Zambian politics: multi-party democracy or circus show

By Nsambila Mbolela

Zambia’s State House

On August 12, 2016, the next 8th president of Zambia, yes you head it right, 8th because since Guys Scott was the 7th president (acting at least), will inherit a country with unending debt, unsolved load shedding, 64% of the population living below poverty line ($1 per day), unavailable jobs despite annual graduation ceremonies from influx of universities, 14% living with HIV/AIDS, 40% don’t have access to clean drinking water, some with jobs don’t have contracts and if they complain they are gone, 3 to even 6 months without pay, political violence if you dare speak up or switch political parties, and lastly misuse of mining tax revenue.

With all the above mentioned problems even though the list is inexhaustible, you would think by now the nation would be engaged in a serious conversation about who should be the next 8th leader wise and abled to tackle the problems and uplift Zambia to its 1970 t 1980s heydays. By ‘abled leader’ I mean a candidate with depth of political and economic policy knowledge and experience seasoned in character and temperament to chart the country into a new direction where talent from all tribes will be put to good use to make Zambia a nation that works for all people from all 10 provinces.

Yet with the formation of another new party Democratic Front by now President Miles Sampa, one wonders if Zambia is cursed with multi-democracy or cursed with the circus process for choosing presidents, where in the end a clown is crowned as leader of Zambia. Sad to say, August 12, 2016, if the circus process doesn’t get rejected, the highest office in the land will be eviscerated of its dignity and power to change the nation.

How have we come to this?

First, anyone with enough clown personality can now run for president in Zambia. This wasn’t always the case, at least not during the Kaunda era. The political process used to sift through possible candidates and narrow the field to those candidates with character. Politicians were civil servants then and didn’t steal a lot of money to start their own political parties. Now the character plays almost no role. Anyone with stolen government money (from mining tax revenue and acquired debt) can start his/her own circus show/party. Oh, by the way if you have enough stolen money, you can finance your circus show/party. And if you are suitably outlandish, extreme in playing tricks, and tactful, a lot of people looking for the new circus/party show in Zambia will follow you.

Second, since the birth of multiparty politics in 1990, we have 17 (including Sampa’s party), where all the presidential candidates have been able to get away with saying just about anything about what they will do, even if it’s pure circus show trick (lie). The media no longer scrutinizes what these candidates say or if they can even deliver on their promises. The media/journalists also used to evaluate candidates’ policy proposals, and those evaluations influenced voters. There was a time when the media/journalists used to evaluate candidates’ promises, and those evaluations influenced voters. Not anymore! Now the even the church which used to be the voice of the poor is also part of the circus show. We all find our politicians to be very good clowns, but that doesn’t seem to matter on Election Day.

Third and finally, we just don’t love clowns to entertain us only; we also want them to induce us with hateful monologues on other Zambians (tribes) to gain support. There was a time when One Zambia One Nation invoked joyful emotions like those of 2012 when Zambia won the AFCON. There was a time when all leaders (political, religious and traditional) stood up against tribal demagoguery and charlatans. Paradoxically, at a time when the Burundi is on the verge of civil war, Congo DR is sitting on a volcano, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Uganda’s futures are uncertain, you would think we would be raising our stakes very high for who becomes the next 8th president. Instead, we have a free-for-all circus show from Lungu-PF, HH-UPND, Nawakwi-FDD, Mulupi-ADD, Miyanda-HP, Kabimba-RP, Sampa-DF, Mumba MMD, Chipimo-NRP, Tiyenji Kaunda-UNIP, Sikota-ULP, Mutesa-ZED and Sinkamba GP, in which all these candidates are claiming to have the answers to Zambia’s gigantic problems, no matter how absurd, and the masses are not holding them accountable, or even demanding that they out clown each other in a live TV/Radio/Internet national debate.

Aristotle a Greek Philosopher once said, ‘man/woman is a political animal’. While he might have meant that human beings have so many similar characteristics (emotions, social, personalities, procreate and die) except for the ability to think also known as rationality. I am afraid to say that our current Zambian politics is all too right similar to animals in the zoo or circus competing attention. You have lions that will go to great length to attack anyone in their way. Monkeys are always playing tricks on the audience. As for birds, oh well they will change places (parties) depending on where the food is. When the country is entrenched with the circus political process that trivializes the magnitude of the problems facing the nation, and expects clowns to solve these problems, you end up with a country that resembles a zoo or circus entertainment show, filled with trained animals raising their legs to entertain the intelligent audience, and once in a while urinating on everything the audience hold dear including their children.

Between now and August 11, 2016, Zambia’s circus politics may be entertaining to watch, or follow on social medial if you are a Zambian Living Abroad (ZLA), but it’s overpoweringly dangerous for the future of Zambia. Instead of being convinced that our impendence from Britain was for crowning clowns election after election, we should demand sound policies and seriousness from our politicians. Our politics should once again reflect character and depth to solve the country’s problems instead of being used by politicians as a platform for seeking emotional and psychological attention.

If we don’t demand an end to circus politics in Zambia, don’t be surprised if our hard earned democracy from Britain, crown one of the clowns on August 12, 2016 as the 8th commander-in-chief of circus politics.

Mr. Nsambila Mbolela, is a native of Mufulira-Copper-Belt, currently based in the USA, a founding member of Zambia Institute of Transparency and Accountability (ZITA). ZITA is a Zambian Think Tank non-profit organization based in Canada-Zambia, whose mission is to promote public debate and awareness on issues of good governance, democracy and free and fair market economy in Zambia and Africa as whole. The author is a regular political and economic contributor to this organization.