FROM CABBAGE TO A WALL “ICHIBUMBA”
There is a lesson in the life of Zambia’s Third Republican President, Levy Patrick Mwanawasa Z”L, that every generation must learn before it is too late.
When President Mwanawasa assumed office in 2002, he did not inherit a nation at ease. He inherited an economy weighed down by debt, struggling industries, food insecurity, and a population whose confidence in leadership had been shaken. The national treasury was under immense pressure. Drought had struck. Hunger was real. The road ahead was uncertain.
Our own Zambian history teaches us that the greatest leaders are not judged by the condition of the nation they inherit, but by the courage with which they confront it.
Many citizens may not remember today that President Mwanawasa Z”L was one of the most ridiculed leaders in modern Zambian politics. He was mocked relentlessly. He was called “Cabbage.” His opponents did not debate his policies. They debated his person. They questioned his abilities. They laughed at him, but while others were busy inventing insults, Mwanawasa was busy rebuilding foundations. While others were measuring speeches, he was restructuring an economy. While others were chasing headlines, he was restoring confidence in Zambia.
Leadership often suffers from a painful contradiction, i.e, the people see the hardship of reform, but they do not immediately see the fruits of reform.
A nation that has accumulated debt cannot become prosperous overnight. A damaged economy cannot be repaired through slogans. Confidence cannot be commanded. It must be earned. Institutions cannot be rebuilt in a day.
The work of genuine transformation is often slow, disciplined and, at times, misunderstood. President Mwanawasa understood this.
Step by step, his administration restored fiscal discipline, strengthened economic management, improved investor confidence, and guided Zambia towards debt relief. The results did not appear immediately. They emerged gradually.l, but once they appeared, they changed the trajectory of the nation.
The same man who was once mocked as a “Cabbage” became known by another name “Ichibumba – a wall”.
A wall stands firm when storms come. A wall protects future generations. A wall does not move because of noise. A wall is built brick by brick, and perhaps that is the lesson Zambia must remember as we approach another defining chapter in our national journey.
Too often, we seek shortcuts. Too often, we confuse temporary excitement with lasting progress. Too often, we reward promises and punish patience, yet every nation that has risen from poverty to prosperity has done so through discipline, consistency, planning and sacrifice.
The foundations of prosperity are rarely dramatic. They are built quietly.
We must understand that what appears unpopular today may become wisdom tomorrow.
The crowd called him a cabbage. Time called him a statesman; the crowd saw weakness. Time saw strength; the crowd saw a moment. Time saw a builder.
As citizens, our responsibility is not merely to judge today’s discomfort. Our responsibility is to ask a more important question, “Are we building a Zambia that will stand ten years from now, twenty years from now, fifty years from now?”
Whether one agrees with him or not, President Hakainde Hichilema is leading Zambia under circumstances that bear striking similarities to those faced by President Levy Mwanawasa, SC, of blessed memory. Like Mwanawasa before him, he inherited an economy requiring difficult decisions, structural reforms and patient rebuilding. The architects of recovery are rarely celebrated at the beginning of the journey. More often, they are judged by the hardships they confront, only to be appreciated later for the foundations they quietly laid.
Saviour Chishimba
President
United Progressive People (UPP)
Personally, I regard Mr. FJT Chiluba and his Finance Minister, Mr. Ronald Penza as the architects of Zambia’s economic recovery. They took over an economy that had all but collapsed under UNIP. They made the tough decisions that laid the foundation for a sustainable and buoyant economy.
Mr. Mwanawasa and his Finance Minister, Mr. Ng’andu Magande simply rode on the momentum gathered by Mr. Chiluba and Mr. Penza. Credit rightly belongs to Messrs Chiluba and Penza for the upturn in the economic fortunes of Zambia. This is, however, not to diminish the contributions made by Mr. Mwanawasa et al. They had the sense to build on the foundation laid by their predecessors instead of destroying it.
President Hichilema and hus Finance minister, Mr. Musokotwane, are doing exactly what Mr. Chiluba and Mr. Penza did and the benefits of the firm foundation they have laid will be felt after 2031 when HH leaves office after his second term.
