By Patson Chilemba
Former Finance minister Ng’andu Magande says It’s a pity Edgar Lungu did not listen to pleas not to go for a third term as he has now gone with a legacy of having been beaten badly, urging him to leave the PF presidency to another person.
And Magande said the country was now in good hands following the election of Hakainde Hichilema as President.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Magande said President Lungu’s time in office was already average, and had now worsened his own standing following the heavy defeat to Hichilema.
“The people of Zambia don’t want somebody who overstays, that’s why we removed Dr Kenneth Kaunda, even Frederick Chiluba when he wanted to go for a third term we rose against him. I don’t know why he (Lungu) didn’t listen. But he has now left a legacy of being beaten so badly,” he said.
Magande said as former president, Lungu should not be comfortable with just being said to be rich, but must find causes, using whatever money he had accumulated to engage in community initiatives in order to rebuild his tattered legacy.
He urged Lungu not to listen to those who were telling him to go back and revive the PF, saying he has had the test of defeat already, and would not be helping himself if he took that route.
“He can’t again aim to be a president. If people want to revive PF let him say let a young person take over,” Magande said.
He said he was happy that the work he started with others in 1997 of forming the UPND had finally born fruit. He said those who had remained to form the party in August 1998, as he was still in Brussels, Belgium at the time, had coincidentally seen the party rise to power in August 2021.
Magande said the gentleman he will now be calling His Excellency, was just a young professional at the time and would often join in to listen to the adults talk, but has now matured to lead the country.
He said looking at the faces of the young people who turned out to vote, plus the leader they had elected, the country was now in right hands.
“Zambia has got good times which can come as early as possible. So that is what excites me and like most of my age mates are saying they are saying now we don’t care what happens to us, at least we know the country is going to be in good hands,” Magande said. “Our colleagues the PF they really came in with a lot of innovation but in the end they became very selfish.”
He said as opposed to the tribalism that was being preached by the PF, the country had shown a resolve that Zambia was a united country, saying PF members must now join with the rest of the country to develop the motherland, “because they had run it down.”
“HH in his inauguration should be saying we can do it,” Magande said, adding that just righting things in the mining industry, the country could pay off all the $12 billion foreign debt within a short period.
He urged PF media director to come back from his hideouts, and Chishimba Kambwili, saying “tell them the old man is inviting you. You were misled.”
