Saviye calls for grooming of young people into political leadership

Saviye calls for grooming of young people into political leadership
By David Chongo in Solwezi
Mon 20 Sep. 2010, 04:02 CAT

DAVID Saviye has advised politicians to groom young people into leadership positions and not teach them to rise against each other. In an interview Saviye, who is former ambassador to Canada said it was important for the country to foster a spirit of unity from which the young people could learn and direct the nation’s dreams.

Saviye, whose last posting in Canada a year ago included countries in the
Caribbean, said unity of purpose was cardinal in achieving what any country
desired.

“Any meaningful development you can talk of is based on unity. When you are
united you are focused. It helps you understand better your needs in the
community,” he said.

“We should start looking at leadership in our young people. Are we building them
or destroying them. Let’s build them not teaching them to throw stones at each
other. If we are teaching them to do that, then what are we doing?”

He said Vietnam, one of the countries he was assigned to while based in Beijing China, had developed its infrastructure to amazing standards compared to Zambia which had stayed independent longer.

Saviye said that the development was despite Vietnam’s documented war experiences.

“Hard work is the first weapon to any success. Vietnam had been in war for a
long time but what that country has achieved in infrastructure is amazing…its
advanced. Infrastructure development puts you at a level where you can measure
yourself and from there you can build on other developments,” he said.

Saviye said there was serious need for people to change their attitudes if the
country was to economically compete in the region.

He urged politicians to be accommodative of each other’s views observing that it
had become common to conclude that the opposition was critical while the
government was doing right all the time.

“This country is democratic. It doesn’t mean that when you are in the opposition whatever you say is bad or when you are government whatever you do is good. Being in government or opposition you must know that what we want to see is a change in the living of the people. We should work together for the development of our country,” said Saviye.