Heed Mpezeni’s timely rebuke 

By Daily Revelation Editor

Paramount chief of the Ngoni people of Eastern Province, Mpezeni, in the most honest and unambiguous fashion took on Green Economy minister Mike Mposha and his Eastern Province colleague Peter Phiri, and literally told them to their faces that he was tired of being told the same empty promises without seeing their fulfilment.

In the video that has gone viral, the paramount chief is heard while seated in his office chair, telling the ministers, who appeared bewildered at the frankness with which the chief countered them, that they had brought up more promises without living up to their earlier promises to build a dam in the area.

He said he had nothing to say about the new promises as he had heard the same repeated stories before which were never fulfilled.

What Mpezeni is saying is representative of the complaints many have been raising in this country when it comes to the penchant by politicians to make false promises, only that the millions may not have the same platform as the paramount chief to drive the narrative in such convincing fashion as he did.

It seems the unfulfilled promises had bothered the traditional leader so much so that he was just waiting for the right opportunity on when he would hit back. And indeed that opportunity did present itself, in a very open and transparent fashion before the cameras, so that all the people could have the occasion of hearing a paramount chief address the concerns of the millions before the very people who make the same promises.

Hats off to Mpezeni at least he used his huge platform to advance a just cause for the good of the public, unlike the many who can simply endure silently until they are given the opportunity to air their grievances in five-year timelines.

But there is a huge lesson in what Mpezeni did which Mposha and Phiri can draw upon, and more generally the President and the government they serve under, that leadership should be more about fulfilling the promises to the people as opposed to just making them. They say it is easier said than done. And if it cannot be done, it is better to get back to the people to explain why certain things are not being done as they were promised, rather than piling up more promises on top of the unfulfilled ones. But those in government must be aware that the people they lead are actually more intelligent and discerning as they were rudely shown at the main Ngoni palace.

Mposha is saying those who are rejoicing “baloba ilyauma” because the promises to construct a dam would be fulfilled as it has been held up on account of the bureaucracy. However, when these promises are made they are usually attached to timelines under which they must be fulfilled. We hope the government will deliver those plans as Mposha is promising. But it should not take a dressing down from the paramount chief to actually fulfil the promises the government itself made voluntarily to the people.

The government should draw lessons from that fiasco to work towards fulfilling the many promises they made to the Zambian people, because if they fail to heed Mpezeni’s timely warning, the rebuke next time will come from the millions at the ballot box as opposed to just one paramount chief Mpezeni.

Like Mpezeni, millions of Zambians are watching and waiting for the fulfillment of promises, especially those to do with addressing the skyrocketing cost of living in the country, which is everyday proving a living hell for the masses. This is one of the many promises the President and his administration made, which motivated millions of Zambians to actually come out in their droves in kicking out the PF from office. Time is fast ticking.