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IOL News
03-08-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Liberators in Dire Need of Political, Moral Cleansing
(From left) Swapo president Nutembo Nandi-Ndaitwah, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and former Frelimo president Joaquim Chissano at a working dinner held at Mahlamba Ndlopfu, Pretoria on July 26, 2025. The ANC hosted a Liberation Movements Summit in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng on July 25-27, 2025. Image: GCIS Zamikhaya Maseti The ruling African National Congress convened a landmark Liberation Movements Summit from 25 to 27 July 2025, gathering six Southern African liberation parties including MPLA (Angola), SWAPO (Namibia), FRELIMO (Mozambique), ZANU PF (Zimbabwe), and CCM (Tanzania) to deliberate on the theme: 'Defending the Liberation Gains, Advancing Integrated SocioEconomic Development, Strengthening Solidarity for a Better Africa.' Conspicuously absent, however, was Zambia's United National Independence Party (UNIP), the liberation movement led by the late President Kenneth Kaunda. This party offered refuge to the exiled leadership of the African National Congress and embraced thousands of young South Africans who crossed borders to join the national liberation struggle against apartheid. The ANC, as a liberation movement, had its headquarters in Lusaka under the protection of UNIP, and the Zambian people sustained its operational lifeline. The organisers of the summit have not explained this omission, and it stands as a glaring historical oversight in any attempt to reconstruct the liberation narrative of Southern Africa. Any honest retelling of Southern Africa's liberation history is incomplete without recognising Zambia's indispensable role, under the leadership of the United National Independence Party (UNIP) and President Kenneth Kaunda. While not always armed with material abundance, Zambia carried the weight of regional liberation with unmatched moral clarity and unwavering solidarity. Lusaka was not just a geographical refuge for exiles; it was the beating heart of a pan-African revolutionary conscience, hosting the ANC's headquarters, training camps, political schools, and underground logistics. The Zambian people paid a heavy price, including economic sabotage, border raids by the apartheid regime, and relentless pressure from the West. Yet Kaunda's government never wavered. It chose principle over profit, and African unity over diplomatic convenience. That such a pivotal liberation movement was absent from this summit should not be taken lightly; it reflects a growing trend of selective memory that must be confronted if we are to truly reclaim and revitalise the liberation legacy. The summit made several significant resolutions. It reaffirmed support for the liberation of Western Sahara, condemned all forms of foreign domination and neocolonial interference, and called for deeper ideological and practical cooperation between liberation movements. The parties committed to revitalising South–South solidarity, advancing youth mobilisation and political education, and accelerating regional economic integration through shared development frameworks. In addition, the summit called for party-to-party diplomacy beyond state platforms, recognising the strategic value of liberation movements coordinating across borders to influence global governance, trade, and peace agendas. These resolutions, if translated into action, could mark a turning point, shifting these movements from commemorators of the past to architects of the African future. This was not a nostalgic gathering of revolutionaries trading memories over aged slogans. It was a solemn reaffirmation of purpose, a strategic recalibration of the post-colonial project amidst a volatile global order. What emerged was clear: the legacy of liberation is not a finished chapter; it is an unfinished struggle, and those who led us into freedom must now lead us into transformation. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading The liberation movements in the Southern African region have not been able to dogwatch one another, to speak frankly, honestly, and without diplomatic pretence. At no point did SWAPO, FRELIMO, CCM, or MPLA rise with principled courage to say, for instance, to President Robert Mugabe, how you are governing Zimbabwe is unjust and unsustainable. The ANC, however, attempted what it called quiet diplomacy in Zimbabwe, urging the Zimbabwean leadership and people to resolve their problems internally and to avoid relying on externally imposed solutions. Unfortunately, that quiet diplomacy did not yield the desired results. The suppression of opposition parties and the stifling of democratic space persisted. This absence of honest, fraternal correction among liberation movements has weakened the moral centre of the liberation tradition itself. One hopes that this revived Party-to-Party diplomacy will correct that historical failure. It must not be reduced to celebratory declarations and performative solidarity. It must have political dog watching as a central tenet, a principled, fraternal mechanism through which liberation movements hold one another to the revolutionary values they once embodied: honesty, people-centred governance, democratic integrity, and moral courage. Not loyalty to incumbency, but loyalty to the people. The liberation movements must be brave enough to confront the objective reality of the evaporation of the liberation heritage. The fact of the matter is that across the African continent, the very parties that ushered in political freedom, that dismantled colonial rule, and held the dreams of the masses, are no longer the governing parties. In Ghana, the Convention People's Party (CPP) of Kwame Nkrumah, the first to proclaim African independence, has faded into political obscurity. In Zambia, UNIP, once the bastion of Southern African solidarity under Kenneth Kaunda, has been swept aside. In Kenya, KANU (Kenya African National Union), the liberation party of Jomo Kenyatta, has long ceded power. Here at home, the ANC of Nelson Mandela, once the symbol of global moral authority, has been partially dislodged from power. It now governs in coalition with its ideological and historical adversaries, a profound moment that should signal not a tactical adjustment, but a generational reckoning. The liberation movement, as we know it, stands at a precipice. The question these Parties must collectively ask is not cosmetic or electoral, it is existential: Why has this occurred? Why have the liberation movements, once cherished as the custodians of the people's hopes, been relegated to electoral decline, coalition compromise, and in some cases, outright irrelevance? And more importantly, what should be their collective response to this objective reality of downward swings, fractured mandates, and the political displacement of liberation itself? This is no longer a theoretical concern. It is an urgent summons for introspection, ideological recalibration, and coordinated strategic renewal across the continent.
Daily Maverick
12-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Will Chambishi toxic waste spill affect Zambia's ‘all-weather friendship' with China?
Sino Metals' pollution of the Kafue River presents an opportunity to forge a more environmentally sustainable partnership. When a toxic waste storage facility at a copper processing plant near Chambishi burst on 18 February, about 50 million litres of acidic waste polluted Zambia's Kafue River, which serves as a lifeline for the country. The plant operator – Sino Metals Leach Zambia – is a Chinese subsidiary of the state-owned China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group. Much has been written about China's controversial track record regarding environmental protection and cavalier attitude towards work safety. However, the timing and impact of the spillage, and the response it elicited in and outside Zambia, illustrate the convergence of climate risk, industrial governance and diplomatic complexity in Zambia-China relations. The disaster occurred during Zambia's most severe drought in decades, with average temperatures up 1.3°C since 1960 and rainfall declining by nearly 2mm a month since the 1940s. The Kafue River sustains 60% of Zambia's population, providing water for drinking, agriculture, fishing and industry, particularly in the Kafue River Basin, where much of Zambia's population lives. Already at its lowest levels in years, the waterway was further compromised, affecting 500,000 residents, contaminating 1,200 hectares of cropland and exacerbating food insecurity for millions. Site of Zambia's Chambishi toxic spill This is not an isolated incident but part of a global pattern where climate volatility increases the likelihood and severity of industrial accidents, especially in the extractive sector. The disaster could challenge the normally cordial Zambia-China relations. Since being formally established in 1964 just after Zambia's independence, state-to-state relations have been characterised by what founding president Kenneth Kaunda described as an 'all-weather' friendship. Mining investments now constitute more than 88% of total Chinese investments in Zambia – Africa's second-largest copper-producing nation. The spillage has attracted international scrutiny. US Africa Command chief Michael Langley cited the accident in his testimony before Congress as an example of the ills of Chinese investment compared with the American model. Zambia's struggle with corruption in the early 2000s and its heavy reliance on copper exports made attracting foreign direct investment challenging. China's readiness to engage in this difficult economic and political environment offered a valuable alternative to Western financing, which often required political and social reforms. However, as China's involvement deepened, the relationship became more complex. For example, a year before Zambia's 2006 general election, an explosion at a Chinese-run explosives manufacturing plant in Chambishi killed dozens of Zambian workers amid labour abuse allegations. It provided fodder for Michael Sata, populist leader of the Patriotic Front – which went on to become the main opposition party – who criticised Lusaka's close ties with Beijing. Despite occasional enforcement actions in response to public outcries, Zambian officials frequently soft-pedal Chinese mining companies that bypass environmental and safety standards, with repeated reports of violations and inadequate labour conditions. As Institute for Security Studies research shows, this is part of a broader trend of weak judicial oversight, allowing Chinese firms considerable impunity in their operations. Twenty years later, disaster has again struck Chambishi, a year before Zambians head to the polls. This time however, the incident seems to have affected state-to-state diplomacy. More than just criticising Sino Metals, Zambian opposition parties are holding the government partly responsible, accusing it of allowing substandard tailings dams to operate, and calling for farmer compensation. Considering the country's current economic woes and political flux, the last thing President Hakainde Hichilema's beleaguered government needs is to alienate prospective voters by not condemning the incident. Hichilema described the acidic runoff as a 'crisis' – and officials airdropped tonnes of lime into the river to ameliorate the pollution. International precedents provide valuable lessons for Zambia. The 2014 Mount Polley tailings dam collapse released millions of cubic metres of mining waste into Canada's Quesnel Lake. British Columbia responded by banning upstream dam construction, mandating independent safety reviews, and establishing a $1.3-billion remediation fund, with the mining company carrying most costs. Similarly, Brazil's 2019 Brumadinho disaster killed 270 people, prompting the introduction of real-time monitoring of high-risk dams, community evacuation plans, and a $7-billion reparation settlement from Vale S.A. for ecosystem restoration. These cases show the importance of robust regulatory frameworks, corporate accountability and transparent monitoring measures that can help prevent future disasters and ensure effective responses. Zambia's 2024 Green Economy and Climate Change Act offers a policy foundation to address these interconnected risks. The government can mandate climate stress-testing of mining infrastructure, drawing on the Southern African Development Community's projections of a 1.8°C to 3.6°C temperature rise by 2050. It can also adopt real-time monitoring for high-risk dams, like in Brazil. Regionally, strengthening transboundary water governance through the SADC Transboundary Water Management Programme can help establish joint water quality standards with Zimbabwe and Mozambique, mitigating cross-border impacts. Internationally, enforcing the Equator Principles for social and environmental management – mainly for firms in the extractive industries – which Chinese investors in Zambia were reluctant to sign, should be prioritised. Diplomatically, the Chambishi spillage has intensified scrutiny of both Chinese investment and the Zambian government's regulatory resolve before the 2026 polls. The government's response has been reactive rather than proactive. To restore public trust and diplomatic credibility, Zambia must move beyond rhetoric and do what previous incumbents have shirked. It must hold foreign investors accountable and embed climate resilience and environmental safeguards into future agreements. It also needs to recalibrate its relationship with China on terms that prioritise safety, sustainability and national interest. This will test Zambia's diplomatic dexterity, which has so far served it well, such as when Lusaka maintained trade relations with the West while strongly condemning Western vacillations on apartheid South Africa and minority-ruled Rhodesia. Currently, Chinese state-owned and private enterprises and individual Chinese entrepreneurs ply their trade outside their government's auspices. Even Chinese state-owned enterprises, such as Sino Metals, prioritise profit over environmental responsibility, a far cry from the Kaunda era when ideology seemed to hold sway. Lusaka must candidly address its evolving relations with Beijing, lest it alienate itself from the many Zambians who suffer the impacts of disasters such as Chambishi. DM
Zawya
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Ambassador Han Jing Visits Chilenje House in Memory of Dr. Kenneth Kaunda
On April 29, 2025, Ambassador Han Jing led the Embassy team to visit the Chilenje House 394, the former residence of Zambia's founding President, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, joined by representatives from the Zambia National Heritage Conservation Committee. Embassy staff were impressed by the visit and saw it as a meaningful way to pay tribute to Dr. Kaunda on the occasion of the Kenneth Kaunda Day, as it refreshed memories on Zambia's independence history and the all-weather friendship forged by Chairman Mao and President Kaunda and other leaders of the older generation, which has withstood the test of time. It helped renew the commitment of all Embassy staff to sustaining the China-Zambia friendship in the new era and implementing the outcome of the FOCAC Beijing Summit to further advance the Comprehensive Strategic and Cooperative Partnership between China and Zambia. Chilenje House 394 is a museum house in which Dr. Kenneth Kaunda lived from January 1960 to December 1962 and directed the fight for independence of Zambia. The House has been redecorated in its original colour scheme, and much of the furniture and personal effects used by the Kenneth Kaunda family at that time has been replaced in the original positions. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Zambia.
