Former Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation Director Chibamba Kanyama has confronted the tribal question around the UPND as opponents of Hakainde Hichilema shove the tribal card to disadvantage his candidature at the January, 20 polls. The highly emotive subject of tribalism is usually publicly skirted around by its proponents but Kanyama has laid his head on the chopping board to put his opinion on table. Kanyama resigned his position at ZNBC to join the International Monetary Fund. Below is his full posting on his social network facebook wall. Long weekend read on Tonga ‘Tribalism’, :. My brother Trevor Simumba has given an interesting but brief discourse on Tonga ‘tribalism’. I fully share his conclusions. Discussions about tribalism (particularly targeted at Tonga speaking people) were non-existent before 1998 until Anderson Mazoka formed the UPND (Neo Simutanyi and I wrote the launch speech and that marked my last involvement with UPND or any other political party). Prior to that, as Trevor has argued, Tongas supported any politician irrespective of ethnicity (Trevor gave irrefutable evidence). It was the declining economic fortunes and noticeable marginalisation in the sharing of economic fortunes towards the close of 1990 that prompted the politically indifferent Tongas to rally behind Mazoka; not necessarily to support a Tonga President for the sake of it but as a way of ‘redeeming Zambia from the negative impact of privatisation on economic welfare’ (agriculture output had declined 70 percent in Southern Province by 1998). The Tongas perceived this as deliberate provocation; their reaction was like bees countering an attack on their hive! Other non-Tonga groups across Zambia supported UPND at the time (given UPND was formed by people from across Zambia, except the leader was Tonga). For this reason, Mazoka was an undisputable winner of the 2001 elections. By then, and unfortunately so, sentiments by some die-hard natural tribalists were that a Tonga president would be DIFFICULT TO HANDLE (someone from the system erroneously phoned me on Friday after voting day that it had been decided to settle Mazoka’s loss by 33,000 votes; and by Tuesday the following week when official results were announced, Mazoka had lost by 33,000. Lucy Kasanga of ECZ knows I talked to her about this when I got the message). Things took a new twist post Mazoka. The election of HH as party President defined the perception that UPND was a tribal party (two hyper cadres declared only a Tonga could lead UPND). These remarks have remained a huge scar for UPND as that facilitated the amplification of anti-Tonga sentiments. By and large, most Tongas and associated groupings have continued to rally behind UPND with the conviction (real or imagined) that UPND would bring the RIGHT BALANCE in Zambia’s socio-political and economic landscape (apparently, those threatened are actually corrupt ‘comfort-zone’ individuals and not necessarily tirbalists!). It is my firm belief that should a Tonga president win now or in future, the Tongas will WITHDRAW into their economic activities and naturally play a very limited role in Zambian politics (my assessment is that Tongas are generally very indifferent towards political activity and that may explain why they appear to be suddenly outspoken in support of the party of their choice. As a result, they have faced resistance with many fearing this ‘behaviour’ will be sustained should a Tonga become president). My views are completely different: Tongas will be the first to condemn their ‘own’ president should he fail to deliver (agriculture, health and education). They will push for inclusiveness in government (that is my personal desire too because inclusiveness is the real key to Zambia’s development). Other non-Tongas will have political dominance in a ‘Tonga-President’ government (with those most unsettled about a Tonga president benefitting the most! I have chatted with a few UPND cadres; most of them not carving out political fortunes such as being appointed into foreign missions as we have seen before. All they want, it seems, is a good economy that favours all). I am not UPND but I am a Zambian who happens to be Tonga by tribe and that is the association I can confidently speak for. I know Tongas very well – reserved, a little arrogant, but will let you get with your business. Their not-so-good networking skills (amplified in my book ‘Business Values for Our Time) make them seem as though they are tribal (they speak their language in certain cases, like others do, and this irritates a few tribally inclined minds). Tongas as tribalists are mere perceptions highlighted on the political battle front. It is important to differentiate between UPND as a political party with politically charged cadres and the Tonga people, some of whom are not members of UPND. I do not want my children to grow up with the tribal tag on them simply because of politically driven perceptions. When they have a chance to vote, I want them to mark in favour of a deserving candidate and not a tribesman. I have gone further to mentor many young people across the country through Teen Vision Trust to focus on things that build their lives and our nation and not tribal machinations propelled by a handful of people (Tonga, Bemba, Lozi, Tumbuka, Luvale….). In any case, no human being has power to stop another’s dream; we can create huge walls of division declaring ‘no crossing zone for this tribe’ but nature has its own way. When ordinary poor people are hungry for redemption, we, the so-called intellectuals, cannot stop them choosing a candidate of their choice. I desire that Zambia’s young people, those who seek to be capacitated with leadership skills, should aim to be Zambia first, and tribe second. All these views in this article are mine under free expression.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 12:01:13 +0000
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