President rubbishes crisis talk

Sat, 17 Jun 2017 10:56:35 +0000

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

THOSE who are making assertions that there is a political crisis in the country are only doing so in order to impress their paymasters because such a crisis is imaginary and only exists in their heads, President Edgar Lungu has charged.

Speaking upon arrival at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) from Lesotho where he had gone to witness the inauguration of that country’s Prime Minister, Thomas Thabane, President Lungu wondered what political crisis some people were talking about when Zambians were freely going about their own businesses.

“What political crisis are they talking about? If there is a crisis, I would not be leaving the country and going away and people would not have been coming the way they are coming. This crisis is in their heads because they want to justify their paymaster’s funds. Tell me, what crisis can you see? People are going about doing their business. People are talking careless in the name of freedom of speech but who is harassing who? Nobody!” President Lungu said.

He charged that people who were calling for inter- party dialogue should first tabulate issues they wanted to be discussed because he had no time to go to an indaba without a clear roadmap on what was to be discussed.

He said for a long time now, he has been talking about the need for dialogue but that some political parties had not taken his call seriously.

“We have respect for the rule of law. If they want issues to be discussed between me and whosoever, let them table the issues by way of explaining what issues should be discussed. We cannot go for the indaba without tabulating what subjects we must discuss. I have got too many things to do, I am a busy person and I cannot waste time because some civil society organisations want to justify their paymasters’ expenditure,” he said.

And President Lungu has charged that some people wishing for a state of emergency did not mean well for the country as people were enjoying their democratic rights because he believed in democracy and freedom of expression.