OFFICIAL STATEMENT
WHO’S WATCHING THE ECONOMY?
This week has seen yet more political bickering and infighting that helps the people of Zambia not one bit. As a party the UPND has made its position on these matters clear: Zambians must be able to enjoy their democratic rights, the perpetrators of violence and unrest must be prosecuted, and we never condone violence regardless of the provocation.
As the first month in the year 2016 draws to a close my call is for the PF Government to stop interfering with opposition and civil society activities through the police force and to put their energies into urgently addressing the various economic issues we face. We may now be in a New Year but prices continue to rise, the power continues to fail and jobs continue to come under threat.
The PF Government is setting yet another record in bad performance – inflation is now at a 12 year high. Surely this has to be a wake up call. If the PF cannot hear the alarm, then the Zambian people surely will. It is a call for action and a call for change. The PF cannot keep hitting the snooze button on our economy until 11 August.
According to the Central Statistical Office inflation in January now stands at 21.8% and food inflation is at 25.9%, with basic essentials such as bread rising fastest in price. When President Lungu took office it was 7.1%.
Earlier this month we issued our latest note of advice to the PF Government on how to combat inflation, which is available to read online at http://hh-zambia.com/blog/combatting-high-inflation-the-upnd-way/ and focuses on two key areas, productivity and value-addition.
We have also advised that it is no good contracting more and more loans each month when the economic fundamentals remain unaddressed. Every time our currency devalues the amount we owe moves further and further beyond our reach.
Hakainde Hichilema
UPND President
Everyone is looking to you sir! They even say why did you not advise the government! Don’t disappoint us when you take over government. Work hard and show these i-di-ots in government how it should be done. All the best.
in your dream…
2015 elections were the nearest he got to state house otherwise this time people who never voted, including me, are now voting, come august.
in the 2015 elections, your ka thing missed a penalty with no keeper in between the posts and how do you expect him to win this time around when pf have a full team in play….
just look at how your ka thing has gone back to meembe with his tail between his legs pleading to be covered in the post, a paper he labelled as upnd’s enemy no. 1.
is this not what is known as “desperation”?
Zambia may be a lost cause at changing fortunes for the betterment of its citizenry! Just fathom @ mature’s comment to @ Visionary, and “mature” thinks he is objectively mature! The problem we have in Zambia is that we hate successful people especially home grown ones. Instead of looking up to them to use and share their experiences to move the country out of the mess we are in ours is to paint them black with all sorts of filth! The so called enlightened average Zambian with some semblance of intelligence joins in the foray of peddling mediocrity as hate and envy overrides objective thinking just because it is someone else and not them that have made it good for their lives! Logic has it that to those that have more much more will accrue to them so long they have worked hard and…
contd……. continue to do so. Lots of us have eyes but refuse to use them to see clearly, we have ears but choose not to listen. Zambia’s scenario is that of a tattered poor guy convincing a relatively well to do dressed in a suit fellow that he is able to multiply his wealth if only the wealth fellow surrenders part of his wealth to the poor guy and the well to do fellow obliges without asking himself as to how that would happen when he can see clearly that the person promising multiplication of his wealth is in tatters! West Africa has lots of millionaires because their compatriots support and cherish their efforts and in turn many more benefit by taking leaf! Comparatively for Zambia its rhetoric, humbleness and, poverty traits that are taken prerequisites to success and leadership!…
contd…. I just wonder how it would be taken in Zambia if there was someone that started talking like Donald Trump on being rich though we have a bit of experiencing invectives thrown at GBM who in a veiled way (“Its not your mother’s money”) has tried it. So how really does Zambia see itself out of the quagmire if all we are hoping for is that choosing those that have not made wealth to lead us will help the country use the resources it has to make more wealth? Even God gave leadership to those with intelligence whom he then anointed and not the escapist choice by man who then wants to turn it as if its God’s choice! Kaunda gained Zambia freedom and elevated education failed the economy, Chiluba brought about free market economy and failed miserably to control corruption, Mwanawasa…
contd…. started building order and restoring the economy his was cut short, Rupiah Banda undid Mwanawasa’s efforts started piling wealth in the hands of a few and corruption was on the upswing, Sata embarked on a spending spree eating out of the cookie jar without baking any more cookies, he made sure among his children he had favored ones and any that dared to answer contrary to his bidding were shown the door or banished from the home the economy began its downhill slide and cut short without proper arrangements he left confusion and turmoil with waning fortunes! Scott for the brief period at the helm tried to sanitize the treasury and national resources from plunder but alas! He suddenly became an alien invader of Zambia! Comes in Edgar Lungu from an obscure legal professional…
contd…. background credited only for pilfering a clients money as most of us had not known anything about him till then and the succession wrangles but held to ransom by founding members, the spending spree continues, corruption peaks, the economy is on its knees begs God for intervention and, still trying to figure out how and where to take the country while anarchy and violence escalates. He talks with a forked tongue, “Whats good for the goose is good only for the goose who will decide what is good for the gander” for now Zambia is on auto pilot!
HH, you offer very limited hope to the Zambian cause. Your so call “official statements” are to shallow and without substance, that could be an indication of lack of ability to fully comprehend the real issues affecting Zambia on your part. I don’t think your are the solution to the problems that Zambia is facing today – I really question your political potential – Please, don’t mess up Zambia for your personal business ambitions.
You know, this chap is floundering. All his communications are now comical because we can see they are just attacks with essence. Every Zambian knows who is manning the economy. We tired with trite boring comments and aggressive attacks. HH has no clear Opposition Vision. It’s just undermine, undermine, undermine!
without essence that’s meant to read.
21% inflation means a lot of Zambians are going hungry, that is what he is talking about. We know you PF kaponyas always blame ”grobo , grobo” and keep borrowing……
You don’t know anything? How many toilets have you cleaned?
Mema mume
I can feed and educate you and your entire extended family on my monthly wage….
…the Chinese are…..
The Supreme Leader HH of the UPND should be know that there is a government which includes civil service which is the engine of government. So it’s not like the party UPND where you have to do all things yourself.The President of Zambia Mr Edgar Lungu is equally attending to other National and International issues…
Please Zakeyo, your jokes are not funny!
The only issues Lungu knows how to address is a bottle of JAMESONI and how to get re-elected by all means including bankrupting the Nation!
Just look at the clueless “plan” he has for a serious crisis like food shortage!
The Supreme Leader HH of the UPND should know that there is a government which includes civil service which is the engine of government. So it’s not like the party UPND where you have to do all things yourself.The President of Zambia Mr Edgar Lungu is equally attending to other National and International issues…
what international issues, he has just gone to borrow more money. That is how PF fix things, borrow, borrow, borrow…..you think a country can not produce wealth to sustain itself and can only survive on borrowing even to pay wages, that is how useless you all are with your leadership if PF.
@Patrick I understand your frustration because I see you’re a fanatic of the Supreme Leader HH of the UPND kikikikiki. The battle Mudala is between PF and UPND not those frustrated young fellas who have formed the Orange Afcon but the may split votes for the young disgruntled youths…
Blame it on Chikwandanomics…. it was tried in the 70s and it miserably failed, ask KK or any UNIP zealot they will confirm,lament and then argue that if it wasnt for the misguided Chikwandanomics theories UNIP would have remained in power until to date. How this man has been lift to run or ruin the economic affairs of this country for the second time is everyone’s disbelief or wonder.Chikwanda should be given a monumental award of being the worst finance minister on earth for destroying this country’s economy through his careless and endless borrowing .
TWICE!
Chikwanda has done it TWICE!
That Sata gave him the job AGAIN after he collapsed the Zambian economy once before is the most monumental piece of stupidity ever seen.
Just because he was Satas uncle.
Lungus first action should have been firing this DINOSAUR FOSSIL. But he was too clueless (or drunk with power – or whiskey) to do it.
Now our children will have to pay for this foolishness and incompetence.
Could ‘t post this on ZR. Let me try here.
Well Mr Mwaanga, in case you did not read, Dr Mumba has actually warmed up to the idea of an alliance with PF. Yes he was teargassed but he knows that national interests override personal mishaps. He also knows, like Edgar Lungu, that a re-run would be too expensive for the country. And if there is strong possibility of a re-run, it means that alliances will have to be formed, so why not cut costs and do the alliance before the re-run? After all, MMD and PF are undoubtedly a natural alliance. Mr Mwaanga is just worried about the impact of that alliance on uPMD and its future.
Q: Vernnon Mwaanga, Bradford Machila, Munkombwe, Chejani etc what do they have in common?
A: As we can see, they are all Zambian politicians.
patrick@ lungu is just a year in office so you cant blame him for your hungry situation which you have stayed with since child hood. HH please if you didnt sell our companies we would have used them to make our money. so pliz keep quiet.
It is PF which has been in office coming 5yrs now that I blame. The whole rotten corrupt PF which has middle men at every corner adding their costs to doing bussiness in Zambia making the countrys costs of production unthinkable. You a broadcasting minister who is also spokesman for PF advocating employing reletives in public jobs, what a corrupt hopeless gang if thieves.
We are borrowing becoz we want uplift the standards and we have the capacity to pay back. All infrustructure will finish in June. meaning we shall now put energy in human development and paying loans. Who has not benefited from loans?
How much more are you going to borrow so as to put your energies into developing human resources, also borrowing inorder to pay off loans is not advisable.
Sinkamba wisdom. – Incoming State President HH well spoken. Of PF cadres will not see sense because they drunk with violence and this is blinding them as a result the economy has collapsed. VIVA HH, VIVA GBM, VIVA Dr. banda, VIVA UPND, VIVA Zambian people
@ Moscow putin, you are an embecile.
It is some pf officials and mmd who sold the companies your father used to steal from.
Your are a known new clown supporter.
Remove your diapers and come to give reasonable comments.
Elections are opportunities to remove non performing clowns from govt.
Be educated here that election campaigns are about exposing failures by the incumbent and persuading people to vote for a different political party in power. However, the majority of voters cannot access your your madness from online media.
Do you know that what people
are going through compels them to make changes?
Those that are happy will vote for pf and those that are suffering will vote for other parties.
You are practising stone age politics.
But to be fair with you, ulichipubafye.
@ Moscow Puttin you are a chimpanzee and belong to the zoo.
some pf chaps have no brains for hw long will u continue accusing hh of selling companies?was hh a president to hav managed to sell companies u fools think for goodness sake u *****s.
Desperate HH ‘apologizes’ to his sworn enemies THE POST…the ones who named his party ‘BANTUSAN’ and his followers like Nkombo wore the tag like a badge….good luck the PAST still thinks you tribal…..but all the best in 2016
I dont understand why hh fails to condemn his cadres when they involve themselves in violence….
You are not in state house and you are behavior is this bad……America we know you are supporting and giving hh dollar.
First off. Hetch Hetch (HH) I don’t think that you understand Economics any better than any Zambian in this world or those serving in Government today. Your kinda Economic knowledge is appalling and detouched from environmental/external factors; that alone makes me wonder your economic knowledge prowess.
Second. your inconsistencies, inexperience, immaturity, non analytical faculty, egocentric behavior, I will tell them when they fail attitude worries me a lot. Anderson Mazoka was smarter than you.
Third. The voting pattern in SP will never change any sooner, so I know how not to give you my vote.
As usual, this is a very clear and issue-based message from UPND. The online advisory note is concise and very clear and easy to understand. He has defined the problem our Country faces, has defined the solution, and the impact of that solution. BTW he solution he is offering is the same solution which has worked in developed Countries like here in UK to bring it to where it is today. Productivity and Value-addition. We even borrow from them without making any significant effort to copy what they do to make their economy buoyant. BUT unfortunately, again as usual, those opposed to HH’s view have completely failed to make constructive opposing points. Some would rather change the subject.