Maravi

Tolerance should start with Mwanawasa – Shamenda

Tolerance should start with Mwanawasa – Shamenda
By Bivan Saluseki
Tuesday March 13, 2007 [02:00]

TOLERANCE should start with President Levy Mwanawasa himself, Union Network International secretary general Fackson Shamenda said yesterday. President Mwanawasa on Sunday ahead of the Youth Day, which fell yesterday, advised Zambians to guard jealously the culture of tolerance for divergent views in the country. But Shamenda yesterday said although tolerance should start with people in power, the government should fight poverty in homes so that tolerance should also evolve from people's homes.

"Tolerance should start with people who are in power. Even in homes, it's the head of the house who provides the guidance; in villages, it's the chief. Therefore when given the necessary instruments of power, they know that you can be tolerant," he said. Shamenda said leaders, just like chiefs, should expect to be insulted and have more than one name. "But if you are the first one to react to criticisms and make threats, then people will always be making reference on how a leader behaves," he said.

Shamenda said people would not always agree with each other. He said leaders should in fact spend more time with people who disagree with them instead of those in agreement so they can learn more. "You will not always find people who agree with you. There are those who disagree with you. You can't all be right, probably it's just the approach," he said. Shamenda said he was glad that the top leadership had begun to appreciate the need for tolerance. "They should lead by example. The culture of talking to each other through the newspapers and public meetings is not healthy," he said.

Shamenda said even in conflicts, there was tolerance. "Even where there is war, there is tolerance; like how to treat prisoners of war, civilians and others. It's how you manage it, that's what is important," he said. Shamenda said the starting point of resolving intolerance were homes too. He said the ruins of a nation began in the homes of its people. "Our starting point is the standard of living of the citizens themselves. A hungry man is an angry person because he does not have anything to eat. We should start addressing poverty in homes if people are to be tolerant to you as a leader," he said. Shamenda said there was conflict now because of the high levels of poverty and people were not tolerant as a result. "People can only be able to contribute to tolerance if they have got the basic needs of human beings," said Shamenda.

And United Liberal Party president Sakwiba Sikota said tolerance was very important in terms of accepting divergent views, accepting different people and those with different lifestyles. "We have to be particularly tolerant of the minorities," he said. Sikota said once the minority were marginalised, a country got the tyranny of the majority. He said President Mwanawasa should exhibit tolerance in practical terms as well. Sikota said leaders should accept criticism and divergent views even when they did not agree with those same ideas. "We must accept that we don't have a monopoly of wisdom," said Sikota.

President Mwanawasa advised Zambians to guard jealously the culture of tolerance for divergent views in the country. "We have a duty as Zambians to teach this culture of tolerance to our brothers and sisters who have been torn apart by conflict arising from intolerance and lack of respect for one another," he said. President Mwanawasa said the socio-economic gains that Zambia had made in recent years were as a result of the tolerance and respect for divergent views. The President said the government would adhere to the rule of law and a political culture that promoted transparency, accountability and economic development. President Mwanawasa said his government would always support the independence of the Judiciary and the freedom of expression.

Labels: TOLERANCE

posted by MrK @ 9:44 AM