By Isaac Zulu
President Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND government have lost touch with the people who voted for them, says Faustina Sinyangwe.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Sinyangwe, who is former Matero member of parliament, said that mealie meal prices have continued escalating, prices of essential commodities and the cost of living is generally high, but the UPND administration is paying a blind eye to these issues affecting majority ordinary citizens.
“Speaking as a mother and a person who stays in the compound with the people, I think that President Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND government have lost touch with the people who voted for them so that they can form government. If they have been in touch they would have known by now that some people who are employed are getting a paltry K1,000 or K800 as monthly salary,” Sinyangwe explained. “And you will find that with such low wages, a person is looking after five to six people at home and yet a bag of mealie meal in certain areas of Lusaka is costing about K300. The prices of mealie meal are high, prices of essential commodities are high. Generally the cost of living is high. And there’s no money in circulation. These are the things that are affecting the people on the ground, and yet the UPND are paying a blind eye to such.”
She said that while the UPND government is working towards debt restructuring and fixing the economy, they should not abandon the people who are struggling to put food on their table.
“While we acknowledge that they are working hard to fix the economy, they should not abandon the people who are struggling to put food on their table. They should balance,” she said.
Sinyangwe also said that government should put in place stringent measures to curb the smuggling of mealie meal, saying most parts of the country has been affected by floods and late distribution of fertiliser, which she said is posing a threat to national food security.
“I saw on TV that smuggling of mealie meal is still rife on the Copperbelt, meaning that our borders are still porous and government should put in place stringent measures to curb the vice. Other than that, in some areas where they planted maize there was some drought. In some areas where farmers planted maize there were floods and some areas farmers received fertiliser late or did not receive fertiliser at all. These things might look simple, but are serious and can pose a threat to national food security in the near future,” said Sinyangwe.
