No amount of cash or propaganda will help
…It’s a revolution, people want change.
By Christine Phiri
THE UPND has gone all out, with trucks full of cash, paying influencers, social media pages, newspapers and anyone willing to carry its propaganda while demonising Brian Mundubile and the Tonse Alliance.
To the influencers and musicians, please take the money and don’t break your back, eat it and and enjoy it, but we know you are with us, and when voting, everything ni Nyuu.
What the UPND must understand is that no amount of propaganda will change the direction of revolution. Many citizens have already made up their minds. Kuya bebele. Rural communities have also come on board in large numbers because they, too, feel the pain of the high cost of living, unemployment, and hunger.
There comes a point in every democracy when political messaging collides with the lived reality of ordinary citizens. When that moment arrives, no amount of advertising, public relations, or carefully crafted narratives can erase what people experience in their homes, businesses, and communities every day. That is where Zambia appears to find itself today, No more Bally lies.
The recent debate surrounding the proposed international airport in Western Province has become another battleground in that political contest. Praise singers of the ruling party have used the controversy to portray the Tonse Alliance as lacking a development agenda, twisting the narrative to serve their selfish political interests.
Together with the debate over government reserves, these issues have dominated public discussion while diverting attention from the concerns that affect ordinary citizens every day: the high cost of living, unemployment, rising household expenses and the struggle to make ends meet.
The UPND can travel around the country with campaign trucks loaded with hard cash, buy advertising space, engage influencers, sponsor newspaper headlines, and flood social media with messages celebrating its achievements. However, no amount of campaign messaging can change what people experience every day.
No publicity campaign can convince a hungry family that food is affordable. No paid advertisement can persuade a young graduate without a job that opportunities are plentiful. Government may point to inflation falling from previous highs to around six percent as evidence of economic progress, but many citizens continue to judge the economy by what they can afford at the market rather than by economic statistics. Elections are not won by graphs and figures alone. They are won or lost in the homes of ordinary citizens.
This is why elections are rarely decided by propaganda. They are ultimately decided by the daily experiences of the people. A family struggling to buy mealie meal is unlikely to vote based solely on political advertising. A graduate searching unsuccessfully for employment will judge leaders differently from someone writing campaign messages on social media. A farmer facing high production costs will assess promises against the realities of each farming season. Rural communities are equally capable of making independent political choices based on what they believe has improved, or failed to improve, in their lives.
