Honouring the Party WhereBys
By Mthoniswa Banda[i]
Dear Mr President,
IT was interesting as well as funny, to listen to your Principal Private Secretary Bradford Machila trying to make heroes out of party functionaries and party sympathisers during the recent Independence Day Investiture Ceremony.
You see Mr. President; national heroes are not born heroes. They are made heroes. National heroes are national heroes no matter who is awarding them certificates or not. National heroes imply persons that have exhibited heroic acts or extraordinary acts to Zambia on or on behalf of Zambia.
By honouring them Zambia and Zambians are therefore recognising them for these gallant acts of heroism.
Before you ascended to power, the Presidents before you too had people that they considered heroes; and these too were honoured at such lavish and pomp ceremonies as the one you recently organised for your heroes.
Mr. President, inserting the wherebys before your supporters’ names and trying to justify why they should be heroes does not make them heroes. Heroes are heroes and national heroes remain national heroes no matter who the President or Party is Government is.
Let me give you an example.
Bradford Machila said of one hero that “whereby you were arrested by the government because of your beliefs and you did not stop.” How many Zambians have been arrested for their beliefs and did not stop? Didn’t Lenshina and her supporters pay the ultimate price for their beliefs and they did not stop? Didn’t the chamba smoking rastas and their suppliers suffer many nights in government jail cells and yet Chamba is still produced and smoked today?
Mr. President your Private Secretary Machila also read, “whereby your music was banned from national media”. How many songs have been banned and are still not having national airplay on ZNBC radio and TV since 1964 and how many musicians and artists are still persona non grata at Mass Media Complex because of their standing with the government of the day, or their art or music?
He also read, “whereby you started two broadcast programmes that are still going on till today.” May be the UPND Government has not been watching TV or listening to Radio or reading news media in Zambia, there are scores of award winning journalists, producers and programmers that have produced and run programmes that have been running on many of our community and national media that too could be classified as this whereby. They are radio and media programmes that because of their impact and influence have even become study materials in journalism schools and subject of books. The late Edem Djokotoe has had columns and writings that have become subjects of satire, rallying cries for anti-corruption fights and have changed the way Zambian English is used.
If longevity in the media sector was key, there are hundreds of veteran journalists and media personalities that have not moved from cub reporter to the senior most reporter position of editor but have gone further to set up media houses and media training programmes that not only have produced thousands of media reporters, producers and editors but have also created the much needed job creation and payment of tax that has made Zambia a better place to live in. Take for example Sister Rose Nyondo and her colleagues in the Department of Mass Communication at UNZA, they have worked the media sector from being reporters to finally teaching the media industry.
Mr. President whereby your life was in danger or that you fought against corruption or against injustices refer to many of us Zambians that every day still continue to whistle blow against corrupt practices in the current and past governments and its institutions but have gone further by taking to task powerful individuals backed by State Power that continue to steal, pilfer and pillage state resources to their selfish benefit.
Mr. President whereby you rescued Zambians from danger refer to hundreds of Zambians that using their skills, connection and personal resources have continued to rescue many Zambian children, women and youths from the clutches of national poverty through formation of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), fundraising from their connections abroad for millions of dollars to be sent into Zambia for projects to be created that build skills or opportunities for the poor and marginalised to the actual building of infrastructure such as the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) in Lusaka, or the Park for skaters or the crocodile farm in Mongu and or sponsoring sports academies that have helped many poor compound and village kids to find and choose sport as their career.
Mr. President, the wherebys we hear during our investiture ceremonies must be unique and jaw dropping to the majority of us. Honouring party cadres and sympathisers has been the norm in the Governments before you and have continued in the last two ceremonies that you have had with more of the wherebys going towards political players and naughty citizens that dared the country in favour of their political beliefs and were found wanting by the law of the land at that particular time.
Like it has been said before, even apartheid was law and those found wanting under apartheid laws like Nelson Mandela and others were found wanting by the same government that later honoured them.
If indeed the many wherebys that have been honoured where beaten, arrested or their lives placed in jeopardy, why is your government Mr. President seeking justice for these people by bringing to book police officers, intelligence and other dark forces that abused their authority and made life difficult for a fellow Zambian?
So how do we find our national heroes and what wherebys can we assign to them? Here are few pointers Mr. President.
Firstly, lets us recognise that Zambia is a multi-party democracy that allows for existence of many political parties and that allow for Zambians to have divergent and varying views on any issue including the most basic of issues. Therefore, any government institution that hinders Zambians from enjoying their basic and fundamentals rights must be identified and the officers manning these institutions arrested and castrated. We should not turn heroes on things that Kaunda and his cadres fought for and won in 1964.
Secondly, let’s agree that the challenges that Zambia face is economic emancipation where we have fared badly and where as we speak over forty percent of Zambians still wallow in abject poverty, excruciating pain and untold misery because they have no food and shelter, they have no jobs and money and that they have no education and skills to thrive in the Zambia as we know today.
Mr. President, therefore national heroes that we are looking for should come from Zambians and residents of Zambia that are working extraordinarily hard to uplift many Zambians from abject poverty.
Let us ask questions such as which Zambian boss has created more jobs for fellow Zambians? Which Zambian company has employed more youths? Which Zambian grouping has brought in more money into Zambia? Or which Zambian has helped change lives in Zambia though their daily activities or projects? Which Zambian has put more money into Zambia’s pockets or put more meals into the tables of many Zambians?
If we did ask these, I am sure Mr. President that we shall have our national heroes that when their wherebys are read, all of us will join you and your team in clapping for these national wherebys!
Your sincerely,
Mthoniswa Banda
[i] The Author is a Social Commentator and critic, Lobbyist and Human Rights Defender, Media and Communications Consultant at Mthoniswa Banda Consultancy www.mbzambia.com
