By Mingeli Palata
You need not have special abilities to see that Michael Sata is a very popular man and is poised for a convincing victory after October 30th. Michael is one of Zambia’s most talented and outstanding politicians. Having served in both the UNIP and MMD governments, he boosts unparalleled experience and has a clear understanding of what the average Zambians are going through. He currently is the only politician that seems to have a quick fix herb to Zambia’s economic and social incapacities. Michael Sata is a strong wilted land great leader; he is one of the few leaders who has the ability to alter public sentiment to his favor. Sata indeed has great oratory skills!
In the last three months however, Rupiah Banda and his cronies have done exactly what any political strategist was hoping they would not do, if they are to win this election. The first bit come way before our late beloved President was buried; a proposed increase in salaries for ministers and constitutional office bearers. This not only amounted to wrong timing but constituted of the highest immorality on the part of ministers seeing as the vast majority of Zambians are still wallowing in abject poverty 44 years after independence and 17 years after this very government took over from much condemned Dr. Kenneth Kaunda.
The second mishap was the very composition of Rupiah’s campaign team. Mr. Banda courted individuals with questionable characters and backgrounds. Individuals whose very names bring back horrifying memories of corruption and abuse of public resources. Yes dear readers, individuals who our late President distanced himself from as much as he could. With this, Rupiah’s ability to continue our late president’s good progress was compromised.
As if that was not enough RB then engaged himself in questionable conduct beginning with the distribution of sugar during a campaign event, use of public resources and machinery by his MMD supporters, chanting tribal sentiments at a rally in Eastern province (when he asked people in the eastern province to vote for him because he is from the eastern province), deliberate reduction of commodity prices such as fertilizers and fuel during an election period coupled with the suspicious operations of the Electoral Commission of Zambia in the last two weeks.
At Present, RB is not the most favorite candidate among the general populace with less than 12 days to go before the polls. From that perspective, the election is widely expected to turnout in Patriotic Front’s favor.
However, just the idea of this country being led by a man of Michael Sata’s standing injects jitters in the spines of most well meaning Zambians. Unlike the majority of the public who are swayed by political tricks and jargons, a few Zambians have taken the time to examine the political, social and personal career of Michael Chilufya Sata.
In close contact, he has appealed to many as a crude, unyielding, cunning and jagged experienced politician, a man who knows neither etiquette nor regard for people with opposing views. Some still remember that Michael Sata was one of those in the forefront of propelling Dr. Chiluba’s third term bid, though it later tuned out that Sata promoted the third term for his own political expediency.
To most of us, memories of the Chawama violence saga where innocent Zambians were brutally injured with machetes and beaten by unruly cadres are still fresh. Michael Sata is a man known for unbecoming foreign policies statements that may turn out to injure our nascent economy and relations with friendly countries. Most of the promises that Michael Sata has made like giving free fertilizer are unsustainable and smart Zambians know that are but rhetoric from an experienced politician desperate for a vote.
Worse off, the organization of the Patriotic Front itself gives a glimpse of Sata’s leadership style. Since inception, the party has never held any internal elections. The question is who holds the structures? Who appoints people in positions? It appears like the whole party is by ad-hoc arrangement. The fact that PF has never held a single election to qualify its party structures shows that the party’s leadership has little regard for democratic procedure. It would be very dangerous for Zambia to elect a President with a poor Democratic background. What stops him from declaring himself a life President? If a party’s office bearers are not elected, does the party have checks and balances? Are party members free to express their opinions?
The Good Book says ‘he that is faithful in little things is faithful in big things’. Going by that maxim, it then follows that Michael’s ability to protect our democracy and interests is questioned.
If that is not enough, let’s critique this man further. Every organization is founded on a set of principles and ideologies. Life has it that everything that happens is backed by strong reasoning. What is the background to the Patriotic Front? Why was the Patriotic Front founded?
UNIP was founded to liberate Zambians from colonial masters, MMD was formed bring about multi party politics and free trade. With these reasons came fundamentals, core vales and beliefs that govern the respective political parties. Therefore the fundamental values and beliefs of a party have a bearing on how the party will run its government once elected.
What about the Patriotic Front? Why was it founded? What are its fundamental values and beliefs?
The Patriotic Front was formed after Michael Sata disagreed with Dr. Chiluba’s choice of the late President Mwanawasa as successor. If that background is anything to go by then the Patriotic Front was formed out of frustration by a disgruntled leader with Presidential ambitions; Michael Sata. This background makes it easy to conclude that the Patriotic Front is a personality cult. It means that the party’s sun rises and sets on one man, without whom there is no party. The party is about Michael Sata unless if I can be persuaded otherwise but indications make the later obvious. Under such circumstances democracy, objectivity, checks and balances are not guaranteed.
Would it be wise for Zambians to hand their fate to one man? Is he trusted to protect the constitution? Can he be trusted to lead Zambians from economic wilderness to the ‘Promised land? I leave these questions to be answered by voters on the 30th of October.
Essentially this election has transformed into a referendum on weather or not Rupiah Banda can be trusted to continue the policies of the late President. What has happened now is MMD has run the campaign recklessly and hence have fallen short of public favor. People generally do not trust Rupiah Banda and his associates to run this country so as a result they have turned to Michael Sata’s appealing promises and rhetoric of low taxes and more money in your pockets without critically analyzing the man and what he stands for.
I challenge Zambians to look elsewhere for answers. In this search they should look for someone who can protect the constitution, improve livelihood, reduce corruption and who is best suited to continue with the economic strides made by the Mwanawasa administration.
Anyone short of the aforementioned elements is a dangerous choice for Zambia; Mwanawasa’s work risks being buried with him.
The National Constitutional Conference (NCC) chairman Mr Chifumu Banda has announced that NCC will soon launch its website to provide downloadable information on anything concerning the NCC including its mandate, composition and verbatim debates in order to enhance public participation
