Africa-Press – Zambia. We can only hope that President Hakainde Hichilema’s government is working on the logistics to introduce free education for all in January 2022, says Democratic Party (DP) leader Harry Kalaba.
But ruling UPND national chairman Stephen Katuka said free education will be fulfilled, saying the party was only less than a month old in government.
During his inaugural address to parliament yesterday, President Hichilema said deserving students will be offered an opportunity to education, but opposition members of parliament demanded that the President say that the education should be free for all as promised during the elections. But the President said he was using English, adding that children from well to do families such as his did not need government help, but only those from poor households. But Kalaba said he hoped the President will clarify himself on free education for all.
“He had an opportunity yesterday to tell us where he stands, with his party the UPND where they stand and as government, and the President didn’t tell us. So as Democratic Party we are hoping the President will find another opportunity to tell us on free education,” Kalaba said in his reaction to Daily Revelation. “We can only hope that behind the curtains they are working on the logistics and all those that go with issues of free education so that by January people can begin benefiting from the free education that they have been promised.”
But asked if he thought it was possible to do that looking at the dire state of the public coffers as some have alluded to, Kalaba said: “You can’t say that, you can’t say do you feel looking at the coffers.
