By Daily Revelation Reporter
Home Affairs permanent secretary Joseph Akafumba’s NDC faction secretary general Dr Paul Mbulo says he is 100 percent confident that President Hakainde Hichilema will win a second term of office.
And Dr Mbulo said the institution where he is dean of students and in charge of administration has been given a five-year contract by the UPND administration to recruit 5000 students every year.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Dr Mbulo said previously the former faction leader could not attend the council of presidents meetings but that after the party replaced him with George Sichula, the leader has been able to attend the meetings.
He said President Hakainde Hichilema has performed extraordinarily, and that that put him in good stead for a second term of office.
Dr Mbulo said the programmes President Hichilema has brought have been successful, “one of it as you know, me I am an academician. Yes, I am a lecturer at the university where our university was given the mandate to enroll 5000 students at tertiary level, that is doing diplomas which we managed this year. And we have been given that contract for five years.”
“So this year alone, we have enrolled 5000 students across all the provinces. We opened provincial centers and students have been there,” Dr Mbulo said of the contract given by the UPND administration to the institution, ICOF Universities, Colleges and Seminaries, where he is the dean of students and also in charge of administration. “Yes, we bargained that we offer free education at tertiary level then the government said ‘we only want a university that can offer free education for five years, that is up to 2026. And the number of students to enroll should be 5000 per year. So for the period of five years we will be able to recruit and educate 25,000 students.”
Asked at what cost the contract was to them, Dr Mbulo said that can only be known by his vice-chancellor Professor Charles Mwape.
Dr Mbulo said the PF only managed to employ 6000 teachers in 10 years but the UPND has employed over 30,400 teachers, and that he did not have any record that of conducted any census in 10 years but the UPND was doing it now.
He said the Kwacha has appreciated against major convertible currencies, saying under former president Edgar Lungu the local currency against the US Dollar was at K23 and only started coming down to K17 following pressure that there would be a change of government.
He said the Dollar was now trading at K15 to$1, saying things for the Zambian people have improved in the last 10 months the UPND has been in power.
“As NDC that’s why we can’t even oppose,” Dr Mbulo said.
He said the second term for President Hichilema “was automatic.”
“That second term is already automatic,” Dr Mbulo said, arguing that PF was the strongest opposition party but was currently embroiled in infighting and they do not even have a leader yet. “Even as NDC we can’t compare to PF because PF still have structures on the ground.”
He said for President Hichilema, Luapula Province was his toughest, “but the way things have started moving in Luapula, just today we had more than 500 defectors who have come from PF, from the PAC, you are goning to watch that clip because I know it will come on Prime TV, was there and Diamond, Muvi. They will show it.”
He said Luapula will follow the government of the day.
“So for President Hakainde as President I am 100 optimistic that he’s taking the second term,” said Dr Mbulo.
