Mon, 12 Dec 2016 08:39:08 +0000
HAKAINDE Hichilema is a bitter man, a danger to democracy and the good governance of the country whom Zambians should continue to reject because Zambia risks being divided if he were to assume State power, Jean Kapata has charged.
And Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba has said President Edgar Lungu is a strong believer in democracy and that is why the UPND leader has continued to ridicule the head of State, propagating falsehoods as well as manipulating facts.
Mr Kalaba said Mr Hichilema would not be attacking President Lungu in the manner he was doing had the head of State been presiding over a repressive regime.
Ms Kapata said Mr Hichilema was insulting citizens by claiming that the country did not have a leader when President Lungu was elected by more than 50 percent of Zambians.
Ms Kapata said Mr Hichilema was exhibiting the worst form of political bitterness and was, therefore, a danger to the country who should be watched closely.
She said the UPND leader was fanning anarchy in the country by criminally declaring that there was no leader in the country when Zambia had a legitimately elected President in the name of Edgar Chagwa Lungu.
Ms Kapata has also lampooned Mr Hichilema for issuing a decree that UPND parliamentarians should not attend State functions, warning that the opposition leader had exhibited the worst forms of undemocratic tendencies.
“Should Mr Hichilema inadvertently become President of the country, Zambia is going to be divided and this is what citizens must protect by continuously rejecting him. He (Hichilema) is a bitter man and his vile has made him extremely dangerous.
Ms Kapata explained that parliamentarians were representatives of the people and had a responsibility to ensure that development was taken to their constituencies and should, therefore not be stopped from attending State functions.
And Mr Kalaba said it was not surprising that Mr Hichilema who is the UPND leader was claiming without any sense of self-limitation and adjudication that Zambia had no leader because of the foreign trips President Lungu had taken recently.
Mr Kalaba stated that Mr Hichilema was being economic with the truth to claim that President Lungu was presiding over a repressive regime that denied citizens of their freedom because the Head of State was a strong believer in the tenets of democracy.
“A leader who always finds a way to deliberately mislead his people through falsity and manipulation of facts, should not be surprised if God continues to deny him the opportunity to lead. The God I know cannot call you for leadership in one breath and in the other teach you how to disrespect and degrade the position he is trying to elevate you to.
‘‘That’s just not how God works. Mr. Hichilema should know from his vast business experience and enterprise that when our major export commodity is suffering because of stagnating or falling prices, it would be reckless for our President to fold his arms and wait for a miracle in the walls of State House rather than venturing into the world to explore economic options to help confront our current challenges,” Mr Kalaba said.
Mr Kalaba said Mr Hichilema at a personal level managed to expand his business empire by exploiting opportunities from South Africa, Botswana and other countries in Africa and that if he cared for Zambia, he (Hichilema) could use the formula for expanding his business empire for the country.
