Dear editor,
Zambia became independent at a time when we didn’t have as many “educated” men and women as we have now and yet when we compare the kind of governance of that time and now there is great contrast. Those “uneducated” men and women tried their best to run the economy as if cabinet was full of PHD holders and professors.
At that time we were truly one Zambia one nation. However as the so called democracy dawned on us things seem to have gone haywire. We started having political parties that were formed out of selfishness and or hate. And what we have now is a total sum of the disaster created by the same.
Let’s just look at some leaders of some selected parties and see whether they stand for anything meaningful;
Edgar Chagwa Lungu of Patriotic Front; ECL told ALL Zambians who cared to listen that he was unwell and wouldn’t like to stand as PF president. Later after remembering that Zambians have before voted for a frog and hyena he decided to stand and won the elections. During campaigns he kept telling Zambians that he had no vision at all, but still Zambians voted for him, probably thinking they were ”punishing” somebody and yet they were punishing themselves.
Ever since he won the elections, Lungu looks lost. You don’t have to have studied psychology to tell the lack of confidence this man has in himself. He looks frightened and scared all the time. Lungu has a highly tensioned spirit. This has probably triggered the “sleeping” ailments that have suddenly become life threatening. If he has conscience he needs to exhume his head from the sand where it is buried right now and own up. He has nothing more to prove. History will show that we had a president called Edgar Chagwa Lungu even if he stepped down today, and that when he dies he will be buried at Embassy Park.
Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda of the Heritage Party: this man is so amazing that one doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He appears on the scene only when it is election time. His party does not seem to have a structure and he never campaigns. It looks like he depends so much on the grace of God than anything else; hoping that one day God will just miraculously make Zambians vote for him just like that. Does he have friends? Tell me of any. I wish he could see sense and find peace in resting and stop day dreaming.
Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy; over confidence is a trait that is so harmful to oneself. The popularity Mumba had when he was the top pastor in his Victory Ministries made him believe that it would be plain sailing if he joined politics. Alas, this was not to be. The party he founded was ‘buried alive’ to say the least! If Mumba quit politics today we would laugh at him only for a short while and then forget his dramatic antiques sooner than later. All would be history and Zambians would be served the unnecessary drama. Mumba is not loved. He is a rough character we hear. Rather sarcastic and unapologetic.
Edith Nawakwi of the Forum for Democracy and Development; if we were to be sincere Edith is one of the few party leaders who speak sense. Nawakwi knows what Zambians want and I think she would deliver. Unfortunately the stigma of being unmarried in this our culture poses questions such as ‘if she is not married how will she run the nation’? What we forget, however is that she runs businesses that are successful and has a family that she has managed successfully. How does she do it? Do we need to study home management? Have we not seen men or women who are married and yet so irresponsible? What causes divorces? Is it not true that in some marriages individuals have agreed to disagree on certain principles? So what are we talking about? How many single mothers have made it in Zambia and yet educated married men and women are failing to manage their resources? Think again.
Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development; he took over from a man (Anderson Mazoka) who was more charismatic than himself. In fact some of the unpopularity of HH has to do with lack of charisma and not tribal issues as some people want to put it. Tell me who is not tribal. Hichilema like Nawakwi is knowledgeable. He knows what Zambians want, but the problem is that he is just beginning to find the formula just about now. Hichilema can without doubt fix our economy, but because people are looking at him the same way they looked at Mwanawasa we will continue to vote into state house people who do not even know from which direction the sun rises or sets. People who think stealing is part of honesty. Just think about it; why would HH want to steal anything at all when he is already wealthy? HH will not fear to discipline ANY of his ministers because he won’t OWE them anything! Therefore his serving ministers will serve Zambia diligently knowing that any thief or criminal shall be booted out faster that they were appointed. That’s what Mwanawasa was too and he left behind a sound economy. HH would do the same.
Erick Chanda of the Fourth Revolution Party; just the short time this man’s party has been in existence has made an impact in his own right by beating some of the renowned parties that have been in existence for a long
-long time. I like his idea that all corporate bodies should be made to contribute a certain percentage of their profit towards education provision for its citizenry because they are the ultimate beneficiaries of this human resource. This makes sense than the rhetoric of FREE EDUCATION provision with no concrete explanation of how this would be done. I hope he has a manifesto.
Tilyenji Kaunda of the United National Independence Party; apart from the fact that this man thinks that one day people will give him a sympathy vote just because his father was our first president I cannot think of any other good reason why he has continued to stand under this once great party. UNIP cannot rise from its ashes. The earlier its members realised this, the better!
I can go on and on, but some political parties will just waste valuable space here. The point I want to make is that Zambians must learn to listen attentively to the leaders of our political parties during not only campaign time but at all times these leaders open their mouths and make informed decisions.
Unfortunately most Zambians vote with agendas. They don’t think through issues. My view is that poverty and laziness play a crucial role in most Zambians’ decision making during this period. Anybody who tells them that they will be given this and that for free will certainly capture a good amount of votes. They don’t even think how anybody would provide or give free goods and services. A clever politician just needs to compose a slogan on those lines and that’s it!
Is it lack of education? Here I don’t mean just someone having gone to school, but something that means more than just a preparation for the life that is now. I mean the education that has to do with the whole being. I mean the education that is the harmonious development off the physical, the mental and the spiritual powers. The education I am talking about is that which prepares the individual for the joy of wider service in the world and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come. This is the kind of education Zambians need now and forever.
So come the next elections – whether next month or next year – we need to think more positively about the actions we are going to take before, during and after elections. May the good Lord bless us all.
By Jalabani Pelete