UPND are now groping in the dark, we know what is going on – Lungu

UPND are now groping in the dark, we know what is going on – Lungu

By Fanny Kalonda

WHAT has happened is that everything is being managed from State House, says former president Edgar Lungu.

“We held power before and we know exactly what went wrong and we know exactly what is going on now and what is wrong,” he says.

Lungu accused the current administration of destroying everying adding that they are now “groping in the dark.”

Featuring on Radio Delight Kwitonta of Muchinga Province on Sunday, Lungu accused the government of frustrating Zambians.

“Zambians have woken up. Me I woke up a long time and I can tell you they have done nothing. There was no magic in how we succeeded pantu (because) we succeeded by listening to those who are better. Nomba pantu bena niba best, mwamona apo batusha (But because they are the best, you see where they have left us). You cannot have everything managed from State House. Leave the line ministry to deal with these issues. Issues of agriculture should be dealt with by the Ministry of Agriculture. You have your minister, he reports to you in cabinet and you have your secretary he reports to the Secretary to the Cabinet and the government has mechanisms for making sure that these standalone ministries are synchronised with others and are being able to deliver. But what has happened is that everything is being managed from State House,” he said. “So we did not manage these things from State House, that’s how we succeeded. And if these line ministries had difficulties, they always reported to me through the appropriate channels, saying Mr president we are having difficulties in this. Either funding or technical support is not forthcoming and then me as supervisor would make sure that I whip this one in line. But what is happening now is everything has to go through State House and civil servants are very frustrated. And they regret every morning when they wake up because they don’t think that that is how the civil service is supposed to run. So we succeeded again by being careful with what we do and learning from the best and introducing a new system. Obviously, we brought in stakeholders and inquired from them. We want to do this, we think this is how it will work and they would always tell us, have you looked at this aspect…”

Lungu said the UPND government did not mean well for the people.

“We were experts because we allowed the experts to give us guidance and these people who came and said they knew how to be farmers, destroyed everything and now they are groping in the dark. That’s why kuli insala (there’s hunger). And iyi insala ishileko, Lesa abikapo na drought (with this huger God has also added the drought) . Immediately they saw that the crop was failing countrywide, they should have triggered a mechanism of engaging the commercial farmers. The big farmers who are known and engage them to say twalacita shani, tufwayeko amataba (what shall we do, let’s look for maize)…,” Lungu said. “But they cannot think because they don’t know. The funny part and the worst part, which is annoying, is that we have experts. We have ministers who are there. [Michael] Katambo is still in parliament, my minister of agriculture. I am not saying he’s the best person but they can talk to him and he can tell them how we used to do it. And apart from that, you know what they have done? They went into ministries like agriculture and health and pruned everyone who had institutional memory, who had contacts, who is an expert, because they belonged to PF or probably they belonged to the wrong ethnic grouping.”

Lungu also accused President Hichilema of exaggerating the levels of caderism that was there under the PF administration.

“Caderism is bad. Going into the future, the Zambians have said yes they don’t want to have caderism. We will make sure we take measures in place to make sure that caderism is eradicated, which they have not done,” he said.

And Lungu said the government should not be ashamed to admit failure.

“Beumfwa insoni bepusheko abaishiba, abafibombapo… Nafilwa, nganafilwa uwafishiba… kwipusha ifwe fwebafibombelemo. Kukweba ati ni apa na apa; tinika apa (I have failed, if I fail those who know…ask those of us who have done it before. We shall tell you that it’s here and here; press here),” Lungu said further.

He said PF understands what is going on and what is wrong.

“We are the most experienced political party in existence now apart from UNIP, I don’t know if they are still there. Apart from MMD, I don’t know if they are there. We held power before and we know exactly what went wrong and we know exactly what is going on now and what is wrong. So we are the most prevalent in terms of experience and knowledge. And we have the resource which is required, which is necessary to tap in, to exist as an opposition political force and form government. So there is no doubt PF is still existing. PF has got a president, me. PF has got SG (secretary general) that is (Raphael) Nakacinda. PF has a vice-president who is Given Lubinda. So tekweba ati ngawaisafye nobufufuntungu (It’s not that you just come with crookedness), you see nobukangalume, waisafye waiposafye ati iyo nine muka balya bamayo balya nimbapoka abalume; takwaba uko bacita ifyo naimwe ((with an iron fist, you just throw yourself and say I am the owner of this wife, I have grabbed her from the husband; you don’t do that!)” he explained. “We were listening to experts and that’s how we did it. Ifwe palwesu, inkama yabapo twalelanshanya mu cabinet, te cabinet ya muntu umo. Amano yashinguluke umuntu umo, takwaba. So ifwe kwena I think we were experts. (For us the secret is that we used to discuss in Cabinet, it’s not one man’s cabinet. One person possessing all the wisdom, there’s no such a thing. So for us, I think we were experts).”

Lungu said if PF was still in power by now they would have found a way of resolving the debt issue.

Asked for his position on the education sector, Lungu said, “We have to revisit what we are seeing. Abaana (children), there is no quality education ati (that) I want to be a pharmacist because I like farming. That’s a joke. But I am telling you that they have diluted the level of education and the quality of education. It’s unfair especially to those people abashakwata indalama (those without money). The quality of education is zero,” said Lungu. “We had borrowed, yes, and we were going to pay and if we had been in charge of the country by now we would have found a way of resolving this indebtedness.”- The Mast