• CHIEFTAINESS Malembeka.

By MARTIN NYIRENDA –

ZAMBIA will not be wise enough to quit the metamorphosis of certainty for an uncertainty.
Previous regimes, to some extent, failed to marry the important role of traditional leaders in their charlatan governance systems.
Former MMD Vice President, the late George Kunda, lucidly underscored the importance of recognising the involvement of chiefs in the national development process.
Only fanatics of hypocrisy will beg to dispute the truism that an average soul diagnoses this point, while others don’t fully appreciate it or are just ignorant on how best the partnership should be intertwined.
One way to forge the relationship is by promoting traditional ceremonies at the same spell integrate traditional leaders in the national institutional framework.
Again, it is a fallacy to cogitate that Zambia can develop without the involvement of chiefs, especially that they are, no doubt, vehicles to accelerating national development.
Little wonder Mr Kunda intoned that chiefs play a vital role in accelerating development in the nation because vast and potential resources in the country are found in chiefdoms.
Rightly so, traditional leaders are true partners of government and that is the cardinal goal why the Government has pledged to remain unswerving to working with chiefs in areas of national governance.
In countries such as South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and Namibia, traditional leaders continue to play important roles in fostering sustainable national growth — effectively contributing to key sectors of the national economy such as agriculture, education, health, mining and tourism, among others.
Some governments elsewhere consult traditional leaders on priority areas requiring urgent socio-economic attention as they are also availed platform to influence policy related issues and other developments being undertaken across the spine of the national economy, including those programmes tailored to benefit their chiefdoms.
Community Development, Mother and Child Health Minister, Emerine Kabanshi, calls on traditional leaders to continue playing an important role in growing the country.
To endorse Government’s commitment to engage traditional leaders in the development agenda of the country, Ms Kabanshi says the Patriotic Front (PF) administration has already approved the revised national decentralisation policy which recognises the important role that traditional leaders play in national development, something which weighs in the truism that traditional leaders still hold important roles in today’s modernised world — they are a vital part in the national development agenda.
In a snap interview with this author, Chieftainess Malembeka of Mpongwe district intones that traditional leaders play central roles in rural communities, especially in facilitating the upholding of local customs and culture, providing advice, settling disputes, speaking up for others and providing spiritual council.
When you attempt to comprehend the essence of these contentions and counter-contentions, it is easy to acknowledge that traditional leadership positions combine, and go beyond, the roles of our democratically appointed leaders in the provision of an array of societal services.
Indonesian public policy analyst at the Strategic Asia Institute Bali, Ida Ayu Cintya endorses the need to involve traditional leaders when creating polices that affect society.
As the Millennium Development Goals aim to empower local governments, it is important for increasingly decentralised countries around the world to take note of the type of local governments that are effective — unlike the kinds that are often implanted through the domination of the Western Hegemony in cultural societies especially in Africa as traditional leaders from the chiefdoms, kingdoms or even sultanates still retain considerable local influence — although their effectiveness in helping government function and local regions develop is most often underplayed!
Traditional leaders’ level of participation in public affairs vary widely from region to region. In areas that have strong ties with historical and cultural customs, the involvement of traditional leaders is strongest.
In a recent interview with this author, Copperbelt minister Mwenya Musenge underscores that the PF administration is upbeat to engage the traditional leadership in the countries on all issues related to national governance and growth.
Traditional leaders such as kings, princes and royal dignitaries still bubble with considerable power and influence over the national policy formulation agenda, which influence evolve in more than one form.
Traditional leaders still exist and are still deeply entrenched in many parts of the world, from Africa to the Middle East.
Even in the United Kingdom, a developed country with a long-established democratic system, the queen is still the head of state and widely respected. None of the mainstream political parties want or even have any plans to change this.
The tradition is deep rooted and ingrained into society. When we think about modern governmental structures and regional development, local customs and cultures, traditional leaders should be incorporated into the process — not sidelined.
Elsewhere in the world, traditional leaders often manage to keep order and deliver public goods and services in seriously challenging situations. In Afghanistan, for example, local leaders and tribal chiefs perform better than the institutions of the official Afghan government or the advanced western armies of NATO in providing public services and security.
In Ghana, traditional leaders are almost inseparable from the implementation of government policies. Researchers have found that these leaders complement the efforts of their democratically elected counterparts, especially when the latter is faced with challenges such as economic meltdown or development, including quality provision of basic public services.
For example, when the construction of public infrastructure stalls due to a lack of funding, informal leaders have assisted in seeking contributions from the local community and put up their own money in order to ensure the completion of beneficial projects.
Some traditional leaders, like Chieftainess Malembeka and Senior Chief Chiwala of Masaiti District have also proved themselves to be good at informing their communities about the dangers of child marriages, HIV/AIDS and charcoal burning, pollution, among others — effectively highlighting ways to address contemporary issues confronting society.
Good enough too, government has doubled strides crafted to halt the unprecedented incidences of social vices afflicting the rural community. Among issues government is addressing to improve the welfare of traditional leaders and the rural folk in general, which may also include taking basic social services aimed at uplifting the welfare of rural communities such as constructing health facilities, schools, bridges as well as upgrading road networks, implementing the grand rural electrification programme, among a host of other significant national developmental projects.
Many would attest that such innovative approach to improve the welfare of chiefs in the country remained imaginations.
As decentralisation continues in Zambia and elsewhere, traditional leaders — equipped with their local memory bank of wisdom and knowledge — should be given a larger role in society to help government fire service provision to the people, which is recipe for national growth.
On the whole, they should also utilise the House of Chiefs to champion the plight of society since they are an important fragment for local governance to function effectively and socio-economic and development to take right footing.
Zambians are thirsty for policies crafted to improve their wellbeing!
On balance, modern democracy should and can work side by side with local traditions and customs for the benefit of all.
Otherwise, it is still the worst form of human hypocrisy to quit the role of the traditional leaders.