MMD needs a team of good leaders to succeed
By Editor
Wed 01 May 2013, 14:00 CAT
"We must not bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich and pretend all is well because that route leads to doom," advises Copperbelt MMD information secretary Yotam Mtayachalo. This is the advice of an MMD leader to his party. And we think it is advice that needs to receive the most favourable of considerations from the MMD leadership, cadres and members.
To begin with, we would like to refer to a saying of Lenin, that the attitude - that is to say, the seriousness of purpose - of a party is measured, basically, by the attitude it takes toward its own errors. And in the same way, the seriousness of purpose of MMD leaders, cadres and members will be measured by the attitude they take toward their own errors, problems, challenges.
Of course, their political opponents will always be alert to know what errors they have made, what problems and challenges they are facing. When those errors are made and are not subjected to self-criticism, their political competitors will take advantage of them. When those errors are made and are subjected to self-criticism, they may be used by their political opponents or competitors, but in a very different way. This is so because in the former case, their errors would not be corrected whilst in the latter they would be. That's why it is important for the MMD leadership, cadres and members to heed the advice of Yotam and take a forthright and serious attitude toward their errors, problems and challenges. They need to make a serious and honest analysis, a deep analysis of the state of their party. They need to analyse all that has been done, the good things that have been done and all the errors that have been made and the problems and challenges that have emerged.
The MMD has to begin by recognising the scale of their defeat and of their problem. They need to fully understand the causes of their defeat.
It is a fact that the MMD became increasingly associated with the most disagreeable messages, thoughts and practices. This is a political party that went to Parliament and removed the abuse of office offence from our Anti Corruption Commission Act so that its leadership could steal with impunity. They failed to produce convincing arguments for the removal of that offence, but still went ahead and enacted a law that suited their corrupt desires.
There is no need for the MMD to cheat themselves that the people of Zambia like it. If the people of Zambia loved the MMD and its leadership, why did they vote them out in such a way? It must be appreciated that the people of Zambia detest them. And this distaste is deep, it is not a momentary irritation which they can easily scratch away. They should not dismiss it as a mere false perception. They lost the election because they were linked to intolerance. In early 2011, they caused the deaths of many young people in Mongu and left a good number maimed for life as a result of their intolerance and inability to peacefully deal with dissent. They were also linked to harshness: thought to be uncaring about poverty, unemployment, poor housing and so on and so forth. They were thought to favour greed. It can also not be denied that the key leadership of the MMD was thought to be arrogant and out of touch. They were insensitive to the feelings of the people.
Corruption disgraced them in the eyes of the people. And these perceptions will not go away quickly unless a lot of work, reorganisation, reorientation and realignment are undertaken.
As Yotam says, the MMD should face these issues head on and deal with them and not pretend all is well.
Actually people need a rest from them. And they themselves need time to reflect and listen and come to understand one another better than they have of late. They certainly need to do a lot more about themselves. They need better leadership than they currently have. They need different organisation. They need a broad and stable financial base and not dependence on handouts from those who have stolen public funds. They need to spread their appeal and attract different sorts of people. In a word, they need to take a fresh look in the new circumstances.
And the impact of disunity upon them is clear to see. The MMD must in the very near future learn again to display the camaraderie and common purpose that is fundamental to a party's prospects. If they don't strengthen their leadership, they will stand no chance of ever being re-elected.
The MMD needs to confront head-on the danger of inner-party factionalism. This danger has its roots in several factors: the rough-handling, marginalisation and demotion that many outstanding MMD cadres have experienced since the change of leadership. This is leaving a strong legacy of bitterness and resentment - the walking wounded. This has cultivated tendencies towards excessive defensivism, and also to habits of counter-factionalism in some cases. There are also some warning signs of the dangers of disciplinary measures being used to settle political differences.
And as we have stated before, experience has repeatedly shown that a party divided into hostile groups loses its militancy. Protracted inner-party strife inevitably results in party members' concentration on discords. The party becomes distracted from political struggle and day-to-day work among the masses and loses its influence. On this score, the advice given by Yotam also needs to be heeded.
Yotam says: "We need to initiate dialogue and reconciliation within the MMD first than rushing to expel ailing members because that will not build the party. We will divide it further. We must have an honest assessment as leaders and not pretend that all is well. The leadership of the party at all levels must strive hard and make personal sacrifices and make the party attractive once more by first identifying our weaknesses and strength in an honest manner. Political parties have gone into oblivion because their leaders lived in perpetual denial, leading to a catastrophic end."
If the new leadership of the party is not up to the job required of it, let it be replaced in the interest of the party.
There is clearly very poor judgement on the part of the current leadership of the MMD that needs to be corrected. If a leader repeatedly shows poor judgement, even in little things, people should start to think that having him as the leader is the real mistake. And just as in sports, a coach needs a team of good players to win, a political party needs a team of good leaders to succeed.
Labels: MMD, YOTAM MTAYACHALO
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MMD needs to reorganise itself, says Mtayachalo
By Roy Habaalu
Fri 29 Mar. 2013, 14:00 CAT
THE MMD on the Copperbelt says it does not make sense to continue participating in by-elections it has been losing.
Copperbelt information and publicity secretary Yotam Mtayachalo said there was nothing new working with UPND because the resolution was made last year.
"MMD at the moment needs to re-organise itself. I don't think that by us not participating in Lukulu West and Kapiri Mposhi is a sign of weakness or the party is dead, no. The party has made a good decision not to field candidates in Kapiri Mposhi and Lukulu West constituencies because first of all after the loss, the party is to start re-organising its structures. After we have done our homework, we can start participating in these by-elections but at the moment we have been losing these by-elections, so it doesn't make sense to be going in by-elections which you are losing. So for us, if UPND wins, it's a victory for MMD, it's a victory for the opposition, so it doesn't make a difference at all whether it's MMD or UPND; if one wins we are happy because we're members from one family," Mtayachalo said.
Mtayachalo appealed to MMD members in Lukulu West and Kapiri Mposhi to support UPND candidates in the forth-coming by-elections.
"And similarly also when there will be need for us to field a candidate in one of the constituencies in Zambia where we feel strong, UPND should also reciprocate and be able to support us," he said.
And Sinda MMD member of parliament Levy Ngoma said the UPND-MMD alliance would only fail if it reached unattainable levels.
Ngoma said those accusing party president Nevers Mumba of "leasing" the party to UPND's Hichilema were sponsored elements.
"They are sponsored elements because there are some people who don't want to see MMD, UPND, UNIP and ADD working together for a common good.
Those are a danger to multi-party democracy. It's not good to have so many disintegrated groupings and all they have to do is talking in the newspapers and the possibility of forming government is nowhere near. Right now Zambia is fed up of too many disintegrated political groupings. It's for the benefit of the general citizen that there is a strong and united opposition," Ngoma said.
Ngoma said governments worked well where there was a strong and united opposition.
"For me if such a thing (alliance) was to occur, that would be a very good development but of course it has to be on an agreed arrangement, there has to be a proper mechanism on how this thing is going to be done, no imposition. No one should think that I am the boss in this arrangement so that at the end of the day it benefits everybody," he said.
Labels: BY-ELECTIONS, MMD, UPND, YOTAM MTAYACHALO
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COMMENT - Why do even the unions keep asking for jobs to be maintained? Isn't it clear that the dogmatic and ideological decision to privatise the mines has failed, and that this is no way to run an economy? The miners should not be asking for jobs - they should be taking over the mines, and the government must help them doing so. They can get them on so many things - violation of environmental and labour laws, and not last, on tax evasion (look who didn't pay the windfall tax and get them on that). It is a chance for the MMD to show they are not corrupt, and stand with their own citizens. Also, mining is a very inefficient way to create jobs - agriculture can create 10 x more jobs with 1/10th of the investment - which is why money should be poured from mining into agriculture, infrastructure and manufacturing.
Govt has failed to protect jobs for miners – Mukanga
Written by Chibaula Silwamba, Kabanda Chulu and Mutuna Chanda
Friday, May 08, 2009 4:39:50 PM
THE government has failed to protect jobs for the miners despite assurances, Kantanshi member of parliament Yamfwa Mukanga has charged. And Patriotic Front (PF) chairperson for labour Davies Mwila has said there is no justification for Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) to retrench workers when copper prices have started increasing on the international markets.
In an interview on Tuesday, Mukanga, whose constituents in Mufulira town have been hard hit by retrenchments of MCM, said people were desperate because they had no means of survival.
"[Labour minister Austin] Liato had lied that no company had notified the government that it will retrench workers but now people are losing their jobs at Mopani Copper Mines and this has shown that the government doesn't care about these people. People have no jobs while the government is watching from the terraces. That is not good, the government was supposed to get involved to ensure that our people are protected," Mukanga said.
"The President used to assure us. Even the ministers were assuring us but people are still losing jobs. A lot of people have been affected by the lay-offs by Mopani Copper Mines. So many people have lost their jobs at Mopani but the government has kept quiet. Government was supposed to protect them."
Mukanga urged the government to seriously look into the frequent retrenchments of the miners and come up with measures that would mitigate the sufferings of the people in Copperbelt Province.
And commenting on the decision by MCM to retrench 978 miners at both Nkana and Mufulira mines, Mwila said in Lusaka that President Rupiah Banda's government must be blamed for failing to protect its own citizens.
"There is no control from this government and investors are doing things on their own. Just recently, President Banda's ministers assured that there will be no job losses but this is contrary to what they said," Mwila said.
"When copper prices dropped, investors used that as an excuse to lay off workers but there is no justification by Mopani to prune workers since prices on the international market have started rising [US$ 4,600 per tonne] and their production costs are well below what they are selling these commodities."
On Lusaka economist Chibamba Kanyama's suggestion that redundancy packages should be revised to reflect investor challenges, Mwila said Kanyama was part of management and should not be taken seriously.
"Zambia Federation of Employers has been advocating that retrenchment package of two months salary for a year served is too much and Kanyama is also supporting that view, but what is that package when someone has just worked for five years because it comes to between K15 million to K20 million that will also be taken by banks since most loans are salary based," said Mwila.
"There is no need to review the Act on redundancy packages because workers are getting peanuts in fact it must be increased upwards to avoid workers becoming destitute."
United Party for National Development (UPND) national youth chairperson Joe Kalusa said mining investors in the country were playing the drums while the MMD government was just dancing.
Kalusa challenged labour deputy minister Simon Kachimba to disclose the deal he allegedly struck with the mines.
"The retrenchments at Mopani are not genuine since expatriates have not been affected and last week Kachimba said there will be no job losses but since people have been retrenched he should tell us what deal he struck with the mines for him to make that announcement," Kalusa said.
"Copper prices are still high but the MMD government has no control and they are playing double standards, it is like investors are playing drums and this government is just dancing instead of taking charge."
And Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) general secretary Oswell Munyenyembe blamed government for its sluggish approach in dealing with job losses in the mining industry.
Munyenyembe said the problem was with government because it was not eager to meet trade unions in the mining sector over the plight of workers in the industry.
"... We have been pressing to meet them particularly the President [Rupiah Banda] to give them the actual issues on the ground but they have not been forthcoming," Munyenyembe said.
"What is more confusing is that the minister of mines and the minister of labour are saying that they were not informed of the latest job losses at Mopani. Government is confusing its citizens."
He expressed disappointment with Mopani over the retrenchments arguing that the lay offs were not justified at the current copper prices.
"At the current copper prices we don't expect Mopani to be offloading those numbers," said Munyenyembe. "The recession is just an excuse."
National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) president Mundia Sikufele said it was difficult to trust the promises of a stop to job losses in the mining industry.
Sikufele said it was sad that miners were losing jobs.
"Companies and government will say one thing today and what happens after is different," said Sikufele. "I'm hoping that this is the last retrenchment."
National Energy Sector and Allied Workers Union (NESAWU) general secretary Yotam Mtayachalo urged mining companies in agreement with unions and workers to sacrifice certain conditions and benefits as an interim measure to save jobs.
"When times are hard, it pays to make tough and unpopular decisions which will be beneficial in future and this demands unity among the workers and leaders. The auto mobile workers in America have made such bold decisions to protect jobs of their members. It is better to be in employment than get meagre redundancy packages and offloaded in the streets," he stated.
Mtayachalo also called on Mopani to rescind its decision to retrench union branch leaders.
Kankoyo PF member of parliament Percy Chanda suggested that the retrenched miners could engage in small scale copper mining in the slug dumps and sell the products to Mopani.
He urged government to facilitate the practice by engaging Mopani to enable the retrenched miners to continue with their livelihoods.
He said while other retrenched miners in other areas could engage in farming, it was not possible for those who were retrenched in Kankoyo area because the soil was contaminated as a result of the emissions of sulphur dioxide.
On Monday, MCM retrenched at least 978 workers of whom over 500 are from Nkana in Kitwe and over 400 from Mufulira to ensure the survival of the mine.
The sources indicated that the mining firm had also closed some of its departments that included industrial engineering and In Situ at Nkana in Kitwe.
Labels: DAVIES MWILA, JOBLOSSES, JOE KALUSA, MCM, MUNDIA SIFUKELE, NEOLIBERALISM, OSWELL MUNYENYEMBE, YAMFWA MUKANGA, YOTAM MTAYACHALO
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