IT’S JUST A THOUGHT: ZAMBIAN POLITICIANS AND THE GOLD RUSH

I was just thinking.

 Wouldn’t it be nice to investigate every Zambian politician who got into office from 1991? I would love to know what every one of these men and women had in form of money, property and other assets and what they now have, or had when they left office. My gut feeling tells me that the majority wouldn’t be able to account for the wealth they now have.

We all know school teachers, union leaders, civil servants, doctors and the rest, except lawyers I guess, don’t make a ton of money from their salaries in this country, but how do you explain the farms, milling companies, 4x4’s, children’s bulging bank accounts and properties that these people now have after running for office? How do you explain sudden educational scholarships for their children in Beijing, Moscow, London and Pretoria? Yeh, and the top police brass; how come they own all these mansions in exclusive areas when we all know they get a penny and half for their disservice? No, something isn’t wrong; it’s just not business as usual when you are in public office in this country. You get in broke, busted and disgusted and by the time you come out the other end, money is foaming all over your mouth.

There isn’t any difference between some of our politicians running for public office and the 1848 to 1859 California Gold Rush which brought people from all over the United States and the world to search for gold. There is gold available by hook or crook in Zambian politics and people seeking office from all over this Republic know that there is something in it for them.

I am reminded of an American TV game show I enjoyed watching on ABC, “Let’s Make a Deal”. With the cameras panning across the studio audience, the announcer said, “All these people dressed as they are, come from all over the United States to make deals here in the market place of America; Let’s make a deal! Starring TV’s favorite dealer, Monty Hall!”

The Zambian version would go; “All these politicians, broke as they are, come from all over the Republic to make deals, here on the market place of Zambia; Let’s make some deals! Starring our unashamed dealers; P-O-L-I-T-I-A-N-S!”

I guess this explains why people will do anything to get into political office. If you are going to bribe your way in, beat up your opponents, slander them and all you can use from the Department of Dirty Tricks, don’t you dare tell me you want to be my servant, coz you are lying through your teeth. You want to make bucks and more bucks until the local bank can’t contain your bucks and you stuff them in a tunnel.

I want to petition God for a special place in hell where the temperature is a trillion times higher than the US Federal Government deficit and where these thieves can be cast and their weeping and gnashing of teeth will be beyond what the Richter Scale can measure.

So why am I thinking like so? Because in the saying of that memorable line from the movie “Network”; “I’M AS MAD AS HELL AND I’M NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!”

It’s just a thought.