RESPONSE TO COSMAS CHILESHE: “REALITY ISN’T SELF-GRADED”
By Thandiwe Ketis Ngoma
With all due respect to Mr. Cosmas Chileshe and the UPND Media Team, no amount of justification will erase the daily struggles Zambians are facing. The high cost of living, prolonged load shedding, joblessness, and growing inequality are not abstract “global pressures.” They are harsh, local realities.
It is laughable, if not insulting, for a sitting President to grade himself 7 out of 10 as though leadership is a solo school project. Since when does a student set their own exam, invigilate themselves, mark their own script, and then boast about how well they have passed? That is not confidence. That is delusion.
One wonders: is this the kind of media spin those experts from Kenya came to train you in? Responding to real concerns with staged self-praise and selective memory? If so, they have taught you well in the art of denial, not communication.
Progress is not declared; it is felt. You do not need a press release to know your fridge is empty, your lights are off, or your kwacha buys less every day. Zambians are not waiting for more speeches. They are waiting for relief and results.
So please, spare us the spin. Let the people, not the politicians, decide the true scorecard.
For once I agree with this serial vitriolic contributor to public discourse. President HH should desist from such grandstanding. Let others say it.