PRESIDENT SATA PUBLISHES BAROTSELAND AGREEMENT FOR PUBLIC SCRUTINY

LUSAKA, Sunday, January 15, 2012 By John Chola Zambia’s President Michael Sata, has decided and directed the publicising of the controversial Barotseland Agreement of 196. Spokesperson in the Presidency office George Chellah said in a statement January, 13, 2012 that the decision to publicise the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 was to enable citizens understand and appreciate the contents therein. “During the meeting with our colleagues, the representatives of the Linyungandambo, Barotse Freedom Movement and the Movement for the Restoration of Barotseland, we promised to avail this document to the public,” President Sata says. President Sata says his government hopes that publicising the Barotseland Agreement would enable the Zambian people to read and comprehend the contents of the document. He also believes that the publication of the document will also enable the general populace to have wider comments over the same. Last month President Sata met the Barotse activists at State House to seek greater dialogue on the issue of the Barotseland Agreement of 1964. The President said there have been misunderstandings on the issue and promised to publish the document to dispel these misinterpretations. President Sata says only dialogue will save the country and its people. The President further said that government did not want to spill blood over the Barotseland Agreement, adding that he was not interested in engaging in a confrontation like the previous MMD government did. Ends.