By George N. Mtonga
In 1964 what was Northern Rhodesia became Zambia and undeniably vouched for her sovereignty before the Queen as well as the world. Zambia from 1964 to 1991 was an experiment. it was impossible for the founding fathers to develop a country and a political program that was not reacting to the colonials. President Kaunda served our country in his capacity as president given the constraints of his times, given the concerns of his generation, and given the priorities of the world at that time.
In 1991 Frederick Chiluba and MMD ushered in a new development for the young nation. Zambia learned politics; her politics!! At this point we were able to discuss politics within the constraints of our country, as opposed to the politics of the 60s which were a reaction to the colonial masters. President Chiluba’s legacy in my view is that he allowed for Zambia to have her politics in the form of the creation of a multi-party democracy; this gave us the power to discuss politics from contesting perspectives.
[pullquote]The world is changing and we are not fighting for independence from Britain neither are we trying to convince Dr. Kaunda on the virtues of a multi-party democracy. Our generation should make an effort to have a different political dialogue and a different political attitude.[/pullquote]
President Mwanawasa comes at a time when Zambia is gainfully becoming a player on the continent of Africa as well as gaining some global presence. Globalization of course served its purpose during President Chiluba and during President Mwanawasa we made far much greater steps towards a transparent and more progressive future. The presidency of Mr. Rupiah can rightly be merged with that of Mwanawasa because Mr. Rupiah continued the politics of MMD and much of the late presidents domestic policies.
Zambia has only had two presidents who have been crucial to her growth: President Kenneth Kaunda ( UNIP) and President Frederick T. Chiluba ( MMD)
Iam writing this rather short history of politics in Zambia to illustrate that we are too young of a nation to be conservatives!! As elections approaches, I ask that Zambians experiment; we need to change our current political thought for ideas that will serve the progressive development of our country in view of geopolitics.
The world is changing and we are not fighting for independence from Britain neither are we trying to convince Dr. Kaunda on the virtues of a multi-party democracy. Our generation should make an effort to have a different political dialogue and a different political attitude.
As we all put our votes in for the next president I ask that Zambians experiment; we are too young of a nation to play it safe: our institutions are young, our constitution even younger, and our politics still developing!! We need to challenge ourselves in an effort to present a future far much more idealistic, and far much more in line with the virtues of a democratic society. A society, as a general rule, is developing when you look at the treatment of women in that society, the treatment of the poor, the education level of its citizens, and the advancement of its public system.
[pullquote]As we all put our votes in for the next president I ask that Zambians experiment; we are too young of a nation to play it safe: our institutions are young, our constitution even younger, and our politics still developing!![/pullquote]
I’am committed to a better Zambia and Iam not scared to gamble on her future nor do I think conservatism is the answer for our nation. Aggressive political visions are needed and a commitment to change should be a constant breath that is breathed in every Zambian.
The future, in short, belongs to those who dare think of it and who challenge the present and straighten it to satisfy their goals of a better future. Zambia is very young, too young, not to take advantage of the idealism, and stamina, and energy that comes with youth; we are not even half a century old!!!!
mwana akalila bozo, mu pase so that he/she can see for themselves.
Ba Mtonga, great message and I agree with you , but I must say it has come too late. You should have been writing all along. Good experiments will be HH , Chipimo and Not RB and Sata. Anybody voting for RB or Sata are playing it safe. teams around these people have been in the system for a long time. In fact PF is just MMD reloaded. Unfortunately looks like people have made up their mind to vote either RB or Sata.
We should keep your message alive after elections so that come 2016, Zambians will be ready to experiment
Well spoken, it’s never too late but Zambian political dynamics ought to be considered here. Inasmuch as we should be looking at ushering in young leadership, we cannot ignore the fact that this year the race is between two men; RB and SATA, therefore, where change is concerned, we are definitely and ultimately looking at someone with a different approach to governance issues and style, and that is no doubt the one M.C.SATA. Need I say more?
Catholic Puts Satanist Father Bwalya on extended sabbatical leave
THE Catholic Church has granted Father Frank Bwalya indefinite leave of absence from Priesthood to allow him to concentrate on his personal life.
The diocese of Ndola has also ordered Fr Bwalya not to act or represent the Catholic Church in any way during his indefinite leave.
This is according to a memoradum dated August 29, 2011 issued by Ndola diocese Archbishop Alick Banda, addressed to Fr Bwalya and the church.
Bishop Banda has also asked Fr Bwalya not to perform any priestly duties, wear priestly attire and to be away from the presbytery during his leave.
“I also ask you not to act in any way for the Catholic diocese of Ndola or the Catholic Church in general during your leave,” Bishop Banda said in a memo.
Fr Bwalya is believed to have requested the Ndola diocese for leave so that he could concentrate on his political activities. Bishop Banda said the church has consented to Fr Bwalya’s request and granted him indefinite leave of absence.
Bishop Banda advised Fr Bwalya to remain obliged and maintain his celibacy until a new way of life is determined by the competent ecclesiastical authority.
And the MMD on the Copperbelt have welcomed the indefinite leave of Fr Bwalya.
Provincial information and publicity secretary Yotam Mtayachalo said the leave is long overdue.
“We welcome the indefinite leave of Fr Bwalya, who has so much hatred against President Banda and the MMD. We also urge him to reflect on his political activities during the leave so that he can repent,” Mr Mtayachalo said.
He said the activities Fr Bwalya has involved himself in are not in line with his status as a Priest.
“How can a priest strangle a chicken at a public meeting? Such behaviour is unacceptable,” Mr Mtayahalo said.
A non-governmental organisation based in Ndola has also welcomed the indefinite leave of Fr Bwalya.
Am back!!! Thats why i will vote for HH cos am a visionary youth. Any youth who is visionary and care for the future, can not vote for SATANA cos he is already too old and finished. Zambia needs a leader of the computer age and i think HH has it all. Am gone!!!
Yes, truth is fact. We do not need a Zambia that shall be copying blindly. Success of a country is in durable planning. RB has proved to us that his leadership is steady and visionary. Ba Sata is immotional. HH needs to learn the ropes of public governance. The noise we get from PF leadership is a clear indication of careless politics. God serve Zambia by Zambians voting for RB and his team.
Viva young people!
There is No specified time for old to go its now.Why keep them just for state funerals abashi over aged
Thats a strong message right there, welldone George.
I f you have parties calling themselves new generation party endorcing 70+ year olds it sums it all
It is just common sense that when you plant old seed, the harvest will be poor. It is the youths that have the energy to give us a better tomorrow. Viva HHHHHHHHHHHH
How we need more inteligent people like George Mtonga to be writing more often and not that so called Kapumpe.
This article is thought provoking – like a motivational speaker. In what areas does Zambia need to “experiement”? How does Zambia achieve development? Where does Zambia even start from?
i totally agree with you George Zambia does need young leaders if its to develop economically..unlike old leaders young leaders have brighter ideas of how go about it and a clearer picture of a certain preferred future.
good article…Liam no2 good thinking…if u were in Lusaka i was going to buy you a crate of your favorite beverage….well this year will lead to another wasted five years 2011-2016 after which we can attempt to experiment.. RB and SATA ARE NOT WHAT WE NEED IN THIS COUNTRY…RB is likely to anoint KUNDA..now imagine President KUNDA…..WELL WELL….SATA has no credible people around him…HH and CHIPIMO represent the future…but who cares anyway
Thank You. Please watch out for more articles addressing politics and economics in zambia.
Good evening
A thought-provoking piece. I agree with the author on a number of points he has raised but I have my own skepticism when it comes to geopolitics and conservatism for instance. I see the need for a new breed of young leaders who can contribute to the uplifting of the nation to a higher level but I also see the hazards that come along with it. I feel it may not be so much of a problem to find young men and women with the vision and committment to bring about change but the problems would arise when we start transforming our morals, heritage and culture to the standards of the western world. There’s always a price tag attached to the so-called “idealism” of the young generation.
All the guy wantd to say is that “Banda is an ancient dinosaur that has no business wielding power in the corridors of power for such a young state”. But long at “meanderous Marcopololing” he has gone to belabour such a straight forward observation! And the mob called Zambia is impressed, showering such stinking and timid thinking accolades: “great message, well spoken and fimo fimo”. Ubunangwa muno chalo fwafulisha saana.
Well written article, diversification should be a goal come 2016, pro MMD like chief boot-licker and senior citizen cant even comment on this well written article, where are they?
You could not have been far from the truth. However, wisdom of knowledge is not in anyway preserved for any particular age and hence forth thinking that by experimenting with a younger generation will yield successful developmental results sounds far fetched. The lack of development in zed is purely a man made tragedy emanating from the greediness of those we have entrusted with the administration of our God given resources. As you rightly put it, we need to experiment. We have to think out of the box and this can be done by any leader of any age group. Ronald Regan was probably the oldest man ever elected to the USA office of the president, but to this day, they still talk about how he turned the economy around. We need selfeless and not leaders who think of politics as a livehood.
My article did not suggest that ” young” people have the brains.. My article suggested that we ” ZAMBIA” as a country are too young not to experiment with political visions. These visions can come from the older people but most of the time will come from the younger generation. Our current politicians attained their political consciousness in the 1960s.. when we were fighting the colonials; some attained their politics in the 1990s ( like me).. so when we fight for visions we are coming from different psychological vantage points which are merely a result of time: the inventions of Thomas Edison ( electric bulb) will never be the same as Steve Jobs ( The Apple Computer;” but the intellectual merits will always be the same. Different times call for different concerns!!
Ni HH Chabe. Anything else is a joke. Lets give this young Brilliant Tonga man a chance. He has the ideas that Zambia needs at this time. Sata is tired and useless. RB is not as bad as Sata though. VIVA HH
Thank You for thinking outside the BOX.
It is true the right party is PF and SATA at this point in time. Anything else is a waste of time.
Am i the only one of the contrarian view?Mine is a point much more anchored in the reality that africans are by nature conservative.We’ve never experimented & we still like to play it safe-it took the European to explore africa,we still eat conservatively,dress conservatively,we invest conservatively in less risky rentals and not businesses we know little of.It therefore seems incongruent that the very conservative zambians will all of a sudden change to challenge themselves.Societies,by nature,change ever so slightly constantly evolving and change is in most cases achieved over time.Rome was not built in a day.
Yes. Africans on a general level are conservative. This article does not serve to suggest that they are progressives; but helps to show that we would do better if we experimented with political ideas because we have enough time to learn from our mistakes. As a young man, i can invest in stocks. because i can handle the fluctuations in the markets; but as a family man i would go more for less aggressive investment for obvious reasons.
The last time I was in Zambia my impression was that over 75% of the Zambian population was above 70 yrs. Doesn’t it just make sense that old folks will vote for their old buddies? Makes sense to me.
finlly the free masons have got your sovereignty HAHAAAAAAAAAAAA
#3 Walasa boyi….. any one supporting MMD does not believe in change or is full of hatred for Sata or is fully blown Corrupt MMD benefactor selling mother Zambian and does not care…MMD has given us 20 year using the same strategies who is his right mind thinks they will do better…. Viva Sata…Viva PF
I would like to thank you for all the comments posted. Please be sure to come back as we will continue to write some articles that will allow Zambians to think an question our politics, our future, and our government. In this regard though, we should retain some level of sophistication in our discussions and avoid insults; especially when it comes to our politics. Zambia maybe young, but the “old” people we are talking about where once young and once in their time had ideas that changed out nation for the better. My writing was not to suggest that the older generations are worthless, no!! These men and women created and built zambia and in that regard deserve our respect!! However, Zambia is too young not to experiment with ideas that can better her future!!
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