TODAYS POST EDITORIAL: Lessons on how not to run a part The Patriotic Front provides valuable lessons on how not to run a political party. The confusion that we see in the Patriotic Front today did not start today. It started soon after the party got into power. For the last three years, there has been a succession struggle in the Patriotic Front. It seems those who were close to Patriotic Front president Michael Sata believed, for one reason or another, that he was not going for a second term of office. And they were right. For this reason, they did not want to see any among themselves doing some work, or carrying out some responsibility that would appear to put them in front. It even became very difficult for the party secretary general to do his work of organising and managing the party. Whenever the party secretary general got out of Lusaka to do some party organisation work, he was accused of campaigning for himself. And the people who were in the forefront accusing him of that have offered themselves to succeed Michael. The other problem that the Patriotic Front had that has given rise to the problems we are seeing today is that it was a party anchored on one person – Michael. It was Michael’s party, and he alone made all the key decisions, including all the appointments. To be anything in that party, you had to be appointed by Michael. It is therefore not surprising that succession is being decided on the basis of one’s closeness to Michael, on whether one was anointed by him or not. Even blood relationship with Michael has become a factor in what role one plays in this party or on how strong one’s voice should be. As a result of all these factors, the consolidation of the Patriotic Front in terms of organisation and programmes became weakened. Patronage and nepotism became the order of the day. Manipulation and intrigues became the way of doing business in the Patriotic Front. All sorts of documents, including emails, were manufactured to make a case against others in this long succession struggle. Some became extremely dishonest in their methods. All sorts of lies were told about the secretary general, who was believed to be high on the succession list. Their scheme finally succeeded to get him out. They put in someone they thought was weak and could easily be manipulated by them. But they were wrong. They have dribbled themselves. The person they thought was the least ambitious and could hold power for them decided to take everything for himself and leave them with almost nothing. And all of a sudden, the servant became the master. And as Mateo Phiri would say: ungachaye iti? They have dribbled themselves. That’s what manipulation does. That is usually the outcome of intrigue. Manipulation has no substance; it has no roots. Manipulators have never been successful anywhere, at least in the long term. They always get caught in the deceitful web they have weaved for themselves. Oh, what a web they have weaved for themselves and they are now caught in it! This whole confusion about the Patriotic Front succession reveals serious weaknesses in the way this party was led. But this is what happens when the results of collective effort are personalised. The Patriotic Front got into power on the back of the efforts of many people. But when it got into power, it became the product of one and only one person. And everyone has to clamour to be near the centre of power in the hope of getting something from that dispensation. Principles of collective leadership were completely abandoned. Dishonesty was rewarded. And where merit fails to prosper, the result is what we are seeing today – confusion, chaos, violence and so on and so forth. The succession process in the Patriotic Front has been a cutthroat issue. People had to win at any cost and by any method. No principles, no values were being advanced. It was simply a question of getting it. This is the worst we have seen in Zambian politics in many years. We hope the nation will never experience such a thing again. But how is the adopted candidate going to campaign with such deep divisions in the party? What formula is going to be used to bring back in the campaign those who were being beaten, being insulted and humiliated? Is the way they campaigned for adoption within their political party the same manner in which they are going to campaign on the national front? Can they succeed on the national front with such methods? Are those hooligans, thugs and outright criminals going to be the main campaign elements for the Patriotic Front candidate? We saw in 2011 how Zambians rejected such methods when the MMD of Rupiah Banda deployed violent, ruthless characters in its campaign. Well, the Patriotic Front candidate may marginally win this election if they are lucky. But it won’t be easy. And if they do, it will equally be very difficult for them to hold on to that power beyond 2016. One time, Edgar Lungu was boasting that the Patriotic Front will rule for more than 27 years. Today, we can challenge him that it won’t; it’s wishful thinking on his part. The Patriotic Front will be lucky to win the January 20, 2015 presidential election. If they win, it is not because of their popularity or strength. It will simply be because of the weaknesses of the opposition. If the UPND was not a regional party, a Bantustan party, it’s victory would have been assured in this election. But equally, it won’t be easy for them because they have done nothing to extend the influence and appeal of their political party beyond the borders of their Bantustan. They are now trying frantically to recruit a few personalities here and there to give them the appearance of a national character. Such desperate moves often don’t work. Instead of addressing the challenges of their regional character, they became defensive. If they had positively taken the criticism of their party having a regional character and taken positive measures to address it, this election would be a walkover for them. All these things are great lessons on how not to run a political party. We hope all our politicians have learnt their lessons from the challenges and problems of the Patriotic Front that today threaten the continued meaningful existence of this political party. To continue in existence, the Patriotic Front will require a leadership that is capable of totally reorganising the party and creating a new organisation out of the confusion that reigns in it today. From what we have seen so far, we can without any reservation say the Patriotic Front is not fit to govern. And giving them the mandate to govern to 2016 will be taking too high a national risk. This is a group that has no restraint, no tolerance whatsoever. Given the way they are conducting their adoption process and their desire to win at any cost, nothing will stop them from rigging the January 2015 elections. They will go into these elections with the same attitude of winning at any cost. They have converted all state institutions to the service of their desire to win at any cost. What will such a group fail to do once given power? They are certainly not fit to govern. These are crooks, thugs, criminals, who should be voted out. They have embarrassed themselves and our nation in the eyes of the whole world. We have lost the sympathy of the world because of their conduct.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 14:58:44 +0000
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