Promises may be difficult to fulfill but a statesman keeps them anyway. That’s what integrity is all about, keeping the promises at any cost.
By Mpandashalo Mwewa | Chief Editor.
Lusaka, Aug. 5 – It’s true that sometimes politicians don’t understand the promises they make when they are campaigning. But a statesman keeps the promises anyway. That’s what integrity is all about, keeping the promises at any cost.
When we used to tell Mr. Hichilema the same reasons he is advancing for the current rise in prices of essential commodities, urging him to support our advocacy for a home bred governance system that must prioritize development over politics of patronage, he disputed, calling our call misplaced because, according to him, the previous regime was incompetent to run the agric sector, thieves who were bent on stealing from the peasant farmers through exorbitantly priced farming inputs.
Also Read: Multiparty democracy has failed Zambia!
The current higher prices of farming inputs, resulting in unaffordable mealie meal prices across the country is enough evidence that his pre-election campaign promises to reduce the cost of mealie meal to K50 per 25Kg bag through professional handling mechanisms in the agric sector was a lie premised on his desperate desire to become President when he had no verifiable alternative development agenda to sell.
We knew this because we are factual investigative journalists. Our position may make us unpopular but that’s what journalism is all about, seeking the truth and putting constant pressure on leadership until correct answers are provided. We don’t go into journalism to become rich or popular.
Let’s learn from this, going forward, and prioritize patriotism, which is standing by the needs of our country, before those of any public figure, Mr. Hichilema included.
Patriotism does not mean to stand by the President. It is patriotic to support him in as far as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent he fails in his duty to stand by the country.
Also Read: Kalala refuses to be part of Kasanda’s incompetence, resigns!
Should professional journalists be praising public figures who do the opposite of what they promise to do? No! Journalism without a moral position is impossible. It’s our belief that every journalist is a moralist. Journalism is what maintains democracy because it’s often the voice for the voiceless. And we see it as a great tool for progressive social change!
What’s happening today vindicates the late President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, “The problem Mr. Hichilema has is the fact that he wants to cheat, to mislead, to show that he is what he is not. His understanding of politics is that it doesn’t matter; you can cheat, provided you get your goals!”
Also Read: Hichilema is not what he says he is, He is what he hides.
In a world where vows are worthless, where making a pledge means nothing, where promises are made to be broken, it would be nice to see words of a statesman come back into State House.
To make well-informed and thoughtful decisions, one must be able to see things from perspectives other than one’s own. Gain new perspectives by following Woodpecker’s Digest! Reading does open up a world of possibilities.
©2023 Woodpecker’s Digest.
Putting news into perspective
