BARNABAS ZULU
THERE is too much arrogance of power in the UPND administration such that they are hiding public documents such as the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Electoral Reforms Technical Committee (ERTC) Report, which has only been presented to President Hakainde Hichilema and his Minister of Justice, Laura Miti has charged.
Ms Miti, a civil rights activist and the immediate past member of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) has rated the UPND administration 4 out of 10, stating that the Hichilema regime has failed to be different from the Patriotic Front (PF).
“If I were to rate how different the UPND government, under HH (Hakainde Hichilema) has been from the PF, under EL (Edgar Lungu) purely on governance, I would give the current administration 4/10,” Ms Miti said.
She said there was too much arrogance of power such that public documents were being hidden from the citizens.
“Sadly, this government is the same with the last on the following critical failings: trying to pass a constitution that is ostensibly for the good of the country, but so randomly ambushed on the citizens as to be clearly aimed at passing provisions that guarantee its own stay in office, and benefit those in the corridors of power,” she said.
“Arrogantly, passing laws whose aim to constrain citizen rights. Arrogance of power…doing things because it can…keeping information that citizens need to understand what is going on secret. The ECZ report on delimitation for example. No reason why it is not in the hands of citizens,” Ms Miti said.
Ms Miti, the executive director of the Action Alliance for Community Action lamented that the new dawn administration which promised to fight corruption, had failed to combat the massive graft happening under their armpit, but had created a perception that they are fighting graft by jailing those from past regimes.
“The UPND is failing to address corruption within its own ranks or prevent runaway theft of public resources, as shown in government’s own audits while going on and on about corruption in the previous administration. It is failing to show that institutions that should operate independently are actually doing so,” Ms Miti said.
“Oh, by the way, the reason I am comparing this government to the last is because it is the basis on which everyone in it insists on evaluating its success,” she explained.
She however stated that President Hakainde Hichilema has achieved success in combatting political terror, especially in the ranks and file of party cadres.
“President Hichilema’s government’s main achievements in my view is exponentially reducing the power, and especially presence of party cadres in citizens’ everyday life. That is huge and highly commendable,” she said.
“If one works in civil society, normalcy has also returned to everyday work life. Meetings are not being disrupted by cadres or lodges cancelling paid for events at the last minute because the DC, or some random power, has threatened the lodge.
We do not have ministers threatening to break citizen’s bones, figuratively and literally. There is a return to orderliness in state gatherings,” Ms Miti said.
