By Staff Reporter
Colonel Panji Kaunda says the ones President Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND should be fearful of are the Zambian people, whom he said they should be working to please, and not the opposition who are waking up in the morning seeking out what they will oppose.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Col Panji said the ruling party should not be too concerned with focusing on which opposition party is rising or not rising and which could be a threat to their hold on power, saying the focus should be on working their socks off to please Zambians.
He said if the government will perform that in itself will cancel out whatever opposition they may face.
Col Panji said a proper verdict could not be established upon those in government barely nine months into their term, saying people, including himself, will only have the incentive to speak out if “by 2026 they have not fulfilled their promises according to their manifesto.”
“The ones they should be looking out for are the people of Zambia, whom they must satisfy. It doesn’t matter which party makes noise. The key is to make sure that promises are kept. If you look at political parties you lose tract,” he said.
Asked on the reported fights in the ruling party with people jostling for positions and jobs, Col Panji said that was a normal thing, especially that people were not a monolith, saying people have different understanding to issues but what matters is that consensus is established at the end of the day.
He said there were arguments even during his father Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s reign.
Col Panji further urged Zambians to stop what he described as a culture of wanting free things, saying “we don’t want to work hard. If you work hard in what you are doing you will find your way.”
He said President Hakainde Hichilema could not be called a failure right now, as there was no country that was having an easy time, adding that the President could be blamed if by the time he was coming in the economy was sound and he ended up messing it.
Contrasting that with the PF, Col Panji said they inherited a sound economy from the MMD but ended up obliterating it.
“If this (Zambia) was a company it would have been declared bankrupt,” he said.
President Hichilema promised that there were things that would immediately change with his ascension to power like addressing the Public Order Act, repealing the Cyber and Security Act, and that the Kwacha would instantly appreciate. He also promised that the price of fuel would reduce including the cost of living, something which has not happened yet.
But Col Panji said not every promise could be fulfilled in nine months, saying as for the laws promised to be addressed, Parliament has not stopped functioning.
He claimed that the President has told people to tamper on some of the expectations, as the economy was not expected to be this bad.
“They have acknowledged that what they promised some might not be fulfilled now,” said Col Panji. “We can’t go on borrowing to make a living. The job of the opposition is to oppose. They wake up in the morning looking for what they can oppose.”
