Maravi

KK is right, Michael deserves support

KK is right, Michael deserves support
By The Post
Thu 20 Dec. 2012, 09:40 CAT

Dr Kenneth Kaunda's Christmas message this year to the Zambian people is a clarion call for them to support President Michael Sata. Dr Kaunda says Michael is an innocent man who deserves his support for doing what is right. Dr Kaunda says he is not a PF cadre but he proudly supports Michael for governing the country in an honest way.

"Just give him time, that man will lead Zambia in a very good way. What he is doing is more or less what I was doing during my time and that is what Levy Mwanawasa was trying to do.

I can assure you that this man needs clean support and not something dirty. Let him lead this country to the best of his ability and all of us will be happy. He is honest in doing things; he is doing the right things in the right way. So I have no problems in supporting him, I have no problems at all. I am supporting an innocent man," says comrade KK.

And comrade KK is not alone in his support for Michael. All Zambians of goodwill share that feeling and are supporting Michael in his endeavours to move our country forward and improve the lives of our people, especially the poor and the disadvantaged.

And if supporting Michael in his efforts to improve the lot of our people makes one a PF cadre, then comrade KK and all Zambians of goodwill who are supporting Michael are PF cadres. But one doesn't need to be a PF cadre to support people who are doing good things for one's people, for one's homeland.

With or without affiliation to political parties, Zambians of goodwill have always supported those who are doing good things for the people and for the country. Levy was not PF, but when he started doing things the Zambian people felt were good, they gave him all their support up to the end of his days. It is not the political party tag that really matters. It is what one does that matters. It didn't matter what political party Levy led or used as a vehicle to deliver what the Zambian people wanted, they supported him.

And it won't matter what political party Michael uses to deliver what the Zambian people want, they will support him as long as he does what they want, what is beneficial to them. Even MMD, with all its rotten history and probably present, if it is today placed under the leadership of people of proven loyalty and dedication to the cause of our people, that leadership will be supported by the Zambian people.
Michael deserves support.

Mistakes he will make, and many mistakes for that matter. But as long as they remain mere mistakes made by an honest man in his quest to do good, the Zambian people will understand and continue to give him support. Of course, mistakes, when they are made, should be promptly corrected. And if one's desire is to serve one's people in an honest and selfless way, correcting mistakes when they are made will never be a problem or such a big issue. Moreover, who doesn't make mistakes?

And supporting Michael in part means promptly correcting him when he is wrong; telling him the truth about the state of things; promptly correcting him when he holds wrong impressions about things or people.

And a distinction has to be made between the mistakes of an honest man who errs in his efforts to do good and the actions of a dishonest man, a criminal, a corrupt element who is out to rape or harm the nation.
We agree with comrade KK that Michael, as things stand today, is governing the country in an honest way and whatever mistakes he is making are not out of vanity, greed, crookedness or a desire to cheat.

Even for those who are in political competition with Michael as leaders or members of the opposition, they should not attempt to outdo him, to defeat him on the back of national failure. If Michael is doing what is good, what is right, their duty should be to push the scale higher and try to come up with suggestions or criticisms that improve on what he is doing.

It shouldn't be criticism for the sake of criticism because that is cynicism. And we know that there are no communities in this world that have been built by cynics.
Supporting Michael is in part correcting him when he is wrong, improving on what he is doing. And as we have stated before, criticism is good for people and institutions that are part of public life.

No institution should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support, not to mention those who don't. But we are all part of the same fabric of our national society and that scrutiny, by one part of another, can be just as effective if it is made with a touch of gentleness, good humour and understanding. This sort of questioning can also act, and it should do so, as an effective engine for change.

There is need for patience. It is said that Rome was not built in a day. And accordingly, comrade KK is urging us to be patient, to give Michael time. There are challenges, there are problems, there are difficulties to be tackled. These require effort and time. And we are reminded in James 1:2-4: "Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems.

For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete."
There are no paths to prosperity in this world without obstacles. Paths without obstacles don't lead anywhere important. To get to the 'promised land', you will have to navigate your way through the wilderness. All of us encounter obstacles, problems and challenges across our paths, and our decisions as to how we respond to them and view them are significant.

It is said that a person with twenty challenges is twice as alive as a person with ten. If you haven't got any challenges, you should get down on your knees and ask, "Lord, don't you trust me any more?" So what if you have got problems - that's good! Why? Because consistent victories over your problems are important steps on your stairway to success. Be thankful for challenges, for if there were less difficulties, someone with less ability would have your job.

Michael has challenges in trying to deliver on his promises to the Zambian people. But this should not discourage him and those who support his efforts. The truth is, if you find a path with no obstacles, it is most likely a path that doesn't lead anywhere important. It is said that adversity is the mother of invention, and man's adversity is always God's opportunity. Difficulty gives birth to opportunity.

You can always measure a person by the amount of opposition it takes to discourage him. When the water starts to rise, you can also. You can go over, not under! Remember, the travel is worth of the travail when you are on the right road. And Michael is on the right road. If we would just recognise that life is difficult, things would be much easier because every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don't have any problems, you don't get any seeds.

Don't spend your life standing at the complaint counter. The more you complain, the less you obtain. The person who is always finding fault seldom finds anything else. Therefore, let's try to live our lives as exclamations, not as explanations. Children are born optimists, and the world slowly tries to educate them out of their 'delusion'.

A life of complaining is the ultimate rut. The only difference between a rut and a grave is their measurements. Those who have nothing good to say are always stuck. And we see it every time in the politics of our country. It is said that little men with little minds and little imagination jog through life in little ruts, smugly resisting all changes that would jar their little worlds. Misery wants your company.

Complainers attract other complainers while repelling positive people. When God gets ready to bless you, he doesn't send complainers in your life. He sends those full of faith, power and love. The wheel that squeaks the loudest often gets replaced. If all you do is complain about other people, you will have no time to love them.

If Michael fails, Zambia has failed, we have all failed. Let's bear this in mind that all that is going on in our country today is a collective undertaking whose fruits should reach all and whose pain should be shared by all. Comrade KK is right, Michael deserves support.

Labels: KENNETH KAUNDA, MICHAEL SATA

posted by MrK @ 5:09 PM