OPINION: AC Is Wrong, The Problem Is Not HH Failing To Capitalize On Purported PF’s Failures
Africa Confidential (AC) says many have been disappointed with the failure of Hakainde Hichilema and his United Party for National Development to capitalize more effectively on the PF’s record.
In its latest publication, AC argues that oppositionists believed UPND would do much better this year in terms of capitalizing on purported PF failures. But we wish to disagree with the AC’s partisan analysis of what is obtaining on the ground.
Mr. Hichilema and several other opposition operatives are actually advancing falsehoods against development programmes and as a result they are finding it really hard to realise their political objectives because their premises are false.
While Mr. Hichilema continues to play the doom drums about Zambia within and outside the country, realistic opposition leaders have now chosen a differently path. FDD’s Edith Nawakwi recently said, “it is not wrong for the opposition to commend or advise government.”
Contrary to what the Africa Confidential would rather want us to believe, Nawakwi said the Patriotic Front has done some good things worth commending. Ms. Nawakwi has further noted that the PF has embarked on infrastructure projects like roads and hospitals in the country, a reality the UPND has downplayed. It is this failure to acknowledge reality which is hurting the UPND.
“When people of Mungwi hear me talk against the Patriotic Front, they will think am mad knowing that the Patriotic Front has built a beautiful hospital there,” she explained.
“In many years that I grew up in Kasama, if you had an accident in Chambeshi, your only next point of call was Kasama. PF has built a very good hospital in Nakonde. For many years I would move from Nakonde to Lusaka to come to university but there is Kapasa Makasa University now,” she said.
Ms. Nawakwi said there was a point we thought as a nation that we would never have broader roads in the country emphasising that there are indeed good things that the Patriotic Front government has done and we believe it is the failure to acknowledge such development projects what has hampered Mr. Hichilema’s political career because he is operating in a vacuum while the country is working with reality.
Africa Confidential should ask Mr. Hichilema to pay more attention to the UK based Economics Intelligence Unit which is not biased which recently clearly stated that it expected the ruling Patriotic Front, led by the President, Edgar Lungu, to remain in power beyond 2021.
In its latest Country Report for Zambia, the intelligence unit stated that the baseline forecast remains that Mr. Lungu will win in 2021 although the report cited some challenges with the Zambian economy, many of which are not unique to this country.
The EIU observed, just as FDD’s Nawakwi said that the Patriotic Front administration led by President Lungu has come up with several and timely interventions to address several economic challenges such as the liquidation of KCM. It would only make better sense to discuss practical but alternative interventions than telling the nation that the Patriotic Front has failed because failure is a relative term.
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