FIX COST OF LIVING, NOT POLITICAL FOES
By Edwin Lifwekelo
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) administration must quickly put in place practical measures aimed at alleviating the suffering of citizens instead of wasting resources on vengence.
It is important to remind the UPND that it promised the nation that it would fix the economy immediately it formed government.
But it is no longer a secret that ordinary Zambians are grappling with the harshest living conditions in decades.
Many families are barely surviving as they do not know where their next meal will come from because of the high cost of food.
The prices of essential commodities and basic household consumables are beyond the reach of an average household.
Their groans are too audible to be ignored. They need relief, not promises. Instead of relentlessly harassing and persecuting political foes the New Dawn government should ensure that food and household consumables are affordable to the poor.
Besides the unaffordable prices of household consumables travel has become a luxury as a result of the exorbitant price of fuel.
Workers and traders are walking long distances to and from their work and trading places as they can no longer afford the bus fares under this incompetent government.
We urge President Hakainde Hichilema to stop his tourism foreign trips and deliver to Zambians what he promised them. He should stop claiming that his government needs more time to honour those promises because Zambians will not take that excuse.
When he was making the promises he did not tell the voters that they would wait for one year before he could start delivering.
As a reminder President Hichilema publicly declared that after being sworn in as head of State at 10:00 hours the rate of the kwacha against the dollar would drop by 14:00 hours.
He said by 15:00 hours of the same day he would have sold the Gulfstream presidential plane and channelled the proceeds to education.
The President promised that every family would immediately start enjoying three decent meals every day.
He said the price of mealie meal would immediately drop from K170 to K50 while the price of fuel would drop from K17 to K12 or K13.
The list is long. But he has fulfilled none of these promises which enticed Zambians to vote for him.
It is disappointing that the President and his party do not have the courage to go back to the Zambians they deceived and apologise that they had had no idea of what it would take to fulfill those promises.
People are suffering everywhere and are not interested in empty speeches.
Issued by:
EDWIN LIFWEKELO
PF Deputy Media Director