By Henry Kyambalesa

As we get closer to the general elections, one of the topical issues we ought to be pondering is our country’s current record on good governance. Zambians nationwide expect their national government to apply the elements of good governance in both word and deed, that is: transparency, accountability, rule of law, citizen participation in governmental decision making, and freedom of the press.

Let us briefly examine what each of these elements of good governance entails, as well as determine whether our country can be said to be fostering any of the elements of good governance.

Firstly, “transparency” requires members of the public to have access to information about the state, its decision-making mechanisms, and its current and planned projects and programs — except for state secrets. The procurement of hearses by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, which President Rupiah Banda has publicly sworn to have had no knowledge of when he has been both Vice President and President, provides a good example of the lack of transparency in government.

And in June 2011, Vice President George Kunda led MMD members of parliament in shooting down a private members’ motion that could have compelled the government to release consolidated annual statistics on employment levels in the country, arguing that it was meant to embarrass the government — a clear example of lack of transparency in the governance of our beloved country.

Secondly, “accountability” entails the availability of a mechanism for ensuring that civil servants and public officials are directly accountable and liable for the outcomes of their decisions and actions, and the appropriation of resources assigned to them. The re-appointment of Dora Siliya to a Cabinet post after she was alleged to have defrauded Petauke District Council of K12.5 million in fake refund claims, mishandled the appointment of RP Capital Partners in respect of its valuation and potential sale of Zamtel, and cancellation of a duly awarded contract for the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of a Zambia Air Traffic Management Surveillance Radar System (ZATM-RADAR) at Lusaka and Livingstone international airports provides a good example of the lack of accountability in government.

Thirdly, “rule of law” requires the existence of non-discriminatory laws and law enforcement organs of the government that are efficient, impartial, independent, and legitimate — an element that is undermined by failure by the police to arrest MMD cadres like William Banda and Chris Chalwe who have continually harassed or threatened MMD leaders who have dissenting views, opposition political leaders, journalists, newspaper vendors, and other innocent citizens.

Also, dismissals of officials who have attempted to pursue corrupt politicians regarded as sacred cows by the Republican president, selective prosecution of suspected perpetrators of corruption, and appointment of individuals found to be wanting for flouting national laws and regulations to key government positions are rife in the country.

Fourthly, “citizen participation” refers to the availability of channels and mechanisms through which the citizenry and non-governmental institutions can have a direct or indirect influence on the actions of public officials, such as the procurement of mobile clinics, which President Banda made through single-source procurement in contravention of rules and regulations limiting such procurements to emergency situations, and without initial consultation with technocrats in government ministries, the Zambia Public Procurement Authority, or primary stakeholders — the rural dwellers.

And “freedom of the press” calls for the national government to foster the development of a free press to facilitate the exposure of unscrupulous activities in institutional settings, such as the K10 billion historic theft by a civil servant at the Ministry of Health.

The role of a free press in the creation of a system of governance in which accountability, transparency, rule of law, and public participation in governmental decision making cannot perhaps be overemphasized. We should not expect our multi-party democracy to function effectively without such a system of governance.

Moreover, the effective checks and balances we seek to introduce into our system of government are not possible in a political setting where the government is a prominent player in the fourth estate — that is, the news media. Besides, the fight against the scourge of corruption (which is believed by the President to be non-existent in Zambia) is seriously undermined by public news outlets which are muzzled by the MMD and its leaders.

So, the MMD administration can hardly be said to be fostering any of the foregoing elements of good governance. If this conspicuous failure to improve our beloved country’s record on good governance is not enough to deny Comrade Rupiah Banda and the MMD another term of office, what about the unprecedented levels of poverty which have continued to haunt over 68% of our fellow citizens?

Whither my beloved country?

Currently, our country is experiencing unprecedented socio-economic problems. The healthcare system, for example, cannot meet the basic needs of the majority of citizens; tens of thousands of Grade 7 and Grade 9 students have continued to be spilled onto the streets every year; so many Zambians have no access to clean water and electricity; and a critical shortage of decent public housing has compelled so many of our fellow citizens to live in shanty townships nationwide.

Moreover, public infrastructure and services are still deficient; civil servants are still not adequately compensated for their services; a lot of civil service retirees cannot get their hard-earned benefits; crime and unemployment are still widespread; taxes and interest rates are still very high; and, among many other socio-economic ills, the constitution-making process is still fraught with personal, partisan and short-term interests.

Therefore, the soundness of political players’ contemplated policies in addressing the problems we face as a nation must be the primary consideration when we go to polling stations to cast our votes on September 20, 2011.

Our people’s demands and expectations on the government have never been clearer and louder. Unfortunately, we have continued to have a backlog of unfulfilled promises from those who have assumed the reins of power. Currently, there is extreme inertia and resistance to change within the MMD administration. After governing for nearly 20 years, the MMD government has seemingly become lax, arrogant, stubborn, and complacent.

Giving such a government 5 more years is, therefore, a sheer waste of time and public resources, because there is nothing the MMD is likely to do in 5 years which they could not have done in nearly 20 years the party has been in power.

We, therefore, need to try the Patriotic Front (PF) this time around, hoping that it will make a serious effort to address the people’s needs and expectations.

Ballot papers for nine local government wards and one parliamentary constituency are being reprinted in Durban.

This was after the Electoral Commission of Zambia- ECZ discovered mistakes on the ballots for the affected wards and the constituency.

ECZ Public Relations Manager Chris Akufuna says most of the wards had missing candidates while other wards had names of candidates appearing in the wrong alphabetical order.

MR. Akufuna told journalists in Durban on Monday that the affected wards are in central province, Copperbelt, Eastern province and Western province.

He says ballot papers for Sinjembela Constituency will have to be reprinted because the names of the candidates are not appearing in alphabetical order.

Mr Akufuna has attributed some of the errors to the big numbers of local government wards which have exceeded one thousand and pressure of meeting the deadline before election date.

He says the reprinting of the named ballot papers started last night and was expected to be completed today, Monday.

[ZNBC]

The civil society has welcomed the holding of live presidential debates ahead of the 20thSeptember elections next week.

Citizens Forum executive secretary Simon Kabanda says presidential debates have for a long time been a demand from citizens.

In an interview with QFM, Mr. Kabanda says such platforms will also enhance the country’s democracy as it will bring together top leaders of various political parties to discuss real issues instead of attacking each other in the media.

He says he expectant that the debates will act as a platform where all questions that citizens have had for the leaders will be answered.

The British Broadcasting Cooperation (BBC) world Service has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Muvi Television to conduct live presidential debates starting this evening and tomorrow, 13th September, 2011, at the Mulungushi international conference centre.

Parties expected to participate in this evening’s debate include the Patriotic Front (PF), the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD), the Alliance for Democracy and Development (FDD), the Heritage Party and the Zambians for Empowerment and Development (ZED).

The ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy, the United Party for National Development UPND, the National Restoration Party (NAREP), the United National Independence Party (UNIP ) and the National Movement for Progress (NMP) will feature in tomorrow’s debate.

QFM

Deputy Commissioner of Police Solomon Jere has said irresponsible reporting of political activities by the media had the potential to plunge the nation into chaos.

And the Zambia Police in Southern Province have so far recorded 11 assault cases resulting from political activities in four
Districts in the Province.

Dr Jere said there was need for the media in the country to report political campaigns in a factual manner to avoid inciting violence among political players.

Speaking during an interactive meeting of the Zambia Police, political party representatives and other stakeholders at Protea hotel in Livingstone today, he noted that it was the responsibility of all Zambians to play their part and cultivate a spirit of love and unity before, during and after the September 20th tripartite elections.

“I wish to state here that irresponsible reporting of political campaigns by our friends, the media has the potential to set the
country on fire and so I would urge the media to avoid sensationalising events by providing the public with credible
information,” said Dr Jere.

Dr Jere also said the police have received a number of complaints from political players adding that they would endeavour to resolve any conflicts amicably without biasness.

He noted that the police was under intense pressure to resolve these conflicts but added that the police would not be moved by any political emotions but would do its work professionally.

“We have come up with number of strategies to resolve political conflicts but we are under intense pressure to have these cases resolved in the shortest time,” said Dr Jere.

“But what I want to say here is that the Zambia Police would not be moved by any political emotions and would work professionally without interference,” he added.

Dr Jere said the police was there to ensure that there was a level political playing field and told the officers on duty to arrest any perpetrators of violence without waiting for instructions from superiors in order to expedite the settling of complaints.

In its quest to quell any possible violence that may ensue, Dr Jere said the Zambia Police have intensified preparations and embarked on a number of strategies including training programmes for the men in uniform.

He also warned police officers to remain non-partisan and conduct themselves in a professional manner when on duty or off duty.

Dr Jere further challenged political parties to state whether they would accept results of the elections and not just condemn violence.

Meanwhile, the Zambia Police in Southern Province have so far recorded 11 assault cases resulting from political activities in four Districts in the Province.

Southern Province Police Chief Lemmy Kajoba said generally, the province had not experienced any major violence apart from some political -related assault cases recorded in Monze, Mazabuka, Namwala, and Choma.

Mr. Kajoba also called for mutual understanding between police and major political players for peace to prevail.

And Inspector general of police Francis Kabonde has called on stakeholders in this year’s elections to work with police so that all forms of violence are dealt with and ensure a free and fair election.

Speaking in Kabwe on Friday at a meeting for electoral stakeholders at Misuku Lodge, Mr. Kabonde said police alone will not manage to prevent or fight violence.

He says preventing electoral violence requires the participation of stakeholders such as the church, political parties, the media, and civil societies among others.

Mr. Kabonde said before campaigns started, police saw the need to be proactive and started discussions with stakeholders in a bid to find ways of resolving issues that lead to violence.

He says everyone should try to be a peace maker and builder during this year’s elections.

He warned that police will not discriminate or favour any law breaker on the basis of political affiliation.

‘We have examples to show. We have arrested people from prominent political parties they have appeared in court others are still appearing in courts of law,’ he said.

He said discussions between police and stakeholders will continue to ensure violence during elections period does not occur anywhere.

“I have 9000 police officers who wrote the examinations after training out of a total of 15,000, number of police officers. These were trained in human rights and other areas that include duties and responsibility of police officers before, during and after polling day,’ he said.

He urged participants to be weary of people peddling lies that could cause anarchy saying such people should be arrested and prosecuted.

Meanwhile moderator of the meeting, Bishop Joshua Banda called on political parties with differences to dialogue.

Bishop Banda said this was key to resolving any misunderstanding that may exist among them.

Bishop Banda emphasized that dialogue generated better understanding and respect of each other’s divergent views.

He stressed that dialogue was the prime road to unity despite many diversities.

ZANIS