Maravi

Our political parties and self-reliance

Our political parties and self-reliance
By The Post
Wed 30 May 2012, 13:30 CAT

OUR political parties are not business enterprises. But to survive and prosper, they have to operate in a business-like manner. They need money and lots of it. However, this is not to say that those with money can own or purchase political parties.

Political parties have no owners in the sense of the ownership that we see in business enterprises. Those who start political parties are simply facilitators and not owners of those political parties. They are simply trustees of a dream, a vision, a cause that those political parties are created to pursue.

But today in Zambia, we have politicians who are running political parties as if they own them, as if they have purchased them. Political power that political parties aspire to wield can never be purchased in that way.

The other week, we had Enoch Kavindele urging MMD members to give him the leadership of that party because he had more money than other contenders. MMD members didn't heed his call. They gave the party leadership to a politician without money, without even a house of his own.

This should teach us something about money and politics in our country.
Michael Sata founded the Patriotic Front without money. And those who followed him also had no money. Guy Scott, Michael's first disciple in the cause of the Patriotic Front, was also not a rich man. They didn't have money, but they had something more important than money. They had the commitment and a political message that resonated very well with the great masses of our people.

However, this is not to say that money is not important in the operations and organisation of our political parties. All our political parties need money if they are to survive for a long time. The Patriotic Front cannot continue to operate in the manner it did over the last ten years. To institutionalise itself, the party needs money. But this money is not going to come from one rich individual or a small group of people with very deep pockets.

It will need the financial support of all its members and supporters, of all those who share its vision or goals. And above all, it will need to get into business and make its own money. This will not be an easy undertaking. If our political parties have serious difficulties mobilising support during elections, they will even have more challenges trying to run businesses.

But there is no other sensible alternative to this. For the Patriotic Front, as a party in government, if it doesn't move quickly and start establishing a sound financial base to support its political activities, it will soon start doing what its secretary general, Wynter Kabimba, says they don't want to do.

Desperation may creep in as their hold on power starts to be threatened. And this desperation may make them do desperate things - steal public funds, extort money from desperate and corrupt businessmen.

It is good that the Patriotic Front is fully aware of these challenges and dangers and it is seeking ways to make itself self-reliant. There are many things a political party can do to raise money. Firstly, the members have to make a contribution or cease to be members.

Membership of any organisation gives one rights and obligations or duties. It is the duty of every party member to make a contribution to the well-being of their political party. Reliance on contributions from one rich leader has proved disastrous for some of our political parties that have gone that route.

This does not only endanger the future of the party when that rich leader leaves or ceases to be rich, it also threatens and indeed weakens intra-party democracy. It is said that he who pays the piper calls the tune. In political terms, it can be said that he who finances a party decides its policies and direction.

One can influence a political party without being its sole financier. Look at Michael, no one can deny his influence or mark on the Patriotic Front. But this does not come from money. It is something that comes from having a vision, a commitment, a political skill and the ability to lead. This is the way things should be.

Controlling a party because one is putting in more money doesn't lead the party and its financier anywhere. And we have a few examples now in our country. The political party that led our independence struggle was not a product of money from a few rich individuals. The key leaders of UNIP, including comrade KK, had no money.

But they had something very important in abundance - a revolutionary spirit. With that spirit, they were able to mobilise the masses of our people to make a contribution. The MMD itself was not started with contributions from a few rich men.

Ordinary Zambians put in their own sweat equity to enable MMD mobilise enough support and win the October 1991 multi party elections.

There were other initiatives after the MMD at forming political parties but most of them failed because they were anchored on the financial resources of those who founded them. A good example of this is the National Party under the leadership of Baldwin Nkumbula.

As soon as Baldwin's finances dried up, so was his leadership of that party. We also had ZADECO of Dean Mung'omba. The party appeared to have been doing well when Dean had a lot of money. When that money finished, the political fortunes also disappeared. We have no doubt UPND is headed for a similar experience.

Hakainde Hichilema will not be able to fund this political party for long, even if he wants to, because he simply doesn't have that kind of resources to sustain this party for decades on end. This will also happen to Elias Chipimo's NAREP. As long as these political parties continue to depend on the pockets of those who lead them for survival, they are headed for disappointment, for sad endings.

The initiatives Wynter is talking about deserve the attention of all our political parties. Every one of our political parties need to pay special attention to the establishment of a sound financial base. It is only in this way that we will have strong and long lasting political parties.

We cannot continue with having political parties that die off with the demise of their founders and financiers, or that die off as soon as they leave government because the umbilical cord that enabled them to feed on government resources has been cut.

What is needed and what can guarantee the survival and prosperity of our political parties is self-reliance through business investments. Of course, it is much easier for the political party in power to do this than those in the opposition. A political party in power usually has more supporters, more fathers to look after it.

It is said that defeat is an orphan and victory has many fathers. This being the case, the Patriotic Front stands in a better position today than other political parties when it comes to mobilising financial resources. But it shouldn't do what the MMD did or used to do.

A lot of money used to come the MMD's way from all sorts of sources. But that money was never used in an efficient, effective, orderly and prudent manner. It was actually misused, misapplied, mismanaged and misappropriated.

It went into the pockets of individuals instead of the party coffers. And this may explain why Rupiah Banda, as leader of the MMD, had more money than the party itself. This also may explain why small but influential party functionaries like William Banda were becoming richer when the party was becoming poorer.

Today, the MMD is so broke that it could not even manage to hold an extra-ordinary party convention. But its key leaders have so much money. This is the money that should have been in the coffers of the party. Today, MMD has nothing to give and those who used to receive from it are moving away to greener pastures, to where they think the living is easier.

This reminds us of a Luyana saying; "Sikalamunanga sametu sa waba siliametu sa yumbiwa kale" (meaning, a basket of fruits is only of value when it has fruits in it, immediately the fruits are finished it is thrown away). This is what is happening to the MMD today. And this is what happened to UNIP yesterday. This is what also may happen to the Patriotic Front tomorrow if it doesn't go the path Wynter is suggesting.

However, we have to bear in mind that the Patriotic Front in business may be open to more corruption than it may be outside business. Wynter says the party's business ventures will be competing for government contracts with other enterprises.

Yes, they have every right to do so, they should be entitled to government business like any other business enterprise. But they are not in the same position with any other business as far as government contracts are concerned because they are the ones in control of government. It is their functionaries who are occupying key government institutions that control government business. The challenge for them will be to show that they are not favoured.

It will not be enough for them to say they are getting government business on a level playing field with others, they have to be seen to be doing so. But this shouldn't stop them from getting into business. Moreover, not all business is with the government. This approach to party organisation needs to be supported, not only for the Patriotic Front but for all our political parties.

This will help not only to financially sustain our political parties, it will also help them to improve their organisation and management and to clarify what they stand for in their vision. To be supported financially and otherwise, our political parties have to be seen to stand for something that people can easily identify with and commit themselves to.

This is the only way our political parties can build good pools of genuine supporters who won't desert them in defeats, in setbacks or in declining politicalfortunes. This cannot be achieved through extortion or intimidation or corrupt business deals. It can only come from the freely given support of the people.

Extortions and intimidations breed resentment, hatred and contempt. It is easy for the party in power to extort, intimidate people and start to believe that they are freely supporting them. The real test comes when their hold on power is lost. This is the situation MMD is in today.

And it is good that Wynter knows what path leads to this destination and the Patriotic Front is setting its compass in a direction that tries to avoid such a destination.

Labels: PARTIES, POLITICS

posted by MrK @ 3:07 AM