Cultivate Nation Principles and Values Without Reminder for the Common Good His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema on Friday 11th March, 2022 presented to the National Assembly and indeed the entire Zambian population an update on the progress made in the application of national values and principles. The State of the Nation Address (SONA) is a constitutional requirement in accordance with Articles 9 and 86 (1) of the Zambian Constitution. Considering the focus of the address, the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) provides a social justice perspective in keen consideration of the plight of the vulnerable, the marginalised and the poor whose well-being squarely lies on those vested with authority upholding values such as integrity and social justice. The recent address by the President sets a baseline on which various stakeholders will further monitor and evaluate government’s mandate to cultivate and uphold the nations values and principles. Prominent issues such as commitments to tackle corruption and climate change, enhance accountability, end child marriages and teenage pregnancies, reduce the abuse of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), doing away with perennial and costly by-elections, workforce dignity, youth unemployment etc., have been noted. Read more

On Tuesday 22nd February 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture suspended the importation of onions and potatoes. This was done in response to a request from the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) who raised concern that the flooding of imported onions and potatoes on the market risked having the country record losses. Specifically, for onion, losses are estimated at over K23 million if the matter remained unaddressed.
The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) wishes to highlight that this ban is not a new intervention. The ZNFU in February 2021 again requested government to ban the importation of onions and potatoes anchored on the premise of promoting consumption of local products and supporting local production of agriculture products. The ban was however lifted in April 2021 in view of the recorded supply deficit as a result of the importation ban. Locally grown onions were however, unable to meet national demand. Read More>>>