibe nchito manje, mwamvela? Yaja ma voters card yamene muli nayo yachita expire yaliye nchito. Lomba chifukwa nimwe mafumu, simungaye mweka kuyotola card, nga bamumunzi? Yonse minzi aliynse munthu ali 18 years napa mwamba afuniko tenga voters card chifukwa tikayembwelela monga tinachitila abale bathu a Rupiah Banda, kuti iyayi nibakum’mawa azawina, angawine kuno kum’mawa, manje ma vote ngati niyang’ono ba Tonga bamavota maningi, ndiye kuti azawina kuni koma mupando azatipoka. So vote ya chaka chamene chibwela ichi ni nkhondo, si ma vote chabe yosobela, ni nkhondo, tifunika making sure kuti aliyense afunika kuvota kuti osati mupando akatipoke. Lelo nenzo ona ma number yakuno ku Sinda. Mu 2016 a President kuno anawina na 7,000 votes, UPND kwenze 5,000 kuno ku Sinda, anzathu a Tonga akumana monga ise so mafumu achi Tonga bauzana kuti ise kuno sitifuna Edgar Lungu tizamupasa zero. Vichitika, noboza? Manje ise pano sure takumana naimwe mafumu asogoleli, kungachoke bwanji kuno ma vote 5,00 ya UPND? Ku Dundumwezi, Hakainde 40,000, a President bathu a Edgar Lungu zero, zero, zero. manje a Bemba adabwa akuti iwe Kazungula naiwe Dora Siliya, kansi uyu mupando muufuna olo simuufuna? Manje tikabauze chani a Bemba? Tikabwelela ku Parliament tikabauze kuti mupando wau president tiufuna olo sitiufuna?

Awe neo nazosenga mweo mafumu napapata. Timalakwa seo amu boma koma motikhululukila. Motipemphelela, tiziba kuti tachoka mumavuto iyi five years tapapata, koma please osati uPresident tiutaye uyu. Chifukwa uyu uPresident tikali nawo nanchito, nchito zamumanyuma yathu, zabana bathu, za business, za chipatala. Usogoleli tikali kuufuna. Chifukwa ukabwela kuchoka kuno uPresident, palibe azankhala moyo pakuti ukabwelele futi kuno kum’mawa. Tichita tyala mwai kuti kuchoka a Rupiah kwabwela a Edgar. Koma paliye wati akankhale moyo pakuti ukabwelele kuno. Lomba tifuna kuno titukuke bakumawa, koma aBemba atiseka akuti tina ulesi. Lomba tina ulesi? Yai osati tichite ulesi.