Maravi

Rupiah’s disastrous one year

Rupiah’s disastrous one year
By Editor
Wed 04 Nov. 2009, 04:00 CAT

Many people have expressed their opinions on Rupiah Banda's one year in office.
Public relations documentaries have been arranged to praise Rupiah Banda's one year in office.

But the truth is no one can be deceived by any amount of propaganda or claims because Rupiah's record over the last 12 months is there for everyone to see.

The Zambian people know what truly characterises Rupiah's governance. They know very well that although he travels a lot, he is a lazy man who is just enjoying himself in State House, roasting meat and drinking beer with family and friends. And we all know the consequences of having a lazy President - they are terrible.

A lazy President is not viewed well by citizens, and does not succeed in anything. His duties, his work and his undertakings produce an unhappy outcome. He hates anyone who shakes him up, and is angry with anyone who wishes his good. A hardworking President enjoys the esteem of people; a lazy President is despised.

Competence goes beyond words. It is also said that the society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in politics because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good politics. Neither its pipes nor its political practices will hold water.

The whole world steps aside for a politician who is not lazy, who is hardworking and who knows where he is going.

Rupiah is full of hate for those who exercise their democratic and civic right to criticise their government and its leaders. The last one year has been characterised by the worst spirit of vengeance and hate that this country has experienced since its return to multiparty politics. And there is no doubt we have been the worst victims of Rupiah's hate, vengeance and intolerance because we have been his most ardent critics. Rupiah has established a reputation for intolerance that is difficult to match. He has never hidden his desire to see The Post closed.

And he has done everything possible to make the operations of this newspaper difficult, if not impossible. Rupiah has falsely accused us of having pocketed US$ 30 million from state institutions through Zambian Airways. But to date he has failed to prove or recover that money as he had promised the Zambian people. He has accused us of being queer, morbid and all sorts of malicious things that he knows very well are not true and he can never be in a position to prove. How can such a malicious, dishonest and vindictive person make a good President?

But terrible things also accompany hate, vengefulness and malice. Indignation, disturbance of mind, clamour, fights, revolts, curses; these are the consequences of hate, vengefulness and malice. A loving, honest, meek President wins over hearts; a hateful and malicious President repels all.

Rupiah's presidency over the last one year has been characterised, not only by dishonesty, but also by a serious lack of humility. This is as if Rupiah has never heard of the saying that the humble person will draw all behind; the arrogant man will alienate all: he desired praise from all, and in consequence he is now gathering contempt from all. It is always true that he who humbles himself will be exalted and he who exalts himself will be humbled. With humility one progresses in his work, in one's proper office; with arrogance and dishonest, one remains empty.
The arrogant and dishonest one is an unreasonable person, and therefore is buried under the weight of one's own ego.

The arrogant and dishonest president has in himself his own punishment. Arrogance and dishonesty kills more than does the sword. An arrogant and dishonest president will never have high and noble aspirations. He will crawl on the earth, and will be a worshipper of his own belly. On the other hand, a mortified president enjoys true freedom: lives to serve others.

Rupiah has not conducted the affairs of his office with sufficient humility and honesty. And the consequences of this type of conduct are very easy to discern: blindness of the mind, inconstancy and heedlessness.

This dishonesty has also led Rupiah to engage in many wrong things. Rupiah has not hesitated to invoke tribalism and regionalism just to secure votes in an election. He has also not hesitated to engage in electoral malpractices and corruption in total violation of the electoral code. Rupiah has even gone as far as justifying violence of his cadres against political opponents simply because he thinks that this will keep him in power. But he is forgetting that Zambian people don't follow such politicians for too long and too far. People do not follow uncommitted leaders.

There is no area of human endeavour that one can truthfully say Rupiah has excelled in. In terms of good governance, Rupiah has scored very badly over the last one year. He is associated with the worst laws that any government of this country has ever enacted. It is Rupiah's government that has succeeded in enacting the much-despised NGO Act. Now they are trying to come up with another Act, which even the one party state of UNIP never enacted. We are talking about the regulation of the media. And this fits in with Rupiah's character that is anchored on hate and the silencing of critics both within the ruling MMD and outside it.

We know very well that all their media schemes are aimed at us. And the pressure that they have put on the media to come up with a system of self-regulation within six months is aimed at nothing but an attempt for them to push in statutory regulation through the backdoor. But we will never put our necks under an executioner's axe. We will never be part of anything that falls short of voluntary self-regulation. And voluntary self-regulation simply means that no one will coerce us to be part of the scheme without our free choice.

The ultimatum they have given to the media does not leave room for voluntary association or regulation. It is simply a disguised form of mandatory regulation. Let them go ahead and carry out their evil schemes and we will fight them to the bitter end with everything at our disposal. We believe in mobilisation and we will mobilise against such a scheme locally and internationally. Cowardice has never been part of us. We shall never be governed by threats. Those who are moved by fear often run away when fire comes. We will not be moved by fear and threats and we will not run away from fire.

For us, this is the most incompetent, inept and most intolerant regime Zambia has ever known. There is nothing to credit Rupiah with and those who are trying to do so are nothing but dishonest people because he has done nothing. Trying to praise Rupiah for anything good that has happened over the last 12 months in our country is like trying to give credit to someone for rainfall. If there is any good thing that has happened over the last 12 months in our country, it is not because Rupiah is there as President.

However, there is room for Rupiah to improve, to change his ways and start to serve the Zambian people heart and soul and to proceed on all issues from the interests of the Zambian people - and not from the interests of his own pocket or those of his sons and friends. There is also need for Rupiah to realise that being President does not make him the absolute owner of, or major shareholder in, this country. This country will only be good for him to live in and govern only if it is good for all of us to live in and go about our lives freely. Anything short of this is a recipe for trouble.

But change of attitude and direction is only possible if Rupiah is able to admit that the last one year has been a disaster; he has to admit his mistakes and accept to correct them.

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 5:13 AM