I FEAR FOR MINISTERS…HH has a superiority complex, wants to be prominent person in the room – Sean Tembo

I FEAR FOR MINISTERS…HH has a superiority complex, wants to be prominent person in the room – Tembo

By Ernest Chanda(The Mast)

PATRIOTS for Economic Progress president Sean Tembo believes that President Hakainde Hichilema has a superiority complex which makes him close up to other people’s views.

“So I fear for current cabinet members. I really fear for them because I can only imagine the nature of Cabinet meetings that they hold,” he says. “His personality and his leadership style has seriously contributed to the underperformance of the UPND government…So if Mr Hichilema had a different personality, if he had humility and if he was able to tap into the wisdom of his government officials and his ministers, my submission is that the performance of the UPND government would have been far much better than it currently is in all aspects.”

In an interview, Tembo explained his personal experiences with President Hichilema then as an opposition leader.

“Based on my personal experience, I think the challenge that the President has is largely that he has a superiority complex, yes. He wants to be the most prominent person in the room. He wants to be the most knowledgeable person in the room. He wants to be the wisest person in the room,” Tembo said. “And when you talk about leadership, I think that plays out to be a big disadvantage because inasmuch as you might be in a position of authority you will not know everything in every area that needs to be known.”

He cited a meeting they had as an opposition alliance where President Hichilema would interject whenever other leaders were speaking.
Tembo said President Hichilema consumed more time talking than all his colleagues combined.

“I remember the days of the alliance when we would have meetings with party presidents of other political parties. So you would be seated, you know. There would be president HH – UPND, there would be president [Elias] Chipimo – NAREP, there would be president [Charles] Milupi – ADD, there would be president Andyford Banda, there would be myself and other leaders. And then you’re discussing, you’ve convened a meeting and then you’re discussing certain issues. Maybe you’ve got an agenda,” he said. “And then he would start, maybe he would make a submission, and he would go on and on and he would speak for one hour, you know. And then you’re all listening, and then when it goes to the next person to make a submission on the issue, maybe president Chipimo, he would only speak for two, three minutes then HH cuts in and says ‘let me just add on that’. And then he starts talking for another 30, 40 minutes.”

Tembo explained how President Hichilema would cut out other leaders from completing their submissions.

“Then another leader comes in, may be myself or Andyford Banda wants to make a submission, he speaks for a minute or two again HH cuts in and speaks for another 30, 40 minutes. So at the end of the day you have met, maybe from around 13:00 hours to 18:00 hours, which is about five hours. But out of that five hours, four hours 30 minutes it was HH talking. And the rest of six presidents only spoke for a total of 30 minutes,” he said. “To me that speaks volumes. It basically made me understand who he really is and what his weaknesses are in terms of being a person in a position of leadership because he believes that he’s the wisest person. He believes that he’s the most knowledgeable person. He believes that he’s the one who should inform everybody, who should educate everybody.”

Tembo however acknowledged President Hichilema’s strengths.

“I’m not saying that he’s completely blank. He does have some ideas; progressive ideas here and there. But like all of us when you have an idea it’s very important to throw it to other people so that they can help to refine it, to make it an even sharper idea. If you have an idea even if it’s a good idea and you believe that no one should add or subtract from it then you’ll be stagnant,” he said. “So I fear for current cabinet members. I really fear for them because I can only imagine the nature of cabinet meetings that they hold. I’m very sure that those cabinet meetings are not really about deliberations. They’re not about debating issues. They’re basically about the President teaching his ministers on specific issues where they just sit in there and listen. And then as soon as he is done the meeting is over.”

Tembo attributed the UPND’s underperformance to President Hichilema’s style of leadership and personality.

“And from my standpoint I think that has probably contributed significantly. His personality and his leadership style has seriously contributed to the underperformance of the UPND government because when you look at the UPND, really in terms of their ministers and so on and so forth, to me the ministers have the calibre. The ministers we have can be comparable to the ministers we had in the MMD government. They’re reasonably educated people,” he said. “I’m not saying everyone is educated but they are reasonably educated. And they are reasonably youthful. They are very alive to current world trends and how things are done in other countries and all that. It’s not a crop of old, old people and all that. So if Mr Hichilema had a different personality, if he had humility and if he was able to tap into the wisdom of his government officials and his ministers, my submission is that the performance of the UPND government would have been far much better than it currently is in all aspects. So the tragedy that is there in my view is that the President has continued to engage with other people around him in the same manner and fashion that he used to engage with people around him during the times of the alliance, whereby he’s the centre of attention and nobody knows anything apart from him.”

Asked if there is hope that the President will realise that he is the one sinking the ship, Tembo doubted strongly.

“I doubt that. I doubt that he will ever come to that realisation. I doubt that unless some miracle happens. But it’s extremely unlikely, it’s extremely unlikely. You know, it comes down to the personality of a person. It comes down to the humility that a person has,” explained Tembo.