Below are two
reactions I have received from my last post.
Zambians Must Vote For Calibre
[1] Hi
Gershom. It is a very rich history of Politics in Zambia. Much as issues are
well articulated about where we are coming from and where we are today, I would
not support the idea about re-introduction of one party system in Zambia
because it will be again a one man show like the way Kaunda had this country
under his armpits. Freedoms were not there or enjoyed and I would not want to
get back to that. I feel as Zambians we just have to take it upon ourselves to
go for calibre when voting and not tribe or paradox voting. Look at how we used
to fear and hero worship Kaunda where he was even proud to have slogans
like" Kumulu Lesa and Panshi Kaunda [God in heaven, Kaunda on earth]”
literally saying he was also a God. Gershom there was the worst media
propaganda in this country and again the Zambians were denied chances of
knowing the truth about what was happening in the country especially in government.
Really, there are a lot of reasons why I would not support the idea.
Political Dynamics
[2] Hi Gershom. I don't think introducing a one party state will solve the issue of tribalism in Zambia. To the contrary, what we need is more democracy and more freedom of speech. Tribalism can only be solved if we honestly and truthfully discuss the issue. As much as I dislike some online reports and comments on tribal issues I think allowing people to debate openly will eventually lead to a solution.
Zambia has an advantage in addressing tribalism because, unlike other African countries, there is no single tribe in Zambia that can dominate others. Political dynamics and economic survival issues will produce good leaders when democracy matures and takes root. What we need are leading academicians and historians to publish truthful articles on tribalism and it's causes and allow people to debate openly.
As a country we need to seat [sic] down and clearly define tribalism and set out boundaries on what is acceptable and not. For instance is voting for a good candidate from your own tribe, tribalism? Is insulting a particular tribe for voting overwhelmingly for a candidate of choice acceptable behaviour? Is appointing people from your tribe in favourable position at the exclusion of others as a reward for their vote acceptable? We should introduce rules to penalise those who spread tribal hate speech as is the case in the UK.
I noticed in your article you claimed that there was no tribalism from 1991 to 2001 and that the tribal issue resurfaced only at the 2006 UPND convention. Really? Why did Easterners predominately [sic] voted for UNIP from 1991 to 2006? The 2001 election results also showed regional trends with MMD drawing it's support mainly from Luapula, Northern, northern parts of central province and CB; UPND getting most of it's support from Southern, Western, North-western and southern part of central provinces while Easterners mainly supported FDD and UNIP. Lusaka was split between FDD and UPND. I think tribalism in Zambia has deeper roots than what you claimed in your article, however, I give you credit for bringing up the issue. I also read Chanda ChimbaIII's well researched article published by Zambia Reports four days ago was more factual.
[Picture credit: wikipedia.com]
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