By Chimwemwe Mwanza
You have got to hand it to James Ndambo for putting up such a shindig. My Home Town (MHT) finale which gripped Choma over the weekend was a showstopper.
Everything he did and said in the build-up to the MHT spectacle was couched in philanthropic speak leaving no margin for error. Calm and articulate, he chose his words carefully, not like a businessman but a politician schooled in the art of sophistry. Yet, the impact of his works still makes it difficult to disguise the subtle hints of his true intentions.
What is Ndambo really up to is the big question?
One can refurbish a dilapidated school or a chief’s palace without raising eyebrows but tarring roads or donating vehicles to police is a civic duty – this is a terrain reserved for politicians. This gesture of goodwill is what is driving angst among his detractors. Regardless, Ndambo has not only created a new template for socio-economic development but has certainly raised the bar for philanthropy.
This is a headache for the new government which is still struggling to provide tangible achievements almost 10 months since assuming office. That his critics are now throwing bricks at his shadow in the hope that they will prompt him to reveal his real motive is evidence of the disruptive impact of a new third way – currently in formative stages. Try as he is doing to suppress whispers, time will likely reveal his motives. For now, it is safe to assume that there are two wealth political heavyweights in the ring.
The strategist in Ndambo had anticipated a political blowback of sorts ahead of staging the MHT hence his emphatic reminders that his was not a political project. Do we believe him? Here is a clue. Repeatedly asked the same question but on seven separate occasions, the current No 10, Downing street occupant, Boris Johnson vehemently protested assertions that he ever harbored ambitions of becoming Britain’s Prime Minister. Can you remember? Facing a life-threatening predicament, it was Simon Peter who twice denied the obvious – that he ever knew or met Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Is there a witch-hunt underway to identify his associates? The Ndambomania is the reason we are now frivolously devoting inches of newspaper columns questioning the rationale of the state in providing him with security and police escort. For sure, the establishment’s lenses have temporarily shifted from the PF’s governance failures to a new target. Aside from the vitriol that is being thrown his way, it might even be possible that state sanctioned enquiries into his sources of wealth are underway.
But is this necessary? It is the nature of gutter politics and the Zambian terrain is not an exception to such skullduggery. Fact is one cannot help but marvel at what Ndambo is doing for Choma residents. He probably has done more at the stroke of a whip than their Parliamentary representative has done over the last 15 years.
Needless to add, the subtle message in this benevolence should not be lost in translation. ‘I hold no political office and neither do I have access to state resources yet you can see what I have done for my hometown Choma. Hena mulalanga basa? Imwe ba Kopala mwebalefwa ne nsala uko, bushe muletamba efyo ndebomba? Is the rest of Zambia watching? This is his manifesto.
Eyeing the Presidency or King-maker role?
Forget the pungwa semantics and the fight against corruption, it is the hunger stupid – to borrow renowned political strategist James Carville’s words. The real challenges facing of Zambian families is the rising cost of living, youth unemployment and poverty. It is these factors that catapulted the UPND to power and few would disagree that economic and social conditions have barely shifted despite the dawn of a new government. Just like UPND rode on an ‘agent of change platform’, these issues remain the soft underbelly for the third-way grouping.
For context, PF is unlikely to resurrect as an alternative or later on an effective opposition to the UPND. That it has failed to mobilise cash to host an electoral conference is indicative of the waning fortunes of the former ruling party. But Ndambo has cash and plenty of it for that matter. Could he therefore be a saviour or the unifying factor that the PF is looking for? Astute a businessman he is, it is highly unlikely he could jump into a sinking ship hence the best option would be creating a new formation.
That he is now a South African citizen is irrelevant in the bigger scheme of things which is why he is using trickery to elevate discourse of something inconsequential. His renunciation of Zambian citizenship was a fit for purpose decision that he can easily rescind without difficulty. In any case, doesn’t the Zambian constitution or its laws provide for duo-citizenship?
However this pans out, diversity and political plurality is what the country desperately needs. Let us be clear, enhancing Zambia’s democratic tenets is critical which is why those aspiring for Presidential office should be left to do so without intimidation, this includes Ndambo.
The author is an avid reader of political history and philosophy. The only thing he supports is Kabwe Warriors and Liverpool. For feedback, contact [email protected]
