beauty is in the eyes of the beholder

Yes of course you are right

For a fuller account and more, please visit: www.post.co.zm or www.postzambia.com

For a fuller account and more, please visit: www.post.co.zm

When one looks at what is happening in the mines and the lowly paid workers who run to the streets in order to have their voices heard, one question springs to mind..- 'What is justice or a Just Salary?' How can it be achieved? justice has many faces but one thing is clear, it is related to a state of 'goodness'. Love you neighbour as you love thy self. An employer must do good to the employee by giving him a decent salary and good conditions of service. Thats what justice demands. Anything less than that is injustice and is a smear on the just well being of man. A balance therefore must be struck between the two competing interests of that of the employer on the one hand and the employed on the other. How can it be achieved? Lester Ward, an american sociologist advocated for the adoption of a social policy designed to achieve an unlimited equalisation of opportunity for all members of a community or state. Every individual regardless of sex, race, nationality etc was to be given a full chance to make good in life and lead a worthwhile existence. And Herbert Spencer argued that every individual has the right to reap whatever benefits he can derive from his nature and capabilities.... That means, as the miner toils underground, he must earn his worthy. To each individual must be given a chance to earn a living and be paid a just wage so that he can live a good life....to be cont...

Why would one in this morden day and era be throwing stones at his opponents who happen to hold different political views or just because they belong to a different political party? Why is that in most african countries, it is difficult to tolerate divergent views from our considered political opponents..?. In a democratic country like ours, there should be a tolerance to allow for an expression of political views without the fear of bodily harm. The answer and root cause to these problems probably lies in our weakened electoral system. The electoral system in zambia has done very little in mitigating the clear divisions that exist amongst the people of this country. A strong and vibrant electoral system is one that endevours to protect all political players regardless of their political affiliations. To try and pretend that these problems do not exist calls for an indictment on our electoral system. Our electoral laws have failed to address the major cause of discord and division amongst the various players. A prominent problem that has emerged and which need to be addressed is that voting in zambia is slowly being reduced to a tribal affair. The motto of 'One zambia One nation' is no longer guiding us. Of the 10million population, there are about 73 tribes in zambia. Surprisingly, these same tribes are the ones that influence who takes political office. This tribal phenominal is not new to zambia. It may be traced back to pre-indepedence era. ANC was considered a tonga party and had its strongest support in the southern province(tonga is the main tribe in the southern province). This was so because the top leadership hailed from there. Even today, that is the trend. A bemba speaking leader will automatically attract a larger bemba following and support. Under these circumstances, it is no surprise that the people of one region will try and silence the voice of a person considered to be an outsider even when he is speaking sense. Even when it comes to electing parliamentary candidates, the first unwritten qualification and rule is that of his tribe in relation to where he is standing. This trend is a threat to democracy and a clear recipe for violence. As documented by the picture above, tribal politics and their negative effect on democracy need to be checked.

Hi Patrica, nice quote there and thanx. I intend to respond to you on this one in a moment...

And when the idea is wrong or full of malice, what happens to the followers and to those that oppose such an idea?. The consequences would be grave. Therefore, while Bikos quote may have worked to re-energise the struggle to end apartherd, it cannot be said to be of value to other situations as it is not possible to read the mind behind the idea..motive is usually always in disguise. The best bet i think would be to bring all ideas to the round table. Listen to all of them, including even the unpalatable ones. Unfortunately, our leaders are usually the first ones to denounce those who bring opposing views. They bring their private prejudices to the public arena under the guise of championing the public good...

Hi Patrica, glad you have met my dear friend deddx. Today is church for me until midday. Will join you thereafter. Remember, it was your quote that brought about all this... So, i expect you to defend your position. I know deddx can stretch your brain to the max but is good tonic for you. And deddx, still as busy as ever?. Am off to church now...you know how it is with africans and christianity. We pray to God much more than the people that introduced him to us...

Democracy has many faces....it can be an instrument of of oppression if you are in the minority or of strength, if yours is the majority vote....

Human rights are those rights which are inherent in man. Like Deddx has said, they belong to all human. In other words, these are rights that you cannot do away with even if you wanted to. Take for example the right to freedom of thought. This is a right that even in shakles, noone can take that away from you. Its inborn and thats who you are. Or the more common one, the right to freedom of speech...to be able to speak is an inborn characteristic. It happens naturally. Its not given by any govt of the day but is in man at birth. But the world system of today want to behave as if they are the custodians of these rights for them to give to those they feel are the select few...

I am on facebook. But patrica, there about 99 trish swifts there. Which one are you?

What was that all about? Some attention seeker i suppose