Socialist Party Presidential candidate Fred M’membe has said that it will be suicidal for Zambians to vote back President Edgar Lungu and the ruling Patriotic Front (PF).

In a statement to the media, Dr M’membe said that a vote for President Lungu and the PF will be a vote to finish off whatever little life still remains in Zambia because the economic trajectory of the country started going down as soon as President Lungu took the reign of power

“A few months before the PF came to power in 2011 Zambia was reclassified as a lower-middle-income country. For the first three years of the PF’s reign under Mr Michael Sata, they managed to maintain the same economic growth trajectory. However, economic growth, which averaged 6.4 percent at the time, immediately started a downward spiral when Mr. Lungu took over the presidency.

“From a growth of 7.6 per cent in 2014, for instance, economic growth plummeted to 2.9 per cent in 2015. And has since been a deteriorating year in year out, reaching to 1.4 per cent in 2019 and negative 4.2 percent last year,” Dr Membe said.

On the fiscal side, De M’membe said the president Lungu and his government threw away fiscal prudence and replaced it with reckless borrowing, done in the name of infrastructure development when it is well known that the ulterior motive has been to create expenditure lines for corruption.

“As a result, we see a fiscal deficit, which basically is borrowing to finance the budget, increasing from an average of 2.5 per cent of GDP per annum when the PF took over to an average of 5.4 percent of GDP per annum under Mr Sata’s reign, to 11.7 per cent last years under Mr Lungu’s PF government.

“The idea of massive infrastructure development was right in and of itself but was not well thought out from the very beginning. It was irrational. The World Bank and the IMF, among many others, advised them to rationalise their infrastructure development expenditure but they were not ready to listen, ” he said.

Dr. M’membe said that there was need for equitable distribution of projects coupled with prudent fiscal consolidation so that every province of Zambia can benefit and the country only spends money that it has.

Dr. M’membe further said that the PF government went into high gear of borrowing for projects that only benefited a few areas at a very expensive cost.

“For example, statistics from the Ministry of Finance show that by end of this year – 2021 – debt service costs will have increased to US $3.3 billion which is equivalent to over ZMW 70 billion at the current exchange rate of K22/US$. So if your domestic resource mobilisation capacity is at K65 billion then you factor in K27 billion for salaries, K4 billion for grant aided institutions and K7 billion for government operations you have a budget deficit of K43 billion.

“When Zambia was classified as a middle-lower income economy, we went to what is called frontier market to borrow money to bridge our financing gap as a country as opposed to the traditional Paris Club members. While some of our debt to China is bilateral, most of it is either quasi-government or commercial. This has very serious consequences,” Dr M’membe said.

Dr. M’membe said that the high dent has made Zambia become a Highly Indebted Poor Country again and that excessive borrowing has increased Zambia’s public debt from 20.8 percent of GDP when the PF took over government in 2011 to more than 100 per cent in 2021, basically put Zambia on the world map for the wrong reason, being the first country to default on its debt service post COVID 19.

Dr M’membe said that the high debt has resulted in higher costs of debt service which the PF government, unfortunately, has now failed to manage adding that, for the first time, the country has defaulted on its debt service obligations, and that Zambia’s sovereignty is at risk because no one knows under what conditions the commercial Chinese debt was contracted.

“This is certainly not a recipe for the revival of our country’s economic fortunes. It’s also not a recipe for governing well,” he concluded.

The ruling Patriotic Front (PF) member Chishimba Kambwili has charged that anyone saying the PF has failed after 10 years in power is not being truthful.

Speaking during the part’s first-ever PF virtual rally yesterday, Mr Kambwili said the PF came into power with a 20-year plan to develop the country and uplift the livelihoods of the people.

Mr. Kambwili who is also a PF founder member said the PF came into power with a solid plan because the first thing the party did was to find out where Zambia was lagging behind and came up with a 20-year plan to bring Zambia to greater heights.

“We asked why have we have not created jobs, why have we not created a wealth of our own, why are we depending on donors to pay salaries for civil servants and we found that our country is endowed with so many natural resources that would let the country create its own finances,” he said.

Citing the many developmental projects implemented by the PF governments from various sectors such as Energy, Agriculture, Infrastructures and Health among others, Mr. Kambwili said the PF government has built roads, schools, hospitals and increased the country’s electricity generation capacity and diversified various sources of energy and other sectors among others.

“Our plan was that in the 15th year to the 16th year we should completely finish the infrastructure development and then going into the 17th to 18th year we would now start creating industries and planting farm blocks because we would have had enough electricity, we would have had enough schools, we would have had enough roads to lead to these industrial sites,” he said.

He added that the party’s program for developing the country in terms of infrastructure development was for 15 years but the party has achieved so much.

“On the roadside, we’ve created 3,000 roads under link Zambia 8,000 and when you talk about township roads we have done more than 3,000 kilometres and for anyone to say PF has failed at this point, he is being economical with the truth,” he said.

He added that the Zambian people need to give the PF their 20 years and then judge them according to what they would have done, adding that if they did at 10 years they would be putting themselves in problems by taking the development backwards.

“Therefore you need to be very careful, Zambians, after 20 years judge us and if you say PF you have failed, we will gladly walk away,” He said

Mr Kambwili further urged Zambians to be careful during this year’s elections, saying President Edgar Lungu has managed to run the economy amidst the pandemic, and Zambians must give him massive support.

Mr Kambwili said that the opposition especially the UPND want to take advantage of the suffering of people in order to get into office but nothing will happen this time around.

“Listen to what they say, we need to be very careful, some of them do not mean well,” he said.
Mr Kambwili said that the economy of Zambia cannot be compared to other countries in the region and that Zambia’s economy is doing well, as evidenced by people from other countries are coming to buy commodities in the country.

“They say to know how the prices of commodities are prevailing on the market you need to be an economist, that is nonsense. We buy things in our neighbouring countries and we are able to see how bad their economies are,” Mr Kambwili said.

Mr Kambwili said that those saying that PF must be removed because of prices of commodities are becoming economic with the truth, before adding that the economy of the country is doing well during this period because of achievements made in the energy sector.

Mr Kambwili said that every economy depends on energy for it to be efficient.

“When we came in power in 2011 the country was generating only 16000 megawatts but because of the number of generating points we have put in place more power is being generated,” he said.

Mr Kambwili also cited the road infrastructure which has been rolled out across the country, saying no successful government has created and developed the country in 10 years like PF has done and urged the people of Zambia not to make any mistake to bring in a new government because they will take Zambia backwards.

Headmen in Chipangali District Mugubudu area of Eastern Province have resolved to ensure that the United Party for National Development (UPND) Alliance presidential candidate Hakainde Hichilema is elected as Zambia’s Seventh (7th) Head of State and Government.

During a meeting with UPND Eastern Province leadership and UPND advanced party from Lusaka for the National Youth Chairperson Gilbert Liswaniso, traditional leaders chorused Mr. Hichilema in person to hear how he plans to guarantee economic relief in Zambia once elected.

According to a statement released to the media by UPND media team, the traditional leaders urged the UPND entourage to facilitate an interaction with Mr. Hichilema to listen to the UPND poverty alleviation agenda as the farming community in the chiefdom is resolved to change of government, after years of worsening vulnerability.

“UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema must not be afraid to come and interact with us and our subjects as the people of Chipangali want a change of government, so that we can put in a leadership capable of improving our livelihood both of the young and ageing generation as opposed to a party that is only giving us Chitenge material and T shirts,” headmen implored UPND leaders.

After the meeting with the Headmen, a 23-year-old Lukuzye Ward aspiring councillor Charles Kapwata called on the people in the area not only to vote for him alone but to ensure that President Hakainde Hichilema received maximum votes, as the community is desirous of change.

And UPND Chipangali Constituency Parliamentary candidate Moses Masala said voting for UPND Alliance team is total transformation of positive change from a deplorable life of neglect imposed by the less concerned Patriotic Front (PF) led by Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

“UPND brings good agricultural governance, cheap fertilizer and a ready market for agricultural produce which will alleviate poverty, as a direct consequence of improved incomes and nutrition” he said.

And UPND Provincial Chairlady Martha Mulenga urged the electorate to rally behind all the UPND Alliance aspiring candidates in Chipangali Constituency.
“On 12th August 2021, let us vote for President Hakainde Hichilema and all UPND Alliance candidates at Parliamentary and Local Government level and ensure that after casting or voting, each one of us protect votes,” Ms. Mulenga advised.

David Zimba, a farmer lamented the high price of fertilizer fetching at K900 for a 50 kilogramme bag which he fears will negatively affect attainment of a good produce.

“I pray that you will fulfil your promises on us as peasant farmers currently faced with a lot of agricultural challenges. Annually, we are always treated to late and insufficient farming input delivery, and no ready market, for produce after a harvest, be assured of maximum votes here in Chipangali,” Zimba assured Liswaniso’s delegation.