HH REFUSAL TO SHIFT TO STATE HOUSE COSTING NATION
… Let him humble himself and leave Community House
By Edwin LIFWEKELO, PF Deputy Media Director
PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema should climb down from his perch of pride and save the nation millions of kwacha in tax payers’ money.
He should heed to the pleas by different stakeholders, including some of his closest cronies, and shift to State House.
His continued stay at his personal residence, Community House in New Kasama and daily trips to State House is a huge cost to the nation.
It is also a security risk as well as an inconvenience to the over 50 police officers who are diverted from normal duties to the degrading route lining.
Now, even police officers who are providing him with security are grumbling bitterly. He should be worried.
Recently, a chief inspector plucked up enough courage and opened up on the toll the President’s refusal to shift to his official residence is taking on him and his colleagues.
A complaint from an officer of that rank and his plea to the President, which was widely circulated on social media, should send a clear message to the President and his lieutenants.
“From the time President Hichilema took over the country’s highest office six months ago, we as police have been subjected to abnormal route lining hours,” the officer wrote.
“It was normal for him in the first two months because we thought he would move to State House but it seems he is not moving to State House now or anytime soon,” he complained.
We sympathise with our hard working security officers who are being abused daily to massage the ego of one man.
What is worse is that the allowances the route liners used to get in the past for such special duties have been scrapped. This is not only unfair but also cruel.
If the officers are being denied what they deserve as a cost saving measure then it is hypocriticy of the basest kind.
It is a joke. How much is governnent spending on fuel for the presidential motorcade in one month as he commutes to and from work? Can that be compared to the meagre allowances the government is stealing from these voiceless men and women in uniform?
Also, we sympathise with ordinary citizens who are inconvenienced and forced either to wait or use alternative routes every time the busy road is closed to provide safe passage for the President.
President Hichilema should have compassion for motorists, commuters and these civil servants who are made to line up on his route as early as 05:00 hours every day.
He should demonstrate good governance by helping the government to save the millions of kwacha it is spending on his daily runs between Community House and State House.
The explanation by the Vice President Mutale Nalumango and other leaders in the United Party for National Development (UPND) that State House is not befitting President Hichilema’s standards is an insult to the people of Zambia.
If the property, which housed previous presidents, is indeed not fit for his standards then he is not a servant of the people as he claims to be. A true leader is seen by the way he relates with the people he leads, by his humility.
Zambians, through the governnent, has provided President Hichilema with a house from where to govern them, but he says “no, this is not good enough for me. I will be ruling you from my expensive private home’.
What message does that send to the people who put him in office? That State House is too small or too dirty for him.
We share the suggestion by the aggrieved police officer that if the President insists on living at his private house then he should use a helicopter instead of closing such a busy public road four times every day. It’s also cheaper.
Prudent use of public resources demonstrates good governance and is a sign of good leadership.
Therefore, President Hichilema should humble himself and immediately shift to State House. His pride has already cost the nation, whose economy is on life support, millions of kwacha. The resources could have been channeled to the improvement of the economy and social safety nets.
Zambians have been patient enough.