CHISHIMBA KAMBWILI - AN EPITOME OF PRAGMATIC LEADERSHIP?

YOUTH and Sport Minister Chishimba Kambwili is a very frank and action oriented man who clearly desires results from those entrusted with the management of public affairs. He is not new to controversy and never shies away from expressing his mind. Mr Kambwili has in recent times expressed his frustration at many things going wrong particularly in sports and on matters of youth empowerment. When many ministers opt to hide in the veil of collective responsibility and the provisions of the ministerial code of conduct from expressing their personal view, Chishimba does not. He believes in saying things as they are and many in Zambia have expressed concern that he has left a gap in the opposition in as far as pushing government to perform is concerned particularly in the area of championing the interest of workers and the down trodden in society.
Kambwili recently threatened members of the seventeen youth groups in Eastern province that have failed to pay back loans amounting to K331, 000 from the Youth Development Fund with arrest. He said similar action will be taken against any youth group in the country that fails to pay back the loans. He threatened to use the 17 youth groups as an example in order to send a warning to other defaulting youth groups.
At a recent soccer match Sports minister Chishimba Kambwili caused a scene at Nkana stadium in Kitwe when he confronted Ethiopian referee Tessema Weyesa accusing him of bias after Nkana conceded a late penalty in their 4-3 win over Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia. Kambwili took to the pitch to express his annoyance at the mishandling of the match by the referee a move that cheered fans but drew controversial media coverage risking possible punishment from CAF should a formal complaint or case be established out of any complaint been lodged.
Another case in point is Kambwili’s frustration at the lack of a good policy on sports administration in Zambia a position he blamed for possible failure by any of Zambia’s representatives at the Commonwealth games to come home with a medal. According to him it would take only the grace of God for any Zambian athlete to come home with a medal.
Kambwili recently again annoyed the Zambia Sports Fans Association when he said government had no budget to reward the Zambia Women’s National Team for qualifying to the 2014 African Women’s Championships. The association president Peter Makembo urged Kambwili to reverse his statement as it would demoralise the players and urged him to source for the money because according to the association that was his responsibility.
Zambia has immense challenges but has also made great strides towards development but clearly a lot more is needed to accelerate development and address poverty. The Zambia people were endeared to the Patriotic Front because of among factors the pragmatism and forthrightness of its leader Michael Sata and his team members such as Chishimba Kambwili and other MPs who consistently spoke out o the plight of Zambians and never rested in ensuring the failings of the MMD were exposed.
At one point Mr Kambwili led fellow opposition MPs on a march protest to State House to compel the President to address the plight of miners on the Copperbelt.
It would seem that it has taken a while for Mr Kambwili to come to terms with the fact that he is now in government and that he is now in the driving seat of government policy. So when he criticises government for lacking a policy he is actually criticising himself because he is the custodian of government policy under his ministry.
It cannot be ruled out that red tape and cumbersome processes characterise the development of government policies and this can be genuinely frustrating to a minister of Kambwili’s calibre who is desirous of progress and results and efficiency in general.
On the case of the youth with unpaid loans it would have been better for Kambwili to go only as far as directing his officers in his ministry to compile a report on the performance of the loan scheme programme and not demand for a list of those that have not paid back the loans country wide so that necessary action can be taken against them such as arrest. It is shocking that he talks of arrest without stating which law he would use to have them arrested. It needs to be made clear when defaulting on loans became a criminal offence.
But Mr. Kambwili is right in saying that youths accessing funds under the youth development fund should realize that there are other youths willing and waiting to access the funds and government will not tolerate any misuse of the funds by those who access the funds. This is an important point, but clearly as they discuss these matters in cabinet Kambwili needs to ensure that cabinet approves the commissioning of a study on the youth empowerment fund so that it is overhauled and a new one put in place that will make the scheme more viable.
He is also right in saying that failure to pay back loans is a major setback to the country’s economic growth, stating that youths who access the funds are expected to contribute to job creation, reduction in high levels of poverty as well as contributing to the economic growth of the country.
Having said all this our country needs more men of Mr Kambwili’s calibre who are honest with themselves and with the nation and who demonstrate a real passion for driving the country forward.
As a custodian of policy we expect him to announce when the new sports policy will be tabled before cabinet and we expect him to encourage the public and sports associations to make submissions to the 2015 budget on sports administration and management so that next year he may have adequate budget lines to support sports associations to participate in competitive sports tournaments and for investment in sports development programmes