Kambwili Misses a Chance and Insults Citizens-Dr Canisius BANDA

14 September 2015

It was another wasted opportunity by Chief Government Spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili when he appeared on a two hours ZNBC live Sunday interview programme where economically depressed Zambians were expecting him to provide both short and long term solutions to their suffering and the country’s many economic problems.

For once Zambians had hoped Kambwili would at least effectively represent the mute President Edgar Lungu, who has to date failed to address the nation through a press conference or feature on a live radio and television programme to reassure the nation, as many of his predecessors have done in the past.

Typical of Kambwili, it was the usual hollow and empty rantings without any substance but full of malicious accusations, disparaging and abusive remarks against concerned citizens such as Fr. Leonard Chiti, Mike Mulongoti, Hakainde Hichilema, Edith Nawakwi, Fred Mmembe, The Post Newspaper and others.

He called Mike Mulongoti a president of rats. How such insults help develop Zambia only he knows.

We all know Kambwili’s level of understanding issues is basic, but surely as a cabinet minister, especially at a trying moment like this one, he should have done well to represent his mute boss Mr. Lungu.

On economic issues, the UPND has consistently offered viable solutions that should be undertaken both in the short and long term to start solving the problems.

We have consistently said that while there are some global challenges, the majority of the problems are the PF’s creation. They are the ones who have borrowed heavily time and time again, but have still managed to run a huge budget deficit due to bad economic management and a failure to address the high levels of waste at the heart of government.

It was the PF leadership that told the nation that ZESCO load shedding would end by November 2012 after the upgrades of the power generation equipment following the pumping in of huge borrowed amounts.

They have had four years to address Zambia’s energy needs but they have this time only succeeded in exhibiting the worst fiscal indiscipline in history.

The upgrades were supposed to take into consideration the water usage efficiency at Kariba, but now we hear the installed machines are draining more water than the dam specifications. This is purely poor workmanship that cannot be attributed to the global economic downturn.

It was the PF leadership that went on the open market and acquired expensive loans from an expensive open market that are now due for repayments in US dollars, hence creating foreign currency scarcity we are now experiencing and this has nothing to do with the global economic situation.

It was the PF that have been constructing roads with inflated figures and now costing three times more than before because they are cutting deals from those roads contracts that are being paid from borrowed resources. Such grand corruption has nothing to do with global economic climate.

It is the PF that has slowed economic growth by increasing fuel prices at a time when neighbouring countries such as Botswana, Namibia and others are passing on the benefits of the global low prices by lowering the price of fuel and thereby increasing economic activities.

We have a PF president in Mr. Lungu [… now his wife Esther has joined the wastefulness] who cannot sit in the office to plan, but is busy milking the country drawing allowances from travels locally and abroad with huge delegations each time when they are supposed to be cutting such unnecessary costs. This has nothing to do with global economic climate.

It is purely a local problem created by PF to have a large cabinet that is busy draining resources at a time we must consider cutting down and conserve some resources.

It is a PF creation and greediness of wanting more numbers in parliament that they have been inducing by elections at great cost to the national treasury resulting in a huge budget deficit.

It was the PF creation to have embarked on un-budgeted projects, such as the creation of districts even when resource could not allow.

It was the PF that embarked on opening more missions abroad, renting buildings in foreign currency in huge amounts on monthly basis, plus employing PF cadres in these areas at a time even developed countries are scaling down by closing some missions as cost saving measures. Especially in a global world where more cost efficient means of communication are readily available.

We can go on and on in pointing out the reckless economic measures by the PF that have nothing to do with the current global financial crisis.

In all civilised societies, governments are taking action to address these economic challenges without resorting to ridiculing their opponents and trying to hide from blame.

The people are right. Truly we need a substitute government. PF icoke!

Dr Canisius BANDA
UPND Vice President [Politics]