CHIPILI TIPS UKA ON GROWTH

By Fulman Mukobeko

POLITICAL Analyst Francis Chipili says the United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) must jack up its standards if it has to remain relevant beyond 2026.

Speaking in an interview with The Scoop, Mr. Chipili said UKA should not just be visible on social media but must work towards penetrating the grass root voters.

“The Alliance in my view is a work in progress. They need to do a lot of work. They should not just be on social media but they need to do ground politics. They need to be in touch with the electorate and sell their manifesto and policies,” Mr. Chipili said.

Asked whether UKA in its form has capacity to remove the UPND-led administration out of power, Mr. Chipili said it was very early to determine whether the Alliance was ready to form the Government.

He said what the people of Zambia were looking for was a strengthened opposition that would give effective checks and balances to the ruling party.

“The opposition Alliance stands a good chance but they need to organize themselves. They need to be more courageous. They should not think that winning the 2026 will be like a walk in the park. They should fight for it and strengthen their strategies,” he said.

And Mr. Chipili admitted that there is no political Alliance that has managed to stand a test of time in Zambia since time immemorial as they only exist to oust the ruling party from power.

“Historically, that has been the case and the latest one was the UPND that was aimed at removing the Patriotic Front (PF) out of the Government. But you see, we need an alliance that is based on ideologies and that is based on resolving the challenges the country faces,” he said.

He regretted that historically, political parties formed alliances to go in and share power.

“We urge political parties that are going into alliances that the alliance must be based on common ideas and must be based on resolving the common good of the challenges people face rather than forming alliances to wrestle power that they will eventually begin to share,” he said.