Dear Sean E. Tembo etc
HH’s OUTINGS ARE DIFFERENT FROM SOME OF HIS PREDECESSORS.
AND HERE’S HOW
Authored By Mupishi Jones
Before the PF government lost power in August this year,it was struggling in vain to hold bilateral discussions with most of the country’s creditors including bondholders.The PF couldn’t engage the IMF and the World Bank in any meaningful discussion regarding our unsustainable external debt which was adversely weighing heavily on our economic recovery plans.Planned meetings with the IMF and the World Bank kept on procrastinating.
Bondholders turned down PF’s proposals on debt restructuring on several times.
The question is why was the Edgar Lungu administration failing to hold successful bilateral and multilateral discussions with the global world?
In my view, the PF government led by Edgar Lungu lacked the intellectual boardroom capacity to engage in a meaningful way with internationally acclaimed figures.The Lungu led team didn’t have that kind of boardroom language that could resonate well with the global economic and business gurus.
Secondly,it is my held view that most of Edgar’s international engagements were shrouded into secrecy.This includes even those engagements which the citizens of Zambia had the right to know! Most of the details of their engagements were kept under Edgar and his innercircle’s armpits.
The net effect of these PF twin behaviors of the Edgar Lungus administration,was that it was perceived as being untrustworthy administration by both national citizens and from the global world.Eventually, Edgar was slowly being excluded from a club of distinguished world leaders of head of states.He had no notable head of state alleys apart from the ones from Eswatini and M7.
This untrustworthy tag made it difficult even to renegotiate let alone hold bilateral discussions with bondholders.Edgar had no choice but to hire the services of a French firm (Lizard) at a cost of $5m just to talk to our bondholders on behalf of Edgar and his team.
Remember HH during that time had offered himself to negotiate with these bondholders at no cost on behalf of the country,but as usual, arrogance clouded PF’s judgement.
How different are President Hakainde Hichilema’s outings from Edgar’s international trips?
1.EXCITEMENT
We all know the background were President Hakainde Hichilema is coming from,is he someone who can be excited just to jump on a plane to Europe,America or some other place? HH has global business connections and sits on several corporate boards in Europe,America including among African countries.President HH is extensively travelled and exposed to the point where he would rather rest and just work at home instead of being fatigued with jet lag on long trips.But because of the passion to connect Zambia the way he’s connected, he’s compelled to move soldier on.
- NEGOTIATING SKILLS
Most of the citizens came to know his negotiating skills during the Chipata airport episode during the campaigns.
Even before he became President, HH was being invited to talk on several international foras on Zambias economic prospects in his individual capacity.At some point it was disclosed to the nation that he had received financial pledges in millions of dollars once he forms.If you don’t see the importance of making follow-ups to those pledges,then you must have you head re-examined.
Whether you like President Hakainde Hichilema or not but at least everyone knows that he’s not only a skillful trade negotiator but a qualified and professional trade and economic negotiator.That is one of his expertise which the country must leverage on.To exploit this skill,HH has to travel where’s there’s money.
HH has the intellectual boardroom capacity to engage anyone in the world in the same boardroom language you can get anywhere.He is perceived as one of the economic gurus who have their fingers on important global economic buttons.Instead of giving maximum support to your own son, that’s when you’ve a countable number of disgruntled chaps trying in vain pulling down his efforts.- SIDE MEETINGS
More often than not,it is not those 5 minute speeches that you see President Hakainde Hichilema making at international foras that matters most,it is those side meetings alongside those international conferences with renowned global economic gurus and leaders, those shakers and movers of the global economy that are of paramount importance and beneficial to the country.
Those that follow the sport of golf would tell you that it’s not the act of hitting and following a golf ball that matters in this game,but the discussion between these two competitors as they are walking following the golf ball.Thats were important deals are sealed, that’s where bilateral relationships are cemented and not the actual golf sport you see!- TRUSTWORTHNESS
Remove your partisan spectacles and in your neutral state,ask yourself, between ECL and HH whom does the public “perceive” to be trustworthy? In an event that you’re being sent to jail for 10 years and you’re given an option to choose between ECL and HH who to leave your bag full of dollars until you come out after 10 years,who can you entrust it with?
No doubt,our country lost that trustworthy during the PF regime which President Hakainde Hichilema is trying hard to regain.Remember, trust can’t just be given,it must be earned over time and HH is doing just that.- TRANSPARENCY
In all his outings, President Hakainde Hichilema has been very transparent.Starting from his entourage,who he is meeting, his agenda for that meeting and how it’ll leverage the country.Contrast this with the PF government international trips. - ALWAYS ZAMBIANS FIRST
In whatever speech President Hakainde Hichilema delivers, home or abroad and at whatever fora,he always reminds himself and the rest of his audience that they are in that privileged position through the courtesy of the people of Zambia and that they’ve a duty not to betray the people’s trust,he has always concluded by emphasizing the now house hold phrase “very important”.
Do you think President Hakainde Hichilema can encourage his inner circle team with such language as ” ukulya mwibala but not uku lila kumo ne mbuto?”. - INCORRUPTIBLE
President Hakainde Hichilema is not a person you can corrupt.
If you disagree with my assertion, find a way to approach him with a ka inflated government tender to supply desks with the view of sharing the loot with him and see whether you’ll come out of that meeting as a free man!
That’s how a leader worth his salt should be! Even his own children must know their fate in advance even before thinking of engaging into corrupt deals.- LAND LINKING ZAMBIA.
President Hakainde Hichilema is trying to link this country to our neighbors through trade, investment and business opportunities.Instead of calling my international business as ” smuggling”,it will now be called international business trade!
Go to the Copperbelt and witness how ba Kopala are excitedly positioning themselves to take advantage of the cross boarder trade without worrying about our own ZNS officers breathing on their necks,confiscating their mechandise just because they’re trading with their neighbors from Congo.
Give it two or three years from now, Zambia will be a totally different country.Even those neighbors who were looking down upon us during the dark and wasted decade of the PF reign of terror will be flocking to us.
I submit .
Mupishi Jones
+260977480386