There is no doubt that online media continues to play a significant role in Zambian life today. It’s in this vein that I challenge the presidential candidates to an online interview. Luckily these questions don’t have to be answered in real time. However, candidates are encouraged to respond to these questions candidly and send their responses to Lusakatimes.
In about a week or two, I will have a tougher set of interview questions. Meanwhile, online readers are welcome to discuss the questions and maybe you can help out some of the candidates.
1. Why do you want to become president?
2. Describe yourself in one word?
3. What are some of your important family values?
4. Who has been your mentor growing up and why?
5. If you were given an opportunity to spend a day with anyone in this world, who would that be and why?
6. What are some of the key events that happened in your life and shaped your life?
7. What have been some of your biggest fears and weaknesses?
8. What’s the number one thing you will do after you are sworn in as president?
9. Do you think the Zambian President has too much power? If so, what will you need to do to reduce those powers?
10. What are some of the key issues missing in the current draft constitution?
11. How do you think dual citizenship will add value to the nation?
12. Do you think it’s about time provinces became independent?
13. What do you think will be your biggest challenge as the president?
14. What are some of the things you are going to reverse as president?
15. Do you see any significance in having Deputy Ministers and District Commissioners?
16. What will be your wife’s role as first lady? What does she have to offer to the Zambian people?
17. Do you think it’s about time we have a law that prohibits those in government and their close friends and family to bid for government contracts?
18. Do you think that previous governments have abused government media such as ZNBC, Times, Daily and ZANIS? What are you going to do to stop this once and for all?
19. Put these industries in order of how you will prioritise them as president—Mining, Manufacturing, Tourism, Agriculture, IT Technology.
20. How much money did the government earn from the mines in the last two years and how much will they earn in the next two years?
21. If you had to choose between eliminating HIV and eliminating Malaria which one would you choose and why?
22. What’s our current trade deficit if any? What will you do to overcome this?
23. What will be your foreign policy?
24. What’s the GDP of Zambia and its neighbors combined? How do you think we fair on that list?
25. Are you going to employ your friends and relatives?
26. Do you think we should be building a retirement home for the president?
27. If Zambia had the running-mate clause, who are the top two names you would have as your veep?
28. Besides you, who do you think is the better qualified candidate of all the people running for president?
29. When you are elected what is the first country you will visit and why?
30. How much is spent on the president annually and how much will be spent on you?
By Wesley Ngwenya
HH will answer all the questions as he qualifies.
Advice:
Lungu and Rb supporters please look the following questions and advise your candidates accordingly;
9,10,17,18,22,24, and 26.
PF candidate is Edgar C Lungu . Does the abbreviation stand for Chakolwa? Please advise. If so then why on earth would a parent name a child like that?
Just wait for Jan 21 and you will cry out loud.
HH cannot win these elections.
It is PFs’ term: all else are just participating.
Chapwa.
And derogatory calling of our President just shows how shallow you are and attracts the BEATINGS you shall certainly get.
@figo
Do not mistake UPND’s peaceful nature for cowardice. If UPND wanted to revenge, PF cadres would stop wearing PF regalia in the open.
Have you already forgotten, the intercity terminus saga where UPND moved in, arrested the PF thugs and restored peace?
PF thugs will be dealt with just like UNIP vigilantes in 1990s.
I asked a question about what the letter C stands for and you decide to threaten me instead of answering the question.
what about kaminamisa?lol
Please add questions on vigilante thugs or cadres as you commonly call them. What would be their role? Also if elections can be held by show of hands
?@ Wanzelu maybe HH should also tell us why he changed his name from Chitombwa – anyway, what a name!
Good questions. HH will answer all of them without a hitch.
Lungu as part of the lying PF will copy HH like he has done in his rallies to sound authentic but Zambians know that PF is a bunch of confused liars.
RB will this time change his mind and accept 50+1 clause in the constitution.
Viva HH.
I strongly believe God will bless Edgar Lungu with wisdom to discern and answer these questions rightly because in all fairness the Opposition is wasting time and resources on this campaigns in the name of democracy, but would rather use the forthcoming elections just to prepare for 2016, like PF did in 2008. The issue of incumbency of the PF as Party in Govt gives them clear lead to retain the Republican Presidency, just support them jealous down. RB had opportunity before, HH’s chance is yet to come, probably in 2016!
Some pipo are really die hards, God favors everyone and EL is no exception so plz stop this nonsense of God’s intervention on EL, worse still this is a man who cant even speak to God’s people in Church, so plz respect God’s interventions..
We cannot vote for your candidate because he is a clueless person who has does not know how civil service operates. He is a free mason-satanist. He is tribal, stole privitisation money. The list is endless. I would rather vote for someone who has a track record. As for drinking, who does not drink beer? It is better than your candidate who drinks blood.
@electorate
Those aspiring to positions of leadership must meet the following conditions:
“……irreprehensible, …..moderate in habits, sound in mind, orderly, …..,not a drunkard, not violent, but reasonable, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money…,”
1 Timothy 3 vs 2-3
Lungu is the exact opposite of what’s written above. Would you deliberately put in power a drunkard, an embezzler, a lover of his ‘clients’ money? If you really love your country you wouldn’t be so heartless and cold-bloodedly hand over power to unprincipled persons like this Edgar.
The list should include the following questions as well
1.when and were you born?
2.what were your father and Mother’s names?
3.Given a chance would sign a commitment to restrain your cadres from taking to streets if you lose election.
4.In four statements how would you design your National development plan.
Great questions; hence the need for live presidential debates ASAP. These leaders need to be tested and die sure HH will win all.
Viva Flight HH2015
Great questions; hence the need for live presidential debates ASAP. These leaders need to be tested and die sure HH will win
Viva Flight HH2015
Your first 4 and last 4 questions are irrevant. Do you call an intellectual and end up fooling him like that? That’s why late king cobra mcs ( mhsrip) used to bastards like you. This also shows what you care most which does not apply to others. Your thinking is childish as revealed in your questioning techniques. Who can attend to such useless questions? Social club interviews at binge centres. You have an idea of having candidates interviewed. Wait that one is coming after nominations to confirm who is standing. You have to know all your opponents. Questions should be given out in advance.
Answering these questions will test candidates knowledge on issues.
Knowing is good but doing is better.
Apparently Zambia’s education is all about knowing. We don’t invest in doing/making thing happens.
If you do not know, how will you do what you do not know?
Another three years of trial and error?
@Sos
HH and a few of us have used our knowledge properly.
PF is f00l of people who fit your characterisation.
@figo, you guys are quickly becoming known for threatening people with violence in a bid to force them support edgar lungu. Just like mmd in the same manner insinuated, “Sata shall never rule, Sata shall never rule mother zambia”…. in their thinking yes he did not rule. so don’t start exhibit the same signs the mmd die hards showed us days before MCS (MHSRIEP) ascended to power by power of God. HH will rule this country if its GOD’S want.
Why should we answer the questiono for them, ASK THEM. it is unfortunately that in most African nations electorate are far from issue based decision making.
we did well withere monarch.
In Kitwe taxi drivers and marketeers received Santa like gifts . My friend!!! they will surely vote for the chibuku, chitenge and 100pin donnors. they are the majority electorates, and they will have th day.
Am shocked by those who call the above questions brilliant or good. The first question should have been what trend of political philosophy do u adhere to? Second should have been what school of politics did u attend? Third would have been what are the weaknesses of your politica l trend of politics. these 3questions matter a lot, many of our politicians are blank about the need to study philosophy of politics. Development is slow in Africa because we careless about studying politics by those who enter active politics. The truth is that those countries that are doing well started by formulating the philosophy of politics.
@kawezi, tell us how many of our children who have studied business up to MBA or Banking and Finance own their own successful businesses or banks?
I would ask the presidential hopefuls to include the following on the list of their deliverables:
1. Total Political Independence of the People: Freedom of the People and not of the Leaders only.
2. Eradication of the Presidential Cult by Drastically Reducing Presidential Powers.
3. Introduction of Parliamentary Democracy: the National Assembly as the Government Father Head.
4. Separation of Powers and Separation of State from Government.
5. Freedom of Traditional Leaders to Fully Participate in Political Activities: Zambian Renaissance
6. Dual National Governance System: Traditional and Civil Governance.
7. Restoration of Barotseland Agreement of 1964.
8. Federalism: Creation of the ‘Diversified States of Zambia’.
9. Democracy: Government of the People by the People for the…
In this country, every Jim and Jack can stand up and do anything and people get carried away! There is too much mediocrity and comedy. We need to stop this approach. First things First before we get carried away. Who is this Wesley Ngwenya and in what capacity is he doing this? Give us a brief of your educational background, experience and competences please! KUTI MWASANGA ATI KAPUBA FYE AKELEMIPOSALA INSHITA. Most of these questions are wrongly structured and not meant for the level of a President. Presidents must dealing with issues of a country’s Monetary Policy (Economic Growth, inflation, interest rates, currency stability, unemployment, etc); Fiscal Policy (taxation, Government spending, disposable incomes, price stability, etc), Industrial Policy, Energy Policy, etc.
Mediocrity and Comedy at its best. How can you ask such questions to Presidential Candidates? These guys must dealing with issues of our Monetary Policy (i.e. Economic Growth, Interest Rates, Currency Stability, unemployment, etc), Fiscal Policy (Taxes, Government Spending, citizens’ disposal incomes, etc), Industry Policy, Educational Policy, etc. Who is this Wesley Ngwenya anyway! Waste of Time!
Clearly Wesley Ngwenya is attempting to bring our Presidential Candidates to his low level: BU KAPONYA. Presidential Candidates must ignore this mediocrity completely! These are wrongly structured questions!
HH is the best of all candidates. He offers hope, he offers fresh beginning, he offers Zambia Unite. HH is the only true hope for Zambians and even our wise and principled Acting President knows this fact and in a way he has been pointing the nation to this direction. The Acting President is great but he is in wrong company. HH, true son of the soil, a patriotic son of Africa, the gallant son of our motherland, be rest assured that the whole country is behind u. Pls the whole country knows u as a hard worker. Do not at any point in time let us down. Consider reintroducing ZNS, ZCF, & let us up our stake in mining companies. Companies with Zambian stake in them should be paying corp. tax @ 20%. This will encourage partnerships with Zambians. Go son of our motherland. Africa is…
Who is your father?
My father is myself. Next question please.
Please Zambians, let us make sure all candidates answer these questions. Any one who shuns these questions is not a suitable leader and therefore not be voted for. LT should make sure all answers are released on the same date so that no candidate copies and pastes another’s answers. We have seen candidates like Lungu are copying other candidates’ campaign messages.
I think LT should make free for blogger to suggest other suitable questions.
It should include , was your father a cattle rustler in southern province who died in prison?
lusaka times,
I fail to understand why interviews for aspiring candidates should be carried on line. I smell something on this approach and what the intended objective is.
Likely, is to give ideas to clueles presidential candidates what to preach during their campaigns.
Very few people will have access to this interview. We want live interview when questions are there and then so that we see how clueles candidates fumble. I therefore urge all genuine candidates not to answer these meaninglessness interview.
Viva upnd viva HH!
Zambia forward.
Bane, bushe when will UPND have a non tonga for president? It appears HH successor will be tonga too. In this style, you will always think Zambians are voting on tribal lines. Mukanjiteko nga paisako any other than tonga. A tonga can win on any other party than UPND.