OPEN LETTER TO THE UPND ELECTIVE GENERAL ASSEMBLY DELEGATES
Dear UPND Elective General Assembly Delegates
I write to you ahead of the United Party for National Development (UPND) elective General Assembly, scheduled for 14 February 2021, to remind you of your solemn duty as people selected to represent your voting precinct at the elective General Assembly.
It is your duty to elect leaders with a clear understanding of the party’s liberal philosophy. That means leaders who will ensure that the party does not deviate from its distinctive purpose, values, priorities, practices, and projections aimed at promoting a system suitable for the cultivation of free human beings by empowering them with knowledge and skills supported by a stronger sense of values, ethics, and civic engagement to develop themselves and others.
As delegates, it is your duty to elect competent leaders because development is not a matter of chance, but rather of the ability to do the job successfully.
This entails electing party leaders with sufficient knowledge, skills, information, and intellectual capacity to implement the manifesto and the pre-election promises, and in doing so, to translate the UPND vision into action.
This is not an easy task; therefore, a need exists for leaders able to perform their roles efficiently.
You are honoured to be delegates because you have the power to elect leaders who are in touch with the masses. Elect leaders who are able to appear in public and on the media, rather than hermits who rule in a silent, untransparent, and isolated way from within the party’s palaces.
If truth be told, it is high time the party is led by people who are outgoing, sociable, assertive, and gregarious, to be able to attract more people to the party.
Vote wisely for principled men and women who do not change their beliefs as the wind blows but who are able to push the party agenda, despite obstacles.
There is no other time than now, when the party needs leaders who are focused, hard-working, self-disciplined, conscientious in achieving their party duties.
The people you represent at the assembly want you to elect leaders who can set the tone for fighting political corruption including bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, tribalism, patronage, influence peddling, graft, and embezzlement. Therefore, elect people to reward the party by being reliable, predictable, and trustworthy in the eyes of voters.
The UPND deserves leaders with whom the citizens will truly identify. These leaders must know how to lead with confidence and must be ready to take head-on the political challenges of our time.
The ball is in your court. Elect leaders who will shape the challenges the country is facing beyond the UNPD campaign agenda, and who will ultimately design the future of our great nation.
Delegates, elect people who are decisive to keep everyone in the party moving forward, and on-task with motivation while also being adaptable to our fast-changing political situation.
Make the people whom you will be representing at the convention proud by electing leaders with a positive mental attitude. Being in the opposition is tough; hence, the party needs leaders who know how to manage party members during trying moments. These are leaders able to understand that negativity exists in any political party but who will nevertheless make a choice not to foster it but rather to inspire optimism among party members.
It will be a missed opportunity if, as delegates, you do not elect solution-oriented leaders. To be a party in opposition comes with its own set of challenges, which makes it imperative to have leaders who are focused on solutions.
People do not want leaders who blame others when they are faced with problems. They want leaders able to concentrate on the task at hand and to do what is required to keep the party moving forward.
Honourable delegates, there is nothing that pleases citizens more than having responsible leaders able to carry out party tasks and to account for party failures and mistakes in order to pull them through the most uncertain times.
Remember, people deserve leaders who are in touch with the masses. They want leaders who will allow them to speak up and will listen to to what they think. Therefore, elect leaders who understand the importance of engagement and of contributing to the party without being side-lined.
The assembly should give the party humble leaders. Here I mean leaders willing to be human, to interact with the people at grassroots level, not only with their minds but also with their hearts. This is one of the sure ways of winning the support of the masses.
The hour has come for leaders who are political communicators. These leaders must be open in promoting the party’s connection with the citizens by using different modes of interaction including persuasion, sharing times of sorrow, and a mutual ethos.
The party needs courageous leaders who will not allow their fear of consequences to prevent them from doing the right thing. It is time for purposeful leaders who are prepared to sacrifice their lives for the party and for the country as whole.
The UPND is a haven of talented leaders. Delegates should therefore vote for role model leaders. These are leaders who understand that if they want to influence their members, they first have to seek for it in themselves and then set the example through the things they say and do for the citizens to emulate them.
The question, however, is: Will the delegates seize this golden opportunity to elect the desired leaders?
If they do, I contend that the party and the country will move forward. If the opportunity is missed, the party’s relevance to our society is at stake.
Sincerely,
Sara Imutowana Yeta II