Should broke politicians be appointed to Ministerial positions?

Advocates for Democratic Governance Foundation (ADEG) has […]

Advocates for Democratic Governance Foundation (ADEG) has indicated that financially strained and broke politicians entering public office could pose risks to the management of public resources if their motivation for seeking office is personal financial gain.

Speaking in an interview with Zambian Business Times – ZBT, ADEG Executive Director, Gideon Musonda said leadership should primarily be about serving citizens rather than recovering money spent during election campaigns.

“Leadership is about service, and all those who aspire to be leaders should prioritize service as their main objective for their contestation,” said Musonda.

He said the high cost of political campaigns could, however, create an environment where politicians feel compelled to recover the money they spend once they are elected.

“There is a research that was done by TIZ that spoke to MPs on an average of K3 million that is required for them just to mobilize and contest for the elections,” said Musonda.

He said such high campaign costs risk turning politics into an arena dominated by wealthy individuals while shutting ordinary Zambians out of leadership opportunities.

“It’s like we are leaving politics to the rich people,” said Musonda.

He warned that politicians who spend heavily to secure office may be tempted to seek ways of recovering their campaign expenditure after winning elections, creating potential risks for public resources.

“When they are elected, they would want to plow back, or maybe find a way of them gaining the money that they lost when mobilizing for their candidature,” said Musonda.

He stressed that public office should never be viewed as an opportunity for self-enrichment, regardless of how much an individual spent during the campaign.

“The objective should be more to do with the service rather than self-in-service, service for others, for people who are electing them, and not self-enrichment,” said Musonda.

Meanwhile, he stated that politicians who lose elections should accept the choices made by voters instead of publicly framing their campaign expenditure as a personal loss.

“People’s choices should be regarded as final,” said Musonda.

He added that voters should judge leaders beyond their financial capacity, arguing that genuine leadership is demonstrated through consistent service to communities even outside election periods.

“Sometimes, it doesn’t take the election period, campaign period to make serious assessment about those community leaders,” said Musonda.

He stated that politicians should demonstrate commitment through practical community service rather than relying on money or handouts to win public support.

“Have you been of service on simple things like unblocking drainages, doing those community works where you help out?” asked Musonda.

He further noted that the current political environment requires reforms to reduce the financial burden of campaigns and restore public confidence in political leadership.

“Basically, electorates cannot be hoodwinked with handouts, you need to do a lot for you to be elected,” said Musonda.

Article by Philip Sinkala. Philip is a Journalist & News Analyst at the Zambian Business Times – ZBT