To Rio with the opposition

To Rio with the opposition
By The Post
Tue 19 June 2012, 13:25 CAT

THE history of mankind is one of continuous development from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom. This process is never ending. Therefore, we constantly have to sum up experience and go on discovering, inventing, creating and advancing.

Ideas of stagnation, pessimism, inertia and complacency are all wrong. They are wrong because they agree neither with historical facts of social development nor with the historical facts of nature so far known to us.

It is well known that when you do anything, unless you understand its actual circumstances, its nature and its relations to other things, you'll not know the laws governing it, or know how to do it, or be able to do it well. When we look at a thing, we must examine its essence and treat its appearance merely as an usher at the threshold, and once we cross the threshold, we must grasp the essence of the thing.

In this world, things are complicated and are decided by many factors. We should look at problems from different aspects, not from just one. We must learn to look at problems from all sides, seeing the reverse as well as the obverse side of things. In given conditions, a bad thing can lead to good results and a good thing to bad results.

We must adapt our thinking to the changed conditions in our country and in the world. Of course, no one should go off into wild flights of fancy, or make plans of action unwarranted by the objective situation, or stretch for the impossible.

The present problem is that many people consider it impossible to accomplish things which could be accomplished if they exerted themselves. To take such an attitude is to seek truth from facts. Facts are all the things that exist objectively, truth means their internal relations, that is, the laws governing them.

We should proceed from the actual conditions in and outside the country and derive from them, as our guide to action, laws which are inherent in them and not imaginary, that is, we should proceed from the internal relations of the events occurring around us. And in order to do that, we must rely not on subjective imagination, not on momentary enthusiasm, but on facts that exist objectively; we must appropriate the material in detail and draw correct conclusions from it.

To behave like a blindfolded man catching sparrows, or a blind man groping for fish, to be crude and careless, to indulge in verbiage, to rest content with a smattering of knowledge is a bad style of work.

Ours is a multiparty political dispensation. But multiparty politics should not mean fragmenting our people into pieces that weaken them when it comes to solving the common problems of their country, of their communities. There is need for unity in diversity.

The unity of our people and the unity of our various political formations are the basic guarantees for the success of our endeavours to develop our country and move our people out of poverty. It is only through the unity of our politicians and their political parties and of the whole nation that we can defeat poverty and accomplish the cause of our people.

To elaborate, what we are trying to say is that the unity we are talking about should start from the desire for unity, resolving contradictions through criticism and struggle and arriving at a new unity on a new basis. It is imperative to overcome anything that impairs this unity.

It is in this light that we see and welcome Michael Sata's efforts to try and embrace the opposition that is patriotic, that is willing to work for the common good. After all, democratic politics, multiparty politics are not a fight for survival, but a competition to serve. No matter who wins elections, both sides must agree to cooperate, to work together in solving the common problems of society.

Moreover, democracy is more than the sum of its institutions. A healthy democracy depends in large part on the development of a democratic civic culture; of the behaviours, practices and norms that define the ability of a people to govern themselves.

The opposition is part of government. And being part of government means that the opposition needs to be engaged, respected and listened to by those in government. All deserve to be heard and have their views respected.

The voices of democracy are not only those of the government and the ruling party. The voices of democracy include, of course, those of the government, its political supporters and opposition. All should be free to raise their voices and participate in the democratic political process.

In this way, democratic politics acts as a filter through which the vocal demands of a diverse populace pass on the way to becoming public policy. Looking at things this way, it is clear that the role of the opposition in a democracy is not to bring a government to a standstill; is not to always seek ways of paralysing the government.

It is to participate in the governance of the country in a manner that ensures that the ideas of those in government are cleansed of their vices before they become public policy. When this happens, the people benefit and good governance is guaranteed.

Good cooperation between those in government and those in the opposition ensures that we do not swing from one end of the pendulum to another because everyone contributes to what is being done. It also ensures that the standards, principles, values and aims of those in government and those in the opposition, including civil society, are common ones. In this way, whoever comes to power is not expected to fundamentally change the direction of society.

In this way, the proper role of government is to serve citizens by creating opportunities that benefit all without discrimination. For this reason, citizens should be concerned with the way leaders lead them and administer public affairs.

It is for this reason that many people today are appealing to our political parties to conduct their business with love and respect for one another. Given this role, our politics should be honest and responsible because it is an effective way of serving others and working for the integral development of our country. Political authority must therefore be exercised within the limits of the moral order and must guarantee the conditions for the exercise of freedom.

Accordingly, politics needs people with credibility. And political authority is exercised legitimately if it is committed to the common good of society. The common good is the reason for the existence of political, social and economic institutions.

Common good calls upon all persons to contribute and commit themselves responsibly to building a peaceful and just society for all. This happens when civil society, opposition and those in government encourage citizens to participate with all their talents and abilities. Participation is a duty to be fulfilled responsibly by all with the view of the common good.

We all have only one country and all our political affiliations and ideas should be subordinated to the service of this one country of ours - Zambia. This means that obligations to our country should take precedent over commitment or loyalty to an individual or a political party. As the UPND mantra says, "Zambia first" and all other things follow.

Therefore, there is need for opposition leaders to participate and cooperate with those in government in a manner that puts our country first. Elias Chipimo and Edith Nawakwi have a duty to participate in the affairs of government. Their accompanying Michael to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at government cost, is justified.

They have not gone to Brazil for their own private business. They have gone to Brazil on government business, to learn what is going on in the world so that they can become better leaders. And moreover, they are taxpayers with the right to use public funds for the benefit of the public.

Our country will benefit more if there is meaningful dialogue between the opposition and the ruling party. Dialogue, listening to others and sharing our beliefs with others, is not a choice for us. It is a must. We say this because it is an essential path for the promotion of peace, unity and development. In dialogue, one can compare different points of view and examine disagreements.

After all, peace is the fruit of honesty, truth and solidarity. And to guarantee peace in our country, and indeed development, all are called to maturity, tolerance and responsibility. And the government is the instrument by which people cooperate together in order to achieve the common good.

An authority is needed to guide the energies of all towards the common good.
Our politicians must be conscious of their specific and proper role in the political community. There is need for a conversion of heart and for the transformation of the social structures in order to build our country.

If our country is to move forward, honesty, selfless and far-sighted leadership must be demanded of all our politicians and other leaders. Good governance only occurs when we have selfless, honest and humble leaders who see politics as a vocation to serve the people.

It is therefore necessary to understand the fact that the most decisive factors affecting the future consolidation and expansion of democracy in our country will continue to be economic development and political leadership. Economic development makes democracy possible; political leadership makes it real.