President HH should know that people distinguish facts from fiction- Aaron Ng’ambi

President HH should know that people distinguish facts from fiction

By Aaron Ng’ambi

This idea that the United Party for National Development (UPND) government has done more for this country than any other regime since independence is a fallacy.

People should know that when a president engages in such cheap talk and reckless claims, the masses begin to wonder as to why the desperation for such unfounded self-praise and dishonesty. A good example is former president Donald Trump of the United States of America who is famous for such delusional talk and misrepresentations of facts. He loves to make all sorts of unsubstantiated claims for self-exaltation. It is unfortunate that even our very own sitting President Hakainde Hichilema (HH) is beginning to sound like he is bluffing in some of his claims. This habit should not be tolerated, because it will pollute our politics with lies and falsehoods, to a point that we will fail as a nation to undo the damage – America today is a classic example of such an outcome.

Arguably, the new dawn administration has not even achieved half of what the Levy Mwanawasa regime achieved in its first term of office. Hence, to suggest that UPND has done more than any regime for the past 60 years is an over stretch. Let us go back to the basics in qualifying this argument. Just a simple question such as which industries, factories and manufacturing has this government established? Who owns the means of production in this economy today? We all know that all strategic sectors of our economy are owned, and operated by non-Zambians; from retail chain stores i.e Shoprite, Pep Stores, Pick ‘n‘ Pay, Game Stores, etc…

The mining industry is an open secret and no exception in this regard. Just look at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Mopani Copper Mines (MCM), Roan Copper Mines, even the new dawn government’s newly commissioned Shaft 28 in Launshya – in North-Western Province we have Barrick Gold, Lumwana Mine, Kalumbila Mine , and a few other mines – while in Kafue we mine nickle, which are all foreign owned. Notwithstanding the gemstone mines on the Copperbelt, and other big profitable mines across the country. Perhaps if we owned these mines as government, and as the people of Zambia, maybe we will not be recording such high number of deaths by so-called illegal miners under the watch of the UPND.

Furthermore, let us also look at the construction sector controlled and sponsored by this administration through government contracts. It is sad to note that most, if not all infrastructure development projects, are outsourced with preference given to foreign entities and leaving crumbs or odd jobs for local contractors. For a country with qualified, trained, and equipped engineers, this is a shame!

Also, the banking sector is no different, all major banks in the country are not owned by Zambians. In fact, it’s under this regime that we have witnessed the unthinkable as we saw two local banks that Zambians could claim ownership were forced to shut down. It’s a matter of public record that the UPND government brought down the Development Bank of Zambia and went on to liquidate Investrust Bank. Regardless of what the issues may have been with these two institutions, government should have taken interest is saving these banks and provide some sort of bailout package. This would have been the right thing to do, just like we saw the Americans do to their collapsing banks in 2008-09 during the financial crisis. Anyway, it appears that Hichilema hasn’t learned anything from his friends in the West, with regards to this issue.

Evidently, all these sectors thus far mentioned were all owned and controlled by the Zambian government and the Zambian people during the reign of Dr Kenneth Kaunda (KK). At that time, the mines on the Copperbelt under the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) era gave our country the best quality of life ever recorded in our history – and created sustainable jobs that paid a living wage. Therefore, how can President HH surely say with a straight face that “his regime has done more for our country, than any of his predecessors”? Is the man being serious! This is just absolutely untrue and shameful to say the least. Any well-meaning Zambian can agree without contention, with the notion that Dr Kaunda and his colleagues laid a firm foundation. Even the little development that proceeded a little after the 27 years of Dr Kaunda was all premised on the building blocks that KK left behind. His record is unmatched – by far.

At 60 years of independence, Zambia still sits comfortably among the class of nations where few have so much wealth and privileged at the expense of masses of our people. We have seen an increase in the number of homeless people, while we struggle with poor housing conditions – just look around the township or compounds surrounding the capital city, Lusaka. We have a huge population of people living below the poverty lines (less than $1) a day, within an economy that currently has an exponential growth in the high cost of living. The poor infrastructure in urban areas, and worse off in rural places puts our country in the shadows of shame. Some of the economic roads in this country have never been done since independence, while others were only worked on by President Michael Sata. Clearly, how can the UPND be better off than all the previous regime when all the facts do not agree with them?

Conversely, in terms of economic benefits, the profits made out of these companies running our industries and economic activities from various sectors do not contribute to our national treasury, but instead leave our country in broad daylight. And only to be paid off as dividends for those who own the means of production. These are the people who are pay masters of our politicians, who wine and dine with them. Honestly, how can this be a situation that is far better off for our country since 1964? How is it that President HH can claim that his government has done more for the country when the people today have massive load shedding under his watch? In some areas these power outages go up to 21 hours, or even two to three days. The levels of unemployment are off the roof, and even for those who have jobs they are cashiers and security guards at shopping malls, which is a disgrace because these jobs do not pay a living wage. Regrettable, because of such circumstances, the levels of crime have gone up in Lusaka and other urban areas. At 60 years of independence, we import everything and consume anything without production of goods and services that our people need daily. In all fairness, this is not the change that HH himself and the UPND promised the Zambian people.

The truth is that some presidents before HH created better jobs and expanded the manufacturing industries countrywide, which gave our people pride and dignity. The focus of our forebearers was to build a country that gave life to its people, especially the young ones. There was a plan for the youth, women, and children at the core of our nation building during the post-independence years. This is evident in all the programmes, and policies of government under the United National Independence Party (UNIP). For example, the recruitment of graduates into the Zambia National Service (ZNS) did two things. Number one, it instilled a sense of pride in all young people who were transitioning from higher institutions of learning into the workforce. Just those two years or so that one spent in service to our country via ZNS was enough to give young people a sense of belonging and ownership. Secondly, the ZNS recruitment and time spent in the service made sure that young people learned tangible skills that would set them up for life thereafter. This is the kind of foundation laid down by KK, which is something HH and his UPND cannot even come close to establishing.

Even though some things went wrong during the foundational years of our Republic, no one can question the spirit and intent of our forefathers. They meant well for this country, and most of them gave everything to see us to where we are. Some of the short comings that became very obvious was the intolerance to divert views among the ruling class. The undemocratic tendencies that began to surface in government institutions, and many other negative appetites. A good lesson that by now we all should have learned from and moved away from such. Unfortunately, we are beginning to see the new dawn administration becoming very intolerant to views that criticise and critique them. This is unhealthy and unacceptable. A true democracy entails that all speech is protected under the Constitution, and that no speech is censored or curtailed. Let the people speak, even when you passionately disagree with them.

President HH should be encouraged to normalise the truth, or at least have respect for facts. As president you cannot just wake up and created your own alternative reality, and make careless statements thinking that the people will agree with you. No! That is not right, even if it’s a matter of opinion, because leaders have to be thorough and stick to facts as they formulate opinions and influence others.

The author is a political scientist with keen interest in domestic and global issues. Email: aaronngambi@yahoo.com