Native politics

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 08:58:21 +0000

The bright dawn of multiparty liberal politics ushered in by the 1991 heady elections that threw out the UNIP one Party state system is slowly being eclipsed by the emergence of native politics.

This was a genre of politics characterized by authoritarianism, fear, calumny and mediocrity, devoid of the complexity that any civilized and advanced democracy stands for.  Native politics subordinate Public interest and common good interests to sectarian “party” aspirations.

Increasingly those in authority hallucinate and convince themselves of their own omniscience and omnipotence, that indeed their parochial interests are equal to or should be equal to public interest. This is a fallacy which Wynter Kabimba and his group need to know. They must appreciate the truism of “existentialism”- the fact that individuals are free, responsible and always bound to determine their own destiny. Individuals are not herds to be corralled without cause and reason.

This is the lesson that all tin pot dictators must learn.  Democracy opens people’s minds and expectations. That is why Zambians will not go back to the UNIP days when they feared Government and the Presidency. They will speak out for their rights and demand explanation from Government.

They will also demand that leaders are accountable to the law.

That is why the Patriotic Front Central Committee refused to be bamboozled by Wynter’s contrived charges against his colleague Given Lubinda. People want the truth. They will not accept being shepherded into supporting contrived and untenable positions simply because the party President Mr. Michael Sata may have indicated such preference.

Native politics which are stick driven are as archaic as they are a total misnomer to modern liberalism which promotes competition of ideas, philosophies and programmes as opposed to the tally of how many opponents are incarcerated in prison.

It is true that for a while people will be persuaded by propaganda, like everything else the truth always triumphs.  Thieves and plunderers are exposed for what they truly are, heartless, cruel hypocrites who have robbed families of breadwinners.

Those who seek solace in lies, corruption and shady dealings must know that their days in office are numbered.

That is why Sylvia Masebo must stand answerable for the  deliberate pervasion of laws, which clearly stipulate what she can and can not do. The fact that she is close to Wynter Kabimba does not give her the right to ignore the law.

Those who break the law must be prepared for the consequences.