Some degree holders are absolute idiots – chief Nyampande
By Christopher Miti in Petauke
Thu 22 July 2010, 15:20 CAT [277 Reads, 0 Comment(s)]
PETAUKE residents on Wednesday outrightly rejected the clause in the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) draft constitution that requires people running for the Republican presidency to be degree holders.
And the residents were divided on whether or not the country should adopt the 50 per cent plus one winning threshold for one to be declared president.
During a forum organized by Caritas dubbed ‘key governance issue at hand’ at Petauke’s Rift Valley Lodge, the residents said the clause was segregative.
Chief Nyamphande said Zambians should not be carried away by a person’s academic qualifications because even people with minimum qualifications could make good leaders.
“You know some people have been to universities but they are absolute idiots. So don’t be carried away by academic qualifications,” chief Nyampande noted.
“If we were rational all of us this should not even be an issue because the electorate would be able to judge and choose those who are capable.”
He said Zambians should vote for people who were capable of providing leadership.
Chief Mumbi said the issue of having degree holders as presidential candidates could only work out if the country had a well developed education system.
“If you say this should be adopted in the constitution then you the rural folk and your children will not be presidents. How many of you here have even the money to send your children to the university? Our children should not be denied chance to be presidents because they don’t have degrees. You know when you take some people to the university then they turn into bigger idiots,” chief Mumbi said.
Petauke’s St Oscars Catholic assistant parish priest Fr Bonaventure Kamlewe said the degree clause should not be enshrined in the constitution because it was highly discriminatory.
Fr Kamlewe said leadership mostly depends on upbringing.
Nyika MMD ward councilor Osman Ahmed Moosa said the issue of a degree as a requirement for presidential candidates could not work because very few people had access to university education.
Moosa said education does not change a person.
And Manyane ward councilor Winford Tembo who represented the council chairman said the 50 per cent plus one winning threshold was good and should be adopted.
Chief Mumbi said the 50 per cent plus one clause was good because it would ensure quality leadership and reduce election petitions.
But Moosa said the 50 per cent plus one threshold could not work well in Zambia because of the squabbles that characterize elections even at a lower level.
After further debate, the issue was subjected to a vote but there was a tie as people could not agree on one particular position.
The residents also recommended that abortion and death sentence should be abolished.
The residents recommended that a sitting president should vacate State House within 24 hours after losing elections.
They also said the minimum qualification for a parliamentarian should be a grade twelve certificate.
Later, chief Sandwe commended Caritas for organizing educative fora.
Chief Sandwe said such fora should take some days and not just one day.
Caritas Chipata director Fr Richard Chiyanjano Phiri said Caritas would continue organizing such fora in the province.
Caritas held a similar meeting in Nyimba yesterday.
©1991 - 2010 Post Newspapers Ltd.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Re-thinking Leadership
Leadership
The current thinking surrounding leadership focuses on the relationship of one with another or one with the group or organization and to a lesser extent on one with oneself. The corporate world has hijacked the notion of leadership confining it to organizational guidance which entails, in a simplified way, the art of compelling other people to want to perform certain duties which otherwise they would not. In today’s society, as was in ancient times, those who influence the largest number of people for the longest time are perceived to be good leaders. Some of these people master the philosophy and techniques of influence but do not personally espouse the very ideals underlying the duties they compel others to perform. Plainly, organizational leadership is about power and title.
True leadership emerges from one’s exemplary life. Leadership does not depend on one’s ability to compel people to act in a certain way. Rather, true leadership is one’s ability to produce timeless knowledge that people seek to sustain and improve their lives.
It should not be a surprise then that people with real power are those who have insights, thoughts, ideas and ultimately knowledge about things that bring about permanent change in human life.
Leadership in action
Thoughts are things. Every object possessed by humans began with an imagination, an insight then developed into a thought in somebody’s mind. A thought turned into an idea gets translated into a physical item, a thing, and ultimately a contribution to the body of knowledge. Just about everything we think we know emanated from the mind of somebody; from tiny objects to the biggest there is. Things we learn in school are products of somebody’s brain work.
True leaders are those who have contributed to irreversible development of human life; those who create that which is essential to sustenance and improvement of life. Consumers of such contributions, at any level, are not leaders but followers. Consumers seek the output - knowledge - of those who dedicate their lives to producing the essential knowledge. Therefore, spending vast amounts of time memorizing and parroting output of others does not constitute leadership. It only makes one a resourceful consumer. Consumers borrow, buy and sometimes forage freely other people’s output. Leaders on the other hand create new knowledge, complement or supplement the output of others for their own consumption and, unintentionally, that of others.
New Thinking
The world is controlled by people whose knowledge they themselves and other people need. Leaders represent their output and their output represents them. It takes the character of a person to produce a certain output. That particular output bears the mental DNA of its producer. So much so that when people effectively demand and consume the output, they are consuming a piece of the producer.
Therefore to have a positive transformational effect on others, one has to begin by transforming oneself. Such transformation, though, must not be with the intent to ultimately influence other people but to develop oneself into the best human one can be. To achieve that, one must independently determine the significance of improving oneself. Having a burning desire to be self sufficient in thoughts is the starting point. Love of self, respect and appreciation of oneself are the logical subsequent steps.
One must understand that he or she is unique and cannot be another person no matter how hard one tried. There is only one of us at any one point in space and time; existing to play a role in the cycle of life. Life is a forward process and each one has a right to decide one’s purpose. One person can neither live two lives at one time nor can they live that which they missed because they chose another, because there is no such thing as going back in time. Lest the control of one’s mind be construed to have been handed over to the control of others, one is encumbered to decide one’s own destiny.
It is important to understand that one would gain mileage toward becoming the best person one can be if one spent time improving oneself in place of living in the shadow of someone else. Consequently, by taking actions that are consistent with one’s desire to be the best one can be, one’s character becomes grounded in universal governing values.
Achieving this, calls for one to reach deep inside and intuitively explore their character, long moments of reflection and self analysis. One must determine for oneself how to make their life meaningful in the broader human context.
The institute will not attempt to train people to be leaders of others but themselves. One cannot be a leader of another unless one achieves high level of success at leading oneself. Self leadership, therefore, clearly stating one’s purpose in life, writing it down, drawing specific steps one has to take to live up to the requirements of that purpose, working on a daily basis to fulfill that purpose. Being true to oneself simply means that one is always conducting oneself in accordance with one’s self determined purpose. It is in the process of living up to one’s own expectations that freedom of thought is developed. A free mind is a fountain of insights which turn into thoughts and then into ideas and ultimately things.
Copyright 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
No one is bigger than the other
Thought:
There is very little that people care about that they don't know. If you sincerely think they don't know about something, be sure that they don't really care about it.
My philosophy:
People cry only when it hurts bad enough. And if you made them, they will let you know.
Opinion:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)