COURTING TONY BLAIR WILL NOT RESCUE THE TROUBLED UPND- Faston Mwale

COURTING TONY BLAIR WILL NOT RESCUE THE TROUBLED UPND

By Faston Mwale, SP Deputy General Secretary – Political

The disclosure by President Hakainde Hichilema that he has been courting former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair on how best to govern Zambia is a spine-chilling expose that speaks to the crippling leadership crisis that has bedeviled the country since the reign of the UPND three years ago. It is a clear affirmation that Hakainde Hichilema remains profoundly ill-informed politically and does not seem to have grasped Blair’s unforgettable leadership legacy.

Tony Blair does not offer a progressive model of leadership. There were serious gaps in his leadership style. Broadly speaking, his leadership was an intriguing experience of astonishing contradictions. Blair has earned a place in history for supporting the invasion of Iraq in 2003 on an inaccurate belief that Saddam Hussein’s regime possessed weapons of mass destruction a feat that attracted world-wide public opposition. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis perished in the Iraq war instigated by Blair’s lies.

It is becoming increasingly clear that President Hakainde is losing grip and is desperately clutching at the last straw. He has failed to provide leadership. His governance is marred with a series of crippling crises. At the height of debilitating hunger across households, the choir of praise singers has conspicuously disappeared from the political scene. Most certainly, Mr. Blair is unlikely to be a means of political survival for Mr. Hakainde. His eternal exit from the political arena is on the cards. Intuitively, Zambians have already started priming Dr. Fred M’membe for the 8th Republican Presidency. Fred M’membe who has consistently stood on the side of the struggling mass of the population is rapidly becoming a decisive factor in the unfolding political mix. 

Scores of UPND members are leaving the party and are aligning themselves with the Socialist Party. Figuratively, the UPND is a bus that is going in a wrong direction, it would be foolish to take a ride on it. Those already on it are disembarking. It is unacceptable that a country that is potentially rich, blessed and fertile could be enduring very high rates of poverty. 60 percent of Zambians are living below the poverty line while approximately half of the population has been consigned to the worst form of subsistence. Poverty statistics will sharply rise following the increase in electricity tariffs.