By NATION REPORTER
ZAMBIANS voted for change in the August 2021 general elections but they should not be expecting that the change should be instant, the UPND has said.
And the UPND blame crusade against the Patriotic Front (PF) has continued with Mr Cornelius Mweetwa claiming that the governing party did not create the current economic malaise the country is going through.
Meanwhile, Mr Mweetwa has claimed that Zambians are not suffering and that citizens were much better than they were during the PF reign.
Mr Mwetwa, the UPND spokesperson says Zambians should sacrifice for just a little longer as President Hakainde Hichilema was working at addressing and correcting the economic chaos left by the PF.
Mr Mweetwa, who is also Southern Province Minister said the UPND had inherited a huge crippling debt which President Hichilema’s administration was determined to dismantle and begin to improve the lives of the people.
He said while it was true that the cost of living had astronomically increased in the last 18 months of the UPND in power, Zambians were in fact much better than they were under the PF administration.
Speaking on Radio Phoenix Let the People Talk Programme on Tuesday, Mr Mweetwa said the UPND government was fully aware of the suffering of the majority Zambians, claiming that President Hichilema’s government had inherited an economy that was flat (down) on its knees.
He said Zambians were much better without subsidies because money saved from the removal of subsidies was being channeled to offering free education as well as the recruityment of teachers and health workers.
He advised Zambians to emulate President Hichilema who for the last 18 months of the UPND in government had never received a salary from government because according to him, the head of State was sacrificing to serve citizens.
“The politics of appeasing people is what has brought us to where we are now. We inherited a crippling debt which President Hichilema’s administration is working hard to dismantle.
The UPND did not create the economic malaise the country is going through. Our colleagues in the previous government were just borrowing for infrastructure without any obligation of paying back.”
So the UPND government is fully aware of the suffering of the people…but they are much better off than they were even without subsidies under the previous government. We are not going to reverse the economic damage within a short time and so let Zambians sacrifice for just a little longer. President Hichilema is sacrificing and has gone for one and half years without a salary,” Mr Mweetwa said.
Mr Mweetwa said the promises of cheaper mealie meal and fuel were being implemented but that the high cost of living was being influenced by external factor which could not be blamed on the UPND.
Mr Mweetwa explained that the perception created by the opposition that Zambians were starving was not correct because many vulnerable Zambians had been put on the Social Cash Transfer and were receiving their K400 stipend without delays.
You voted for Change but not instant change – UPND
