The unfortunate and untimely passing of our President Michael ChilufyaSatathrust us into a time of hasty transition to new leadership. While some remember President Sata as a proponent of democracy and a voice for impoverished and often-overlooked Zambians, others mourn while also making the compelling argument that our late president campaigned on many promises that he did not (or could not) keep. Whichever side of this argument you find yourself on, we face difficult decisions regardingfuture political leadership in Zambia. With an election date set and several individuals/camps jostling for the opportunity to lead the nation, I find myself asking:Is the lack of progress in our nation the product of ineffective leaders, or of the lack of incentive for leaders to drive meaningful results? Should we be campaigning harder for a constitution that incentivizes meaningful change rather thancampaigning for specific candidates?
The Zambian constitution affords the president tremendous power, and the high monetary rewards for those in office serve as a disservice to the people of Zambia by standing in the way of meaningful development.
I should be forthcoming in mentioning that I have zero experience in political leadership. My questions do not stem from an affiliation/affinity for one political party or leader, but rather from a genuine concern for the lack of results politicians have achieved in recent years. As far as my background goes, I hold abachelor’s degree in Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular genetics, a Medical Doctorate and an MBA, none of which make me an expert on the Zambian political climate today. I hope to pose questions and analogies to prompt discussion of issues, issueswhich should be front of mind as we approach January 20th 2015.
Presidential Powers
By vesting almost absolute powers in the office of the President, other elected and appointed officials are incentivized to spend too much time courting presidential favor in the hopes of obtaining lucrative ministerial positions. While in some situations (e.g., issues of national safety) absolute poweroffers distinct advantages, blanket executive powercreates an incentive for lower ranking officials to pander to the office of the president. This creates an environment where elected officials are not seeking to create meaningful development for Zambia, but are acting out of self-interest instead.MPs should be in the capital city pushing forth the agendas of their constituents, but insteadare often jostling to earn the favor of one man/woman or those they perceive to be proponents of his/her absolute rule. Too often MPsare rewarded with ministerial positions in exchange for loyalty to the president, and this in turn triggering multiple costly by-elections while changing the balance of power in parliament. In effect, a sitting president can consolidate more power and control over parliament and render elected officials unanswerable to the electorate.
I look at the PF fracas, as a great example of how misaligned incentives can impedethe basic tenants of a functional democracy. Twenty Eight MPs were willing to circumnavigate an agreed upon democratic process of choosing leadership in huge part because they are incentivized to align with a Honorable Lungu that they deem very likely to become President. I would expect MPs truly concerned withSata’s legacy, or a true democracy for that matter, to push for a truly democratic process. Instead it appears that individuals wantingLungu to know that they were aligned with him have used‘out in the open’ supportfor him to help secure future lucrative appointments while alienating others interested in competing for the position of president.
Overall leadership should be elected to serve the interests of individuals residing in a particular geographic location. This group ought to be incentivized to serve the interests of those people which they represent, even if those incentives put them in disagreement with the president. A president with the power to appoint ministers from a group of MPs undermines that very incentive.
Radical Solution: Wouldn’t it be helpful if qualified and well-educated civil servants ran the ministries?A system with appropriate checks and balancesand transparency ought to be a lot more effective than the current system. This would strip the president of his/her powers to appoint, reshuffle, dismiss key ministers at the stroke of a pen and finally have these people working for the masses.
MP Salaries
Holding a political office in Zambia is a sure way to catapult one to riches. This troubles me, as I will explain. Not only is it troubling given we are a developing nation (currently unable to provide adequate education and basic healthcare for most of our citizens) but also because of the role it plays in breakingdown the core incentive structure. Anyone with a job or a business typically has well outlined expectations that we must meet to earn our paycheck; our MPs simply do not. They remain among the fewprofessions, which enjoy a five-year lucrative contract with no accountability for results. MPs spend a few months campaigning and making promises to the electorate, who understands very little about what the MPs actually do. Once elected, they are paid at a ridiculously much higher rate than persons with similar qualifications (an ability to align with the popular party). Further, there is no checking in at the 3,6,9 month point for accountability. We only assess performance at the 5-year mark (at re-election time), which is a recipe for disaster I must say. For those of us that need simple analogies I hope this will put it into perspective;
Imagine owning a store. You interview 60 candidates for the job of store manager, hiring the one you deem most competent to run the store based on how much he/she echoes his/love for your store. Then you guarantee that individual will be paid at 100 times the market rate for the qualifications he/she possess, before your new employee has even worked a single shift. What incentive would this person have to put in the hard work pre-requisite of a well-run and profitable store? If the job attracted as many as 600 candidates, why would you be willing to grossly over-pay for a job others would be willing to do for much less? Would you be willing to pay this much and receive nothing in return?
Simply put, we have a system in place that overpays individuals while almost ensuring that they do nothing to serve the interests of those that elect/hire them.
Radical Solution: Let us pay our MPs salaries reflective of our status as a developing nation. This would also serve to attract leadership that is service-oriented while discouraging the opportunist. I am of the opinion that the MP should earn no more than twice what we pay our teachers while working twice as hard as our most effective teachers. The role of MP should be a noble calling, not a lottery ticket at the expense of those it serves.
I understand I am employing jest to make a broader point. I recognize that this is perhaps at the expense of some high-ranking politicians that would argue they do a whole lot more than I care to mention or understand. I recognize that there is an emotional part to national pride that often has us screaming “nonsense” when a Zambian residing abroad dare speak of anything Zambian in a negative light. Still I remain hopeful that the broader point is not missed. That whoever your preferred candidate is this time around and for whatever reason you believe he/she should lead, creating an atmosphere where our leaders are better incentivized to serve the general population will only make their leadership more effective in the short, medium and long terms.
#konkaumufolo #followtheincentives #campaignharderforanewconstitution
Chali Mulenga, MD/MBA