Maravi

KK deplores the tribalism of Oct 30 presidential election

KK deplores the tribalism of Oct 30 presidential election
Written by Katwishi Bwalya
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 6:40:25 AM

DR Kenneth Kaunda yesterday said the pattern of voting in the October 30 presidential election that saw President Rupiah Banda emerge victorious is a clear picture of disunity getting to Zambia.

And Young Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA) national secretary Buti Manamela said the youths of today should not be neglected because they are the most important asset for any change in any society.

Meanwhile, South African High Commissioner to Zambia Moses Chikane said there is need for South Africa despite its strong economy to unite with other African countries to meet the challenges affecting the continent.

Speaking when the YCLSA paid a courtesy call on him at his office, Dr Kaunda said the disunity that had manifested itself in the October 30 elections was a dangerous development.

He said the levels of disunity among the people were against the ‘One Zambia One Nation’ which he preached when he was in power.

“Various newspapers gave us a clear picture of who got how many votes in the Northern Province, how many votes one got in the Southern Province... but it is a clear picture of disunity getting into Zambia,” Dr Kaunda said. “People scored on tribal lines, but that is a dangerous development.”

Dr Kaunda said despite having preached against disunity in the beginning, it had continued to manifest itself in the country.

“We preached against that [disunity] in the beginning, One Zambia One Nation but are we going to now allow One Zambia, 72 Nations?” he asked.

Dr Kaunda also questioned how people could preach One Zambia 72 Nations in 2008 and at the same time accept US President-elect Barack Obama’s emphatic victory on behalf of the Zambian people.

Dr Kaunda urged the YCLSA to be strong and fight for what former South African president Nelson Mandela and other freedom fighters stood for.

“This continent is ours and we should stand together for us to succeed,” Dr Kaunda said.

And Manamela said South African history could not be complete without mentioning Zambia and the role it played during the liberation struggle of that country.

“South Africa is highly indebted to the role you played in our struggle of the liberation of our country as most of our freedom fighters took refuge in Zambia. So we thought coming here would help us learn more from you,” he said. “We should also say that we are inspired by your leadership. We believe that our continent, our region needs such courageous men and women like you.”

Manamela said there was so much devastation in the world because the African continent was running out of courageous men of Dr Kaunda’s calibre who would sacrifice for others.

Manamela hoped that as young communists, the delegation would exchange notes with the vibrant youths of Zambia for the betterment of the two countries.

And speaking when the delegation paid a courtesy call on High Commissioner Chikane at his office, Manamela said one factor that led to the marginalisation of the youth was to call them leaders of tomorrow when they were actually leading even today.

“They may not necessarily be leading on a larger scale, they may also be committing a lot of mistakes and errors. But for us the youths of South Africa are the most important asset for any change, for any project that seeks to move us towards transformation and that’s the kind of attitude that we have,” Manamela said.

He said there was need for leaders to allow youth formations to express themselves freely.

“What hurts most is the attitude by our leadership to allow youth movements to speak in a somewhat regulated environment. But what should happen is [to] allow youth formation to express themselves freely and do as many things as possible and in the process when they falter, [they] should come back and say these are the lessons we are learning,” he said.

Manamela said it was a pity that young people of today no longer talked about revolution because they were not connected to the history of their countries and the liberation struggles.

“The greatest challenge we are facing is that the youths of today, are not concerned with the history of their countries. They are saying ‘no, that happened during apartheid so that doesn’t concern us’ but they should know that the role of history is very important on the part of the youths,” he said.

And High Commissioner Chikane said there was need for South Africa to start reviving its bonds that existed with other countries.

“You see life is like boxing, you can be strong today but you can’t be strong tomorrow. So we might be the strongest economy on the continent today, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t do it for other countries,” High Commissioner Chikane said. “There are a lot of challenges that we are facing today not only economic but social challenges as well. So if you don’t know your neighbours very well then you don’t know yourselves because our future is intertwined.”

High Commissioner Chikane also called on youths to contribute in whatever way they could to the betterment of society.

Labels: BUTI MANAMELA, COMMUNISM, KENNETH KAUNDA, MOSES CHIKANE, YCLSA

posted by MrK @ 6:42 AM