President Hakainde Hichilema has challenged the opposition to provide alternative solutions to the tangible achievements of the New Dawn Government.
President Hichilema on Thursday held a Press Conference at State House in Lusaka at which he addressed issues pertaining to law and order, the economy, cost of living, healthcare, mining, the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), and agriculture.
The Head of State said the UPND Government acknowledges the criticism from opposition political parties.
“While we acknowledge the criticism from our colleagues in the opposition, we challenge them to provide alternative solutions to the tangible benefits we have delivered, such as eliminating lawlessness and violence, meal allowances for students, 100% allowances for our armed forces in peacekeeping missions abroad, NAPSA partial withdrawals, marketeer loans, social cash transfers, the increased CDF and the employment of over 41,000 Healthcare workers and Teachers respectively, among many other achievements,” President Hichilema said.
He said ensuring stability by addressing lawlessness in public places and intensifying the fight against corruption were top on the agenda as UPND assumed office.
“We held a lively press briefing to fulfill our commitment of regularly engaging with fellow citizens through the media, to discuss matters affecting our nation in various aspects. During the briefing, we reviewed our progress since assuming government leadership, focusing on law and order, the economy, cost of living, healthcare, mining, the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), and agriculture, among other issues.When we assumed government, our top priority was to ensure stability by addressing lawlessness in public places, intensifying the fight against corruption, and establishing the Economic and Financial Crimes Court. We also increased financial support to the judicial system. Recognizing that law and order is fundamental to our economic growth agenda, we have achieved significant improvements in this area,” President Hichilema said.
He added that the Government was aware of the hardships citizens are facing due to the restoration of a collapsed economy.
“Moving forward, we pursued our economic agenda by implementing measures to reduce inflation and stabilize interest and exchange rates. In collaboration with our international partners, we are making progress in the debt restructuring process.We are aware of the hardships our citizens are facing due to the restoration of a collapsed economy. To alleviate these challenges, we have increased social cash transfers, implemented free education for all, introduced partial withdrawals from the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA), reinstated meal allowances for students in public universities, and ensured equitable distribution of enhanced CDF funds to all constituencies in Zambia.We are committed to continuing our engagement with you, our citizens, through future media conferences,” he said.
Meanwhile, the opposition Citizens First (CF) has announced that it will be holding a press briefing to be addressed by party president Mr. Harry Kalaba at the party Secretariat in Lusaka’s Woodlands area.
The theme of the briefing is ; “Enough of the Rhetoric,Here’s the Workable Alternative.”
“The Citizens First is inviting your media house to a presser to be addressed by party president Mr. Harry Kalaba to be held at the party Secretariat in Lusaka’s Woodlands area tomorrow, Friday, 19th May,2023. Time: 09:00 hrs. The theme of the briefing is ; “Enough of the Rhetoric,Here’s the Workable Alternative.” Members of the press are encouraged to observe time,” the CF Media Team announced.