Maravi

Govt is too reactive to criticism – Habasonda

Govt is too reactive to criticism – Habasonda
By Ernest Chanda
Wed 13 Jan. 2010, 04:01 CAT

SOUTHERN Africa Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) executive director Lee Habasonda has called on the government to shake off its attitude of intolerance towards opposing views.

Commenting on CARITAS Zambia executive director Sam Mulafulafu's observation that there would be growing tension between the state and the church in 2010, Habasonda said there were more clear signs that the government was too reactive to criticism.

He said there was a general belief in government officials that all those who tried to advise them on matters of national interest were enemies of the state.

"Clearly there is a failure of the state system in Zambia to manage divergent views. We have seen that the state does not want to engage in dialogue with those people and institutions it perceives to have differences with. All we see are underhand methods to discredit those institutions they don't agree with," Habasonda said.

"All this boils down to intolerance which everyone in government has adopted. They have simply resolved not to accommodate opposing views. Anyone who disagrees with them is labelled an enemy of the state and is discredited on a daily basis. We have seen this government create tension with the church, NGOs, donors, and now the media. You can't call that a healthy society!"

Habasonda said the government should have invested in creating structures of conflict resolution, rather than antagonise every sector of society.

"Tension in this country has heightened because those in government have not created structures for resolving conflicts. For example, we have not seen any Cabinet minister who has taken interest in visiting NGOs in order to acquaint themselves with the operations of these organisations. All we have seen are government officials lambasting NGOs and other stakeholders," he said.

"As we move through 2010, government should be more proactive rather than reactive. They should engage the Church in many issues and try to understand why there are differences in opinion at times. The attitude that those in government are more Zambian and wiser is bad. Intolerance is on the rise based on the assumption that those not in MMD are not entitled to state facilities and privileges; this is not right."

Habasonda advised the government to change its approach towards people and institutions with opposing views so that the country could move forward.

"I think it's time government changed its attitude towards the Church and other stakeholders. It's not only right to call all these stakeholders allies when they do or say something those in authority agree with. Society is made up of different views. That's what makes a complete society. This approach of being arrogant, what I call 'mighty is right', is not good for democracy. We want to see President Rupiah Banda lead peaceful campaigns as we go towards the 2011 general election. We also want to see the MMD convention attended by all stakeholders in the party. These are some of the tenets of good governance which this government should remind themselves of all the time," said Habasonda.

Giving his reflections on the year 2010, Mulafulafu observed on Monday that politicians would continue to use the same language they used last year against the church.

Labels: CARITAS, LEE HABASONDE, SACCORD

posted by MrK @ 6:52 AM