PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact : Cheelo Katambo Deputy Media Director
Cell : 0975704808/ 0976 503165
FRED M’MEMBE SHOULD STOP LYING ABOUT THE MEALIE-MEAL PRICE IN MILENGE
February 26th, 2024
We applaud Milenge Town Council Chairperson Clement Mwila who has come forward to dispell assertions by overzealous Socialist Party president Fred M’membe for lying that mealie-meal in the area was being sold at K 850 per 25 kg bag.
Councilor Mwila says it was a lie by Mr M’membe to insinuate that the staple food in Milenge was being sold at K 850 when the actual price ranges between K 345 and K350.
The civic leader says the opposition leader would do well to verify his information before issuing any public statement as that amounts to deliberately misleading the public.
It is worth noting that any deliberate attempt to mislead the public on a matter of national and security importance such as the price of mealie-meal is an offence according to the Penal code chapter 87 of the laws of Zambia.
Section 67 (1) of the penal code provides that any person who publishes whether orally or in writing or otherwise any statement rumour or report which is likely to cause fear and alarm to the public or to disturb public peace knowing or having reason to believe that such statements, rumour or report is false, is guilty of a misdemeanor and is liable to imprisonment for 3 years.
The UPND finds it sickening to note the level of excitement by the opposition with regards to the seemingly high cost of living in the country.
We wonder what would warrant a citizen to harbour such hatred for one’s country to an extent of wishing the nation and its citizens harm.
What happened to the values of patriotism which demands that our first obligation is to the well-being of our country and its people that people should now celebrate the rise in the cost of living.
The UPND and its Government is alive to the fact that the cost of living in the country is steadily rising but we can assure the nation that everything is being done to contain the situation even in the midst of a looming drought due poor rains.
It is a pity that opposition leaders such as Mr M’membe are taking pride in deliberately misleading the nation for the sake of political mileage and expedience. Zambians are not gullible and are seeing through the cheap opposition attempts that have failed before and we can assure them that they will fail again.
Zambians know and understand that the challenges that the country is going through are both historical as well as natural and that the UPND led administration is laying a strong foundation in resolving them.
We appeal to Zambians not to be hoodwinked by opportunists that have failed to provide any alternative economic turnaround policies necessary in the country’s socio-economic development. The UPND and its New Dawn administration stands ready to make sure that the anticipated crop failure is mitigated and no Zambian shall go to bed without a meal.
Leave the doomsayers alone as you join the government in providing workable solutions in the midst of challenging natural difficulties . Together we shall pull through.
(C) UPND MEDIA TEAM