Maravi

Don’t steal Levy’s praises

Don’t steal Levy’s praises
By The Post
Sun 31 Oct. 2010, 04:00 CAT

It is easy to make oneself warm on a cold day for a few minutes by peeing in one’s pants. Urine is warm and will keep you warm for a few minutes, but soon you will realise the folly of what you have done as the wet pants start to make you feel cold and the spectacle of your stupid act begins to cause embarrassment.

There’s nothing wrong with somebody wanting to feel warm on a cold day. In fact, it is a natural reaction of a body to seek warmth when its cold. But not every method of seeking warmth is proper, sustainable and acceptable. It is also natural for human beings to desire the approval and affirmation of other human beings.

Again there is nothing wrong with this. But there is something wrong when people go to any lengths and do all sorts of things to obtain the approval and affirmation of others. It is more disastrous when those who seek such affirmation resort to lies, manipulation and other forms of self-deception in order to feel a sense of being accepted and respected by others. Indeed it is said that the worst form of deception is self-deception. This is because chances are that a person who deceives oneself is likely to land in unmitigated disaster. This is what we see with Rupiah Banda. The vanity of power has engulfed him in such a way that he believes what he says even when he knows that facts may be different. Rupiah has began to believe that he can change facts and have them be what he wants them to be. This is a classic symptom of megalomania.

Rupiah seems to be getting used to reaping where he has not sown. It seems this is his way of life. Yes, in many cases - and big ones for that matter - Rupiah has reaped where he has not sown. For instance, Rupiah got the presidency on a silver platter, without having invested much in it politically. And he thinks everything in life, including praise by Transparency International, can go to him in that same style and fashion. There’s nothing wrong with Rupiah wanting to be praised, but surely to try and accept praise for doing nothing or the opposite of what one is seeking praise for is asking or expecting too much from others. But this is what happens when people live on a staple diet of lies, half-truths and other concoctions that are removed from honesty. Rupiah wants to build his presidency on a base that is nothing but cheap propaganda, lies, calumny, deceit and manipulation. The people around him know this and they think that this is their job, this is what they should help him in doing. And this is why Rupiah’s office was quick to try and hoodwink the public that Transparency International had praised Rupiah’s leadership in the fight against corruption. Everybody knows that Rupiah has been marching backwards in the fight against corruption. Levy Mwanawasa took the fight against corruption to very high heights and Rupiah has brought it down to the lowest levels. It is only the other day that Rupiah did away with the law which prohibits public officers from abusing their offices for personal benefit. Rupiah has been at the head of fighting for the right to acquire inexplicable wealth using public office. By this single act, Rupiah has fought to legitimise corruption and wanton plunder of public resources. He has managed to emasculate the Anti Corruption Commission Act in order to remove the threat of being held to account for the wealth that he, his family, friends and minions are questionably acquiring since he came to power.

From the time that he came to power, Rupiah has made it very clear by his words and his actions that he does not care about removing corruption and improving the governance of our country. Everything Rupiah has done so far moves him away from the fight against corruption into defending the corrupt and corruption. There’s no better defender of corruption in this country today than Rupiah. Rupiah is not only enacting laws that make the fight against corruption difficult, if not impossible in some respects, but he is also making sure that his friends who were charged for corruption under the Levy government go scot-free to enjoy what they had stolen. The case in point here is that of Frederick Chiluba. Rupiah has not only ensured that Chiluba is acquitted, but he has also ensured that there are no appeals against the questionable judgments that he has secured for his friend. Surely, how can such a man be praised for leading the fight against corruption? How can it be possible for Rupiah to be praised by the corrupt for defending them and ensuring that they go scot-free and at the same time be praised by those who wanted to see them nailed to the cross for their corruption, by those fighting corruption? These two are mutually exclusive - one can only either be for corruption or against corruption, and not both. In this situation it is not possible even for the most greedy, for the worst gluttons to eat with two hands. It is therefore difficult to understand how Rupiah would think or dream of praise coming from Transparency International. What he would have reasonably expected from Transparency International is denunciation over his destruction, over his reversing, of Levy’s genuine efforts at fighting corruption.

But why was Rupiah so quick to tell the nation that Transparency International had praised him? If Rupiah was living in a normal world and thinking as he should, praise from Transparency International should have come as an absolute shock. He should have stopped to understand why people who should be condemning him were praising him. But his behaviour was typical of dishonest people. This behaviour is similar to a man or woman receiving a medal as best athlete in a race that they never took part in. It will be like Michael Sata accepting an award from FIFA for being the best football administrator. An honest person would simply say thank you for the honour but ‘I have neither been an athlete nor a football administrator to receive this accolade; maybe this honour belongs to my brother Rupiah who once was a football administrator’. This is how an honest person will respond to such an error. But from the time Rupiah came, he has been trying to benefit from Levy’s legacy without being prepared to do Levy’s type of work. Rupiah is busy inaugurating projects that Levy was able to start because of his strong stance against corruption, without fully acknowledging Levy’s role. An honest person would always be starting such inaugurations with: ‘I wish my brother Levy who started this project was here today to officially open it and hand it over to you.’ But for Rupiah, everything starts with himself: ‘I have brought you development; I have built this and that for you; it’s me who has done this or that in my two years in office. Extend my mandate for another five years so that I can do more.’

Rupiah does not understand that with the corrupt style of governance that he has brought back, they will not be able to service the projects that Levy left that they are now inaugurating. There will be no money because their corruption will sweep government coffers clean. We saw this under Chiluba. A government that started with a lot of international goodwill and support drove our people to some of the worst levels of poverty we have ever experienced. Rupiah should not brag about these projects while forgetting that those who drove these projects were able to do so because they took a stand against corruption and wanted our natural resources to be available for national development. Rupiah’s government has been working to minimise Levy’s achievements in the fight against corruption. They have even gone so far as to work with those who have been insulting Levy’s efforts against corruption by giving them back what they had stolen, protection and allowing them to use state-owned media for their propaganda to try and launder their tattered images.

Only a shameless man can try to steal the accolades of a deceased colleague who is not there to accept praise and recognition for work done when he lived. This is what Rupiah is doing. Levy is not there to accept the accolades from Transparency International. And instead of Rupiah accepting those accolades on behalf of Levy, he has in the most shameful and despicable way tried to appropriate for himself praises that he knew would be meant for Levy. This can only come from a corrupt, callous and insensitive person. We say this because taking that which is not yours, that which does not belong to you and making it yours amounts to corruption, theft, banditry. If Rupiah had any dignity and respect for Levy’s memory, he would apologise for this callous act. But we do not expect Rupiah to apologise for trying to steal from his dead master because this is not the first time that Rupiah has taken something from Levy’s legacy without caring to acknowledge it. Again, this is dishonesty, this is corruption, this is theft. If Rupiah wants to be praised, he should work in a way that deserves praise. If he wants to be honoured, he should behave honourably. If he wants to be praised for fighting corruption, he should join the fight against corruption and stop defending and protecting Chiluba and his tandem of thieves and their loot.

Rupiah cannot continue to preside over a kleptocracy and expect the praise of Transparency International. This is like Zaire’s Mobutu expecting praise from Transparency International! How can that be possible?

Labels: CORRUPTION, LEVY MWANAWASA, RUPIAH BANDA, TRANSPARANCY INTERNATIONAL

posted by MrK @ 5:09 PM