UPND NATIONAL TRUSTEE URGES EFF LEADER TO EMBRACE ISSUE-BASED POLITICS
LUSAKA, 13 October 2025
United Party for National Development (UPND) National Trustee Grace Chivube has called on Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Joseph Mwenda to refrain from engaging in politics of hate and name-calling, urging him instead to focus on providing constructive checks and balances to the government.
In an exclusive interview, Ms. Chivube said it was regrettable that some opposition leaders continued to attack government policies such as free education and skills training programs under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
She emphasized that Mr. Mwenda should be “thankful that President Hakainde Hichilema has remained committed to improving the lives of the underprivileged.”
She expressed concern that certain politicians had chosen to ignore the significant economic progress being achieved under the New Dawn Administration, opting instead to spread negativity for political mileage.
Responding to claims that the government was not doing enough to resolve the load-shedding crisis, Ms. Chivube dismissed the allegations as baseless.
She said President Hichilema’s public assurance and commitment to ending load-shedding in the shortest possible time demonstrated strong political will and proactive leadership.
Ms. Chivube noted that in just four years of being in office, the UPND government had implemented substantial economic reforms and development programs whose impact could not be easily summarized.
She further pointed out that the fact that opposition figures such as Mr. Mwenda could freely criticize government policies was proof that freedom of speech and expression were fully guaranteed under President Hichilema’s leadership.
“It is unfortunate that a young politician like Mr. Mwenda, who should be rallying behind visionary and progressive leadership, has instead chosen to attack development-oriented initiatives such as the increased CDF,” Ms. Chivube said.
She added that only those “living in denial” could fail to acknowledge the transformative impact of the CDF, which she said had led to over 2.3 million children being readmitted into school and more than 800,000 benefiting from the school feeding programme.
Ms. Chivube said by urging the opposition to engage in issue-based politics and to work together with government in fostering unity and national development.
TFN