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Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha says it will be the worst disaster for government to impose statutory media regulation.
Lieutenant General Shikapwasha says government wants the media to come up with a credible self regulatory mechanism that will answer to the needs of the Zambian people.
He says there is need for the media to come up with a self regulatory mechanism that would provide for a body that will be able to censure erring media houses and whose decisions should be respected by all media organizations.
General Shikapwasha says government is not bent on imposing statutory media regulation as perceived in some quarters.
Speaking when he featured on QFM’s the Public’s Last Say last evening Lieutenant General Shikapwasha says to the contrary government wants the media to have a credible self regulatory mechanism that will provide for checks and balances and comfort for all Zambians.
Forty seven thousand and eighty-six grade twelve pupils have obtained full school certificates representing a pass rate of about 59.6 percent.
This is out of seventy-nine thousand and thirty candidates who sat for the grade twelve examination last year.
Education Permanent Secretary James Mulungushi says of those who obtained full school certificates twenty-eight thousand five hundred and sixty-six are boys and eighteen thousand five hundred and twenty are girls.
Dr. Mulungushi announced at a media briefing that over thirty thousand candidates have obtained the General Certificate of Education-GCE.
He explained that 59.6 percent of pupils obtained full certificates in 2010 compared to 60.6 percent in 2009.
Dr. Mulungushi also said two hundred and forty-three candidates were involved in examination malpractice in 2010 compared to 89 in 2009.
Director of Public Prosecutions, Chalwe Mchenga has rejected requests to arrest and prosecute Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata for having allegedly masterminded the abduction of former PF member Samson Zulu.
Mr Mchenga says arresting and prosecuting Mr Sata now would raise serious credibility problems to any prosecution because the PF leader has been around since June 2009 when Mr Zulu was abducted.
He said he would NOT endorse the arrest of Mr Sata now.
This is contained in a letter to Mr Zulu signed by Mr Mchenga.
The DPP has however, authorized the arrest and prosecution of some of Mr Zulu’s abductors who were NOT apprehended because they were on the run.
But Mr Zulu questioned why police have NOT arrested Mr. Sata when his abductors were arrested and charged.
He said the law should not be selective but prosecute any person who is found wanting.
Information has emerged indicating that a private meeting was held early this month at which some prominent people attempted to intervene and resolve the leadership crisis in the Patriotic Front-UPND pact.
The meeting held on February 7th at LUSAKA’s Acardes Protea Hotel was attended by Post Newspaper Managing Editor Amos Malupenga, Lawyer Mutembo Nchito and Former Task Force on Corruption Executive Chairman, Mark Chona.
UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema and his party’s Chairperson for International Relations, Professor Clive Chirwa also attended the meeting which started around 17:00 hours and ended after 22:00 hours.
According to insiders, Professor Chirwa was used to convene the meeting with a view to resolve the leadership crisis in the UPND/PF Pact.
The meeting was also to apportion parliamentary seats and cabinet positions in the shadow PF-UPND government.
But when contacted over the matter, Mr. Hichilema said the meeting was called to resolve the alleged non press coverage of his party by the Post Newspaper.
Mr. Hichilema however, admitted that attempts were made to discuss the PF UPND Pact leadership.
He said he objected to discussing the Pact affairs because the PF was NOT represented at the meeting.
Mr. Hichilema said although some people felt his stance was unreasonable, he refused to be lectured on political issues of the Pact.
He wondered why details of this particular meeting had been leaked when he has been holding many meetings over the PACT with people from all walks of life.
Mr. Hichilema maintained that there will be no sharing of positions before UPND and PF agrees on a national program for the people of ZAMBIA.
Efforts to get a comment from Mr. Nchito failed as his phone went unanswered while Post Managing Editor Amos Malupenga asked to be called after sometime because he was in a meeting.
Mr. Malupenga earlier referred the queries to the sources of the information about the meeting.
By LusakaTimes
Former Finance minister Ng’andu Magande has warned that Zambia risks falling back into the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) bracket if the government does not reduce on its rate of borrowing.
Mr. Magande said he was worried with the fact that most of the borrowings that government had been signing was meant for projects which had no direct loan repayment benefits.
He said government needed to borrow with the view to putting the money in productive investments so that it accumulates finances needed for servicing the loans.
“From what I understand, we are borrowing for roads, and the roads really don’t have a kind of direct repayment benefit. It is the people that use the roads that make the money like the mining companies.
They are making the money themselves and taking it away because we do not have toll gates,” said Mr. Magande. He said the financial space left as a result of the US$7 billion debt cancellation in 2005 should not encourage government to borrow for no productive ventures.
“ In the shortest possible time we will end up being in the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) bracket. Already we are saying that the debt for Zambia is already US$4 billion, now imagine that we just had debt forgiveness of about US$7 billion by the international community only a few years.”
“I would have no quarrel if we were borrowing money for construction of a dam for irrigation or borrowing the money for purposes of lending it to the farmers so that we grow crops and export and earn money,” he
said.
Mr. Magande cited the US$200 million loan from Exim Bank of China for the Mongu – Kalabo road as one which will need to be serviced by other productive government investments.
“We might have this beautiful Mongu – Kalabo road worth US$200 million but if nothing is being moved or produced on that road, then the money to pay back that loan has to come from elsewhere, and where is the government going to get the money?” he wondered.
United Party for National development(UPND) chairperson on Foreign Policy Prof Clive Chirwa during press briefing in Lusaka.
By Elias Munshya wa Munshya
Zambia has produced no engineer with more impeccable engineering credentials than Professor Clive E. Mulubwa Chirwa’s. From jet engine engineering to car aerodynamics, Professor Chirwa’s engineering credentials are among the best in the whole world. But the dear professor should quickly realise that being successful at mechanical engineering is quite different from doing political engineering. Nothing demonstrates Professor Chirwa’s misunderstanding of politics than the proposal he has made about the way forward for the so called UPND/PF pact. According to this “Chirwa Plan”, the Pact can easily resolve its “presidency” impasse by having Michael Sata become the Pact’s presidential candidate while Hakainde Hichilema should accept the position of Vice-President. Once the Pact forms government the two parties should then divide the spoils of cabinet on a 6 to 4 ratio with the PF having a majority of cabinet portfolios. It is my argument that the Chirwa Plan cannot work for several reasons.
The Chirwa plan ignores simple constitutional provisions. In Zambia’s constitutional character, the power of State subsists in the office and person of the President of the Republic. As Chief Executive Officer of both the government and the State, it is the sole prerogative of the President to both appoint and disappoint ministers subject to the provisions of the law. In so doing, the president cannot be bound by parliament or by his own party or by a pact or indeed by a coalition of parties as the case may be. Once elected and sworn into office, the president is expected to act according to his best judgment and wisdom.[pullquote]It is rather surprising that to ensure compliance the Chirwa Plan expects the two leaders to sign a document detailing the terms of this political coalition. This document signing should be witnessed by the church and other non-governmental organizations. I would be very anxious to find out what legal effect such an agreement will have. Will it be a contract or a treaty? Just from the Barotseland Agreement of 1964, Zambia has a clear precedence of not adhering to such contracts or agreements[/pullquote].
Additionally, in our republican political system, the presidency does not derive its power from political parties as represented in a parliament, but rather directly from the electorate. As such, a coalition on the lines of the British parliamentary system, as an example, is constitutionally untenable in Zambia. When the British, the Canadians, or South Africans go to elections they vote for a parliament and it is from parliament where the Head of Government is chosen from. In the case of Zambia, it is the direct universal suffrage that elects a president. It is, therefore, difficult in Zambia to form a parliamentary ruling coalition of parties because a president cannot constitutionally be bound by such a coalition in exercising his prerogative to choose his government and other officers of the State. In Zambia, parliament or parties in parliament do not determine who or how the president should serve the nation.
It is rather surprising that to ensure compliance the Chirwa Plan expects the two leaders to sign a document detailing the terms of this political coalition. This document signing should be witnessed by the church and other non-governmental organizations. I would be very anxious to find out what legal effect such an agreement will have. Will it be a contract or a treaty? Just from the Barotseland Agreement of 1964, Zambia has a clear precedence of not adhering to such contracts or agreements. Besides, Zambians do not expect their president to choose his cabinet from a gathering of church leaders and NGO’s. We are not a kangaroo nation. We choose the president and we expect him to exercise his wisdom and prerogative. We would not want a president whose presidential prerogatives are determined not by national interests but by the interests of Kabulonga based NGOs. Zambia is bigger than Kabulonga.
In the event that Zambians elected Michael Sata to the presidency, under the current constitution, Sata will have no obligation to honour the Chirwa Plan. The constitution will indeed be on the president’s side and the so called Chirwa plan can be dishonoured on the first day a president Sata takes office. The Chirwa plan would fail for lack of constitutional effect.
The Chirwa plan quite blatantly ignores the political significance of UPND and the rise in the popularity of Hakainde Hichilema. If by-elections are to be used as predictors of political patterns, it is clear that HH does have a solid shot at the presidency. HH has shown meteoric rise in his popularity since the last elections. He has managed to sweep nearly all of the by-elections in the critical province of Northwestern, and he is on the verge of breaking through in Western Province. The Chirwa plan does not take this important element into account.
By giving Sata the Pact’s presidency, the Chirwa plan ignores the significance of the Southern Province vote. Regardless of what many want to believe about Zambian politics, Southern Province still represents a significant voting bloc. This voting bloc is clearly faithful to HH and his UPND. However, this faithfulness to HH should not and cannot transfer to Michael Sata. If HH goes ahead and succumbs to Sata, Southern Province is very likely to break for the MMD and its candidate Rupiah Banda. The MMD is relishing this chance. They are just waiting for the Chirwa Plan to be implemented and VJ Mwaanga and several southern MMD sympathisers will swing into action to convince the people of Kalomo, Choma and Namwala that HH is a sell-out. HH is not dull and he understands very well where the ordinary folk in Mapatizya stand with regard to Michael Sata.
There is no doubt that many in the Pact have been anxious about its future and relevance. It has been my position that a Pact of independent political parties working together to remove a ruling party is good just for that purpose. However, it cannot be good for governing because the Zambian system cannot tolerate such coalitions. If the UPND and the PF were serious about uniting both before and after elections they should have disbanded their respective parties and gone to a convention to choose a presidential candidate.
But the PF and the UPND are no fools. They knew exactly what they wanted in the Pact. They knew exactly that while they showed a pretended appearance of unity, HH and Sata were not as united as we thought. But as for the Chirwa Plan it is as mythical as the myth that some continue to perpetuate about the existence or even relevance of the UPND and PF Pact.
The Government has said it it will not rescind its decision to abolish Academic Production Unit (APU) classes because it was done in good faith following the improved classroom infrastructure in the country.
Education Minister Dora Siliya said yesterday that APU classes were introduced because of a shortage of schools, and that since the situation had improved there was no reason for such classes to continue.
Ms Siliya, who was speaking when she paid a courtesy call on Central Province Minister Ackimson Banda in Kabwe yesterday, that the decision to abolish APU classes was done in the interest of pupils who should not be considered as inferior.
She said the Government believed in equal distribution of education facilities in line with the Government’s policies, and that it was ready to meet with unions, guardians and parents over the matter.
Early this week, the Secondary School Teachers Union of Zambia (SESTUZ) objected the Government’s decision to abolish APU classes.
SESTUZ deputy general secretary for administration and organisation, Emmanuel Zulu said it was premature to do away with APU classes given the existing inadequate infrastructure and over-enrolment in schools.
Meanwhile, Ms Siliya paid tribute to the central provincial administration for working hard and contributing to Zambia’s development through improved health, education facilities, as well increased productivity.
She said Central Province had continued being a shining example to other provinces because of various economic activities taking place in the area.
The provincial minister, Mr Banda reiterated the provincial administration’s commitment to ensuring that programmes such as the construction and rehabilitation of schools and teachers’ houses were carried out in line with the Government’s vision of improved infrastructure.
Mr Banda said currently, the exercise of phasing out schools built using mud was going on well, and was hopeful that once finances were made available, the exercise would be concluded.
[ Times of Zambia ]
FORMER Patriotic Front (PF) secretary general Edward Mumbi has applied to the Lusaka High Court to strike out some particulars of facts that Catholic priest Frank Bwalya should state that he masquerades as his late brother by using the name Edward Mumbi when in fact he is supposed to be called or known as Kangwa Mumbi or Mumbi Kangwa.
This is in a matter in which Mr Mumbi has sued Fr Bwalya for defamation over some words Fr Bwalya made during a QFM Radio programme.
According to an affidavit in support of summons to strike out part of the defence, Mr Mumbi contended that in his defence, Fr Bwalya admits that the words complained of were defamatory, but that he pleaded justification.
“That in the defence of justification, the defendant gives particulars of facts relied on as that, the defendant will aver the plaintiff masquerades as his late brother by using the name Edward Mumbi when in fact he is supposed to be called or known as Kangwa Mumbi or Mumbi Kangwa and (b) that the plaintiff went to the Press and alleged that the defendant received US$100, 000,” reads the affidavit in part.
According to the affidavit, the particulars of facts, which are only a repetition of the defamatory words, complained of and subject of the action may be prejudicial, embarrass, or delay the fair trial of the action.
“That the particulars of facts relating to US$100, 000 is scandalous, frivolous and vexatious and further irrelevant to the plea of justification as the defence therein,” he said.
Last year Mr Mumbi sued Fr Bwalya for defamation over some words that he uttered on Radio QFM.
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) has refuted reports that the pact has settled for Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata as its presidential candidate.
PF secretary general Wynter Kabimba told a press briefing that his party had received proposals from UPND through its chairman for international relations Clive Chirwa, indicating among other issues that Mr Sata should be the pact presidential candidate in the 2011 general elections.
But UPND president Hakainde Hichilema said it is mischievous for Mr Kabimba to publicise suggestions made by an individual member of the UPND.
Mr Kabimba said during the press briefing that the PF received fundamental proposals from the UPND regarding the pact, including one that the two political parties should design and agree on a common manifesto or social and economic development agenda.
The other proposal is that the two parties share constituencies with the PF taking 60 percent of the parliamentary seats and the UPND 40 percent.
Mr Kabimba said the UPND also proposed that Mr Sata be the pact presidential candidate in the 2011 presidential and general elections and that Mr Hichilema should be vice-president if the pact forms government.
The UPND also proposed that the Cabinet portfolios be shared, with PF taking 60 percent and UPND 40 percent, and that these proposals should be embodied in a document to be signed by the two leaders at a ceremony to be witnessed by NGOs, the Church and other stakeholders.
“In our desire to ensure that the pact makes progress and in order to show our commitment to the PF-UPND pact, we hereby accept these proposals within the working time frame attached to them. I have accordingly written to the UPND secretary general,” Mr Kabimba said.
[pullquote]“We don’t want to go into government as a bunch of jokers. We don’t want to bring old politics of hide and seek and opportunism. If the PF is ready to talk, we are ready,” he said.[/pullquote]
He said the pact between PF and UPND is still alive and viable as an alternative government to the MMD during this year’s tripartite elections.
But Mr Hichilema, who also held a press briefing later, said no decision had been made on the pact presidential candidate.
“It is important that we present facts. Anybody issuing contrary statements to this fact is being malicious and is misleading the nation,” he said.
Mr Hichilema said UPND had requested the PF to dialogue but that it had taken eight to nine months without the meeting taking place.
He reiterated the need for both parties to agree on the national social economic programme.
He said the issues include the provision of health and education and clean water.
“We don’t want to go into government as a bunch of jokers. We don’t want to bring old politics of hide and seek and opportunism. If the PF is ready to talk, we are ready,” he said.
And asked what he thought Mr Kabimba’s motives were, Mr Hichilema replied, “One has to check his motives. Anyone with interest in this matter can only speculate.”
“Our management style is different and, therefore, we will not be driven by Mr Kabimba’s style. For me, what is good for the Zambian people is what matters.
[pullquote]“Our management style is different and, therefore, we will not be driven by Mr Kabimba’s style. For me, what is good for the Zambian people is what matters. [/pullquote]
We should not rush to choose candidates. What’s the point of having a position if you can’t deliver? The presidency and public office must be taken seriously, so let us not be excited about the views of one individual,” he said.
And in his response to Mr Kabimba’s letter, UPND secretary general Winstone Chibwe said the proposals are the personal views of Professor Chirwa and should not be taken as the official position of the party.
“The UPND is procedural in decision making and has not made any of the alleged proposals,” he said.
Mr Chibwe said it is important for Mr Kabimba to show maturity and seriousness in the way this matter is handled to promote mutual trust and confidence in matters of the pact.
“It is important to engage each other in a procedural and dignified manner as we seek public office. Any departure from this will only serve to undermine our standing in the eyes of voters. Confidence, procedure and decency are important ingredients in pact governance,” the letter reads.
Mr Chibwe said UPND had written several letters to which there has been no response from the PF.
“The last letter to the PF president dated 20th January, 2011 had an enclosure of our UPND press statement which contained fundamental social economic and governance issues that we in the UPND believe must come first before even contemplating the issue of Presidency that you have clumsily dealt with this morning,” the letter reads.
“We are, therefore, surprised that you have opted to take the personal views of Prof. Chirwa to the press without contacting us when you have failed to respond to our official position,” Mr Chibwe said in his reply.
And President Banda says he cannot blame UPND for distancing itself from the reports.
The President said on arrival from Livingstone that Mr Sata is a “hostile and aggressive” man who dwells on insulting other people, but does not want to be criticised.
[pullquote]“We are, therefore, surprised that you have opted to take the personal views of Prof. Chirwa to the press without contacting us when you have failed to respond to our official position,” Mr Chibwe said in his reply.[/pullquote]
He said the politics that Zambians want will eventually marginalise him.
And Chief Mwanachingwala says the pact has failed to work because Mr Sata has not been honest with Mr Hichilema.
“Hakainde has been very honest but Mr Sata has not, so the pact cannot work,” he said.
He said the wrangles in the pact have given the ruling MMD a 60 percent chance of winning the elections.
“What I know is that Mr Sata will not allow Mr Hichilema to stand as pact president. And how can Hichilema be vice-president when the Constitution does not provide for a running mate?
How sure is Sata that he is going to win and make Hichilema vice-president? And how sure is Hichilema that Sata would not change his mind if he was to win the elections?”
Chief Mwachingwala advised Mr Hichilema and the UPND to work with the MMD.
A man of Livingstone’s Libuyu compound is reported to be missing after being assaulted by a Sex Worker at a famous Brothel in Maramba on Valentine’s Eve.
According to an eye witness, the named man picked a quarrel with one of the known sex workers over alleged non payments.
The sex workers, who was seemingly irritated picked up a bottle and hit him on the head.
The friends claim the victim has not been seen since that night.
Others say the victim was advised to go to the hospital but turned down the advice.
Meanwhile on Monday,which was the valentine’s day a man was found dead and hanging on a tree within the Livingstone General Hospital.
Hospital staff say the deceased who is alleged to have committed suicide was a mental patient who was kept at the Hospital’s outpatient ward.
Sources at the hospital have ruled out the possibility that the dead patient could be the man who was assaulted at the brothel since he had no scars to show that he was assaulted.
But Livingstone General Hospital Executive Director Dr.Namani Moonze refused to name the deceased adding that he has not yet been identified.
A three day old baby is battling for its life in Namwala district Hospital, after her mother reportedly tried to bury her alive.
The incident happened over the weekend.
The woman, indentified as Hildah Mweemba of Malambo Village is said to have given birth on Sunday and thereafter buried her newly born baby alive, as a way of getting rid of her.
Both Chief Muchila and Namakube ward Councillor Japhet Ngalaba confirmed the incident to ZANIS.
Chief Muchila said the baby was found by cattle herders who quickly reported the matter to him.
He said the woman was trying to get rid of the baby she allegedly had with another man because she was about to reconcile with her matrimonial husband.
And District Medical Officer Davy KaileE described the baby’s condition as serious.
And Namwala Police are yet to charge the woman as they are still awaiting results of her mental well being.
Nchanga Rangers will play Gauteng giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in pre-season friendly matches next month in South Africa.
According to a press release from Rangers sponsors KCM, the Chingola club will travel to South Africa for a week-long training camp on March 3.
The matches will be part of Rangers’ build-up to their Orange Caf Confederation Cup first round, first leg match away to Lupopo of DR Congo during the weekend of March 19.
Rangers are scheduled to play Pirates on March 8 and two days later take on Chiefs.
Venues of the matches were not immediately available.
Rangers advanced to the first round of the Confederations Cup following Zimbabwe opponents
Highlanders withdrawal from participating in this year’s second tier continental club competition.
Meanwhile, Rangers have left for Zimbabwe today to play a pre-season friendly match In Bulawayo against promoted club FC Platinum on Saturday and will return to Zambia on Sunday.
And Rangers on Wednesday beat Power Dynamos 4-3 on post-match penalties after finishing 0-0 in the final of the Nchanga Rangers pre-season tournament played at Nchanga stadium in Chingola.
Minister of Lands Gladys Lundwe says, government will soon audit the administration and allocation of land by Livingstone City Council.
This follows the land scam revealed at Lusaka City Council, where councilors secretly allocated themselves plots.
Ms Lundwe said this when she paid a courtesy call at the Provincial Minister’s Office.She challenged Councilors to avoid allocating themselves land at the expense of the Zambian people.
She has challenged Councils in the country, to follow procedures and advertise to the public about land availability.
Meanwhile Government has commenced on land audit among councils in the province to verify the issue surrounding the ownership of land among civic leaders.
Ms Lundwe said so far about eleven councils among them Choma City council,Sinazongwe municipal council and Livingstone city council are under audit.
And Ms Lundwe has disclosed that her ministry has budgeted about k11.5billion fund for land development to be allocated to deserving councils in the county.
She said the criteria used to allocate the fund is judged by performance review of a particular council.
Ms Lundwe identified Sinazongwe council as the best performer in the Province.
The so called revolution in Egypt has received lots of praise world-over. US President Barack Obama showed his political naivety by dumping Mubarak very quickly and calling the Tahrir Square revolution “a voice of democracy.” However, in this article I wish to argue that while the Egyptians were justified in their protests, they got it wrong when they insisted on the immediate resignation of President Mubarak. Egyptians should have given Mubarak the chance to leave office after September 2011. The forced resignation of Mubarak and the subsequent Army coup does not serve the interests of democracy as it is a potential replacement of one dictatorship with a worst one.
This revolution had very little preparation. When the people gathered in Tahrir Square, they had no plan and no blueprint for the shape of their post-Mubarak democracy. There is only one thing that united them—the end of the Mubarak regime. And that is where the danger lay. You cannot overthrow a dictatorship without plans for what you will do after the dictator is gone. It will be a very sad world, where people simply move to remove dictators without adequate democratic alternatives and preparation. Couldn’t it have been better for the Egyptians to first create some form of structure and agree on important policy and political matters before Mubarak went?
Modern history teaches us that the most enduring revolutions are the French Revolution and the American Revolution which took place centuries ago. These revolutions have gallantly stood the test of time due to the fact that the French as well the Americans had an idea about the kind of democracy and nation they were hoping to create. The greatest reason why America still stands to date is because the Americans not only fought against the British dictatorship but they had a plan in place of how they would govern themselves. They had it all well planned. In Egypt we see no such plans about democracy-uniting to simply remove Mubarak is not plan enough. Very seldom is democracy born out of a disorganised revolution.
On the other hand, the real hypocrite in the Mubarak debacle is still the United State of America. It is the US that made Mubarak and it is the US that kept him and propped him up in power. President Obama seemed to give the impression that America was on the side of the ordinary Egyptians protesting on the streets. But clearly, America reacted that way and dumped Mubarak because he was not serving their interests anymore. America will now work within any regime in Egypt to protect its interests in the region. These interests unfortunately may not be identical to the aspirations of all those people who were protesting in Cairo and Alexandria. America’s speed at disowning Mubarak is consistent with her foreign policy: prop-up African dictators and then dump them when they do not serve American interests. American sincerity in Egypt and in other parts of Africa should not just be seen when people protest the American aligned dictators. American sincerity in international politics should be judged by their alignment to the will of the people. However, from the lessons we learn from Mobutu Seseseko to the Mubarak regime America only serves her own interests. It was a disgrace for America to neglect Mubarak at a critical hour and let the Egyptian nation yield itself to an uncertain future. Or maybe the future is more certain for American interests. There should be something in it, for Americans to turn against Mubarak. Americans do not just do those things for nothing!
No doubt that when fighting a common enemy in Mubarak, Muslims as well as Copts became compatriots fighting a just cause. But the true measure of Egyptian unity does not lie with what people did in the past few weeks; but with whether after this so called revolution; Egyptians will be more tolerant to their fellow citizens who espouse a different faith. It is common knowledge that under Mubarak, the Christian Copts were marginalized. But there is no guarantee that with the Army in charge the life of the Christian minority in Egypt will get any easier. Besides, if the popularity of the Muslim Brotherhood is to be taken seriously, it means that the future of the Christian minority in Egypt is even in deeper jeopardy. United they stood in Tahrir, but divided they stand after Mubarak is gone.
Egypt should have learnt a lesson from the way Zambia handled its dictator in Kenneth Kaunda. When it was apparent that the people of Zambia were fed up with Kaunda’s dictatorship in 1986, the people of Zambia forced the president and the political regime to go for elections. Elections still remain the most formidable way to get rid of a dictatorship. Zambians allowed Kaunda to stay on in power, from 1986 to 1991, to organize elections and even accepted Kaunda’s candidature in those 1991 elections. The people spoke very emphatically through the ballot and the Kaunda regime was defeated. At least that is a transition that would inspire the tenets of democracy and not the uprising we saw in Egypt. For now the Egyptians would be wishing they had heeded Mubarak’s desire to stay on until September.
Between now and September, Mubarak could have started to work on elections and on transition. The ordinary Egyptians themselves could have also been given the opportunity to sharpen their manifestos and negotiate a just political future. But alas! They were overtaken by the desire to overthrow the Mubarak regime such that they were blinded to the kind of future that such actions would bring.
In the meantime, the Army is in charge. It has suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament and is ruling by decree. The same people in Tahrir Square who protested against Mubarak just last week still find themselves protesting against the Army dictatorship. The future is definitely uncertain. And if there is any lesson we can learn from Egypt it is the lesson of how we should not carry out a revolution. And in fact, it is not a revolution that which betrays the tenets of democracy. It cannot be a genuine revolution that only topples the top dictator but leaves all other structures that made up the dictatorial regime intact. The only way out of misery for Egyptians should have been the ballot in September. But between now and then, we may all surrender ourselves to the possibility that defeating Mubarak has made the Egyptians only swap one Pharaoh for another.
