bY Kasebamashila Kaseba
ECZ, UPND, PF, CHIPENZI AND SIMUUWE TRIBALISM, PARTISANISM AND PROFESSIONALISM
President HH appointment of newly registered GEARS Executive Director MacDonald Chipenzi to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Board Commissioner has drawn mixed public reactions especially of the main opposition PF including in Parliament to the VP ahead of ratification (investigation and research) debate of MC being a UPND cadre.
Firstly, what is clear for PF is that MC’s qualifications, competencies and experience are secondary to UPND partisanship and Tonga tribalism.
MC is not just a sympathiser or suspected UPND cadre or a Tonga Bantustan as was common stigmatised under PF but a UPND cadre, or UPND perhaps, more than HH himself and UPND senior members themselves and cadres themselves.
I’m short, MC seems more UPND than UPND itself or MC himself.
Now, that is what is exactly partisan and tribal especially of PF tribal party to regard others according to their prejudices.
In fact, what should be of concern is UPND continued destruction of civil society through appointment of MC after PF itself destroyed the civil society and private sector and most of all ECZ itself.
For me, MC who only recently registered GEARS should have remained in the civil society to strengthen, than weaken, it on account of his experience and needs of the moment.
PF that hounded him out of FODEP in 2016 has since stalked him after FODEP withheld or blocked his separation dues contrary to the PF 2016 amended Constutition Article 266.
PF didn’t just hound MC out of FODEP, it also weakened or compromised FODEP itself among other civil society organizations.
What PF is doing with MC among others is what UPND and Prime TV is doing to me and others except UPND and MC himself may hypocritically see the similar situations differently. MC has never claimed to be UPND or was even not adopted by UPND which is used to label and blacklist him. On the other hand, Prime TV and Simuuwe can reveal themselves as a UPND Ally and consultant or cadre and for Simuuwe at the same time Prime TV News Analyst without concern or uproar of the PF. That is where PF misses it to focus on MC or some of us in its tribal and partisan prejudice. That is how UPND similarly focused on PF in FJT University corruption than the money or FJT or corruption.)
In other words, PF effected tribal and partisan national retirements in the public and private sectors that UPND has continued by appointment of MC and PF has continued by rejection of the appointment .
In the case of MC, the PF that arrested to persecuted to prosecuted to dismissed him now wants him blacklisted from ECZ.
One of the PF grudges against MC is that in 2014 he exposed itself tribal recruitments in the Police among others. Not only that he soundly defeated them in court that the judged expunged section 67 of Penal Code on False Information. There was no UPND membership or sponsorship.
While I absolutely disagree with the UPND HH changes or deforms than reforms especially at ECZ, I also absolutely disagree with the PF career-killing blacklisting and singling out of MC.
What mistake PF is repeating of still being personal and petty with MC is what they are accusing him of or is the same mistake UPND is repeating with being personal and petty with say Chilufya Tayali as a PF puppet.
I have associated and followed both MC and Tayali without seeing MC being UPND or funded by UPND as I saw Tayali funded by PF and UPND for welfare and legal fees. I have never seen both MC and Tayali being tribal as the PF.
In the end, PF must rebrand or repent its hatred of MC and UPND
hatred of Tayali and Tembo etc to demonstrate magnanimity and professionalism they want of both and the country.
Let PF focus on or prioritise the principle over the person, electoral reforms than staff cadre appointments that itself appointed. That is what is more national than personal, tribal and partisan.