Losing an election tool

Losing an election tool
By Editor
Mon 19 July 2010, 04:00 CAT

It is interesting to see how easily the pompous can be humbled. Those who were yesterday calling donors all sorts of names over their withholding of funding to the Ministry of Health and to the Road Development Agency are today quiet. Those who were saying they don’t need donor funding are today looking for it, and sometimes in the wrong places.

Before they started calling donors all sorts of names over funding to the road sector, they were busy showing propaganda on television on how well they were doing in this sector. And it was clear that their campaign for next year’s election was going to be anchored on achievements in this sector. They got drunk with the little success that was being recorded in this sector and started to think all was happening because of them and their money. They became arrogant and started to insult and belittle those who were funding this sector.

We still remember how Rupiah Banda and Mike Mulongoti were abusing donors.

Mulongoti was even forgetting where his newly acquired suits, shirts and shoes were coming from. He thought he was powerful and with the support of his boss, they could do as they pleased. Just because contractors worshiped them and could do anything for them, they started to think everybody was scared of them and would do everything they wanted. They were mistaken. And they know this today.

We hope they have learnt their lesson that humility, and not arrogance, pays. The humble person will draw all behind him; the pompous, arrogant and proud man will alienate all; he desired praise from all, and in consequence is now gathering contempt from all. It is always true that he who humbles himself will be exalted and helped; and he who exalts himself will be humbled. Today, Mulongoti, who was so arrogant towards the donors, looks like a small school boy in a uniform suit. The arrogance has dried up together with the funding for the road sector. And with the drying up of funding to the road sector, their dream of retaining power in next year’s elections is also fading. With humility, one progresses in one’s proper office; with arrogance and pride, one remains empty.

Clearly, the proud one is an unreasonable person, and therefore is buried under the weight of one’s own ego. The arrogant man has in himself his own punishment. Arrogance kills more than does the sword. An arrogant man is a corrupt one because arrogance is corruption. And, therefore, an arrogant man will never have high and noble aspirations.

We all know the consequences of arrogance: blindness of the mind, inconstancy, heedlessness. A humble person wins over hearts; the arrogant person repels all.
Therefore, either avoid arrogance, or be among those who will be humbled: the humble person enjoys a great peace in his heart; the arrogant person – the corrupt person – is in continuous pain. The humble person enjoys the esteem of people; the arrogant person is despised. The path to virtue is going against the current. Therefore, it is necessary to navigate with full force. Arrogance is restrained by continuous, perfect obedience. Hatred and aversion should be turned towards arrogance and all that leads to it, to detest it and flee from it. Even when arrogance is directed towards good, we should know how to moderate it, submitting it to the direction of reason and will. Otherwise, it would go at times to excess. Prudence requires that before making a great effort, all after a considerable spending of energies, we interpose a certain calm.

Clearly, when using resources provided by other people, you can’t be arrogant.

One who seeks help from others – a beggar – cannot afford to be arrogant. But corrupt elements are very arrogant people. Probably this is the way for them to divert attention to something else, away from their wrongdoing. Look at the arrogance being exhibited by Frederick Chiluba – a man who without doubt has stolen public funds, has abused public office. But Chiluba arrogantly wants to go round pretending nothing is wrong. He absolutely has no remorse and has shown no contrition whatsoever. This is the same behaviour being exhibited by those who have corruptly benefitted, in one way or another, from the abuses, misapplications, misuse and outright misappropriation of donor money meant for roads. They have been awarding contracts to their friends, and not for free, but for a direct benefit to themselves. One can confidently say they have been stealing public funds in connivance with contractors. Those who they extend road contracts to have been their personal financiers and the biggest contributors to the funding for their election campaigns. Just look at how well-off those who are in a position to influence, in one way or another, anything to do with road contracts! In a very short time, people who had nothing before coming to the Ministry of Works and Supply are today looking fresh, smelling fresh, and eating fresh. How possible is this? Corruption has made it possible. But who is ultimately paying the price for this corruption?

It’s the ordinary Zambian citizen who has to pay highly for everything because with poor roads, the prices of things go up because of increased transport costs; it is the poor man who consequently bears the burden of all this corruption because he is denied development. And when donors withhold funding to this sector because they need to account to their own people how the money they are donating is being used, the situation becomes compounded for the poor man. But at least even the arrogant get affected because there is no money to steal and behave pompously. It leads to increased humility on the part of our leaders.

We can only hope the parliamentary select committee will do a good job and help increase levels of accountability in the use of donor funds so that donors can start to release funds to this very important sector of our economy. With increased accountability in this sector, our politics will become better because the playing field will begin to be, in some way, levelled since less money will be stolen and channelled to the elections of those trying to retain power by abuse of their offices. And if money is made a lesser factor in our politics, many people in this country will start to set themselves political agendas that are today a preserve of those with deep pockets, those who can steal public funds or abuse the resources of our people entrusted to them. For this reason, we are better off moving on bad roads for a year or two or so until we put in place mechanisms for increased accountability. This is the only way we will benefit maximally from donor funding and indeed from the contributions being made to this sector by our own people through their taxes.

Yes, this will anger Rupiah and his friends who may feel this withdrawal of funding is jeopardising their election campaign and reducing the prospects of their re-election. But the interest of our people should take precedence over the political survival of Rupiah and his friends. If Rupiah wants to show progress in this sector, let him do the right thing by accounting for every cent of donor money extended to his government, and let him use taxpayers’ money in a more honest and prudent manner. Otherwise, Rupiah will lose this election tool he has been trying to use to hoodwink our people into voting for him.