Thu, 20 Dec 2012 15:03:30 +0000
PRESIDENT Michael Sata has been accused of dragging the country into untold misery because of his failure to govern the nation according to the rule of law, charges UPND president Hakainde Hichilema.
In an interview with the Daily Nation Mr. Hichilema said that President Sata was no longer interested in governing but politicking as if he was still in the opposition.
He said that it was sad that one year three months of being in office, the leadership of President Sata had posed a danger to the rule of law and the respect for democracy and good governance.
“This man (President Sata) is running a failed government. He is running a government which is broken because he has no interest to govern. He still feels and acts as if he is in the opposition. The people of Zambia are now seeing what we meant when we told them that Shikulu can’t manage the affairs of the nation,” he said.
Mr. Hichilema said that it was also strange that those that accused him of being bitter when he talked about how President Sata was going to fail to govern were now shocked to see the country degenerate into a one party state where the rule of the law was not respected.
He cited the abrogation of the Public Order Act by the PF under the supervision of President Sata who he said had failed to deal with issues.
“People called me names, they said I was a loser, they called me bitter but where are they today to say that I am still bitter? Let them also tell the Oasis Forum and few churches that have spoken about the mis-governance of President Sata. Let them also tell the people of Zambia whose staple food has been increased by over 100 per cent by this uncaring government. Let them (PF) tell the people of Zambia that President Sata is independent to make decision that will benefit the people of Zambia. Let them also go and tell the people of Zambia this country all is well,” he said.
The opposition leader said that the PF had no plan to run the affairs of the nation hence the failures and wrong decisions being made.
He said it was important for Zambians to realize that the failures of any leadership were the main cause for disunity in most countries in Africa.
“Let the PF take a leaf from what is happening in other countries in terms of leadership having a master plan on development. There is no way the people of Zambia should be subjected to high prices of mealie meal when the country in the past three or four years had bumper harvests. There is no way the people of Zambian can be subjected to the abuse of the Public Order Act in the manner the PF are doing when the law is clear in the way it should be implemented, we shall not allow the PF to degenerate this country into an ungovernable states,” he said.
He urged the PF to stream line its priorities in order to offer a leadership which would address many challenges the people of Zambia were facing, adding that only a responsible and responsive leadership was able to listen.
Mr. Hichilema warned the PF government that no leadership was eternal in a democratic state, saying that Zambia would be holding elections in the next three to four years time.
“There are so many reasons why the PF is racing behind time, and what we appeal to them is to respect the rule of law and allow the people of Zambia speak on various issues of governance freely without any threats of arrests and detention. Mr. Sata has created a bad image for Zambia.”
