Dear Editor,
FIRSTLY, we take cognizance of the professional and political affiliations of the co-authors of the letter addressed regarding the IMF deal to President Edgar Lungu. For the accomplished professional men, we value and admire the respect they command from their professional peers.
Nevertheless, the credence of the correspondence is doubted on various respects and factual situations surrounding it. It is a matter of public knowledge that some unpatriotic individual(s) who participated in well documented ruthless plunder of national resources when they were once upon a time entrusted with state power.
In the second respect, the letter is devoid of the minimum professional etiquettes and it is a fragrant disrespect to the dignity of the office of the Presidency. It is inconceivable that the people who proclaims to be patriots can leak the letter to the press before it can reach the gate of State House. The fact that it is a subject of running commentaries in the media before the President can even study it, vindicates us who are of the opinion that the letter was nothing but a political stunt.
In the international financial markets, any financial assistance from that institution comes at greater cost. It firstly compels government to realign the economic policies to the detriment of citizens.
It also requires that government to forego the pro-poor policies and subject the citizens to untold misery. It also requires that government cut off the jobs and spending toward the provision of social and economic development in the country.
We are of the view that Zambians have endured enough and they adjusted yet the bail-out never came. IMF must not be an option but a lender of last resort unless it is absolutely necessary.
It is also not a secret that other key persons who signed on the letter are the chief campaigners of Mr Hakahinde Sammy Hichilema and at the time of the signing of the letter, they did not denounce their affiliations.
Mr Dipak Kumar Patel is the UPND president’s campaign manager. They are perpetual staunch haters of our President and we wonder what miracle could make them shift camp.
Further, the co-authors are not new to the way government operates, having been given an opportunity to serve the nation at the highest level. Therefore, it could have been prudent for them to channel their concerns and consult with relevant government institutions before making this political stunt.
The institutions includes Bank of Zambia, Cabinet Office, Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance among others. It is our firm belief that these institutions are occupied by competent and respectable persons who possess a fair share of experience.
In their own words, they were capable of understanding and having a meaningful discussion with them and justify the government position on IMF.
With this gross illogicality, the letter by the former ministers is a mere joke and must be dismissed with deserving contempt.
MARVIN CHANDA MBERI,
Youth Rights Activist,
Lusaka.
Open letter to the President irrational
