Maravi

Rupiah's campaign and 'politics of benefits'

Rupiah's campaign and 'politics of benefits'
By Editor
Thursday October 09, 2008 [04:00]

Daniel Munkombwe, in the company of Rupiah Banda and Sakwiba Sikota, on Tuesday told a campaign rally in Maamba that politics of benefits are at play in the MMD. unkombwe, without shame, said he wanted to benefit and live well because of campaigning for Rupiah: “Now we have politics of benefits. There is no secret about it. I want to live well. You want to live well. Anybody who does anything else, there is no freedom now. When you contribute cattle, you want to liberate Southern Province from what? I want to get it. We are not a federation.”

Old Munkombwe is being very consistent on this issue. On November 13, 2005, again, addressing a campaign rally in this same district of Maamba with the late Levy Mwanawasa, Munkombwe said politics of patriotism were over and now was time for one to benefit by being in a ruling party: “You must benefit because you belong to a ruling party.” Munkombwe said he had spent 52 years serving all the three presidents – Dr Kenneth Kaunda, Frederick Chiluba and Levy Mwanawasa – and he knew what he was talking about.

When Munkombwe said this in 2005, Sakwiba Sikota harangued him, denounced him in all sorts of ways. We wrote an editorial comment to the effect which read in part: “Daniel Munkombwe may be a crude, uncouth or even an insensitive politician, but he is certainly honest in his statement that politics of patriotism are over and what is at play now are politics of benefits.

“Munkombwe’s statement may be unacceptable, may even sound immoral, but it is the truth and nothing but the truth about the nature of our politics today. And we think Sakwiba Sikota may be a bit unfair with Munkombwe because he is haranguing him for telling the truth.

“The only crime that Munkombwe may be nailed to the cross for is the consecration of opportunism, greed, selfishness and vanity in our politics. We say this because people of Munkombwe’s type dominate our politics today. The opposite of Munkombwe is extremely in the minority and difficult to find in today’s Zambian politics. It cannot be denied that politics of patriotism ceased a long time ago in this country and even the patriots, those men and women who selflessly struggled to liberate our country from the colonial yoke and there after worked tirelessly to try and build a strong and prosperous nation have long been forgotten.

“If our politics were driven by patriotism, our patriots, especially those who sacrificed everything to liberate our country, wouldn’t be living the lives of poverty and despair that they are today subjected to. A nation where politics of patriotism reign supreme cannot watch its patriots being humiliated and embarrassed the way our freedom fighters are. Sakwiba Sikota may be justified in criticising this type of politics, the type of politics being championed by Munkombwe. But Sikota should not in any way try to pretend that Munkombwe is a lone wolf in this, or that this type of politics is the preserve of the MMD. Truly, as Munkombwe correctly put it, today’s politics are of benefit…

“There are indeed very few of our politicians, at all levels, who are not Munkombwes. This is a reality Sikota and all of us should accept and acknowledge. It is only through the acknowledgement and acceptance of reality that we will be able to overcome it, to change things for the better.

“But one thing that we can agree with Sikota on is, Munkombwe being a disgrace to the politicians, those selfless individuals who sacrificed everything to give us hope, pride, dignity and a future. There are not many of that generation in our politics today. Therefore, Munkombwe is not representative of the politicians of his generations. He has joined the politics of a generation that does not know what patriotism means, a generation whose primary motivation is nchekelako; a generation driven by greed, vanity and selfishness.

“Probably because of this, Munkombwe seems to stand out. But this does not mean Munkombwe is alone in this type of politics. He is simply among friends, albeit of a different generation politicians. It is no wonder Levy Mwanawasa did not have any problems with Munkombwe’s declaration because it reflects the truth…”
Partly, this is what we stated in our editorial comment of November 15, 2005.

Is it surprising that Rupiah has said nothing about Munkombwe’s declaration? Will it be proper for us to ask why Sakwiba Sikota has this time said nothing about Munkombwe’s statement? And in fact, this time, Sakwiba was sitting next to Munkombwe. They were in the same campaign team drumming-up support for Rupiah in Maamba and other Southern Province districts. Can we say Sakwiba has been converted to Munkombwe’s outlook? These are serious questions that need honest answers.

This is what happens when principles and values are lost. This is what happens when principles and values are sacrificed on the altar of political expedience. This is what happens when principles and values are traded like fish in the market. This is what happens when principles and values are gambled in a big political casino.

What type of a Christian nation are we trying to build in this country we have declared a Christian nation? We are asking this question because the participation of Christians in political life is supposed to be guided by the gospel values. And we cannot call others to virtues which we ourselves do not make an effort to practice. As Christians, our people are supposed to vote wisely and only for people who are known for their honesty, ability, dedication and concern for the welfare of all – and not just for their own personal benefit as Munkombwe is propagating.

What our people are seeking is genuine democracy in which the leaders are servants of the electorate and not its masters and robbers. Good governance only occurs when we have honest and selfless leaders who see politics as a vocation to serve the people, and not themselves as Munkombwe is telling us. No one deserves to be elected unless they love their fellow citizens more than themselves.

We say this because we are aware that politics is an area of great importance for promoting justice, peace, development and community among all. And as Christians, our people should regard politics as a vocation, a way of building up society for the common good and not a means to rape the community.
When people think only of themselves and their own particular group, then there are problems, frustrations.

And moreover, we are reminded: “Whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all” (Mark 10:14).

In casting our votes, we should never be swayed by personal profit as Munkombwe is advocating but solely by consideration of which of the candidates is better for the nation. We should scrutinise the candidates and decide who to vote for strictly according to the good we think they can do for the nation. Our own narrow personal interests should be kept subordinate to the general public good.

God has given us gifts we all need to preserve and develop life in this country. He has given us these gifts and it is our duty to ensure that they are equally shared among all his children in this country, and not only among those who supported the winning candidate.
We should all be at the service of the truth, justice and all the best values of our nation. We need a conversion of heart and mind to honest, truth, justice, solidarity and love.

What Munkombwe and his friends are doing and advocating is dangerous. If you start a process in which all of the country’s principles and values begin to be destroyed, that process is very negative. If you destroy the values and principles on which a nation is founded, the consequences are terrible.

It’s not a matter of the analysis or criticism of problems, but of destruction and negation of all the principles, the values, merits and the history of our country. They are making enormous mistakes by failing to foresee the consequences of what they are saying, of what they are doing, of their greedy and vanity, of their selfishness and by not doing the right thing to reach the goals and purposes they have been proclaiming in their campaigns. They are making serious strategic and tactical mistakes. And the consequence of this is that when all those negative tendencies are unleashed, opportunistic elements are also introduced. In the end, the MMD will be an incredible case of self-destruction. Unquestionably, the leaders of this party will be responsible for this self-destruction.

This type of politics needs to be changed, must be replaced by politics of patriotism and selflessness. We need to revert to the type of politics that places the interest and wellbeing of our fellow citizens above self.

It will not be easy to get away from politics of benefit without transforming our whole political and economic system that is reeking with corruption, greed, selfishness and vanity in every pore. To move away from this, we need to introduce a totally different political outlook. It will need a different type of politician, one who is capable of feeling the hunger, the poverty, the pain and suffering of others in their own bodies.

What Munkombwe is saying reflects what is going on in the MMD today, what is going on in Rupiah’s campaign. It’s all about personal benefit. It’s got nothing to do with service to the people. This needs to change if we are to harbour any hope of a reversal of fortunes in our country.

But what Munkombwe is saying is not only true about himself. It is also true about Rupiah and indeed Sakwiba who three years ago was criticising him for saying the same things but today, he is silent about it. Why? Probably because they are in the same boat, chasing the same things.

Again, in questioning all this, we are not in any way trying to be petty or personal. We are simply defending certain principles that are of tremendous value at a time of great confusion and unbridled opportunism in our country, a time when many politicians are only preoccupied in feathering their own nests like Munkombwe.

Labels: CORRUPTION, DANIEL MUNKOMBWE, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 12:36 PM