I’M READY TO SERVE AT ANY LEVEL – KAUNDA

I’M READY TO SERVE AT ANY LEVEL – KAUNDA

SOCIALIST Party National Youth Chairperson Kelvin Kaunda says he will listen to what citizens will decide and take up the position they say he should take up in leadership.

Meanwhile, Kaunda says Dr Fred M’membe has on numerous occasions told SP leaders that if Zambians decide any of them should lead the party, he is willing to support them.

Kaunda recently shared a video where he offered himself for leadership.

In an interview, Thursday, Kaunda said public leadership belongs to the people, so he will listen to what they will decide.

“Public office belongs to the people. It’s not for me to give myself a position, it’s for the Zambian people to have a final say. All we have done is to present ourselves for leadership. Public office does not require any of us to impose ourselves. These positions in the public sector belong to the people, and therefore it is the people’s responsibility to have a final say. Ours is to listen. In my video, I did mention that we are willing to serve, we are willing to listen, and we are willing to lead. So after the video, we are now at a point where we are listening to the Zambian people, and we want to continue listening. There has been a lot of reaction coming from the public good,” he said.

“So our role now is to listen and listen very attentively, because that is the greatest test of any leader worth their salt, their ability to listen. It is not for me to begin pitching myself up saying this is the position and this is what I want. No, we want the Zambian people to say, ‘this is what we want you to do. This is where we think you ought to be.’ And we’ll spend a bit more time in the coming days paying attention, listening to what the people are saying, getting people’s reaction. Until then, that’s when we’ll be able to take a position”.

When asked if he has presidential ambitions, he said he can lead at any level.

“I mean, how do I respond to that question: Do I have presidential ambitions? Look, we all aspire to lead, and we can lead at any level. Any leader can lead at any level. MPs are leaders, councillors are leaders, mayors are leaders, presidents are merely leaders. We are all leaders at the end of the day. It’s about time and chance. And it’s not for me to say, ‘now I want to be a president.’ No. It’s the Zambian people, because these positions do not really belong to us, no. It’s not for me to say I want to be an MP now. You know, there was a moment I wanted to become an MP, but there was no opportunity for me to do that, and I understood. Maybe the Zambian people are saying I’m not yet ready. So we will wait to hear from the Zambian people,” Kaunda said.

“The beauty with us as Socialists is that we don’t place a lot of premium on positions. If today, perhaps, I wanted to aspire as a mayor of Lusaka, and someone else pitches up who is a member of the Socialist Party, and who is more popular than I am, I would simply step aside. That’s how we deal with matters as Socialists. So, we are not so obsessed with titles. I think for us, it’s about having to lead collectively. That’s what sets us apart: leading collectively”.

When further asked if his aspiration is within the Socialist Party, he said it’s a vehicle that he is using.

“SP is where I belong, and that is a vehicle that I’m using. That’s a platform where I am. I’ve never left SP, and there’s no record to that effect that I left SP. You’re alive to the issue of the United Opposition Front. You’re also alive to the issue of Tonse. So, what if all these political party leaders come together, and then they pick on you, what would you do? So, it’s about what the others are saying. What are the Zambian people saying? So, there is nothing that suggests that I’ve left SP, no. Nothing suggests that I’ve declared a Presidential candidate, no. All I have done is to present myself for leadership. The rest is for the Zambian people to have a final say,” he said.

“The rest is incumbent upon the Zambian people to give us a sense of direction, because these are public offices; they are not personal-to-holder offices. They don’t belong to any one of us. They belong to the Zambian people, ultimately. So, it must be given the latitude to have a final say”.

Meanwhile, when asked If M’membe would let him lead SP if Zambians decide that he should lead at presidential level, Kaunda said the SP leader has on numerous occasions told his members that if Zambians decide any of them should lead the party, he would support them.

“Dr Fred M’membe is on record, not once, not twice, but a couple of times. And he has told us, ‘Comrades, if any amongst our leaders, if the Zambian people want any one of us amongst the leaders,’ he says he’ll be glad to support such a one. Because what is important for us is collective leadership, as I said earlier on, as opposed to individual leadership. When Comrade Fred is leading, we are all leading. When Comrade Musumali is leading, we are all leading. When I’m leading, we are all leading. When another Comrade is leading, we are all leading. There is no one single individual who can provide solutions to the challenges of our time; that’s where we are,” said Kaunda.

“And if you listen to my video very attentively, there was a call for all of us to stand together. There was nowhere where I said, ‘I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that, I’m presenting myself for this and that.’ No, all I was saying, we were saying in that video is, ‘shall we stand together?’ It was an invitation to stand together. Let’s stand together as leaders. It doesn’t matter who’s going to lead us. What is important is for us to be able to stand together and to be able to participate in the leadership of this country, that’s all”.

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