SHOCK AWAITS UPND
…Zambians are ready for a change – Siamunene
By Mast Reporter
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) will be in for a rude shock next year if it continues to think that the opposition is not ready for the elections, says New Focus Party (NFP) leader Richwell Siamunene.
Siamunene said Zambians are ready for a change of government next, with or without a united opposition.
“Change is coming, and anyone who thinks it will be a tall order should be a bad student of history. Signs of that change are all over the faces of the hungry and angry people. Which Zambians are willing to endure the pain they have suffered in the last four years of the UPND? I’m sure nobody will. So, the future of opposition in Zambia is very bright as long as you communicate effectively and efficiently to the people of Zambia,” he said.
In an interview with The Mast yesterday, Siamunene said the year ending 2025, was the most difficult and painful year for every Zambian.
“The year ending December 31, 2025, has been the most painful year for the people of Zambia. Economically, we have been in a mess. Socially, we have been a dead country and politically we have been strangled by the UPND government,” he said.
“In fact, the biggest opposition they have is the people of Zambia, who have already decided to change the government. These are the people who have suffered pain at the hands of the UPND.”
Siamunene said even those in government were aware of the disaster they were courting next year if they continued to think that there was no opposition in the country.
He said Zambians were living as if they were refugees running away from war when there was none.
The only war the country and its people were facing was a leadership crisis, which most Zambians were ready to change.
“We have a crisis and this is what we need to deal with as soon as possible. This problem is not about the country’s economy; it is about a lack of leadership. What we have at the moment is a collapse of leadership,” Siamunene said.
He said the country needed a leadership that was ready to address critical challenges the nation was facing, devoid of scheming about how one could be in power longer than necessary.
“The war this country needs to fight is poverty, underdevelopment, lack of business opportunity, lack of jobs for our people, divisions in the country, injustices going on, segregation based on who is in power and where he comes from, nepotism and unfair distribution of the country’s wealth,” Siamunene said.
He said the last 12 months had the most painful period of the year for Zambians as they were made to endure long hours of darkness and uncertainty.
Siamunene said what happened this year should never happen again, warning that the 10-hour temporary electricity supply was too late because it would not change the people’s desire to kick the UPND out of power.
“This is political. We have experience in this game. We know what happens, and what we are saying is that we should not take people for granted. These guys in government are clueless; all they need to do is tell us what has changed. They need to tell the truth about the fundamentals behind the 10-hour power supply increase to households,” he said.
Siamunene said change was certain next year, with or without the united opposition.
He said what mattered the most was the willpower of the people who wanted to change and not individual political organisations.
