JCTR Bulletin 3rd Quarter 2011

A few weeks ago Zambia witnessed yet another relatively peaceful change of government, the first having been in 1991 when multiparty democracy was introduced. Needless to say, this phenomenon is unprecedented in the African political landscape. Ever since the new Government was sworn in, we have had various pronouncements, promises and appointments that certainly bring hope to many Zambians. More concretely, we have witnessed a reduction in the price of fuel, which many hope will contribute to the reduction of food prices and other services. Whilst these developments seem positive and promising, we can only hope that they are a sign of the transformation that the country stands in need of, and not simply a political transition from one government to the other. Our African experience has taught us that a mere hand-over of power by one government to another does not in itself bring any significant change in a country if there is no positive change in the manner in which the country is governed. Many Africans in post-independent Africa were quickly disillusioned when it became clear that the freedom and prosperity they had hoped liberation from colonialism would bring were still far from realisation. After fighting for liberation from colonialism, they had now to fight for liberation from their oppressive governments. This was mostly because the independent states simply maintained the oppressive institutions and behaviour of the colonial governments and did not transform them for the creation of new political societies. It was a transition without transformation.