PRESS STATEMENTS
Contact: Ngombo Ngombo, UPND Information and Publicity Secretary, Lusaka Central constituency.
Mobile: 0974 367737
Email: upndhq@gmail.com
*EDGAR LUNGU HALLUCINATING ON RE-INTRODUCTION OF ZNS FOR SCHOOL LEAVERS*
28.08.2020
INSTEAD of responding accurately to the concerns raised by village
headmen such as Mr Mark Kabota, President Edgar Lungu in his usual
style decided to hallucinate about the re-introduction of Zambia
National Service (ZNS) without basing his response on knowledge and government blueprint on the matter.
As a government in waiting, we have seen the economy in shambles; the Patriotic Front does not have the capacity to re-introduce such a loaded and demanding program from without.
The ZNS program of yesterday which Mr Lungu is a beneficiary of was not a wishful thinking program like his Presidential Empowerment Initiative Fund (PEIF).
The UPND finds it extremely unfair for the head of state to continue
misleading poor citizens whenever they demand for answers to social
and economic challenges in Zambia and we wonder how Mr Lungu who has not had any plans to jack-up school leavers for his 7 years in office manage to do so on his way out.
As UPND youths who are totally focused, we wish to help this man with facts surrounding the re-introduction of ZNS. On 13 July 2012, the then Minister of Youths, Sport and Child development, Chishimba Kambwili told parliament that the PF were to re-introduce compulsory ZNS in 2013.
During the question and oral answers, Dr Kambwili was responding to former Bahati MP, Harry Kalaba who, then, wanted to know the plan government had for youth development in Zambia and now this is water under the bridge.
Mr Lungu’s desperate move shows us that he has no plans for young
people in Zambia and his presidential empowerment program is totally misplaced. Why would he day-dream about ZNS when he has failed to provide jobs as well as vocational training and business opportunities for thousands of University and College graduates who are roaming the streets today?
It is laughable for Mr Lungu to hallucinate and pretend it is the
first time the subject of the re-introduction of ZNS was being tabled in Zambia by anybody from the PF while being branded as a humble leader by party surrogates and yet his lack of vision shows in every step.
His party losing two political magnets in Dr Kambwili and Mr Kalaba to National Democratic Party (NDC) and Democratic Party (DP) as party Presidents respectively is a clear sign that the man lacks vision.
UPND MEDIA TEAM*