The Emperor’s New Dawn: Reform Aspirations for 2023

The Emperor’s New Clothes is a fairy tale about a vain leader that cared only about the clothes he wore. As the saying goes, fashion is the science of appearing to be rather than being. Some similarities can be drawn between the UPND administration and the Emperor in Anderson’s story. The UPND has a hunger to appear, progressive, democratic, and respectful of human rights, a vanity of sorts. Yet there are minimal reforms to back the appetite. This appetite for self-praise was evident at the last press conference the Head of State held where, amid crippling load shedding, he boldly claimed that nobody was experiencing load shedding yet. Even more worrying for the President is that nobody dared to question or dispute his assertion despite most people present knowing this was not true. In Lusaka, load shedding had begun a week earlier.

The detachment of leaders from the everyday experience of the public is not new. The inability of the people close to the President to provide advice and counsel are also not new. Mr Hakainde Hichilema is not the first and will not be the last President that is detached from the plights of most Zambians.

The euphoria that characterised the 2021 election results is slowly ebbing away. The UPND administration has made some tremendous strides in turning the country around from the mismanagement that was commonplace during the PF era. However, so far, some of the UPND wins have been rather hollow and cosmetic. For example, while the repeal of the Defamation of the President provision in the Penal Code is welcome, the fact that the Penal Code still contains provisions on criminal defamation means people can still get arrested for criticising those in power. Further, there is nothing stopping the Police from arresting and charging someone for defaming Mr. Hichilema under the provisions relating to criminal defamation. The Minister of Justice is reported to have said that those currently being prosecuted for Defamation of the President will be prosecuted and if found guilty convicted. Among those currently prosecuted are opposition leaders that have been quite vocal about the current administration. The law does not apply retrospectively, a properly intentioned and thought-out amendment would have made this possible. Also, while the repeal of the provisions relating to the death penalty is welcome, for a country that had a moratorium on implementing the death penalty, it is by extra-judicial killings that the State has often violated the right to life. I would venture an educated guess that since independence, there have been more extra-judicial killings than persons executed even when there was no moratorium.

While there has been some improvements and steps towards improving the governance in the country, a lot remains to be done. The backslapping, self-glorifying, and self-congratulatory tone taken by those close to the president and the president himself mirrors the praise of the imaginary clothing in ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’. Pronouncements on the sanctity of life have no benefit to the people that lose their lives at the hands of the police and other state agents.

However, it is not all doom and gloom. 2023 is a critical year for the UPND administration to begin implementing comprehensive governance reforms. There is still time to spin thread and avoid the embarrassment of the naked emperor. In this article, I share some aspirations for reforms the UPND can prioritise over the next year. I hope that the suggestions at the very least point towards a source of thread that can be woven into clothing for the New Dawn administration before it holds its next parade praising its achievements.

But First, A Case for Reforms: Good Laws, Good Policies, and Bad People

It goes without saying that reforms are essential to responding to changing societal needs. The UPND administration has repeatedly stated the ways in which it is different from the previous administration. The government cannot expect to be different if it governs using the same structural tools that previous administrations used. The government generally operates within a policy and legislative framework. To quote my lecturer during my Bar Course, “nothing happens out of fashion”. Policy, law, and regulations are the structural tools that the government uses to function. The government cannot legitimately claim to have changed much without the corresponding changes to the structural framework that previous administrations operated under.

The President has stated, the previous administration comprised of bad people taking advantage of the good laws, ensuring that there is sufficient policy and legislative clarity to prevent this from happening is essential.. If a law allows bad people to do bad things, and somehow also allows good people to do good things, it lacks the necessary clarity to make it effective. There is a strong case to support the argument that the inequality and injustice we observe in Zambia are a result of structural injustices. Therefore, to continue to use the laws and policies that cause the inequality and injustice, is to perpetuate ?inequality and injustice.

The policies and laws that comprise the Zambian governance landscape have largely remained unchanged since independence. The text of the laws and policies may have changed, but the historical power structures still exist and, in many cases, have been strengthened over time. It is difficult to imagine how the government today is more accountable than ?previous governments . History has shown the need for governance systems to adequately respond to historical injustice. For example, the phenomenon of autocratic legalism is not new. In 1972, Nkumbula challenged a Bill that sought to introduce a one-party government in Zambia. Kaunda in essence used the ‘autocratic legalist’s handbook’ to turn Zambia into a single-party state. In 2019, a Bill was presented to the National Assembly to amend the Constitution. The Bill in essence, sought to consolidate power in the Executive and make it virtually impossible to remove an incumbent from office. Further, the Bill would have made future constitutional changes easier to achieve by the party in government. When the 2019 Bill was challenged, the Attorney-General and Constitutional Court relied on the 1972 Nkumbula case to argue that a Bill cannot be challenged. Without, going over the merits of that challenge, it is evident that the decision of the majority did not consider the history and context of the Bill and the challenge. While the text of the Constitution of Zambia had changed between 1972 and 2019, the power structures that exist remain largely the same and therefore the outcome was the same.

The example of changing laws and policies but stagnant power shifts can be observed in how Zambia continues to grapple with its devolution settlement. This is because, devolution involves actually shifting power. Therefore, changing the text of laws and policies, without shifting power will always result in incoherency and ineffective implementation of laws and policies. Meaningful reforms are therefore necessary to address the various governance challenges the country faces. Lewis Gordon observes that social transformations in the name of justice are fought against injustice and that fixing such societies requires eliminating injustice.

New Year Reform Resolutions

The Constitution

The most important reforms the UPND administration needs to implement are constitutional reform. The President and Government officials have repeatedly stated that they are going to undertake constitutional reforms. The concerns that several stakeholders have raised is that a little over a year in office and there is little information about the reforms to be undertaken. The President has indicated that the government will look at the Constitution. Firstly, his government will address the non-contentious issues. This approach has been repeated by the Solicitor-General.

This approach raises several concerns. Firstly, there has been little ?information shared about the “looking that the constitution”. Therefore, one can assume that the government is looking at the constitution without engaging the public and stakeholders. A constitution making process must be people driven, providing information on the nature of the review is critical to ensuring that there is ownership of the constitution. Further, the UPND administration cannot on its own determine what is and what is not contentious within the context of constitutional reforms. Finally, a piecemeal approach to reviewing the constitution shows a naivety and limited appreciation and understanding of the interconnected nature of governance. The different provisions of a constitution speak to each other, laws, institutions, and the whole of society. The constitution does not envisage silos in governance. A piecemeal approach to constitutional reform is therefore not a prudent approach given some of the challenges pointed out by commentators.

The public and various scholars have repeatedly called for a new constitution. A new constitution is not one that just changes the text of the law. The power structures that underly governance and perpetuate injustice and inequality need to be changed. Reforms must be comprehensive enough to eradicate or begin to eradicate injustice. This means that, there must be a comprehensive review of the constitution and the results of that can then be implemented at once or in a piecemeal manner. The public must be involved in this review process and there must be more transparency than has characterised previous constitution review processes.

The Constitutional Reforms that are to be undertaken must address the power and influence the Executive has over the other branches of government and the people of Zambia. Some of the other issues that the constitutional reforms should address include:

1.??????Limiting Executive influence over how other state organs and independent institutions operate and function and increase the accountability and transparency in the Executive.

2.??????Strengthening the Judiciary by enhancing independence, accountability, transparency, establishing the basis for a legal framework that advances human rights, democracy, and good governance in Zambia.

Enhancing Parliamentary and National Assembly Accountability to the Zambian people. Party patronage and ineffective oversight capacity have limited how the National Assembly and Parliament function. The constitution reform must address these challenges.

3.??????Shifting power to the local level. The reforms must shift actual power to the lowest level. This will mean developing innovative governance systems that put an end to the all-powerful “Lusaka” and empower local communities. The shift must focus on empowering the people and not only building strong local institutions.

The most compelling of arguments for constitutional reforms to be implemented as soon as possible is the need for a new Bill of Rights. The President is aware of the shortfalls of the current Bill of Rights. There has been an abundance of public commentary about how limiting the Bill of Rights is. Even beyond the critique offered by academics, there is need to review the Bill of Rights to ensure it incorporates best practices in human rights protection. The referendum in 2016 illustrated the dangers of running a process that’s not partisan together with an election cycle. 2023 is perhaps the last year before preparations for the next general election begin in earnest. The nature of Zambian politics is that as the general election draws closer, everything will be viewed through the lens of partisan politics. It is extremely concerning how quiet the government has been about this important process.

Further, as altering the Bill of Rights requires a referendum, there is need for extensive public consultation and awareness on the contents of any new Bill of Rights and referendum process. That no road map has been developed or information shared by the government which is aware of the need for these important processes to take place is concerning.

Public Service and Public Reforms

There have been marginal improvements in the capacity of the public service to deliver ?services, however a lot more needs to be done. The President has commented ?how ?elements of the public service ?were “frustrating government efforts to deliver on promises”. What the President must understand is, the public service is a part of government. One arm should not blame the other for its failure. Ensuring that the public service works professionally and objectively is critical to ensuring sustained sustainable development. Unfortunately, the President has contributed to the continued failure of the public service by treating it as a reward system for support rendered. Since taking office, the President has appointed several of his supporters whose qualifications to hold the positions are questionable. This is where strengthening the National Assembly oversight becomes key. There must be a mechanism to protect the President from his own excesses and from the intentions of those looking to benefit through appointments. This can only happen if there is a clear framework detailing the qualifications and experience required for positions in the public service. If indeed we are to have a government of laws and not men, we must ensure that we replace the gaps in the law that allows for the President to reign supreme.

Successive presidents have complained about the public service but have done little to reform it. The public service and the reforms needed to make it efficient, accountable, and transparent are within the power and influence of the President. That only a year in office, and the President is being criticised for doing what he criticised his predecessors of doing shows how difficult it is to change a system you benefit from. The Seventh National Development Plan included a plan to carry out a public service audit. However, no comprehensive audit was carried out. The audit is an opportunity to ensure the possibility of the much-discussed ghost workers and ensure that the skills and expertise of the people in the public service match the required skills and expertise for the positions they hold.

The need for public service reforms goes beyond looking at the system through which people come to be appointed into the public service. Reforms must also look at the institutional arrangements within the public service. Clarifying the institutional arrangements will prevent duplication and save on resources. Further, it will clear up the challenges that lengthy bureaucracy and procedures present. The President in his most recent press conference alluded, albeit by giving an unfortunate example, of the need to cut down on bureaucracy.

The challenge with implementing public sector or public service reforms is that the entire system is designed to benefit the President, the people who hold power, and the people in office responsible for implementing the reforms. The President can appoint his business partners, friends, allies, and supporters to key public positions where they will in turn appoint their supporters, allies, and friends. To implement these reforms there must be political will which so far appears to be missing. The institutional arrangements can only be reformed where there is a strong political will and adequate technical expertise to design institutional arrangement that work effectively and efficiently. For example, I have in the past questioned the legality and efficacy of the existence of the Industrial Development Corporation. If the organisation’s purpose is to superintend over parastatals, what use are the internal governance mechanism at the parastatals for and where and how do external oversight mechanisms such as the National Assembly play a role in overseeing how the state manages state assets. Such duplication of oversight comes at great cost to the Zambian people. However, to do away with such an obvious leach on public resources would mean disappointing friends and cronies. History has repeatedly showed us that people in power will choose friends and cronies over what is good for the public.

The UPND administration has repeatedly stated how it has taken measures to cut the wastage of public resources. The much-debated fight against corruption is one example of this. During his campaign, the President talked about the need to cut on the procurement of luxury vehicles. This is something well within the scope of the President’s authority. Yet, if you drive or walk around Lusaka the number of government-owned high-end vehicles procured over the last year shows that controlling officers and procurement staff did not get the memo. How public resources are used has been a concern in Zambia for many years. The procurement of vehicles and the luxury and opulence senior government officials live in at the expense of the people they serve is testament to the need for reforms.

In an audit carried out by the Office of the Auditor-General, there was a finding that some parastatals and statutory bodies such as the National Pension Scheme were spending more than the recommended amount on emoluments and other costs. This basically meant that these institutions were using more money than they made and were therefore in the long-term denying beneficiaries of their benefits. It appears that bad business has continued to be the business of government. Institutions such as the National Health Insurance Management Authority, National Pension Scheme, and the Industrial Development Corporation spend obscene amounts in the Zambian context, as emoluments and what can only be described as wasteful expenditure. For example, the shortage of medicine in public health facilities has been the topic of public discussion over the last few months, with a National Assembly Committee constituted to investigate the situation. How the country can face such a critical shortage is befuddling. Whether it is supply chain challenges or the lack of finance, it is difficult to justify some of the purchases and payments that are made at the expense of the core functions of the institutions. It is a sad, sad situation when the institutions established to address inequality are central to perpetrating and perpetuating it. Here again, we can see how ineffective institutional arrangements compound problems by not only duplicating roles and therefore wasting resources but also creating bottlenecks in service delivery and muddying the waters so accountability is difficult.

Another huge burden on the treasury are the unnecessary allowances for conferences paid to public workers. The popular meme of a meeting that could have been email appears to have gone over the heads of controlling officers. This legalised theft of public resources must be addressed beyond the rhetoric of banning certain types of travel and meetings. The President has stated ?that only necessary travel will be undertaken, and small entourages will travel. The reality is because of the centralised governance structure, at any given time, there are hundreds of meetings taking place at luxury hotels and resorts for government officials across the country. There are millions of Kwachas paid out in allowances for travel and meetings which when critically examined could be avoided. Any government that is honest about reducing government wastage would examine this. There is however very little political will to effect comprehensive public service reforms. Further, the public service itself which would be at the centre of facilitating and designing the reforms is unwilling to reform itself. As poet Max Ehrmann wrote, “I'll not bother to reform myself today. Perhaps tomorrow”. Every administration has procrastinated implementing unpopular but necessary public service reforms. The UPND has an opportunity to do this, or to at least begin the process of designing said reforms. ?Enhancing the effectiveness, transparency, accountability and professionalism of the public service will be difficult and may go against the grain of the public service but it is necessary. Fighting corruption has been one of the UPND’s main talking points since before the 2021 general elections, Zambians expect more commitment towards ensuring a public service transparency and accountability framework that focuses on the prevention of corruption and effective remedies. Greater government transparency in how decisions are made whether it be decisions relating to procurement or recruitment or any other government business, are key to preventing corruption. The UPND administration is commendably overseeing a review of the Anti-Corruption Policy and related laws. However, there are concerns about whether the policy and legislative proposals in the draft policy are informed by adequate data to combat corruption and abuse of resources and power.

Public Safety and Police Reforms

For the last few years, there has been increase in incidences and reports of crime in the country. In 2020, Mr Hichilema’s predecessor Mr Lungu stated that he recognised that the public had lost confidence in the Police and directed the then Inspector General of Police to reform the ?police service. This was in the aftermath of the police opening fire on crowds that had gathered to offer solidarity to Mr Hichilema who had been called for questioning at the Zambia Police Headquarters. There have been no public announcements on the reform process the previous inspector general was supposed to implement , and there has been limited discussion from the UPND about the subject.

Police reforms in Zambia should centre on the need to professionalise the Police service including enhancing its crime prevention and detections capacity. Further, the reforms should be a part of broader criminal justice reforms. There is already a platform for criminal justice reforms. Early in the Patriotic Front’s time in office a Commission of Inquiry was appointed to look into broad justice sector reforms. In addition, the Zambia Law Development Commission carried out a review of the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code. Despite my reservations with the efficacy of the process, the reforms that were discussed under the previous administration are a basis for public engagement and design of the needed justice sector reforms.

The UPND administration must begin addressing the problem of increasing crime. The last few years of the PF administration was characterised by what can be described as increased ?lawlessness. The crime and punishment of the last few years was however largely influenced by partisan politics. The President has stated this on several occasions. The crime and violence being experienced in communities today is largely not linked to partisan politics. Instead, it is exacerbated by the high unemployment rates, economic and social challenges and increasing inequality. The President has stated on several occasions that his administration intends to improve the economy. However, evidence shows that an improved economy does not always translate to a reduction in inequality which I would argue is a major driver ?of crime.

Of particular concern since the UPND took office has been the rise in incidences and reports of gender-based violence. The Police quarterly statistics show that there has been a steady increase in gender-based violence with women making up a considerably higher number of victims. The UPND has not made any significant strides in addressing gender-based violence. The only significant policy change was the dissolution of the Ministry of Gender which many commentators have argued undermined women’s rights.

In addition to the challenges enumerated, there are significant issues with the system for holding the police accountable for both failures to carry out their obligations and violation of human rights. In recent times, the Attorney-General’s office has been willing to ?enter consent judgements and issue pay-outs for violations. However, this appears to only be in cases that have had wide media coverage and public backlash. There are however incidents that do not receive the same amount of coverage or where the victim is not politically connected and, in those cases, the government has been callous in their responses for accountability.

The use of problem-oriented policing and community policing would drastically change the way policing is carried out. However, even for those approaches to be implemented, there needs to be greater quality in the policing system. The professionalism and effectiveness of the Police must be greatly enhanced. The Zambia Police appear underfunded and as an institution is regularly ranked as the most corrupt in the corruption perception index. Under the already existing challenges the Police face, without reforms, expecting a change in attitudes and approaches because a new administration is in office is an unlikely dream. To a man that only has a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The UPND administration needs to equip the police with more tools to deal with the increasing crime rates. In implementing problem-orientated policing, the government and police need to enhance their data and research capacity to spot trends in crime and develop adequate solutions. In the context of wider policy and legislate reforms, decentralising the police may also present an opportunity for better Police accountability.

Greater Efforts to Combat Climate Change and Enhanced Environmental Protection

In his last press conference, Mr Hichilema gave the unfortunate example of environmental impact assessments delaying investment. The Presidents statement was not only unfortunate, but it was also ill timed as Zambians continue to face the effects of climate change. The UPND administration has done little to enhance environmental protection. In particular, the government has failed to firstly galvanise local authorities to ensure that there is greater environmental protection at the local level and to ensure that there are greater pollution management systems in place.

There has not been any clear policy or legislative measures proposed or implemented to battle climate change and enhance environmental protection. A common complaint about nearly every town in Zambia is how dirty the town has become. Simple data collection by local authorities would reveal the leading causes of the pollution. The Environmental Management Act has been ignored and the Zambia Environmental Management Agency has not shown that it can effectively protect the environment against powerful political and economic interests. This failure is not unique to the Environmental Management Agency. Agencies such as the Water Resources Management Authority lack the necessary objectivity to prevent powerful interests from injuring the environment.

Over the last few years there has been a push for more Zambians to engage in agricultural activity. Most of the new and old farmers are using traditional farming techniques. As you travel through rural Zambia, where there once were thick forests, there are now landscapes is littered with openings from unsustainable farming methods. In a recent trip to North Western Province, I was astonished at just how much land had been cleared to grow crop in previous seasons but was not being used again.

To address the challenge of unsustainable farming practices, the government needs to provide more effective extension services to enhance the use of sustainable farming methods. Further, not only should traditional leaders be engaged about the disposal of customary land at the expense of subjects, but the land administration system should also be revised to provide greater protection to communities from traditional leaders and enhance property ownership rights for communities. Large tracks of communal land in Zambia are being sold by chiefs who misunderstand their role as custodians of communal lands and not owners.

Democratising land administration would mean ensuring that the power to dispose of land is removed from a few individuals and given to communities. Land is a critical resource and a potential source of conflict. The fact that it has taken so long to implement reforms that give power to local communities is concerning but not surprising. Successive governments have declared Zambia open to investment. Most recently, the discovery of gold in Kasenseli area in Mwinilunga saw a large area fenced off and an entire community denied access to land that they have used for years. The government has not carried out public consultations with the affected communities. If recent large scale mining investments are anything to go by, there will be many dissatisfied people and a few rich ones when the mine becomes operational. The UPND administration needs to ensure that such investments benefit the communities that are affected.

Devolution, Innovative Governance, and Regulation

As stated above, the challenges facing Zambia’s devolution settlement are found in the failure to transfer power and authority to the local level. The misconception that decentralisation and devolution in name only results in greater power at the local level is evident in the legal framework that governs decentralisation and devolution. In addition to the challenges highlighted, there is a failure to develop and implement innovative governance and regulation to improve governance outcomes and enhance economic development.

For example, the load shedding debacle is something that could have been avoided with some innovation and planning. The overreliance on hydro-electric power and in particular the Kariba Hydro-Electric Power Plant has been well documented. Yet, nearly every year, the country faces power cuts. The failure of the power utility company which is managed by the Industrial Development Corporation is not only to do with reliance on the Kariba Dam to generate power. In the Constitution, ‘Electricity’ whatever that means is an exclusive function of the local authorities. However, there is no local authority that I am aware of that manages the generation and transmission, and distribution of electricity. Even discounting the brazen neglect of the Constitution, ZESCO and the Industrial Development Corporation have failed to innovate. A simple introduction of higher-purchase solar equipment installed and maintained by ZESCO would go a long way towards addressing the power challenges the country is facing. Instead, the management at the Industrial Development Corporation and ZESCO are comfortable coasting and earning enormous salaries at the expense of the job that they have—generating, transmitting and supplying electricity

The failure to employ innovation in governance and regulation is also visible in the lack of a public transport system in any of the major towns. The latest census is likely to show a considerable increase in the population in the biggest towns. In many of these towns, there is an increase in the number of private buses and taxis. Cha Cha road is near impassable during the day as there are too many buses to fit into Kulima Tower bus station. This is the situation at every bus station in Lusaka. A close examination will reveal that most of the buses are not in a suitable condition to be carrying passengers. The failure by the local authorities to arrest the situation and the Road Transport and Safety Agency is remarkable. A few years ago, the Road Transport and Safety Agency announced that it was illegal to use short-wheelbase buses as public transport vehicles. Yet, today most of the public service vehicles are short-wheelbase buses. There are obviously major concerns about what would happen if the authorities stepped in now as it would have a crippling effect on the people employed in the sector. However, as someone put it, a crisis requires that tough decisions are made. The current situation cannot be allowed to continue, and the responsibility falls on the government and local authorities to make decisions that benefit the public.

Over the last few years, Zambia has seen a rise in gated communities and housing estates. The estates offer the benefit of better planning than residential areas planned by local authorities. Instead of copying the design and approach, local authorities have rested on their laurels. The result has been new developments that lack basic planning resulting in poor waste management disposal, and poor access to utilities. In addition, if a study were to be carried out, I have little doubt that it would find that poor planning has resulted in an increase in the number of land disputes. Solwezi is a good example of this failure by local and planning authorities to adequately plan towns and cities.

Inequality and Protection of Vulnerable Population groups

The United Nations has stated that there has been a reduction in inequality between countries but and increase inequality within countries. The gap between those that have, and those that do not and the impact of this is increasing within countries. The UPND administration has since coming into office attempted to address this issue by providing financing to marketeers and traders and targeted empowerment schemes for vulnerable groups. Further, the increase in funds available for constituency development have been lauded by commentators as this could potentially empower local communities. However, the problem with this approach is two-fold. Firstly, it assumes that money solves all problems. Secondly, the approach assumes that that the people receiving the money have the same capacities to successfully invest the funds and payback. It is an approach informed by a system that assumes a level of equality.

To address structural inequality, you must address the structures that create the inequality. Therefore, distributing money without any in-depth understanding of the causes of the inequalities may only perpetuate the inequality. Further, the financing opportunities are not informed by local context. For example, the failure by the Citizen’s Economic Empowerment Commission to get pay-outs from loans it has given is well documented. In a study I conducted in circa 2013 on loans to support fish farming in Rufunsa, I found that a considerable amount of the money went towards sinking dry boreholes. Farmers were left saddled with debt for ponds that did not have water and boreholes that were dry. I suspect a feasibility study of the area would have revealed that the area had water scarcity and was not conducive for fish farming. Under the UPND administration, the Citizen’s Economic Empowerment Commission is at it again. If it were not a public body, I would state that the lending appears to be predatory. Most of the people the Commission is supposed to service are from low-income and vulnerable population groups. The average income in Zambia according to salary explorer is six thousand kwacha per month. This translates to about $320 per month. And yet, the Commission is giving loans to people expecting as much as forty thousand kwacha per month paid back. Despite the many Tik Tok videos of millionaires from developed countries stating the benefit of debt, the situation in Zambia is different. Many people will face burdensome repayment obligations for years to come.

In the aftermath of the UPND victory in 2021, I discussed with friends how there was likely to be a change in the nature of violations and injustice in Zambia. And true to tune, I have increasingly come across ?incidences of often poor communities facing displacement from communal land often to the benefit of large corporate interests that the New Dawn Administration has been complaisant with. Unfortunately, vulnerable population groups are not only being disadvantaged in rural areas but also in cities like Lusaka.

A particular concern when it comes to the plight of the most vulnerable is their inability to obtain adequate legal protection and redress. The structural inequalities make access to the justice system difficult for the vulnerable. The PF administration adopted a National Legal Aid Policy and amended the Legal Aid Act, however, there remain gaps in the capacity of the Legal Aid Board to provide effective legal services given the sheer workload and demand for services. It is not just the criminal justice sector where the vulnerable are disproportionately affected. While the President and Ministers are able to afford the best healthcare and education, the quality of healthcare and education needs to be greatly improved as this is what most vulnerable people have access to. That the extremely vulnerable are more than half of the population should give any leader sleepless nights.

Since coming into office, the President’s social media pages are almost weekly littered with photos of the President and smiling business owners and leaders of industry at meetings or photo-ops after discussing how they will make more money for Zambia. Few of the pictures show the President meeting with the common man or woman. Mostly, the poor are met as perfunctory part of the President’s day-to-day business. This phenomenon is not new, politicians spend most their campaigns meeting with the common man and woman and most of their time in office meeting the wealthy. However, what can be seen on the faces and heard in conversations with people on the streets and in villages, is the hope they hold in the President. Mr Hichilema has largely been able to escape the blame for many of the things that are not going right because a majority of the people believe in him. It is time to translate that belief into meaningful action beyond the rhetoric.

A Governance Reset: Comprehensive Policy and Legislative Reforms

None of the areas that are mentioned that need attention by the UPND administration are new. Margaret Atwood once wrote, “The floods, the fires, the tornadoes, the hurricanes, the droughts, the water shortages, the earthquakes. Why did I think it would nonetheless be business as usual? Because we’d been hearing these things for so long, I suppose. You don’t believe the sky is falling until a chunk of it falls on you”. Chunks of Sky have been falling on Zambians for a long time. The business of governing has continued much in the same way as it did before the UPND took office. It is the business-as-usual approach to governance that brought us to the point where a majority of Zambians felt the need to elect a new president.

There is a need to critically examine the entire governance framework and ensure that it is responsive to the needs of the Zambian people. To do this, the government must take more deliberate steps to engage the Zambian people and ensure they participate in carving out their own future. The needs of the Zambian people are not what any single person thinks they are. While the areas of reform are well documented, how the UPND regime is to implement them requires meaningful public consultations and engagement.

There is need to address the challenges with policy and legislative coherence and establish effective mechanisms to provide oversite where there are overlaps. But, most importantly we need political will to make the country better. We need civil servants and people that are paid by the Zambian people to sacrifice the luxury vehicles and allowances for the greater good. Excess should not be at the expense of medicines in hospitals or at the expense of service delivery. We need ministries and public agencies to make use the boardrooms and the magnificent conference facilities that the government owns. The President must stick to his words, “No VXs”. The President must keep his promise to review the constitution.

Conclusion

?2023 is a critical year for the UPND to begin and implement necessary reforms. In the next year, partisan politics will take centre stage and it will be difficult for objective reforms to be implemented. While there has been some notable improvement a lot needs to be done. Every government action or inaction is a debt owed ?by the people of Zambia. The inability to address growing social concerns such as economic inequality, rising crime, and historical power structures are debts Zambians today pay and Zambians tomorrow will pay.

?In this article I have attempted to point out some areas that would be important for the UPND to focus on this year. Mr Hichilema has repeatedly patted his own back for changing the country’s governance and human rights trajectory, however, a critical examination of the efforts made so far will reveal that they are rather cosmetic. The power structures that result in the inequality, injustice, and poor governance still exist. The UPND administration is using and benefiting from them. The UPND has worryingly not been as inclusive as would be expected of an administration that is set to co-host the Democracy Summit.

There is need for stakeholders to work towards building political will to implement comprehensive reforms so that as the next general election draws close by, there will be some settlement in the governance framework unlike the period that characterised the three previous elections. The business of business as usual needs to end. The government must develop clear plans for reforming different struggling sectors.

Helen Hintjens wrote that the ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ story provided a moral for development experts. She was right, beyond that, it provides a moral for every leader. Vanity in governance is a slap in the face of those that are most impacted by injustice and inequality. While the efforts made by the UPND are commendable, a lot remains to be done. As a matter of fact, the most important things have not so much as been glanced at by the government. Before a parade is held to celebrate the beauty of the government and its successes, a critical examination of the beauty and success is imperative to prevent a naked parade and the jeering and laughter of the Zambian people. The hubris shown over the achievements should perhaps be replaced with some introspection about the challenges facing the Zambian people and modesty about the failings over the last year.

The author is a Weaver and Tailor.