By Mwansa Kaumba
Our policies under the PF administration focussed on the poor people, says NRPUP presidential candidate Brian Mundubile.
In an interview with the BBC’s Dingindaba Jonah Buyoya, Mundubile was asked if he was the right alternative to deal with the issues he was raising, when he served as a minister in the former PF administration which was voted out of office for the things he was talking about, as Zambians were also concerned about their own freedoms, about public facilities that were infiltrated by his cadres that were violent, and that the cost of living and inflation were also high.
In response, Mundubile said the difference he brought in was that he loved Zambians.
He said their manifesto was focussed on Zambians.
He said their manifesto moved women and youths from the margins to the centre of policy and economic transformation.
“What that means is that we are focussed on Zambians. Our policies put Zambians at the centre and this is the reason why Zambians are responding to our message,” Mundubile said.
But Buyoya followed up on that response by asking Mundubile that the love he said he had for the country cannot be enough to deal with Zambia’s problems, which problems they did not deal with when Zambians gave them the opportunity to serve them under the PF administration.
Responding, Mundubile said they were clear on what they wanted to do for the poor.
“We actually pursued pro-poor policies. We began by investing in backbone infrastructure. In as much as we appeared to have been dealing with big projects we were actually focussed on the poor,” said Mundubile.
At the start of the interview, Mundubile was asked why he had suddenly become popular, and he referred to the high poverty levels and oppressive laws enacted by the UPND administration, which had made it difficult for citizens to communicate.
He said people were now feeling liberated and looking at his campaign as a ‘second Independence.’
He said initially they thought they would be dealing with poverty only but the oppressive laws have had a great bearing on the citizens.
