What they said then….
Support Cuundu Chaitwa, Regional Groupings-Dr.Elias Munshya
Regions are vital ingredients of our democracy.
Without regional power and peculiarities, Zambian democracy would have long perished.
The best way for Zambia is a heterogeneous political polity and a diverse confluence of various regional patterns and preferences.
Instead of castigating regionalism, we must now, more than ever, embrace it and leverage it for national development.
The issue should never be about destruction of tribes and regions, but rather equal respect for all and by all. And that includes respecting “cuundu chaitwa”.
While we were all intoxicated by the charm of Frederick Chiluba and his team of magicians in the 1991 elections, there was one region that stood firm against the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD): the Eastern province. The Easterners did a “wako ni wako” and decided to stick with Kaunda’s UNIP.
Those 25 seats held by UNIP in the east saved Zambian democracy.
Those seats assured checks and balances in parliament.
They provided a cushion.
Had Frederick Chiluba won all the seats in parliament, we would have lost our democracy. In 1991, and years after that, Zambian democracy was saved because a region decided not to follow the whole country in the sweeping of change.
Cuundu Chaitwa: Leveraging the power of regional politics in Zambia
