By GIDEON NYENDWA
THE ruling UPND has only 24 months remaining to change the economic dynamics and permutations of the country to impress the majority of the Zambians who voted for the change in 2021, governance activist Crawford Mukando has said.
Mr Mukando said currently, there was no possibility of the economy becoming any better within the next few months, as there were very limited key performance indicators to confirm drastic turnaround of the economic malaise.
He said the ruling party was on a dangerous path of being subjected to strict scrutiny by the voters and the opposition who were comparing notes between the promises and what had been delivered.
Mr Mukando said the promises made against deliverables and time seem to be inversely proportional with the slow pace at which things were unfolding, slowly creating despondency and doubt among members of the UPND.
“Zambians are very literal people! When you promise them 12 hours, its 12 hours. When you tell them tomorrow or next week, it’s tomorrow or next week, respectively.
“So the promises made and undelivered have really put the new dawn administration in an awkward position, with subjection to pressure and panic, to justify the reasons why, there is delayed implementation, of certain promises,” Mr Mukando said
He said the looming hunger due to the mismanagement of the Farmer Input Support Programme and delayed payments to contractors was likely to cause serious hunger and poverty next year, unless something dramatic changed in the management of the country’s affairs.
Mr Mukando also said the frustrated Constituency Development Fund programme to which youths were the majority beneficiaries was another problem that might injure the UPND if the status quo remains the same.
He called on President Hakainde Hichilema to make cabinet reshuffles, civil service shakeup and drastic economic fundamental decisions, to address and cushion the impact of household poverty.
Mr Mukando said the people were suffering and if this situation was left to deteriorate, it would be very difficult for UPND, to maintain the goodwill from the voters.
