SP pledges to emphasise equitable education
By Neson Zulu
THE Socialist Party (SP) yesterday unveiled the 2026-2031 manifesto with emphasis on development through education and adequate social spending.
Launching the manifesto in Chongwe yesterday the party’s president Dr Fred M’membe said the document gave Zambians a clear reason why they should vote for him on August 13 election.
Dr M’membe said the manifesto was not only a document but an agreement between the people of Zambia and the SP.
“It arises from the people’s experiences, their experiences, their lives, their sufferings, their aspirations, their hopes. This manifesto is about gaining or reclaiming our country back here,” he said.
Dr M’membe said the SP manifesto was about giving back independence and freedoms to the people of Zambia.
There was no way Zambia would develop without ownership of the developmental agenda.
“It is about our sovereignty. It is about our liberation. Liberation from a system, an economic and social system that has stolen our future. This manifesto is about sovereignty over our economy. It is about sovereignty over our governments. It is about sovereignty over our social services.It is a manifesto about our present and our future,” Dr M’membe said.
He was saying the document was “about our future” because the future was not built in the future but the present.
The future of the country would be made through the decisions made at present.
Dr M’membe said there was no economic decision which could be made without economic ownership, a programme and agenda his party was offering the people of Zambia ahead of the August 13 elections.
“When you have sovereignty over your economy, you have sovereignty over your destiny. Nobody tells you how much to allocate to education. Nobody tells you how much to allocate to health services. Nobody tells you how much to allocate to agriculture. Nobody tells you how much to allocate to infrastructure. You make these decisions yourself,” he said.
“The austerity measures that were subjected to through the IMF [International Monetary Fund] programmes restrict how much we spend on people’s services like education, health and so forth,” Dr M’membe said.
He said Zambia had failed to develop and enjoy economic independence because the economy was dependant on foreign powers.
Foreign powers dictated what must be done with their money at the expense of Zambian needs.
“When you get restricted on how much you’re going to spend on education, when you get restricted on how much you’re going to spend on health services, when you get restricted on how much you’re going to support agriculture, you are sacrificing the future of your country,” Dr M’membe said.
“You are sacrificing the future of your country. There will be no compromise on what is spent on education. When we say 25 per cent of our budget will go to education, that’s it. It’s not negotiable. With any money lender, with any Shylock, that’s our decision.”
He said if his government started to reduce all the 25 per cent spent on education, it would be sacrificing the future of the country.
“We’re saying even the 25 per cent we are going to spend on education is not enough. And we have to find a way to socialise it and find a way to reduce it,” he said.
The launch was attended by People’s Pact alliance senior officials, among others.
