Maravi

Rupiah: A greedy and selfish leader

Rupiah: A greedy and selfish leader
By The Post
Mon 21 Mar. 2011, 04:01 CAT

It is not surprising that Rupiah Banda is changing the law to give himself undue gratuity. To qualify for gratuity, Rupiah should have served as President for a period of three years. This will not be the case because Rupiah would only have been in office for three years on November 1, 2011.

But he wants to be paid gratuity at the end of this government and parliament. So he has reduced the three years requirement to two years. This is naked abuse of power; it is corruption. There are many retired teachers, police officers, nurses, soldiers and many other civil servants and public officers who have not received their retirement benefits because the government has no money to pay them.

But Rupiah wants to pay himself 100 per cent gratuity after being in office for just over two years. And moreover, Rupiah doesn’t need to be paid gratuity because even if he was to lose this year’s elections and leave public office, the Zambian taxpayers will continue to pay him at least 80 per cent of the emoluments of the sitting President.

And he will be provided with transport, servants and other aides, paid for holidays and so on and so forth. In a word, Rupiah will still continue to be on government payroll, enjoying almost all the benefits he is receiving today as sitting President, albeit in a slightly reduced manner. So why should the Zambian taxpayer pay Rupiah a gratuity that more or less amounts to a retirement benefit when he will still continue to be on government payroll? This is selfishness of the highest order. It’s clear that Rupiah is more concerned about his own comfort than the wellbeing of the Zambian people he was elected to serve.

When people think only of themselves, injustice is inevitable. It is not hatred alone which is contrary to the laws of charity but also indifference to the welfare of others, especially those one has been elected to serve. Rupiah is totally indifferent to the plight of many retirees who for many years have been going without their retirement payments. Some of them have died from poverty and the depression that accompanies it. Justice and fairness requires that Rupiah and others in the leadership of our government pay ordinary retirees their dues before they should pay themselves. We ask our leaders to be exemplary in their daily lives. The appeal for fair treatment should be heard in government. Justice should start with Rupiah and our political leaders must be the first to give witness. We read in the scriptures that “The Son of Man himself came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45). And in this year’s elections, a lot of attention should be paid to the qualities that candidates for political office should have to deserve our votes. And concern for social justice, desire to work for the common good instead of self-enrichment, disposition to use power for service, especially service for the poor and underprivileged should rank very high on that list of the qualities we should demand from the candidates. In evaluating Rupiah for re-election, we should ask ourselves: did he offer us quality service or he was just there to serve himself, his family and his friends? Was he there to listen to the concerns of the people and was he selfless in responding to the needs of all, especially the poor? Did he serve the country with justice towards all? Was he honest in fulfilling public responsibilities? Did he stand up to defend truth and justice for all?

A person chosen for political responsibility as a leader must remember that he or she is simply a servant or steward entrusted to offer humble service to others as opposed to serving himself or making others serve him or owning power or the people he is serving. An honest leader serves his people before serving himself; puts his people before himself and is accountable to the people who chose him; he works for the common good. We need saintly politicians who profoundly love their own people and wish to serve rather than to be served. We need leaders who can exercise stewardship and uphold the common good. We say this because the common good is the reason for the existence of political, social and economic institutions. It enables people to express commitment and concern for each other as well as attain the fullness of love. The common good calls upon all persons to contribute and commit themselves responsibly to building a peaceful and just society for all. And a leader’s best way to fulfil his obligations to the people is to contribute to the common good. Political power must have as its aim the achievement of the common good. We are told in Mark 12:31: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” What we see in Rupiah is not this but unbridled selfishness. Instead of paying those who are more in need of their retirement benefits that have been outstanding for many years, Rupiah is changing the law to pay himself gratuity that is not due to him. What type of selfishness is this? What type of greed is this? What type of leadership is this?

In a democracy where leaders are chosen by the people and for the people, such leaders should view themselves as servants of the people, as being representatives of the people at all levels. They should listen to the people, respect the people and work for the welfare of all the people. They should be the first ones to fight against injustice and to devote themselves to the welfare of all. But this is not what we are seeing in Rupiah. Instead of being a representative of the people and more concerned about the welfare of all, Rupiah is more concerned about paying himself as much as he can even going as far as changing the law to pay himself that which is not due to him. To rephrase Kennedy’s famous quote, we would ask Rupiah: ask yourself what you can do for the people of Zambia and not what the people of Zambia can do for you. Instead of changing the law to pay himself undue gratuity, Rupiah should be changing the law to ensure that retirees get their benefits on retirement day.

That’s why in this year’s elections we must vote wisely and only for people who are known for their honesty, ability, dedication and concern for the welfare of all. “Let those who rule do so with care” (Romans 12:8).

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 5:25 AM