PF Has Turned Zambia Into One Of The World’s Poorest Countries - Imenda
United Party for National Development Secretary General Batuke Imenda has accused the Patriotic Front of transforming Zambia into one the poorest countries in the world, arguing that a change of government is needed to rescue Zambia’s economy.
“From the MMD government which brought this country into a middle economy, we are now back to one of the poorest countries in the world. So people are now seeing the need to move forward to change for the better,” the opposition leader said.
According to the IMF, Zambia is currently the 24th poorest country in the world, with a GDP per capita of $974. When the PF first came into office in 2011, the country was only the 46th poorest in the world and had a GDP of $1,635 per person.
Imenda’s comments came in response to remarks made by PF presidential running mate Nkandu Luo, who told a group of Mpulungu headmen to vote for President Lungu because ‘change was dangerous’.
Imenda responded by arguing that change is necessary and vital for Zambia to flourish again, as it has done in the past:
“Had we not changed Zambia from the British government, today we were still going to be under colonial rule. Kenneth Kaunda managed to liberate this country because there was change. Change brought freedom, free education and so many developmental issues that have made what Zambia is today,” he said.
The UPND secretary general continued that change can sometimes bring uncertainty but that no country can stop moving forwards.
“There is no country or people who can be static because if you are static, you are bound to crash. Being static means you are dead and if you do not change, you are bound to die.”
He then went after the Patriotic Front for its poor handling of the economy, observing that thousands of Zambians are out of work and looking for jobs. He noted that the cost of living has also risen dramatically while wages stay low.
“The Zambian people found bags of mealie meal at K45 but today, the prices have skyrocketed. Food is generally expensive and inflation has gone up to the point where people cannot afford commodities. Look at the Kwacha, they found it at K4.50 [per US dollar] but today it is above K20,” he said.
Imenda concluded by urging civil servants not to be persuaded by bribes of a government debt swap, arguing that this was merely a short term solution - if it could even be achieved at all.
“Today they are saying they would like to reschedule the loans of civil servants, what a joke. What workers in general want are salary increments. This decision is a postponed problem because it will catch up with them. All what people need are salary increments from which they will be able to pay back their loans, feed children, meet all bills and reserve a little bit of money in your account. That is what the workers want. That is what we are going to provide as the UPND,” he concluded.