The Editor Zambia
The demand by NGOCC Board Chairperson Beauty Katebe for President Hakainde Hichilema to appoint more women to Cabinet and other key decision-making positions lack credibility.
Katebe fought against bill 7, which sought to directly put more women in key positions. Yet today, she is in the forefront calling for more women in positions of influence. This is the highest level of hypocrisy! 
Ketebe ridiculed President Hakainde Hichilema and called him a dictator over bill 7, claiming that it contained a clause to increase the presidential term.
When a person who fought against a bill that was intended to directly benefit women and now she positions herself as a champion for women’s inclusion, it undermines the movement’s credibility.
The call for increased women representation in leadership positions is one that all well-meaning Zambians should support. However, credibility matters when making such calls.
The NGOCC Board Chairperson can not, in good conscience, be the right person to lead that conversation on the inclusion of more women in positions of influence.
Having opposed Bill 7, Katebe is certainly a wrong person to credibly make this call. This is because her public record contradicts the very principle she is now advocating for. Let those who fought for those provisions take the lead so that the push for women’s representation is both sincere and effective.
During the debate on Bill 7, the NGOCC Board Chairperson openly opposed clauses that sought to create more avenues for women to access leadership positions. Katebe rejected to sit on the table with the government to resolve her concerns even when the window for further consultation was open.
Bill 7 was specifically designed to empower women, youths and persons with disabilities by providing constitutional and electoral mechanisms aimed at increasing their presence in the decision-making space.
To oppose it then and call for inclusion now raises serious questions about her consistency.
The question that begs answers is: Was Katebe hired to oppose a bill that answered some of the long-standing calls for her organisations?
Leadership on gender issues requires more than statements. It calls for a track record of action.
When a person who fought against a bill that would have directly benefited more women now positions herself as a champion for women’s inclusion, it undermines the movement’s credibility. It confuses the public and gives opponents of gender equality an excuse to dismiss genuine calls for reform.
Zambia needs voices that have consistently stood for women’s advancement, even when it was politically difficult. It calls for leaders who supported legal and constitutional reforms that break barriers, not those who initially opposed the call for the inclusion of more women. Katebe opposed Bill 7 to satisfy her hidden political affiliation.
The women of Zambia deserve advocates whose actions match their words. Therefore, while the conversation for more women inclusion is welcome, it must be led by people with clean hands on the matter.
