LETTERS - Presidential hopefuls
Presidential hopefulsBy Evans Chinyama Chinyemba,
Wednesday January 23, 2008 [03:00]
MMD will again fail to learn from history. The sense we get at this moment is that the MMD president might anoint his successor! When this happens, the party has failed to learn from its previous mistake of waking up people to lead the party and the nation.
We hear MMD saying it will not stand in the way of anyone who wishes to contest any party position. Those who might be barred are those who are facing corruption charges at various levels. Yet it was interesting to learn that Professor Clive Chirwa was told not to run for MMD presidency. He was invited to start at branch level.
Interesting way of doing politics in Zambia! And now we hear calls from chiefs and chieftainesses that first lady Maureen Mwanawasa should stand as MMD president and eventually as a Republican president. I am sure President Levy Mwanawasa will instruct Maureen Mwanawasa to first stand as a branch chairperson before she could think of party presidency. I am not sure if Maureen Mwanawasa has ever been a branch chairperson in the MMD. For many years we have tried to advise the first lady to distinguish the MMCI from party politics.
It seems those who are advocating that Maureen contests the presidency have either ignored the President's words on Prof Chirwa or have been blinded by the MMCI activities. We all know that MMCI is not a party branch!
In my humble opinion, the campaign for MMD party president should be left to any credible person. The ‘branch chairpersonship’ brought in by President Levy Mwanawasa will definitely disqualify many people, including Maureen.
MMD should avoid the politics of anointment. The incumbent president should not anoint his successor. This political anointing does not bring out the best in the party. History has shown us that this is not the best way to do politics.
My appeal to all political parties in Zambia is that they should hold conventions or conferences and elect leaders that will contest the 2011 elections with an eye on the 2015 Millennium Development Goals. Zambia needs a leader who will answer to the MDGs, a leader who will eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and achieve universal primary education.
This leader will look at promoting gender equality and empower women in the area of education. We want a leader who will reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. The 2011 presidential candidate should help combat HIV/AIDS. Zambia will need a leader who will venture into issues of environmental sustainability. And lastly Zambia will need a leader who will have an eye on global development, a development that is wholistic.
All in all, Zambia deserves better political leadership this time around.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=36596
Shikapwasha should retire with Levy
By Jenkins Chisoni, Glasgow
Tuesday January 22, 2008 [03:00]
With due respect to Lt Gen Shikapwasha, and going by his sentiments in The Post (Saturday January 19, 2008), he does not present himself as a prospective development-oriented individual to become the next president of Zambia.
Outside Mwanawasa's shoes or plans, what can he offer Zambia? We have seen what Levy can do as our President and we don’t want a third term through Shikapwasha.
He wants to continue Levy's vision for Zambia and because of this, he is not inspiring at all.
Shikapwasha should honourably retire with Levy in 2011 as he would be too ordinary a president for the huge problems in our country, which include poverty. His services to the nation will duly be acknowledged.
Levy has done well given the circumstances the nation found itself in from the disastrous Chiluba era.
The country now needs someone with a new and better vision to improve on what normalcy Levy has managed to restore.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=36624
Levy is being deceived
By Francis Mwelwa Bwalya
Wednesday January 23, 2008 [03:00]
Republican President Levy Mwanawasa seems to be continually deceived by the noise and arranged numbers of cadres ready to sing a few songs of praise to welcome him at airports in exchange for opaque beer from the party organisers.
He wonders why the MMD cannot make an impact in Lusaka where they are faring very badly in elections.
The truth of the matter is that the people are not convinced that the MMD government should be trusted to live up to people's aspirations because action speaks louder than words. So far floods are posing a great challenge to people's lives in the compounds where there is no system whatsoever in terms of drainage management and the like. Aside from cholera, which the UPND president, Hakainde Hichilema, referred to as 'an annual ceremony', the spread of malaria cannot be contained because there are simply no measures in place.
The governement must realise that issues of this nature must be tackled vigorously and not wait for the media to expose the dangers because obviously governance entails that people entrusted with such duties are on the ground monitoring and taking necessary steps. The closure of the Kanyama clinic is one example. The area is too vast to lack a public health facility. Therefore stringent measures should be put in place to ensure delivery of health services to the people within their parameters.
We expect a pro-active approach and not lip-service which is drowned by the wild ululations of cadres and ends up as headlines. We expect better in Kanyama.
Labels: MMD, PRESIDENCY
posted by MrK @ 7:10 AM
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