HICHILEMA’S INTERNATIONAL PUPPETRY TOURS
Mr Hakainde Hichilema remains the most globe-trotting President Zambia has ever had.
The nearly two years he has been at the helm of this country’s leadership displays an acute appetite for aimless and limitless traveling around.
It is more than clear for all to see that with Mr Hichilema, being on the aircraft is a craving he has to satisfy regardless of the heart-wrecking situation facing the masses back home.
And so, the drill is simple, if Mr Hichilema misses the aircraft, Mr Hichilema must take off at the nearest opportunity under the guise of strengthening bilateral ties or promoting the country, since he prides him as Zambia’s ‘chief marketing officer’.
Indeed, Presidents are required to travel for various purposes. But we ask the following questions: is Mr Hichilema’s frequent flying yielding any results for the country? Do these travels really attract foreign capital and entice genuine investors as it is being claimed? Are the number of trips taken so far proportionate to the benefits brought into the country?
We are not talking about investment pledges and so on. We are talking about real or tangible outcomes existing on the ground.
We therefore, challenge Mr Hichilema and his far- right UPND puppet government to give a full disclosure of the number of trips taken so far; how much they have cost the national treasury; how many cooperation agreements have been entered into with various countries; and how many have been actualised.
Mind you, there is nothing wrong with the country leveraging on the cooperation with other countries in various sectors but let it be done with prudence to state resources instead of abusing the treasury through worthless wandering around the globe under the pretext of economic diplomacy. When, in reality, what obtains on these trips is utter puppetry and selling out to imperialists and transnational corporations.
We insist that our people must be Mr Hichllema’s main concern, and presently Zambians in dire need of affordable mealie meal, drugs in hospitals, employment, low-cost living conditions and better remuneration and conditions of service, and so on and so forth. At the moment, our people are truly fatigued with Mr Hichilema’s lies, manipulation and deception. Enticing fabrications of being the country’s ‘chief marketing officer’ and creating an impression as though each time Mr Hichilema travels abroad, he will return to Zambia with a fully functional manufacturing industry that will provide instant jobs and improve people’s livelihoods are no longer believable.
Mr Hichilema must know that our people are wake and can now read through his lies and deception.
Our point is: Mr Hichilema’s excessive international travels are costing the national treasury millions and for a poor country like Zambia, this is unsustainable and complete misplaced prioritisation. For instance, each time Mr Hichilema travels, he is accompanied by a large entourage, which include; security, kitchen staff, family, Cabinet ministers, technocrats and many others. And when this is done every so often, like Mr Hichilema has been doing since assuming office, it definitely ends into a budgetary burden for a country with balance sheet glitches like Zambia.
Let Mr Hichilema and his league realise that uncontrollable Presidential trips are a huge knock on the national treasury as it reroutes state resources away from productive spending, which if properly prioritised and utilised has the potential to lessen poverty, disease and shameful requests for foreign aid.
Further, frequent Presidential trips signals leadership failure to administer meagre state resources responsibly, efficiently and effectively. It signifies extreme fiscal indiscipline for a poor country in need of foreign support or development assistance. In short, unmanaged Presidential trips and patronising of Western capitals like Mr Hichilema is doing, ultimately creates a sense of reluctancy in most governments and development agencies, especially those sitting on other end of the geopolitical divide. They begin assuming that the country has excess resources and is raising enough foreign capital and development support from such regular globe tours.
It is also worth pointing out that leaders who are constantly on the move are at times perceived as a danger to foreign capital inflows and development aid for their countries because the signal it gives to potential investors and cooperating agencies is that such leadership lacks the seriousness and focus to address problems at home. Hence the endless globe-trotting to escape responsibilities at home.
Out of control Presidential trips also signify incompetence of other institutions within the country because you can’t always have the President in the forefront even for the tiniest of overseas engagements, if the country’s institutions and systems are effective and efficient.
And Mr Hichilema must know that he can’t micro-manage the state. It’s too huge a monster for him. In fact, micro-management is actually a sign of poor leadership style because good leaders have trust and confidence in their appointees and they delegate tasks.
Why should the President always be on the aircraft marketing the country and literally meeting each and every potential investor? Where is the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA)? Where are the various chambers of commerce and industry? Where are the diplomats of the various missions dotted across the globe? Where are state agencies tasked with the duty of attracting foreign capital?
We have no issue with Mr Hichilema traveling abroad and we are aware that by virtue of his position as President, all sorts of invitations land on his desk but to plainly think that he can honor each and every invitation before his eyes, shows a serious lack of focus and seriousness in dealing with critical matters of the state. In case, Mr Hichilema didn’t know let him learn today that excessive Presidential trips have adverse effects on attracting foreign direct investments and foreign aid, for the reasons argued above.
We would also like to honestly caution Mr Hichilema that even though it looks charming, gratifying and convenient to pander to the whims of Western interests and transnational corporations today, when the chips are down, the West will abandon him like they have done to countless leaders before him in history.
The imperialist world knows no true friendships; and it knows no loyalty. They behave like mercenaries, when the job of using him is done, they will move to the next one. This here is the accurate summation of imperialism and such is the price one eventually pays for being an imperialist puppet and sell-out.
Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party