Maravi

Prevention is better than cure

Prevention is better than cure
Written by Editor

Sometimes it is necessary for those in power, those running government, to mull over things and consider the feelings of other people. It is unwise for Rupiah Banda’s government to dismiss the observations made by the Catholic bishops in their pastoral letter of last Sunday. Everything in that pastoral letter is founded on truth and is verifiable.

The Catholic bishops are the last people in this country one can accuse of telling lies. The government ignores the advice given in that pastoral letter at its own peril.

The question Rupiah’s government should be asking itself is, what spirit moves the Catholic bishops to make such observations? Are they doing it to bring about a change of opinion, to create an unfavourable opinion in regard to Rupiah and his government? No, never. On the contrary, we believe the Catholic bishops would never want to expose any good politician or government to the blame and to the scorn to which bad methods, bad practices and bad policies will expose them. They made all those observations because such methods, practices and policies bring discredit and tend to spread. And they tend to reduce the standing of those in government.

The Catholic bishops made their observations simply to help overcome the errors that those in the government are making so that our country may free itself from such errors and move forward. If their observations or criticisms appear to have been harsh, it is simply because they felt it was necessary for them to be so, that it was healthy to be so.

And we would advise this government to open itself to criticism from any quarter, rather than be like that woman who they say kept looking – who the Bible says – kept looking toward that lake, toward that city which had sunk, and who was changed into a pillar of salt. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be changed into a pillar of salt. We must look forward. That is the only proper attitude for us to have, which all honest men and women should have, which all honest politicians should have without reservations of any kind, without regrets of any kind, without mistrust of any kind.

Our politicians in government should have the public spirit and the honesty to discuss publicly their errors. If they do so, it will strengthen them and it will make our government efficient, effective and orderly. It will make the people’s faith in the political leadership of our country firmer. Why? This is because the fact that they know how to make corrections will give the Zambian people more faith in them and more prestige in our government. It will give the political leadership of this country all the strength which people have when they know how to purify themselves of evils, when they know how to correct their errors, when they know how to overcome their difficulties.

The Catholic bishops are not in any way interested in undermining any politician, in reducing the credibility or prestige of Rupiah and his government. It will not do this country any good to destroy those political leaders who have prestige. What happens if such leaders are destroyed? Then, unfortunately, when difficult times come, the people do not have anyone in whom to believe. When difficulties come, we will need political leaders who can speak with the people; who can appeal to the people’s faith. And what do we gain by unjustifiably sowing the slightest doubt? What do we gain by unjustifiably destroying the prestige of the political leadership of our country?

The truth is we have a serious political leadership problem in our country. We have people in government who have little interest in anything else other than themselves. And through the use of deception, they are trying to create conditions suitable for permitting the imposition of a tyranny, of a straitjacket, of an apparatus for the servicing of personal ends.

We believe the cause of our people is better served to the extent to which the political leadership of our country works well, to the extent to which those in politics and in government are sincere, to the extent to which they are honest, to the extent to which they have eradicated demagoguery and lying from politics and to the extent to which they have eliminated deceit.

But it is very difficult to get anything better from a clique that is in power without having struggled much for the interests of the people to get there. And to borrow a phrase from this week’s ‘Reflections with Comrade Fidel’, “The sweetness of power for which they had made no sacrifice awoke in them ambitions that led them to an unworthy role”. This is what happens in a country when a corrupt and arrogant clique is able to take over the ruling party, destroy, humiliate and crush the best members and impose its will on the entire nation.

Rupiah and his government don’t listen to anyone, don’t take advice from anyone. They don’t seem to be willing to listen to what the Catholic bishops are saying, neither do they listen to anyone but their own inner demons. Their blindness to what is going on in our country, to what is going on around them, makes them fail to see what the Catholic bishops are saying. And this makes their leadership poor.

Rupiah can’t even see or realise that some of the people who supported him are quickly abandoning him or are distancing themselves from his embarrassing deeds. Ludwig Sondashi campaigned for Rupiah last October but yesterday he was denouncing his government as corrupt. Sondashi had no kind words for Rupiah and his leadership. There are others like Jonas Shakafuswa and Lameck Chibombamilimo who also campaigned for Rupiah to become president but today have no kind words for him. And these are not disgruntled elements; they are people Rupiah had appointed to be members of his government. Rupiah should be asking himself why these people have today turned against him. There are many others in our country who supported and voted for Rupiah but today they are rubbishing him as useless, fake, inept, nyama soya. Of course, it is said that you cannot know a person completely, his character, his principles, sense of judgement, until he has shown his colours, ruling the people. Experience, there’s the test.

One who wants to do good as a servant of the people will always respectfully and patiently listen to all the people in their diversities and complexities. There is no need to become stubborn or arrogant when the people of whom you are a servant question your decisions and actions. It is said that “stubbornness will get you into trouble at the end. If you live dangerously, it will kill you. A stubborn person will be burdened down with troubles…there is no cure for the troubles that arrogant people have; wickedness has taken deep root in them. Intelligent people will learn from proverbs and parables. They listen well because they want to learn” (Sirach 3:26-29).

There is no need for Rupiah to go around boasting that he has sharp teeth and can bite and bite deep. Others also have sharp teeth and they can bite back. Life is not lived like that. And people are not led like that. This is not the way to govern a country, let alone a multi party or plural democracy. It seems Rupiah is stuck in the one-party state mentality under which he was nurtured. That type of politics might have worked under the one-party system but they can’t do now.

There is need to “admit when you are wrong and you avoid embarrassment. Using force to get a point across is like a castrated man trying to rape a girl” (Sirach 20:3-4).

What the Catholic bishops are trying to do is to help Rupiah and his government and not to destroy them. But they can’t see this. Anyway, we are again told in Sirach 22:7-8: “Trying to teach a fool is like gluing a broken pot back together, like waking someone out of a deep sleep. Explaining something to a fool is like explaining it to a sleepy man; when you have finished, he will say, ‘what was that again?’”

Rupiah and his government are denying everything the Catholic bishops are saying and dismissing it as untrue, as lies. Well, it is said that “fumes and smoke appear before the flames do; insults come before violence”.

Truly, foolish people are deceived by vain hopes, and dreams get them all excited. But wise people respectfully and attentively listen to advice even if they don’t agree with every word said. Foolish people are very quick to denounce those who give them advice they don’t like.

But life being what it is, one cannot drift very far from reality before it catches up with him. They can deceive themselves that all is well, that it’s only a few troublemakers like the Catholic bishops and a few other disgruntled elements trying to stir up things for them. We can only advise Rupiah’s friends, those who he listens to, to tell him the truth that all is not well and the situation is as the Catholic bishops had put it. And denials have never cured any illness.

Before they realise it, the deadly virus they have been denying would have spread to the whole body and there would be no cure, not even the best ARVs may be of value. The time to act is now. Prevention is better than cure. We hope Rupiah can understand what we are talking about. If Rupiah doesn’t, we can only hope that George Kunda, Benny Tetamashimba or Mike Mulongoti can grasp what we are trying to say and with their experience, do something about it.

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 10:34 AM