PeP STATEMENT No. 35 ISSUED ON WEDNESDAY 5th MAY 2021: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1. As Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) today marks a momentous day in our political journey after paying the K95,000 presidential nomination fee to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) for Mr Sean Enock Tembo (SET) to contest this year’s general elections.
2. Indeed, over the past 5 years since our formation on 5th October 2016 we have relentlessly performed our duty to the Zambian people as a progressive opposition political party that is objective and independent minded. We have not and shall never side with any of the two larger political parties; the PF and the UPND. Among our achievements, we have pioneered issue-based politics so that instead of debating personalities, the political discourse today is more about who has better solutions for Zambia’s prosperity, such as whether the IMF route is a good plan for Zambia’s economic turnaround. We are the only political party that has offered Zambians documented alternative solutions to national problems through our Alternative National Budgets which we have consistently developed and presented for the past five years.
3. The Patriots for Economic Progress is the only political party in Zambia that has dragged the Government to court on four occasions on public interest matters in the past five years. The Patriots for Economic Progress is the only political party in Zambia that has held 12 successful public protests on matters of public interest. Since our inception, we have formally queried a total of 37 public institutions including ZESCO, Ministry of Justice, Bank of Zambia, Zambia Revenue Authority etc., on matters of public interest. We have also issued a total of 1,104 official statements on various matters of public interest, in the past 5 years since our formation. For all intents and purposes, the Patriots for Economic Progress has been the de facto main opposition political party in Zambia in the past 5 years. We now intend to ask the Zambian people to make us the official main opposition political party in the next 5 years.
4. Indeed, as outlined above, if we could achieve so much as an opposition political party in the past five years without a single Member of Parliament or Councillor, imagine how much more we can contribute to the democratic development of Zambia if you the Zambian people can be gracious enough to give us MPs and Councillors in this year’s general elections?
5. As Patriots for Economic Progress, we are aware that our political opponents might have more resources than us, but we are confident that our performance as an opposition political party in the past five years will speak for us. We shall go into this 12th August battle with the troops that we have and not the troops that we wish we had.
Thank You and May God Bless the Good Citizens of the Republic of Zambia and Our Ailing Nation.
YOURS SINCERELY
SEAN ENOCK TEMBO (SET)
PARTY PRESIDENT
PATRIOTS FOR ECONOMIC PROGRESS (PeP)