UPND DEVELOPMENT AGENDA IS INCLUSIVE SAYS MECHA, AS HE DISMISSES TRIBALISM CLAIMS
Former Chifunabuli Member of Parliament Ponde Mecha has dismissed claims that President Hakainde Hichilema’s administration is driven by tribalism, arguing that the UPND government’s development record demonstrates inclusivity and national unity rather than division.
Mr. Mecha has cited CDF as the clearest example, stating that for the first time, development resources were being distributed using a uniform formula across all constituencies, regardless of region, tribe or political affiliation.
He said the equal allocation of CDF had resulted in schools, clinics, roads and empowerment projects emerging countrywide, adding that “no tribe, no region and no political colour is being favoured.”
Mr. Mecha further observed that President Hichilema’s nationwide engagements and a regionally balanced Cabinet were “the marks of a unifier deliberately stitching together a fractured nation.”
Turning to the opposition, Mr. Mecha said it had failed to present alternative economic ideas and had instead resorted to what he described as a “weaponised tribal narrative.”
He argued that the opposition had abandoned discussions on economic recovery, energy security and job creation because it could not compete with the government’s reform agenda.
Mr. Mecha pointed to Luapula Province as evidence that the tribal narrative would not succeed, stating that long-held perceptions of the province as marginal had been overturned.
He said the Mabumba 50-megawatt Solar Power Plant was a strategic investment that signalled Luapula’s central role in Zambia’s industrialisation drive.
According to him, the project would enable value addition in fisheries, agriculture and forestry, laying the foundation for factories, agro-processing hubs and small business growth.
He stressed that development projects funded through CDF and energy investments “do not speak the language of tribe; they speak the language of opportunity.”
Mr. Mecha said Zambians were increasingly aware that national progress could not be sacrificed to political slogans and internal party disputes.
Looking ahead to the 2026 general elections, Mr. Mecha said the choice facing the country was not tribal but developmental.
He said the contest would be “between continuity and regression, between systems and slogans,” warning that abandoning ongoing reforms would risk reversing hard-won economic gains.
Mr. Mecha expressed confidence that Zambians would reject divisive politics, stating that while tribalism could not defeat economic progress on its own, the country would continue moving forward by choosing unity and sustained development.