State of the Nation – Address by Democratic Party (DP) President Harry Kalaba Friday 21st February 2020

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Democratic Party (DP)

PRESS CONFERENCE

– ON THE STATE OF THE NATION –

Date: 21st February, 2020

Time: 11:00 to 12:00

Venue: DP Secretariat Elm Road,

Woodlands, Lusaka

Distinguished Guests,
DNC Members,
Members of the Press,
DP members
Ladies and Gentlemen,
All Protocols Observed

I have called this Press Conference to give a State of the Nation Address at a time when our beloved country is besieged with many challenges almost endangering the peace, security and democratic governance of the country.

The last 18 months, Zambia has been faced with serious headwinds that have been orchestrated by various factors including the inability of government leaders to rise to the occasion to provide leadership and strategic direction to overcome the increasing number of challenges.

For Government leadership and President Edgar Chagwa Lungu in particular, it has been business as usual, behaving the same way he behaved when he took over the mantle of responsibility, at the time when Zambian common man had plenty to eat, when Zambia’s external debt stood at $3 billion with foreign reserves of plus 3 months as per prescribed minimum.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Today Zambia is a fragile country with grave and rising insecurities across many fronts.

1) Democracy, Peace and National Security

Zambia has enjoyed unsullied peace and stability since independence in 1964. We have had 55 years of peace and a free democratic space for all citizens. Today, Peace, stability and democratic freedom are facing such a threat ready to explode if the leadership continues with the laissez faire attitude and indifference.

President Lungu has continued to violate the democratic right of citizens and opposition parties to engage in politics of the nation by instructing the police to curtail movement of opposition party members. Furthermore leaders of the opposition are stopped from campaigning on the pretext that the opposition leaders cannot be in the same district as the President.

Citizens can no longer add their voices to issues of national interest such as bill 10 as President Lungu unleashes his violent cadres to disrupt the meetings and beat up innocent Zambians who are trying to contribute to the strengthening of democracy. People of Zambia, diversity of opinion is not enormity. Diversity of opinion is not a weakness. Diversity of opinion is a strength. Diversity is one of the core values driving the Democratic Party’s principles for inclusive democracy and sustainable development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The security of our precious country is under brutal attack. People of Zambia’s personal safety and security is no longer guaranteed by those tasked with the responsibility to protect us. We are faced with aggravated thefts and gassing of people resulting in many casualties and deaths.
The Gassing and killing of people started in Chingola and spread to the whole of the Copperbelt. It is now countrywide and the police have failed to contain the situation.

It is very worrying that while we have such a challenge on hand and losing innocent lives in such a manner, Government leadership and some named political party’s leaders are playing to the gallery and finger pointing for political expedience. Let us not minimize such a huge encumbrance of our people to Lungu Vs HH. People are dying and none of those who are dying are relatives of President Lungu and Hakainde. While we are making careless statements as to who has done what and who knows and if what happens to me.

This crisis needs the conceited efforts of every one of us working together to fight the scourge and to bring the country to order. This is the time to put service above politics and unite in the common endeavor to save our country and our people from senseless deaths and suffering. The DP is ready to work with, the police, the church and the people of Zambia to bring order to our country.

I therefore urge President Edgar Lungu and the entire leadership of the
Patriotic Front (PF) and the United Party for National Development (UPND) to de-arm their cadres and to completely de-caderise the political platform.
The two parties’ cadres are an obvious threat to national security and to our impeccable record of peaceful co-existence.

The DP is ready and available for Consultancy if the Head of State has run short of ideas on how to ensure safety and complete protection of the people of Zambia from the common enemy, without violating our freedom of movement and freedom to Assembly.

I urge my brothers and sisters, uncles and aunties, our fathers and mothers to respect the sanctity of life and avoid taking the law into their own hands. Let’s remain restrained and ensure that we report all suspects and suspicious activities to the Law Enforcement Agents and allow them to do their job professionally.

2) Tribal Division:

While we celebrate and boast of the rich diversity that this country enjoys through the different tribal groupings, our country is more divided across tribal lines. It is regrettable that today’s politicians seem to be leveraging and canvassing support on the tribal card.
Tribalism is a threat to unity and security of the nation and has the potential to breed inequalities.
The DP therefore, condemns in the strongest terms those politicians sowing seeds of division across tribal lines.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
While we have every reason to celebrate our tribes as part of our cultural identity and heritage, let us not allow tribalism to define us.

Let us rally behind the One Zambia One Nation motto of our First Republican President Dr. Kenneth David Kaunda and make it the grail of unity and collective responsibility to work as one in the development of this country without leaving anyone and any place behind.
The Democratic Party as an inclusive and culturally diverse party believes in the strength of each one of us to make Zambia great again.

3) Finance and Economic growth

Zambia’s economy is on the brink of total collapse.
With the rising cost of staple food and the total lack of access by the common man, this has placed Zambia under a severe form of food insecurity with mealie meal costing K150-200. While the government continues to deny the food insecurity of the country with millions going without food, the same government seems to acknowledge food insecurity of an area which is having a bye election, and taking relief food in exchange for votes.

The debt burden continues to rise reaching $11.2 Billion dollars as of December 2019. The reckless borrowing by the leadership while disregarding the constitutional requirement of having parliament approve debt has put the country’s economy in jeopardy, with borrowings that are motivated by self-interests and corruption.

Zambia’s bonds are the worst performing on the international market, even worse than countries recovering from wars and conflicts. As at 15th December, 2019, we found ourselves listed on the African Development Bank’s Sanctions list for failing to honor $1.4m Loan obligation.

Diplomats in our missions are going for months without salaries.

Unemployment continues to rise with almost half the people being unemployed. The Youth our most prized asset of development continue to languish in the streets with no possibility of a job anywhere.

While we continue to create employment for other countries, there is an ever increasing number of graduates being churned out and entering the employment market with a lot of anxiety and yet the PF government under President Lungu does not seem to be providing them, with any hope at all.

Energy crisis continues to persist with Zesco increasing tariffs by 200% in the last 2 months, for power which it doesn’t even have. Load shedding of more than 4 hours for any responsible government is catastrophic. For our government it’s normal because the neighbouring country who is their performance yard stick load sheds power for 20 hours.
The impact of the increase in the energy price and the shortage of power has had significant inflationary pressure on the Zambian economy with reduced operational effectiveness of the industries.

In addition, Fuel prices have hit sky high with ripple effects on food and every other industry including increased bus and taxi fares.

Mr. Edgar Lungu, Mr. President, Food insecurity and power insecurity border on national security. Please work on correcting the situation urgently, and engage and reassure your people with strategies of how you are working to correct the situation. Talk to your people directly and not through a signature of your press assistants paper.

The Democratic Party puts people above politics. We are ready and available to provide the much needed guidance for economic recovery and development.
We urge you to tighten all taps of unnecessary expenditures and act on the FIC reports of successive years. We further urge you to sanitize the procurement processes of the country and to further embrace the trustee position for the resources of the people of Zambia which you hold in trust.
The DP embodies Fiscal prudence, transparency and accountability.

We further challenge the government leadership to proactively work to enhance the Disaster Mitigation and Management Unit so as to work with the relevant authorities to find permanent solutions to mitigate against drought in agriculture and floods through water harvesting mechanisms and others, and not always crying after the fact.

4) KCM Liquidation Process.

President Lungu told miners that the liquidation process would not take long but it’s almost a year now and the investor has not come.
Production has continued going down while government keeps employing an orthodox measures throghgh unexplained projects. How does the liquidator embark on projects when the duty of the liquidator is to facilitate the liquidation process?
The liquidator has taken over the roles of management thereby intimidating senior management that are now operating and making decisions out of fear of losing their jobs. We want to advise management to remain professional owing to the fact that governments change, like government will change next year
PF has taken over all big contracts and given them to cadres, MPs and ministers. KCM is employing and is also in a process of changing contractors to permanent KCM employees but only cadres and relatives of PF are the only ones being considered. Promotions are also only being given to those employees who are aligned to PF and PF cadres.
A list of employees who belong to other political Parties has been generated aimed at firing them from KCM. Others on the list already being victimized and have been transferred and dumped at Nampundwe mine by simply exercising divergent views.
The Liquidator has over stayed and he needs to leave KCM alone, because Chingola and Chililabombwe communities are no longer benefiting from the mine.

Government should clearly tell employees, the community and Zambia at large on how far they have gone in finding the investor for KCM.

5) International Relations:

I am taking about this issue only to challenge the governments statement on why Zambia’s Ambassador to the US was told to come back after spending a month in Washington and after being told to prepare for presentation of his letters of credence to President Donald Trump on 7th February 2020.

Zambia has had a vintage position in diplomacy and international relations which President Lungu and his team are bent on destroying with impunity.

The DP stands by the statement that Zambia’s Ambassador designate to the USA was asked to come back from Washington by that country on a reciprocity of mishandling of Ambassador Foote’s issue by the President and Foreign affairs Minister and team.

I Challenge Hon. Malanji to explain to the nation how long it takes to process a visa for anyone going to the US, let alone a diplomatic visa.

The DP would like to express the highest reservation of the current state of Zambia’s international standing and call upon President Lungu and his regime to approach governance, diplomacy and international relations with the deserved seriousness and to use Zambia Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations Studies (ZIDIS) to guide when unsure, since ministry of foreign affairs technocrats can no longer advise them.
Ladies and gentlemen,

As Democratic Party (DP), we wish to invite all well-meaning Zambians to join hands with us in our united endeavor to make Zambia great Again. I invite all the youth of Zambia, I invite all the women of Zambia, I invite all the men of Zambia, to work with us to create jobs for all Zambians and to build a Zambia you and I will be proud of. Remember when DP wins Zambia wins
Yes!! Let’s build a Zambia where every life matters.

Let’s Believe Again!!!

I THANK YOU.  President Harry Kalaba, Democratic Party (DP)