Zambians ’re tired of UPND blame game
IT IS unfortunate that after over four years in office, the United Party for National Development (UPND) has continued blaming the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) for the high cost of living and the economic meltdown that the country is facing.
We believe that this blame game highlights the inability of President Hakainde Hichilema and his government to deliver on the numerous promises of a better life that they made to Zambians during the campaigns leading up to the 2021 general elections.
This blame game is unprecedented; for those of us who were lucky enough to witness the smooth transitions of power in 1991 (from UNIP to MMD), 2011 (from MMD to PF), and 2021 (from PF to UPND).
We recall that the MMD immediately got down to work to liberalize the economy as soon as it took office. It opened up the transport sector to eliminate the United Bus Company of Zambia’s (UBZ) monopoly and allowed private individuals to operate buses. The effects were immediate: commuters no longer had to wait for days at the Intercity Bus Terminus to board buses to different destinations, and Zambians no longer had to wait in long queues to buy necessities like cooking oil and mealie-meal, which were in short supply at the time. As the ruling party at the time, the MMD focused on improving people’s lives instead of blaming UNIP for the numerous challenges that were affecting citizens then.
We know that many of our citizens still appreciate the massive infrastructure development projects that President Michael Sata started as soon as the PF took government in 2011. Sata never wasted his time to blame his predecessors for his administration’s failures and shortcomings. He instead appreciated the projects that President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa and Rupiah Banda had initiated, publicly acknowledging these developments at the official opening of the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola and the Levy Mwanawasa General Hospital in Lusaka, where the late Maureen Mwanawasa, the widow of former President Mwanawasa, was invited as a special guest.
For this reason, it seems strange to us that the blame game has become the main focus of this New Dawn government. Instead of working hard to lower the cost of living and improve people’s quality of life, Hichilema and his cronies would want to keep reminding Zambians of the PF’s shortcomings.
We are appalled by the sentiments attributed to UPND Lusaka Province chairmans Obvious Mwaliteta that the PF invested in the gyms for youths to be lifting weight while his party is investing in skills development.
Mwaliteta said the UPND would continue remind PF until they accept they were wrong.
“PF is not coming back. We only talk about them because they are the loudest now, trying to feed people a lot of propaganda. So, we are not fearing them, we are just trying to put them where they belong,” he said.
Mwaliteta should be reminded that the UPND was elected by Zambians because of their popular campaign promises of a better economy and lower cost of living . Zambians are no longer interested in being reminded of the PF’s shortcomings.
It is true that the PF committed a number of mistakes, including over-borrowing and human rights abuses, but the citizens who became weary of their leadership style showed them the door.
We wish to advise Mwaliteta and his colleagues to expend their energies on ensuring that citizens can afford three square meals a day, ending load shedding and reducing the pump price of fuel. Time is ticking and 2026 is fast approaching . Zambians now want action and not the blame game
