Musamba Mumba, going by the name Proud Aushi or Proud Ushi Musamba Mumba is an active blogger whose political insight and prowess is exactly what Zambia needs. In moments of great political intimidation and paternalism Musamba speaks her mind out concerning issues affecting Zambians. She is a critic of President Sata and his Patriotic Front government. On Facebook she receives insults from supporters of the President. And yet she is fearless. In one of her Facebook posts, she answers one of her insulters. She has done this several times – but today, it caught my attention.
In solidarity with her, I wish to republish her statement below. I did not obtain prior permission to do this…and I just hope she understands….Dear Mr. Kick Ass.
Dear Mr. Kick Ass
Mr Kick Ass I want you to know the more threats you make the more guts and stubborn we become to share with the masses what we believe is right. It is our responsibility as Zambians, campaigners activists and the voters to “hold our elected leaders accountable.” This means we have the right to ask our elected members why a promise was not kept or undertaken. We also have the right to encourage other people in the community to put pressure on our leader to deliver the services we were promised when we voted them in. We have the right to join a group that will persistently call on our representative to follow through on pre-election promises.
It is our right and our responsibility as Zambians to speak up if we believe our elected representatives are not delivering what they promised us. We have the power to vote members in and we have the power to make sure they deliver what they promised. It is also our responsibility to make our elected leaders accountable in their administration. We must keep them accountable for their actions. They must act in accordance with the law and in a transparent manner. Just as we all have a responsibility to obey the law, candidates and leaders must also obey the law. If we know that a leader or an elected Member of Parliament has broken the law, we must not be afraid to report them to the police or to the responsible authorities to discipline them. It is our right and our duty to speak out against wrong doing and misconducts by our leaders.
We have the right to basic services in our communities, including health, schools, roads and clean water. We should not accept anything less. We must demand this of our representatives. Following up with our elected members is very significant to ensure that we are not fooled by our elected members who are only interested in making money for themselves and their own families, and who do not really care about the needs of the people in the Constituency and the nation as a whole. Whether the candidate we vote for gain the popular vote and declared the overall winning candidate or not, it is our responsibility as voters to be aware of the promises made to us and to follow up with the winning candidates about how they intend to keep their promises when we voted them in.
Zambia is a democratic nation. This means that we, the people, are the ones with the power, not politicians. We have the power to choose who our leaders are and we must use that power wisely. We have the power to tell our leaders when they are not doing a good job. Make your voice heard.
Musamba Mumba
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