June 5, 2016
HH back in the campaign, heads to the Copperbelt
HH
Hakainde Hichilema or HH as he is commonly referred to is back in the campaign after successfully filing in his nomination papers on June 3, 2016.
HH announced in statement below to Zambian Eye that he will take his 10 point plan which is the anchor of his campaign message to all corners of the country. Today he heads to the Copperbelt province where he is expected to hold a series of campaign rallies.
Below is the statement:
Today we are back on the campaign trail after successfully filing in nominations. We are now taking our 10 Point Plan to every corner of the country, to explain to the people how we are going to fix Zambia and end the suffering in this land of plenty.
Just look at the Copperbelt, where we are headed today. It has been blessed with resources but we are failing to manage that natural wealth for the benefit of our people. While the price of food and goods rises higher and higher, jobs have been lost and the majority of our people are stuck in poverty. This is unacceptable. It is because of poor leadership, which has resulted in loss of investor and business confidence. We want to fix this mess.
A stable and consistent policy environment is part of the UPND 10 Point Plan. The importance of stability and certainty for business and investors is very high. What has happened in our mining sector over the past year has shown the damage that can result from a Government that fails to give clear direction, and how the failure to provide good leadership will result in job losses and increased suffering among our people.
A change of leadership in August 2016 will give us a fresh start. Here’s how we will do it differently. Firstly, we will prioritise jobs. We would rather see Government take a little less in PAYE contribution, than our people lose their jobs. We will ensure stability and consistency in terms of policies and we will develop these policies with jobs and opportunities for Zambians as the major consideration. While we pursue economic diversification to expand activity and opportunity in other sectors, we will also play an active role in supporting local businesses to make products that are of international standards. This will be done so that they can win supplier contracts and we thereby multiply the benefit and number of jobs created, rather than bringing these products from other countries.
Just look at the Copperbelt, where we are headed today. It has been blessed with resources but we are failing to manage that natural wealth for the benefit of our people. While the price of food and goods rises higher and higher, jobs have been lost and the majority of our people are stuck in poverty. This is unacceptable. It is because of poor leadership, which has resulted in loss of investor and business confidence. We want to fix this mess.
A stable and consistent policy environment is part of the UPND 10 Point Plan. The importance of stability and certainty for business and investors is very high. What has happened in our mining sector over the past year has shown the damage that can result from a Government that fails to give clear direction, and how the failure to provide good leadership will result in job losses and increased suffering among our people.
A change of leadership in August 2016 will give us a fresh start. Here’s how we will do it differently. Firstly, we will prioritise jobs. We would rather see Government take a little less in PAYE contribution, than our people lose their jobs. We will ensure stability and consistency in terms of policies and we will develop these policies with jobs and opportunities for Zambians as the major consideration. While we pursue economic diversification to expand activity and opportunity in other sectors, we will also play an active role in supporting local businesses to make products that are of international standards. This will be done so that they can win supplier contracts and we thereby multiply the benefit and number of jobs created, rather than bringing these products from other countries.
Hakainde Hichilema
UPND President