The Kaunda family and UNIP leadership

The Kaunda family and UNIP leadership
By Editor
Monday August 18, 2008 [04:00]

One should occupy a leadership position of any organisation, of any political party, only if they are necessary. Otherwise, they have no reason to be in leadership and shouldn’t be there – not a minute less, or a second more.

It is clear to everyone who has eyes to see that the Tilyenji Kaunda leadership has decimated everything that remained of UNIP after its very difficult decade of Frederick Chiluba’s rule.

We say this not out of hatred for Tilyenji who we have fellow feelings for. Tilyenji, like any other human being, may have his strengths, talent in other things but certainly not in politics. And there is absolutely no need to cling on to the UNIP leadership when it is very clear that he is taking the party nowhere.

We have known for some time that the Kaunda family had not been happy with Tilyenji’s continued leadership of the party and had advised him to step aside and let a more competent, more able comrade take over. We also know that many people have blamed Tilyenji’s continued leadership of UNIP on Dr Kaunda. They think that Tilyenji has his support and that of his family.

But now that it is publicly known that Tilyenji does not have the support of Dr Kaunda and his family, he should step down and let another comrade take over.

By asking Tilyenji to step down as UNIP leader, Dr Kaunda and his family have demonstrated that obligations to the people, to the party takes precedence over loyalty to an individual, to a family member, to a son or a brother.

A leader of a party with such a progressive history as UNIP’s should have largeness of mind and should be staunch and active, looking upon the interests of the party and the people as his very life and subordinating his personal interests to those of the party and the people; always and everywhere he should adhere to principle and wage a tireless struggle against all incorrect ideas and actions, so as to consolidate the collective life of the party and strengthen the ties between the party and the masses; he should be more concerned about the party than about any individual, including himself, and more concerned about others than himself. Only thus can he be considered a leader.

Every member of the party must be brought to understand that the supreme test of the words and deeds of a party leader is whether they conform to the highest interests and enjoy overwhelming support of the people, including those who are not party members. We say this because it is not only party members who vote in elections. Actually, no political party can win an election purely on the basis of the votes cast for it by its members.

At no time and in no circumstances should a leader of a party like UNIP place his personal interests first; he should subordinate them to the interests of the party, of the nation and of the masses. Hence, selfishness, slacking and so on, are most contemptible, while selflessness, working with all one’s energy, whole-hearted devotion to public duty, and quiet hard work will command respect.

A leader of a party like UNIP – a progressive party, a socialist-oriented party - must be ready at all times to stand up for the truth, because truth is in the interest of the people; party leaders must be ready at all times to correct their mistakes, because mistakes are against the interests of the people.

They must always go into the whys and wherefores of anything, use their own heads and carefully think whether or not it corresponds to reality and is really well founded; on no account should they follow blindly.

We should encourage comrades to take the interests of the whole party into account. Every party member, every branch of work, every statement and every action must proceed from the interests of the whole party; it is absolutely impermissible to violate this principle.

Progressive party leaders should set an example in being practical as well as far-sighted. For only by being practical can they fulfil the appointed tasks, and only far-sightedness can prevent them from losing their bearings in the march forward.

They should be the most far-sighted, the most self-sacrificing, the most resolute, and the least prejudiced in sizing up situations, and they must rely on the majority of the masses and win their support. They should set an example in being willing to learn; at all times they should be pupils of the masses as well as their teachers.

They should be indefatigable teachers and not bureaucratic politicians. They must never separate themselves from the majority of the people by leading only a few comrades in an isolated way, but must take care to forge close links between those they are working closely with and the broad masses.

This is what is meant by thinking in terms of majority. They should be like seeds and the people like the soil. Wherever the go, they must unite with the people, take root and blossom among them. They must be able to integrate themselves with the masses in all things.

If party leaders spend all their lives sitting indoors on computers and drinking tea and never going out to face the world and brave the storm, of what good will they be to UNIP and the Zambian people? None at all, and we do not need such people as party leaders. They ought to face the world and brave the storm, the great world of mass struggle and the mighty storm of mass struggle.

The exemplary role of good party leaders is of vital importance. They should set an example in bravery, doing political work and fostering internal unity and solidarity.

Party leaders must never be opinionated or domineering, thinking that they are good in everything while others are good in nothing; they must never shut themselves up in their little rooms.

They must listen attentively to the views of people outside the party and let them have their say. If what they say is right, they ought to welcome it, and they should learn from their strong points; if it is wrong, they should let them finish what they are saying and patiently explain things to them.

Only people who are known for their ability, honesty, dedication and concern for the welfare of all should be considered to lead UNIP. Again, it shouldn’t be forgotten that politics is an area of great importance for promoting justice, peace, development and community among all our people – it is a way of building up society for the common good. Therefore, every period and every political party will need increasingly well-prepared, increasingly able leaders.

We therefore hope that even those championing the revival, rejuvenation of UNIP are not doing so, so that they themselves can personally replace Tilyenji and take over the leadership of the party. UNIP may need a much more able, much more competent leader than themselves, than they are capable of offering.

If this is the case, they shouldn’t hesitate to step aside, to cage their ambitions and support such an individual. What is important is not the positions they personally occupy in the party but the general performance of the party. We would like to see UNIP being different from other political parties in the way it chooses its leaders.

We hope the General Masheke-led group that is trying to bring about a reversal of fortunes in UNIP will look at things in this way and not see themselves as necessarily the ones to replace Tilyenji. Actually, UNIP needs a deep search for a new leader who is different in many respects from the lot that is currently vying for the presidency of our country.

It will not be easy for UNIP to come up with such a leader but if they search carefully, they can find one. Again, the participation of all UNIP generations, including the party’s heroic independence fighters, will be very important.

We hope Tilyenji will take the advice of his father, mother and other members of his family and start to organise a party congress that will usher in a new and more able UNIP leadership. And it is his duty to ensure that he is succeeded by more able comrades and not characters worse than him.