The Irrelevance Of Small Political Parties In Zambia. Political parties exist with the hope of forming Government. So how can these small political parties get into Government without members? Most of these small political parties exist only to satisfy the needs of the founders. They use “their” political parties to earn a living. These parties know, even in their wildest dreams that they can never form Government whatsoever. By ENELESI ZULU IN a May 23 interview with the Registrar of Societies, Kakoma Kanganja, it was learnt that there are close to 43 registered political parties in the Zambia. Mr Kanganja told this author that there are many political parties albeit on paper only. A check at the National Assembly revealed that out of the many registered political parties, there are only five parties with a representation in the House. These are the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) which has the majority members, Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) which is the former ruling party and second largest opposition, the United Party for National Development (UPND) and Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) and Alliance for Democracy and Development (FDD) which each have one member in the House. And in the last one week, a new political party was launched by Eric Chanda a former ally of the PF who later served as secretary general of Father Frank Bwalya’s Alliance for a Better Zambia. But what are the other political parties doing in this country? Are they relevant to our democracy? Politics is all about numbers and what value is there in some of these “small” political parties? Records at the Registrar of Societies show that some political parties have been in existence for well over 20 years yet such parties still have three or two members! So joining small and non-progressive parties is not only a bad idea but de-service to democracy! Political parties exist with the hope of forming Government. So how can these small political parties get into Government without members? Another reason political parties want to get into power is to correct things and improve the country’s economy. Why then do some political parties seem not to grow despite many years of existence? Take the PF as an example. They existed in the opposition for 10 years but they exhibited steady growth from one Member of Parliament (Musonda Mpakata in Lupososhi) to several members and to finally forming Government in 2011. Though the PF started as a small political party, the party under Michael Sata demonstrated determination, resilience and a love for the poor people. Michael Sata, who is now President of this country related with the ordinary people and understood their problems while he was in the opposition Have you then ever wondered why some parties never grow? These parties have remained small year after year. I don’t have to mention them. It is for you to know or find out. Actually you would be shocked at some of their names. Most small political parties exist only to satisfy the needs of the founders. They use “their” political parties to earn a living. These parties know, even in their wildest dreams that they can never form Government whatsoever. I really would have mentioned by name a good number of small political parties but in the name of fairness and justice, I leave it to you like earlier stated. Some small political parties are actually mercenaries. They are for hire. This is why they cannot merge or join existing major political parties. They know by experience that in a democracy, they can easily get sponsorship from foreign countries that want to see democracy thrive or those countries have hidden agendas of distablising the ruling government of the day. Countries like Sweden, Norway or even the US and the UK have poured huge amounts of in some of these existing political parties in Africa and Zambia in particlar with the view of enhancing democracy and the rule of law. But many times this donour money goes into pockets of a few individuals or the “owners” of these small parties. Apart from the Elias Chipimo’s led National Restoration Party (NAREP), which recently published its financial statement, including monies received from donours, I am yet to know of another political party that has done so. And the irony of these small political parties is that they are the most undemocratic! They don’t hold elections to elect leaders. The founder is the all-knowing and all-powerful who merely hires and fires his team. To talk about holding a convention is a treasonable offense. The leaders of these small political parties claim that they are “sole” owners of the vision of the party. But is this not a form of dictatorship? If the issue of “vision” was true, then Kenneth Kaunda would still be at the helm of UNIP! And I’m sure you are aware that UNIP outstrips a lot of so called political parties in terms of wealth. This also brings to mind the issue of the credibility of some of the leaders of these small political parties. Usually leaders of most small political parties have held senior positions in Government before. They were once Ministers or served closely to the power base. Most of them are failed and disgruntled past leaders. These are the small political parties for you. But are they relevant? Actually most of these political parties do not even participate in elections and when they do, they merely divide or confuse voters. They split the vote. Well perhaps so in a democracy. So let them exist! But at whose expense? Do these small political parties even pay annual returns? Perhaps it is time Government moved in and de-registered some of these so called political parties that only exist on paper. The story of small political parties is close to that of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). There are so many irrelevant NGOs some of whom are just a menace and out to milk money from donours. They do not serve the interests of people but themselves.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 07:24:59 +0000
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