The civil rights activist and recently appointed human rights commissioner has said the UPND government should offer simplified explanations on what its doing to ease pressure on citizens arising from rising costs of basic goods.
Laura Miti wrote:
Had a conversation with a friend yesterday evaluating the UPND government’s first months in office.
We agreed that there can be no excuse for not delivering on governance issues within the 1st year. Governance is totally within the hands of government.
Because strengthing our systems and democracy is an internal housekeeping matter totally in the control of the President and his Cabinet laws to concretise our democracy must pass. These include concrete steps towards a credible and popular constitution, repeal of the horrible and unconstitutional Public Order and Cyber Crimes and Security Acts, and the passing of the Access to Information law. Defamation of the President has to be decriminalised. This, thankfully, is something which is on the way, if the progressive proposals in the review of the Penal and Criminal Procedure codes recently released by the Law Development Commission are passed into law.
On the positives we agreed that the return of the rule of law has made remarkably strong strides. This, especially as concerns the removal of cadres strangle hold on citizen lives. There is a sense of calm in the country that we had quite lost.
Back to what needs to be done, we thought that Ministers need to up their game. The nation must hear solid plans from them. They are generally quiet. A patent sense of absence surrounds them. Yes, we have heard about the welcome free education and hiring of teachers, for example. We, however, need to know what the Minister of Education’s plans for other crises in his sector are. Political class sizes, plummeted standards at UNZA and CBU, curricula.
Who is the Minister of Agriculture again? What are his plans to support crop diversification, export of fruit like avocados that we don’t even have to grow – they are in every yard.
All Ministers must be in full directional control of their portfolios and be heard from.
Finally, we thought that the huge question of the economy, unlike governance and systems, will need at least a couple of years to show signs of recovery. Our deep debt hole and broken economy cannot possibly turn around. immediately. However, it would be good to hear simplified explanations on what is being done to take us out of this painful space. Prices are killing citizens. They have to understand what government is doing, and why it will continue to be hard for a while.
Talking about explanations, I wonder why the President has not had a press conference in months. Isn’t that something he promised to do often?
That is totally in his hands!