President HH and making the case for National Service
By Aaron Ng’ambi
It must be said now and for the record that the announcement by President Hakainde Hichilema (HH) that he is bringing back National Service is absolutely commendable and definitely a long-awaited gift for the young people of this country.
I suppose we should make HH Santa or Father Christmas for the youth this festive season, and for all those who will qualify to undergo this programme. The President should be supported in this effort by all well-meaning Zambians, regardless of our political differences, regionalism, and any other factors that divide us.
In this article, we shall attempt to make the case that the President’s announcement on December 18, 2024, of re-introducing Zambia National Service must be celebrated and talked about. A few studies have shown that nations or rather countries that have compulsory military conscription or National Service of some sort, actually produce a significant population of patriotic citizens.
There are far reaching benefits for such a programme, which by and large will target young people who need skills, discipline, and talent development. The President spoke at a United Party for National Development (UPND) event, where he stated that he and his cabinet have approved the bringing back of National Service which will start with volunteers, and then go on to be mandatory as the economy grows, and of course as the government somehow gets more revenue to support such a very costly but worthwhile initiative. There is no doubt that National Service is one way that the government can directly invest in young people.
Furthermore, the President mentioned that his National Service will including military training as well as acquiring of trade skills such as plumbing, carpentry etc. Other benefits that can be driven from such an ambitious programme is that we will produce a crop of young people who understand and appreciates the history of our country. These young people will also have a different level of political consciousness, which is much needed considering the low caliber of our current politicians and leaders. Zambia National Service training can be a viable tool that can help the government re-enforce values such as integrity in public service, promoting the fight on corruption, and service above self. This country needs individuals that can die a little for the good of everyone, it needs a different breed of leaders that mean well for the people and the populus.
During a TEDx talk, the late general Collin Powell spoke to an audience about the need for kids to have structure. Secretary of State Powell made the argument that kids or young people need structure, in order for them to obey instructions and understand the consequences for not obeying instructions. And he further said that it is amazing what you can do with these young people when you provide this structure for them – within weeks these kids have a skill, and they are mature and strive for greatness. In fact, he goes on to state that once you put these young people in such a structure and you teach them discipline, the impossible becomes possible. Thus, from this point of view we think that the UPND government is on the right track with this forth coming news from President Hichilema.
However, the only problem with such an announcement is that it will take forever to be actualised, because of the “methodical” way that this administration has been doing things from its inception. The snail’s pace at which HH and his government move, even on major issues is a great source of concern for many e.g. the President took forever to appoint cabinet ministers, and other government officials when he was sworn in after winning the elections of 2021. The slow pace of fulfilling his promises is still a great deal of worry for many Zambians. Nonetheless, if properly implemented, as promised and in a timely manner – the coming back of National Service, as a programme for young people will undoubtedly be the legacy that stands out for HH, among all the other things he has done. Such an accomplishment requires serious planning, reflection, and a well throughout formula to execute the programme.
Therefore, we make the following recommendations: Number 1, for this National Service programme to be sustainable, we encourage this government to look at the mining sector and ensure that all mining companies are paying their fair share of taxes, which can be used to support the programmes of Zambia National Service (ZNS). It will be a mistake for government to borrow money to inject into this programme, especially at its initial stages. Also, we do not need the Minister of Finance, through the Speaker to call another extra ordinary parliamentary session, seeking support to pass a supplementary budget which allows him to borrow more money for this project. There is need for a well thoughtout plan of how this project can be financed from beginning and making sure that it’s able to be self-sustainable from one regime to the next and stand the test of time.
The second recommendation has everything to do with the fair and equal recruitment process of all qualified young people who sign up for this process. It is very important that the process has credibility in the eyes of all Zambians from the get-go. It will be tragic, and self-defeating if such a potential programme is politicised or even dented in terms of nepotism, caderism, tribalism or regional inclinations. The government will do well to ensure true professionalism and patriotism in how young people are selected to undertake National Service upon its re-introduction.
And lastly, the cabinet of the new dawn administration and President HH should put politics aside and make this programme work for all young Zambians. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with regards to this issue. There are enough notes and lessons from the United National Independence Party (UNIP) National Service programme that we can learn from. Despite the fact that we have a different economy now as compared to the UNIP era, and the population size is significantly different.
The principles of how this National Service should properly function are the same, and to some extent universe for all countries that espouse to such a programme. Evidently, the President and some of his ministers are products of a national service programme that was well put together by the Kenneth Kaunda regime. Hence, this is a good gesture and probably the best thing that HH and his administration will ever do for the younger generation.
The author is a political scientist with keen interest in domestic and global issues. Email: aaronngambi@yahoo.com