UPND HAS PAVED ITS OWN EXIT PATH: KUYABEBELE! – Faston Mwale, SP Deputy General Secretary 

UPND HAS PAVED ITS OWN EXIT PATH: KUYABEBELE! 

By Faston Mwale, SP Deputy General Secretary – Political

Beneath the surface of apparent calm and tranquility, a raging storm of anger and frustration of the masses is building up against the ruling UPND and once this reaches a concentration point, it will transform into a qualitative motive force to drive the UPND out of power in the upcoming general elections of 2026. This is not a speculative prediction but one informed by concrete reality, current tendencies, and trends.

The common subject of conversation in private and public spheres is about how hard life has become under the UPND. From the citadels of higher learning to the pulpits, from the bus stations to the gutter press, a deafening torrent of disapproval to the puppetry and dictatorial leadership provided by the UPND is growing ever louder.

In the context of the wholesale national power supply meltdown, worsening cost of living crisis, poor leadership, grand corruption, looting of public resources, violation of human rights, disregard of the rule of law, declining economy, among others, combine to produce the current dilemmas of the struggling masses.

It does not require much disquisition to deduce that the UPND in its totality, is a failed project. On this score alone, the UPND has paved its own exit path from the realm of power. The assertion by the head of state purporting that the UPND stayed in opposition for 23 years and therefore, no one would push the UPND out of government after serving a term testifies to the growing spasms of fear of the looming doomsday for the UPND.

There is no political proviso in our statutes that provides that when a party spends 23 years in opposition, it will be automatically bestowed with another 23 years for governance. If that occurred, it would be a rare case of an accident of history. The logic of the game is that when you mess up, as is the case with the `UPND, the people take you out democratically. It was so with the United National Independence Party (UNIP) in 1991, it was so with the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) in 2011, it was so with the Patriotic Front (PF) in 2021 and it shall be so with the United Party for National Development (UPND) in 2026.

Having messed up big time, the prospect of securing a second term of office has dwindled drastically for the UPND and this is what is generating tremors of fear in the UPND camp.

During the run up to the 2021 general elections, the UPND leadership postured themselves as political messiahs and economic MacGyvers but today reality has dawned upon them. They mystified themselves with the fancy idea of the 10-point plan. Three years have drifted by, and the infamous 10-point plan has remained sterile. The failure of the UPND to deliver on their promises proves the point that the UPND was just deluding the masses to gain political mileage. 

It cannot be denied that the imposition of the neo-liberal capitalist prescriptions is directly responsible for having pushed a broad section of the struggling masses to the edge of the cliff. This grim situation has been exacerbated by high levels of corruption, looting of state resources, violation of human rights and disregard of the rule of law.

I must caution in advance that the conditions necessary for change of government in 2026 have already come into existence. In opposition the UPND promised to end corruption, instead what we have today is the worst form of white-collar grand corruption, they promised to better the living conditions of the toiling masses, in lieu, we have the worst paralyzing rates of poverty. They promised to end ‘careism’, what we have is the vilest form of ‘cadreism’. They promised to end load shedding, but today load shedding is becoming a permanent feature of our lives. These fundamental contradictions generated by the UPND itself, have instinctively produced a legitimate motive force for change in the broad masses of our people.

A new crop of leaders is on the horizon. The Socialist Party is committed to providing a leadership that is without a sway to a lustful crave for personal glory and power. Our people are looking for a leadership that is not motivated by material gains, and not driven by prestige and trappings of power and Dr. Fred M’membe fits this bill.