By Gray Soko
Much has been said about issue based campaigns, meaning the various parties and candidates should tell the electorate what they will do about the economy, unemployment, etc. This is good but here is another angle voters should seriously consider. After all promises are not always kept promises. One person said politicians are now driving with the windows of their cars open, waving at people but once elected they drive with windows shut! This angle voters should seriously consider is the character of the leader[pullquote].Some fairy tales begin with “Once upon a time…” Others begin with “If elected, I promise..[/pullquote]
The points to consider are:
· Has the leader got a vision that will benefit others and not themselves? Will he be there only to enrich himself and his kin?
· Is he willing to follow and listen to the people as well as lead? Is he the “ I know it all type” ?
· Is he flexible and willing to adjust?
· Has he got strong spiritual and moral convictions and will not succumb to corrupt practices to get elected or get into deals with investors or compromise values for expediency.
· What unique programmes has he got or is he simply a maintenance manager eg. is the road/rail network going to be any different from that inherited from the colonial past.
· Has he got passion for Zambia or he is just ambitious for the high post for selfish motives.
· Has he got integrity ? Will he say one thing in public and another in private? Is he predictable? Is he comfortable if his “private” life is exposed?
· Is he forgiving or holds grudges against those with different views or are antagonistic and oppose him.
While it is good to look at past successes, let us not be locked into the past but remember that we are here to make history not protect it. How do the
main presidential contenders RB,HH,Sata,Nawakwi and General Miyanda measure up to the above?
Zambia has been asleep for a while a candidate that will jolt the system to start functioning!
Sata is the man… The rest are not
Sata has been preparing to rule Zambia. He has the plan and has the experience. He knows Zambia better than all the other candidates. The idea to create Muchinga Province is excellent because Northern Province is bigger than most countries in Africa and Europe. RB is president of MMD coz Levy died. HH is president of UPND coz Mazoka died. None of them positioned themselves to rule Zambia. They are just benefitting from other people’s deaths
Man you are right.All these people have never built their own parties from scratch but just inherited the party after somebody’s death which is very pathetic.That’s why they seem not to understand the foundation roles of those parties.Sata has made his own party,and its succeeding.Lets vote for people who can build their own party.People with experience in national affairs and not small boys without experience.
You arevery dull my brother. Plse learn to do your research before posting and exposing your ignorance. Sata formed PF coz Kafupi did not annoint him to be his successer
VOTE SATA at your own peril!
The Real Change is on HH and the UPND. Sata is MMD in his shell. RB is part of the 20years of this suffering. Vote HH and UPND!
Real Change! Hakainde Hichilemaaaaaaaa
In your Tonga dreams mate, HH cannot even win his own province…Tonga tribal party is dead & buried this time
I REALLY DONT CARE WHO COMES IN HH OR SATA AS LONG AS BWEZANI GOES HE HAS NO PASSION FOR ZAMBIA OR ZAMBIANS .HE JUST WANTS TO STEAL. HE HAS STOLEN ENOUGH. HE SHOULD LEAVE SOME FOR OUR CHILDREN AND GRAND CHILDREN. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH OF BWEZAN.
u too must go mwanya RB is here to stay!
Nafuti Nafuti mwanya RB is doing another term come rain or shine mate
Main contenders are PF, MMD & UPND.
We all know the truth deep down our hearts of hearts that Gen. Miyanda is the best candidate but unfortunately he doesn’t have the numbers.So it comes down to the top three and from them HH is the best candidate but yet again he doesn’t have the numbers.It only leaves zambians with the so called two evils HERB and the King Cobra.Of the top two HERB is the lesser evil and according to electoral patterns since 1991 zambian voters always go for the lesser evil.Whether we like it or not HERB will carry the day with king Cobra coming in second if not third.
Sorry l don,t agree that hh is the best,if he really is the best he would have the numbers ! Under5 & his Tonga tribal party have no chance, not in this life time mate
#3,i agree with u.Change is needed,mmd has to go.in as much as i u wud love any opposition winning this yrs election.The truth need to be told,Of all the candidates, SATA is the one only who has prepared well to run this country.
Zambians when are we going to have a bright day, with the new generation taking charge of this modernised world. We need new blood!! Sata and RB have life their lives of leadership, lets bring in new blood. Those two are old and need to be looked after and asked only to provide guidance. HH is the man.
@Njombwinjo,you are extremely right Sata wil never rule coz he is more evil than satan himself.zambia is a christian nation period!
# 8
You are very right. Miyanda is the best of all but does not have the numbers as Sata. For the past two and half years, he has created an impression as though he did not care. He never went on any campaign trail. If he had been as active as Sata and HH, he would have been the man for the moment. At the moment Sata has the best chane of winning and is the only one with a plan for Zambia
Aaah #3! Ascending by default! Riding on the dead!
I would add that a presidential candidate ‘s attributes cannot be viewed in isolation with the masses and support he commands. For instance, what use is it to vote for a presidential candidate who has all these qualities and yet has no following. On the other hand, what use is it to vote for a presidential candidate who has all the following but has no morals.
COME 20TH SEPTEMBER AND MAN TO BE THE NEXT ZAMBIAN PRESIDENT WILL BE SATA, SATA HAS A VISION FOR HIS MOTHER LAND ZAMBIA AND ITS PEOPLE.GO BWANA SATA GO VIVA PABWATO XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXVIVA SATA XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.
Rb is the best among them.Read the above article carefully.All the features fall on RB
Nafuti nafuti
Everything points to the fact that Sata should be the next president of Zambia. He has the agenda for Zambians and he is the best prepared to stump out corruption. RB recently announced that there is no corruption in Zambia whatsover and that was a technical nockout for himself. HH has amassed riches and for him being a president is just a personal ambition – nothing to do with what Zambia needs. #14 Mambala – it seems you wrote this article and you are dissapointed with the people’s views.
HH IS OUR ONLY HOPE!
All of you RB haters have had your brains bleached by Mmembe who’s been revenging for the defunct Zambian Airways since 2008. Is that a Zambian agenda or personal one?
spot on, we need to shut these ungrateful people pursuing narrow and personal aggrandisement agendas!
i HAVE MY MONEY ON RB…Techakutwishika echo bane…
HH’s assets have increased over years, meaning he is a progressive man. Zambia will need such a leader to improve the economy. Some leaders have not declared some of their assets,implying they obtained them ungenuinely and fear to be probed.
Good evening
A short article with very good points which every voter should seriously reflect upon.
My hope is that the majority of Zambians, especially rural dwellers and elderly people like the 75 year old Mbuya above have a fair amount of information and coverage for them to know exactly which leader to choose before going to the ballots.
Back to the lecture, I would yearn for Zambia’s next president to be a man of action. A president who believes in success (vision + dedication + determination = success)
A good example of such a president is Paul Kagame of Rwanda. A recent report on German TV showed how he has managed to turn previously war-torn Kigali into the financial hub of East Africa through vision and commitment. Very inspiring.
Spot on #8. The Heritage Party’s village concept provides a better model for balanced development of our Country. Among other things, most western Countries have used that concept over the years. For instance, I live in a village in UK along with the majority of the UK population, and easily commute to work. The design of the buildings, tarred roads, security, health services etc…are as good as in the urban centers, and if anything more spacious. Industrial Areas are not restricted to urban centers, but evenly spread in villages too. Such a model for Zambia would answer urban drift, shanty township, cholera, etc we face. And it makes it easier for a Country to make a case in getting funding from big money lenders like World Bank in many many ways.
MY VOTE IS ON HH. HE REPRESENTS THE YOUNG GENERATION THAT NEEDS TO BE MOVED FORWARD.. SATA & RB ARE OLD AND HAVE NO ENERGY TO DRIVE THE NATION. THEY ARE LIKE OLD SLOW VEHICLES OCCUPYING THE FRONT, BLOCKING OTHER FIT AND FAST VEHICLES!
RB Nafuti Nafuti Amalume
Only if you used your real Tonga name and be true to your tonga tribal party, maybe just maybe HH could just about take southern province
Dear #2, #3 and #15. Could you please briefly explain what PF’s plans are for Zambia exactly, i.e. short-term and long term? This is a very good time to win hearts.
Sata s creation of Muchinga province is as a result of the unpalatables he used against the Bemba and therefore wants out of Northern province.
This web site has now become a compaign site for bloggers. You should know that many of those who will be voting donot have access to internet, donot have computers. Donot waste your time compaigning here on the site. We urge you to go out in the villages and do your compaigns otherwise you are wasting your time and energy. If you will stick to compaign here you have a very poor strategy and your candidate will not see plot one.
#6 reads like the tired old hate song from the front page of Mmembe’s Post, no evidence just slander to be consumed by the gullible who cannot see Mmembe’s true personal motives. Mmembe’s hate campaign against Rupiah Banda has been overdone to the extent that people begun to sympathise with RB. Combine the Hitler-like hatred with the Post’s failure to explain their sudden romance with a man whose bad history in all departments, i.e. morals, behaviour, deception, corruption, violence, and all negative superlatives that you can imagine, are indelibly written in the Post’s history and archives. Little wonder Mr Sata’s campaign against Chanda Chimba’s ‘Stand Up for Zambia’, I hope it resumes next week!
No corruption in Zambia my a**, Rb holds grudges as though he’s not a man,how does he get rid of all mmd members who did not support him after Mwanawasas death,that’s not a president we need
I like the quote- some fairy tales begin with once a upon a time others begin with ‘if elected, I promise…..( I will change Zambia in 90 days). Its all a fairy tale
#26 your a**, if that is your name, we are saying that if there is corruption in Zambia, PF cannot be the policeman. As the saying goes, it’s like asking a monkey to guard your peanuts.
PF supporters, get we do not want politica experience, but economic agenda for the nation. Sata and Banda both MMD products have failed to develop zambia with all their political experience, only manipulation. As for Sata, he does not deserve our votes because he led and was advisor to the most corrupt regime or Chiluba is Africa, which reduced our nation to zero, and we do not want to go back to that. The only answer is HH, to provide economic development while Banda and Sata will be his adovisors to him on political aspect. Our experience has proved that political experience does not develop a nation in Africa, hence we need one well vested in the economy. Keep political experience to yourselves as we move the economy forward. Viva HH.
RB HATER @26′
You have another 5 years of hating the President because it is Nafuti Nafuti
KATIE GOOD- Do u see the POST/Mmembe in yr sleep,coz its its like u cant even walk without an outpouring of negativity torwards them.Get a life.The Post/Mmembe ve been here for 20 yrs and i bet they will still b here long after yr MMD/RB are gone.
Dear Gray Soko, well done for raising some very pertinent questions we should be asking ourselves and debating upon. Any Zambian wherever he/she is is a stakeholder.
Do not vote for someone just because he has a large following. If you think someone is the best, even if they have no hope of winning vote for them and be happy. make a tatement of conviction. You will add value to them. In 2006 when people on the copperbelt were saying hakaivitela heka, my small family and i proudly voted HH. Our small contribution gave him political value. Mwanawasa considered him for vice president. He refused. I dont blame him knowing mwanawasa’s appetite of changing Veeps. In 2008 i did not vote. This year I am voting RB. He has convinced me beyond reasonable doubt that he is capable, polite, respectiful and tolerant leader. may God bless him.
While looking at the character of a candidate is not a bad idea, I think the best indicator of a good one is the RECORD. You can see what that person has done in the past, to organize and work with people. The achievements that person has made are also a good indicator, just like when applying for a job.
“Is he willing to follow and listen to the people as well as lead? Is he the “ I know it all type”?”
This is not easy to judge because no one knows what the vast majority of Zambians think and who ‘the people’ are tends to be a few vocal individuals from NGOs and the media who have the means to be heard. On morality and scrutiny of private life I don’t agree. No one refuses to be treated by a Surgeon because he is a philanderer, to be taught by a teacher because he is a drunkard. As for corruption, this should be dealt with by the people led. Most Zambians only complain about corruption when they are not the beneficiaries. Hands up any Zambian who has never watched or played a pirated DVD or CD? Who has never jumped a queue?
Donchi Kubeba!!!
Cobra or not,Sata mu State House
PABWATOOO!!!!!!!!!!!
W all know that change is needed, but African electioms are about who plays his cards right during elections.
I wish President Rupiah can make another donation of maize to Zimbabwe to tell us of his birth place from a Zimbabwean mother.Much as I DONT LIKE the clause on parentage for presidency we just have to follow the contitution as it says until such atime when we shall change the constitution.
2011 = RB; 2016 = HH (and may be Siulapwa as Vice Preasident!)
Vote Sata for revenge
@#6 Awe mwansekesha! you made my day..Perhaps your statement should have read “he should leave some for SATANA!”