ZAMBIANS ARE STRESSED
….the UPND govt should deal with the many economic challenges in the country as opposed to arresting opposition leaders, says Hon Kampyongo
Lusaka… Thursday June 13, 2024 (SMART EAGLES)
Former Home Affairs Minister Hon Stephen Kampyongo says Zambians are stressed because of the many economic challenges in the country.
Hon Kampyongo says the UPND government should instead work tirelessly to address these challenges as apposed to arresting opposition political party leaders and those with opposing views.
Speaking when he featured on The Hot Seat this morning on Hot FM in Lusaka, Hon Kampyongo bemoaned the selective application of the law by those in power.
“We have got so many challenges in this country Pzee (The Host), people are stressed including you because for you to get here to work, you need to make sure that you have fuel. Are you able to get that fuel from the income that you get? You also need to put food on the table. These are the things they (UPND) should be focusing on,” he said.
“I remember the Head of State (HH) was challenging you and asked you if you had seen load-shedding under his rule the last time you engaged him, have you gone back to say sir now I have seen load-shedding? So these are things that are stressing all of us. This power deficit is affecting production, manufacturing companies are now contemplating probably downsizing in terms of work force.”
The Shiwang’andu Member of Parliament also urged the Inspector General of Police to be responsible enough in handling the affairs of the Zambia Police Service.
He said the reasons given by the police in denying the opposition rallies are not justifiable.
“I was giving a practical example of what happened at DEC and I was saying we need to give our leaders respect. President Hakainde Hichilema, I am not in his party but he is a President of Zambia, the same respect he deserves is the same respect he should go with when he leaves office as a former Head of State. I wouldn’t want to see what happened to his predecessor happen to him. That is a culture we should not encourage. Those carders were unruly even in the presence of the police,” he added.
“The Inspector General of Police should now be focusing on incapacitating the police service for them to discharge their duties in line with the provisions of the constitution of Zambia. When you hear the Head of State, who is the commander in chief of the armed forces, contemplating on using the army, it shows you that there is a big problem.”
Hon Kampyongo also wondered if the UPND carders have more powers than the police for the Police IG to claim that they cannot allow opposition political parties to hold rallies because the UPND carders can attack them.