Africa-Press – Zambia. Opposition Patriotic Front (PF) Media Director Antonio Mwanza has accused President Hakainde Hichilema of being out of touch with reality in his first fifteen months in Government.
And Mr. Mwanza has branded President Hichilema’s press conference held in Lusaka last Tuesday as a sad show to watch. Featuring on UNZA Radio on Thursday morning, Mr. Mwanza said the press conference exposed that President Hichilema was out of touch with reality.
Mr. Mwanza said he was worried that the Head of State believes that the country’s economy and the standard of living is good when the prevailing situation on the ground is different.
Mr. Mwanza expressed concern that the country has a President who has focused on pleasing foreigners at the expense of the local people who gave him the mandate to lead them to greater heights.
“Zambians are aware of the serious economic challenges they are going through. I heard one day, my young brother, Anthony Bwalya, who is the spokesperson for the President, saying that the cost of living is very good. It’s manageable. It is the Patriotic Front who is using propaganda to claim that the Zambian people are suffering. Now you must know that comrade Anthony Bwalya doesn’t speak for himself. He speaks for the President and when he issues a statement, in his capacity as the presidential mouthpiece, it simply means that that is the view of the President himself,” Mr. Mwanza said.
“And like they say, the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. In case someone might have thought that what Anthony Bwalya might have told the Zambian people that kulibe mavuto, Zambia mulibe mavuto, bantu bakudya three times a day, fuel is cheap, in case someone might have accused Anthony Bwalya of speaking for himself, and not the President, that doubt was removed two days ago when his Excellence, President Hakainde Sammy Hichilema held a press briefing where actually, he doubled up on what Anthony had said. The press briefing of the President exposed a President who is completely out of touch with reality. The President, who lives in his own world, in his own imagination, in his own fantasy, in his own reality. It was a sad show to watch. The President had six agenda items. Simple, straightforward points which could have taken the President 20 minutes to read and the media another 20 minutes to ask questions and for him to respond,” Mr. Mwanza said .
He said it was unfortunate that President Hichilema dodged important questions from journalists pertaining to key national matters at the press conference.
“Simple question from Costa Mwansa. Your Excellence, what is your position on the crisis in the mining sector? Mopani, KCM and now FQM. There is a crisis on the Copperbelt. What is your position? What is your government doing? The President started talking about Japan, about cadres, he is a man in his own reality and you must be scared. If you’re a Zambian, you must be concerned that you have a President who lives in his own reality. The President confirms that Zambians are not suffering. According to him, Zambians are doing very well. According to him, Zambia is an exceptional country with an exceptional President where the whole world is coming to him, I don’t know which world comes to him and admires him. I guess it’s the world of the owners of the mines who are making billions of dollars from this country because they have been given tax holidays,” Mr. Mwanza remarked.
He said President Hichilema was unpopular among Zambians despite receiving praises from foreigners. “I think those are the people that come to him, adore him and appreciate him. For a woman in Kalingalinga who has to pay K27 per liter for diesel to run a gen set to run her business, they cannot agree with that President. For a student, for this academic year, who has been left out of sponsorship because this government doesn’t care even when he has the correct points, he cannot agree with that President. For a farmer, who has failed to get his Urea today on the 22nd December 2022, for a farmer who has gone to a shop and found fertilizer at K1, 250 per bag cannot agree with that President? For a taxi driver, for a bus driver, who has to pay double the amount he used to pay because fuel prices have doubled, he cannot agree with that,” Mr. Mwanza added.
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