GIVE HIM A CHANCE
…HH has attracted investors, restored dignity – Kavindele
By Mast Reporter
BY VOTING for President Hakainde Hichilema overwhelmingly again on August 13 Zambians will give him a new mandate to create more jobs and protect the country’s dignity, former vice president Enoch Kavindele has said.
Kavindele appealed to Zambians to re-elect Hichilema and the United Party for National Development (UPND) in the forthcoming election because they had demonstrated their capacity to create favourable conditions for economic and social development for the country.
In an exclusive interview with The Mast, Kavindele said a change of government on August 13 would reverse all the economic and social gains the country has achieved in the last five years.
“President Hichilema is an unmatched and talented leader who has restored dignity and investor confidence to Zambia’s flourishing economy after a spell of collapse,” he said.
It was important to protect the significant progress the country had made so far by electing Hichilema in August for him to complete his two terms in office.
“Zambians have no reason not to retain President Hichilema and UPND because doing otherwise would reverse the gains made in the last five years,” Kavindele said.
“We can talk about free education, social cash transfer and expanded Constituency Development Fund. The man in the driving seat is methodical and determined to turn around Zambia’s economic fortunes,” he said.
Kavindele praised the UPND administration’s debt servicing strategy for boosting investor confidence and stabilising public finance.
“The economy which had collapsed has been resurrected by President Hichilema,” he stated.
Continuity was critical to consolidate the recovery so that Zambians could feel the benefits of having a serious president.
Kavindele urged voters to allow Hichilema to carry on the mission of lifting Zambia to economic and social prosperity, for which signs were already showing.
He dismissed the large crowds seen at recent Tonse-Pamodzi rallies addressed by opposition presidential candidate Brian Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu in Kitwe and Kabwe.
Kavindele described the huge turnouts as “cimpwena [mere curiosity]”.
His remarks come as the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance on Friday defied the sudden suspension by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) of campaigns ahead of tomorrow’s stakeholders meeting to be held in Lusaka.
The opposition coalition held its third campaign rally in Petauke District, Eastern Province, which was attended by thousands of residents, some from far flung villages.
Some of the attendees had walked to the venue for hours from their villages to hear the opposition’s message.
Hichilema, who assumed office in 2021 on a popular vote, is seeking a second term under the UPND banner with an assurance of continuity.
Key campaign talking points for the ruling party have centred on free education, which is now law, increased social cash transfers, debt restructuring and a threefold increase in the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocations to constituencies.
