THIS WOBBLY OPPOSITION IS UNINSPIRING

IT GOES without saying that almost 90 percent of opposition political parties we currently have in Zambia are an assemblage of misguided zealots who believe forming the Government is by sheer luck.

What we have now is a bunch of leaders who have no agenda and whose preoccupation right now is Hakainde Hichilema and not providing alternative solutions to challenges facing the country so that they can win the hearts of Zambians to give them a chance to run the affairs of this great nation.

In a democratic dispensation like ours, the role of opposition political parties is crucial for ensuring accountability, transparency, and the protection of democratic principles. Credible opposition parties serve as a check on the ruling party by questioning their policies, decisions, and actions.

They help to ensure that the Government is acting in the best interest of the people and upholding democratic values. Opposition parties must also offer different perspectives on issues and policies, stimulating debate and discussion in the political arena. This diversity of opinions is essential for a healthy democracy and can lead to better decision-making.

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One crucial responsibility of the opposition is to represent the interests of marginalized or underrepresented groups in society, giving them a voice in the political process and advocating for their rights and needs. They also have a role to monitor the performance of the Government and highlight any shortcomings or failures.

This helps to keep the ruling party in check and ensures that they are held to account for their actions. Further, they also develop and propose alternative policies and solutions to address the country’s challenges. This helps to foster innovation and creativity in governance and can lead to better outcomes for the country as a whole.

A credible opposition is crucial to a country’s development because by scrutinizing Government policies and actions, the opposition helps to ensure transparency and prevent corruption. This accountability is essential for maintaining the trust of the public and promoting good governance.

A credible opposition serves as a check on the power of the ruling party, preventing them from becoming too dominant or authoritarian. By providing alternative viewpoints and challenging the Government’s decisions, the opposition helps to balance power and ensure that policies are thoroughly debated and scrutinized.

A credible opposition offers alternative ideas and policies that can drive innovation and progress in the country. By presenting different perspectives and solutions to challenges, the opposition can help to stimulate debate and push for positive change in areas such as economic development, social welfare, and infrastructure.

A credible opposition is essential for a functioning democracy. By providing a viable alternative to the ruling party, the opposition helps to ensure free and fair elections, political pluralism, and respect for the rule of law. This strengthens democratic institutions and promotes political stability and legitimacy. Overall, a credible opposition is crucial to a country’s development as it promotes accountability, checks and balances, innovation, representation, and the strengthening of democratic principles. By playing a constructive and responsible role in the political process, the opposition contributes to the overall well-being and progress of the country.

However, what we have in Zambia currently is a cadre of visionless, agendaless, and directionless individuals, who, first of all, know that they have no credible following, and secondly, provide no alternative solutions to challenges facing the country and this is why when they open their mouths, the only thing know best to do is calling out those in Government.

This is why today, people who have no following like Jackson Silavwe, Edith Nawakwi, Chishala Kateka, among others, would go and assemble under Edgar Lungu, to be led, so that in case one day he bounces back to power, they can also get some jobs.

This is why today, we have people like Harry Kalaba who resigned from Lungu’s Government on account of corruption, crawling back to the same man he demonised not long ago, simply because he is not convinced in himself that he can convince the Zambians to vote for him to become President. These opportunistic jackals have no agenda.

If you asked them about how they would harmonise their ideologies to form a coalition the Government, they would have no answer because all they are doing is following the blind to lead them. The same man who told us not long ago that he had no vision is the one they are rallying behind to support.

This fragmentation and fragility has weakened the effectiveness of the opposition in holding the Government accountable, providing alternative viewpoints, and representing diverse interests. Some of the challenges faced by the opposition in Zambia include lack of unity of purpose. The opposition in Zambia is often divided along party lines, with different factions competing for power and influence and this will soon manifest in UKA.

This lack of unity can make it difficult for the opposition to present a cohesive and coordinated response to Government policies and actions. Infighting and leadership struggles within opposition parties have further weakened their ability to challenge the ruling party. Disagreements over strategy, ideology, and personal ambitions have hindered the opposition’s effectiveness in advocating for the interests of the people and a classic example is that of the Patriotic Front (PF) where Lungu himself refused to let go of the party and by the time the reality hit him, it was too late as Miles Sampa had already caused the damage.

What we have now is a misguided opposition which has failed to effectively hold the ruling party accountable for their actions and decisions. We now have a misguided opposition that is focused on personal agendas or internal conflicts which in turn has led to fragmentation and ineffectiveness.

The current misguided opposition has failed to accurately represent the diverse interests and needs of the population, leading to a disconnection between the political elite and the general public. This has undermined the legitimacy of the opposition and eroded trust in the political system. This has opened a can of worms which has put a focus on petty politics of short-term gains while overlooking important issues and failing to propose meaningful solutions to the country’s challenges. We want the opposition that is capable of offering constructive criticism and alternative solutions.

It is important for a healthy democracy to have a strong opposition that holds the Government accountable and offers different perspectives on how to address issues. Instead of just pointing fingers, the opposition should engage in meaningful dialogue and debate to come up with solutions that benefit the country as a whole. This will ultimately lead to a more effective and efficient Government that works in the best interest of all Zambians but from the current crop we have from the opposition, this will take a long time to achieve.

What we have in the opposition today is a bunch of individuals trying their luck in politics in order to eat. Most of them have been in existence for years, but have not achieved anything even at party level. Today, people like Silavwe have found their voice because they think the Lungu factor can spring them to overnight stardom without realising that Lungu himself is a political reject who was unanimously rejected by the Zambians.

That is why every day, their agenda is Hakainde Hichilema. Each day they meet, the discussion is on Hichilema. We don’t know when they will tell the Zambians what they would do if they formed a Government and to expect anything positive from such debased minds, is like ploughing the sand!