By Daily Revelation reporter
Given Lubinda should come to terms that days of stealing are gone, says Major Ben Phiri.
And Major Phiri has advised the former justice minister, Given Lubinda to understand UPND manifesto before commenting on issues he has little knowledge about.
Reacting to Lubinda who cast aspersions on UPND’s policy on free education, Major Phiri who is former Luapula Province permanent secretary advised Lubinda to allow the new government of President Hakainde Hichilema to settle down.
He said Lubinda’s statement was imbued with bitterness following Patriotic Front (PF) humiliating defeat in last month’s general elections.
“Mr Given Lubinda ought to understand that running the government of Zambia under the astute (of) newly elected President Hakainde Hichilema will be a significant departure from and no longer akin to, the way his defeated PF party mismanaged the country’s affairs. The former “injustice” minister should come to terms with reality that the days of pillaging our resources as cited in the credible Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) report, the purchase of fire tenders at astronomical prices, the honey bee scandal etc, are now firmly behind us. Lubinda must understand that provision of free education is very possible when the leadership prioritizes service delivery and not amassing wealth for personal gain as the case was in his fallen regime,” Major Phiri explained. “To put the matter in context, in Uganda there is a program known as Universal Primary Education (UPE) which is wholly funded by the government for purposes of enabling learners’ access free primary education. Riding on the success of the UPE the government introduced the USE (Universal Secondary Education) which functions on the same principle as the UPE.”
He advised Lubinda to give the new government time to implement its policies. “Lubinda should know that the UPND manifesto implementation phase will be rolled out when H.E. President Hichilema unveils his cabinet along with other constitutional office holders. Further, Lubinda must be aware that his defeated party PF will never come back to power following its disastrous performance in the last seven years. It’s only here in Zambia where we saw someone with a certificate in growing cereals and vegetables “given” a lofty appointment in a sensitive ministry to do with legal matters,” said Major Phiri. “President Hichilema will definitely fix the economy once he completes assembling his team.”
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