Sata's retirement won't create vacuum - Scott

Sata's retirement won't create vacuum - Scott
By Patson Chilemba
Friday July 25, 2008 [04:00]

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) vice-president Dr Guy Scott has said there would be no leadership vacuum in the party without Michael Sata. Commenting on PF president Michael Sata's statement that there would be a leadership vacuum in the party without him, Dr Scott said although it would be difficult to replace a political figure like Sata, the party had senior people who could replace him if he went "underground or retired".

Dr Scott said the important thing would be to replace a leader without losing ground.

He said nature always had a way of filling vacuums.
"If you replace him, which other person can you bring who can make such noise and speak deep Bemba, which villagers can understand? So it's very difficult but there wouldn't be a vacuum," Dr Scott said. "There are people in PF, even people we don't know who might become presidents. What he said is just one of those things to make people talk and put chimwela morale in the party."

Asked to name the potential leaders in the party and if he was one of them, Dr Scott said if he were to replace Sata, he would not be eligible to stand as president because his parents were not born in Zambia.
He said it would take a 100 years before a white man could become president in Zambia.

Dr Scott said it was difficult to foresee one's potential for leadership.
"You can't foresee how effective they will be. Maybe somebody can be more successful than Sata. It's not likely but it is possible. But basically there is no vacancy right now, so there is no need to start talking about the presidency," he said.

Recently, Sata said there would be a leadership vacuum in PF without him.

Sata said the illness of President Levy Mwanawasa had exposed the leadership vacuum in MMD and that PF was no exception.
On the observations that political parties in Zambia were personalised by party presidents, Dr Scott said all political parties in the world were individualised.

He said people's minds were also influenced by individual characteristics of party leaders.

Dr Scott said even in the United States of America (USA), the battle for the presidency was not only based on the difference in policies between the Democrats and the Republicans but the individual aspects of Barack Obama and John McCain.

"Remember the Lima Party where me and Ben Kapita were chairmen, the party never went anywhere," said Dr Scott