To mention for instance, apart from their policies on paper, how do you ascertain the credentials of party’s such as the Heritage Party led by Brigadier General Miranda, Alliance for better Zambia led by Fr. Frank Bwalya or even the New Revolution Party led by Cosmos Mumba? Against all odds, if any one of them won an election, who would form their cabinet? Such situations are what have led to assertions that certain individuals only form ‘one man’ political parties purely for person financial gain. It is normal especially in developed countries to have a ‘shadow cabinet’ alongside the cabinet of the government of the day. A shadow cabinet is a group of senior members of an opposition political party that assume corresponding positions as ministers as those in the government of the day. It is the Shadow Cabinet’s responsibility to criticize the policies and actions of the government, as well as offering alternative policies. Note however that when the opposition are elected into power, the individuals in the shadow cabinet may not necessarily assume the same roles in government. This is a feature that has generally been lacking in the opposition political parties in Zambia. It is rare that you will hear a shadow cabinet minister offering any criticism or alternative policy to the government of the day. This task seems to be left to the party president of that particular opposition party. The lack of organised shadow cabinets denies the general public the opportunity to ascertain how a particular party would perform once elected in government. It also denies the general public the opportunity to gauge the competency and performance of individual shadow cabinet ministers. The lack of a shadow cabinet in any opposition party is a sure recipe for inefficiency, greed and conflict. Prevailing events in Zambia today are a good example of the lack of functional shadow cabinets. To mention for instance, apart from their policies on paper, how do you ascertain the credentials of party’s such as the Heritage Party led by Brigadier General Miranda, Alliance for better Zambia led by Fr. Frank Bwalya or even the New Revolution Party led by Cosmos Mumba? Against all odds, if any one of them won an election, who would form their cabinet? Such situations are what have led to assertions that certain individuals only form ‘one man’ political parties purely for person financial gain. Recently, we have had allegations in the media of certain individuals joining political parties or alliances purely on the premise of being promised certain positions in government in the event the party wins the elections. We have had in-party conflicts amongst party members vying for the same posts or being promised the same positions. Such conflict does not only show individual greed but a serious lack of principles by certain politicians. Of course, conflicts that would be minimal if a functional shadow cabinet were in place. Therefore, an opposition political party that fails to have an organised and functional shadow cabinet simply shows that they are not ready to form government and later on run one. The same disorganisation, greed and lack of principle that they are exhibiting now is the same behaviour they will exhibit in government. This is advice for any normal thinking citizen to heed. -- zambianeye/archives/26636
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 08:38:04 +0000
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