Mulenga Kapwepwe, daughter of Zambia’s first vice-president and one of the most formative independence era political figures, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe, has questioned the honesty of the United Party for National Development administration, stating that there is a pattern of falsehoods in the way national information is being communicated to the public. She said this pattern has made it difficult to believe statements issued by those in leadership positions on matters that require clarity and accuracy. She said that this represents a troubling shift in how public communication is being handled, and that this shift is undermining national trust.
Kapwepwe said what concerns her most is not one isolated incident, but a repeated pattern of misleading positions on major issues. She said this pattern is now visible in different areas of public governance. She said the cumulative effect is that public transparency and accountability become compromised when citizens cannot rely on government statements. She said no country can sustain public confidence when untruths are normalised in decision making.
She said that misinformation from public offices restricts the ability of citizens to make correct judgements on national matters. She said governance depends on honest communication. She said that national progress is not possible when decisions are based on false narratives. She said Zambia must protect truth at every level because the nation needs credible information in order to plan and evaluate outcomes.
Kapwepwe said that she has reflected deeply on how nations collapse when truth is abandoned. She recalled a conversation with a person who had lived in Afghanistan and who described how that country was damaged because falsehoods had been embedded in public culture for many years. She said that once a country becomes accustomed to deception, recovery becomes difficult. She said Zambia should learn from such examples.
She said that public leadership must not treat citizens casually. She said leaders should not take voters for granted. She said that public authority must always remember that leadership comes from the people. She said that a leader cannot forget that the electorate holds the power to choose who governs. She said that politicians should recognise that one day, they may need each other, and therefore relationships should be preserved with respect.
Kapwepwe said that citizens should not forget that truth is not only important at election time but is essential throughout the governing process. She said that if truth becomes secondary, then institutions weaken. She said that lies create tension in society because people begin to question whether the information they receive is sincere. She said that this question undermines stability.
Kapwepwe said her concern is that repeated false messaging is damaging Zambia’s political space and eroding public confidence. She said it is necessary to protect the ethical foundation of public discourse. She said that protecting truth is not a political preference but is a national safeguard. She said that the people of Zambia must demand honesty at all times because a country cannot grow on deception. She said that leaders must remember that honesty is not optional. She said that false messaging undermines democratic values and weakens national unity.
Good point madam, we have been watching
Ba Lusaka Times, what happened to the like button. We are analytical creatures and number enhence the that process!
Ms Mulenga Kapwepwe, with respect your education and experience, you got it all wrong. First and foremost, you need to understand that there is a big difference between stable variation governance and unstable variation governance. Any government in power works for the people and there are so many issues that they deal with minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day etc. The UPND has an approach that exemplify stable and honest on National issues. In simple, the UPND has been very transparent. It is not just the talk, but how practical things are laid out for the Zambian people. Ms. Mulenga Kapwepwe, just let us know if you really want to go back to any previous Government. You will likely find yourself in a group of PF cadres.
It is people like Nkana who will bring the already failed UPND down. Professor Lumumba is very clear on this in African countries, where a government is clearly failing and being advised, but there are people defending and praising it
@Bwaka M, the days you thought were not numbered was your wrong concept. Don’t confuse people eith Prof. Lumumba. We have all heard his opinion time after time. He not the only who see the actual pieces moving on a daily basis in Zambia’s economic and social environment. Wake up @Bwaka M, the days of free pass are gone. You need to back your drawing board if you ever had one.
Just waffling to look relevant………..
Present ideas on national development, and you would be more relevant……..
We have much work to do……..
FWD2041
This article! Almost every single sentence starts with “She said”. It’s worse than ZNBC in UNIP days… Why not just put the transcript of what she said
OK, I respect what she’s saying in fact but the presentation detracts from the important message. Happy weekend ba LT
@LT editor. No wonder we have articles that dont make sense. Cant handle critism?
How do you improve wallpwing in the status quo? Patting yourself on the back when you could do better.
Get of the straight jacket get real. Kabisa is just pointing at what is wrong. A good bench mark to ses what you produce looks like. Next you will be outing your readers…be professional
No one is perfect in politics.
She is spot on. If there is one thing UPND is good at, its lying. They lie like they breath.
And what makes things scary is that they will do not have the interests of the nation at heart. They show no concern for the wellbeing or even survival of our country. The interests they serve are foreign and personal gain.
But even ascendancy was on a number of lies – fuel price K12 per litre after cutting middle men, mealie meal K50, loadshedding to end, exchange rate same day service, fertiliser price K250, cyber laws, Public order act, cadres in key positions, monopoly on usage of public broadcaster ZNBC, the list is endless
Thanks for the attempt madam Kapwepwe, but you are dealing with people who cant be advised, they believe they know it all, but look at the lamentable failure in both governance and economy, to a level where you force people to say kwenyu, this is the worst since independence
Totally failed project this one, beyond redemption actually. For clarity, I am not PF, i am just an independent thinker. They over promised but you can see its just more talk now than delivery. Their youth chairman was very accurate , “pa ground sipali bwino”
Madam Kapwepwe compliments for stating the truth. The current government and lying are inseparable. They lie about everything without shame and fear. We are watching.
@LusakaTimes Your response to Kabisa was entirely unwarranted and only serves to exemplify the habitual immaturity characteristic of komboni-style platforms that thrive on petty exchanges. I suggest you exercise restraint going forward.
Interesting!
What is this sad pathetic once privileged woman talking about.
The work that this government has done is extraordinary.
Zambia is a place today, where four years ago people thought was not possible.
Does she seriously want a return to the old days and ways.
@Renegade to be fair LT has a point since it’s easy for me to complain but I haven’t put my own website, since nearly 20 years I have enjoyed LT and the efforts made to publish and allow discussion. And a good job usually, it just triggers ZNBC 1970s when I hear “that one said, then they said…” Kikiki
imwe you mean you all cannot see what is happening here since inauguration? Deception is key here why are we even running from the subject? Deception brings down governments…look at what was promised and what is happening currently