Maravi

Kunda: a vendor of cheap politics

Kunda: a vendor of cheap politics
By The Post
Wed 03 Mar. 2010, 08:50 CAT

We have always called on political leaders not to allow the politics of our country to be relegated to trivialities and non-issues.

We say this because we feel that the kind of discourse that politicians are engaging in will not help us solve the many challenges our people and our country are facing. The quality of politics in our country calls for deep meditation from all citizens of goodwill.

It is shocking to hear that George Kunda on Sunday told the Chipata Central Women Development Association that the government is sick and tired of politicking. George says, “This is a working government, we don’t believe in politicking, in fact we are sick and tired of politicking in this country. We want to deliver…”

We find George’s statement appalling because he has of late embarked on what seems to be a massive campaign to politick and attack the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) and United Party for National Development (UPND); trivia now appears to be his only preoccupation.

George, the Vice-President of our Republic, which has so many problems, has made it his preoccupation to make wild statements about his political opponents, statements which cannot in any way help to solve the problems our people are grappling with. Last week on Thursday, George held rallies in Nyimba and Petauke in Eastern Province, where he said the PF-UPND Pact is evil.

He described Sata as a mad, erratic and disjointed man. In Milanzi on Friday at another rally, George told the residents that PF leader Michael Sata is a well known thug who stands for violence. He also repeatedly referred to Hichilema as prince cobra. This man went to Livingstone on February 6, 2010 to officially open the mining congress and he was quoted as having said Sata is a sadist and should not be listened to. These are just some of the comments George has been making.

These are the words that have been coming from this man’s mouth, this man who now claims that his government is sick and tired of politicking in the country. Our people are the ones who should say they are tired of the current bickering among the politicians and of George’s cheap, petty and empty politicking that offer no guidance to the nation.

Our people are the ones who should be tired of the trivial matters that are dominating our politics instead of important issues that affect them. When George travels to Eastern Province, he should tell our people how many jobs his government has created instead of telling them that the pact is evil.

He should tell them about the policies his government has put in place to help reduce poverty so that those listening to him can have food for their children and for themselves.

George should be telling the people of Zambia what his government is doing to improve the health and education sectors, which are plagued with numerous problems, ranging from the quality and inadequacy of services to poor remuneration of workers in those sectors.

George should tell the country what measures he and his friends have put in place to ensure that there are no strikes in our civil service, hospitals, schools and institutions of higher learning.

This man would do well to tell us how much the government plans to raise in form of taxes from the expected copper sales revenue, with the abolishment of the 2008 mining fiscal regime, the windfall taxes. Our people need to know what is being done as far as labour laws are concerned to ensure that they are protected from exploitation by some of unscrupulous investors.

For how long are our people going to be subjected to hazardous working environments and slave wages by some so-called foreign investors?

Our people are much more interested in knowing if and when they will have a new constitution and what that will look like. They were told that they would have one before the 2011 general elections but will that be the case going by what the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) is doing?

Are their wishes going to be respected and upheld in the new constitution going by the changes that have been made to the initial draft? George would do well to explain these issues and justify his request for a K5 billion increment for Lusaka-based members of the NCC who are mostly ministers.

George is better off telling our people about what his government intends to do to prevent our fellow citizens from suffering and dying from preventable diseases like cholera or some diseases that have since re-appeared after being wiped out. George and his friends should know that one cannot claim to uphold the sanctity of life if there is no provision for minimal health care for all.

We have always called on political leaders to be serious when it comes to addressing issues affecting our people. Our people currently face the challenge of poor infrastructure such as roads; they travel and move their goods on these same bad roads and risk their lives to earn a living while George is aboard a helicopter, a chopper.

George can afford to bicker because he does not have to wade through pools of water to get to his residence. Some parts of Lusaka such as Misisi, Chawama, Kanyama and Chibolya compounds are flooded because of the poor drainage and Kunda’s government has moved our people in these areas to Independence Stadium grounds where they will stay until July this year.

George would do well to explain to the people the long-term solution that his government has come up with to prevent floods in the capital city, to prevent people from living in tents in the midst of a rainy season such as the one we are experiencing. We have challenges of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, which has its own offshoots and requires high calibre political leadership to fight it.

The political leaders should pay attention to problems affecting our people if we are to make progress as a nation both socially and economically. George’s cheap politicking will not help us in any way. For instance, there is need for a lot of seriousness in the fight against corruption which has continued to rob our nation of its scarce resources.

We reiterate that those who pay bribes, those who protect and defend very corrupt elements like Frederick Chiluba and his tandem of thieves facilitate and perpetuate an already dysfunctional system. These are some of the issues that political leaders need to concentrate on.

The quality of discourse among our politicians, among George and his friends, leaves a lot to be desired; it does not inspire confidence and will not take the country anywhere. We have always said we are all responsible for our nation’s development and no one will develop Zambia on our behalf.

Our people need leaders of high calibre who can mobilise their efforts towards the common good, leaders who will work tirelessly to ensure the well-being of all our people. If George cannot realise that political leadership should come with requisite knowledge, motivational force, managerial ability, flexibility, acuity, organising capacity and forthrightness, then the country will continue to wallow in poverty and underdevelopment.

If George cannot realise that his cheap politicking, his pettiness, his mediocrity will not help our people; that only hard work and visionary leadership will, then we have a long way to go as a country before we can see a semblance of development.

The quality of political discourse among the likes of George and his friends should not continue if we are to harbour any hope for development as a nation.

Labels: GEORGE KUNDA, POLITICS, SATA

posted by MrK @ 7:20 PM