By Fred M’membe
It’s increasingly becoming difficult to trust and believe any word coming out of a Zambian politician’s mouth. Lies, hypocrisy, saying things they don’t mean seems to be the political culture of our politicians. Today they criticise, repudiate, denounce or insult this and that, tomorrow they are in bed with the same this or that.
Today they resign or are expelled from this or that political party and start their own or join another and start insulting, denouncing, accusing their former colleagues of all sorts of crimes and evils. A few months later they are apologising, seeking forgiveness and reconciliation. They are taken back, but we don’t know if they are really forgiven and they start denouncing, insulting those who a few months ago had welcomed them when they were in political limbo.
It’s sickening. It’s making politics unattractive and seeming to be for scoundrels, liars, crooks, hypocrites. How can one work with such politicians, enter into alliances or pacts with them? This is certainly not a recipe for winning people’s trust. The credibility of our politicians is in continuous decline. Credibility is very difficult to find in our politicians today. But credibility is supposed to be the cornerstone of our people’s political life and of our multiparty political dispensation.
But do we still even know what credibility means? Who is credible and why? What are the roots and forms of political credibility? How does it circulate within society? What risks is it subject to and what pathologies do they derive from? What can be called upon to restore credibility to our politics?
We need clear, concise and compendious answers to these questions. We need to find credible ways to overcome the current crisis of credibility, which some even consider irreversible. At the basis of all this is the problem of accelerating the process of circulation of political crooks, of the real consumption of leadership, which leads us to ask: what is credibility really? And what does it mean to be credible?
I will pull the string a little bit and go back a little bit to Aristotle’s Rhetoric, in which he claims that we believe more easily in honest people, adding that this is even more so regarding questions that do not involve certainty, but doubt – recall how, both for the Philosopher and in the common feeling, credibility appears as a personal quality. In reality one is not credible in general and in the abstract, but for someone. It can be a few people or millions of people, but always someone and not in the abstract. Credibility is therefore a relationship, a risky bet, which leads us to ask ourselves what is credible and what are the characteristics and virtues that are preferably associated with a political entity perceived as credible.
There’s a difference between credibility of the role and credibility in the role; someone is believed because he knows and for what he knows. This is typically the credibility of the expert, that is one who has a well-founded knowledge of the facts and problems, which means that he can speak with good reason or with knowledge of the facts.
In politics it is crucial both to know how to and to be able to act. It is even more more necessary to know how to communicate well the decisions taken.In this necessary fiduciary relationship between those who claim to be credible and those who are considered as such, in which personal values can be summarised in the concepts of ‘virtue’ or ‘integrity’ and include honesty, seriousness, self-control, ability to assume responsibility and to respect commitments, politics must be understood as a service.
To govern means to serve, because “In the house of the just”, as St. Augustine observes, “those who command are at the service of those who seem the commanded. Indeed, it is not out of passion for domination that they command, but out of desire to give oneself; not out of pride in being leaders, but out of concern to provide for everyone.”
Credibility therefore no longer concerns only political competence or discursive ability, but the totality of the personal characteristics of the politician, in creating an affective/emotional relationship between leaders and citizens: why should I vote for him? The old Hegelian principle, which says that nobody is a great man for his waiter, returns, so that political leaders, accepting and often seeking the challenge of politics, must be aware of being at the mercy of millions of waiters, the electors.
Political credibility is possible but in a community of shared values, standards and common aims. Political credibility is not just an analysis of credibility in politics. After almost three decades of personal political parties and those formed around a leader, there has been a break-up and rapid consumption of intermittent leadership, which may last only one morning. These are leaderships gained, more and more frequently, on social networks, with an eternal return to oscillating and cyclical dynamics. In the age of permanent election campaigns, that format is intertwined with the processes of personalisation – for which the strong man is also a brand – and of mediatisation.
Mutual recognition assumes a fundamental importance where it is seen as the ability to guide and govern others by assuming all the responsibilities and risks that this entails, while encouraging and promoting real processes of listening, participation and active involvement of citizens at all the levels and in all phases of democratic political life.
Unfortunately the four perjorative words he has used at the end of the title best describe the author. This man each time he writes something, I can’t help but think that he has lost it.
All of them are liars
Politicians are just like bananas- they hang together , they change colours and none of them is ever straight.
Now Fred include yourself on that list, you are no different from Kambwili, GBM, Under 5, Guy Scot muzungu opusa and all. We can’t forget the insults you daily showered on Levy and Sata but suddenly changed your tone the moment a carrot was dangled to you. Those born yesterday reading this may mistake you for a saint but far from it. You are an evil little thing that is now creeping into politics for obviously selfish reasons. Stop placating us and get a life.
This same fella Mmembe was once in bed with these politicians he’s now attacking.
Just like Kambwili who is very selfish.
Thats why political historians who are upright are needed in ordere to guide the new genrations.You are right the auothror does not deserve what he has written in this posting.His writing destroyed innocent peoplke. By what isor has been done on the defuct airline of which he was a shre holder.Inkongole from Development Bank of Zambia? All those talking against ECL because Lungu asked to pay back the loan. Look at the buildings they own in Lusaka, where did they money to do that!!
Remember this: WARNING. Hon CK.
Now that you have been expelled, be extremely careful with the way you expose the corruption that you condoned while in PF starting from State House to the District Commissioner.
We are in the know that you have a dossier on Lungu and the entire cabinet starting from very big tips from Avic International, Petroleum suppliers and so on.
Ba Kambwili where you around the time Paul Tembo was assasinated by the Chiluba regime? to be fair, assasinated by Chiluba? Paul Tembo was an emissary for Chiluba’s third term. He went round the country dishing out money campaigning for Chiluba. What he did not know is that Chiluba had a line up. He wanted Kavindele to be his Vice. Paul Tembo was National Treasurer but thought he would be Chiluba’s vice . Whilst…
However,the crop of opposition politicatical leaders who emerged at the dawn of the second mmd government are the worst liars.
Lungu has made sure the most direct way to become rich is to join GRZ , while the country is getting poorer …….
Imwe ni mwe bantu bene bene ba Fred. What about the tax you were not paying during the time you were running The Post and the transport business of transporting FRA maize?
I want to respect HH for standing as an opposition for a long period of time losing elections, oppressed, bared from the national television station to which he pays tax, imprisoned and accused of crimes which the government have failed to prove to him wrong and jail him.
Its very hard to run a political party. Many political parties are formed and run bankruptcy 3 months after formation thereby start dancing for the PF and start insulting fellow opposition in exchange for brown envelope.
I believe cadres and politicians in power are holding the resources of this nation and its people at ransom. They differ today over the sharing of the national resources, tomorrow they reconcile and assign each other the shares which were once lost.
The one who is losing the battle are the Zambian…
Fred when are you holding a meeting in Lusaka?
Waiting to hear you in person.
You are my only hope in political jungle if extortionists
Says the f00l who peddled lies for a living under his dead post newspaper. On top of which he didn’t pay taxes. And yet he now calls himself a socialist. What an a55hole
I completely agree with you. As elections are nearing, politicians are showing their true colours. Hakainde Hichilema is leading the clan. He is the biggest lair and hypocrite in the country.
Yet another attempt to demean others. You will not gain any popularity like this, Fred, you need to get serious about politics or quit the game.
I’m glad you are now seeing life from the other side of the fence, mwana. I have been this side since childhood. We know no favours . No quick bucks.
The political discourse of our country has come to such a low that, the politicians are actively involved in illegal activities like spreading fake news and funding the bogus media houses. Their free run will soon come to an end.
This entire article is nothing but beating around the bush. Why can’t you say the truth and name those you are hinting at?
It is all the more reason for good people to come to politics and uproot the anti national elements. These people like HH, Nevers Mumba and their gang needs to be thrown out of public life.
They say, politics is the last refuge of the criminals. This is what we are witnessing now in Zambia. All the criminals involved in serious crimes such as corruption, smuggling and conniving with terrorists are in the politics. But this will soon change. People will ensure that these criminals are packed off after elections.
You are seeking answers from wrong people. Those under suspicion will never answer honestly. For that you need to ask the questions to right people. You need to ask would such criminals be accepted in politics and in decision making. Certainly not!
You took pains to write down this jargon and not even mention of Hakainde Hichilema! Are you afraid of him? Show some courage Fred.
Those who claim to be worried about the country and consider themselves to be great politicians seem to have all the time in the world for writing essays and to spend on social media. I wonder what would be your performance as policy makers, if at all came to power.
Would he even find enough candidates to contest elections and win, so that he can form the government? He should better quit politics and start doing something else.
@Mr True, well noted about HH, let’s give credit were it belongs. In the disputed 2016 electons he got more than 1,525,049 votes (+42 percent) and 58 seats in parliament. Look at the amount of harsement he has endured at the hand of PF. They start by flying helicopters over his farms, disclosing details of his accounts, the list is endless, in a so-called Christian nation. Look at what has happened to the others Godfrey Miyanda, Elise Chjpimo Jr, Edith Nawakwi, Wynter Kabimba, Tilyenji Kaunda …
HH is not a perfect person but his enemies have made him a far much better than they will ever be. With the passion, skills, enthusiasm, displine, and support of the majority of Zambian’s we are destined for better days.
But, but we need to play our part for things to happen and restore…
Watch “Chishimba Kambwili’s Past will Haunt him” on YouTube
All i see here is a hypocrite and a liar in Mr M’membe coz all those accusations apply to him as well.
Thats true Boss so include yourself to that list