New Heritage Party President Chishala Kateka has stated it would be unwise for the UPND government not to end load-shedding by 2026, noting that governments typically address pressing issues in an election year.
Her remarks follow a statement by Energy Minister Makozo Chikote on Friday, who said citizens would start seeing the results of government investments in the energy sector next year. Minister Chikote emphasized that this should not be assumed to be motivated solely by elections.
In an interview, Kateka expressed skepticism, recalling that the UPND has long promised to end load-shedding. She said citizens would only believe the government when they see tangible results.
“It may happen or it may not happen. As a government that is there, it would not be wise of them if they did not work towards ensuring that [it ends]. It would not work well for them if they didn’t invest adequately to ensure that the people vote for them. Isn’t that what all governments do? They wait until the last minute, then they invest to deceive people, so I’m sure we can expect the same from them,” Kateka stated.
She criticized the government’s transparency, saying, “We’ve been told so many stories that we now no longer know what to believe. What we would say is we wait to see the outcome of those investments… We are tired of the stories and therefore, we’ll take this as another one of those stories unless and until we actually see that investment bearing fruition.”
Kateka added that whether the move is election-driven or not, the public will judge based on results. She drew a parallel to the fable of “the boy who cried wolf,” suggesting that repeated unmet promises have eroded trust.
“These people are not transparent, so we don’t know what they are doing. They are not transparent; this is the most non-transparent government I’ve ever come across,” she concluded.
Madam Let it be you know well promises will abound and handouts will flow freely parastatals will empty their coffers the presidenrial fund will be more than generous this is a high stakes game
hopefully the people have learnt from the past
The ‘generosity’ has already started from these failures
When the opposition is voting, we shut light so it will be a good zero.