By David Chikwanda.
When I saw this headline in the post newspaper, I sat down asked by self which zambians Masebo was refering to? Is it miners working extra hours to extract more copper for foreigners? Is it the bus drivers who wake up at 3am to earn a living? Is it teachers who walk to work every morning but get peanuts at the monthend? Is she talking about about farmers who after producing a bumper harvest cannot be paid for their produce?
May be she was talking about youths working for K7000 per day in the chineese industries? Or is it the youths who were fighting to be recruited in the army? or may be she was talking about my grandmother who wakes up early in the morning to go and sell tomatoes at chisokone market to feed orphans? I thought that may be she is talking about students who have no accomodation and no study space but still graduate? Or my sister chibolya compund who have to spend sleepless nights on ques to buy a container of water any way these and many other questions crossed my mind.
Apart from Masebo GBM also called for sacrifice and hardwork, but dont these ministers realise that Zambians have sacrificed enough. We are where we are today as a nation not because Zambians are not working hard but because of poor, selfish and greedy leadership. Whilst miners are working hard to extract minerals leaders are doing nothing to improve their conditions of service or even making sure that Zambians benefit from these minerals.
When Ministers expect everyone to sacrifice they went on to increase their own salaries by 100%, does that make any logical sense? May be they want us to work hard so that they can another increment in their salaries? Zambians are working so hard only to feed politicians- there is no money for drainages in Kanyama compund but money is many readily available to hold bye-elections so that Sylvia Masebo can get back to parliament or to pay her sitting allowances for any meeting. Ministers are busy fattening themselves and asking us to sacrifice- if you look at GBM dont you think Zambians have sacrificed enough.
The only sacrifice we expect is from our leaders, if our leaders can sacrifice some of their hefty allowances and channel the resources towards improving our hydro power stations and investing in alternative energy then load shedding will end and development will come.
If Ministers can stop being greedy by putting their children on bursary loans at the expense of the poor people then more vulnerable children will access tertiary education- that is development! if the government cannot stop investing in vehicles for ministers and MP and invest in improving service delivery in the health sector- then we shall develop! Why should we have low and high cost department at the government owned hospital? Every life is precious and high cost, therefore all men must have equal opportunities for survival.
The message to these government thieves ( they are not even worthy to be called leaders because a leader put his people first) is that we are not interested in your speeches and rehtorics, we want to see action. people are dying of cholera due to lack of drainages and toilets 48years after independence and yet you have expensive cars and modern houses with 10 toilets. You wake up in the morning to a bubble bath, expensive break and free fuel to work all paid for by tax payers. And you think we are not working hard enough.
If leaders want citizens to sacrifice and work hard they must lead by example not sitting in an air conditioned office sipping on wine and then ask a women selling groundnuts at city market to sacrifice. its not too late we believe our leaders can change, I have no doubt that the current president has a heart for the people (he is still using an old phone-at least that I know) but sometimes I fear that he is also getting blinded by statehouse walls.
After all is said and done God bless the republic of Zambia and its Citizens….