By Mubanga Mubanga
President Hakainde Hichilema is a liar who has been caught up on the Barotseland agreement issue, Socialist Party leader Dr Fred M’membe has said.
And M’membe says the cost of living is high for the majority of Zambians, but President Hichilema is quiet because he has no solution to the economic problems affecting the country.
Speaking during a press briefing at his office in Garden Compound, M’membe said President Hichilema is liar who has no clue on how to solve the Barotseland issue.
“Today we have the issue of Barotseland and Mr. Hakainde has no clue on how to address that issue, he has no clue. He went about it carelessly boasting, carelessly threatening, but now what is his position? Have you heard him threatening anybody now? He doesn’t have even the courtesy, the courage to apologise openly. He threatened openly now you want to apologise privately, is that the way honest people behave? Can he get away with this? Can Mr. Hakainde solve the problems of Barotseland?” he asked. “Achepa sana ( he is very small). He doesn’t have both the intellectual and the moral capacity to solve that problem and the issue of Barotseland has exposed his shallowness and to a certain extent his dishonest, he lied to them.”
He said it was difficult to replace President Hichilema with another liar better than him but it was not difficult to replace a lie with truth.
“Some people are saying it is difficult to replace Mr. Hakainde, yes it is difficult to replace him with another liar better than him. But it is not difficult to replace a lie with truth, if we are looking for a liar better than Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, it will be difficult to find one, but if we are looking for any honest person, it is much easier. What is it that Mr Hakainde has done over the last two and half years that is difficult for anybody to do,?” M’membe asked.
He said the solution to the Barotseland issue was to give power back to the people and President Hichilema could not do that because he was drunk with power which had corrupted him absolutely.
‘’That problem can only be solved by giving back power to our people. By letting our people take more and more control of their destines. Is he ready to do that? No he’s drunk with power, to a point were the power is corrupting him now,” M’membe said. “They say power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That is the classical example of what we have today, a gentle man who is being corrupted by power.’’
M’membe said the cost of living was high for the majority of Zambians, but President Hichilema was quiet because he had no solution to the economic problems affecting the country.
“The cost of living is ever increasing, the cost of living according to JCTR has increased by K391.12 from K9157.41 in December 2023 K9,55.53 in January 2024. For most of our families ifintu tafile balancer pa nganda (things are not balancing up at home),” he said
He said it was becoming increasingly difficult to feed, increasingly becoming difficult to meet the daily expenses of living.
M’membe said what was also worrying and frightening was that there was no direction from the leadership of this country.
“Even from those who talk too much, they have gone quiet, they have gone silent about the cost of living. Mr Hakainde Hichilema is not talking about it, his ministers are not talking about it. As if it is something which is going to sort itself out, to disappear on it own,’’ said M’membe.
