Friday, March 29, 2024

The Press Conference, a Failed Delivery

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By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba

When I saw the Minister of Health go live on Facebook at the launch of the Oral Polio Vaccination at the same time as the President’s Press Conference, I knew no one would be fired. In the past, a presidential press conference brought the country to a standstill and Ministers and other officials stood in trepidation fearing a possible reshuffle or dismissal.

PRESIDENT HICHILEMA’S PRESS CONFERENCE

It’s been eight months. The New Dawn Government started on shaky note, and now things seem to have gone south. A presser like the one on Monday could have given the President an opportunity to click on a restart button….as events of last week were a peek view of what has gone wrong in the last few months. But this turned out to be probably one of the least impactful and dreary press conferences that President Hakainde Hichilema has ever held.

The name-calling and derogatory labels uttered by the President put many people off as seen by social-media commentators.
Calling private citizens lunatics, a clique of thieves, crooks, and showing a highly disrespectful, contemptuous and scornful attitude towards one’s Opponents was clearly demeaning for a President.

Warning Bowman Lusambo over his wealth was petty.

“Someone saying to me $150,000 is nothing to me. Well a few years ago, you were a die-hard cadre. Where did you get the money from. The law is closing in”. he said.

Mr President, Lusambo became an MP and a Minister. He rose from nothing to something…like you did! To start with, no one has been convicted in a court of law yet, to earn such expletive names as thieves.

ON MILINGO LUNGU

The Milingo Saga was the trigger, and the reason the Press Conference was called as earlier disclosed by the Minister of Justice, Mulambo Haimbe. But on the matter of former KCM Liquidator, Milingo Lungu, the President chose to posture an evasive demeanor which pointed to his credibility or lack of it on the matter. He avoided answering direct questions which are in the minds of people. Did he meet Milingo?

He was circuitous but finally admitted to the meeting as a by-the-way issue when it was actually the main issue.

ON KAKUBO, MACHILA,MUNDIA AND OTHERS

The President chose the simplistic answers given to him and assumed his officials were telling him the truth, despite the seemingly contradictory evidence. On the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he conveniently ignored the presence of the Ambassador’s vehicle at the Sinoma plant during the Minister’s visit to allegedly buy cement.

He chose to believe the diary, calendar and pen story. He then dwelt on and blamed social media lies as the cause of the crisis. He literally praised and summoned the cyber laws that he had labelled as undemocratic and draconian whilst in Opposition.

It shows that he is being either; extremely naive, disingenuous or he is part of the debacle. In the end, no one has been held accountable. Except for the DPP where their entire gun arsenals are pointed at. Zambians will await the details of the court process in response to Milingo’s stated and sworn facts, as that matter will not go away.

IMMUNITY & THE DPP

The President claimed that there was no one that could grant immunity from prosecution including himself.
For starters, heads of state enjoy constitutional immunity. Others that enjoy immunity or indemnity from prosecutions include accused persons that accept to be witnesses that choose to cooperate and testify.

There are other provisions were indemnity against prosecution is given to persons if they meet the terms and conditions as provided for under the Plea Negotiations and Agreements Act of 2010. The ACC Act of 2012 also provides for immunity from prosecution as given to Faith Musonda in the K65 million saga.

The President also has powers to grant absolute pardons to convicted persons. All these are forms of immunity.

EMOTIONS & SELF PRAISE

In the emotional display seen at the press conference, one sensed the President still harbours anger and bitterness in the manner he was treated whilst he was in Opposition. He repeatedly said he would not use state power to revenge but spent a considerable amount of time discussing persons like Patriotic Front Member of the Central Committee, Raphael Mangani Nakacinda who has been arrested numerous times and coincidentally was earlier picked up by a battalion of Police officers and locked up.

He also disregarded the law by constantly talking about matters that are in court. But it is the self-praise by the President that has been elevated to worrying levels, almost to delusional levels.

ON LIES

“In my household, we don’t allow lies, lies can kill, we don’t lie, lies are illegal, the law will be enforced against liars,” President Hichilema said. My Answer; ” Look who is talking”.

THE ECONOMY

In the end, it’s the state of the economy, which is the greatest crisis facing Zambians that suffered in this press conference.
It received little attention and no tangible measures were demonstrated to arrest the rising cost of living. The President made reference to China joining the IMF driven Creditors’ Forum, the 41,200 recruited teachers and health workers and the proposed measures to unlock wealth from the mines.

CONCLUSION

After raising so many expectations, after last week’s rot, after the dire economic crisis facing the country, the press conference was an anticlimax, delivering hot air.

25 COMMENTS

  1. Emmanuel Mwamba is a failed spin doctor. He left his diplomatic posting as Zambia’s envoy to Ethiopia and the AU in Addis Ababa and came to Lusaka during the 2021 election period to back the Lungu re-election bid. No expense was spared to get Edgar Lungu re-elected. Mwamba was in charge of communication strategy together with Anthony Mukwita and every PF insult against HH was birthed by his team. But in the end it was not good enough. It’s high time Mwamba was questioned about the”Chavula the Ugandan” incident of 2016 elections.

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  2. The next person who must be incarcerated is Emmanuel Mwamba! This ***** is full of kulimonesha ta, he rose through the ranks of the civil service by being the agent of Bemba tribalism and being a sexual pest. I will never forget how he was PS for Chipata for three weeks before he was moved to somewhere else. At one point, he had been moved five time in one year. He had an agenda with Sata and Chikwanda to turn Zambia into a Bembastan! These Kasais batushupile saana!

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  3. How can Emmanuel Mwamba stated that the President’s Press conference just delivered HOT AIR in his concluding remarks Its like our colleagues in PF don’t see any good in what HH is trying to fix their mind set is already fixed on seeing failure only. .The President touched on lot of positive issues which very inspiring. You can’t achieve anything with a fractured economy first it has to fixed. The colleagues in PF are straight jackets who have not accepted that axis of power shift to HH and UPND Alliance, its like they are dreaming still being in power and the moment they wake up they are longer.

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  4. This is the stupidity of Mwamba, had I been this pank table headed Kasai, I will stick to my lane, this stuff is way above his pay grade. Just see how the “unlearned fool confuses indemnity against prosecution from granting immunity, this sucks real big time.

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  5. PF is baren of any critical thinking to develop this nation……….

    PF ……is this the best your inspiring leader can come up with…….. ????

    Just go back to sleep PF , and let the man apply the Singapore formula to develop this great country……..

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  6. The article above from Mwamba is hollow as the President addressed a lot of progressive issues yesterday, can you acknowledge those things or atleast pretend to wear objective lenses. The damage by the PF was too huge to be sorted out in eight months, the beauty is that there is some direction now. LT, You can delete this comment as you do with most anti PF comments as if we are not in a democracy

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  7. I told the praise singers that after the press conference there will be no answers. With so many problems this country is facing he spends 40% of the time talking about Nakachinda and him being called a cow. Did we get any answers about fuel, fertilizer, mealie meal, exchange rate? Nothing. Faith Musonda has been given immunity and yet he says no one has the power to give immunity. Who promised people who will voluntarily had over the loot will be given immunity? And the master of all lies spends time castigating liars like the devil telling us not to sin. This is the most useless president ever.

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  8. I too was like look who is talking.
    Pathological liar.
    He wished he hard a law that incarcerated people for 90 days in order to recover stolen items. Chap wishing for more torture.
    He is frustrated by our laws. Don’t allow his Government to pass any draconian laws people.

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  9. HE SHOULD HAVE CORRECTED AND ALIGNED THE MINISTER ELSEWHERE ITS AS HE FIRED ACTUALLY MUCH WORSE IN SLAVERY AS CLOSER AND TUNTEMBA FIRMS IT WILL OFTEN SHOW UP WORSER OKAY CHILUBAS SALARY WAS ONCE STOLEN IN NDELOLELAFYE!!

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  10. So, the dead can come back to speak. Mr former ambassador, remind us the analysis you did with former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu if ever he held ANY PRESS CONFERENCE. However, at last Zambians have heard a press conference from their president regardless of its contents. IT WAS A PRESS CONFERENCE TO ZAMBIANS and more to come – prepare a question for the president next.

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  11. Monga benze na ma presser weve. Awe ba PF kanzinkani koma mwe. You came nowhere to allowing anyone to even critique; kwenze cabe airport tarmac commentaries. Muna tawa na Hardtalk ya pa BBC!

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  12. Well, Mwamba still wish to be in government. Its gone. Wait until the law catches up with you. The President mean well for this country. Its us citizens to support him.

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  13. Mwamba has got every right to talk so why should he be locked up? People complained and changed government because of the intolarance by the PF. If you are genuine human rights advocate you cannot muzzle people
    It’s like you were admiring the PF brutality and wishing you were the ones in charge.

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  14. Has this Moran finished his tribal meeting with his colleagues from the corrupt tribal PF. Immigration should even visit him to check if he is Zambian. He appears and behaves like a Congolese to me

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  15. The unexpected happened and it is that HH got elected president and those in the opposition who clamored for the same are bitter and disoriented as to be constructively “advising” on behalf of other electors’ concerns that put them among the losing opposition. The vanquished PF has its members angry at losing the luxurious living thus for them nothing good should come out of their conquerors! How can UPND work on the ills if the privileged section still enjoying media coverage are just bent on disinformation and insults?

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  16. How do people who got fired by the Zambian people, people who failed for 10 yrs & only succeeded in stealing & looting the country try to offer solutions for problems they created but failed to solve when they were in power?

    Empty tins!

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  17. Iam one of those who think Mwamba is just a waste of time but in this analysis he has done a stellar job analysing that useless press conference. He has cited incidents for all his bones of contention. HH needs self examination. At the moment he looks in the mirror and imagines it is telling him he is the greatest but the people out here are seeing an emperor without his clothes..

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  18. A liar who promised k5 against a dollar if he is sworn in at 10h. A liar who promised mealie meal to be k50 when he comes in power. A liar who promised K1500 salary increment to all civil servants when he ascends to president.He has continued lying and he expects everyone to take him seriously. So far, his rating is pathetic. Nothing to write home about.

  19. Emmanuel Mwamba is one of the most annoying individuals in politics besides Nakachinda and Bowman right now. First of all, besides his political aspirations in PF where he is vying for the top slot, he thinks he Zambians are so stupid and dumb. He fancies himself as a spin doctor, who can change the narrative to sway the national mood at his bidding. After having served under Chiluba in MMD and now as a propagandist for ECL in PF, he is delusional enough to think Zambians cannot wait to vote for him as republican president. I wonder what he expected to hear from the president. As far as we are concerned, the President addressed everything we wanted hear. He needs a bit more self awareness, that he is not as important as he thinks he is. Zambia is bigger than your broke PF.

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