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Lack of values has led to bad governance practices, says Kang’ombe

Lack of values has led to bad governance practices, says Kang’ombe
By Mwila Chansa-Ntambi
Sat 23 July 2011, 13:59 CAT

LACK of values in Zambia’s political dispensation has led to bad governance practices, states Kitwe’s Riverside ward councillor Christopher Kang’ombe.

In a statement, Kang’ombe observed that one of the major reasons why Zambia had been lagging behind in terms of good governance was that most political players had not seen the importance of advancing values that promoted the very essence of being in leadership.

“Politics should essentially be about the people getting better representation but the opposite is happening in Zambia where a government minister can demand for close to K1 billion in gratuity for five years of voluntary service while ordinary retirees wait for many years frequenting NAPSA offices to get less than K100 million in benefits. This should tell you something about the quality of politics we have in Zambia,” Kang’ombe stated.

He cited respect for the views of the ordinary citizens, respect for the rule of law, avoidance of being corrupted by those seeking business favours from political leaders and the promotion of respect for human rights as some of the values that leaders ought to have.

Kang’ombe stated that it was unfortunate that most of the above mentioned values were lacking in the majority of individuals that had been given an opportunity to provide political leadership in Zambia for the past 20 years.

He added that parliamentarians and ministers alike had passed so many laws that they knew would not help ordinary citizens.

“While the main culprits are those in government, some opposition parliamentarians have also found themselves forgetting why they go to parliament and end up supporting the enactment of bad laws. How else can one explain the failure by the current government to intervene in the plight of the mine workers across Zambia where payment of poor salaries and abuse of workers is the order of the day?” he wondered.

Kang’ombe stated that it was public knowledge that Zambian workers in most sectors were getting ‘peanuts’ because there was too much intimidation from employers, thereby making workers fail to demand that which was rightfully due to them.

“The worse part of it all is the fact that those in political positions have been compromised by the same employers and this amounts to lacking values that are expected in leaders. Only recently there have been too many cases of workers being beaten up for latecoming and yet our government officials are quiet with no action being taken,” stated Kang’ombe.

Labels: CHRISTOPHER KANG'OMBE, MMD

posted by MrK @ 10:43 PM