PF CONSIDERS USING SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLE TO HOLD CONVENTION AMID COURT JUDGMENT UNCERTAINTY

By Chamuka Shalubala

Patriotic Front-PF- Faction Deputy Secretary General Celestine Mukandila says the party may resort to using a Special Purpose Vehicle –SPV- to convene its long-awaited convention scheduled for later this month.

Mr. Mukandila says the convention will go ahead as planned regardless of whether the pending court judgment slated for 25th February, 2026 is ruled in favour of or against his faction, stressing that there is no room for further postponement.

He has told Phoenix News in an interview that should the court ruling go against his faction, the party would activate the SPV arrangement to ensure the convention takes place.

Mr. Mukandila has further noted that the outcome of the court process remains difficult to predict due to a number of factors surrounding the case.

The Lusaka High Court has set February 25, 2026, as the date to deliver a crucial judgement in the ongoing leadership dispute within the patriotic front.

PHOENIX NEWS

MUNDUBILE IS NOT FOOLISH ENOUGH TO OFFER RUNNING MATE ROLE THROUGH MEDIA – MAKEBI

9th February 2026

PF presidential candidate Makebi Zulu says Brian Mundubile is not foolish enough to communicate a running mate offer through the media.

Zulu adds that if the statement was issued by Chris Zumani Zimba, it was simply an act of mischief, stating that Zimba “can do better than that”.

On Tuesday, Mundubile offered Zulu and Given Lubinda the opportunity to consider taking up the role of running mate under the Tonse Alliance. In a statement, Tonse Secretary General Chris Zumani Zimba said the Alliance had given Zulu and Lubinda a 12-day ultimatum to engage in dialogue and redeem themselves politically.

Reacting to this, Wednesday, Zulu said if Mundubile had truly intended to deliver such a message, he would have done so…

News diggers

Sangwa Dismisses Delimitation Fears, Says August Polls Will Proceed Unshaken

Constitutional lawyer John Sangwa has downplayed fears of looming legal turmoil, declaring that potential court challenges to Zambia’s delimitation process are unlikely to derail the country’s August 13, 2026 general elections.

His remarks come amid heightened anticipation over the forthcoming delimitation report expected in April—a document that could invite legal scrutiny from citizens exercising their constitutional right to contest electoral boundaries.

Recently, Brown Kasaro, Chief Electoral Officer of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, affirmed that the commission stands ready to abide by any court ruling should challenges arise once the report is published.

But Sangwa insists the constitutional framework leaves no room for electoral disruption. The election date, he emphasized, is fixed by law and cannot be shifted by litigation. Any disputes, he argues, will be processed within strict statutory timelines designed to preserve the integrity of the electoral calendar.

While the publication of the delimitation report will occur barely three months before polling day, Sangwa maintains that the judiciary and relevant institutions are bound by procedural urgency to ensure that legal processes unfold without obstructing the nation’s democratic timetable.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission continues public sittings nationwide as part of the delimitation exercise, with 70 newly created constituencies set to be formally gazetted in April—an administrative milestone that now stands at the center of legal and political anticipation.

Source: Phoenix Radio News

Convention at All Costs: PF Faction Signals SPV Plan as Court Verdict Looms

A faction of the Patriotic Front has declared it will press forward with its long-awaited convention—even if the courts rule against it—raising the prospect of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to bypass mounting legal uncertainty.

Faction Deputy Secretary General Celestine Mukandila says preparations for the gathering later this month remain irreversible. According to Mukandila, the pending judgment scheduled for 25 February 2026 will not derail the event; if the ruling proves unfavorable, the faction will activate an SPV structure to ensure the convention proceeds.

In remarks to Phoenix News, Mukandila described the legal landscape as unpredictable, citing complex factors surrounding the case. Yet he maintained there is no appetite for further delay.

The high-stakes ruling is expected from the Lusaka High Court, where the outcome could reshape the trajectory of the party’s leadership dispute. But within the faction, the message is unequivocal: the convention will convene—by mandate or by mechanism.

Source: Phoenix FM Radio News

ZAMBIA 🇿🇲: Over-appreciation of the Kwacha against major convertible currencies would hurt the local economy – Finance Minister

Minister of Finance and National Planning says the appreciation of the Kwacha has clear limits and must be managed carefully to protect the country’s economic stability.

The local unit has continued performing strongly, trading around 18.23–18.58 against the US Dollar as of today, February 17, 2026.

Speaking on the performance of the local currency, Dr. Musokotwane Situmbeko cautioned against expectations of the Kwacha gaining strength to the extent of reaching parity with the United States dollar, as such a scenario would be unrealistic and economically destabilizing for Zambia.

He explained that if the exchange rate was to reach one Kwacha to one US dollar, it would distort incomes and purchasing power in a way that does not reflect Zambia’s economic realities.

Dr. Musokotwane was speaking during the joint FNB Zambia and American Chamber of Commerce in Zambia Economic Review Breakfast in Lusaka today.

“Imagine for a moment that we got to one Kwacha equal to one dollar, with your salary of, say, K20,000 per month, in one go, your salary is worth US$20,000 per month. That would be a very strange country because there are not many countries in this world where you have a salary of 20,000 dollars per month,” he said.

Dr. Musokotwane noted that such an appreciation would trigger excessive demand for foreign currency as consumers rush to import goods, quickly depleting US dollar reserves.

“Knowing us in Zambia, everyone now wants to import Mercedes Benz so what happens next? Of course, we go to the banks to say, I want US$100,000, US$20,000 to buy a Mercedes Benz , and very quickly, the dollars run out,” Dr. Musokotwane stated.

He added that exporters earning foreign currency would also be negatively affected if they were forced to convert their earnings at an artificially strong exchange rate.

Dr. Musokotwane stressed the need for the country to balance the interests of importers and exporters while maintaining overall economic stability, and commended the Bank of Zambia for managing the foreign exchange market under a liberalized system.

He further emphasized that Zambia’s long-term prosperity depends on expanding exports rather than relying on domestic consumption alone.

Credit: Money FM

🇿🇲 CLOSE-UP | Zambia’s Mining Regime Since 2021: A Return of Capital, Test of Governance

Zambia’s mining comeback is being powered by a global copper rush that has little to do with sentiment and everything to do with need. Demand is being pulled by three engines at once: AI-driven data centres, the clean-energy buildout, and defence supply chains, all of which rely on copper as the “workhorse” metal for grids, wiring, batteries, and industrial systems.

This is why Zambia has re-entered the strategic conversation in 2025–2026, not as a feel-good story, but as a supply story, and supply stories attract money quickly.

President Hakainde Hichilema is leaning into that moment. At the African Mining Indaba, he told investors, “We have the investors back,” and said more than $12 billion had flowed into the sector since 2022. This matters because it signals what his administration is trying to sell: predictability, de-risking, and a state that wants capital at scale, not episodic project-by-project deals. It also frames mining as the lead sector in the broader economic reset he has marketed since taking office.

The output numbers are moving in the same direction. Zambia’s copper production rose 8% to over 890,000 metric tonnes last year, and mining still accounts for a large share of export earnings, meaning the kwacha’s story and the copper story remain joined at the hip.

Foreign exchange inflows rise when volumes and prices rise, and that typically improves currency stability, import costs, and liquidity in the formal market. The risk is that citizens see a stronger kwacha and assume it is “magic,” when it is often just commodities and confidence working together.

The policy shift since 2021 has been about tightening the state’s grip on rules, not necessarily tightening the state’s grip on mines. One marker is legislative. The Geological and Minerals Development Act, 2025 (Act 2 of 2025) was assented to in April 2025 and commenced in June 2025, updating the legal framework around geological survey, mapping, exploration, and artisanal mining structures.

This is the “boring” work investors read closely because it shapes licensing certainty, oversight tools, and the enforcement culture.

Another marker is the push for local value capture, not only through rhetoric but through rule design. The government has introduced local content regulations intended to raise Zambian participation in mining supply chains.

These instruments are politically attractive because they promise jobs and local enterprise, but they are also technically risky if they become a rent-seeking lane or a disguised procurement cartel. The credibility test is whether local content becomes competitive capacity-building, not a new extraction layer.

The administration is also selling a bigger idea: Zambia as a regional platform, not merely a mine site. UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan recently described Zambia as a strategic hub that has turned “landlocked” into “land-linked,” positioning it as a transit and energy corridor for regional trade frameworks. That message fits the mining regime’s new pitch: minerals should anchor logistics, power, and industrial nodes, not just leave the country as raw export.

The biggest gap in the story remains the same old African problem: extraction can expand while living standards stagnate. More than 70% of Zambians live in poverty, which makes the political stakes brutal. Citizens will not celebrate copper tonnage if the copper belt still feels like a sacrifice zone and Lusaka still feels like a pressure cooker. When governance is weak, booms enrich elites, fund politics, and harden inequality. This is the difference between a mining boom and a development boom.

Environmental credibility is the other fault line. Zambia has fresh scars, including the 2025 spill from a tailings facility that contaminated waterways linked to the Kafue system, reminding the country that production targets mean nothing if regulatory enforcement fails. The mining regime cannot be judged only by licences issued and tonnes produced. It will be judged by whether it can keep communities safe, water systems intact, and remediation costs real, not rhetorical.

The deeper question for 2026 and beyond is whether Zambia is building a mining state or just hosting mining. A mining state uses the boom to expand technical capacity, enforce compliance, build downstream capability, and convert mineral rents into public goods that citizens can see.

Hosting mining is the easy part: dig, export, announce growth, repeat. Zambia’s new narrative is ambitious. The measure of seriousness will be whether the rules bite equally across operators, whether value-add is negotiated into deals without killing competitiveness, and whether copper’s global moment becomes Zambia’s domestic moment, not another chapter in “pit-to-port” history.

© The People’s Brief | Ollus R. Ndomu

🇿🇲 BUILD-UP | PF’s February Deadline is Collapsing, Opposition Entering Its Most Dangerous Week

Everyone knows PF is fighting. That is not the story anymore.

The story now is time. The calendar is closing. February is ending. The convention PF promised “at all odds” has not happened. The injunction they vowed to defy has held. And with barely a week left in the month, the party is being exposed not as a wounded opposition, but as an organisation without a steering wheel.

This is no longer factional drama. This is a deadline crisis.

PF leaders told supporters a convention would happen regardless of Robert Chabinga’s court order. They framed it as inevitability. They framed it as courage. Yet February is slipping away with no convention, no elected centre, and no credible legal platform. When a party cannot keep its own timetable, it cannot ask the country to trust its national promises.

This is why February feels different. The PF is not simply divided. It is running out of institutional oxygen.

Brian Mundubile, long framed by rivals as a “traitor” and “power hungry,” is now behaving like the only opposition actor with an operational vehicle. He is not waiting for PF’s internal court battles to resolve. He is building around them. His camp has publicly offered Makebi Zulu and Given Lubinda the running mate position, giving them 12 days to decide. This is not generosity. It is a political ultimatum dressed as unity.

The subtext is brutal: PF’s door is closed, Tonse’s door is open.

The offer lands because PF has failed to deliver the one thing it promised its base, a convention that produces legitimacy. Instead, PF has become a marketplace of ambitions without a referee. The longer this drags, the more the opposition looks like a coalition of personal careers rather than a national alternative.

Then came the clearest warning yet, from PF’s own side.

Christopher Shakafuswa has not speak in metaphors. He declared: “There is no PF to talk about.” He argued that the real PF is trapped in Chabinga’s hands, while the rest is political theatre. His prediction was sharper still: once Parliament dissolves, the PF’s remaining visibility collapses with it. “When Parliament is dissolved… there won’t be any PF to talk about anymore.”.

This is the approaching earthquake.

May is not just another month. It is the moment the parliamentary label disappears, and politicians must choose survival over nostalgia. MPs are already signalling movement. Some are warming toward UPND development language. Some are positioning as independents. Some are quietly orbiting Mundubile’s Tonse structure. The ground is shifting before the formal whistle even blows.

This is what political exodus looks like before it becomes official.

The deeper danger is geographic. PF’s so-called traditional strongholds across the northern circuit are no longer guaranteed territory. Kasama has already shown competitive drift. Kabwe is bleeding councillors. The north is not collapsing into UPND love, it is fragmenting into divided opposition loyalties. A divided vote is a gift to incumbency.

Opposition parties do not lose only because the ruling party is strong. They lose because they weaken themselves into irrelevance.

That is the strategic disaster unfolding. PF is spending its final pre-election months fighting over certificates, injunctions, delegate lists, and expulsions. Zambia is entering a copper rush moment. The kwacha is strengthening. Investor confidence is returning. But PF’s loudest message remains internal rescue, not national renewal.

A party that cannot govern its own convention cannot govern a republic.

The punchline writes itself: PF promised a convention. February is ending without one. Mundubile is offering lifeboats. MPs are scanning exits. Strongholds are splitting. The opposition is not being crushed by the state.

It is being deserted by time.

© The People’s Brief | Political Desk

SHAKAFUSWA THROWS PUNCHES AT  THE OTHER CAMP

MANDEVU PF MP Christopher Shakafuswa says there is no PF to talk about, adding that not even a fake convention can salvage it.

Shakafuswa says when Parliament is dissolved, a lot of PF MPs will leave for either Tonse or UPND.

Meanwhile, Shakafuswa has accused Emmanuel Mwamba of being against the PF convention from the beginning, adding that he just loves being called PF presidential aspirant.

In a recent statement, Mwamba, who is PF faction Information and Publicity Chairperson, said party leaders endorsing presidential candidates who are no longer PF members, in reference to Brian Mundubile, would be immediately replaced.

Reacting to that in an interview, Shakafuswa, who is rallying behind Mundubile, said the legitimate PF was with Robert Chabinga, who didn’t have the grassroots.

He added that clinging to PF, which was just a shell, was like clinging to a dead horse.

“There is no PF to talk about. Look, the PF is being held by Chabinga. The PF has been paralysed since Miles Sampa held that convention, which culminated in him giving the leadership to Chabinga. So, on the face value, you have [Given] Lubinda and group, you have Makebi [Zulu] group, you have others. So, where is the PF? The PF is with Chabinga, and Chabinga does not have the grassroots. So, you find that Chabinga is holding the papers and the PF is neither here nor there. This is why I’m saying it’s not there. Tomorrow, when we get dissolved as Parliament, you find that what I’m saying is a reality, because today we’re talking about PF because of the members of parliament in the House. So, once Parliament is dissolved, there won’t be any PF to talk about anymore,” he said.

“There is no PF. You mobilise as PF, who has the papers? Which membership does Chabinga have? So it’s like you’re clinging to a dead horse. When Parliament is dissolved, that’s when you realise that PF is actually a shell. Because most of the members of parliament will go to Tonse. Most of the members of parliament will go to UPND. And those that may want to retire will retire. And so, who are you going to quote as members of parliament for PF? Obviously, that’s Chabinga”.

On the purported delegate list the party was coming up with for the convention, Shakafuswa said maybe it was for a PF convention in the diaspora.

“What list? There is a court matter. There’s an injunction that was adjudged by the judge in Kabwe to stop all activities until the court matters are determined. So, what is Mwamba talking about? Which party list is he going to make in America? Unless he’s saying that they’re going to have a convention from America, a PF convention in the diaspora,” he said.

Shakafuswa said the convention being planned by the Given Lubinda-led PF would just be a reloaded version of the 2023 Sampa convention.

“When I talked about jokers, I meant that last time. And for now, there’s no time to salvage what is the remnant of the PF, the time has gone. Nothing that they will do in terms of coming up with a fake delegate list, coming up with a fake convention, it will just be like the Miles Sampa thing, maybe reloaded. We asked that people reconcile so that we can do one thing, they refused. The people who are unpopular have been holding the PF to ransom. And so, we’ve left them to say, ‘okay, you operate alone.’ People have left them to operate the way they want. And now they are crying that those who’ve left have expelled themselves. No, people have just left,” he said.

“And right now, what is remaining is just a shell of Lubinda, Miles Sampa, and a group of some lunatics that Miles came with. Because some of the people that Miles brought, you find that he brought thugs and some lunatics, and they were awarded to be members of the Central Committee”.

Shakafuswa also wondered why Miles Sampa was “always awarded for misbehaving”.

“So sometimes, when I don’t have anything to do, I even say when I grow up, I want to be like Miles Sampa. You misbehave, you’re awarded. You remember Miles misbehaved during the 2016 election? He later came back. He was awarded as Mayor. This time, he misbehaved, went and did an illegal convention again. He was rewarded leader of opposition, member of Central Committee, and now an illegal Secretary General. So you ask yourself, the actions that Miles has been taking, doing an illegal convention, did it have the blessings of Lubinda?” Shakafuswa wondered.

“You ask yourself, since Miles is always getting rewarded, he comes back, he’s given leader of opposition by Lubinda. He comes back, he’s given to act as Secretary General. So now we are wondering, were these people in a pact? Was Miles acting alone? Or was the whole group that is now siding with Miles actually planning together with him?”

He further accused Mwamba of being against the convention, adding that he probably uses the title of PF presidential aspirant to survive.

“Mwamba just loves the status quo as a PF presidential aspirant, that’s all. Perhaps that is the way he’s surviving, to mobilise using an aspiring candidate [title]. Because there’s no sane person who just wants to continue aspiring and aspiring. And when you call for the convention, Mwamba has been anti-convention, even before Miles Sampa actually did the rubbish that he did. It’s because of people like Mwamba who held on to the party so that we don’t have a convention. Mwamba was very against the party rebranding and having its convention from the beginning, him and Nakacinda. That’s how come Miles Sampa got irritated and did what he did,” said Shakafuswa.

“So for Mwamba, I’m almost made to conclude that that is perhaps the way he survives, by fundraising using being perpetually a PF presidential contender. Because it’s not normal. It’s not normal that you’re a presidential candidate who doesn’t want to go to elections. You pay K200,000, but every time you talk about the convention, Mwamba has always been anti-convention”.

ZAMBIANS NEED A LAST LAUGH FROM NON PERFORMING, SPINELESS MPS

A KBN TV  EDITORIAL

A last laugh and perhaps a last hand shake with the President inside Parliament Chambers.

That’s the hard reality for many Members of Parliament as President Hakainde Hichilema opens the last session of the National Assembly on Friday, 20th February, 2026.

Significantly, the event will officially signal the beginning of an end to his first five year term as Head of State.

After this Friday, his fate to return to Parliament for another official opening of the House post August 13, will largely be in the hands of ordinary voters across the country.

If they are impressed with his performance over the past five years, they will vote for him. If not, this could mark an end to the Hichilema era as a one term President.

Similarly, in the case of some Members of Parliament, sadly, this will be their last session and may not return to the house. At this stage, no amount of sowing seeds or speaking in tongues will work, only the individual performance and results of each MP will speak for them.

Many will simply not be readopted by their sponsoring political parties, while others will lose to more promising competition in the upcoming August 13 general elections.

Most of the current MPs will lose because they have acted below the minimum decorum and performance expected of the people’s representatives.

They lacked patriotism and acted selfishly much to the annoyance of the people who sent them to Parliament. Most MPs never sided with the people. They sided with the wishes of the executive.

They kept quiet when they were expected to speak. They looked away when the people needed them the most. They voted and passed laws against the wishes of the electorate.

As if a terrible performance record is not enough, most citizens who have followed the evolution of parliamentary democracy in Zambia say, this has been the worst parliament in the history of the nation owing to the unbridled and wanton display of partisanship by the presiding officers.

Five years could have never been eternity; the clock is fast ticking and the month of May is coming for fresh adoptions.

We don’t have to be prophets to know that majority of the current MPs are going home and will never come back! They have been such a letdown lot! .

Zambia needs honourable men and women who can put national interest first instead of bootlicking and prioritising personal favours.

We must reset as a nation this August.  Zambia needs MPs with a spine, men and women of integrity who don’t forget their identity and mission at the sight, sound or mention of money.

ZUMANI MADE PF AND ECL LOSE THE 2021 ELECTIONS, HOW POWERFUL IS HE?

Dr Chris Zumani Zimba & ECL Movement  is a learned political scientist and researcher. He first appeared on the political scene with his satirical political articles mainly criticizing President Edgar Chagwa Lungu’s PF government on political violence and corruption after the 2016 general elections. In his articles, he warned President Lungu that his loss in 2021 to HH would be like Armageddon if certain things were not change.

Little did Dr Zumani know that President Lungu was following his articles. In October 2019, Zumani was engaged by the PF as a consultant to present a well researched study on the political landscape then and the possibilities of PF returning power in 2021.

According to him, the presentation was held at Statehouse chaired by President Lungu, attended by the then Vice President Mama Inonge Wina, then Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo, Nkandu Luo, Given Lubinda and other PF Members of the Central Committee (MCCs).

In that meeting, Zumani told these leaders including president Lungu that according to his well researched SWOT analysis, weaknesses and threats overweighed strengths, hence, if elections were to be held between 2019 and 2021 ECL would lose to HH, unless certain things were worked on.

After hearing this, some MCC members in attendance were fuming against the young consultant for challenging a sitting president in such a manner.

What shocked Zumani was, after a few months, he received an appointment letter from the man he had criticized and told was losing the coming election to his rival. ECL in confidence told Zumani that he called him because he was the only person that told him the truth and wanted him to help salvage PF.

Dr Zumani has so far challenged PF MCCs who attended his presentation at Statehouse to refute his claim.

Unfortunately, the PF party and president Edgar Chagwa Lungu lost the 2021 elections to now president Hakainde Hichilema.

PF members especially those that never agreed with his appointment as president Lungu political advisor, have been up in arms accusing Zumani of having caused the loss of the 2021 elections.

The truth however, remains, PF started sinking immediately after the death of president Michael Chilufya Sata. After the 2015 controversial convention, PF was never united. Key figures like Guy Scot and Silvia Masebo went to join UPND, Miles Sampa formed his own political party and entered into an alliancewith HH, later GBM also left to join UPND where he became Vice president administration, Kambwili also left and formed his own party called NDC, he too joined hands with HH to dismantle PF. If you think these heavyweights were punching in the air and not feasting on PF flesh to the advantage of UPND think twice.

By 2020 when Dr. Zumani joined Statehouse as political advisor to president Lungu, caderism under PF was at it’s peak. Actually, Zumani became an enemy to most PF cadres and leaders who were beneficiaries of caderism. Remember Zumani replaced a well known cadre political advisor. He came in with a different style of doing things to try and clean the name of ECL which was already dented by the scandalous political advisor Zumani replaced, this however, did not sit well with many people in PF. They have continued to hate the gentleman.

If Zumani was this powerful to make PF lose the 2021 general elections, then he can as well be powerful to help Tonse Alliance and president Brian Mundubile win the August, 2026 general elections.

In short Dr Chris Zumani actually helped ECL to return some level of trust from people after he replaced Kaizer Zulu as political advisor to the president.

Dr. Chris Zumani Zimba was recently elected as Tonse Alliance Secretary General under the leadership of President Brian Mundubile.

Sampa Mwaume – The Chinsalian
Governance Activist
Chilinda Constituency Aspiring MP
Chinsali.

BY  MCPHERSON MUTALE

WE HAVE A CRISIS OF COURAGE IN THE OPPOSITION.

Let me speak plainly, and from the heart.

Give me just one name—one—within the opposition today who has demonstrated the resilience and tenacity required to mount a serious counterforce against United Party for National Development. Just one.

Most of the current opposition leaders are either weighed down by questionable past conduct or simply lack the political stamina required to lead. Instead of building a formidable alternative, many have become apologists—men and women who seem to believe that President Hakainde Hichilema somehow owes them power, as though leadership is granted by sympathy rather than seized through struggle.

Despite numerous policy inconsistencies and political missteps that could have energized a vibrant opposition, this administration has largely moved forward unchallenged. They have enjoyed a political free ride. At this stage, the UPND need only manage its internal processes effectively; they face no credible external threat.

I have said it before and I will repeat it: the UPND has firm traditional strongholds in Southern, Western, and North-Western Provinces, where they can confidently count on not less than a million votes. In contrast, as of 2021, the opposition had no consolidated stronghold. The Patriotic Front failed to defeat UPND in any constituency with an overwhelming majority. In fact, the UPND secured respectable votes even in Muchinga, Luapula, Northern, and Eastern Provinces—areas previously claimed as PF fortresses.

When one carefully observes the current opposition leadership, the reality is unsettling. Some appear restrained by fear—fear of legal consequences stemming from past actions. Others simply lack the intellectual courage to articulate policy alternatives superior to those of the ruling party.

How can we speak of a “formidable opposition” when, just months before a general election, they are quiet, fragmented, and visibly confused? Where are the mass rallies? Where are the decisive mobilization campaigns? Where are the high-profile defections from the ruling party? Instead, the trend runs in the opposite direction: opposition members continue to migrate toward the UPND.

Let me state this with certainty: the UPND is positioned for an easy victory—not necessarily because it has been exceptional, but because it has no serious match. The wisest course for the opposition now is to put its house in order and prepare strategically for 2031. That is the sobering reality. Today’s opposition is fragmented, bruised, and directionless—waiting, it seems, for President Hichilema to hand them power.

But political power is never handed out like a blessing. It is wrestled. It is fought for. It is claimed through relentless tenacity and calculated aggression. President Hichilema and the late Michael Sata both demonstrated this truth. Each endured years—over a decade—of political struggle before reaching the apex of Zambian politics.

If resilience and tenacity are absent now, they will not magically appear once in office.
Let me ask again, sincerely and honestly: who among the opposition today possesses the political aura, the courage, and the strategic depth to defeat President Hichilema in a national election? I am not asking for a list. I am asking for one name.

This moment should serve as a lesson to young and aspiring leaders—Antonio Mwanza, Binwell Mpundu, Jackson Silavwe, Christopher Kangombe, Chipoka Mulenga, Sean Tembo, and others of their generation. The future is not closed—but it requires preparation, unity, and strategic patience starting now.

I hold respect for individuals such as Makebi Zulu, Christopher Kangombe, and Jackson Silavwe. Yet respect alone does not win elections. Zambian politics demands a certain fire—push, endurance, and calculated boldness. In that regard, figures like Antonio Mwanza, Binwell Mpundu, Kasonde Mwenda, and Sean Tembo may, in time, stand a stronger chance—precisely because they appear willing to go the extra mile.

Be not deceived: becoming President in Zambia is no simple ascent. It requires vision anchored in patience, clarity of purpose, and the refusal to rely on opportunism. Many today claim that “the people” are the largest opposition force. But leadership is not inherited from dissatisfaction. It must be earned.

What have you built? What have you sacrificed? What have you organized?

Let me be unapologetically clear: much of the current opposition leadership lacks courage and strategic seriousness. They are attempting to ride on public frustration rather than build a disciplined, credible alternative. As it stands, they may be ready to participate in elections—but they are not prepared to compete.

And that is the painful truth.

By Sunday Chanda

SOLUTIONS FROM THE OPPOSITION DESERVE INTERROGATING TOO

While the intention to improve incomes for workers is understandable, we must carefully assess the macroeconomic and fiscal consequences of removing 10 percent from PAYE collections and redirecting it to salaries.

First, in Zambia, PAYE is one of the most predictable and stable sources of domestic revenue. Diverting even a small portion of this revenue reduces Government’s capacity to fund essential public services such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, and social protection.

Second, this policy risks creating a permanent expansion of the public sector wage bill. Salaries are not one-off expenditures; they are recurring obligations. Once implemented, reversing them becomes socially and politically difficult, locking Government into long-term fiscal commitments.

Third, such a policy would directly affect fiscal planning undertaken by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning Zambia, which is currently working toward fiscal consolidation, debt sustainability, and maintaining investor confidence..

Fourth, macroeconomic stability considerations monitored by the Bank of Zambia require that wage growth be aligned with productivity growth. If salaries rise without corresponding productivity increases, the likely outcomes are inflationary pressure, erosion of real purchasing power, and possible exchange rate instability.

Fifth, from an investor confidence perspective, international markets closely observe fiscal discipline. Policies that appear to convert tax revenue into consumption expenditure without corresponding revenue replacement may be interpreted as weakening fiscal anchors, potentially increasing borrowing costs..

The responsible question is not whether we support workers, we must. The question is whether we support workers in a way that is sustainable, fiscally responsible, and protective of long-term economic stability

True and lasting salary growth must come from:

1. Economic expansion,
2. Productivity improvement,
3. Revenue growth,
4. And sustainable fiscal space, not from reallocating existing tax streams in ways that weaken the national budget.

I therefore urge citizens to carefully weigh the long-term fiscal risks against the short-term political appeal of this proposal.

Sunday Chanda

PF INFIGHTING THREATENS AUGUST VICTORY – BANDA

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) Kapoche Constituency Women’s Chairperson Ekelesi Banda has warned that the former ruling party risks losing the August 13 general elections if internal divisions persist.

Speaking to The Mast yesterday, Banda said leadership and ownership disputes within the PF were too deep to resolve in time to guarantee electoral success against the United Party for National Development (UPND).

“I just want to urge senior party officials to sort out their differences if the party is to defeat UPND. Currently, there is no hope that the PF can defeat the UPND in August. We are too divided as leaders,” she said.

Banda said the UPND government had failed the people of Zambia terribly, but that conduct of the PF leaders was more injurious to the nation, which had hope in the former ruling party.

“The fact is that it will be difficult to challenge the UPND as long as the confusion in management is still hot. UPND has confused us; UPND has failed to keep the promises it gave the people in 2021. It told us that fertiliser will be at K200, but up to date, it is still high. We have tried to join cooperatives, but things are not moving as theft has also invaded cooperatives,” she said.

Banda pleaded with the party leadership to put their differences aside and work towards unifying the opposition to defeat UPND.

” Here on the ground, it’s very easy for people to defeat UPND, but they need a candidate. We need to have a candidate whom we can introduce to the people because, as things stand, there is so much confusion. People want to vote out UPND, but they need a key in the form of a human being whom they can vote for to remove the uncaring UPND government,” she said.

Banda said Zambians were decided on the way forward and called on opposition leaders such as the Socialist Party and its People’s Pact 2026 presidential candidate Dr Fred M’membe to visit the grassroots as an alternative to root out the UPND.

The Mast