Publications

THE “FOUR Cs” TO EVALUATE POLITICAL CANDIDATES

Whether or not we have a new Zambian Constitution in 2006 continues to be a very controversial issue and contentious possibility.  Many honestly fear that the desperately needed new Constitution is slipping into the status of a “Millennium Development Goal” – an MDG target that we might (or might not!) reach by 2015!   But there is another issue of great importance about which we should have no doubt: holding of national and local government elections in late 2006.  Unless we are faced with a serious breach or abolition of the current Constitution, elections will surely be with us very shortly! 

So as elections come up within a year’s time for President, Members of Parliament and local Councilors, Zambians should already be considering the qualifications of potential candidates, whatever political party they might belong to.  Let me suggest a simple set of qualifications.  This list is strictly non-partisan, but highly political.  By that I mean that the list is not meant to favour any particular party, in power now or not, but is essential for describing the qualities of candidates of all parties that would seriously contest the elections.

I will call my list of qualifications, or qualities, the “Four Cs.”  I would urge that Zambian voters (hopefully a body of people growing every day of the current registration exercise!) should already begin looking with keen eyes at any woman or man who might seek office in next year’s elections.  These “Four Cs” are: competence, compassion, commitment, and courage.

Competence:  Being a political leader in a country of such vast riches in potential but such immense problems in reality as Zambia is no easy task.  Whether one is President, MP or Councilor, one simply must be bright enough to understand the issues, experienced enough to know the situations and humble enough to cooperate with others in seeking solutions.  How do we know if a person is competent?  Well, to begin with, what is her or his training and track record?  A PhD may not be required, but certainly voters should evaluate the candidate’s ability to intelligently understand acute issues such as poverty eradication and economic growth, national and regional integration, health and education services, employment generation and environmental protection, etc.

Looking carefully at a person’s record can reveal a lot about competence or incompetence.  Nobody goes to a doctor whose practise is marked by consistent death of patients!  So nobody should go to a political candidate whose previous performance demonstrates little or no interest or awareness of how national planning goes on, how effective programmes are designed, implemented and monitored, how future challenges are to be detected and responded to, etc. 

Compassion:  A candidate might be smart (competent) but very unfeeling – that is, not showing any genuine concern for the widespread and critical suffering of the majority of Zambians today.  Most people know the figures, disputed as they sometimes might be: 70% of the population living (surviving?) below the poverty line and unable to meet requirements of the monthly Basic Needs Basket, life expectancy under 40 years, truly shocking infant and maternal mortality rates, etc.  If the Bible tells us that God hears the cry of the poor, then God must currently be hearing plenty of cries coming from this blessed country, whether or not we declare ourselves a Christian nation!

A compassionate individual who seeks political office in next year’s election would therefore be known as a woman or man who cares deeply for the people and is close to them, knows clearly their problems and is willing to personally sacrifice time, energy and even money to alleviate the suffering and eradicate the causes.  Someone who denies that poverty exists in the country, or exhibits a life style so far removed from ordinary people’s realities (able to do so for honest or corrupt reasons?), surely deserves no serious consideration as a candidate to lead the people nationally or locally.

Commitment: We need to hear from any candidate more than rhetorical expressions of what she or he will do for the people if elected.  Voters next year will need to be able to see whether candidates and the parties that they represent actually have shown in deeds what they profess in promises.  Is it true or only fiction that many constituencies never see their MPs except at time of elections?  Why do we hear so many stories about local Councilors being involved in crooked land deals?  Are national leaders perceived as working in a non-partisan fashion on our very great problems or are they seen to be spending more time engaged in political rallies or international junkets?  To be honest, some of these feelings may not be fair or well-grounded.  But in fact the feelings are real and can only be addressed by examples of selfless commitment to the common good and not to party or personal interests. 

Moreover, commitment is a moral quality that is the exact opposition of corruption.  Wouldn‘t we have more progress in Zambia today if some politicians spent less time disputing international measurements of corruption and more time in actual elimination of corruption?  Candidates should be strictly evaluated on their stand against corruption – a stand revealed by honest personal practices and clear distancing from those with shady reputations, even if members of one’s own party.

Courage:  Lastly, a candidate’s worth will be shown by her or his willingness to stand up for principles even in the face of strong opposition, criticism or ridicule.  When the mood among many would-be leaders is lackadaisical in the face of problems or selfish in weighing responses, it takes courage and old-fashioned bravery to go against the prevailing winds.   Does party affiliation determine one’s position on key issues that affect all Zambians or does one have personal values for which one is willing to risk future gain?

For example, was courage shown by any MP recently when votes came to grant mid-term gratuities so that vehicle loans could be paid back (partially!) at the very moment when civil servants’ wages were frozen and schools lacked teachers because of budget constraints?  Where is the courage necessary to push for full-scale investigation and prosecution of the numerous abnormalities being revealed even at this very moment in the Parliamentary Reports and the official Auditor General’s reports? 

Now someone will tell me that this list of “Four Cs” is just not realistic.  Politicians aren’t “saints” – nor are businesspeople, church pastors, NGO leaders or most ordinary citizens!  If Zambian voters (and we do hope and pray we have some next year, given the current apathy about registration!) were to evaluate candidates according to the “Four Cs,” who would possibly be able to win endorsement? 

Well, I think that this objection is itself very unrealistic.  A wise person said many years ago that countries get the leaders that the people deserve.  Surely most Zambians today are competent, compassionate committed and courageous enough to deserve a higher quality of leadership than has been experienced in recent years!  A nationalist and patriotic spirit gripped the country at the time of the Independence struggles and realisation over forty years ago.  Where is it today?  What candidate, what party, represents that spirit?

I’d like to suggest a simple and practical step, one that is strictly non-partisan.  Let the “Four Cs” be adopted as national criteria for electoral eligibility.  Each party fielding candidates for the 2006 elections would open itself to critical evaluation on how its candidates score on the “Four Cs.”  Each individual candidate would speak directly to questions addressed about his or her competence, compassion, commitment and courage.  And all civil society organisations (CSOs) would impartially rank candidates according to the “Four Cs” scale – while they themselves (the CSOs) would be open about their own fulfillment of these values in their structures and activities!

Obviously, a good Constitution would help Zambia have good leaders.  But if we have to wait a while for a new Constitution (hopefully not to 2015 as an MDG fulfillment!), then in the meantime we can intelligently evaluate candidates for leadership positions on the basis of their competence, compassion, commitment and courage. 

Why not? 

Published in THE POST, Lusaka, Zambia  29-11-05

Peter Henriot is director of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR), Lusaka.