Lusaka councillors, vote wisely
Lusaka councillors, vote wiselyBy Editor
Friday September 07, 2007 [04:00]
It seems the confusion that is rocking opposition Patriotic Front is starting to affect the running of the councils which the party dominates. This should be avoided because councils are the instruments by which people cooperate together in order to achieve the common good in their localities or communities.
An authority is needed at the local level to guide the energies of all toward the common good. All our councillors must be conscious of their specific and proper role in the running of our councils.
The squabbles that today surround the election of the mayor of Lusaka are unhealthy and are not helping to move the city forward. Lusaka, being the capital city of our country and the home of over 20 per cent of our country's population, requires the best leadership possible. We shouldn't also forget that Lusaka's example, as the country's leading city, is usually followed by other cities, municipalities or towns.
It is therefore important for the city of Lusaka to set a good example in everything that its leadership and residents do. If the city of Lusaka is disorganised and is dominated by anarchy, other councils are likely to follow its example. This will certainly not be good not only for Lusaka but for the whole country.
With the problems our people are facing today of lack of social and other services, more efficient councils are more needed than at any other time. We need more competent mayors and councillors to run the affairs of our councils. Where there are limited resources, the most competent people are needed to run things.
There is need for our politicians, at all levels, to take a more selfless and honest approach in the way they run the affairs of our communities, of our councils. Our councillors certainly cannot run the affairs of our communities efficiently if their own political organissation is in shambles.
They cannot bring organisation to our councils when their own political parties, the organisations that are sponsoring them are disorganised or are in confusion. We therefore ask our councillors to run the affairs of our councils, including council elections, in a more organised and exemplary manner.
We urge our councillors in Lusaka to make better use of their votes in today's elections for the mayor and deputy mayor.
They should consider it their responsibility to vote for the most suited person, the most competent councillor to lead our city. Their voting should be guided by what is in the best interests of the residents of Lusaka and our country. And as they vote they should remember that as councillors, they are bound to responsible judgement and decisions.
As such they must vote wisely and only for people who are known for their honesty, ability, dedication and concern for the welfare of all. They should allow virtue to open a way for itself, merit to prosper. And they should not allow conniving, greed and cheating to succeed. Only those with absolute loyalty to the people should be voted for.
The dissension that has rocked Patriotic Front over the election of Lusaka mayor and deputy mayor, in some way, reveals the poor and undemocratic manner in which our political parties are run.
The state of intra-party democracy among our political parties leaves much to be desired. There is very little democracy in the way most of our political parties are run. They are run like personal property of the party president and those close to him or her. While we accept that there is no civilised organisation that can run without a hierarchy, this does not mean that those in top leadership should ignore the feelings of others in the party. There is need for the top party leadership to always mull over things and consider the feelings of other leaders and even of the general membership of the party. Yes, democratic centralism may be necessary in the running of political parties.
But democratic centralism is not synonymous with one-man decisions, with dictatorship. Political leadership of a party should be a collective responsibility and decision making in a political party should be collective. Even where the principle of democratic centralism is highly accepted, this does not mean decisions have to be made only by one person at the apex; there will always be need for consultations and collective decisions. Even the Pope, who has the right to run the Church and the Vatican on decrees, consults others within the leadership of the Church. Political parties cannot be run on decrees.
They are not personal properties of those who founded or lead them. Political parties belong not just to their members and those elected to be their leaders but to all of us, including even those who oppose specific political parties. And because of this there is need for political parties to broaden their decision-making processes and take into account the views of all leaders and other ordinary members as far as possible.
The Patriotic Front having the majority of councillors in Lusaka deserves to take a leading role in deciding who should be mayor and deputy mayor. Ideally, the mayor of Lusaka should be a Patriotic Front member. But there's nothing stopping them from electing a councillor from another political party who they consider to be more able than their own members. It will be interesting to see if this will happen in today's elections. If it does happen, this may be a turning point in the politics of our councils.
We do not want to see anarchy and confusion in any of our political parties. There is need for the leadership of the Patriotic Front to work hard and ensure that unity is maintained in their party. And we urge all other political parties to do the same. We cannot have a strong multi-party political system in this country and indeed good governance without well-organised and disciplined political parties. But if unity and discipline are to be achieved in our political parties, the primary requisite is to eradicate the cause of dissension among party members.
Labels: EDITORIAL, LUSAKA, PF, UPND
posted by MrK @ 6:10 AM
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