By Isaac Zulu
Faustina Sinyangwe has urged President Hakainde Hichilema not just to “listen to these liars and praise singers telling him that everything is okay”, warning that he risks being one term president.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Sinyangwe urged the UPND not rush to reprimand party members that are telling them the truth about the hardships that Zambian citizens are going through, saying they have suspended the young man in Lundazi for simply telling the truth that they had failed to keep campaign promises.
She said if the UPND administration is not going to be receptive to constructive criticism, they risk being “a one term government.”
“The President should not just listen to these liars that are telling him that everything is ok…the President should not just listen to his praise singers. Continuously reprimanding party members advising the party in government can have serious consequences,” Sinyangwe guided. “Those that are coming out in the open will be scared to tell the truth. And by the time he will realise it will be too late and you will only come to know how frustrated people have been when you see the election results. So if the UPND government is not going to be tolerant to positive criticism, they are going to be a one term government.”
The former PF Matero member of parliament, urged the government to be tolerant to constructive criticism, as opposed to suspending party members that are telling the government the truth.
“In mind I have the issue of that young man from Lundazi who came out and said that we (the UPND government) have failed to honour on the campaign promises we made to the people. He said people are suffering and there’s hunger among the Zambian people. And I have just learnt through social media that today the young man has been suspended for telling the sitting government the truth. I think that is wrong,” explained Sinyangwe. “When you are in government and a party member or concerned citizen points out that something is not going on well in the way you are governing, the best a leader can do is to sit down with such individuals and hear their side of story. If there was something wrong, correct that mistake and move on. That’s what leadership entails. The UPND leadership should not rush to reprimand party members that are telling them truth that the Zambian citizens are suffering. The UPND government should be tolerant to constructive criticism, instead of reprimanding party members that are being sincere to them on governance issues.”
Sinyangwe further urged President Hichilema to advise those serving in his government to be visible to the people.
“You know people would want to have time to interact with their political leaders… the electorate would want to see the people they elected so that they can share their concerns on a number of issues affecting them. But unfortunately, most of these leaders are not visible. When you try to get in touch with them via phone, they don’t pick phone calls,” observed Sinyangwe. “And I think that the President should work towards ensuring that all those serving in his government become visible to the people who gave them political power.”
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