HH confers with Eastern Province farmers By Derrick Sinjela-Rainbownewszambia and Rainbownews Zambia The Patriotic Front (PF) Government must consider further reductions or even zero-rating taxes on agriculture equipment as well as re-introduce fuel and crop subsidies, says UPND president Hakainde Hichilema. And Mr. Hichilema has reiterated that he was heavily constrained to comment on the health of President Michael Sata or indeed any citizens because such issues were a preserve of someones family and doctors. Speaking in Chipata last evening when he met a group of farmers from Eastern province who complained about PF governments poor agriculture policies and late payments, Mr. Hichilema said it was dangerous for the PF to continue playing with peoples lives through continued lies. As a true believer in God, one thing I will not do is attempting to win an election based on falsehoods. I would rather tell the truth and lose an election than win one on falsehoods. My integrity and peace of mind are very important to me. The consequences of telling lies and winning using underhand methods is what we are seeing now under the PF where people are even more depressed because they were told lies just for the vote, Mr. Hichilema told the Eastern province farmers. The UPND leader said he now fully understood the geographic landscape of each region of Zambia and the comparative advantage of each area than when he was in the private sector. “I have traversed the length and breadth of this country and this potential they talk about in speeches is just an inch away from being a reality. If only we had the right leadership,” he said For example each time I tour Luapula province to see my Aunt in Nchelenge, I am more than convinced that the place can be the Durban or Cape Town of Zambia. Lake Mweru is a massive water body which can house various activities alongside the local people that are fishing in the lake. The landscape and vegetation there is ever green and from my investigations, we can even have a bigger sugar plantation than the one in Mazabuka. And what more with the potential market in Congo DR, he observed. The UPND leader said he just came back from North-western province where he spent the night in the middle of the stream after one of the vehicles got stuck, but fully appreciated the economic potential of the area other than mineral wealth. He said it was sad that farmers in Eastern province had resorted to smuggling their maize into Mozambique because their own government could not assist them in opening up markets there. He took advantage of the meeting to present the UPND manifesto which he said was anchored on four pillars namely:- Prudent economic management, Agriculture and food security, Education, and Health. The PF are only boasting of building roads, even when thats the responsibility of any government. But all these roads are MMD roads. What PF is doing is akin to a builder that boasts of building a house that he had no input into; they have no new programmes. Those road contracts are only good for the PF corrupt clique that is benefit at the expense of the people of Zambia and our future generations who will pay back the loans being used to build these roads. Mr. Hichilema said the UPND would rather borrow for productive sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing. He wondered how Zambia can be importing brake-pads when young men at Chilenje market can bond brake-pads for cars. Money generated from productive sectors can be used to build, rehabilitate, and maintain roads without any danger of the country accruing more debt for our children to pay from their taxes instead of investing money to broaden the tax base, he said. I was with some youths the other day who have nicknamed them the Chaotic Front. I know there you call them Paya Farmer, but the youths I was meeting yesterday have renamed Patriotic Front as Chaotic Front, and I agree with them, there is chaos in this country the UPND leader. He reiterated that the UPND in government will set the floor price for agriculture produce before the farming season so that farmers can plan properly and grow crops knowing the minimum price. I am always distressed and actually feel depressed when I hear that farmers or indeed any worker have not been paid their dues on time when they have worked for it. Farming is hard work and I think hard work must be rewarded and not punished, Mr. Hichilema said. And when asked about the condition of president Sata, Mr. Hichilema said he was as blank as anybody else other than the official government position that the president was enjoying good health. Mr. Hichilema said as a true believer, he always prays for that good health of President Sata and the entire leadership of the country. He said at least let them enjoy good health even when we do not agree with them politically and the way they are running the country. For me political leadership should not be reduced to opportunism where people should wish others ill in order to occupy certain positions. In fact that is evil and I would not want to be drawn into such debates even if Sata is a public figure whose healthy concerns everyone. At the end of the day, Mr. Sata is a family man placed with a heavy responsibility of looking after the country. Lets be united as a country in praying for the good health of President Sata, the national leadership, and each other, he told the gathering. We may differ politically, but one thing should bind us together; Compassion. He ended his address by telling one of the people present who wanted him to comment on Zambian turning 50. He said he intends to reflect on this particular milestone and at an appropriate time would issue a comprehensive statement of what the UPND thought had been done right and wrong for this country and how the future would look like depending on the choices the Zambian people made now.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 11:31:43 +0000
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