Work with Govt, Chipepo tells opposition 

Tue, 02 May 2017 10:33:23 +0000

By ANNIE ZULU

OPPOSITION political parties should change their mindset of thinking that they can only remain relevant if they criticise everything Government does, Chief Chipepo of the Tonga people of Southern Province has said.

Chief Chipepo urged the opposition to put aside their political differences and support Government’s efforts in developing the coun-try.

He told the Daily Nation in an interview that the opposition should not spend their valuable time bickering, but help Government in addressing the problems that the masses were facing.

He said the transformation that the country had been yearning for over the years would only come if politicians held hands and worked together.

“Time for politicking is long gone, it’s now time to work for the Zambian people. The opposition and the ruling party must work together if this country is to develop. It’s time our political leaders put aside their differences and put the interest of the people first,” Chief Chipepo said.

The traditional leader implored the opposition to change their polit-ical stance and stop opposing and criticizing Government pro-grammes.

He urged politicians to be more positive towards Government for the good of the country.

“The opposition politicians should not feel it’s their job to criticize everything the Government does, it’s not always that Government is wrong. If Government does something right, the opposition must be there to give support and help out.

“Positive criticism is important, but this trend by some opposition politicians of thinking that they have to criticize everything Gov-ernment does in order to remain relevant has to come to an end,” he said.