PRESIDENT HICHILEMA ACCUSED OF BEING AN AGENT OF PRIVATE CAPITAL
By Kellys Kaunda
Lately, there have been questions regarding President Hichilema’s interactions with private businessmen, among them, those alleged to have funded the UPND in the opposition. Fears and concerns are that Zambia may be going down the route South Africa went during the reign of former President Jacob Zuma and the Gupta family in the now-infamous state capture debacle.
“I am an agent of the Zambian people’, the President has strongly maintained in response to his critics.
First, Zambians are within their right to demand an explanation in respect of the company the President keeps. After all, he is President because he bears their mandate whose use is clearly defined: to be employed for public good. The concerns and fears that their mandate could be misused are legitimate as history is replete with examples of office holders using the privileges of the office for private gain.
However, the concerns and fears may be unfounded as indeed the President may be interacting with private capital owners as part of his official duties as well as in the interest of the Zambian people. An explanation of the nature of these interactions and their contribution to public good is desirable.
If it be of any consolation, the diplomatic terrain has and continues to undergo significant changes. One of these changes is the leader-centric diplomacy in which Presidents, Prime Ministers, Chancellors, etc, are actively engaging a wide range of audiences and interest groups in their search for opportunities for their respective countries.
Frequently, leaders are meeting and interacting to discuss matters of mutual interest and formulating international public policy. Gone are the days when they exclusively delegated these functions to their resident ambassadors in foreign capitals.
Second, club diplomacy (government to government) is no longer the only form of foreign relations. Network diplomacy (that includes other non-state parties such as the business community) has become an increasingly popular form of foreign relations and a legitimate one for that matter. The Mining Indaba in South Africa is an example of network diplomacy where national leaders interact with the business community.
Increasingly, national leaders are formally and informally interacting with businessmen and women that include Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Greg Mills, and many others in their search for investment funds for their respective nations.
In fact, the late Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore built his small Island nation on network diplomacy largely targeting leaders of multinationals. The latter hold the key to investment decisions and economic development of nations. Interacting with fellow heads of state may be good for camaraderie, but not that useful for economic growth.