Sun, 16 Jul 2017 12:59:13 +0000
By SIMON MUNTEMBA
THE dictatorship mantra peddled against the Zambian government is nothing but a mere propaganda from mercenaries sponsored by the cartel, the opposition New Congress Party (NCP) has charged.
Reacting to the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) which is reported to have protested at the Zambian High Commission in Pretoria challenging President Edgar Lungu’s invocation of Article 31, NCP leader, Peter Chanda, said the union was merely peddling propaganda.
NUMSA spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi accused President Lungu of using the recent fire at Lusaka City Market for his increased authoritarian rule on Zambia.
But the NCP president has rubbished the allegation that Zambia was sliding into a dictatorship, saying the dictatorship mantra in the country was spearheaded by losers of the August 11, 2016 general elections with the support from the cartel.
In an interview with the Daily Nation yesterday, Mr Chanda emphasized that Zambia was not sliding into dictatorship as the human rights and democratic credentials were high and vibrant.
He said that NUMSA should not poke its nose into Zambia’s internal affairs.
“Zambia is not a dictatorship, this issue of Zambia sliding into a dictatorship is spearheaded by a well-known handful of perpetual losers who lost the 2016 general and want to gain cheap political mileage,” Pastor Chanda charged.
He said these losers have resorted to peddling a tirade of falsehood to advance their ill-conceived agenda through the international community.
Pastor Chanda added that it was myopic for disgruntled politicians that were sponsored by the cartel to brand President Edgar Lungu a dictator for simply exercising his constitutional powers by invoking Article 31 in the best interest of the people.
He charged that NCP suspected that some bitter politicians were behind the destructive activities just to try and cause confusion in Zambia.
Pastor Chanda stated that the acts of sabotage were being perpetrated by some selfish politicians who wanted to gain political mileage at the expense of people’s property with the hope of influencing citizens to revolt against the government.
