I HAVE heard it said many times by those in government that they run a pro-poor government – to mean that their policies are directed at alleviating the suffering of the masses and pull them out of poverty. I want to contend that if a government is pro-poor and its support base is from the poor masses, it makes me think that those in government would systematically keep the numbers of poor people high so that they continue to get support from them. The more poor people there are, the more votes they get during elections. For, if people were financially independent and had many options, they would cease to look up to politicians for crumbs and our politicians will have no one to manipulate. So you see that pro-poor government is politics of the belly. A hungry person is very easy to buy. Actually, examples are obvious: we see politicians dig a borehole – fifty five years after independence – and call a TV crew to tell the world that they are working. We see them ferry truckloads of mealie-meal bags to give to members of their constituency and call that development. If you don’t believe me, wait and see what happens next year during election campaigns. But these elections will come and go and the poor may still continue to walk the streets of the capital.
I would love to see a government that works to create job opportunities for all, empower its citizens to be self-sustaining and not to make us live in utopia land that government will give me a job or a market-stall if I support them. I would love to see a government that does not segregate when giving contracts to small and medium enterprises. I would love to see government officials that do not use religion as a cover up of their dirty schemes.
But what do we see every other day? We see our elected officials get richer every year that comes. It’s only after the dawn of multiparty politics in Zambia that you see that every politician who has served for a mere five years will come out richer than he went in. The founding fathers of this great nation, those who fought for our independence never became millionaires even after being in office for 27 years.
How do you explain someone becoming a millionaires for being in parliament just for ten years? How much do parliamentarians earn? What businesses do politicians do that gives them millions, when others have tried all kinds of business but are just getting by?
I’m given to think that many politicians have business smokescreens which they use to hide their ill-gotten wealth. With so many government projects going on in the country, some of our politicians receive kickbacks, and since they may be running some small family businesses, the Anti-Corruption Commission fails to prove the sources of their wealth when brought before courts of law.
Now, if you ask me, this ACC is a toothless, moribund institution that is wasting taxpayers’ money. They only specialise in arresting small fish who have no political connections. We have cases of corruption that drag for years until people forget about them. What happened to the 48 mysterious houses? Why should an accused senior government official continue in office while appearing in court?
Today every politician is a business person – if not, then they use their relatives as fronts to get government contracts. Hence politics of the belly will continue if nothing is done to change the current situation.
davieschilufya@gmai.com
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