The years we have had Edgar Lungu as President of our Republic are lost years.
This is a president who has completely failed to define the purpose of his presidency.
Even if his presidency was to, in any way, end today Edgar would not be missed the way Levy Mwanawasa and Michael Sata are, to varying degrees, missed by Zambians.
Edgar’s government has pushed the country into very high debt levels with very little, if not nothing, to show for it.
The only thing Edgar has succeeded in is increasing corruption, intolerance and abuse of public institutions. He has literally destroyed the integrity of every public institution – the Judiciary, Parliament, the police, the Drug Enforcement Commission, the Anti-Corruption Commission and so on and so forth. Not even the Church has been spared.
Edgar has reduced our multiparty political dispensation to virtually a de facto one party dictatorship. He has really contracted the democratic space.
The economy is in a shambles. Poverty and despair have increased in the country.
This is the record on which Edgar is seeking a third term!
On top of this his health is in a shambles. The many years of very reckless living – excessive drinking and all that goes with it – have caught up with him. It can’t be concealed or masked anymore – Edgar is in serious trouble with his health.
Why should a person in this situation seek a third term when he can’t even manage his second term properly?
The sad thing is that all those around him know all this very well but have chosen to hide it. Why? It’s because they are benefiting from this chaos, weaknesses. Some are secretly manoeuvring to take over when he finally drops out. The Edgar presidency is literally over.
But in all this, they don’t care about what happens to the people, to the Zambian people.
They are trying to push in a new Constitution – Bill 10 – to guarantee themselves an easy takeover so that they can continue to loot and enrich themselves.
These are not leaders but mercenaries, vampires.