By Henry Kyambalesa
Currently, Zambia can, by and large, be classified predominantly as a “repressive state,” that is, a nation-state where leaders impose sufficient repression on opposition political parties in order to keep them weak and maintain their own power, while adhering to enough democratic formalities that they might just pass themselves off as democrats.
Mildly, the country fits the description of a “criminal state,” that is, a nation-state where the government is oblivious to crimes committed by government leaders and the elite and, among other things, individuals with criminal records are appointed to positions of authority.
Zambia also temperately meets the characteristics of a “patrimonial state,” where government leaders treat the state as their own piece of property. Moreover, the country fits the description of a “collapsed state,” that is, a nation-state in which common people are generally left to their own devices while government officials revel in conspicuous, state-financed luxury.
With respect to the country’s classification as a “repressive state,” we are very likely to see our beloved country turned into a de facto single-party state if the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) continues to rule the country beyond this year. I have provided a bird’s-eye view of the bases of my conclusion below.
MMD Maneuvers:
Vice President George Kunda is apparently tasked to spearhead MMD’s onslaught on Zambia’s major opposition political parties and their leaders—the Patriotic Front (PF) and the United Party for National Development (UPND), and Hakainde Hichilema and Michael Sata. His incessant attacks and misinformation aimed at discrediting the PF-UPND pact and its leaders are unprecedented in our country’s history.
MMD leaders’ machinations against major opposition political parties are clearly and deliberately designed to impose sufficient repression on them in order to make them weak and maintain MMD’s stronghold on power. The poaching and appointments of Heritage Party, PF and UNIP members of parliament to positions of authority, and the constant invitations to members of opposition political parties to join the MMD, have the same rationale.
Constitutional Clauses:
Article 203(2) of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill 2010 states that “Any person or group of persons who desires to form a political party shall satisfy the Political Parties’ Commission that—(a) the party shall, within a period of twelve months from the date of its registration, have party structures in at least two-thirds of the number of provinces of Zambia. And in Article 205(1), it is stated that “The purpose of the Political Parties’ Fund shall be to provide financial support to registered political parties with seats in the National Assembly.”
Political parties are apparently expected to comply with the requirement in Article 203(2) with their own resources. Unfortunately, most political parties in the country do not have adequate financial and material resources to comply with this requirement. It is, therefore, essential for the Republican constitution to provide for a level-playing field so that it does not appear to favor political parties whose founders and members have deep pockets.
Such a requirement will eventually lead to a de facto one-party state, particularly in bad economic times, when political parties fail to raise enough financial and material resources to maintain the required party structures in at least two-thirds of the number of provinces of Zambia. It also imposes a one-size-fits-all type of organization structure on political parties. Some political parties may wish to operate from a single centralized location in order to reduce costs.
The question of whether or not a political party is regional or tribal should be left to voters. Voters are not daft; they will not popularly vote for presidential candidates from political parties which appear to be regional or tribal in nature. It is, therefore, enough to require all candidates for political office to have a specified number of supporters at the time of registration.
The Public Media:
Zambians are wary of the current situation whereby large segments of the mass media are state-owned, under tight controls by the MMD government, and the rights and freedoms of individuals and non-governmental institutions are subordinate to those of the ruling party and the state.
Unfortunately, this state of affairs has greatly and unfairly enhanced MMD’s competitive advantage over opposition political parties. And the continued push for statutory regulation of the media is a clear indication that MMD leaders represent their individual and partisan interests rather than the common interests of Zambians at large.
The express desire for statutory regulation of the media and the tight controls over public media institutions by the MMD are all partly designed to shut out the opposition and create a greater and unfair competitive edge for the MMD.
The Party and Its Government:
We have a political system that allows individuals to hold government and political party positions concurrently. This has inevitably distorted the boundary between national duties and party activities, and has culminated into what is commonly referred to as “the Party and Its Government” or “the PIG” phenomenon.
And we have failed to introduce provisos in the Republican constitution which would bar national leaders from actively performing political party functions. Also, we have failed to permit the Registrar of Societies to require all political parties in the country to include a clause in their constitutions providing for duties of party members who get elected or appointed to serve in either the judiciary or the executive branch of the national government to be assumed by incumbents of other offices within the party’s administrative and management structures.
The MMD is happy with the PIG since it has made it possible for the party to dominate the political arena through public resources used by government ministers during campaigns.
Conclusion:
Our country’s nascent political pluralism is clearly on the chopping block! If we ignore the foregoing signals and vote for the MMD later this year, we will actually be voting for a move to a new version of a one-party system of government. And we will be voting for a government that has thus far proved to be insensitive to the basic needs, expectations and aspirations of the majority of Zambians.
Nearly 20 years have passed since the MMD assumed the reins of power, but we still have a healthcare system which cannot meet the basic needs of the majority of citizens; tens of thousands of Grade 7 and Grade 9 students have continued to be spilled onto the streets every year; so many citizens have no access to clean water and electricity; and a critical shortage of decent public housing has compelled so many of our fellow citizens to live in shanty townships nationwide.
Moreover, public infrastructure and services are still deficient; civil servants are still not adequately compensated for their services; a lot of civil service retirees cannot get their hard-earned benefits; crime and unemployment are still widespread; taxes and interest rates are still very high; and, among many other socio-economic ills, the constitution-making process is still fraught with personal, partisan and short-term interests.
We need to pray hard for divine intervention in the governance of our Motherland. No sleep for our beloved country!
