ZAMBIA
- THE WAY FORWARD
By Michael Sata
Compatriots,
Zambia is in
a deep crisis, which we must roll back through our determined
common resolve. There is some little progress here and there
– an increase in mining investment, slight improvement
in the number of people visiting our country as tourists,
and even a bit of upward movement in the primary agriculture
sector. But the few bright spots are not significant enough
to make an impact on reducing the alarming high incidence
of widespread poverty. Our levels of investment are not
high enough to achieve the goals of high rates of sustainable
development which is the only way we can reduce poverty
instead of loud pronouncements from the highest platforms
and playing with statistics or figures.
We must revisit
the root causes of poverty and painful stagnation. How really
does a country blessed with plenty of land with good soil
and climatic conditions be so impoverished other than through
glaring mismanagement and criminal waste of resources? We
have registered as voters, our vote is the most potent weapon
at our disposal to help us usher in a new government which
will manage our country better and be sensitive to the needs
of people. The government we have now is beyond redemption,
it can not be reformed because it has no regard for the
clearly expressed wishes and views of any one of us, opposition,
Church or civil society.
Government set
up the Constitution Review Commission comprising some of
our most distinguished and knowledgeable citizens. The cost
of the constitution review commission has been enormous
running into many billions of Kwacha. Even before the CRC
submitted its draft for public comment and discussion the
government had already taken a number of irrevocable positions.
And now all major recommendations of the CRC reflecting
the views of a broad spectrum of the people throughout the
country have been rejected in a paper which government authored
with indecent haste. This is not only acting in bad faith
but utter contempt of the people. Here is a government which
is supposed to enlist the good will of the stakeholders
and build harmony and cohesion daring people into confrontation.
Bad governance is responsible for regression of our country.
If we desire better lives for ourselves and most importantly
posterity, we have to effect urgent change in governance
next year by sending the new bad deal government packing.
Ineptitude and cronyism must go. People of Zambia can not
put up with Attorney Generals who are partisan cadres instead
of law officers who ensure that the government adheres to
legality and constitutionalism apart from being custodian
of the fundamental rights of all the citizens.
If Zambia is
to move forward in a sustainable way and guarantee commendable
rates of growth we must learn to use internally generated
resources much more prudently. We must allocate more resources
to investment and reduce excessive forms of consumption.
The first step is to look at the size and composition of
government. Two years ago President Mwanawasa did some good
thing by calling a broadly representative convention to
brainstorm on the nation’s many problems. One of the
recommendations was that government at civil service and
ministerial levels was over bloated. The president was called
upon to reduce the number of ministers. He has gone in the
opposite direction and increased the number of ministers.
Even the reduction in the number of civil service employees
which was an ongoing programme by the previous administration
has been decelerated or even halted.
So the national
budget is just a story of emoluments and services like transport
and fuel to support the large numbers of ministers and officials.
Only 10% of the internally generated revenue is spent on
capital projects. A portion of the revenues is used to service
both the internal and now much reduced external debt.
Quite clearly,
Zambia’s miseries are as a result of gross mismanagement
of the economy, no proper direction and priorities and a
terrible culture or habit to use government for personal
glory and enrichment.
A way forward
is thus to entrust power, the instruments of state power
to people with a commitment to serve. I have no hesitation
in making a solemn pledge that should the people of Zambia
repose trust in us in the Patriotic Front, either on our
own or with our allies in the other parties, we will ensure
that government is never used for personal glory but for
improving the welfare of our people and safeguarding the
interests of posterity. Personally I am persuaded that the
present government can not listen to the loud cries of the
people on anything whether it is better management of the
economy or the constitution which is the fundamental law
of the land in which all of us stakeholders have a legitimate
interest. My suggestion and counsel to Zambians is simply
that we use our vote to change government. When we come
in as servants of the people we will pursue a people based
and people driven agenda.
The issue of
resources to fix the country’s development does not
arise. Our country has always had vast resources both material
ones and human capital, what has lacked is the management
of those resources and their proper use. The priorities
have always been wrong as is evidenced by budgetary allocations
in the Fiscal year 2005. While Zambia Intelligence Services
have an allocation far in excess of K100 billion, the University
of Zambia which is in an appalling condition and lacks even
the very basic means to survive has far less than 5% of
the allocation to Zambia Intelligence Services. Hospitals
may lack linen and drugs but there is always plenty of money
for the President, the ministers and officials to endlessly
roam the world. Because these people are in Tokyo, New York,
London etc all the time they see prosperity in Zambia instead
of the shameful and sickening misery and despondency among
our people.
We will have
no difficulty with governance matters. People want a constituent
assembly to adopt the constitution and only leave to parliament
the task to enact a constitution which is people driven.
We will ensure this is done. There will be no confrontation
with people. Our power base will be premised on wide acceptability
by people and not excessive power lavished on the executive
arm of government by statutes of parliament. Power from
the people is everlasting and is stronger than bullets and
all other forms of coercion. The world now is a huge integrated
community because of information technology. Ideas easily
spread from one corner of the globe to another with amazing
speed. The world is becoming increasingly hot for despots.
Those of our country men and women who think they can use
the enormous power and influence of the state to stampede
us into endorsing their wrong notions are certainly living
in some kind of fool’s paradise. Once the present
government with its unrestrained contempt for the people
of Zambia, in this blessed land is booted out for its disregard
for people’s views and wishes we will be sending unmistakable
signals to those who come into power that people have the
final say and it will not help to take them for granted.
I think uncle KK and FJT bear ample testimony to this. A
much louder message can only help firmly establish people’s
supremacy.
Zambia can be
turned into prosperity within a very short time even with
our current high backlog of development arrears, there is
no magic involved. All we need individually and together
is to ensure good and adequate management of our country
and careful and prudent use of the resources we have. We
need people in leadership who have a commitment to people.
We need servants of the people and not kings elected with
small mandates and who are crippled by insecurity and think
that their survival lies in all the time putting God’s
fear in the hearts of defenceless citizens. You see my countrymen
and women we are not different from our fellow human beings
in countries that are developed and industrialised. The
fundamental difference is that the people in developed parts
of the world have correct ideas and notions of development
and they have committed leaders who use resources within
their countries for the benefit of a big segment of their
populations.
What we do in
our country is often self defeating, for instance we ask
people to work hard on the land to produce the country’s
food requirements and other crops for export. When people
have positively responded there are no adequate mechanisms
and arrangements to buy produce from our hard working farmers,
these farmers are paid a price which is below what it costs
them to produce their wide range of products. So our people
toil for ever. Their families stay in perpetual poverty.
They eventually have no incentive let alone motivation.
The next logical step is that the more able-bodied amongst
them flee the rural areas to come and join the already large
numbers of the unemployed in the urban areas which have
scanty social services.
We think the
way forward in regenerating sustainable development is to
make agriculture a viable proposition by providing facilities
ranging from inputs to marketing arrangements. This will
include infrastructure development like roads in rural areas.
When rural people have increased incomes it means increased
purchasing power for the economy and better prospects for
Zambia.
Resources can
be marshalled locally with a properly structured government.
In short a leaner government. Efficiency and delivery do
not always entail vast numbers. The colonial government
had good intelligence locally and knew at any time what
the nationalists were up to. Information, accurate information
was supplied by the special branch which was a wing of the
police and had no fancy and elaborate buildings. We can
do the same. We will have efficient forces that are well
looked after. It is sad to have patriots in the defence
forces who stay in barracks which to say the least are an
eye sore. We think it is unacceptable that 41 years after
Independence we should have soldiers cohabiting with civilians
in the shanties with appalling sanitation.
I am convinced
beyond all doubt that Zambians especially the masses who
are ever squeezed unlike the small elite are sick and tired
of misery and endless meaningless slogans. If people should
ever, which is most likely, respose trust in us we will
rise to the challenge of being the people’s most diligent,
humble, disciplined and committed servants.
We in Patriotic
Front, commit ourselves and undertake to:
Within 90 days
of taking oath of office, bring the conditions of our Medical
Doctors in line with Judges of Supreme and High Court of
Zambia
Within 90 days of taking oath of office, we shall employ
all trained Nurses and Teachers with improved conditions
of service
We further undertake that all Trained Nurses and Teachers
shall be employed and posted on completion of their courses
We undertake within 90 days of taking oath of office to
establish a research Institute in the cure and prevention
of HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC. Additionally, we shall ensure that
our Government creates a conducive environment for NGOs,
the Church and the private sector in their current responses
to HIV / AIDS / TB. Precisely, we shall reform the whole
Public health sector, notwithstanding our support to NGOs
involved in the HIV / AIDS pandemic, but the ownership of
the programme must belong to the people of Zambia through
their Patriotic Front Government for effective control and
direction of the programme, because the common and public
slogan from the people affected, infected and living with
HIV / AIDS is “ they ( NGOs / Government) are talking
but we continue dying en mass”
Only expatriates shall be employed on contract in Zambia.
All Zambian employees shall be employed on pensionable conditions
For now I rest my case and humble my submissions .
MICHAEL
C. SATA
PRESIDENT
PATRIOTIC FRONT
