Hakainde Hichilema writes PRESIDENT SATA’S REQUEST FOR AN AIR TICKET TO INDIA It is becoming crystal clear every day that passes that President Sata and the Patriotic Front (PF) have failed to effectively manage the affairs of our country. The government has failed to address the serious pressing needs of our citizens such as food, education, health, jobs, freedoms and constitution. The majority Zambians now agree that PF in government is a failed project and that Mr. Sata, contrary to the view that he is a man of action and experience has no ability whatsoever to effectively run Zambia’s economy Mr. Sata Cuts Short his Holiday For the President to cut short his so called working holiday with ease when prodded as to what he was doing outside the country is a clear indication that he had no serious programmes to attend to there. In other words he was idling out there, wasting public resources, when Zambians needed him to attend to the many challenges at home created by his poor leadership, including lack of prioritization in public resource usage. Trip To India For whatever reason, Mr. Sata and his handlers believe that I owe him a ticket to India. Our definitive response on this matter is that Mr. Sata’s request for an air ticket to India may only be considered if he meets the following conditions: 1) Deliver a people driven constitution to Zambians through a referendum before the end of 2014 2) Reduce the price of mealie meal since most of our people cannot afford the commodity. 3) Re -instate the fuel subsidy in order to help reduce the cost of living for the many suffering Zambians 4) Deliver jobs to the youth and many unemployed Zambians who Mr. Sata lied to during the 2011 elections campaigns 5) Re-instate all students expelled and cease court cases involving those who demonstrated over the constitution 6) Re-instate unconditionally all nurses, midwives and other health workers fired by presidential decree for reminding Mr. Sata to fulfill his campaign promise of higher pay to workers 7) In liaison with the Congolese authorities, immediately bring to an end the killing of truck drivers at the Kasumbalesa border post 8) Introduce windfall tax or its equivalent and stop the reckless borrowing especially when most of these loans are for consumption and not investment to save Zambia from building another debt mountain which will be difficult to dismantle 9) Repeal the draconian NGO ACT and replace it with one agreed upon by relevant stakeholders including NGOs and civil society(CSOs) 10) Remove Justice Chibesakunda from the position of acting chief justice because she failed the required Parliamentary ratification process to serve as Chief Justice. This will help restore public confidence and integrity in the judiciary. As UPND it is our well considered view that Justice Chibesakunda has over stayed acting in that crucial position which mirrors our justice system 11) Fulfill the many other campaign promises upon which PF and Mr. Sata were elected into office i.e. free education, clean water supply, ending electricity blackouts, media freedoms , rule of law , repeal of public order Act, restoration of Barotseland agreement, etc Mr. Sata should know that being a public officer imposes an obligation on one to serve not only friends and relatives but the whole country. If he fails to fulfill the above conditions, he does not deserve his high salary and other subsidies he is getting from the people of Zambia, let alone an air ticket to India from me. Illness As a matter of clarity, to be sick is normal and is human. No one should get too sensitive and emotional about it especially when one is a public servant. It is on record that Mr.Sata and some of his friends used to mock the late President Mwanawasa, Vice President George Kunda and Mr. Anderson Mazoka when they were unwell. Mr. Sata even called for a medical board to examine the health of the then sitting President Mwanawasa . He called the late George Kunda red lips, to mention just a few examples. This is sad and unacceptable in a civilized society. I and the UPND do not want to join Mr. Sata in this kind of behaviour which he is commonly known for. As a matter of record the following is a summary of what transpired at our last press briefing at the UPND secretariat .This illness issue came via a question from a journalist as to what my comments were on the speculation that State House was not being sincere to the public on whether or not Mr. Sata was unwell and his whereabouts (London or India for treatment after Addis Ababa). In response I asked Statehouse to clear the air on the whereabouts of the president and definitively state whether or not the President was unwell given that the President is a public asset or liability. We also indicated that if the president was unwell, then Zambians should pray for his quick recovery and we wished him well for him to govern up to 2016. Further, we indicated that we as UPND would like to defeat him at the 2016 elections given his failure to meet many of his campaign promises and overall poor governance of the PF. We believe that the above summary closes this subject which in our view is aimed at diverting the attention of Zambians from demanding for a people driven constitution. Conclusion Mr. Sata and his party PF have failed to run the affairs of our Country. They went into office without a plan. Their failure is clear for all to see. In view of the above we would like to state that as a government in waiting, the UPND provides progressive economic policies and solutions for effective and efficient management of our country’s resources in order to help the children, youth, women, sick , old , those living with disabilities and other weak or disadvantaged members of our society. I thank and may God bless Zambia
Posted on: Sun, 09 Feb 2014 09:48:45 +0000
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