Africa-Press – Zambia. By Sean Tembo
1. As Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP), we have decided to develop an Alternative Economic Recovery Plan (AERP) for Zambia which will be presented to the nation on Thursday, 21st January 2021. This follows the inadequate Economic Recovery Plan that was presented to the nation by President Edgar Lungu on 17th December 2020.
2. There is no question that our country’s economy is on a downward spiral. There is also no question that we need to turnaround our nation’s economic fortunes in order to protect livelihoods. There is also no question that the Economic Recovery Plan that was presented by President Edgar Lungu on 17th December 2020 is shallow and empty and incapable of actual implementation. The President’s ERP lacked specific objectives that it sought to achieve and it also lacked specific interventions that need to be implemented to achieve specific economic objectives. Therefore, President Lungu’s ERP does not even qualify to be called a Plan, in the strictest sense of the word “Plan”. At the barest minimum, a Plan must have specific objectives and specific interventions, something which President Lungu’s ERP lacked.
3. As Patriots for Economic Progress, we are aware of the fact that the primary reason why the President and his Government are incapable of developing, presenting and implementing sound economic plans for this country is that the President has decided to surround himself with incompetent Ministers and Advisors at the expense of able, capable and competent Zambians. This is because the President feels more at home in the company of praise-singers than independent-minded and capable economic managers. This handicap which the President suffers from is incurable and is the primary source of this country’s economic malaise.
4. As Patriots for Economic Progress, we have always taken our responsibilities as an opposition political party very seriously. On one hand, we have never been shy to hold the Government of the day accountable in the manner that it utilizes public resources, and on the other hand, we have consistently and continuously provided alternative solutions to various problems that have faced this nation at one point or the other.
5. As Patriots for Economic Progress, we remain the only opposition political party that consistently developed and presented Alternative National Budgets for the fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and most recently 2021. We are also the only opposition political party that developed and presented an Alternative 7th National Development Plan for Zambia. It therefore gives us great pride to develop and present the Alternative Economic Recovery Plan which will assist in turning around our ailing economy, if properly implemented by Government. Should the Zambian people give us the mandate to manage the affairs of this nation on 12th August this year, our Alternative Economic Recovery Plan will form the blueprint for turning around our faltering economy by a Sean Tembo Presidency.
6. As Patriots for Economic Progress, we believe that it is a misnomer for any political party to refer to themselves as an Alternative Government when they are incapable of producing any documented alternative solutions to existing national problems. A political party can only claim to be an Alternative Government if they are capable of producing documented alternative solutions to national problems. The Zambian people must remember that the main reason why we are in this economic malaise today is because in 2011, we ushered into office a political party that sold us rhetoric and lacked any evidence of producing alternative solutions to national problems. Any political party that is incapable of developing alternative solutions to national problems today will be incapable of developing solutions to national problems after 12th August 2021.
7. The PeP Alternative Economic Recovery Plan will be presented to the nation at Palm Valley Resort in Lusaka on 21st January 2021 starting at 09hrs. The Alternative Economic Recovery Plan will outline specific objectives that will be pursued, specific interventions, a specific timeframe for each objective as well as specific milestones and measures to determine the extent of attainment of each targeted economic objective. The event will be open to members of the public who may wish to attend. Together, let us build the Zambia that we deserve.
