CHIEFS MUST CHANGE

MUST Government be pleading with traditional leaders who decide to break the law by inciting their subjects to disobey the country’s laws?

Doesn’t such traditional leaders show that they do not deserve to occupy their hereditary stools of authority in that they have failed to live up to their responsibilities - that of preserving peace in their areas?

We are prompted to ask these questions in the light of the warning issued by Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo against chiefs dividing the nation.

Surely, if a chief is openly advising his subjects to rise against the lawfully elected government then the traditional ruler is breaking the law.

Mr Kampyongo has warned that Government will not tolerate partisan chiefs who are making divisive and tribal statements.

To make it worse, according to Mr Kampyongo, some chiefs are allegedly inciting the public to rise against the government. He says they would face the full wrath of the law.

Yes, chiefs who want to promote chaos in the nation should be visited by the law because they are themselves a danger to society.

Traditional leaders ought to be reminded that they are part of the government who must promote and protect its sovereignty.

By virtue of their position, they are supposed to be nonpartisan and work with the government of the day.

But this is where the snag is.

Mr Kampyongo said Government had noted with concern that some chiefs in Southern Province had continued issuing divisive statements and risked being visited by the law.

While we appreciate the advisory and mediatory role that the minister is trying to promote among the chiefs in Southern Province, they must be warned that their divisive attitude won’t be tolerated forever.

If ever the crunch comes, such traditional leaders should not cry foul, that they were not given a chance to reform and be part of the unitary state that Zambia is.

There is nothing wrong with a chief supporting a political party of his own in an individual capacity.

This is the more reason why certain chiefs in the Southern Province in particular are at loggerheads with the central government.

They have allowed their tribal ties with certain politicians to influence their relationship with the party in power.

Chiefs are supposed to play a key role in the government’s decentralisation policy which entails that they need to implement national policies in their chiefdoms. These benefit their people.

We note for example that President Edgar Lungu and other government leaders always make it a point to pay homage to traditional leaders whenever they visit the countryside.

This allows the traditional leaders an opportunity to engage with the President face to face and inform him of their concerns.

This is a mark of respect from the political establishment and traditional leaders owe it to themselves to replicate by ensuring that they cooperate with the government.

There should not be any warnings to traditional leaders to “toe the line” so to say. They do not have to, but willingly must choose to be part of the government – which they are.

Otherwise, Government must crack the whip and stop their mischief by letting the law deal with them.