BRUTAL, ROTTEN REGIME GOING
…Zambians ready to reclaim their democracy – Silumbe
By Mast Reporter
ZAMBIANS are dealing with a rotten, corrupt and brutal regime which must be made to account for all its atrocities once it is voted out of power in August, says Dr Richard Silumbe.
In an interview with The Mast, Dr Silumbe, presidential candidate of the Leadership Movement (LM), said Zambians had an opportunity to reclaim what had been lost in the last five years under President Hakainde Hichilema’s rotten and corrupt regime.
He said his party had a clear blueprint on how Zambia would reclaim its economic decency, rule of law and respect for good governance and democratisation if it took over.
“The losses we have made as a country and as a people in the last five years are too mountainous. We have work to do to reclaim and correct the situation, but that should first start with getting rid of the people who have led us to be where we are now,” Dr Silumbe said.
He said corruption and injustice had become part of the system, warning that allowing those who had destroyed the country to continue would be destroying the future of the people.
“Not too long ago, someone from Lusaka went to Kabwe to recommission the Mulungushi Textile in the name of a joint venture, making people believe that something was being done to create jobs when it is still a white elephant,” he said.
Dr Silumbe said Zambia could not develop under a leadership that survived on lies and fake promises, as was the case now.
He said the United Party for National Development (UPND) had refused to reform and put Zambia first.
“Once elected into government in August, we shall do things differently. Our focus is to build a resilient Zambia by using our local resources to create an economy that will not only be strong at face value but also at the household level,” Dr Silumbe said.
“Our people shall have jobs. Our people shall have three meals a day, and we shall also give free education from inception to university. The health system under our watch will be a responsive system and not a dead one, as is the case now. We are not going to be backwards in the manner we shall be doing things,” he said.
Dr Silumbe said the UPND government did not care about the people of Zambia but respected only foreign interests.
He urged Zambians to reject being treated like fools.
“This is a stubborn regime and it is taking Zambians for fools. The UPND thinks Zambians are fools and forget things so easily. The UPND leadership thinks that it will fool the people again. Zambians must reject this regime now. Let them try us to see how we shall resolve the issue of load shedding, infrastructure development through rural-urban expansion projects,” he said.
Under his leadership the Zambia National Service (ZNS) would be a tool for national development.
“For us, ZNS will not be for planting cabbage and keeping chickens. ZNS will be a serious government department in the military wing for national development. Our rural set-up in our first 12 months of being in government will have a different face through ZNS,” Dr Silumbe said.
