“…in the order of their birth—six names on one
stone and the remaining six on the other. 11 Engrave the names of the sons of
Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the
stones in gold filigree settings 12 and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of
the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names
on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord.”
The scripture above shows that representation was in form of engravingtribal names on stones. Engraving to
to me suggest
some form of permanence. Unlink using ink and paper, whocan easily rub something written by engraving? Then the engraved
stone was nicely placed on an Ephod to be placed on Aaron
the Priest. Remember that Aaron represented God, so the implication is that all
tribes had to be represented before God or in God. Just to put some
critics who see bad in everything, it is important for me to state that the representation of the twelve tribes on
the national stones, on the ephod or in before God does not in any way suggests God as being
tribe.
The question that arises is as to whether all nations of the earth, Zambia inclusive, would apply the concept and truth of appropriate representation of people in important spheres of life, such as governance. The history of Zambia reveals that its founding Fathers understood the importance ofsuch representation in governance.
Apart from enshrining the country's motto is "One Zambia One Nation on the Zambian Coat of Arms, a thing which pointed out the need for unity in a country of over 72 ethnic groups, there was the aspect of using stones to emphasize representation in more or less similar manner as Old Testament Israel. A look at the history of the Zambian parliament reveals that at the time of Independence in 1964, the Parliament-which was housed in inadequate and unsuitable premises behind the Government’s Central Offices in Lusaka commonly known as the Secretariat Area-had equitable tribal representation.
In a clear display of equitable distribution and equitable representation of all the tribes in Zambia, 72 stones were collected from Zambian tribal regions and placed at the foundation of Parliament to represent the tribes of this great nation.
This now brings me to a subject that is burning on my heart, Mkushi the land of plenty. Mkushi District is located in the Central Province and covers an area of about 17,726 sq. km (6,844 sq mi). Mkushi district is approximately 95 km from Kapiri Mposhi, and 135 km from Kabwe Town. The Great North Road runs through Mkushi District, connecting Kapiri Mposhi on the South-West border and Serenje on the North-East border. The District also shares borders with Chongwe, Nyimba, and Masaiti Districts as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Administratively, Mkushi District is divided into 14 wards. According to the Population Summary Report of 2012, it has an estimated population of 154,534 of which 77,536 (50.2%) are male and 76,998 (49.7%) are female. Mkushi District has a population growth rate of 3.7%, which is the highest in the Province. This poses a high demand on the need for land to provide shelter and land for production of food and rearing of animals. The good side of this impressive population growth is that its offers a ready labour force for all investment projects as well as market for various goods and services.
The district has mineral deposits such as manganese, copper and gold. Mining is done on small scale, despite the district being endowed with vast mineral resources that have not been exploited yet. Mineral exploration and setting up of mining firms in the district will greatly contribute to the development of the district by creating employment to the locals as well as contribute to the national economy. Furthermore, the development of new mining areas will also support the development of other markets through the provision of jobs which will create a burgeoning middle-class consumer.
We have sold our land, Mkushi, for a bowl of soup. In the Swaka/Lala Land we now own nothing and have like Esau become servants to the strangers. The indigenous ‘Mkushians' have not benefited from the mineral resources either as mine owners or as key employees of the mining firms that have been extracting the minerals in the district. Unlike the sad trend whereby people come in our district and get rich in the full view of our eyes, and later become Shylocks that begin to exploit us through kaloba, the agenda for anyone seeking civic or political leadership in the district should be that of empowering locals.
I am one who will never sell my birth-right for a mess of pottage. Selling something for “a bowl of soup” isn’t as common an expression as it used to be, but it is still used to mean giving away something valuable, though perhaps intangible, in exchange for immediate physical gratification. This is what we have done in our land. We have given them wealth and now they are coming with great aggression using our wealth to get political power. No we can’t do that. Like is the case with our parliamentary foundation in terms of placing symbolic tribal stones, we need equitable representation were each and every of the 72 stones or tribes from across Zambia, Mkushi inclusive, are represented in parliament in 2021.
Mkushi needs a voice that will demand our heritage and a voice that will demand equitable distribution of wealth or mineral resources. It needs a voice that will intelligently represent the interests of the people of Mkushi: the voice that understands the difference between equitable representation and tribalism. The voice that understands the development agenda and has the capacity to mobilise resource, inspire transformation and actualise the dreams of the natives.
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