Patriotic Front Lusaka Province Chairperson Kennedy Kamba has urged Zambians to ignore what he described as illogical claims about the dent swap from the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) President Hakainde Hichilema.
In a statement released to the media, Mr Kamba said that Mr Hichilema does not make sense and only speaks volumes of a visionless politician who wants to get government power by whatever means possible.
“It is actually Hakainde Hichilema and his selfish colleagues that caused the suffering of civil servants and the nation in general when they wreaked havoc in the economy by selling national assets in the late 90s and early 2000 for personal benefit,” he noted.
Mr. Kamba said Mr Hichilema cannot even tell Zambians how he became rich. Whenever he is asked about his wealth, he gets agitated and visibly annoyed.
“It is a fact that Hakainde Hichilema participated in a very destructive privatization of national assets including the mines in the Second Republic,” he noted.
“They sold the country’s assets and shared resources among themselves instead of improving the economy. And today he is condemning the government strives to improve the living standards of the people. What a shame,”!
Mr. Kamba stated that the very debt burden civil servants are grappling with, is the very debt burden President Lungu and the PF are trying to sort out to lessen financial pressures on the citizenry was caused by Hakainde Hichilema and his selfish friends when they underpriced national assets and heavily benefited from the very transactions.
“These are the people who want to look smart today and claim the PF caused the suffering of the people when they pocketed monies that belonged to the very poor they want to lead,” he said.
Mr Kamba further said Hakainde Hichilema has no moral right to even talk about the struggles of Zambians because he and his friends caused the problems that President Lungu is trying to sort out day in day out.
“We are comforted by the fact that President Lungu is winning in terms of addressing the pertinent issues that affect Zambians daily, among them, household poverty that is being alleviated,” he said.
“Our message to Zambians is that ignore Hakainde Hichilema and his hollow promises. Someone who participated in creating a very miserably economy in the late 90s and early 2000 when they sold national assets, cannot today claim to be a saviour of this country,”.
He said President Lungu is winning this years elections because he has sorted out the very mess that HH and his colleagues created and the pain they inflicted on Zambians when they dubiously privatized national assets for their own benefit.
Mr Kamba further said that one thing the PF in Lusaka Province is proud of is that Zambians have seen through the destructive messages of the UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema, adding that this is the more reason they have rejected him five times and he is heading into political retirement after August 12 when he loses for the sixth time.
“Listening to Hakainde Hichilema’s message to Zambians, you can easily sense that the levels of bitterness are beyond measure and it could be highly suicidal for the future of this country if given space,” he said.
Mr Kamba added that a normal politician with stable reasoning and good leadership qualities cannot rubbish the good deeds of the PF in protecting the interests of Zambians regarding the Debt Swap Strategy that has been put in place to lessen the burden of debt on civil servants.
He said the civil servants in Zambia, including the Trade Unions and related Labour Movements, know very well where they are coming from in terms of improving the living conditions and general well-being of civil servants.
“Today as we speak, many teachers, nurses, medical doctors, and others, can afford to create wealth for their families which was not the case before the PF came into power,” said Mr Kamba.
“A little survey will tell you that teachers today are able to import vehicles, do a side business and also build houses for their families. This is not magic, this is because the government has put up an enabling environment for personal wealth creation for citizens including those in civil service,”.
He explained that a good government creates wealth for its people and provides opportunities equitably.
“The debt swap strategy is one of those incentives the government has put in place to relieve financial pressures on civil servants. The people working in government are happy about this but Hakainde Hichilema is fuming with bitterness and putting up weird claims that government caused the debt burden on civil servants,” he stated.