Republican President must have university degree, says Mulongoti

Republican President must have university degree, says Mulongoti
Written by Patson Chilemba
Sunday, May 17, 2009 4:07:13 PM

WORKS and supply minister Mike Mulongoti yesterday said the nation should not U-turn on the precedent of having university graduates as Republican presidents. In an interview, Mulongoti, who is a nominated member of parliament, said the standard had already been set where the last three presidents had been degree holders.

Mulongoti said former president Frederick Chiluba managed to get a degree when he was in State House, while President Rupiah Banda and late president Levy Mwanawasa entered the highest office in the land as graduates.

"I do not know whether it will help the country by reversing that and going to people who are not graduates.

We should move on by attaching premium to leadership. We must adhere to the standards we have already set as a country by having the last three presidents who are graduates," Mulongoti said.

"We have also insisted that civil servants to hold certain positions must be graduates. So it follows therefore that those who supervise those civil servants must also carry appropriate qualifications."

Mulongoti said there should be an Act of Parliament, which stipulates the various qualifications needed for people aspiring for high office such as the Republican presidency.

"We can as a principle include in the Constitution that a head of state or President of the Republic must carry a recognised qualification prescribed under the Act of Parliament," he said.

Asked if he would push for the Act since he was also a member of parliament, Mulongoti responded: "Yes, if you look in the region, everybody is moving to university graduates as a president."

On Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata's statement that several degree holders, including President Banda had failed to perform, Mulongoti responded: "I do not want to enter into an argument with Mr Sata because he is an interested party. I would be questioning his capability if I entered into that argument."

Mulongoti said governance was no longer a child's play because the world was becoming complex and technical, saying the appreciation of global issues was beginning to pose a challenge to leadership.

He said even parliamentarians needed to read in order to articulate issues.

"It is not discrimination so to speak. It is positive discrimination. That way we will also encourage those aspiring to leadership to begin to dust their certificates, the qualifications they got in the 1960s," said Mulongoti.