THE POLITICS OF LOYALTY, BETRAYAL AND THE BURDEN OF LEADERSHIP
I have just read an interesting review by learned counsel Dickson Jere of President Hakainde Hichilema’s newly published book, You Can’t Share Poverty. I have not yet read the book myself, but I intend to obtain a copy. I belong to the People of the Book, and reading is part of our intellectual culture. For now, my reflections are based on the excerpts and commentary published by Mr Jere.
What particularly caught my attention was the President’s account of the difficulties he encountered in managing the UPND after assuming its leadership in 2006. He reportedly only gained effective control of the party in 2016. I can relate to these experiences because I understand the treachery, competing ambitions, shifting loyalties and contradictions that characterise our politics.
Remember that the UPND emerged from the 2001 general elections as Zambia’s largest opposition party, but the Patriotic Front subsequently overtook it and eventually formed government in 2011. Rebuilding the UPND into a formidable national political organisation required extraordinary patience, political judgement and perseverance. President Hichilema’s first term in office presented an even greater challenge.
He inherited an economy in severe distress, weakened public institutions and a system in which corruption, entrenched interests and a culture of placing personal gain above national development had taken root. Restoring economic stability while transforming the machinery of government demanded fundamental changes in institutional thinking, professional discipline, work culture and accountability. It was an enormous undertaking that required both political courage and exceptional leadership.
My own political journey intersects with this history. In 2008, shortly before the presidential by election following President Levy Mwanawasa’s death, I met President Hichilema through a mutual friend. We had an extensive conversation about Zambia’s future. I particularly remember his conviction that development resources should reach constituencies directly to transform communities. After leaving the PF and Parliament, my intention was to explore working with the UPND. Establishing our own political party was actually never the original intention.
My experience in Parliament also taught me that politics must be approached with intellectual discipline and sincerity. I invite Zambians to examine the Hansard and study my contributions, debates and motions. I took pride in ensuring that the motions I moved succeeded because they were thoroughly researched, persuasive and focused on the public interest rather than partisan confrontation. All my motions went through because I removed the usual politicking from my debates.
The current Clerk of the National Assembly, Mrs Loveness Maambo Mayaka, will remember my frequent visits to the parliamentary library when she worked in research. On one occasion, I requested a detailed study of Zambia’s economic growth from the pre independence period through successive administrations to President Mwanawasa Z”L. The research took longer than expected, prompting me to raise the matter with the Clerk’s office.
The Clerk’s office subsequently referred the matter to the then Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, now Vice President Dr Mutale Nalumango, because the officials were finding it difficult to explain fully to me, as a Member of Parliament, the circumstances surrounding the delay. Dr Nalumango personally called me to her office for a meeting and explained that the Clerk’s office had requested her intervention. She appealed to me to exercise patience and allow the research team sufficient time to complete the assignment. I accepted her intervention, and Mrs Mayaka eventually completed the research paper. I still have that document today.
These experiences explain why I understand President Hichilema’s frustrations with political disloyalty and the difficulties of building a disciplined organisation. Politics cannot be treated as a game. Zambia is a republic, but it can also be understood as a great public enterprise in which every citizen holds one equal share. President Hakainde Hichilema is presently its Chief Executive Officer, entrusted with providing strategic direction and delivering results for the shareholders, the Zambian people.
Having served in executive leadership and managed organisational transformation, I understand the resistance that accompanies change. Anyone who has presided over serious change management knows that introducing discipline, restructuring institutions and establishing a new organisational culture inevitably challenges entrenched interests. Leadership requires the resolve to carry the organisation towards its agreed objectives.
Zambia urgently needs a transformation of mindset, institutional retooling, workforce re skilling and a new culture of professionalism, productivity and accountability. These changes demand unity of purpose across government, the governing party and its alliance partners. Those who accept responsibility to serve must align themselves with the common national agenda. Those fundamentally opposed to that direction should honourably step aside rather than obstruct progress.
Constructive internal debate strengthens leadership, but duplicity and deliberate obstruction weaken institutions. Once a collective decision has been reached, there must be discipline in its implementation. Zambia cannot afford a political culture in which people pledge loyalty in the morning, practise betrayal in the afternoon and expect to share responsibility for national progress in the evening. Our country deserves leadership anchored in integrity, competence, collective responsibility and unwavering commitment to national development.
Saviour Chishimba
Member
UPND Alliance Council of Presidents
President – United Progressive People (UPP)