Actions speak louder than words

Actions speak louder than words
Written by Editor

What are things coming to? On the one hand, Rupiah Banda claims to be fighting corruption and on the other, he is destroying and undermining the fight against corruption.But there is a sort of chain of events here.

For if good ideas foster other good ideas, bad things can foster, on the other hand, other bad things. Virtue must be nourished but vice springs up spontaneously like weeds and grows by itself. We must bear that in mind. If we do otherwise, while nourishing virtue we are simultaneously paving the way for vice. That’s a reality and we must not lose sight of it.

Whether we like it or not, the presidency is a very important office in our country. Its influence on public opinion and its ability to set standards of what is acceptable and unacceptable can never be underestimated. It is not sheer coincidence that the presidency takes up so much space in the media. This is because everybody watches what the president is doing to understand policy and government attitude on issues that are of interest. In this regard, a president should never engage in idle or careless conduct. Everything that he or she does is analysed and ultimately affects the nation at large. This does not only happen in the case of domestic affairs. It is also true in international relations. Presidents are closely watched and listened to by other nations in their efforts to understand the policy of the governments that they deal with. Any president worth his salt knows that every statement that he makes must communicate something of importance to his hearers. It is also true that the company that a president keeps demonstrates his attitude towards key issues in the country. A president is sized up from a distance, from his statements, his speech, from certain traits. It is possible to know whether or not he is an honourable man, a man of integrity, an ethical man, an honest man, one who is incapable of inventing a lie. People are able to sense all these things from speeches. People are able to pick inconsistencies and contradictions on every issue that the president addresses; they are able to measure the disparities between words and deeds, commitments and convictions and rhetoric and demagogy.

Apart from speech, a president’s conduct is something that is watched very carefully by those who try to understand where a government is headed. It is possible to say one thing and yet do another. This is something that we seem to be experiencing increasingly in our country. Rupiah and his friends in government seem to think that it is enough to be eloquent in their pronouncement of undying commitment to the fight against corruption while doing the very opposite in the running of government.

We can all see now that Rupiah is not bothered about corruption. He has no values to enable him to fight corruption. Values can be sown in the souls of men, in their intelligence and in their hearts. This is why Rupiah seems determined to defy the public over Frederick Chiluba and his convict wife, Regina. It is one thing for Rupiah to believe that Chiluba is innocent and entitled to keep ill-gotten money in a government account, but another to so publicly disregard the sensitivity, that his public appearances with a proven thief create.

On two occasions in under a week, Rupiah has chosen to share a platform with Chiluba. Earlier last week, he was seen boarding the same plane with Chiluba to go and attend Benny Tetamashimba’s funeral. At that funeral, he was photographed having what looked like an enjoyable time with his new found acquaintance Chiluba. And yesterday, Rupiah chose to share a platform with Chiluba to celebrate his wife’s graduation from the Australian Institute of Business and Technology. These are things that Rupiah is doing in public. He is telling everybody that he believes Chiluba should be fully rehabilitated on the crimes he has committed against our people forgotten. This is a message Rupiah is determined to shove down our throats.

It is not long ago that Rupiah told the nation that as far as he was concerned, he was not prepared to inherit other people’s enemies in reference to Chiluba. What is unfortunate about this comment is that it demonstrates the sort of naivety that is not expected in the president. In becoming president, Rupiah has sworn to uphold the Constitution and to always act in the best interest of the Zambian people. Rupiah should be the last to give the impression that he will disregard the law for political expedience. This is because this goes against the oath of office that he has taken. But quite clearly, this does not matter to Rupiah.

Against this background, it is difficult to see what Rupiah is talking about when he says his government is going to fight corruption. On almost every issue connected to fighting corruption and maintaining government accountability that has come up, Rupiah and his government have failed to side with our people when they have demanded justice. We know that they have tried to use a few lowly-placed civil servants in the Ministry of Health as sacrificial lambs to maintain the flow of donor funds to their government. Even here, Rupiah and his government are incapable of going too deep because things will not favour them. Who doesn’t know how the Ministry of Health has been abused to fund the MMD’s campaigns and their leaders’ expensive lifestyles?

At every stage, it’s clear to all of us that Rupiah has never been a fighter against corruption. Every day he is proving himself to be an ardent defender of corruption and the corrupt. As long as you are on his side, politically and otherwise, corruption on your part will not be an issue with Rupiah.

Rupiah has set a very bad example of leadership. As we said earlier, the presidency is watched very closely by many people. Even ordinary people watch the presidency to draw some inspiration and comfort about the well-being of their country. When they look at the difficulties that the nation might be in, they look to the president to see whether there is any reason to believe that their problems will be resolved.

Many of our people rightly believe that corruption and lack of government accountability is responsible for a lot of problems that we face as a nation. There are many services that are not being delivered because the resources meant for such delivery have been diverted to criminal purposes. Our people have a legitimate expectation that their president should stand on their side and fight this vice. It is not about fighting predecessors or successors. It is about safeguarding the meager resources that we have as a country.

The message that Rupiah is giving today is that he doesn’t care about what our people feel. This is why he can share a platform with Chiluba knowing very well that his government has a judgment against him. The London High Court, in this judgment, found Chiluba guilty of fraud and embezzlement and ordered him to pay back the Zambian people a total of US $53 million. Today, the Attorney General is in our courts trying to get his judgment effected for the benefit of our people. What is Rupiah saying about this? And what should the Zambian people expect from Rupiah in the execution of this judgment against his dear friend Chiluba? Rupiah’s lips are sealed about this matter. He doesn’t talk about it. Why? Are they scheming to find a way to try and avoid it? But as Jimmy Cliff said in a reggae rhythm, “…actions speak louder than words,…some will say they will turn your night into day but when it comes to doing…” Rupiah is talking even though his lips are sealed. There is no corruption to fight as far as he is concerned. That is why his friend Chiluba can now say no one can pursue him because he is a former president. He was not president stealing, he was president for public service. There was no contract with him and the Zambian people permitting him to rob them of their meagre resources. Moreover, he was every month paid a salary with no arrears. Anyway, maybe we have to accept Jones Chinyama’s ludicrous finding that Chiluba was not a public servant. But if Chiluba was not a public servant, what was he? A public master!

Rupiah complains that perceptions are being created about him failing to fight corruption. No one is creating these perceptions. It is Rupiah’s actions and utterances that are showing us his unwillingness to fight corruption. Rupiah is also saying that they are not talking about corruption to impress the donors. But we all know that the only time when he pretends to speak about corruption with any passion, without defending Chiluba, is when he is meeting with donors. Who can fail to see this?