The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said that Republican President Edgar Lungu is using COVID-19 as an opportunistic scapegoat to hide the ruling Patriotic Front(PF)’s failure to manage the economy leading to Zambia’s current economic collapse.
In a statement released to the media by the party’s Chairman for Economy and National Development, Mr. Franklin Membe, the party said that listed a number of benchmarks, stating that Zambia’s economy started taking a steep dive in 2016 and that, during President Lungu’s tenure, the value of the Kwacha had fallen by more than 100% from K8 to a dollar to K19.50, with inflation shooting up 100% from single digit 6% to 16% today, before adding that even locally produced food items have had their prices rise by more than 100%
NDC said that None of the above failures can be attributed to COVID-19, but poor economic management and institutionalized corruption.
The Party further said that Zambia’s real poverty levels have been largely hidden in Salaula and the socio-economic life of the poor which is managed by the informal sector and that it is the informal sector that has saved PF from experiencing extreme poverty-related deaths.
The party said that when leaders begin to share state coffers to go around handing out cash to the starving population is by itself an admission by the government that they have failed to raise people’s standard of living.
“It is also an admission by PF that the 8 months left for them is not enough to develop the economy and, therefore, the decision to dish out cash and leave an empty treasury. The sharing of loot is extremely irresponsible and a clear demonstration of the PF government’s desire to destroy Zambia’s economy,” the statement read.
Over the years, the party said, Zambia has not benefited from its minerals, because as a country we have no control over what mining companies do with our minerals. Mineral proceeds never see their way back into the country and tax paid does not reflect the true value of the minerals exported outside Zambia.
NDC has failed to field a candidate in up coming elections. How do you change system if not voting?
Very True totally Agree 100%
And kambwili was in that government from 2012, protecting & defending the misdeeds. Today because they kicked him out of the dinning room, it has become bad.
Kambwili was in the same government from 2012, so?
Voting for Lungu means Voting for Lusambo. Now, can WASTAGE be defined any better than that?
Wastage of your RIGHT to vote
Wastage of your TIME in the voting queue
Wastage of you time REGISTERING to vote
Wastage of an OPPORTUNITY to fix our country
No normal person can take this joker called Lungu seriously naimwe why even waste your breath?
What normal Zambian takes his Lungu joker seriously naimwe? Why waste your breath?
Spot on …….
I dare the PF resident rats on LT to debate what the writer has said ???
But they won’t because they are all cowards who only know and support looting and violence
But he has ruled you and still ruling you your serious or the best man fail to be a Presido for 5 times
No worries. Even hard working billionaires go bankrupt. Most of the looters will go to below zero as soon as their source of looting disappears. Notice that most of them are currently living unsustainable lifestyles right now. Watch the space come next year and beyond. Every dog has its day.
Failing corrupt dictatorial regimes like lungus all follow the same script………
After failing policies and corruption with no answers to failing economy , they start political violence , they start blaming imaginary imperialists , all the while they arm , pay and keep thugs to keep the population in check running in parallel with the police.
The last steps are when the regime desperately tries to start paying off citizens to cover negative GDP , employment, inflation raises , high taxes
This is the same script seen with mugabe and other useless corrupt leaders , it is the exact same script lungu is involuntarily following
Objective debate from me, of course if you are to take into account that all measures that are used to rate an economy -things like GDP, inflation, exchange rate, reserves – it is absolutely clear that the President has lamentably failed. If I was also to look at the period this decline began I fully agree with NDC on this one that the decline started when the current President took office.
Just leave the president and his party alone he is not not the causer of COVID19
Indeed this is how failure looks like – you cant miss it. My worry is alternatives, because the mess is too huge, it will require a combination of concoctions for some one to come and sort out this mess
Eff off!!!!!!
Like him or not, ECL our President is still ruling!!!
covid we shall not always have, remember how climate change became their scapegoat, now its covid.
That’s Gayzar Zulu for you: can’t say nothing more than Eff off. Because the author is right: PF has screwed up the economy
PF will win these elections because they have the resources to bribe all voters, its the national elections that UPND should concentrate on.
While thy busy fightig for govt positions to hv access to crumbs of mony not worked for others are runig their economy and leavig them with leftovers in terms of taxes and fees for them to use. The ones with brains own the mines, banks, sugar cos ,telecoms,big hotels,all cement cos,etc..funny enough they call themselves that they ar ruling.hahahahahahaha.
The PF have only three things to scare people into voting for them . The first one is Privatisation of the mines .The second is the issue of Satanism and lastly is gay rights .What you’ll never hear them talk about is what role Edgar Lungu’s and Chipimo’s law firms played during the privatisation of ZCCM assets .Chipimo is still a rich man while on the other hand Lungu was poor until he became president .Zambians know that the PF are giving out free Tax payers money to PF youths . Chancers like one confused woman who was 100 % responsible for selling these assets has joined the queue just like Tayali for akasaka ka ndalama
Why are they afraid of talking about
Declining justice
Poor Health system
Poor Agriculture system
Poor education
Load shedding and
Poor sewerage and…
Sadly, the article is spot on, but we don’t have any alternatives! ALL politicians are thieves and liars!
I think Zambians as a whole have been hypothesized, honestly, why are we behaving as if it is normal to have and exchange rate of 1$ to almost K20 (20,000 UN RE BASED), in our wildest thoughts did those of you that were alive in Kaunda’s/ Chiluba’s/Mwanawasa’s/Rupiah’s/ and Sata’s time ever think it will get this worse. One Dollar to Twenty ????? and still going (because the worst is yet to come), and with all this mess, could we be in our normal senses if we even entertained the current crop of leaders back next year??????????. HELP US GOD, BECAUSE ONLY YOU CAN RELEASE US FROM THIS TERRIBLE BONDAGE, AND GOD YOU NEVER FAIL YOUR PEOPLE BECAUSE IN YOU WE TRUST. THOSE THAT READ THIS MASSAGE SAY AMEN.
AND NOW BECAUSE THE COFFERS ARE DRY YOU WANT TO VICTIMIZE SOME INNOCENT PERSON FOR…
The PF have lamentably failed under lungu because when they took over it’s like their confidence was clipped off by one man HH. Ever since they came into power all they ever talk about is HH and UPND. Things have gone worse in the country and still they are after one man HH. PF wrestled away the little wealth people had for themselves before 2011 and muscled people into excruciating poverty. Now to run away from their mess they will manipulate the constitution for self preservation and not in the interests of the Zambian people.