SOCIALIST PARTY CALLS FOR INDABA ON ZAMBIA’S DEBT

WE remain open to dialogue with the Government on issues of Zambia’s debt because if left unchecked debt it has potential to cripple Zambia’s economy and send a lot of citizens into extreme poverty, Socialist Party General Secretary Cosmas Musumali has said.

Speaking to The Scoop, Dr. Musumali said the Socialist Party had some ideas just like other Zambians had that could help tackle issues of Zambia’s debt adding that it was time to hold an Indaba and put necessary ideas on the table.

“We have so many Zambians with great minds who have ideas on how best the debt can be tackled if given an opportunity to present their ideas. Therefore, there is a need for an indaba where ideas will be presented for the benefit of the country and our future generations. We have very good economists in our country whose ideas can help solve our debt problem because this is not a battle for the Government only but for everyone as it affects us all,” Dr. Musumali said.

Dr. Musumali said leadership was about patience and listening to divergent views adding that citizens should never be discarded based on political affiliation.

“As a leader one must be patient and open minded, ready to listen to different voices because among those voices lies a solution. You cannot discard people because they are in opposition while they know the solution instead listen to their voices and ideas for the betterment of many citizens in our country,” he said.

He bemoaned the challenges being faced by the Zambian people stating that the notion of blaming the previous Government on the problems currently being faced in the country would not help matters but worsen the country’s poor economy.

“Let us have an Indaba, let us put those ideas on the table and move together as Zambians. A good leader must listen to other people because you cannot discard all the Zambians thinking you will come up with solutions by working with investors,” he added.

He expressed confidence that better solutions could only come from Zambians, and they have made suggestions from time to time, adding that time to give Zambians a listening ear on how best we can solve our debt is now.