Empowerment Projects Favour PF Members - UPND

Vice President Mutale Nalumango of the United Party for National Development (UPND) has shared her concern that development and empowerment projects available to the Zambian population are available with a political bias towards those who support the Political Front (PF). 

Nalumango discussed the issue on Capital Talk Radio yesterday morning whereby she told the presenter that she is concerned that the PF run a Party-based government rather than a National government.

The UPND Vice President went on to say “President Lungu must stand up as a Republican President, and not a Political Party President that is why he moved to be Republican President, he should sometimes be blind to his political affiliation and be national because if you go down, you will find that projects like youth empowerment favour Patriotic Front members, this is what is happening, PF members are favoured ”. 

Having a national programme affiliated with a political party is a cause for great concern, marginalising a large portion of the population who are not members or affiliated with the PF. Individuals who do not fit the favoured criteria subsequently find themselves in worse positions as a result, not having the opportunity to develop themselves. 

The Zambia Development Programme is due to run from 2017 up until 2022, with grants totalling over USD$8 million divided between a range of projects in the country to encourage development. A Youth Empowerment Programme was also implemented by the PF.