LET the educated or the holders of credits in five O’ levels or better as a school certificate vote for themselves as they seek public political office, says 3RD-Liberation Movement president Enock Tonga.
Tonga said unless one was mad, why would they cast a vote for a system that embraces draconian and discriminatory law such as five O’levels credit or better requirement for one to seek public political office.
“In Matthew 8:22 Jesus said, ‘Let the dead bury themselves.’ Likewise, let the educated or the holders of credits in five O’levels or better as a school certificate vote for themselves as they seek public political office. Fools!” he said.
Tonga said Zambia had a very poor education system, which only supports the rich to access quality education based on their ability to pay.
“And that is when a bad and very discriminatory clause is slotted in our supreme law of the land. Please note that leadership comes from God, and people’s support in a particular ward, city, district, constituency; let alone the nation is enough qualification at present to allow one seek public political office,” he said. “Whose interest were those thickhead drafters of this useless clause serving? Now, you want us to start exporting candidates from the city to go and stand in some ward based in a particular village. What would a holder of credits in five O’levels or better be doing in a typical village?”
Tonga said it was an insult of the worst kind, right in the face of a voter, to be asked to vote or consider a particular position which he or she cannot aspire for simply because of such a cruel slot of a clause.
“What sense is there for a poor villager, uneducated, who is clearly being told that you are not worthy of a being to aspire for public office to go and cast a vote for the educated? You hypocrites!” Tonga said. “We shall see how many voters out of those six million registered voters of yours have credits in five O’levels or better will come and cast a vote for any of you the educated. Example given: It is neither practical nor feasible, for one to setup or establish an incompetent body to be responsible for choosing qualified candidates for a particular position – To simply mean that, the most uneducated, the have-nots, the so called grade twelve certificate, as voters in line with or in the face of this useless and draconian law, are an incompetent body of voters to choose or elect the educated – the grade twelve certificate haves.”
He said it was all animal farm and manipulation of highest order.
“We may as well want to know the marks which those President Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s appointed judges at his Constitutional Court scored at grade twelve to come and study law and later adjudicate over matters of Constitution interpretation,” Tonga asked. “The sole reason why there is mature entry in studies – so, why should we discriminate other good people to seek public political office based on a useless grade twelve piece of paper, even when the system has terribly failed to provide affordable and quality education for all?
Well, for us, it is easy, simple and straight, knowing so well that the majority voters on the current [ECZ chief electoral officer Patrick] Nshindano and [chairperson Esau] Chulu’s compiled Voter’s Register do not have credits in five O’levels or better.”