{"id":34471,"date":"2022-11-12T22:11:29","date_gmt":"2022-11-12T22:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/misdirected-frustration"},"modified":"2022-11-12T22:35:26","modified_gmt":"2022-11-12T22:35:26","slug":"misdirected-frustration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/misdirected-frustration","title":{"rendered":"Misdirected Frustration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. <\/strong><\/span>Most Zambians are so frustrated today because they feel UPND and it\u2019s New Dawn administration has let them down by not addressing hunger. While we all agree that there is hunger and prices of goods are high, we need not forget why and how we got to this point in the first place.<\/p>\n

The looting, mismanagement, pilfering and sheer maladministration, that was perpetrated for over 7 years brought us here. When you decide to wreck a very fragile economy like ours and bring it down to its knees, expecting quick solution is nothing but misplaced and misguided.<\/p>\n

The Zambian economy crushed from growing at an average 6.5% per annum of GDP, to a regression of -2.8%. From the time the former President took over the reigns of the economy, it was ever in one downhill trajectory. The economy did not just shrink, it also became unequal and formless. All the economic fundamentals went unabatedly in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n

We borrowed to a point where only two expenditure lines were taking up 90% of our budgetary income. We spend 90% of our revenues on emoluments and debt servicing and only remaining with 10% to keep the economy going.<\/p>\n

The debt servicing became chocking and debilitating. With COVID-19 on the horizon, it was just a matter of time before we defaulted; we became the first sovereign state to default in the era of COVID.<\/p>\n

With inflation at over 24%, the Kwacha fetching K22 to a dollar, over 90% of our income literally held captive, the economy was collapsing and there was no hope of recovery if we continued with the previous regime.<\/p>\n

The 12th August 2021 elections provided a window of opportunity for the Zambians to redeem themselves. The opportunity was grasped with both hands and Zambians gave themselves another chance.<\/p>\n

UPND as an opposition party made very ambitious promises to the Zambian people. These promises are here today to constantly remind them that whatever is promised during elections should not be taken lightly.<\/p>\n

The new president and his administration are doing their best to bring back the country on track. It\u2019s a very tough job that won\u2019t bear quick results. It\u2019s a painstakingly slippery slope to navigate.<\/p>\n

The restoration of economic fundamentals In itself won\u2019t immediately change anything in real terms. There is a lot more work that needs to be done. The elephant in the room is the debt restructuring. Bringing all our creditors to the table will the greatest political and economic engineering of our time.<\/p>\n

The profile of our debts is very complex. We have bilateral, multilateral, commercial debts from bilateral and multilateral countries and pure commercial debt and sovereign guarantees.<\/p>\n

This profile of debt can not be negotiated over dinner. It will take a lot of back and forth engagements at the highest level. We have to be mindful that some of these creditors knew full well our weakened position and that we would not afford to pay them, but they still went ahead and lent us money anyway.<\/p>\n

As long as this situation remains unresolved, all the positive strides that the new administration is making will be eroded in no time. The IMF bailout, though a positive catalytic converter of our negative economic outlook, has come with its own complications.<\/p>\n

In order for us to retain our seat on the global financial system, we had to take some serious austerity measures. These measures will impact the very poor of our society. The removal of subsidies on fuel and other social services will further complicate our efforts to lift our people from the deep well of poverty.<\/p>\n

So here is the truth most people don\u2019t want to hear. We have not yet turned the corner as long as our debt situation remains unresolved. We still have to look over our shoulders everyday until we get the restructuring that could give us some breathing space.<\/p>\n

While most people thought the change in political administration will immediately change their lives, the reality is that it\u2019s not that simple. Most people who are frustrated are those who thought they will take over the feasts of their predecessors. Those who thought all the spoils from the PF will become automatically theirs.<\/p>\n

While we all feel frustrated, we need to be mindful that when you get an economy into such deep mud, it take more than 10 years to recover and get to the growth patterns before the regression set in.<\/p>\n

So I must make you aware that the first term of president HH won\u2019t be a magic bullet that will change your fortunes. It will be a term of serious sacrifices from all citizens.<\/p>\n

If, and when we manage to cross this term, with a unit of purpose as those who believe in the collective effort of president HH and his team, not just UPND cadres and sympathizers, but all well meaning Zambians who want to see our country recover, only then, will we all begin to see the fruits of our sacrifices.<\/p>\n

In other words, all those who want to see quick fixes, am afraid you will be so disappointed and you will dump the UPND for populism that brought us here in the first place.<\/p>\n

If there is anyone you need to be frustrated with, it\u2019s those who noticed the cracks in the ship and did nothing to mend those cracks before the ship sunk.<\/p>\n

Yes president HH has his own shortcomings with his UPND party, but my honest assessment is that, he is the right captain for our troubled ship right now. If we make a mistake and decide to bring in another populist in 2026, rest assured, our days in the Wilderness will just become real again.<\/p>\n

What we need now than ever, is to hold each others hands and try to pull in the same direction. It\u2019s not possible that everyone will be happy with the current situation, but truth be told, ot could be far worse.<\/p>\n

HH and his team have done some incredible work under the circumstances. But even the work done, is far from stabilizing our broken systems. It will take the character of a true nationalist to hold unto the dream and continue pushing in the face of unfair criticism mainly from those who brought us here in the first place.<\/p>\n

The bad news is that, the agents of populism are not sleeping and they may deceive many weaker minds. Unfortunately UPND as a party and the HH administration have not created a cadre of agents who can help project the positive agenda in the light that it deserves. This is the undoing of president HH.<\/p>\n

The UPND as a party is like orphaned children left behind by their parents who never taught their kids how to survive but to perpetually depend on their parents.<\/p>\n

The good news is that, always, good triumphs over evil. Those who want to drag this country to the gates of hell will be disappointed. The Zambian people are resilient and resolute. It\u2019s always darkest before dawn. Zambia and Zambians shall surely rise from this current darkness. All those prophesying that UPND will split will be put to shame.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zambia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. Most Zambians are so frustrated today because they feel UPND and it\u2019s New Dawn administration has let them down by not addressing hunger. While we all agree that there is hunger and prices of goods are high, we need not forget why and how we got to this point in the first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":34470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,248],"tags":[234,235,233],"class_list":["post-34471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-to-homepage","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-zambia","tag-zambia"],"yoast_head":"\nMisdirected Frustration - Zambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Most Zambians are so frustrated today because they feel UPND and it\u2019s New Dawn administration has let them down by not a ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/misdirected-frustration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Misdirected Frustration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most Zambians are so frustrated today because they feel UPND and it\u2019s New Dawn administration has let them down by not a ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/misdirected-frustration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-12T22:11:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-12T22:35:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_11-63701f97c48bb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"389\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/misdirected-frustration#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/misdirected-frustration\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Misdirected Frustration\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-12T22:11:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-12T22:35:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/misdirected-frustration\"},\"wordCount\":1207,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/misdirected-frustration#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2022\/11\/postQueueImg_11-63701f97c48bb.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Zambia\",\"Zambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/misdirected-frustration#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/misdirected-frustration\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/misdirected-frustration\",\"name\":\"Misdirected Frustration - 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