> We Deserve The Leaders We Get
> The Post of Zambia (Lusaka)
> June 1, 2000
> By Fr. Joe Komakoma
>
> Lusaka - I remember watching a live Television interview of the late
Zairean president Mobutu, on RTBF, the Belgian National Television. The
Belgian journalist, with the typical western aggressive journalistic
approach, wanted to know how far true were the charges that president Mobutu
had corruptly amassed a personal fortune equivalent to Zaires total external
debt?
>
> This included bank accounts, businesses, and villas all over Europe
including Belgium.
>
> Mobutu, for all the negative things he is remembered by, must also be
remembered as a very savvy fellow. He responded by stating that he cannot be
a corrupt person without a corruptor. So he demanded to know who his
corruptor was. If there was no corruptor, then he could not be accused of
being corrupt. He then put it to the journalist that as far as he, Mobutu,
was concerned; he only had modest business connections with some partners in
Europe.
>
> The main argument that Mobutu put forward was that the corruption he was
accused of was related to European countries - money in European banks,
properties, and businesses owned in Europe. If he was indeed corrupt how
could the "incorruptible" Europeans deal with him? Why did they not reject
his money, they were happy to do business with him? If Mobutu was corrupt so
were his European partners. Failure by the journalist to call his fellow
Europeans, who did business with Mobutu, corrupt, meant that the journalist
was just purveying ethnocentric western propaganda. With that Mobutu ended
the interview with a stiff upper lip!
>
> In case I am misunderstood, I am not trying to canonise Mobutu in
recounting this story. My aim was to illustrate the theme of my article this
week: that we deserve the leaders we get. The moral of the story lies in
putting it inversely that corruption becomes possible only when a bribe is
offered and accepted. Is it not said, "It takes two to tango?"
>
> This brings me to the reaction of the Women's Lobby Group and the
subsequent Post opinion of May 24, 2000 regarding the recent UNIP elections
that brought the hitherto political unknown Francis Nkhoma to power.
>
> Money is said to have played a big part in the outcome. The lobby group
claims that the electorate at the UNIP Congress were "asking for tokens
ranging from beer to cash," to have their vote secured. The overzealous
electorate even went as far as mistaking lobby group monitors for candidates
from whom they demanded such bribes.
>
> This is precisely the point I want to make, that acceptance, and worse
still, demanding bribes or "bloody money" is what has brought us to the point
of money being a decisive factor in our politics. If indeed money played a
big part in the UNIP elections, then it is true of all other parties, and
indeed true of all modern political elections the world over.
>
> It is "Big money", barring the rise of a charismatic leader that is putting
people into political offices, and consequently seriously eroding electoral
principles. Big money means big time advertising and elaborate campaign
strategies. The spin-off is the subtle manipulation and influence of peoples
opinions and criteria for decision-making.
>
> George W. Bush, the USA Republican candidate for the November 2000
presidential elections, is said to have broken a record by being the first
candidate to raise US $21.3 million for his campaign in one night! (Time
Magazine May 8, 2000) Surely his "war chest", so well bolstered, will give
him a good edge over Al Gore, his powerful Democratic opponent during the
November elections. But while we commiserate with those who dont have money
and acknowledge that they cannot realistically set for themselves any
political goals "because they are excluded and eliminated through corrupt
elections" (The Post Opinion], we must ask ourselves why our people accept
bribes and even ask for them if they are not offered?
>
> As the lobby group itself concluded, we must be candid in acknowledging the
"fruits of the poverty levels we have. In a situation where the big majority
of our people live on the very edge of survival, any money is good money. A
beer, T-shirt, let alone cash, can swing a persons vote. And this is the main
challenge for those of us in civil society groups like the lobby group and
the independent media like The Post.
>
> We have a serious duty to make people understand that by accepting bribes;
they do not only perpetuate the scourge of corruption, but also seriously
compromise their own power to choose leaders of their choice. In fact the
vote loses its power the minute it is "bought". The vote is powerful in your
hands only if you have total control over it. The minute you accept a bribe
the person who has "bought" your vote takes this power away from you. You
become a pawn in a game that is totally out of your control.
>
> Our people must understand that we can make big money impotent if we refuse
to sell our votes. It is incumbent upon civil society to declare war on
electoral bribery and corruption from this angle. We need to triple if not
quadruple our efforts to take this message to the people. In my view, it is
the only way we can ensure peoples participation in elections. It is also the
only way in which we can ensure that we are not deprived of getting good
leaders into political office. I firmly believe "peoples power" can bring
down the most powerful people as long as people choose the dignity of
remaining in control of their vote.
> But "people power" has to be harnessed. It is big work demanding sacrifice
and magnanimity from civil society leaders. We need people, like Lucy
Sichone, who are fearless, and incorruptible. Otherwise Mobutu's logic will
remain true because people are going to carry on accepting bribes thereby
perpetuating the scourge of "big money" in politics.
>
> Culled from Africanews.
>
> Ziz (chaw chaw Hamjii)
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------
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>
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