Africa-Press – Zambia. What is happening to the party of Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher? It’s a fact, the Tories are in freefall, two different leaders in just under 10 months. That each of these leaders left their positions under a cloud, exemplifies the party’s predicament.
The party is in a gradual but inexorable state of deterioration. Boris Johnson (BoJo) quit his position in a huff following a string of scandals including revelations that he had been hosting shindigs at his official residency while he shut the rest of the country due to Covid -19.
In an act reminiscent of Brutus’s stab on Caesar, BoJo’s most trusted ally Rishi Sunak, who served as his Chancellor of the Exchequer led a mass of resignations from cabinet prompting BoJo to step down. Enter Liz Truss, her bluster and Thatcherite posture during a bitter tussle for keys to no 10 Downing street is what earned her the right to lead the Tories. Let’s face it, Truss was undeserving of leadership and therefore had no business leading the UK – a country boasting one of the world’s most sophisticated economies.
She was too inexperienced and naïve. Her reign proved a disaster – a big damp squib that promised big but delivered nothing in return. Her maiden economic pronouncement which was the budget presented by her Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng spooked the markets. The pound tanked as investors scampered for safe havens. Never mind the reasoning, how does one slash taxes to fund the rich, granted the UK’s economy is battling to boost its revenue streams?
Any lessons to Zambia’s current leadership, perhaps? Hint hint, is Honourable Musokotwane reading this? Indeed, there is something deep to pick from this episode. You can’t give tax breaks to wealthy mining companies that don’t need this money. As former US President Barack Obama would often say, the Math just doesn’t add up. Truss’s disastrous reign reminds of that other guy who promised the Zambian electorate ‘more money in their pockets’ only to plunge the country further into debt (MHSRIP).
You see, the Tories are a duplicitous lot and heaven knows, they are reaping what they sowed many centuries ago – a factor that led to nationalism becoming their staple. In their universe, competency is of little consequence as long as their leader is a thoroughbred. It’s little wonder that Truss’s reign lasted a mere 44 days but not before she had sacrificed Kwarteng to the altar of political expediency.
The audacity of it all, they even attempted to lure BoJo back to his former job just to prevent Sunak, a son of East African immigrants from taking up residency at no 10 Downing street. Never mind that Kwarteng became the first person of colour to manage the UK’s purse strings – albeit for 38 days, his dismissal effectively consigned his political career to history. And watching the Tories implode in this manner must be painful to Churchill and Thatcher.
They are probably turning in their grave in protest of Sunak’s ascent. But there is a poignant lesson here. Try as we might to resist change, we just have to accept that some history defining moments are durable enough to defy political gravity. Sunak’s ascent is one such. In case we missed it, Prince Harry’s decision to marry a woman of colour was ominous a sign of things to come. For Britons of colour, this surely is their Obama moment.
Sunak and HH measured on same scale Both are fabulously wealthy that they don’t need the hard slog of politics to earn their living. While Sunak traces his fortune to his career as a hedge fund manager, HH’s stint as an auditor for niche accounting firms such as Grant Thornton and PWC among others is what parachuted him into the business stratosphere. As demonstrated in the UPND’s maiden budget, both HH and Sunak are cut from the same cloth.
They are strong believers in trickle down economics whose doctrine is rooted in preserving the wealth of a privileged few for the benefit of the majority. This is hardly surprising. Plutocrats turned politicians tend to become rent seekers once they assume office. Fact is that the duo owe their allegiance to the private sector. A consolation to Britons is that they can count on Sunak’s acumen and experience. He will succeed in stabilising the UK economy and return it on a firm growth trajectory.
Can the same be said of HH? It’s true that there is a suddenly a burst of interest in Zambia’s economy. HH has certainly laid the fundamentals for economic growth. While inflation has dropped to single digit figures – a key matrix for measuring the stability of the economy, there is a strong liquidity crunch in the economy. This is a red flag to SMEs and other businesses looking for capital. On a positive note, thousands of teachers and health professionals were recently recruited and more civil servants are expected to join the swelling ranks government employees.
Only challenge is that there is a dangerous façade to these successes. The new recruits joining the civil service are hardly the result of surplus revenue or a growing economy. Government is relying on borrowed money to sustain a ballooning wage bill. One can only pray that this balloon doesn’t pop. But who cares even if it pops? It’s unthinkable that either HH or Musokotwane or at least both would escort Struss and Kwarteng to their political sunset.
Actually, what has the Hichilema Presidency translated into thus far for the ordinary Zambian weary of unemployment and poverty? Simple question, no need to run for the hills.
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