Zambia Plagued by Poor Economic Management – FDD The following press statement was circulated by the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD): Forum for Democracy and Development FDD President Edith Nawakwi says the country has enough wealth to take care of all its people if prudently managed by those elected. Speaking when she addressed a mammoth rally at Kwacha’s Changanami Grounds in Kitwe yesterday afternoon, Ms. Nawakwi said the poverty being experienced in the nation is not because of the country’s lack of resources but is as a result of bad economic management by those in office. The Opposition leader who received a standing ovation from the Copperbelt residents and students who turned up in numbers for the rally explained that politicians have continued to withhold vital information which can be used to prosper the nation. She reiterated the need to decentralize the governance system of the nation to ensure that people make their own decisions in respective districts without the influence of a few individuals in government who do not understand their problems. “What is government? Government is nothing but the leaders you elect as Councillors and MPs. Government is nothing but the President you elect and these people must be held accountable. The leaders should rule according to our wishes and demands and not them imposing what they want on us.” She said. Ms. Nawakwi noted that as FDD, they believe that citizens can only hold their leaders accountable if the governance system is decentralized. “The country belongs to all of us hence our leaders should rule according to our wishes and believe this can only happen if we dismantled the current governance system starting from the powers of the President down to the lowest structure as it perpetrates inequality in opportunities and unfairness in the distribution of the country’s resources.” She said. And the opposition leader wondered what some opposition leaders who are going round the country mean when they tell people that they should be voted for on the basis of continuation of President Sata’s legacy when the people have been going through untold misery in the past 3years. “I’m not here to ask for a vote from you for me to finish anyone’s legacy but what I’m saying is that we have an opportunity to elect someone you can partner with and start afresh and I believe I’m that person. What I’m promising is to partner with you in finding the best possible solutions to our challenges as a nation as opposed to empty promises.” Ms. Nawakwi affirmed. The only female but visionary contender in the race to plot one continued, “Some of these politicians are telling you that they want continue with Sata’s legacy what legacy is there to continue? You want them to continue promising you that they will give fertilizer in July and not do that until January? You want them to continue promising you jobs but you are still waiting for those jobs?” She warned the public against voting for people going round the country making unattainable promises saying the country is where it is today because of unfulfilled promises by politicians who have conditioned citizens to believing that you have to lie to win an election. The huge gathering visibly agreed with her as she added that lies by politicians have not taken the country anywhere but to the doldrums of poverty. On the mining sector, the life blood of the Copperbelt Province, Ms. Nawakwi said Copperbelt residents continue to get a “raw deal” on the abundant wealth that the province has because successive governments have continued to look to foreign investors and ignore the wishes and demands of the local people. She said the current government cannot even allow the youths in the mining town to extract anything from the ‘Black Mountain’ but would rather give it the Chinese to mine it. zambiareports/2014/12/08/zambia-plagued-poor-economic-management-fdd/
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 12:07:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015