FRED M’MEMBE HAS FAILED TO CREATE CHECKS AND BALANCES ON HH PRESS CONFERENCE AND SHAMELESSLY, HE CAN START HIS BEHAVIOR OF NAME CALLING AT THE EXPENSE OF SERIOUS NATIONAL MATTERS.
By Mark Simuuwe
Reading Fred M’membe’s write up in which he claims President Hakainde Hichilema is intimidating journalists leaves one to wonder what kind of argument on checks and balances Fred is advancing . Of all the important things President HH raised , Fred can only talk about journalists , demonstrating failure to outdo UPND’s outlined achievements during the last Presidential Press Conference for 2023 .
HH and his team have decided to create total access of the Pesidency by moving the Presser to Mulungushi for all Journalists to freely engage the President and not the censorship of journalists we saw when Fred M’membe were ruling under the PF .
One also wonders how old Fred M’membe is to start writing about non issues at the expense of serious national issues.
Clearly , an old shameless , visionless Fred has failed to provide alternatives to the following;
1. UPND revamping of Mopani Mine by finding an equity partner✅ from Abu Dabi’s IRH to pump in $1.1bn into Mopani ;
2. Debt restructuring in which about 98% of the official creditors have signed to restructure the debt and now heading towards closing the chapter for the country to pay upon engaging private creditors- this shall mean $750million towards the debt in 10 years will be paid by Zambia instead of $7.5 billion. ✅
3. What is his alternative to Free education ✅
5. What is Fred’s alternative to paying all retirees in civil service atleast from 2017 ✅ including NAPSA 20% partial withdrawal? ✅
6. The country’s GDP was around negative 2% ; now is above 2% – what is Fred’s alternative?
9. President HH also talked of our improved tourism sector through strategic policy reforms by relaxing visa conditions which has improved the inflow of tourists in Zambia thereby boosting the hospitality industry ✅- what is Fred’s alternative?
10. Shaft 28 in Luanshya has been resuscitated ; what is Fred’s alternative?✅
11. What is Fred’s alternative to UPND New Dawn government reinstatement of meal allowances in universities and extending to 7 universities?✅
12. What is Fred’s alternative to the skills training of over 25,000 youths in carpentry , metal fabrication , general agriculture and fish farming ?✅
13. What is Fred’s alternative to increased allocation to social cash transfer ?✅
14. What is Fred’s alternatives to paying 258,000 farmers over k1.6billion who were owed millions by Fred’s PF ?✅
15. What is his alternative to attracting over $3.8billion investment in mining ?
16. What is Fred’s alternative to Zambia’s restoration of budget credibility which has rekindled confidence making it easy for Zambia to get $125million grant from the world bank , $98 million grant from Italy and about $1bn from the UK under Green compact Grant , from a country with budget which had fiscal indiscipline? ✅
17. What is his alternative to PF ‘s defaulting on a loan in 2020 , when the UPND New Dawn Government’s focus is restructuring?✅
18. He must be ashamed that debt restructuring is succeeding when Fred initially cheated the country that it won’t work and that it had collapsed ! ✅
19. What is his alternative to uniting the country by having a balanced cabinet and inclusivity? ✅
20. Fred feasts on tribal talks , division, hate speech and propaganda , and this is not what citizens would like to see. What is his alternative to uniting the country instead of calling other citizens names based on the region they come from. ✅
21. What is Fred alternative to mealie meal which was found by PF at k37 and was moved to k280 and k248 respectively, under PF and brought to k160-k190 for elections purpose – then UPND has opted to focus on reducing the cost of production of maize by ensuring fertilizer is manufactured in Zambia through an equity partner investment of $138million fertilizer manufacturing plant underway and then , revamp farm blocks, while introducing credit facilities for citizens to produce more to beat the demand and push prices down? ✅
22. What is Fred’s alternative to an economy whose death led to Kwacha which was found at $1 to k3.8 , then his PF took it up by over 800% and went to over k23/24 , then to k17.9 at elections and for election purpose then he wants the 10 years ruins resolved in less than 2years amid the global economic shocks triggeredby wars , low copper prices on world market , liquidated KCM by his PF , reduced copper production due to investment insecurities arising from policy inconsistency under the PF , and the GDP which was in negatives with high indebtedness ? ✅
23. What is his alternative to over 65,000 youths recruited into government so far in less than 2years plus the health workers whose names were recently published and the impending teacher recruitment name’s publication? ✅
24. What is his alternative to signing the Access to Information Bill into Law ?✅
25. What is his alternative to formulated organized framework to resolving domestic debt through what UPND has created called ,” domestic debt dismantling strategy 2022-2026”?✅
26. What is his alternative to enactment of Debt Management Act No . 15 of 2022 ?
27. What is his alternative to removal of criminal defamation of the president from the penal
code cap 87 of the laws of Zambia to enhance freedom of expression ? ✅
28. What is his alternative to removal of death sentence clause from the Penal Code earlier referred to ? ✅
29. What is Fred’s alternative to increased international new flights into Lusaka as a result of marketing the country for FDI , this making Zambia Airports Corporation collect the much needed revenue ? ✅
30. What is his alternative to Market Access agreements entered into by Zambia with UAE, EU , China , South Africa , Kenya , Rwanda , Angola , Mozambique , to mention but a few ?
31. What is his alternative to world price of fuel ? ✅ when government focused on bulk buying and reopening of Indeni to later on get slight relief , signing new pipe line agreement with Angola with intent to be a hub of oil refinery someday ?
32. What his alternative to Restoration of rule of law which allows him to feature on any media house , be arrested and granted bail as required by law on bailable charges which was not fashionable under his PF ? ✅
33. What is his alternative to the UPND fight against corruption by amending the law for rapid adjudication? ✅
34. What is his alternative to UPND’s focus on national cohesion and equitable distribution of resources across all regions without discrimination as UPND solution to Fred M’membe’s Post Newspaper ethnic division and Bantustan preaching ? ✅
35. What is his alternative to ZRA amnesty and relaxed terms to enable the private sector deal with ZRA tax liabilities without killing business the way his PF killed the Post ? ✅
36. What is his alternative to UPND Government CDF massive infrastructure development , scholarships and empowerment programmes ? ✅
37. What is his alternative to citizens freely wearing regalia of their choice without being attacked in markets and bus stations ? ✅
38. What is Fred ‘s alternative to UPND Government approach to Public Private Sector Forum which has created a platform for growing Zambia’s private sector ? ✅
39. What is Fred M’membe’s alternative to the Zambia – Zimbabwe Common agriculture Park MoU ?✅
Etc ?
Fred has no substance in his way of looking at politics. He is 64 years old , many years older than HH ; next election in 2026 he will be 67 years old ; in 2031 he will be about 72years old . He literally has no political strategy or stamina having gotten only about 16,600 votes the whole country in 2021 general elections and coming out about number 5 .
Let him understand politics in Africa that you can’t expect too much especially when you are a threat to peace and security in the country. Your politics is always about division , tribalism, hate speech and propagating for chaos .
Ends //
Fred M’membe thinks that having a Lozi mother and Bemba father makes him an exceptional human being. These were his own words not mine as he musing on his political life one day in 2023.
Fred is just being a nuisance in opposition, the same way Hakainde was to ECL. In fact, Hakainde was a lot worse, and he told too many lies. So Fred is just following Hakainde’s footsteps, with a lot less lies. His main downfall is that he pretends to be a socialist. This is a big lie. Again, he is only following Hakainde’s template of “how to get elected via lies”.
Simuwe’s Article asks fair questions for M’membe to respond to, but Simuwe’s Article loses punch when he brings in two irrelevant factors that are beyond M’membe’s control: (1) M’membe’s age. What does that have to do with his chances of being elected as President? We have seen much older Presidents in other country. Madiba and Biden were such Presidents when elected. 67 yrs and 72 yrs old not that bad? Let us not discriminate our Citizens. (2) Past elections in 2021. This outcome is now outside control of M’membe, it is past or a Sunk cost and not necessarily an indicator of the future?
Simpo Sitali wena Fred Mmembe deserves harsh words just like some PF idiots who like taunting one individual HH for no reasom.
This boy called Simuuwe has taken ages to finish a masters degree at UNZA. Yet he insults Mmembe who is academically and professionally more accomplished than himself. Simuuwe is out of his depth.
The issues raised in Mr. Simuwe’s article are what the opposition should focus on.
This is because they need to convince Zambians that they have better policies than the current government.
Fred is just an armchair critic.