By Elias Munshya wa Munshya
When HH came onto the political front, he brought lots of promise. He was fresh, young, rich and quite educated. In fact, in spite being rich and educated, he was still very down-to-earth. These were the qualities and character that the Zambian people were looking for in a leader.
Even though his emergence within the UPND was controversial in that he is alleged to have hounded Sakwiba Sikota out of the UPND on tribal grounds, he nevertheless settled into leadership very well and inspired many both in the UPND and in the nation. He quickly worked to brush off allegations that he was a tribalist, by emphasizing quite frequently that as a Zambian he did not hail from one particular province but came from all the parts of the country—he is perhaps the only high profile political figure to emphasize that fact.
Just after coming into leadership he, however, faced Mwanawasa’s and Tetamashimba’s 2006 onslaught in that he lost the Northwestern Province and Western Provinces which with Southern Province had become the stronghold of the UPND under Mazoka. But at least, to his credit, he managed to keep Southern Province within the grasp of the UPND.
But in 2010, HH is faced with a very serious dilemma and he must do something to get out of it. This dilemma has the potential to derail him and to also derail the UPND. He has however a choice to make in the matter. And what he decides in the next few months will set him apart as a serious contender to the leadership of Zambia or he will be relegated to the would-have-beens. What then is the dilemma he faces?
First, he faces the dilemma within the PACT. Shortly, before the presidential by-elections of 2008, his UPND and PF had formed some form of a pact, and they were going to go into elections as a unified front. Some political players got excited with that prospect, and Sata was famously alleged to have finally found a young man he could train in politics. Not very long after that, the so called unity crumbled and there were some unpleasantries said from both sides.
They did not like each other that much after all. Come the by-elections and HH had a strong showing, holding on to Southern Province and came out third in the final tally. Immediately after the by-elections, however, both the UPND and PF have come to realize that the only way they could remove the MMD is if they tried to unite, and hence the formation of the so called PF/UPND pact again. But this Pact has created a serious dilemma for HH.
The dilemma is that if the Pact went on and chose Sata as its presidential candidate, Southern voters are very unlikely to vote for a Pact led by Sata, and as such the UPND risks losing that Southern support. On the other hand, if HH were elected or chosen or anointed as the Pact’s candidate, it is very unlikely that Sata would accept to serve under HH and he may then choose to break away from the pact and stand on his own. If such a division happened, it is almost guaranteed that the Pact will not form the next government.
Additionally, it is common knowledge that the PF is the stronger side of the two parties within the Pact and therefore it has more leverage than the UPND. The PF is therefore likely to use its power and influence to lobby for Sata to lead the pact more than it would willingly accept HH to lead.
And if that situation happened Southern Province will almost certainly switch its support to either Banda or a third-party candidate such as Magande. HH should therefore face the truth with courage that there is no reason why the Pact will work this time around and abandon it. The sooner he does that the better. Holding on to the promise of the pact, is wasting his time, and diluting his message.
If anything, his holding on to the PF pact as the only solution to the MMD problem sends a wrong message that he cannot stand on his own. HH should abandon the Pact immediately. This is not because he does not like unity, but rather because, the dynamics within the Pact do not favor him at all and neither does the pact favor the aspirations of the Zambian people in the long-term.
[pullquote]When Zambians enter the voting booth to vote next year, we want to remember an HH who is courteous, kind, handsome, rich, lovable and gentle. An HH who answers opponents with truth. An HH who speaks policy and not insults.[/pullquote]
Secondly, HH faces a very serious dilemma with regard to the kind of politics he is now practicing. When he came on the scene he exhibited greatness, and freshness. But a few years down the line, he has not brought any change to the political front, but instead has joined the old and finished politicians in their thinking and manner of doing politics. This is so serious in that looking at HH’s utterances today you would not differentiate between him and Sata or Banda.
HH needs to be different, otherwise if he is the same as the two, it gives no real choice among Zambians. HH must rein in his tongue and desist from insulting his opponents. He has called RB, “childish”, “small brain”, “sleepy and dozy” and so on and so forth. Honestly, this is the language we expect from both Sata and Banda and not from a young fresh mind like HH. His frustrations are understood.
Both Sata and Banda play the UNIP styled politics. In fact, their rivalry started many years ago, perhaps even before HH was born. When Banda and Sata quarrel and insult each other, it makes good comedy since it is two old grandpas quarrelling about things like who is more handsome between them.
Very petty things, but HH should not join them in those things. When Zambians enter the voting booth to vote next year, we want to remember an HH who is courteous, kind, handsome, rich, lovable and gentle. An HH who answers opponents with truth. An HH who speaks policy and not insults. HH must challenge his dilemma by looking at what he is going to say the next time he criticizes Banda.
And honestly, when HH is Banda’s age I would personally, appreciate him taking some naps and sleeping more often, because that is what old people do and they should not be criticized and insulted for being old and finished. But at least as for HH, he still epitomizes the wishes of many Zambians, and we may be on the road to political redemption if the President Hakainde Hichilema behaved a little bit more presidential!
