ZAMBIA does not have a leadership vacuum. There are numerous leaders in enclaves scattered across our society.
What we fail to admit to ourselves is that we citizens have lost our appetite for leadership that speaks to our shared fate and vision.
We look for leaders who confirm our own blasé and fight for our individual interests.
We look for leaders who will engage in public wars for our narrow self interests.
Leaders who share the opinion that the only things that matter are those that only matter to us.
We no longer care about Zambia that doesn’t fit our exact criteria, we don’t care for leaders that negotiates and try to find workable answers that work for all of us.
We want leaders that see a thing exactly as we do, anything less is simply not good enough.
Every day we become less of a nation and more of a collection of groups that can only see things in black and white.
Meanwhile, a country with much potential continues to slowly degenerate.
We should all be concerned that the economy is not producing enough to pay for the social services we speak about, create the jobs we desperately need and build infrastructure that improves the quality of our lives.
What is important is to recommit ourselves to each other and this country.
Commitment doesn’t imply that we always agree with all collective decisions, but it does mean that we commit ourselves to not checking out as soon as things don’t go our way.
Once we have made that commitment, we will be in a better position to choose actions and leaders that reflect that obligation.
If we think we deserve a different kind of leadership, we are responsible for creating the conditions that give rise to it.
We can move beyond hypocritical ideologues to leaders that judge ideas on merit rather than the source of those ideas.
Or we can remain with leaders that bicker while the state continues to crumble.

DOMINIC MUNTANGA
Kabwe