Controversy over national indaba

A cloud of doubt hangs over the outcome of a national meeting scheduled for Friday, which Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa hopes will calm the country's political tensions. Opposition political parties, civil society groups and churches have said they would boycott what is being referred to as the "big indaba", and have called on Mwanawasa to postpone the meeting to a later date, after a more consultative preparatory meeting. The indaba initiative has been plagued by criticism and suspicion ever since president Mwanawasa announced it in September. Responding to the vocal opposition to his administration - beginning with the opposition's legal challenge to his 2001 election victory - Mwanawasa called the meeting to iron out differences over national issues. But the conference has morphed into something akin to a constituent assembly. Every conceivable association and organisation has been invited to the three-day affair, which covers an agenda so diverse as to attract the participation of groups ranging from polo clubs to karate and youth associations. However, Zambia's four main opposition parties, the United Party for National Development, Heritage Party, Patriotic Front, and the Zambia Republican party (ZRP) have said they would boycott the indaba. Church groups, the influential Oasis Forum, which represents lawyers and civic bodies, and the Non Governmental Coordinating Committee (NGOCC) and its affiliates, have also said they would not attend. The critics claim the objective of the indaba is unclear, judging from the lack of prioritising of topics to be discussed. "The agenda is too wide for any meaningful debate. Currently the country is facing serious challenges around the constitution review process, the fight against corruption and the need for inter-party dialogue. We would have expected the indaba to have been focused on one or two issues for the set time frame," explained Florence Chibwesha from the NGOCC. The government has faced a gruelling time over civil society demands for a genuine constituent assembly, strike action by public sector workers for better pay, splits within the ruling party, an aid freeze by the donors to punish overspending, and the ongoing challenge in the Supreme Court to Mwanawasa's election victory. Opposition parties wanted to agree on the agenda and the selection of delegates at a pre-indaba meeting, with a commitment from the government on the need to discuss inter-party dialogue, and consensus on the mode of reaching conclusions. But secretary to the cabinet, Leslie Mbula, has shrugged off the opposition complaints and advised them to go ahead with their boycott because the indaba was not called to discuss narrow political concerns, but broader national issues. "Not everyone wants to talk about politics. There are other issues that interest people," he said. Mwanawasa insisted on Thursday that the opposition was not in any position to dictate the agenda because it was his meeting, and those who chose to boycott were "cowards", scared of debate. But according to Emily Joy Sikazwe from the NGO, Women for Change, the government has got it wrong. "You cannot give such short notice for a big meeting as this - we have to consult our constituencies and agree on positions." And, she noted, "where are the people in the villages and rural areas? How can there be national building if the majority of the people of Zambia are continually left behind?" The question of who would chair the meeting, which so far is expected to attract over 900 delegates from among the smaller political parties, business associations and NGOs, has also been in contention. Though the government has given assurances that it would be a "neutral, respected" Zambian, not everybody is ready to believe them. "If we do not know who is chairing the meeting - one day before the meeting - we wonder whether the resolutions from the meeting will be binding to everyone," said Wynter Kabimba of the ZRP. In exasperation, Mwanawasa on Monday lashed out at the opposition parties, describing them as "professional critics", who automatically rubbished whatever the government tried to do, "without even first considering whether there is merit". But Laura Mitti Banda of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace said Mwanawasa should listen to his critics. "No one is saying the indaba is a bad idea, we just want it done properly. All we are saying is: postpone it, so that we can all agree on the process, and come out of the indaba feeling we have gone some way in solving the crises the country is facing. It is him that must do the critical analysis and figure out what exactly people are opposed to." Zambia Alliance for Progress leader Dean Mungomba alleged it was Mwanawasa's "intransigence and irresponsible conduct" that were the main cause of the tension in the country. "Look, he cannot even hear what we are saying about the postponement, or take our views into consideration. So what kind of dialogue can we have in the indaba?" But the Zambia Union of Financial and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW), the only labour union to accept the government's invitation, said the boycotters were not being sincere. "People have been crying for this opportunity, and everyone was agreed that we needed to have a meeting to resolve issues, so why are they boycotting?" asked ZUFIAW president Cephus Mukuka.