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{
    "id": 346571,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/346571/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 528,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kombo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 218,
        "legal_name": "Musikari Nazi Kombo",
        "slug": "musikari-kombo"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as I was saying, the chiefs or that cadre of leadership is extremely important in the management of the affairs of the country. When you look at conflict resolution and the role that the chiefs play, it is extremely important. When I went round listening to them, they were telling us some stories of how they manage conflict. Even when there are family conflicts and one family goes to the police, another to the court and another to the chief, you will find that the family that went to the chief resolved their issues much faster and live harmoniously as a family whereas the one that went to the police had their conflict continuing. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in that manner, by resolving those conflicts in villages, they actually help to bring stability amongst communities. That is important for the management of the affairs of the country. The chiefs are also a focal point for many services. When you talk about births, it is from their offices, you know many births have occurred in an area. It is the same with deaths. They are very important even in the registration of voters. In the recent voter registration, we did not do very well because the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) did not involve that cadre of leadership. They did not involve the chiefs. But if they had done so, I am sure those people would have gone to all the villages and ensured that registration is done very fast. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of village elders, I want to ask the Minister to take this point which has already been made by Mr. C. Onyancha. Even the chiefs we are talking about do their job well because they use those village elders. We need to institutionalize village elders in our system of government. Therefore, in our amendment, the Minister should accept that we do, in fact, bring and ensure that village elders are institutionalized and are paid. In my petition, we said that the chiefs are officers of the national Government who often deal with communal matters as I have said, especially conflict resolution. Therefore, they ensure peace,"
}