By Mwiba E. Mwiba
A Good Governance and Disability Rights Activist
SHOULD TRIBE BE THE TALK WHENEVER SOMEONE FROM THE NORTHERN BLOCK GETS FIRED OR REDEPLOYED TO SOMEWHERE ELSE?
It is really sad that most politicians in Zambia have for a long time been using the notion of tribe to advance their political agenda. What makes it even more sad is that these political leaders are very much aware of how tribalism can be deadly to a society, but they decide to have it as a tool to advance their political interests.
It is a well known fact of how the immediate past government, the Patriotic Front, sidelined other ethnic groups in the appointment of ministers, permanent secretaries and other senior government officials.
Even then, when the Patriotic Front was in government, its senior government officials peddled lies of the dangers that would come with the ushering in of the United Party for National Development into government. They de-campaigned the main opposition political party on tribal lines, without considering how so much unfair they were in their political appointments, where over 90% of government appointments were drawn from the northern block.
Against all odds, the United Party for National Development was ushered into office by the Zambian people. This brought in some fresh air never experienced in the country’s political space in a decade of the PF being in government. Among them was that ministers, permanent secretaries, commissioners and other senior government officials appointed were drawn from across the ten provinces of the Republic of Zambia.
The foregoing assertion is going to be substantiated with some practical example of those who were appointed in different government institutions. This is because a well balanced appointment of cabinet ministers is there for every Zambian citizen to see and judge for themselves.
When the Republican President, Hakainde HICHILEMA appointed Gilbert phiri as Director General of the Anti-corruption Commission, before being appointed as Director of Public Prosecution, none of these opposition political party leaders congratulated him on his appointment.
When Mary Chirwa was appointed Director of the Financial Intelligence Centre before being appointed Director General of the Drug Enforcement Commission, they were quiet. None of them commended the President for having recognised Mary Chirwa’s hard-working character through that appointment. Instead they tried to bring her down through propaganda.
When Dingani Banda was appointed as Commissioner General of the Zambia Revenue Authority, none of the opposition political leaders congratulated him for his well deserved appointment.
Patrick Kangwa was recently appointed as Secretary to Cabinet. This was a man who worked with the former government, the Patriotic Front. Even then, the Republican President overlooked that and decided to work with him. None of those accusing the government of being tribal have so far congratulated the highly experienced man for his well deserved appointment.
When Chileshe Kangwa and Chama Fumba, alias Pilato, were appointed as Permanent Secretaries for the Ministry of Sports and Arts, in spite of the two men’s vast experience in the arts industry, the people who today are labeling this government being tribal could not congratulate them for their deserved appointment. They were quiet.
When Moses Jere was appointed as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, they were quiet, not even one congratulated him.
When Elias Munshya, who is Ushi, was appointed as High Commissioner to Australia they were quiet. This is one man with a very rich curriculum vitae. None of them congratulated him for his well deserved appointment.
The foregoing examples and many others not mentioned did not attract any positive comment from the opposition political parties.
So now the question is, should the talk only be there when someone from the southern block is appointed or when someone from the northern block is redeployed or demoted?
Should the talk only be there when someone from the northern block is being investigated by the Law Enforcement Agencies for corrupt practices? This already shows how tribal those advancing this narrative are.
We really feel for the youth, the future leaders of this country because very few of today’s politicians are worthy drawing inspiration from. Very few of them have the interest of this country in their hearts.
We would like to state, in conclusion, that the opposition political parties should offer credible checks and balances to the government. They should desist from spreading information meant to divide the people of this country. We encourage them to move beyond tribal lines in their politics, as this is not adding value to the country’s political space. If this will help, let them take a break from active politics so that they can go and have an introspection of themselves. Let them go and reflect the kind of Zambia they would want to leave behind for their children. Maybe that quiet moment will help them come back as inspiring figures to the young men and women of this country.