I AM very frustrated, angry and disappointed with the mediocre performance of the PF regime and President Lungu in particular, says Jack Kalala.
Kalala says apart from being the most corrupt leader Zambia has had, President Lungu has also proved to be the country’s “most brutal, intolerant and heartless President”.
The former special aide to president Levy Mwanawasa was responding to Lusaka Province PF secretary Kennedy Kamba who recently criticised him.
Kalala told Kamba that he had served Zambia in foreign service with honour and integrity under the tutelage of veteran diplomat Vernon Mwaanga.
“Kennedy Kamba, the Lusaka PF provincial secretary has issued a statement in response to my earlier statement to The Mast in which I appealed, among other things, to the European diplomats to call President Lungu to order for the abuse of governance institutions. Kamba’s reaction is a sign that the message got home. I am grateful to the media for making it possible,” Kalala said. “As Kamba rightly said, I am as a citizen but not a UPND cadre, very frustrated, angry and disappointed with the mediocre performance of the PF regime and President Lungu in particular. President Lungu himself has publicly admitted that things are not okay and that there is a lot of suffering in the country. Lest Kennedy Kamba does not know, I am a well-versed diplomat myself.”
Kalala said the people he closely worked with, among them, heads of security wings, could confirm that he was one of the best heads of mission.
“They indeed appreciated the service that I rendered to my country. I would like to educate Kamba, a former street brute, that Western diplomats whose sending countries massively help Zambia have an interest in how the affairs of Zambia are being run. On behalf of the governments they represent, they have a right to speak out on governance issues and human rights,” Kalala said.
He said Kamba should learn that donor countries heavily fund the ministries of health, education and social services to help Zambians live decently.
Kalala noted that Kamba had unfortunately no capacity to read and understand the national budget, otherwise he would have realised that donors fund a large part of the country’s budget.
“Being substantial funders of our budget, they have a right, as stakeholders, to ensure that there is good governance, accountability and transparency in the running of our affairs. They are the eyes, ears and mouth of their respective governments. The funds they give are not for PF but meant to help the people of Zambia. It is therefore important that when the regime fails to manage national affairs properly, the diplomats accredited to Zambia should speak out to voice their concern openly. This would help Zambians to see the need to vote for responsible and credible people of integrity to manage national affairs in an appropriate and responsible manner,” Kalala said.
“Where was Kennedy Kamba in 2011 when some of us decided to openly campaign for PF and President [Michael] Sata? He was in MMD, disparaging Sata and fighting his supporters. After we helped PF to win, Kamba jumped ship overnight to join PF.”
He said Kamba now wants to be more PF than those who had sacrificed so much to make PF win.
“Kamba should just shut up and quietly eat the looted money he is being paid. Kamba and his sponsors who write statements for him should also know that I am one of those who fought for the reintroduction of multiparty democracy in our country,” Kalala said. “Had we not stood up at that time to challenge the system, UNIP would still be in power today; PF would not have been formed and President Lungu would not be enjoying the luxury of the State House today; he would be in Chawama doing what he was best at.”
He said Kamba and his fellow PF surrogates should be grateful that there were courageous people like him and many other unsung heroes who had stood up to demand the reintroduction of multiparty democracy whose fruits he was now enjoying.
He maintained that President Lungu’s leadership was the worst Zambia has had since independence.
“He [President Lungu] himself confessed that he had no vision and did not know what to do. The projects that PF is implementing are contained in the Vision 2030 formulated by the president Mwanawasa administration of which I was part,” he said.
Kalala said when President Lungu ascended to power, he found the dollar trading at about K7, but was today at K22. He said the inflation rate was at eight per cent, but was currently 22.2 per cent.
Kalala said under President Lungu’s tenure, the prices of commodities had skyrocketed, making life extremely miserable for many Zambians.
“Due to his reckless borrowing, the national debt stock has shot up to more than $20 billion from about $3 billion. Zambia’s credit rating is in the negative. Zambia’s economic performance under President Lungu is below par. The country has even started defaulting to service its debts, which is an embarrassment to the country,” Kalala said.
He said President Lungu had proved to be a tin-pot dictator who does not tolerate opposing views in a democratic dispensation.
“He has since closed The Post Newspaper and Prime TV. He has monopolised ZNBC, the national broadcaster. Instead of working to unite the country, he has promoted tribal division and exercised tribal discrimination in appointments to public service positions. He has also promoted and tolerated political violence. Instead of creating jobs for the youths, he has used them as tools of violence and brutality against his opponents,” Kalala said. “Apart from being the most corrupt leader Zambia has had, he has also proved to be the most brutal, intolerant and heartless President. Although he is Constitution-barred to stand for the third term, he has bought machines of death to kill citizens in order to maintain himself in power.”
Kalala said as a responsible citizen, he would “certainly vote for change” on August 12 and urged other “patriotic citizens” to do likewise.
He said the nation and responsible citizens cannot afford to allow the brutal, incompetent and divisive PF regime to continue beyond 2021.
“Between UPND and PF, UPND is a far much better alternative. [UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema] would be a far much better president than the corrupt, incompetent and self-confessed visionless Lungu,” Kalala said. “If a poor person becomes ultra-rich in a short period after joining government, it simply means that he is corrupt and a thief because government is not a business for anyone. It is an institution to provide service to the people.”
He argued that Hichilema would not go into government to enrich himself, unlike President Lungu who had used his position for personal benefit.
“From his personal wealth, HH helps other people in need, which shows that he has a heart for other people. Some of the beneficiaries of his benevolence are [PF deputy media director] Antonio Mwanza and [diplomat] Brian Hapunda whom HH sponsored gratis to university,” he said. “It is regrettable, immoral and lack of gratitude on their part to be fighting and disparaging a person who helped them at the time of their need. Can President Lungu tell the nation which people he sponsored to university when he was in Chawama?”
Kalala said Hichilema would certainly strive to make Zambia better than it is now.
“He will also work to unite the country unlike President Lungu who has proved to be divisive, corrupt, incompetent and undemocratic,” he said.
Kalala urged Zambians to vote for a person who would serve them with honour and integrity, not ‘ba mwankole’.