HIGHVIE Hamududu says any mob can win political power, even without clear policies.
Hamududu, an economist, is the president of the Party of National Unity and Progress (PNUP).
The opposition party, then called the Party of National Unity (PNU), was first launched in May 2017 in Lusaka.
However, the party has now been re-launched and is called the PNUP.
At a media briefing at Mika Hotel in Kabulonga, Lusaka on Monday, Hamududu explained that his party from best practices and lessons learnt elsewhere was of the firm conviction that nations were developed by superior, clear, consistent and predictable policies.
He said such policies ought to be driven by an appropriate leadership team that provided the appropriate and commensurate political will and general guidance.
He noted that Zambians did not need anything from politicians but the right policy leadership.
“The government system has more qualified people than all the politicians. When you win and go into power, the people don’t need anything from you. Simply the right policy leadership and a team that speaks the same language,” Hamududu said. “You can’t just grab power…By the way, winning power is very easy. You can even grab power as a mob. [But] when you get power, you don’t know what to do, because you never did the homework. The homework is about the policy framework.”
Hamududu pledged that the PNUP, in government, would not let down Zambians in that regard.
“We are not fighting for power [but] we are offering the right policy framework. Any mob can get power!” Hamududu said.
He pointed out that it was very evident that Zambia was in a state far from what it should be.
Hamududu said the country was faced with all manner of challenges which had become deep-seated over a passage of time, and worsened in the recent past.
“These challenges range from the low growth of our economy, high unemployment, high poverty levels, growing inequalities, environmental degradation, to mention but a few,” Hamududu, a former Bweengwa UPND member of parliament, noted.
He said the saddest part was that the state of affairs in Zambia obtained amidst great opportunities and high resource endowment.
Hamududu said that such a gloomy picture could not be allowed to continue.
“The country’s forthcoming general elections present an opportunity for introspection. This election should not be business as usual, as the current situation requires very clear reform proposals, if our country has to register real and sustainable progress,” he explained. “Let the forthcoming elections be about our people, and not about us politicians, by giving unto themselves a fresh start. These elections must be about the people, and not about us politicians.”
Hamududu asserted that when political choices are increased, “you increase the outcome.”
“It’s like in business; the more the competition, the better the products. In the political arena we need to raise the bar on the competition, including the array of choices,” he said. “As the Party of National Unity and Progress, we join the 2021 election race from today.”
Hamududu said the PNUP had come to propose a clear roadmap for redressing the challenges and problems that Zambia faces.
“We promise to endeavour to do the best a political party can possibly do on pragmatic policy supremacy, clarity, consistency and predictability, informed by evidence and best lessons learnt at home and abroad,” pledged Hamududu.
PNUP secretary general Kasote Singogo was present at the event, among other party officials.