By Staff Reporter
Lawrence Sichalwe says the UPND’s broken promises will work to the PF’s advantage in future by-elections, including the possible elections from the nullified elections.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Sichalwe, the former chiefs and traditional affairs minister, said he would not say the former ruling party has lost out completely because they were still in the appeal mood.
“So we still have got the CONCOURT to handle the appeals so all is not lost completely for the time being,” Sichalwe said, adding that he had the confidence the courts would rule according to the facts presented before them.
Asked if he felt those in the PF became accustomed to wrongdoing, such that they saw nothing wrong in engaging in electoral malpractice, Sichalwe said the secretary general of the party should be the one to answer to that as he had oversight of the whole country’s party activities.
Sichalwe said with the coming elections, people will not only be focusing on the PF record as they have now seen the broken promises from the UPND.
“The promises that were being given which already are being questioned today, they will work to our advantage also. There is a lot that was promised mind you, 10 hours you declare the president, 14 hours the Dollar has drops. What’s the Dollar at today?” Sichalwe asked. “Free education, today you are now justifying what free education is. You did not say it will be selective to those who will not afford. You put it point blank there will be free education. There was no categorisation of what free education is. So the masses are saying you promised us free education, give it to us.”
Sichalwe said civil servants were promised K1500 salary increments across the board.
“When they were making those promises they knew where they were going to get the money from. So why should it be an issue? When they were talking of the salary increase they didn’t know the wage bill? They knew the wage bill and they knew where they were going to get the money,” Sichalwe said. “They are trying to defend themselves to say the coffers were empty. The coffers were empty but people are being paid. Are they not being paid from the time PF went out of government? Civil servants have not gone a week without being paid at the end of the month, where is the money coming from? Money is there, they have been able to fly around even just when they have come into government with empty coffers.”
