By Isaac Zulu
People’s Alliance for Change president Andyford Mayele Banda has wondered why President Hakainde Hichilema is loosening his belts while telling Zambians to tighten theirs, saying he should not use public resources on his private international trips.
Speaking when he featured on Radio Phoenix’s Let the People Talk programme on Friday, Banda said that President Hichilema and Vice President Mutale Nalumango have been on record of having told the Zambian people to tighten their belts by cutting down on costs, as the new government continues fixing the economy; stressing that the “Head of State should lead by example in this regard.”
Banda explained that President Hakainde Hichilema has demonstrated experience in financial management, and wondered why he is now “making unnecessary trips outside the country.”
He said that “The President can travel out of the country, but most of the trips that President Hakainde Hichilema has made so far are not necessary. Of the seven trips that the President has made in the seven months that he has been in office; three of those Presidential foreign trips he has made are not necessary. Even the recent trip that the President made to South Africa was not necessary. The President should lead by example, demonstrate and convince the Zambian people on cost measures that he has been talking about.”
And Banda said President Hakainde Hichilema should move to Nkwazi House to cut on costs being incurred by the State.
“His continued stay at Community House is inconveniencing to the general populace. And we are told that the President has been calling for official meetings at his residence commonly known as Community House. Every day public resources have to be spent on detailing his security and so forth. The President should move to State House and stop inconveniencing the members of the public and cut on public spending,” said Banda, during a radio programme monitored by Daily Revelation.
The People’s Alliance for Change president said that his political party does not believe in “criticising the government of the day, but we will provide effective checks and balances on the government. And as PAC, we don’t criticise the government of the day, we offer advice to the ruling party. Our objective is to ensure that the UPND administration deliver on their campaign promises.”
Banda emphasised that the UPND administration has a lot of work to do “and they should not go to sleep.”
Meanwhile, Banda has hailed the UPND government’s pronouncement that foreign investors should not engage in “small scale businesses such as block making and chicken rearing.”
“I am not against foreign investment or saying foreigners should not do business in Zambia. But some of these small scale businesses should be left for Zambians, as a way of empowering the local people,” said Banda.
Banda expressed optimism that People’s Alliance for Change will emerge victorious in the forthcoming Kabwata Parliamentary by-election.
He said that his party fielding a credible candidate that “guarantees our party victory in the February 3 Kabwata Parliamentary by-election. Other than that, we understand what the people of Kabwata Constituency want because we have been interacting with the them on a daily basis,” Banda added.
