THE ruling Patriotic Front claims that there is freedom of speech in the country and that President Edgar Lungu is a democrat.
Lusaka Province PF secretary Kennedy Kamba says no matter how much political opponents try to paint the party black, evidence is there to prove that citizens enjoy their Constitutional freedoms.
“Even in terms of promoting democracy and good governance, President Lungu has been doing the best. There is freedom of speech in Zambia, the levels of tolerance even to our opponents are very high. They say whatever they want to say in the press with all sorts of allegations and nobody has been victimised. We have pluralism and freedom of the press,” he told The Mast in a statement.
“But all these tenets of democracy and values that have been upheld and respected by President Lungu are not seen by our competitors. All they know is to attack and insult President Lungu day in and out. The fact of the matter, however, is that President Lungu is a democrat and he has been working round the clock to deliver the much-needed development to the Zambian people.”
He accused the opposition UPND of sponsoring negative propaganda against President Lungu and his team.
“As we head towards the 2021 general elections, a lot of unsubstantiated claims are being made by the UPND and their leader Hakainde Hichilema, claiming that the democratic space, pluralism and freedoms of our people have shrunk,” Kamba said further. “This opposition political party that is desperate for power has continued putting up weird claims, trying to paint the PF black with all sorts of unfounded accusations against President Edgar Lungu and the PF, constantly attacking him in the press without substantial evidence of misdeeds or mismanagement. There are constant, perennial unending headlines that are only meant to sway the minds of Zambians.”
Kamba said people knew how much President Lungu cared for them.
He reaffirmed his earlier claim that the PF would win next year’s elections.
“But time is coming for reckoning in the political arena. Zambians know very well who President Lungu is and they love him. They are going to vote for him in 2021 because he has protected the country’s values during his tenure. The levels of development are unprecedented,” he said. “On the other hand, the very citizenry know who Hakainde Hichilema is, with his frustration, bitterness and tribal politics. These maneuvers of trying to make President Lungu look bad in the eyes of Zambians are sponsored by our competitors because they cannot match our development record and they have resorted to character assassination.”
Kamba accused the UPND of harbouring frustration which also made them insult the Head of State constantly.
“The UPND is so frustrated that they have nothing to tell the citizenry. All they know is to insult President Lungu and his leadership. The leader of the opposition UPND Hakainde Hichilema knows very well that President Edgar Lungu has delivered the much-needed development and he cannot match this record,” said Kamba. “We will not be dragged in politics of hate, tribalism and division at the expense of development.
We have challenged the UPND to meet us in the development arena and compete in terms of ideas rather than mudslinging. President Lungu has shamed them by building hospitals, roads, putting up an effective system in agriculture that has resulted in concurrent bumper harvests, a vibrant social cash transfer system and a strengthened effective education sector. Jobs have been created for our people across sectors and we are still doing that. The UPND or any political party in Zambia cannot match to any of these key successes and that’s why they are frustrated because they know President Lungu is winning in 2021 general elections.”