By Ephraim Munthali -NPL

Two of my former colleagues—Mzati Nkolokosa and Deogratias Mmana—lost their jobs in September this year at the hands of the Tonse administration led by President Lazarus Chakwera.

You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig
It is worth noting that at the same time, the Tonse Alliance-led government also cancelled the contract of Chief Director for Reforms in the Office of the President and Cabinet Seodi White.

But my interest today is in those fired from the Ministry of Information.

Mmana is an accomplished investigative journalist with a string of awards to his name resulting from ground breaking investigative reporting.

He actually started his reporting career at the Malawi News Agency (Mana), which falls under the Ministry of Information where he returned as deputy director after a stint in the private sector.

Nkolokosa, is not just a respected journalist whose strength lies in in-depth news analysis, but he has also made his mark in the academic world after his stints at Nation Publications and Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) from where he proceeded to teach at University of Malawi’s College of Medicine and the Polytechnic as well as many other institutions where he rendered his unique services.

He has even authored a book and I have benefitted from some highly intelligent journal articles he has published.

The duo’s firing—Nkolokosa as director of information and Mmana as deputy director—was a bitter pill to swallow for me.

Still, I understood the reasoning behind their removal as stated by Information Minister Gospel Kazako who said the two were not recruited in accordance with the law.

The other reasoning was that the two did not rise through the ranks at the Ministry of Information; hence, bringing people from outside when there were qualified career civil servants in the Ministry was not only unfair to the hard working public workers, but could also be a demotivating factor.

Of course, by the time they were making these self-righteous statements, President Chakwera and his Tonse gang had already brought in Zangazanga Chikhosi from retirement to become Secretary to the President and Cabinet at the expense of ambitious principal secretaries who should have been in line for the top most civil service post.

Still, I tried to understand, give the new administration the benefit of doubt.

And, of course, they were later to bring back General Timothy Nundwe as Malawi Defence Force commander to, as the President put it, right the wrong inflicted on him by his unfair dismissal from the armed service.

I tried, really tried, to understand all this too, until Tonse hired Chikumbutso Mtumodzi as director of information. Now I have nothing against Mtumodzi. In fact, our paths have rarely crossed. But what wrong is the President correcting on Mtumodzi?

Granted, Mtumodzi was once director of information during the Joyce Banda days, but is the administration saying there was something wrong in how he left the ministry several years ago?

Furthermore, if the recruitment of Mmana and Nkolokosa—who were handpicked in the same way Mtumodzi has been plucked—were irregular, does this new appointment become textbook simply because it is the Tonse administration doing the hiring?

If this disingenuous way of running affairs of State is what will be the modus operandi of the Chakwera administration, then we are in a worse scenario than United Democratic Front (UDF), People’s Party (PP) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administrations put together because at least DPP, PP and UDF did not pretend to be nice guys when breaking the law. Hell, they could even raise a middle finger at us.

They were not even trying to defend it because they knew it was wrong and they knew people knew. They didn’t care, but at least they never tried to put lipstick on their pigs.

Chakwera and his administration pretend that they do not know this is wrong and think Malawians are gullible enough not to know that the new government is straying not just from the law, but from its own stated policies as well.

President Chakwera promised Malawians that he will be straight with them. But if this is his idea of being straight, then we are in for one long, meandering slog back to the business as usual way of doing things around Capitol Hill and State House instead of the business unusual route to the promised land that Tonse bored us to death with during the campaign.

Very little, if any, has really changed.

Source: NT《》RT

Editorial: POLITICIANS are not above the law. Like every other citizen, they are expected to conduct themselves in conformity with of the law.

In the same vein, it is expected that politicians will respect law enforcement agencies as they carry out their obligations to maintain law and order.

It is however of great concern that some politicians and cadres in particular have no respect for the law and those who enforce it.

There are incidents of some politicians daring men in uniform as though they are fellow politicians or their children.

There are many instances when politicians have put themselves in harm’s way by staging illegal protests against the advice of the police.

We’ve also had politicians challenging police officers over lawful detentions to the extent of getting physical.

In other instances police officers have been assaulted by arrogant politicians who deem themselves to be above the law.

In many instances, police officers have been pushed to the limits by some politicians.

For some politicians, it seems that this is the best way they know how to get public attention and sympathy.

After daring the police officers who then deal with them accordingly, they turn round to cry foul as though they are the victims. This is not only hypocrisy but utter disregard of the law.

It is for this reason that we re-echo the sentiments by Foundation for Democratic Process executive director George Chimembe that politicians should desist from this retrogressive and acrimonious tendency of daring the police. For the sake of law and order in the country, politicians must be exemplary in their conduct – both in private and in public.

Mr Chimembe’s concerns are those of many other law-abiding citizens when he says: “I do not really know why some politicians are doing things to dare the police. I do not know whether they are doing so to get publicity or to be seen as victims.”

He is right in also stating that: “While we need the police to be professional when executing duties, politicians should not dare the police. Breaking the law always comes with consequences.”

Certainly one cannot break the law and hide behind the shield of political rights. Anyone who breaks the law is liable to punishment. After all, it is the politicians who make the laws, with the expectations that every citizen will abide by them.

The police are mandated to enforce law and order; they must therefore be accorded the respect they deserve.

We expect politicians as people who claim to have an interest to serve the country to conduct themselves in an exemplary manner.

They, more than ordinary citizens, must lead by example by upholding the rule of law.

If those in political leadership do not respect the law, how then can we expect them to hold their followers accountable to the laws of the land? Surely this is a recipe for lawlessness.

We expect our politicians to make the work of police officers easier by simply abiding by the laws.

While there are so many political parties in the country, we know that the most problematic are the two biggest parties – the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and the United Party for National Development (UPND).

Cadres from these two parties are the major perpetrators of political violence and have shown less or no regard for men and women in uniform.

As a country we cannot allow this to continue. But again like we have always said, the buck stops at the leaders. The leaders must be seen to act against violence or any deviant behaviour to curtail the trend.

Political leaders should put their houses in order and uphold the rule of law.

If political parties fail to tame their members, then they should not cry victim if they find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

The police must resist intimidation but enforce the law without fear or favour. However, they need to uphold professionalism as they enforce the law.

The police are there to serve the country, not a special group of people. It is therefore expected that all citizens will be treated fairly according to the law.

As we head towards the 2021 general elections, we expect political parties to put their houses in order to abate violence. We also expect the police to uphold professionalism to avoid people taking the law into their own hands.

All in all, there is need for politicians and all citizens to work with law enforcers to ensure that the peace we enjoy now is sustained beyond 2021.

Source: ZDM《》RT

THAT the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has revised Statutory Instrument number 35 of 2020, giving it more powers to expeditiously deal with electoral matters, is not only welcome but long overdue.

The revised SI comes amid concerns from members of the general public over the growing trend of political violence during elections and failure by ECZ to reprimand the perpetrators.

ECZ acting public relations manager Sylvia Bwalya confirmed that the commission has revised the Electoral Code of Conduct following the enactment of Statutory Instrument No.35 of 2020.

This means that the electoral body can now expeditiously enforce the Electoral Code of Conduct which, among other things, provides for disqualification of political parties and candidates who breach the code of conduct.

There has been a growing outcry from various stakeholders that the ECZ was failing in its duties to enforce the Electoral Code of Conduct and hold political players accountable.

This is because politicians and political parties have continued to abrogate the Electoral Code of Conduct by being violent during elections.

Over the years, elections have become synonymous with violence. Some politicians have adopted primitive ways of engaging in politics by perpetuating violence.

People have been injured and in most unfortunate instances lives lost due to political violence.
Journalists and other such impartial stakeholders have time and again been caught up in violence at the hands of political cadres.

While all this has been going on, ECZ has not been seen to crack the whip on erring politicians and political parties.

This is despite the fact that the commission is empowered by the Electoral Code of Conduct to punish or disqualify any politician or political party from the race for causing violence or using any language or engaging in any conduct which leads or is likely to lead to violence or intimidation during an election campaign or election.

Furthermore, the Electoral Code of Conduct does not allow for politicians or cadres to carry or display arms or weapons, traditional or otherwise, of any kind at a political meeting or in the course of any march, demonstration or other public gathering of a political nature.

While the Electoral Code of conduct is very categorical on the expected conduct among political players, there have been some instances where cadres have been spotted with firearms and other weapons.

Some cadres have also gone further to wear military regalia despite this being illegal.

This has turned politics ugly, with many people wondering what lies ahead in the 2021 general elections.

It is, therefore, heartening that ECZ is now empowered to expeditiously deal with violence and be able to mete out punishment within 48 hours.

“Previously the commission did not have enough time to react within the time frame as matters were required to go before the District Conflict Management Committee and the National Conflict Management Committee before they could be tabled before the commission,” according to Bwalya.

It is good that under the new guidelines, the commission will proceed to hear and determine electoral matters within 48 hours, unlike in the past when this was a challenge, especially for cases that occurred a few days before an election.

“Where the candidate or political party is found to have breached the Electoral Code of Conduct, such a candidate or political party may be liable to disqualification subject to other provisions of the Constitution and other relevant laws,” Ms Bwalya said.

As long as ECZ commits to enforcing the reviewed Electoral Code of Conduct, we are certain that sanity will be restored in Zambia’s politics.

ECZ should therefore send a strong message that it means business by disqualifying anyone found wanting. This will deter many would-be offenders for fear of being knocked out of the race.

We expect ECZ to be proactive in enforcing the Electoral Code of Conduct knowing that Zambians out there depend on it to bring civility back into Zambia’s politics.
ECZ has no excuse now but to act against violence perpetrators.

Source: ZDM《》RT

By Editor

It is amazing that the elephant is always in the room when it comes to pinning the real African issues. So, we gloat over everything in snippets of fear to offend but how then can we heal the wounds of the past? To advance my analogy to a wound, bandaging is only useful if the wound is first cleaned. But to cover a wound with all the virus or bacteria on it, is to encourage it to fester with horrible infections. And that is what we have done for Africa when we fail to address real effects of colonialism.

After slavery and colonialism and since Neo-Colonialism, Africa and Africans have to measure up to Western standards. This includes culture, lifestyle, technology and even humanity, to select only four.

Let us begin with culture. When Europeans first came to Africa, they denigrated everything African. There was nothing “civilized” or “advanced” or “holy” in the practices and customs of Africa. A strong message was sent to Africans, “Don’t worship your gods; they are idols,” “Consider changing your birth, marriage and death customs to ours; yours are primitive,” and so on. In the end, Africans began to pour scorn on their own ways of life and started to anchor for Westernism. In other words, anything that was not Western, was either evil, backward, unpolished or patently could not measure up to the authentic European standards. Western standard became African standard.

How do Africans arrange their homes, conduct their marriage, bury their dead or even celebrate childbirth or childhood

You think I am blubbing, how about today? How do Africans arrange their homes, conduct their marriage, bury their dead or even celebrate childbirth or childhood – it’s all pegged upon how “we,” in the West, do it. We don’t miss the West much when we travel back to Africa; but I can’t say the same the many years I have spent in the West. There is hardly nowhere I can go and authentically enjoy an African value theme. It comes in bits and pieces. The story is different in Africa – from the billboards at the airports, to the media, to the news, to politics, in education, and with culture – it is as if I am back in Toronto all over again. Why, because Africa seems to have been made to forget its own value system. Somehow to be considered unWestern seems to be a bigger sin than to boldily declare, “Leave me alone, I want to sing, dance, talk, and dress-up like they do or did in Africa!”

Africa now seems to have no culture at all, and if it does, it is a modified form, tilting heavily towards Westernism.

Second, let us look at lifestyle. Somehow to look, feel or behave like a Westerner seems to be more authentic than being African-like. So, the cloth labels, make-up type, and size and weight of the body are all to be standardized upon a White body or feel, or make or behavior. Thus, most of African women want to be “just a bit light”, “less black,” or “a little bit of straight hair.” Without knowing, they have imbibed into Westernism. What about height – so, if one is shorter and a little bit fatter – you have crossed the line, you have not pegged to the stature of a true American standard for beauty or normalcy. Does it mean that only those who are lighter, taller and slimmer are truly humans and models, but life is not set that way. In fact, reality dictates otherwise – we find people loving people others would quirk at, “What did he see in her?” and vice-versa. It is because the reality is different from the standards set by the media, Hollywood and fashion/beauty industry in the West. If our girl children do not display a babbie-type body, does it mean that they are not beautiful enough? It was not too long ago that Westerners came to Africa and insulted all the buttock-protruding women. To them, these African women were “ugly,” and reason, because they had big buts. Smaller people are somehow disparaged as “midgets’ and bigger people are solidly criticized as, “fat!” So, now tell me, what is the ideal, and where did that come from? Not from Africa; it was perpetuated by Western conception of beauty and standard and anyone, anywhere who did not measure up to “this” standard, is not, indeed, ideal or perfect. Colonialism – it robbed Africa of its own perfection. Kinky hair does not make an African ugly, and neither is her skin color or height or weight. Like everywhere else, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” (An English Proverb). And the Dictionary is correct, “beauty cannot be judged objectively, for what one person finds beautiful or admirable may not appeal to another.”

Oh, Africa, pretending to have Western beauty will not make you beautiful; you will always be second. Be just who you are, of course, working within your own fascia to improve yourself.

Third, technology, and this may upset many and chaff others, yes, indeed, Africa had and continues to have its own version of technology. Remember, if there is any race of people on earth (probably, with the exception of the Jews), Black Africans have survived extinction. Every calamitous event, such as slavery and colonialism, were meant to wipe Africans out of the face of the earth. How else can you explain the disregards, the mistreatments, the discriminations and ultimately, the killings of innocent Black Africans for over 400 years? But Africa, and the Black people of Africa, have survived. They have done so, partly, because of technology, albeit, very simple technologies. This enabled them to cross ravaging rivers and dangerous lakes, manipulate dense and hazardous forests, tame wild and vicious animals, till arid and hostile lands and conquer natural disasters. The Industrial Revolution and the Internet ages, are not the only technology-shapers in history; though they are and were, arguably, superior. But this does not mean that Africa did not have, and cannot have, authentic technologies.

Oh, Africa, if you can see how colonialism has cheated you out of your inheritance, you can claim mastery to industry, creativity, fortitude, scientific manumissions and artistic affranchisement. Yes, you can.

Last, in this series, humanity. This was at the heart of both slavery and colonialism, African-descended people were not humans at all. You see, modern rendition of this deals a dearth of justice to history; African people (especially Blacks) were considered less than property. Because, sometimes, one might have golden property and keep it in a safe, not Africans, they were up for abuse. They were not “cheap labor,” they were “free, available, expendable, labor.” They had no soul; they were only a conglomeration of flesh and sinews and tendons and bones and muscles. They were not human. Why were they not considered human? Let us tell the truth, it was mostly because they were deemed not to measure up to European or American standards of humanity. You see, it is more onerous to be considered unhuman than it is to be considered not a person. In Canada, for example, until 1951, women were not considered a person in the context of equality before the law. Another example, when Britain left Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) in 1964, those who were at the level of civil clerks became new leaders of the new nation. To understand this, you have to consider the hierarchy that propelled the colonial machine. At the highest echelon was the Queen/King, then Minister responsible for colonies. Under him were Regional Commissioners, and below them District Commissioners/Governors. These then had a cortege of aristocratic bureaucracy running the day-to-day colonial machinery. Then you had the cadets and junior cadets. All these were Whites. A Black rank began at a clerk level, and even here, it was for the “most educated” African – who was probably a Standard Two.

To place this in a historical context, the battle to acquire human status for the Black Africans reached its height in 1919. In that year, the Covenant of the League of Nations was adopted. It was only here that considerations began to be had to whether Black Africans deserved the same human rights as their Western counterparts. What they call “self-rule” is imbued in the idea that Africans were not human enough to rule themselves. The conception was related to how you can engage in mental and intellectual intercourse as to if a cat was left alone in the house without training it, could it survive the rigor of “doing things alone”? Britain was reluctant to give independence to the Black Africans, somehow because Britain judged, “They cannot rule themselves.” At the heart of this agenda was the idea that Black Africans were devoid of intellectual, and social, and let alone political competence to rule themselves. There is no question that Britain had a Western-European standard of leadership, and by extension of humanity, in its mind. It was forgotten that Blacks had ruled themselves before colonialism. But that was not enough, because some in England thought, “it is not our standard.”

Neo-Colonialists like Donald Trump still refer to Africa and the African people as “shitholes.” So, this humanity issue is not moot. Thankfully, countries like Canada have enacted legislation and policies aiming at curbing this discriminatory injustice. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is such a magnanimous constitutional document in Canada. As recent as October 20th, 2020, the Peel Regional Police, its board and the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) pledging to come up with and implement legally binding measures to end systemic racism in policing (Shallima Maharaj, Global News). Blacks and their humanity are at the center of this understanding. This is one of the reasons I love Canada; its leaders have worked very hard to recognize Africa as an equal partner not only in development but in the recognition of Black Africans as humans. There is more to be done, though.

Oh, Africa, please, please, do not let anyone or anybody ever again infringe on, and impugn, your humanity.

Africa should not strive to live by Western standards, unless those standards advance African culture, lifestyle, technology and humanity.

By Charles Mwewa

Source: LT《》RT