Socialist Party (SP) National Youth Chairperson, Mr. Kelvin Kaunda, has strongly condemned the UPND administration and President Hakainde Hichilema over the ongoing issue of load shedding in Zambia. In an interview with Muvi TV, Mr. Kaunda accused the government of failing to deliver on its promise to end load shedding, which was a key campaign pledge during the 2021 elections.
“Barely 72 hours after the almighty press conference, reality has dawned. It only gets to tell us one thing: that it is easier said than done,” Mr. Kaunda stated. “We need practical leadership that understands how challenges of our time can better be addressed. We have heard a lot of rhetoric over the years, we have heard a lot of promises over the years. And we can’t afford on this same trajectory.”
President Hichilema had promised to end load shedding and claimed that lack of leadership was the root cause of the issue while in opposition. However, Mr Kaunda has accused the President of lacking practical leadership and not following through on his promises.
Mr. Kaunda argued that the UPND administration has been more focused on politicking than on addressing the real issues facing the country. “We need leadership that will take very difficult and tough decisions in mitigating the challenges of our time. And this approach where we want to be politicking all the time, there is a time when we should do politics and there is a time for us to deal with issues that affect our people. We can’t continue doing politics all the time from 1st January to 31st December, no. I think as a country we need to understand time… we don’t seem to understand when we must do politics and which time requires us to provide practical and relevant leadership which requires dealing with the challenges our people are faced with,” Mr. Kaunda said.
The SP Youth Chairperson also pointed out that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in countries with stronger economies are doing well, while the opposite is true in Zambia. “The new dawn that countries with stronger economies have is that their SMEs are doing well, but the opposite is happening in Zambia,” Mr. Kaunda noted.
Mr Kaunda also criticised President Hichilema for exporting electricity while citizens are subjected to daily power outages for up to 12 hours.
“We were bragging because we were generating 3,000MW as a country when Iran produces 17,000MW. That 3,000MW we are producing here as a country is basically used in Iran at a radio station and yet we are quick to address our people saying we have addressed the issue of load shedding. And from this 3,000MW we even have the audacity to export electricity,” Mr Kaunda said.
“What we want to hear from this leadership is that they are now investing in more power stations. We are not God who can cause things to happen by word of mouth. We are human beings. In things that require effort, apply effort. It’s not about saying we will fix this we will fix that, how are you going to fix? Things are never fixed that way.”
The SP Youth Chairperson called for more investment in power stations and for President Hichilema to take practical steps to address the challenges facing the country. “It’s not about saying we will fix this we will fix that, how are you going to fix? Things are never fixed that way,” Mr Kaunda said.
Mr Kaunda’s comments come as many Zambians, particularly young people, feel let down by the Hichilema administration. The UPND party, which President Hichilema leads, made a number of promises prior to their election in 2021, including free education and increased recruitment in the health sector, that have yet to be fulfilled. In addition, the country’s economic challenges have persisted, with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggling to thrive as they do in countries with stronger economies.
“Their ascension to power was premised on lies and I hope even their exit, the Zambian people will use their lies to take them out of office,” Mr Kaunda said of President Hichilema and the UPND administration.
“Numerous Zambians, many of whom were youths flooded polling stations on 12th August, 2021, to vote the PF out of power, hoping that UPND would “fix” the country’s economic hurdles. The “heaven on earth” kind of promises were made prior to the said elections, which prompted 2.8 million voters to send President Hakainde Hichilema to State House.”
Bafi color use common sense. Even after seeing the photos of Kariba Dam you’re still saying such things. That is why PF told you to urinate in the Dam. He promised yes, but do you want him to create water? Ati other countries with strong economies are doing well? Did you just want to say something ai?
The problem I see is that the people around the president are afraid of telling him the truth. He’s just human and as such he’ll depend on those around him but because they don’t want to lose their miserable jobs they will always sugar coat whatever they tell him.
This is common in our country…. come election time if these wolves smell loss they jump ship and feed us with all sorts of negative stories against the president.
HH is being fed lies by those who want to keep their jobs.
alergical to telling the truth
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We are now being forced to make love to our wlves in the dark, any yet their hh promised to end load shedding. This is unacceptable useless upnd incompetent government! Fuseke!
This Kaunda is also politicking. I miss the dead Kaunda