Africa-Press – Zambia. If you’re a student of Zambia, this week, you would’ve been confused by two different scenarios. The first, of His Excellency, President Hichilema proudly seated in his Hotel in South Africa, taking pictures and smiling. Like his disgraced model, Donald Trump, you could have seen his tweet that he was looking forward to meeting embattled South African president Ramaphosa. Then a scene of untold desperation. Helpless Zambians on rooftops, fleeing their flooded homes, and wondering if this is their life end. Animals being swept away by fierce waters, a young boy holding tight to iron sheets; and women making calls to their relatives to alert them of their deadly situation. These were the victims of tropical storm Ana which hit Zambia. The heartless President cared not. His tour of Dubai was not good enough to pamper his child-like ego, so he left just hours before the storm for South Africa to launch his book as the nation awaited the worst of the deadly storm!
It is shameful and inhumane for President Hichilema to behave in a manner that robbed him of his humanity. How on Earth would a person do such a thing? Is it not embarrassing to watch his fellow citizens cringing to mother life on rooftops, while he is sleeping in South African Hotels? What did it say about him to the very people he met in South Africa? A heartless monster? Is it not painful enough to see animals being carried by the waters? So did he ask himself what happened to those who couldn’t climb the roofs?
I have pondered on these questions. I have thought about the elderly, children, the handicapped, and the property those families lost. Unlike in the West where people insure property, in Zambia, it is what it is–things are gone for good. But my worries were not theirs. Theirs were for how long they will be safe on those roofs as the waters continued to rise. I don’t know what happened to them; I can only pray those buildings withstood the fierce waters that ravaged their once spaces of refuge. But it shouldn’t be. It is heartless to put a book tour above the lives of citizens.
Just knowing the President is around provides psychological support to the victims. His absence only proved what he values most, his EGO and making money. As I have repeatedly noted, President HH’s narcissistic and egomaniac inferiority complex is behind his impaired moral judgment–like Donald Trump, he loves to see himself as the center of attention. His tweets are all about him and him alone. Until he is made aware of the fact that Zambia is bigger than HH, he will continue to put Zambian lives at risk while he sleeps in hotels at our costs.
Assuming it is Lungu who left Southern Province in floods to meet with Ramaposa–many UPND cadres would be singing tribalist lyrics. But what this disaster reveals is one truth–the lack of respect for human life by the HH regime. UPND cadres must stand up to HH and let him know that this immoral attitude costs human lives. Behind this immoral incompetence, however, is the President’s lack of on the ground knowledge. New Presidents rarely take foreign trips for a reason–they have to be trained in national governance. In fact, it is foreign Presidents who usually visit them. Unfortunately, in his wisdom, HH believes being President means flying from country to country. Governance has many aspects and President HH needs to understand that social elements are just as critical as economic ones. Our President is like a man who thinks the only thing a person needs to run a family is money. Great. Go ahead and make money–even millions. But you may end up without a family. This is exactly what HH is doing–his thinking is driven by money as opposed to ubuntu. How on Earth would a President come back from Dubai after a long absence and then leave for South Africa when the country is expecting a major storm? Only narcissistic pride is the answer! And who dies? The very people who shouted, “Bally will fix it,” the loudest! Will President HH blame Lungu for throwing the people of Southern Province in the eye of Ana? Kaya!
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