STATEMENT BY UPND SECRETARY GENERAL, BATUKE IMENDA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
30th March 2024
RE: POLITICAL HOODLUMS MISINFORMING ZAMBIANS
The opposition political parties are deliberately trying to misinform citizens by twisting the narrative about Zambia’s debt restructuring, earlier agreed with Official Creditors and the Bondholders.
Visionary President Hakainde Hichilema and his administration did not ask for debt forgiveness because they know they can pay back the PF acquired debt given an enabling fiscal space.
Therefore, it’s a fact that debt restructuring is not debt forgiveness as the doomsayers are trying to mislead and lie to Zambians.
Unfortunately, we are aware of the opposition schemes of misinformation about national issues.
They believe the citizens of this country do not understand the difference between debt forgiveness and restructuring, hence their unbridled propaganda against this achievement by the new dawn administration.
But Zambians know that Debt restructuring is a necessary exercise to fix public finances which were highly compromised by the Patriotic Front government’s financial indiscipline and recklessness.
The restructuring of the debt to pay later was necessary to create fiscal headroom for the country.
The doomsayers should know that they are only managing to annoy Zambians, who are the direct beneficiaries of this acquired relief.
If Zambians were made to pay back the 750 million Dollars in 2022, 1.3 billion Dollars in 2024 and another 1 billion Dollars in 2027, which PF borrowed, their lives could have been in disarray.
Our people fully understand that this government has only been accorded fiscal space by its official creditors and bondholders.
As Zambians, we know that President Hichilema first needed to tackle the debt burden imposed on them by former president Edgar Lungu with his friends before embarking on accelerated developmental programs.
As elaborated by the hard working Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, the UPND shall now focus on ramping up productivity, achieving food security, collecting enough taxes to fund our social budget and increasing both local and foreign investments.
Therefore, the hate being exhibited and the prejudice being held against the United Party for National Development (UPND) government will not help these political hoodlums, who don’t mean well for the citizens of this country.
These opposition leaders are on record, having doubted the success of the debt restructuring and today they are deliberately trying to mislead their blind followers.
Lungu and his friends in the United Kwacha Alliance are manipulating the narrative that debt restructuring will not benefit the citizens.
It’s shameful that those who aspire to lead the country are bent on causing further destruction, where the majority citizens are condemned to excruciating poverty and misery.
President Hakainde Hichilema and his team are working extremely hard to develop this country.
They are individuals that are now shamelessly claiming that they started the process and are now eager to share credit.
They did enough damage to the country, all we are asking them is to watch and see us apply resolute and beneficial economics.
Issued by:
Hon. Batuke Imenda
UPND SECRETARY GENERAL