Maravi

Rupiah’s zero option

Rupiah’s zero option
Written by Editor

IT is said that the highest proof of virtue is to possess boundless power without abusing it. And actor Clint Eastwood says "...it takes tremendous discipline to control and influence the power you have over other people's lives".

Alexander Hamilton tells us that "those who stand for nothing fall for anything". And Muhammad Ali says "...your eyes can't hit what your eyes can't see, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, rumble young man, rumble".

Oh what a web we weave for ourselves when we first practice to deceive, to lie, to cheat, to be dishonest!

It seems we are back where we started. It seems after more than 45 days of waiting for the tribunal report on a complaint against Dora Siliya under the parliamentary and ministerial code of conduct, after those many hours of listening to evidence, after spending so much time and money to try to bring an end to this issue, it is still going on, it is still very much alive, there appears to be a refusal to yield and accept the truth, face reality.

Only honest methods or approaches will end this issue. No amount of conniving, propaganda, deceit will clear away this issue.

It is said that in politics one must not be too stiff-necked, too harsh and unyielding; that it is sometimes necessary, to yield. Yielding is legitimate and essential in two cases: when the yielder is convinced that those who are trying to make him yield are in the right - in which case honest political leaders frankly and openly admit their mistake - or when an irrational and harmful demand is yielded to in order to avert a greater evil. It is commonplace wisdom that little annoyances should not be allowed to stand in the way of a big pleasure, that a little opportunistic folly and a little anarchistic talk is better than a big national crisis.

However, the estimate of a shrewd person is very rarely based on sheer misunderstanding: you can tell a man's mistakes by the people who praise him.

We have seen growing opportunism in the country since Rupiah Banda took over the presidency of this country. And when we talk about opportunism we must never forget a characteristic feature of today's opportunism in every sphere of human endeavour in our country, namely, its vagueness, amorphousness, elusiveness. An opportunist, by his very nature, will always evade taking a clear and decisive stand. He will always seek a middle course - even where there is no middle position - he will always wriggle like a snake between two mutually exclusive points of view and try to 'agree' with both and reduce his differences of opinion to petty amendments, doubts, innocent and pious suggestions, and so on and so forth.

The issue of Dora Siliya's breach of the Constitution has no middle position. It is either she breached the Constitution or she didn't. If she didn't breach the Constitution, she is safe and nothing should be done to her. If she has breached the Constitution there are consequences, there will be no impunity - she has to face the temerity of her decisions and actions, of her breach. There are no two ways about it. To try and pretend there is a middle of the road in this matter amounts to criminal opportunism.

The question of Dora maintaining her parliamentary seat, and possibly her Cabinet position, on the basis that she did not breach the parliamentary and ministerial code of conduct Act under which the tribunal was constituted and investigated her, but breached the Constitution which does not expressly recommend such a removal, doesn't make sense. It is analogous to the police setting out to investigate a theft of K2 million by a Cabinet minister and just to find that he had actually not stolen any of the K2 million they were ordered to probe but had instead embezzled K2 billion from public coffers. And upon this discovery the police stop the probe and report back to their superiors saying they couldn't effect an arrest because the minister did not steal the K2 million they were tasked to investigate and arrest him for, but K2 billion, an amount that was outside the scope of their probe.

We can only hope those whose job, whose duty is to give legal advice to Rupiah will do so with utmost honesty, sincerity and integrity and tell him that there is no other sensible option for him but to drop Dora, whatever relationship he may have with her. Rupiah is in a zero option situation. To act otherwise will be to invite a lot of problems - political, legal or otherwise - on himself. It may even open the door for calls or moves to impeach him for failing to uphold and defend the Constitution. And it may also render credence to claims of his son, Henry Banda, having an interest in the RP Capital Partners Limited deal. It shouldn't be forgotten that Henry's name came up at the tribunal hearing and there was no adequate rebuttal of evidence that showed his involvement in this deal. And where will this leave Rupiah if it is pursued to its logical conclusion?

We have been reminded several times over the last few months by Rupiah and George Kunda that we are not above the law. We agree that no one is above the law, including Dora and Rupiah themselves. If they breach the law, including the supreme law of the land - the Constitution, they have to be punished. It is not in dispute that Dora breached the Constitution. And this is not a matter that can be dealt with by a simple reprimand against her by Rupiah. The rule of law requires that all are treated equally before the law. Whether political ally or opponent of Rupiah, all are entitled to equal treatment before the law. When all citizens are treated equally before the law, then both the law and democracy are served. And the law must not be enforced in an arbitrary manner or subjected to political manipulation.

Let us not allow the desire to serve oneself to bloom once again under the fair mask of the desire to serve the common good. The future of our country will depend on the way we handle issues of this nature because this is how values and standards are built in a nation. And we should also know that the individual does best in a strong and decent community of people with principles and standards and common aims and values.

Let us all strive to build a Zambia that is economically prosperous and yet socially just, in short, a humane Republic which serves the individual and which therefore holds the hope that the individual will serve it in time. Let us struggle to build a Republic of well-rounded people, because without such, it is impossible to solve any of our problems - human, economic, ecological, social, or political. Our daily decisions and deeds must produce an actual Zambian reality that will reinforce our people's belief in peace, justice, strengthen their confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all their hopes for a glorious life for all.

Labels: DORA SILIYA, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 3:49 AM