ZAMBIANS ARE TIRED OF UPND
…signs are clear that people are ready to kick out the current leadership – Kopulande
The people of Zambia are currently facing a serious leadership crisis, coupled with harsh economic conditions
- Zambians have continued to remain in perpetual poverty because of poor political and economic decisions.
By Tony Nkhoma
ZAMBIANS must wake up now and avoid making the mistake of electing people to leadership positions who have failed to deliver on their promises, former Chembe Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Sebastian Kopulande has said.
Dr Kopulande said the signs were clear that Zambians were fatigued by the United Party for National Development (UPND) leadership, hence the need to join a collective and responsive people’s movement to kick out the current leadership next year.
Speaking when he featured on EMV, a podcast hosted by former Zambia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Emmanuel Mwamba, Dr Kopulande said the people of Zambia were currently facing a serious leadership crisis, coupled with harsh economic conditions which were making life unbearable.
“Why are we living in different realities, and what is the problem about being honest with ourselves? That is the danger of self-deception, because at the end of the day, reality will dawn on you,” Dr Kopulande said.
He said it was sad that those in government had turned against their own people into illegal citizens.
He urged Zambians to reclaim their lost dignity by avoiding mistakes made in 2021 of putting people in leadership with huge promises they had failed to deliver.
“Zambia had been hit by a serious leadership crisis, which is not honest and doesn’t put the interests of its citizens first. The Afrobarometer report indicates that 50 percent of the Zambian population intends to leave the country due to harsh economic conditions, and yet someone is telling us that the country is doing well. This is total deception, it’s denial, they are living in self-deception and denial,” he said.
He said that the country was facing serious problems because of having in place a broken leadership that needed to be fixed.
“But if you realise something is broken and we need to intervene, then you take the right policies. That is the danger. And it is for this very reason of not being realistic with ourselves that we have remained behind while the rest of the world is moving,” he said.
Dr Kopulande said Zambians have continued to remain in perpetual poverty because of poor political and economic decisions.
“Zambia is currently structurally incapable of growing economically. The country’s current financial sector structure is dominated by short-term commercial banks, which cannot support long-term development, nor can it support industrialisation, nor can they support citizens’ economic empowerment. You cannot grow an economy where there is no finance, because finance is the lifeblood of an economy,” he said.
He said despite the country having a thriving mining sector, benefits have eluded ordinary Zambians while benefiting foreign interests.
“You cannot, and it must be embarrassing to us Zambians, that the dominant sector, 80 percent of your foreign earnings, there is no noticeable Zambian involvement there,” Dr Kopulande said.
He said the time had come for Zambians to commit themselves to transforming the mining sector into a transparent, inclusive, and Zambian-driven industry, which would foster ownership and promote value addition, and ensure benefits for its own people.
“We must ensure that there is local ownership and citizen participation in this sector, because this sector is critical. How can Zambians in their country be declared illegal? How can I be illegal in my own land? Mining has become the biggest inhibitor of Zambian participation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Kopulande said it was sad that Zambia was creating jobs in other countries while its citizens were suffering without decent jobs.
He urged Zambians to ensure that come 2026, they put leaders who would not put their selfish interests first.
“We must be able to examine whoever is putting their hands up for leadership to see if indeed those hands are safe. If Zambians have questions about any of the hands that are going up, they should reject them. Zambians are regretting today having ushered in leaders who over-promised and have failed to deliver. Look at what we have done. Start asking how we got here,” he said.
Dr Kopulande urged Zambians to choose leaders who would attend to their needs.
“It has to be someone that you believe can attend to your needs, that you believe can respond to your requirements, that you believe will listen to you. Zambians need a leadership that must respect the views of its citizens and not craft things that only benefit themselves,” he said.
