Levy Mwanawasa is arguably one of the best Presidents to have ever occupied Plot 1 Independence Avenue! Amongst many of his grandiose achievements, against all odds he managed to secure debt relief; stablised our economy to affordable levels; promoted constitutionalism and the rule of law, and indeed upheld our democracy to the later.
But lo and behold, instead of being appreciated or celebrated whilst he was still with us on earth, Mwanawasa was often the subject of contempt and ridicule, vilification and dreadful mockery. Socialist party owner, Fred M’membe during his peak as a notable industrialist, would use his defunct, influential The Post Newspaper tabloid to refer the poor man in such unpalatable terms as “Cabbage” often quoting his nemesis, Patriotic Front founding leader , Michael Sata popularly known as King Cobra!
Like our current President, Mwanawasa was a strict disciplinarian…..he didn’t have a social life at all – he was neither a lover of alcoholic beverages or given to smoking. He was a family man and faithful husband who never dispatched girl friends abroad as diplomats nor indeed sneaked in concubines from Swaziland into State lodges let alone inviting slay queens for binge drinking and orgies in the Presidential jet every so often! And most importantly, he never subscribed to abusing state resources to appease highly expectant party cadres by excitedly dishing out brown envelopes like Santa Claus handing out sweets.
Now, instead of giving him the necessary support for being a good steward of our national resources, Mwanawasa was crucified to his grave not because he failed to manage our affairs, but due to his tribe. In the eyes of some of our citizens, he belonged to one of the ‘small tribes’ that shouldn’t have come anywhere near State House. This was a familiar subject in their myopic conversations.
Unfortunately, President Hichilema finds himself in a similar conundrum. As he rightly put it the other day, cigarettes have never touched his lips before; neither has alcohol penetrated his body during his time on earth. Unlike some of our leaders in the recent past, he’s never been anywhere near a night club or casino to gamble up to wee hours of day. All he has known is work, work, work and more work, and afterwards go back home to be with his disciplined children and his one wife, of course.
During his 3 years at the helm, President Hichilema has scored a number of milestones – he has reintroduced free education; university students are now enjoying bursaries and meal allowances; a number of college students are being sponsored under CDF; caderism is now a thing of the past; he has created thousands of jobs in the civil service for our youth; investments in the mines continue pouring in while new ones are opening up; he’s mitigating poverty in the shanties and villages by disbursing cash for work and grants under CDF; infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and schools are being worked on everywhere!
But alas, take a ride on the minibuses, go to the markets or frequent the bars and pubs in the shanties……you get to hear the same sentiments from sponsored elements, “HH has failed; he must go in 2031!”
Why must some of our people easily jump to such conclusions given his many achievements? His tribe, of course! In the eyes naysayers and his detractors, he belongs to one of the small tribes that should have no business being anywhere near the corridors of power! And yet we want to pretend we are a Christian Nation who firmly believe we were all created in the image of God.
What hypocrisy! We are worse than Supremacists or ultra racists who revel in their warped thinking that the best place for a black man is in the jungle hewing wood and drawing water; just like that embicile of an author who has questioned BBC for awarding the prestigious international footballer of the year award in the women’s category to our very own Barbara Banda instead of one of her own.
Prince Bill M Kaping’a
Political/Social Analyst
Granted that HH has brought back free education, YUNZA bursaries and meal allowances, his performance on amalaiti and runaway cost of living has been abysmal at best. The crippling loadshedding has exposed his team’s serious lack of strategic planning. I hope this will never recur under his watch.