Rupiah is on the course of treason

Rupiah is on the course of treason
By Editor
Mon 29 Mar. 2010, 04:00 CAT

OURS seems to be a very strange multiparty democracy. And we should ask ourselves what type of a multiparty political dispensation we are trying to build in this country that we have declared a multiparty democracy or plural society.

Clearly, democracy is not necessarily what we declare ourselves to be. It is a way of living life according to the spirit of tolerance and accommodation of others so that each one of us can participate directly in shaping their own destiny.

It is not possible to build multiparty democracy or a plural society in a country where those in power are intolerant of divergent views and of criticism.

We today live in a country where it is increasingly becoming dangerous for any citizen to belong to the opposition and to criticise those in government. Any criticism or opposition is not seen as something positive; it is seen as something negative that must be crushed, annihilated and those behind it humiliated and destroyed. If you are critical of the government, of those in power, your life will be made difficult; you will not be granted government contracts.

And even government business will not come your way; it will be withheld or withdrawn from you. Whatever you do must fail. And it doesn’t matter what you are running even if it is a charity that serves the underprivileged or a religious institution that propagates the Gospel, it will be attacked and attempts will be made to destroy it. If you are a traditional leader, you will be threatened with the withdrawal of recognition. If you are a student, you will be intimidated with suspension or expulsion.

Criticism is not tolerated. Only praise is accepted. Those who oppose them, those who question what they are doing will hardly be given coverage by the state-owned media which they control. Those who praise them, no matter how unimportant they may be, will be given front-page coverage in the state owned newspapers and prime time on the television and radio stations they control. It is either you are with them or you are declared an enemy, not only of themselves but also of the state. If you are not lucky you may even face trumped-up treason charges, money laundering accusations and so forth and so on. This is the multiparty or plural society we are forced to live in.

And instead of attempting to deepen our multiparty democracy and improve the plurality of our nation, this government, the government of Rupiah Banda, is doing everything to narrow the democratic scope and uproot whatever democratic gains have been made. And Reverend Teddy Siwila is very right when he says:

“The current national leaders should begin to understand that criticism builds a nation because it exposes the weaknesses of a particular leadership thereby providing checks and balances that must prompt leaders to take action. That’s how it is done in developed countries and that’s how these countries have attained meaningful development because they embrace the views of everybody and they respect the opinion of every concerned citizen. It is saddening to note that church leaders and various prominent individuals who speak out on issues that affect the people are being maliciously attacked. Fostering good governance is not about having political power but touching people’s lives through service delivery. The general citizenry will only give respect to President Rupiah Banda and his government if they stopped concentrating much on consolidating political power but addressing issues that affect the poor people. It would be difficult to end this tension we are seeing in the political arena because those in the corridors of power are not listening to what the people are saying. This country needs leaders who are going to embrace criticism, tolerance and uphold the values of being in a democracy. We need to see maturity in the conduct of our leaders and not this childishness we are seeing, that’s why people are angry. The government’s insensitivity, intolerance and failure to embrace criticism on matters of governance is provoking people and creating unnecessary political tension. The style of leadership of the current government led by President Rupiah Banda is worrying and provoking the minds of the right-thinking members of the public because of its failure to listen to the voice of the people over matters of national interest such as the constitutional-making process, the fight against corruption, unemployment and the escalating poverty levels. It will be difficult for the country to attain meaningful development and enjoy the fruits of being a democratic state if government continued to lend a deaf ear to various stakeholders and the general citizenry over matters that affect them.”

It is very difficult, if not impossible, for Rupiah and his minions to listen and accept what Reverend Siwila is saying. We say this because Rupiah and his minions will not listen to any critical voice, they don’t listen to anyone who questions what they are saying or doing. They can only listen to their own inner demons and to those who shower them with praises, no matter how meaningless those praises may be. Their intolerance, insensitivity and blindness make them not fit for leadership, for leaders must listen to the people they lead. This is so because leaders lead, but in the end the people govern. There is no group of people, no matter how popular they may be with the masses, that has all the virtues, neither does any have all the vices. For this reason criticism will always be good for people, especially those in leadership, and institutions that are part of public life. No leader, no institution, however popular, should expect to be free from the scrutiny and criticism of those who give it their loyalty and support, not to mention those who don’t. if criticism is valid, it must be made. Therefore, critics are valuable people to any society that wants to develop and should be protected instead of being crushed. To agree with everything Rupiah and his minions are saying or doing seems to be divine while to disagree appears to be treason. One must belong to them or be condemned. What type of multiparty politics are we going to have if all of us are threatened and intimidated into submission, into joining them and abandoning any form of opposition to them?

What Rupiah and his minions should not forget is that given the chance, our people are generally capable of governing themselves in a manner that is fair and free. And this country comprises a great diversity of interests and individuals who deserve to have their voices heard and their views respected.

And the voice of multiparty democracy, of this plural society we are trying to build is not only that of those in power, those in the ruling party and of those who support them or sing praises about them. But it includes that of the opposition, trade or labour unions, organised interest groups, community associations, traditional leaders and their royal establishments, the news media, scholars and critics, religious leaders and their congregations, small businesses and large corporations and so on and so forth.

All these people, all these groups should be free to raise their voices and participate in the democratic political process without fear of them and their institutions or organisations being victimised, being threatened with closures and withdrawal of this and that by the government. This is very important because it is in this way that democratic politics acts as a filter through which the vocal demands of our diverse populace should pass on the way to becoming public policy.

It’s not possible to build a truly multiparty and plural society with these very high levels of intolerance and insensitivity to criticism and the views and opinions of others. What Rupiah and his friends are forgetting is that theirs is a shared responsibility with the people. And the category “people” means everyone, including their most ardent critics, those they most detest.

And it is the participation of this in the democratic process that really matters and that will make our democracy a multiparty and plural one. If participation is only allowed for those who support or praise Rupiah and his minions then we are living in a de facto one party state and under the vanguard of Rupiah and his political party, MMD or rather a UNIP version of MMD. This will certainly not be accepted because the dream of our people for a multiparty political dispensation was not something foisted upon them by Rupiah; it is something they struggled for against Rupiah’s wishes. It is not a secret, or even malice to say that, Rupiah’s party at that time – UNIP, was opposed to multiparty politics, they say it as Stone-Age politics. And it’s not surprising that Rupiah seems to have serious difficulties in appreciating politics of a multiparty or plural nature. To him everything should be decided by those in power in a total democratic centralism fashion. Any deviation from what the President and those around him have decided is treason. This will not be acceptable. This will be opposed and fought against. It is this that is creating tension in the country because as a result of this attitude, Rupiah is criminalising every dissenting voice and action. The forces of multiparty democracy will not accept this without a fight. This is what is creating tension in the nation. It is Rupiah’s intolerance that is threatening stability, peace and the security of our nation. It is actually Rupiah who should be accused of treason because he is departing from the cardinal principles – the multiparty basis – of our constitution. Rupiah is actually overthrowing our multiparty constitution through his utterances and deeds and replacing it with a one party one. And this should be a treasonable act.

There’s need for the nation to pay a lot of attention to the issues raised by Reverend Siwila because if we don’t, we are headed for serious problems that will negatively impact on the future of our country.