Maravi

Words of wisdom from Sindamisale

Words of wisdom from Sindamisale
Written by Editor

For all his problems, there is something very noble about Col Panji Kaunda. Apart from being noble and humble, Col Panji is politically very honest. Relationships, alliances and other engagements don’t seem to deter him from speaking the truth on matters that affect the masses of our people. The other thing is that he is a very practical man. The problems he brings out are ones born out of personal experiences, out of his humble life in the rural areas of Chadiza, in Sindamisale.

Col Panji doesn’t have complicated theories about politics or about the economy. When he speaks, it’s out of experience, out of his daily interactions with people. He is part of the people of Sindamisale and he faces and shares in all their problems. And when a person of his type speaks, there is need to pay attention to what he says. He may not have all the explanations for what is happening and why things are that way, but he will certainly give us a correct picture of what is happening without any exaggeration or bias.

Col Panji says those in government are spending much of their time fighting the opposition and the press, especially The Post. This cannot be disputed because it is true. Rupiah Banda’s government has been guided by the wish to destroy The Post; and by the determination to be re-elected in 2011 for another term. That is not a recipe for governing well. One cannot run an administration forever on such a narrow agenda. With the passage of time, such an agenda can start to prove disastrous. The signs of failure on the part of Rupiah and his government may today not be so visible, but they will soon grow and glow.

Rupiah and his government are too bossy, too arrogant, too contemptuous of other citizens who don’t belong to them, who don’t shower them with praises. They are too little criticised by those close to them.

But the wheel of fortune turns and that which once appeared fresh, good, with the passing of time goes to seed.

Rupiah himself appears to be out of touch. And many people today see him as an inept, arrogant and out of touch old man who is there just to enjoy himself and to get on with very little work. And his personal mannerism, and of those around him, are starting to grate on the public. And some of it is insensitivity – using language that is out of touch with the people’s views when their jobs and self-esteem are at stake.

Corruption has also disgraced Rupiah’s government in the eyes of the public. Their perception is of corruption and unfitness for public service. And this distasteful perception can endure and do him and the MMD damage for a long time.

There is need for Rupiah and his friends to face these issues head on and deal with them. Certainly, Rupiah and his friends need to do a lot about themselves. Today they may look very strong and confident. But many problems lie ahead. They don’t seem to know where they are headed, and that is very dangerous. Rupiah’s leadership appears directionless: he appears to be in control, but no one knows where he is heading. We all make mistakes in our various undertakings, in our careers.

But few people have been consistently wrong on all the great issues that faced our nation over the last 10 months, as Rupiah has been. Rupiah seems to have serious difficulties defining the purpose of his government. Everyone can detect no sense of direction. There is a lot of rhetoric on Rupiah’s part. But he will in the end be judged not on what he says but on what he will do.

There is need for Rupiah and his friends to start recognising the magnitude of their problems. And this is where honest people like Col Panji come in. An obsession to destroy The Post will not help them in any way. It may even end up as their undoing. We don’t understand why the genuinely good intentions of The Post’s criticism of their deeds, of their ways are sneered at, while they appear to be a permanent quest on their behalf to bring The Post down. It is baffling.

Again, our own and only explanation is that genuine goodness is threatening to those at the opposite end of the moral spectrum. The destruction of The Post and the triumph that may accompany it will mean nothing to them and this country. What they should triumph in is the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our suffering people.

As Col Panji has correctly observed, they are spending so much time fighting us and there is nothing on the ground they are doing to improve the lot of our people who live in rural areas. There is nothing which makes people more appreciative of a government than that it should be able deliver services; than that it practically cares about them all the time.

Caring for the people is the best way to show political strength and not through arrogance and abuse of power. After all, caring for the people, especially the poor, is the essence of strength. We say this because strength, power, authority without care is savage, brutal and selfish. Political strength, political power with care is compassion – the practical action that is needed to help our poor people lift themselves to their full stature. That’s real care. And our people don’t need to wait for some stroke of good fortune, some benign giant, some socially conscious Tarzan or Samson to come along and pick the wretched of the earth.

What we need is a government that brings people together, that with humility coordinates so that every one of us, in our own way, can contribute and every one can benefit, and every one can have some responsibilities and rights. This is how the strong, the politically strong can help to lift those who are weak, the poor, the needy; that is how we can make the sick whole, that’s how we can give talent the chance to flourish and make every one contribute to the progress of our country.

And this is the whole purpose of our defence of the rights and dignity of every one of our citizens because only through collective strength and care can we move this country forward. And when we speak of all these things, we are not in any way trying to fulfill that nightmare that Rupiah and his friends try to paint, try to saddle us with. Ours is a multi-party democracy, a plural nation and as such, we are not talking about uniformity of views and so on and so forth; we are not talking about regimentation where every one of us kneels before Rupiah for favours or jobs; we are not talking about conformity where every one of us queues to take orders from Rupiah because of mass unemployment.

What we are seeking is a state of affairs where our people can speak freely and critically of everything like the way Col Panji is doing without fearing to lose their jobs, their contracts with the government; without fearing to be harassed by Rupiah’s cadres in this way or that way.

We can’t continue to have a government that runs on the basis of personal gain for those who run it and their associates. This is what Rupiah seems to have brought to this country. How many things would have been accomplished by Dr Kenneth Kaunda and his comrades if everything they did was driven by personal gain as it seems to be the case under Rupiah’s government? Yes, KK and his comrades made many mistakes. But for personal gain, never. They did what they honestly believed in to be in the best interest of our people and of their country. Sometimes right, sometimes wrong. But never for personal gain.

We ask our politicians in government to look into their hearts and ask themselves where they are taking this country and if they are comfortable with what they are doing. And let them look down into the faces of their children and ask themselves if they are comfortable with the Zambia they are building for them, if they truly think and are happy that this is a land in which their children can bring up them with a future to look forward to. They should ask themselves if what they are building is a nation with pride in itself, a thriving community, rich in economic prosperity and secure in social justice; a nation of tolerance with an innate sense of fair play.

As we have stated before, this country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless it’s a good place for all of us to live in. Any policy that departs from this will not do. If this country is not a good place for the poor people of Sindamisale, it will not be a good place for Rupiah and his friends, for all of us to live in.

Col Panji has made very good observations, for a man who spends most of his time in rural Sindamisale, on our government’s approach to the problems facing the agricultural sector, the privatisation of Zamtel and the general governance of this country. Col Panji is not their enemy; he is not in a fight, political or otherwise, with Rupiah. It must therefore be easy for them to listen to him and deeply meditate over what he has said. Sometimes it’s important for those in power to mull over things and consider the feelings and views of others – even those they most detest.

Labels: FREEDOM OF SPEECH, PANJI KAUNDA

posted by MrK @ 1:17 PM