Friday, March 29, 2024

When Does President Lungu work? :Travelled to Madagascar, Morocco, Equitorial Guinea and Tanzania in November

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President Edgar Lungu is welcomed by Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea,Pascual Obama Asue for the Africa-Arab World Summit at Malabo International Airport today.
President Edgar Lungu is welcomed by Prime Minister of
Equatorial Guinea,Pascual Obama Asue for the Africa-Arab World Summit
at Malabo International Airport today.

Zambians of all political persuasions need to get concerned about continuous and unprecedented number of foreign visits undertaken by the President since he was sworn in and especially in the Month of December. The absence from office of the country’s Chief Executive Officer, President Lungu should be a matter that Zambians should be worried about on account of cost as well as to who is running the country. It appears as if the President is accumulating frequent flyers miles common to passenger’s airlines!

In November, 2016 alone, the President would have visited four countries – Madagascar, Morocco, Equatorial Guinnea and Tanzania. And in December, he is expected to go to Kenya, South Africa and Egypt according to the programme announced by Foreign Minister Harry Kalaba recently.

The President has been defended by Foreign Minister Harry Kalaba as well as by his spokesperson Amos Chanda on the basis that his foreign travel is good for the economy and will bring development to Zambia. The question one asks is does it mean that Presidents like Tanzanian Joseph Magufuli , President Ian Khama, President Pohamba of Namibia and others in the region who do not travel like him do not want development? How come they have better economies than Zambia? Robert Mugabe, one of President Lungu’s mentor, who is also known for his frequent foreign visits, presides over an economy which is tatters.

There is no evidence that foreign travels by a President of country contributes to the health of the economy or to the country’s development. It is a mirage! One therefore, wonders what President Lungu’s motivation is for these foreign trips is. His critics have argued that it is always a case when you have a poor President who had limited air travel as a private citizen and once given an opportunity, they will be excited about flying long haul.

It is common knowledge for anyone who has managed anything that when you are absent from office, work piles up and for the office as busy as the Presidency, the work pile up must even be worse. The President’s in tray must be full waiting to be attended to. There is a limit to which you can delegate things to subordinates as any competent manager knows.

There are decisions and matters that require the Chief Executive’s attention. In organizations and I guess with countries, bosses who are frequently absent from office are perceived to be lazy, incompetent, playboys who are out to have fun or those who are avoiding problems and do not want to face reality. One hopes that such perceptions are not true of our President.

Zambia has had six Presidents: Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, Dr. Frederick Chiluba, Dr. Patrick Mwanawasa, Mr. Rupiah Banda, Mr. .Michael Sata and of course our current one, President Edgar Lungu. Apart from Mr. Rupiah Banda who is also another mentor to President Lungu, the rest of the other Presidents never travelled at the same frequency as President Lungu. Presidential foreign trips are expensive with jet fuel, the travel allowances, the lost man hours for those who have travelled with President and those who escort him and welcome him to and from the airport.

In the current economic dire situation that the country is going through, it is very insensitive for the President to be travelling so frequently. He does not have to accept all invitations. He should take a leaf from Tanzanian President Magufuli as far as fight against corruption, cost cutting and reduction in foreign travel is concerned.

As far as the public is concerned, by travelling frequently to foreign countries, he is enjoying himself when they are suffering and have to pay high prices for commodities with high fuel prices and now mealie meal is over K105.

The President’s public relations stunt of reducing his salary by 50% has fooled very few people because most Zambians know, he earns more from allowances including the foreign travel per diem.


By Mwansa Musanse

70 COMMENTS

  1. I am PF but I dont support my president on these trips. They av left more questions than answers. I am sad. How I wish I had a forum to address my president. 4 countries in one month. I hope HH is not not criticised when he comments. This is not health for a country like Zambia.

    • You just voted for Eddy barely 2 months ago, and you already complaining of his absenteeism. Blame yourself. If was an employee behaving like that, could you fire him?

    • The visionless Lungu of violent PF is busy signing ~agreements~ of exporting goats to Arabic countries.
      Its 4 trips within a month, that is every week blind Lungu will be outside the country enjoying Jameson with his bandits as luggage.
      Meanwhile the economy is in dismay & crippled spiced bitterly with load shedding tears. This Lungu is a menace to the country, nothing good will come from him & PF bandits. They are a liability!
      Visionless Lungu for sure.
      The Skeleton Key
      ~206~

    • Mwansa, have you heard of the term “State Capture”? I think that is where the Zambian presidential trips belong. It is a cash cow for the system of top civil servants, private business people and presidential aides. ECL is probably unaware of this state capture potency and as things are unable to do much about it but that does not absolve him of the consequences. In my view all Zambian presidents have actually traveled a lot with little or nothing to show for it.

      If all data were unearthed and properly collated, one would be amazed at the information possible from there. I urge anyone with such information to share it here or other forum …

    • Expecting Chapona (Chagwa) to turn around the fortunes of this great country is asking for too much. The problem we have in this country we put people in offices even when we know their limitations, even when we know they can’t be equal to the task. Honestly if you look at Chagwa with due respect to the presidency, was he the best candidate for the Job looking at the other contenders? This is the result in a country that has a high number of illiterate people who at the same time are the majority voters. Illiterates use their stomachs when voting whilst the illiterate uses the brains, its as simple as that

    • YOU FORGOT THE USA TRIP – I AM EQUALLY WORRIED 🙁
      ==================================
      The trips are unprecedented.
      Can’t our president find solutions for Zambia in Zambia rather than flying all over the show. Solutions for Zambia are in Zambia I guess. Whatever the reasons for defending his foreign trips, I think it is too much and Zambians needs to speak out and put the president to work.
      I wonder what’s at Red Brick to fail to sit this president down.
      I guess the question then is WHY IS ECL HAVING THESE INCESSANT FOREIGN TRIPS WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS BELT TIGHTENED BY HIS ECONOMIC RECOVERY RANTS? IS JET FUEL ANY CHEAPER THAN GASOLINE AND DESIEL??

    • I said it before, no president in the world is traveling the way this coackroach is doing. He is only enriching himself through these trips. This is Mugabe’s advise. I am not a prophet of doom but I think the only way that will stop this coackroach from flying up and down is if he can have a plane crash like Mpezeni who crashe a BMW while coming from a drinking binge. Why have Zambians become so docile?

    • Presidents work day and night and have no time to rest. Amos Chanda even confirmed it on Sunday interview that one time ECL had to make a call from the plane to the president of Tanzania using a satellite phone. Just yesterday on znbc news (which you can all afford) EU gave zambia good Euros as a follow up to the president’s Morocco trip. Read and become informed bloggers you cow dung headed haters.

    • U pipo ECL is working ,u dont know his job discription so u can talk and talk untill u die.His travell in these countries is work on its own so dont be fooled by

    • You take a donkey to the waterhole to drink but you can not force it to drink….Lungu is an extremely lazy man full stop. He failed to turn up for the Presidential debate because he does not have a vision.

    • @ Dombwa
      Don’t be too quick to condemn the illiterates for the incompetent presidents. The problem is with the literates who have not enlightened the illiterates on the need to vote for leaders of high quality. The problem in Zambia is that we have alot of learned people who do absolutely nothing to help others vote wisely. Changing the perception of ones point of view does not happen over night hence the need to have programmes which will help people start to identify leaders of high quality. I suggest that our school curriculum should have lessons on leadership and service

    • How long will it take you PF die hard supporters who voted for this empty suit to realize that he doesn’t know what he’s doing? He has no clue how to develop a country or even how to run a government. Zambia right now is adrift in a sea of visionless leadership. While other countries around us are making an effort to try and develop, this guy is busy aimlessly flying all over the place, pretending to be doing so for the good of the country. This is very sad, and it doesn’t matter what political party you belong to — this sheer waste of our meager resources should be roundly condemned. The taxpayers who make all these aimless trips possible are suffering, with load shedding, high prices of foodstuffs, etc. The country has myriads of problems he should be attending to, instead of taking…

    • (Continued)… these vacations disguised as official business trips. A few weeks ago he announced that his ministers were already engaging in rampart corruption, but he has done nothing to address the situation. And most likely with all these aimless trips he’s making, he’s encouraging more corruption among his ministers, for he has no proper supervision or oversight over them, since he’s perpetually out of the country. Evidently he is lazy, visionless, and only cares about himself. If he continues with this waste, parliament should consider initiating an impeachment, before he completely destroys the country’s economy.

  2. The chap is on a mission for quick cash knowing foreign trips is the ‘legitimate’ method for him to earn money, having hypocritically cut his salary in half. With his position precariously hanging in balance pending the petition this is a strategy to maximise income, just in case.

    • State House is wherever the President at any particular time. If he were to be flying around Zambia where you going to say he is gallivanting? Will it be because he will be within the country?

  3. Its not health for a country like Zambia.We have been fooled by Jameson Vodka Chakolwa Kadansa Rungu.These trips are not for the benefit of us Zambians…

    • You are the same punk a.ss.es who were saying Sata doesn’t visit other countries! If Lungu doesn’t visit other countries, you are the same people who will be saying our President is stuck in State House, he has cancer bla bla. Punks! Long live Edgar and Viva PF. The trips are beneficial imwe ba fee color

  4. And just to add in when its weekend he is watching Football at the stadia hehehehe he is a working Presido probably they have switched roles with Bo Inonge

  5. Me I do not even belong to any political party. I’m just an independent person. Edgar Lungu is just enjoying himself in state house and gallivanting. He told us that he has no vision, so what do you expect? The more he travels the poorer this country becomes. This is the reality of our present time. We are in trouble. I cannot even imagine what will have become of this country by 2021

  6. This is called clearing the backlog gents. You will remember during much of Michael Sata’s three years, Zambia’s international engagements and diplomacy was affected due to ill health of the President MHSRIP. ECL is thus on the mend and many Countries who have had such much thirst for Zambia, are lining up to have ECL visit them. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on which side you are, its extremely difficult to turn down most of these calls. Countries involved are so important to this Republic that failing to fulfil this noble cause would put the nation on the back foot. Look at the length of time. Even when he was elected in 2015, he had no time to fulfil those international obligations because of the events after the demise of our great President Sata. ECL now has to do this…

    • Ati lining up to have Lungu visit them? What a joke, why not them make the trip if they are so desperate. We know its hard to find excuses for everything but this takes the cake.

  7. His trips are part of work. When it is time for you people opposition MP’s to put such things in the constitution you are busy boycotting parliament, sleeping in parliament

    • President Magufuli doesn’t travel this much nor do his ministers, and yet he’s doing a far better job in Tanzania than this lazy guy of yours. Remember he has already been in office for almost 2 years now. And things have gotten worse in Zambia since he took office. So what does that tell you?

  8. LT, can you please scrutinise and choose articles to post on your platform? I mean honestly speaking does this article deserve to be on your plate?
    Let the author do something constructive instead of showing pettiness and envy here. Which success businessman or a country just so sits in their offices believing success will follow them? I know of none! Successful countries are those that are busy looking for opportunities to be exploited by investors and rarely do you see them in the 4 walls but always on the ground be it locally or abroad, so let President Lungu inspect the major projects being rolled out countrywide and at the same time woo serious investors to come to Zambia.Jealous and envy will kill you chaps.

    • Envy lol! The Presidency should not be envied. The point is its good that his doing these trips. However as a President you can actually invite heads of state, investors to your country. They can show you, for example let’s look at the following:

      Kenya – Global Entrepreneurship Summit, TICAD, and China – Kenya Trade & Investment all in 2016. Uhuru did not have to fly out
      Rwanda – Global Investment in Africa Summit ( Usually held in London every December) Kagame moved it to his country.

      So really if the President has clout, the above can happen. I can list a few more countries and the level of investment, collaboration and partnerships taking place. Therefore ECL should just enjoy his trips, and stop claiming its for the countries benefit, it isn’t.

    • @Danger, you don’t tell LT what they should or shouldn’t publish on their website. Ever heard of freedom of the press? Go start your own website and publish what you think should be published. And who’s envying Lungu’s aimless flights? The guy is clearly wasting the country’s resources with his frequent flights. He’s been in office almost 2 years now, and things have gotten worse, and not better since he took over. So where’s the evidence that his frequent flights are working for the betterment of the country? Zero. No evidence. So keep dreaming buddy. But I strongly urge you to wake up. Unless you’re one of the people flying around with him, the rest of the Zambians don’t believe that his flights are in the best interest of the country.

    • @ Danger; you feel LUSAKATIMES should only air propaganda of a government that has failed us? I salute the author of this article; he has aired what many Zambians are asking and to crown it all his wife Esther has gone to Dubai. For what exactly if not to shop or look at their properties.

  9. When President Chiluba won the elections he visied all neighboring countries. Any good neighbor wants to know who leaves next door. This exercise is not cheap. President Lungu can not afford to avoid other leaders its called net working. How do you sale your product when no one knows it. You advertise at a cost to achieve good results, Zambia who has bewithed you. It is important for the President to travel, its called networking.

    • No one is saying the President should not be travelling. It is important for the President to travel but only if that trip is going to bring something very beneficial or very important to the country. And embarking on expensive trips at such a time when the country’s economy is badly limping does not show good leadership. If he wants to beg something from another country can’t he request the diplomat accredited to that country to do that on his behalf? Five trips in one month for a poor country like ours??Even the President of the richest country in the world does not travel so often.

  10. I also do not belong to any political party but listen Ladies and gentlemen, Men and Women, all elderly people, Fathers and Mothers, let us help our President to understand that Ukwendauka Takwawama. This country has elderly people who can come in and talk to him. Not Ka Chanda. Wisdom is very important in leadership. King Solomon asked from God to be granted or given wisdom to rule his kingdom. God granted him. It is not by mighty or power but by wisdom. Even in
    PF there are elderly men and women of sound knowledge, please assist your brother.

  11. @Henry, you do not have to say which party you belong to. In my experience those that say they are PF are hardly what they say and even this Mwansa Musanse sounds like HH’s son hinding behind a bemba name.

  12. He gets $50,000/day. So for a 2 day trip, he makes $100,000. That’s what the presidency has been reduced to.

    Ati he travelled to Tanzania to sign an agreement for Air Tanzania’s flight to Lusaka (where Magufuli refused to welcome him at airport).

    Shouldn’t it be the Tanzanian president to travel to Lusaka to seal the deal since it’s their airline? Something is not right bane!!

  13. Someone please define the word work for the ignorant author of this article? One wonders, does work just entail siting in the office in Lusaka? Ati when does he work? This is the same mentality or being mediocre that is killing us as Zambians. Travelling is part of the duty and responsibilities that come along with the holding of office of president. Tanzania and Madagascar are just next door. and All these visits have had pertinent issues on the agenda. But sadly weather he is Home or abroad we always find one slimy way to find fault that is unjustifiable. Lets be objective please.

    • I for one would not mind if the president maintained his 100% salary but reduced on foreign trips which are expensive for the country like ours. It is unfortunate that PF cadres can’t see sense in the concerns of the author of this article. ECL has a lot of work back home to mend self caused problems. Jesus said to his disciples, “Cursed is he that travels far and wide just to win one soul”. This is very true of our president who has traveled far and wide only to win one investor. Another thing we need to look at is the cost benefit aspect. We spend more on these trips but benefit less which is not healthy for our ailing economy. When Magufuli became president in Tanzania, did he come to Zambia so we could know that he is president of Tanzania? His priority was to fix what didn’t work…

  14. What is clear is that the president can’t figure out how to galvanize the work potential of the local population and our present natural advantages but has opted for a ceremonial based presidency.

  15. RESTORE YOUR FULL SALARY AND STOP YOUR ANNOYING TRIPS BWANA!
    ================================
    Bilateral or Multilateral cooperation’s should by now have brought prosperity to Zambia when RB embarked on such trips during his 2008 – 2011 tenure. Whatever moves he made and programs he drew should be on paper for you to followup and implement rather than starting gallivanting and vascodaming again.
    Kindly sit yourself down and get to work inside Zambia. When you make an international trip, try to combine them so that they look like one 2 to 5 day out trip like USA’s Obama. Can’t you make 5 international trips in 5 years sir?

  16. It is not quite true that RB travelled the most… Sata would have broken his record, had he not fallen sick. In June 2012, we at Zambia Weekly counted that Sata was ahead of Banda, but this changed as he ailed:

    Sata (elected September 2011 – 9 trips in first 9 months until June 2012):
    December 2011: The 4th ICGLR summit.
    January 2012: ANC centenary celebrations in South Africa.
    January 2012: AU summit in Ethiopia.
    February 2012: Visits Defence Minister Geoffrey Mwamba’s wife in hospital in South Africa.
    March 2012: State visit to Botswana.
    March 2012: Hospital and investor meetings in India.
    April 2012: International Trade Fair 2012 in Zimbabwe.
    May 2012: SADC summit in Angola.
    June 2012: Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in London.

    RB (elected November 2008 – 7 trips in first 9…

  17. President Lungu also becomes the first Zambian leader to raise the national torch high in at least over the last ten years of Zambia’s diplomacy and international engagements that have seen the international spot-light ostensibly thrust at the southern Africa country in a positive manner.

    In a bid to rekindle Economic Diplomacy, President Lungu has refused to take up various invitations but at least accepted strategically for economic reasons, a State Visit starting with Tanzania, another one pending with the largest continental business partner, South Africa before he winds up his annual international engagements of 2016 with yet another State Visit into Cairo, Egypt

  18. This is such a shallow question am amazed so many people agree with you. The president works 24 hours a day and it does not matter where he is. work that require his physical presence is delegated to the VP. Also note that the travelling to represent the country is part of his duties. you want to know what he has achieved so far;
    – Saudi arabia has multi million agric deals in zambia including huge orders for goats. get goat farming if you want to benefit.
    – china has pledged to finance the spill over city in kafue
    – tanzania is currently our biggest outlet for imports and exports. trust me we need presidential level negotiation.

    need i add more.

  19. But ever since President Lungu assumed office as the sixth President of Zambia, invitations and even visits from other world leaders have flooded State House ‘in trays,’ including those of high profile identities such as the Holy Father himself, Pope Francis, the current and 266th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, the largest church in the world.

    Pundits reckon that as the Chief Diplomat, President Lungu’s international visits is bound to translate into economic gains for Zambia in the long run.

  20. THERE IS NEED TO SERVICE THE PLANE THIS IS DANGEROUS PLEASE BA LULU OK JUST ALLOW THE TO SERVICE IT THEN YOU WILL CONTINUE………AM TOLD YOU WANT TO GO FOR TRUMP’S INAGURATION.ETC

  21. Camila you have made more sense than the writer of this article. How do you compare the number of trips for the current President without even stating the number of trips the other Presidents made?Are you just making politics or you want us to make sense of what you are saying?

  22. Go through your your comments before you post.Just to remind you we are not yet in December but still in November.ECL is travelling alot as per because we have a problem as a nation hence he has to find solutions to all these problems here and there hence he has to ask for some help from his friends finish.

  23. Which month of December?Do mean December 2015?or your minds are already in December 2016?Its good because we want 2016 to finish so that we reach fast 2021 for another blow.

  24. The trips made so far are way too many and only comparable to those made by Mr. Bwezani Banda. Whichever way you look at it, these trips must be gobbling colossal amounts. If say the cost of one trip for the entire team is costing Zambia $100,000.00 on average, it means Zambia has spent a staggering $400,000.00 in November on Presidential travels alone. I am quite sure some of these tasks could be delegated and drastically reduce the number of trips and expenditure.

  25. Can some one outline for me the JOB Description of the President.I thought even Having Bilateral Development Meeting with his fellow Presidents is part of his Job Description. Kindly Help me Understand and know the President’s JOB DESCRIPTION

  26. @Dombwa -in this time even the literates vote and think through the stomach. Better we say the person who thinks and votes through the stomach is dangerous. Also take note that the literates live in books and have nothing to show for their literacy. Prof Chirwa bemourned the fact that engineers have failed to make even a pin in Zambia. LETS TAKE PRACTICALS WHICH YOU MIGHT B A VICTIM OF ALSO!

  27. You Zambians could have won an award for short memory. You criticized Levy for his travels. I remember how he was attacked for attending a seminar in Maputo. Today you praise him.

  28. I hope Chagwa “Dununa Reverse” realises that the more he keeps on travelling by air, the more the probability that he will end up like the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which vanished without a trace en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. His story will read like so, and quote: “The Zambian president’s presidential jet, Challenger 601, RON 9J has gone missing over the Atlantic Ocean flying from a useless AU meeting in Accra Ghana to Lusaka. It was scheduled to make a refueling stop in Libreville Gabon five hours ago but failed to pitch up and all communication with the control towers in Accra and Libreville have been lost. We can just assume Lungu is now sleeping with the fishes of the sea. kaput”. This is what awaits him.

  29. the presidents job description is to ensure good living standards for his pipo, if in 2years wat u do as a president doesnt translate to that then u aint doing yo job.. is he doing his job?

  30. Its typical Rupiah Banda behaviour. Thats why they are now political brothers. Lets keep an eye on this man because we discover exactly what we discovered on RB: Theft of public funds

  31. Zambians, we need a plane that will refuel in the air for our president so that he can accomplish his missions without having to occassionally land in Zambia!

  32. This travelling is not only too much but aimless loitering. In this day and age it is totally unnecessary particulary considering the cost. No, someone has to stop this. This country cant afford this type of aimless tourism. Can someone explain properly the meaning of all this. Loitering when five provinces have no power! I am PF but I dont like this.

  33. Edgar ‘Edward’ Lungu first flew on a plane in his late fifties. He thinks like a child with a new toy. He reckons flying around is prestigious, trying to show off to his Chawama boys that he has made it. Zambia is in trouble, with the Chawama boys!

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