By Gray Soko
Reading many of the comments on political issues lately one gets the impression there is a lot of negativity leaving one to wonder whether there is any politician around, Zambia can really be proud of. Iam not suggesting that saying positive things will necessarily change the negative aspects in our politics to positive but it can surely change our response to those negative situations.
I like the definition in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language of mindset as “a fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person’s responses to and interpretation of situations”.
I have an issue with the type of party leadership which presumes that the party leader is “supreme” and basically owns the party as if it was his personal business. The success of the leader is having a successor, in having his vision carried forward. There should be no such thing as the leader has to “finish” his programmes. You cannot have an end date to development, no country has ever “arrived” at its optimum development. The leader should have a vision but its execution is a team effort. In the Bible Aaron and Hur held high Moses’ hands for victory over the Amelikites for they observed that as long as Moses held his hands up Israel prevailed but when he let his hands down the Amelikites prevailed. A true example of team or collective effort.
One of our problems is that the leader thinks he is solely responsible for the success of the vision. That is why when a person has a bright idea he wants to be the party leader and therefore forms his own party. Of course there also leaders who look upon other ideas as a challenge to their authority and therefore maneuver to have persons having challenging or more progressive ideas removed. We basically share a common vision for Zambia but it is in the process of achieving this that there is a problem.[pullquote]The success of the leader is having a successor[/pullquote]
Assume for a moment we had one party with the self-discipline, projection of confidence and trustworthiness of General Miyanda, the entrepreneurship of HH, the intellectual and analytical mind of Dr Fred Mutesa, the youthful zeal of Chipimo Jnr and the passion for transparency and integrity of Milupi, wouldn’t we be having positive things to say about Zambian politics? The proliferation of political parties is more than an expression of freedom of association, it is a failure of collective political leadership.
Another problem is the stereotyping of politicians. Negative or presumed negative past events are replayed and once in a while leaders who may have had privileged intel threaten to “expose” the dossiers that came to their knowledge in order to gain political mileage. Instead of magnifying weaknesses we should be building on the individual’s strengths. The prominent persons in the Bible were not perfect. Moses was a murderer and fugitive, David was an adulterer, Abraham lied about his wife that she was his sister, Jacob was a trickster, Rahab was a prostitute etc but this did not prevent them from becoming great. We should not be too quick to write off potential leaders because we shall not have a perfect person.
What a choice we have to make on 20 September!
PF is Sata and Sata is PF. Sata dies PF dies with him. Enduring failures and dirty luggage of Sata haunting him to his Grave, haunts PF to their shared Graveyard.
What a legion of losers entrenched in doomed personality cult. MMD is the only proven systemic institution of the people with structures of transition and continuity. Chiluba out, Mwanawasa in and out then RB. God willing President Banda out in 2016, new leaders takes over from the Generation change.
PERILS OF LEADERSHIP IN DEMOCRACY 101
This article speaks the truth
20HH is the way to go ..!
All political parties in zambia behave like the leader is a god of some sort.And they will do anything for him.So in simple terms there is no democracy in zambia and there will never be as long as the leader can’t be challenged.
SEND MMD AND RUPIAH TO JOIN HIS MAFIA BUDDY IN HELL.
STOP THE CORRUPTION BY MMD WHO HAVE DESTROYED ZAMBIA AND KEPT IT IN THE DARK AGES FOR 20 YEARS.
YOU CANNOT CHANGE YOUR STYLE IN 6 MONTHS BY TRYING TO SAY YOUR DEVELOPING THE COUNTRY WITH STILL 80% IN POVERTY AND 20% RICH.
MMD HAVE RUINED THE ECONOMIC CHINESE BOOM FOR ZAMBIA BY NOT TAXING THE MINES ENOUGH.
MMD HAVE LET ZAMBIANS BE SHOT BY FOREIGNERS AND THEN LET OFF WITH BLOOD MONEY PAYOFFS.
DO NOT LISTEN TO FAILURES LIKE SENIOR CITIZEN WHO GETS PAID TO SPEAK FOR MMD AND TRY TO MAKE THEM DEMOCRATIC.
LIKE HIM HIS PARTY ARE FAILURES AND CAN NEVER SEE THE DAMAGE THEY HAVE DONE FOR SO LONG.
REMOVE MMD WITH YOUR PEN THIS MONTH.
FOR ZAMBIA’S SAKE DO IT PEACFULLY.
the only hell rb is going to is state house. he has not been there 20 years. in any case mmd has been trying to reverse 27 years of unip mismanagent which sata wants to bring back. clearly mmd has succeeded and some people now want to get the credit. dont vote them. they will just take us backwards!
just plant new seed each season,you will be having a good harvest. Dont reserve new seed for the next planting season,it might disappoint you. We need new leadership every election time if development has to reach out to the poorest.
Soko, where are you from? I appreciate your wisdom and cunning. You should write more often to enlighten most of these bloggers who write using vulgar language and have no proper direction on their political stand.
Good afternoon
There’s a lot of truth in this article. The failure of leadership in Africa has a lot to do with the political mindset of it’s people. In Europe, leadership is successful because politicians work together as a team for the social welfare of their citizens, even when they belong to different parties. African politics however are generally dominated by self-centered politicians who tend to think that the nation cannot prosper without them.
Until they realise that political strength is not about who has the bigger guns in his party about working together for the benefit of the masses and we will not excel as a nation.
Let us not remember that there are many external forces who want to see us divided – a united Africa is a threat to them!
@# Senior Citizen, That is exactly the reason why we want to give Sata a chance, because he has no much time around. When he’s no longer with the party (PF), then we can think of MMD once again. Hope that makes sense to you!!
No it does not make sense!!!! SATAn has been at the forefront of corruption, vigilante mayhem, Third Term campaign, pro-Taiwan pre-sell of Zambia (even Malawians have dropped the no-hope Taiwanese, yet he persists) etc etc. This old man without wisdom is too dull to rule Zambia!!
The vision thingi is ok, but unfortunately people blame the head when there is failure. As for ‘finishing the programmes,’ the mandate for a Parliament is 5 years, and if one has not had 5 full years, they may be within their right to ask for more time!
Zambia is a shit-hole country. No hope, no jobs, dirty hospitals, Alcoholic Teachers , no schoool supplies in schools, poverty there’s no future for these children.
No human being deserves to live in this shit-hole country period. I love Zambia but I hate what the MMD have done to our beautiful country. Zambia looks like a country at war it’s dirty, garbage everywhere , tutemba, poverty , potholes , accidents everyday & no development to talk about. Vote MMD and continue wallowing in poverty the choice is yours.
“The prominent persons in the Bible were not perfect. Moses was a murderer and fugitive, David was an adulterer, Abraham lied about his wife that she was his sister, Jacob was a trickster, Rahab was a prostitute etc but this did not prevent them from becoming great. We should not be too quick to write off potential leaders because we shall not have a perfect person”. Grey Soko, don’t take Zambians for *****s, if you are suggesting that we try Mr Sata go to hell. The man has had time time to change and he has refused. For starters, just look at the “democracy” exhibited at the PF “National Congress” not too long ago.
Sata is a thief who was stealing with Chiluba. They were siphoning money to foreign accounts and sending their children to expensive schools in London. Sata was using ZNBC & Times of Zambia to demagog the opposition when he was minister with or without potfolio. He was a menace to society when he was in Power. You would be a fool to want to bring him back to Power. Sata and RB must be retired now to allow for new blood. Banda is not as bad as Sata though. Sata is the epitom of evil. VIVA HH
#10 The Saint, well spoken. RB has given us just a glimpse of his capabilities at delivering development in the 3 years he has been in office, why should we deny ourselves more? If the Constitution allows him another five years, why would we want to change a successful leadership just to try the Sata whose character and credentials we all know by now? In any case, RB will hand over power in 2016. The same cannot be said of Mr Sata if the recent PF ” National Congress” and the revelation by Guy Scott about the PF Constitution being a copy of the UNIP One Party Participatory Democracy are anything to go by. For more information read copies of SUFZ before Mr Sata sued, or the Post archives.
The main problem with HH is his association with Mr Sata in the PACT. They say birds of a feather flock together. Mr Sata’s record and history are very clear, at least it should be to anyone who aspires to become President of this country. So why did HH chose to go into an alliance with such a man? Is it hunger for power? Is it naivety? Is it poor judgment? Is it a tribal alliance? Is it……? Is it…….? Is it……………….? Too many questions unanswered and HH has not bothered to explain it himself, just like the Post has not bothered to explain why the man they condemned has become their darling, even though both want our votes.
GOOD KATIE PLEASE..Do u really know what development is? i really doubt..The problem is that you just hate SATA and LOVE RB for whatever reason. What has RB done in the last 3 years that LEVY DID NOT DO?
AS FOR @# Senior Citizen, THE PROBLEM WITH YOU IS THAT YOU THINK LIKE A GESTAPO. How do you wish someone DEAD…are you a SATANIST or what..Mind you you are now known to be a diplomat in the USA who is chewing our money..your days are really numbered…..
ZAMBIA IS A FAILED STATE and RB will not change that status..YOU ZAMBIANS who are yapping on this blog DO NOT GIVE HOPE TO THIS COUNTRY AS WELL..
#17, Are you sure that it is not you who has failed to find the means to buy mealie meal for your family, even though RB has reduced the price for you to afford it?
In the world of business, a company may either be individual owned or publicly owned. An individual or privately owned company is the property of its owner and that owner is the ultimate authority. This is understable because it’s the owner who has hi/her investment at risk. As in business so it is in the world of politics. Many political parties in Zambia are individual or privately owned. It must be appreciated that the owners of those parties are the ones who have their investments at risk. It makes sense therefore, for those owners to live or die with their parties. The owners have claim to ownership rights. Currently, MMD is the only Publicly owned political party in Zambia.
#8 last sentence was meant to read : “let us not forget” or “let us remember..”
There are two kinds of light,the glow that illuminates & the glare that obscures.This article is the latter.We’ve to come off this wrong idea that the success of a country entirely depends on its politics.It depends on its populace & what they achieve.Italy & Japan have some of the most unstable politics and leaders who never rule long enough which is a sign of incomplete vision.These countries are a success.In the same zambia we have asians who live with the same bad politics and lack of vision by politicians but they do make themselves an economic success.Your future & that of zambia depends much more on your mindset than it does the mindset of politicians
I agree with 23 that the populace has a critical role to play. They should not allow politicians to mismanage the economy and other institutions that allow for creative or innovative ideas. Unfortunately many African politicians literally loot their countries leaving the populace on a starvation diet. Well, to be fair, even Asia had the likes of Marcos.
Unfortunately, we Zambians are our own worst enemy. By and large we are still searching for solutions in old political currency – called ‘rule of man’ – instead of using new currency –‘ rule of law’. So we convert everything into old currency which we understand, and then transact. And then we wonder why we are not making sense in today’s World, which is mostly run by the new currency. Even the Arab World is waking up to the fact that old currency is not the way forward. We still have not grasped the new currency which is issue based and not personality based. So, most people, including bloggers here, tend to convert into old currency i.e. bring in personalities. And that is a good recipe for proliferation of personal-to-holder political parties. We reap what we sow.
Remove the old men and change to modern times.
Sata is the devil along with his sidekick Rupiah.
They are both the same ideals.
Both are UNIP children and know only violent ways to gain power.
IF Zambians vote in Sata or Rupiah they will only have themselves to blame for extended poverty for another 5 years.
This is food for thought, I salute you “mwana wa kwitu” Soko, this is the kind of intelligent articles that this site must be populated with not, the stinking verbature type that as you pointed out is characteristic of “a fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person’s responses to and interpretation of situations”.
This assertion cannot be any nearer to theaverage Zambian approach to politics and life in general. For one, we are a severely tribally bigoted society and you can always bet on a Tonga voting for HH and a Bemba doing so for Sata. The remainder would vote on the side their bread is buttered. Very few indeed vote with their heads. Zambia as a nation has no future, it’s doomed
The problem is that we zedians are good talkers/debaters but bad Doerers !
This is one of the rare articles I’ve seen, so far.keep it up. No one will develop our country except ourselves (zambians). The major development projects can not be planned and implemented by an individual but the government (which is us zambians). Let politicians realise that they are employed by zambians as such they can be fired by zambians through the bollot paper. LET’S VOTE WISELY!!!!!!
Well done Soko..thumbs up. My family and i are voting for RB…The hour has just come
#1 does this article mention Sata even once? You are obsessed man. Loser…
Only a fool can think that Sata can win these elections.
No. 32 Uli chisushi how can u say that….
If want to continue suffering, give them another chance but remember that u will be 5 years older wen u realise that. So vote wisely..
This is a well written article. I must hasten to add that we as Zambians are reponsible for our own fate. We have allowed politics to be a source of livelihood other than of service. You will notice that most of the politicians support certain political parties for jobs regardless of whether they agree with the ideals of the party or not.
That’s why all young politicians like Milupi, Chipimo etc should have thought of working with PF who have ultimately the biggest support so far. As the article puts it, everyone wants to be a leader and as a result so many parties have been formed that could have otherwise worked for the common cause. In a democracy its the majority that matters and good leaders device a way of constructively working with them
Change is coming: Sata will be Chairman of PF operating in the background but it will be difficult to find a president to lead the Party since democracy has not yet reached PF. HH will be a trustee since he will have been tried 3 times but Zambians have not accepted his policies which are, apperrently consuption based. It therefore follows that UPND members will not listen to his excuses any more after a third loss. Since MMD/RB has tried and still has trust of majority of Zambians, they will continue with development programes till 2016.
@17
You are so right about HH – his lack of wisdom is unnerving!! How can someone so clever be so foolish? WHAT WAS HE THINKING?? I wrote off HH when in 2006 he orchestrated the marginalisation of UPND by getting rid of non-Tonga politicians from his party (Sakwiba Sikota, Patrick Chisanga, Robert Sichinga etc.). Politics is a numbers game but also be aware of incorrigible mad men like SATAn!! No need to jump into bed with a devil for a chance at an orgasm …..
In Europe and the USA politicians work together for common good and respect the might of the electorate in Africa the electorate must work together for the good of the politician
Well written article, for once we have a balanced one. I totally agree that this notion of ” if I formed it then only I will lead it” and some may argue that for UPND it has been extended to “if one of us formed it then only one of us can lead it”, is completely bereft of any sense and retrogressive. But this will not happen now until young people like Chipimo jr lead by eaxmple and they start having intra-party transparent democratic processes. Competition within parties parties must be encouraged
Good article! Politicians need to grow up and lead by example, otherwise the everything else fails
There are two Catholic holy doctrines that all residents of the Holy See have to live by. One of them is well known because our very own wayward Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo failed to adhere to it and was subsequently excommunicated from the Roma Catholic Church on Tuesday, September 26, 2006. The man just could not keep his “njoka” arrested in the bishop vestment attire anymore, “mwana wa kwithu kumawa” had to unleash it on Maria wa Korea. Though results are as yet to be sign, the cleric might be firing blanks. The other doctrine states, and quote: “S.H.I.T. happens because you deserve it”, this is the one most applicable to Zambia, mwanya ba mambala imwe. Munomwaha konji Kanjoko kami nyelele fa mangandwe tuna amina. Bukuba!