HH on Obama's nomination
By Sunday Chanda
Monday June 09, 2008 [04:00]
Zambians know the influence and character of the original UPND under the capable leadership of Mwana Mubotu, the late Anderson Kambela Mazoka. Zambians also know how the party was embarrassed soon after his demise. The hypocrisy with which our political players want to live is worrying. After reading UPND's HH talk about the Obama nomination in the US and further condemning tribalism, I am forced to remind this politician that he was politically propped up by regional and tribal politics.
I read Choolwe Mweetwa's article on Obama and I think he made a whole lot more sense than HH on this matter. How I wish HH would have taken time to read the context of Choolwe's article before commenting on this historical event.
As the editorial in The Post has correctly observed, " sometimes people pay too much attention to form and not content or substance of the matter", and this is in reference to the Obama nomination. It is wrong for HH to use the Obama fever to justify his political skeletons.
Such should not be politics in this time and age. Zambians recall very well how Sakwiba Sikota and his team were treated at the UPND convention, at Mulungushi International Conference Centre. What is important for politicians such as HH who seek political leadership of this country is that they must be able to candidly face their past and not make political statements just when its suitable to do so.
You cannot reduce such an important event in the diary of every sensible black person as the Obama nomination to justify your ascendacy to leadership of a political party when we know what actually propelled you. It was not merit because others could have done better. It was something between money and tribe or both. Zambians are not suffering from political amnesia that they would forget what transpired to oust Sakwiba strategically because appratently he was different from Mazoka and therefore could not take over.
I remember how The Post were accused of being anti-Tonga when they brought to the fore the happenings within the UPND after Mazoka's death. My word of advice for HH is that it will be impossible for him to strike the Obama fever in Zambia because he has not addressed his past with honesty. UPND conceived tribalism and regionalism after the Mazoka demise and gave birth to the HH administration. Obama never had such a tainted political CV and as a new phenomenon, he has proved to be his own leader and not ridding on some negative agenda such as race and tribe to enter the political limelight.
HH has this type of political stigma that only he can deal with, and he can only do so if he accepts that this is where his party is coming from but reforming in the process. You cannot be in denial when facts are all over the wall!
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=42548
Empowerment funds
By Concerned citizen
Monday June 09, 2008 [04:00]
Allow me to air my views on the Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) because it seems not to be functioning on time.
The commission has been in existence for some time now since its establishment by the Act of 2006. The youth empowerment funds and the funds for agriculture have been transferred to the commission for some time now. In this year’s budget, funds have also been allocated to the commission.
A few weeks ago, the commission assured the nation that the funds applied through the youth ministry would be disbursed. This was after the intervention by the President in his speech on Youth Day. The commission said they were just working out modalities of disbursing the funds to remote areas.
To date, all the commission tells us is that they are still 'putting' the guidelines in place. The funds applied through the ministry had their own guidelines which were suited for the youth entrepreneurs to access the funds. These are to be disbursed according to the guidelines set. The guidelines should be established; they are overdue.
By delaying the disbursements, the commission is denying the youths and citizens their empowerment and wealth creation opportunities, contradicting one of the most critical objectives of the commission. We will soon be in the rainy season.
People spent resources to come up with their business proposals. It is time to disburse the funds as the other guidelines for the fresh funds are being awaited since the commission had also confirmed that they had received the successful proposals from the youth ministry whose funds are already with the commission.
http://www.postzambia.com/post-read_article.php?articleId=42549
Role of opposition parties
By Chilufya Chanda
Monday June 09, 2008 [04:00]
I'd like to air my views on PF leader Michael Sata and President Mwanawasa’s reconciliation. In commenting on this matter, I will restrict myself to what I perceive to be the role of the opposition and based on that, argue as to whether Sata’s reconciliation is suitable and reasonable for the opposition.
This is important because any failure by the opposition to understand themselves and their mandate will result in their being rendered irrelevant to the cause for which democracy exists.
In competitive multi-party politics, such as we have embraced in Zambia, the party that forms the incumbent government seeks to enact into law a number of policies and programmes (oftentimes consistent with their election manifesto). Opposition political parties are free to criticise the ruling party’s policies, ideas and programmes and offer alternatives.
Democratic parties recognise and respect the authority of the elected government even when their party leaders are not in power. This is possible because democratic societies are committed to the values of tolerance, cooperation and compromise. Democracies recognise that consensus building requires compromise and tolerance. Mahatma Gandhi famously argued that “intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit”.
The notion of a loyal opposition is central to any democracy. It means that all sides in the political debate-however deep their differences–share the fundamental democratic values of freedom of speech, the rule of law and equal protection under the law. Parties that lose elections become the opposition. The opposition, then, is essentially a 'government-in-waiting'.
For a culture of democracy to take hold, opposition parties need to have the confidence that the political system will guarantee their right to organise, speak, dissent and/or criticise the party in power. Opposition parties need to constructively engage the government of the day on critical issues without being combative. The opposition were never meant to be detached; they are expected to build bridges among themselves and with the government.
By design, opposition political parties play an increasingly important role in shaping policy agendas, conducting civic education, fighting corruption, singly or in alliance with the media, and do not necessarily need to perceive the the party in power as an enemy.
There is nothing fundamentally flawed with the reconciliation between Sata and Mwanawasa.
This change of approach in politics can be expected to result in political development and maturity by breaking the myth of separation between the opposition and the party in power. President Mwanawasa understands that his government is not an island, so does Sata.
This reconciliation needs to be energised by other stakeholders coming on board and can only survive the test of time if other stakeholders get on board such as the ZEC, CCZ, ECZ, NGOCC and the labour movement.
May this reconciliation lead to compromise on the disputed NCC and other serious national issues.
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