Meritocracy as opposed to Mediocrity

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Meritocracy as opposed to Mediocrity

By Konkomalimba Kafunda
Presidential Media Advisor, Movement for Change and Equality (M4CE)

Since 1964, when Zambia attained political independence, the social and economic welfare of the majority of the people has continued to spiral deeper and deeper into abject excruciating poverty. The reasons for this are as various as they are varied.

Firstly, the founding fathers delved in acts of deceit and treachery. They believed in lying to cover up for their lack of understanding of the fundamentals of governance, nation building, economic development and social protection.

Having failed to propagate their own development agenda, they continued to use blueprints left by the colonial masters, plans that were designed to stifle the Africans growth and enrich the Europeans

Additionally, from independence the syndrome of the strongman President has continued unabated. The electorate elect one man who in turn appoints the entire government leadership from ministers to permanent secretaries to directors in parastatals and all government spending agencies. This system, based mostly on political patronage,

is not a meritocracy and will be frowned upon and discontinued. Transparency and accountability will be the order of day. Positions in government and quasi government institutions will be advertised and only the best and brightest will be recruited.

To avoid state capture the Movement for Change and Equality (M4CE) does not accept funding from outside sources. Successive governments have U turned on progressive policies they espouse when in opposition because of external influences and implement policies to the detriment of the wellbeing of the Zambian people. This will be a thing of the past.

Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, the absence of God in any endeavor renders any such undertaking an exercise in futility, Zambia is greatly endowed with gifts by the creator and yet 60 years after independence our people are still wallowing in poverty.

In fact, poverty levels have been increasing, with urban poverty at 60% and rural poverty at 84% . The demonocracy that the country has become has made development efforts, be it in mining, agriculture, energy self sufficiency, national and household food security among other sectors, fruitless.

Our Position

It must be understood from the outset that we do not have the preserve or monopoly of wisdom over the populace. Similarly, we do not have time to criticize other political entities including the ruling party. They have the mandate from the people. They should be left to run the affairs of the country to the best of their ability.

We are however fit for purpose on the national transformation agenda based on three [pillars as our guiding light:

Knowledge

Technology

Capital.

Our mission is to Call Zambia to Order and thus help foment and evolve a grassroots movement to rebuild Zambian democracy, freedom, peace and justice.

Our inspiration is the negative and remarkable history of successive regimes which have left the Zambians behind in excruciating poverty, reminding us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice and equality”. However, we strive to preserve and build on the great pre independence populist advances of the past, for which many struggled mightily and died.

Our work is to bring together youth activists, organizers, faith leaders, citizens, social justice leaders, traditional and/or knighted chiefs, and would-be legislators to advance the core solutions of promoting household stability through economic justice, climate justice and social justice, while protecting the integrity of democratic elections and voting rights.

Our strategy is to build a District-by-District network, around and in the recognized Chiefdoms, of activists who will work to reform through education, legislation, resource mobilization and application, anti-corruption and direct non-violent actions.

We will catalyze, energize, and organize progressive and populists leadership meetings of citizens, activists and organizations at the local grassroots, district, provincial and national levels, and facilitate the building of a populist justice movement anchored on the Rule of Law and enduring state institutions which shall be navigated by a changed system of governance.

The MOVEMENT for CHANGE and EQUALITY party shall be both a grassroots and grasstops political party. In the coming months, our goal is to build a genuine partnership that will take bold steps, through a fusion of all concerned citizens and friends of Zambia to protect the social safety net and labour equality progressive programs that have been under attack by various neo-colonial corporatist vehicles which thrive via historically
institutionalized and endemic corruption.

Our immediate goal is to build a grassroots network that can wield political and economic power, and support policies and opportunities that promote a healthy, prosperous and peaceful nation for all,
including not just the wealthy, but the working-poor, disabled, homeless, unemployed, underemployed and the middle class.

Herein, we are seriously interrogating the involvement of existing traditional governance structures which were either destroyed and/or rendered impotent under the notorious slave trade and later colonialisation of chiefdoms.

PARTY’S OBJECTS

1. Abolish the unjust laws at the centre of the current Rule of Man, and enact impersonal Laws in upholding the Rule of Law.

2. Ensure objective devolution of power from the Presidency to enduring state institutions; change governance systems for effective service delivery.

3. To change the centralized governance system to a genuinely decentralized system, fully anchored on devolution, deconcentration and delegation.

4. Decisively address and combat corruption, bribery, abuse of office, abuse of public and natural resources, and theft of public and natural resources, and

5. Revive affirmative entrepreneurship thrive for and by indigenous Zambians in order to attain a poverty-free Zambia: Economic emancipation

Conclusion

The movement intends to establish a just, fare and equitable society in which all citizens have an equal opportunity to access national resources for personal, house hold and National advancement. This
will be done by putting citizens at the center of our National transformation agenda.

“….to change the systems of governance of Zambia to one which will sustainably transform the country’s entire socioeconomic and political status quo
by first abolishing the current Rule of Man [Law of Rule] and thereafter changing and enforcing the Rule of Law; in order to
empower all Zambians regardless of their status in society, for us to attain a poverty-free Zambia. Therefore, our ‘Mission is to Call Zambia’ to Order as a matter of extreme urgency…”