Reserves key for emergencies; our country is in an economic emergency, says Mundubile
NATIONAL Reconciliation Party of Unity and Progress—NRPUP presidential candidate Brian Mundubile has urged the government to balance the accumulation of foreign reserves with addressing the immediate economic challenges facing Zambians, arguing that youth unemployment and poverty constitute a national emergency.
Speaking during a rally in Katete, Mundubile said while building reserves was important for economic stability, the government should also channel resources into industries and factories capable of creating jobs.
“Youths have no jobs, it’s an emergency. Youth unemployment is an emergency,” Mundubile said.
He adds: “My friends in the UPND government have billions in their reserves. But what I am telling them is that this money is meant to work for the people.”
He argues that a portion of the country’s reserves could be invested in productive sectors to stimulate economic growth and employment.
“When you keep five billion dollars in reserves, you can get one billion dollars and inject it into factories. Today in Katete, that food factory would be working,” he says.
Mundubile acknowledges the importance of maintaining reserves but says the government should pursue that objective while addressing the hardships many citizens continue to face.
“My dear brother, yes, I know you’re focused on building reserves. Every other government has been building reserves, but we want you to build your reserves with due regard to the suffering of the Zambian people,” he says.
The opposition leader further calls on the government to ensure that council workers are paid, civil servants benefit from the debt swap programme, and industries capable of creating employment opportunities are revived.
“You must ensure that council workers are paid. You have to make sure that the civil servants debt swap is implemented. You must make sure that industries and factories that create employment are open, like the food factory in Katete,” he says.
Mundubile says an NRPUP government under the Tonse Alliance will pursue industrialisation while gradually building the country’s reserves.
“We under Tonse will use the money that we generate in this country to progressively build the reserves but also use some money to industrialise,” Mundubile says.
Mundubile further adds: “When we industrialise, we will create jobs, and when we create jobs, we’ll kill poverty.”
© TV Yatu | David Kashiki | June 27, 2026.
Mundubile,why do you insist on being such a distructive dullard.It is this same quick-fix mentality that has distinguished you as a dangerous novice 8n managing our economy.That $6.5bn foreign currency reserves have been accumulated after four years of painstaking reforms,austerity and debt negotiations.You just come on the scene and all you think is to start spending it in unresearched vague capital expenditure ventures which you don’t even fully understand yourself and even when you have been schooled on what reserves are ment for.
Unemployment and other social/economic solutions are budgeted for annually augmented by my other empowerment policies and programs including debt/grants
financing
Mundubile and your other economic zygotes,please understand that it takes time to accumulate hard currency reserves.You are PF damaged goods.Just go and run your brothels
Is Mr. Mundubile suggesting that the government should start running factories to create employment?
It is a very bad idea.
What did we benefit from Mr. Lungu’s illegal nationalisation of KCM? His “liquidator” ended up paying USD25million to the government after the 2021 elections as a way of avoiding being pursued. KCM slid into financial difficulties while PF cadres grew rich supplying air. Production declined and eventually, KCM had to be given back to the rightful owners, Vedanta.
How’s Zesco and Zamtel performing? Does their performance justify government involvement in running businesses? Using foreign reserves to run government factories would be a waste of precious resources. It is more meaningful to leave such to private investors.