SISHUWA SISHUWA writes
Please learn to be sensitive to the plight of others, especially if you, like me, come from the one half of the country that is dominant in public appointments.
Under Hichilema, the leadership of all three arms of government, the majority in Cabinet, the leadership of the justice system, most of the leadership of security or defence forces, the leadership of the electoral commission, most parastatal boards and public universities, etc are Zambians from one half of the country, mainly from ethnic groups that have typically formed the core of Hichilema’s base. I do not need to assume the burden of providing the names of the appointed occupants of these public offices because they are familiar to any Zambians who follows current affairs.
The individuals appointed to the key diplomatic mission stations such as those in the US, Brazil, UK, China, Canada, and South Africa are all Tongas. If the list of Zambians appointed to the diplomatic service since August 2021 was to be published today, many will be shocked by the predominance of one half of the country. It is largely a reversal of what the situation was under the PF. This is, from all points of view, most unacceptable.
The key decision makers in government departments today are either Lozi or Tonga. They feel so at home whilst at work that even the general language spoken in the corridors of the civil service is now either Lozi or Tonga, unmindful of others from elsewhere around them.
“Until now , never ever have I ever reached a point in my public/ professional life where I had to chose between using my maiden name or my marriage name because the truth is, it matters these days where your name comes from”, one ethnic Bemba told me after reading my post.
Another, this time an ethnic Lozi, wrote:
“Nowadays, I get so embarrassed when I attend government department meetings. Many times, literally, the room is full of Tongas and Lozis”. For context: this person has been helping to build capacity in successive administrations since the early 2000s, so they have seen it all including when Bemba became the language of public service under PF.
Add to this the mainly Tonga and Lozi apologists of Hichilema, including many on social media, who bully, harass, and push to the wall anyone who criticises his leadership or the policies of his administration. Their typical response, like that of the officials they support to a point of worship, is often similar to the one that the PF deployed: ignore the message, attack the messenger!
As I did under the PF and Lungu, I remain opposed to ethnic-regional domination in government because it undermines national unity, cohesion, and development. The reality of today’s Zambia is that there has been a near complete inversion whereby yesterday’s victors have become today’s victims and vice versa. Among other things, this adds to the risk of a vicious cycle whereby each new leader continues this trend and makes it more likely that the next election will be driven by ethnic-regional rather than policy considerations.
In addition to the unpleasant experiences that many Zambians on the receiving end of such vices share with me, I would like to believe that I am qualified to comment on this subject because both my master’s and PhD theses were on ethnic politics in Zambia since independence.