IT IS EDGAR LUNGU WHO MUST SHUT UP!

ONE of the qualities of a good leader is to face challenges head-on, make tough decisions as response to the challenges, and then communicate to the people why certain decisions have to be made.

A strong leader is also able to adapt to changing circumstances and make tough decisions when necessary. By being transparent and open, a strong leader can build trust and foster a positive environment.

To hear one Edgar Lungu telling President Hakainde Hichilema to keep quiet simply because he reminded the country about the atrocities that he was subjected to under Lungu’s tyrannical rule, is not something that does not surprise us anymore.

Lungu is right when he says he used to keep quiet and true to his word, he kept quiet when it mattered most. When his cadres went on rampage beating up people, he was quiet; when Zambians were being gassed, he kept quiet; when his friends were ransacking Forest 28, he kept quiet all because it served him and his cronies right.

And yes, Lungu did not only snub the much publicized live BBC interview while in New York when he was President, but he also grew cold feet at the Voice of America interview which was confirmed earlier because he had nothing to say and this is reminiscent of a bad leader that he had been.

So, the fact that Lungu had nothing to say when he was in office does not mean that those who come after him should do the same, especially that the current economic malaise which Lungu himself plunged into, needs a bold leader, capable of communicating to the nation.

Under normal circumstances, if there is someone who should shut up, it is Lungu himself because he has nothing to tell us. President Hichilema needs no permission from anyone to address the nation. The fact that Lungu failed to communicate to the nation does not give him the right to think whoever communicates does not do a good job.

What pains Lungu so much is that he does not want to be reminded of the pain he caused on others during his tyrannical rule. This is why he is so bitter over just one aspect that HH addressed during his briefing that he could not talk about all the positive issues that were raised during that briefing such as restructuring debt which he (Lungu) failed to address despite being the one who was recklessly borrowing, and other interventions the Government is putting in place to address food insecurity, the power deficit, among others.

He is jittery about stiffening punishment on those perpetuating tribalism because tribalism is what defines him. He preached tribalism when he was in office and has transferred the same to UKA as a campaign message and to hear that this same strategy he wants to use to come back to power would be faced with stiffer punishments, this is why he is crying.

He cares less if Zambia went up in flames as long as doing so would facilitate his coming back to power. That is what heartless people do. They care less about the pain of the people around them as long as the evil they plot works to their advantage.

To the gullible, we would just like to tell them that if they think this country was not run down by the Patriotic Front (PF) through reckless borrowing, corruption, and mismanagement of resources, they haven’t seen anything yet until they bring Lungu and his minions back into power.

 We are not in any way suggesting that the United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) is not capable of winning elections and those underestimating them should peep back into history and see where we came from and then they will have a better understanding of the political dynamics in this country.

 George Carlin was not foolish when he said never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. He knew what he was talking about and by this, we are not in any way suggesting that the UKA team is made up of fools. No. It is just a metaphorical application which makes sense to the current situation.

In 2015, Lungu himself told this country openly that he had no vision on how to run this country but those who were managing him quickly came in to provide context to what he was trying to say.

Chishimba Kambwili as Minister of Information and Broadcasting then belaboured to clarify what Lungu meant by the statement even when his claim that he was quoted out of context made no logical sense. The Zambians were hoodwinked into believing that what Lungu said was not what he meant.

They ignored his own black sheep’s confession over his lack of capacity to run our country and voted for him but what followed was a manifestation of what he had warned us against about himself. There was total degeneration.

Among other things, our economy degenerated due to fiscal mismanagement, precipitated by high levels of Government debt, budget deficits, and inefficient public spending. Mismanagement of public funds led to economic instability and hindered long-term development.

We also went into currency depreciation which led to inflation, making imported goods more expensive and impacting the cost of living for citizens. The exchange rate instability contributed to the deterrence of foreign investment and affected the country’s overall economic performance.

Challenges related to governance, transparency, and corruption undermined economic development by reducing investor confidence, hindering private sector growth, and diverting resources away from productive uses through rampant corruption.

 It’s important to note that addressing economic challenges in any country requires a multi-faceted approach that involves policy reforms, good governance, investment in infrastructure and human capital, as well as efforts to diversify the economy. It’s also essential to consider the unique circumstances and complexities of the Zambian economy, as well as the impact of global economic trends and external factors.

The rule of law is a fundamental principle in any democratic society and it encompasses the idea that all individuals and entities, including the Government, are subject to and accountable under the law. It also involves principles such as equality before the law, legal certainty, and the protection of individual rights and liberties.

What we saw under the PF was a total breakdown in the rule of law where the PF Government purposefully or inadvertently undermined constitutional principles and processes, such as attempts to amend the Constitution in ways that were perceived as undermining democratic principles and the separation of powers.

We witnessed political interference in the judiciary, which also undermined the independence and impartiality of the legal system. This eroded public trust in the judiciary and the rule of law.

The PF restricted the freedom of expression and media, including instances of harassment and intimidation of journalists and media outlets critical of the Government. In fact, it was under the PF that media houses such as The Post newspaper and Prime TV were closed. It was under PF where Jay Jay Banda allegedly urinated in a reporter’s mouth. It was under the PF that party Secretary General Davies Mwila ejected reporters from Prime TV from his press briefing.

It was under the PF that President Hakainde Hichilema had to flee from the roof of the radio station. It was under PF that cadres would storm radio programmes and disrupt live programmes with impunity whenever the opposition were accorded a chance to feature on these platforms.

Under PF, we witnessed limitations on civil liberties, including restrictions on peaceful assembly and political dissent, raising concerns about the protection of individual rights and freedoms.

Despite all these shortcomings, Lungu and his team now believe they can have a second shot into office and the UKA is seen as the conveyor belt to achieving this farcical objective.

When Lungu said he had no vision, for sure the man had no vision but we insisted that is not what he meant. What did we get from him? Debt and eventual collapse of the economy and because wrong decisions have a knock-on effect, we are today reeling with the after-effects of the PF plunder and reckless borrowing. The worst part of it is that there are those who are cheering him on and top on the list are some disgruntled opposition political parties that have come together under the UKA roof.