Our country is facing unprecedented social, economic and political problems. We need to quickly find a permanent solution to these challenges and the solutions is having a caring and credible leadership. This takes us to the forgotten agriculture sector by the PF and Mr Edgar Lungu. Most maize fields have dried up a sign that poverty levels will escalate to unprecedented levels in our country and this we stated long before the rain season that mechanisms to support life needed to be in place. In view of that, it is only logical for the PF leadership to rescind their decision of exporting maize and mealiemeal until such a time when we will be certain that our people have and will have enough food to even export the surplus. This is why we say for us it’s; Zambia and Zambian first. People’s power is our power and your power. HH
We have consistently said that there is need to prioritize our development agenda so as to avoid the current looming hunger situation arising from global warming conditions that have affected crop production in many parts of the country. When our colleagues in the PF regime embarked on uncontrolled borrowing, we sounded the dangers of taking such an economic route that has again taken us deep into debt crisis, worse than the UNIP era. We find ourselves in this highly indebted position but without anything to show for in terms of investment in areas that would have yielded immediate dividends to enable us repay the loans while creating jobs for thousands of our people, especially the youth. All we are seeing are highly overpriced capital projects, where the main beneficiaries are a few PF politicians and their associates through corruption. As UPND, in the first place, we would have avoided reckless borrowing, especially from very expensive windows such as Eurobonds which attract very high interest rates, but this government had no stringent measures on the usage of this resource. If we were to borrow, we would have applied resources in areas such as water harvesting technologies like dams, canals, and others to ensure that our farmers can be assured of water reservoirs throughout the year for growing crops and looking after our livestock. Is it not a shame that a country that sits on 40 percent of fresh water bodies in Southern Africa can today be facing a real challenge of hunger as a result of poor rainfall in some parts of the country? On the other hand, countries such as Israel and others that are primarily deserts are able to feed their people and even export processed food stuffs to countries such as Zambia. How embarrassing that the entire Zambian government top leadership could waste taxpayers money visiting a desert country like Israel to admire how they grow cabbages and other vegetables when it should have been the other way around? If it were for us, all we could have done was to just invite experts from Israel and other countries for technological sharing in water harvesting mechanisms which can be private driven initiatives, not requiring government expenditure, but just government support through the right policies. Our choice of leadership as a country defines who we are as country, and now as Zambians we are paying a huge price for having a leadership whose agenda is to line up their pockets through corruption instead of addressing the wider economic issues that benefit the majority. We know they will not understand it and they don’t even take our advise, but for us, we fully know how agriculture exports can be a key revenue earner for the state if implimented well alongside value addition industries. For example, we look forward to a situation where our small scale farmers, especially the youth, can be empowered with simple technologies for processing tomatoes into tomato paste, and other agriculture products for domestic consumption and export to neighbouring countries. For now, we should know that unstable climatic conditions due to global warming are with us, hence the earlier we take decisive measures, the better. We shall continue explaining more on how we would have used borrowed money for immediate benefits that does not overburden us with debt. Hakainde Hichilema UPND President
Congratulations PF at this point I don’t even want to talk about how you got it but the fact still remains that you were declared winners and congratulations. Now coming to my party UPND,this loss is painful because it is a loss that we allowed. The stealing excuse is old now and we cannot continue using that as an excuse. We lost because we allowed it. We are failing ourselves, we are failing my president and we are failing the people looking for hope. The truth will always sound like hate to those that can’t stand it but at this stage I don’t care what names you call me but I will speak my mind. We are not doing enough to convince people we are a better choice. I for one I know far too well that HH is a good leader and if given a chance can transform this nation but what am I doing to ensure others see what I see? We are failing. If the other camp’s strategy is stealing , atleast they have one but what is ours? I now see how those that are not strong easily give up. It’s not easy . In the midst of what the nation is facing , people somehow feel they are better off with PF. The njala issue you even need to stop it coz it’s annoying now. The question is what are we not doing right? After a loss we say let’s go back to the drawing board, do we even have one? You cannot win an election by sidelining the youths and even naimwe Ba youth you cannot win if you only think your job is to provide security to the president. Your focus begins and ends at been security – imwe !!!! I say let’s create a drawing board, buy pens and start writing. They say we don’t have strategist , at this point I want to be one, they say it’s the leadership well let’s sit down and see what that means and address it but above all, let’s listen to what people want and let’s focus on what leadership under upnd would look like as focusing on individuals only makes us look bitter.
The Party The UPND was established in December 1998 under the leadership of Anderson Mazoka, who had left the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) shortly beforehand. Mazoka was the party’s presidential candidate for the 2001 general elections, finishing second with 27% of the vote, less than 2% behind the winner Levy Mwanawasa of the MMD. In the National Assembly elections the UPND won 49 seats, becoming the second largest party after the MMD. During the 2016 elections, the UPND increased the number of seats in the national assembly to 58 Mps, The party was arguably robbed via rigging by about 1% (13 000 votes) in the presidential elections. The elections were marred by vast vote irregularities. Prior to the elections, the party suffered brutal violence at the hands of PF. This has since continued to this day. The counting of the elections was preceded with missing forms to record the outcomes and wrong possibly results announced by the presiding officers. The party challenged the outcome, but this case was never heard by the courts due to alleged political interference. Founding President Mr Anderson Mazoka was born on 22 March 1943, in Monze, Zambia (then Northern Rhodesia). Mr Mazoka attended Union College, in Schenectady, New York. He graduated in 1969 with a degree in mechanical engineering. For his senior thesis, Mazoka designed and built a wind tunnel in 10 weeks and for less than $100. The tunnel, whose construction attracted attention from the media, filled the basement of the college’s Science and Engineering. The college’s Science and Engineering department named it the “Mazoka Wind Tunnel” and used it for instructional purposes for more than 30 years. Mr Mazoka loved to play sports. He distinguished himself as a soccer player at Union College. He worked summers at General Electric. With his engineering degree and his Harvard University management diploma Mazoka entered the Zambian business community. In the 1970’s He served as director of Zambia Railways., the state railways, when Kenneth Kaunda was President of Zambia. He later worked for Anglo-America Corp., a mining and general resources company, for eighteen years – the last ten as general manager of the Central African division. He also once headed the Zambian Tourism Bureau. His notable tourism influence was reaching an agreement with a South African hotel chain to turn the Ridgeway Hotel in Lusaka into Holiday Inn. Mazoka was one of the founders of President Frederick Chiluba’s party, the Movement for Multi Party Democracy (MMD). It rallied to beat President Kaunda’s ruling United National Independence Party (UNIP) in 1991. Anderson Mazoka was a skillful and popular politician in his leadership of the United Party for National Development (UPND). He led the party to be Zambia’s main opposition party in a few years of his leadership. One can speculate that he would have captured the next election if he had not died. Mr Mazoka died of kidney complications in Johannesburg, South Africa on 24 May 2006. He was 63 years old. He was succeeded in the UPND by Hakainde Hichilema. He was married to Christine Mutinta and had four children Macenje, Mutinta, Pasina and Anderson Jr. “May his soul rest in peace?” People Power Our Power, Our land Eradication of poverty, Economic growth, Good Governance with eradication of corruption will form party of the Party’s priorities once in power. UPND and its leader have the Zambian people at heart. The Country can be one of the best governed in Africa and UPND believes it will achieve this within the first year of taking over power. Zambia will be made into a prosperous Country. Below is a summary of Zambia and its rich resources which shall be utilised. Summary about Zambia Zambia is a Land enabled country endowed with vast natural resources. It is therefore a travesty that the country should struggle economically. Below are some of the naturally resources that can be used effectively and turn the country into an economic powerhouse in Africa. UPND once in power shall utilise these resources effectively for the betterment of all citizens and equally for all provinces. UPND will appoint people to all positions on merit for effective service delivery. Main economic activities: Mining Farming Tourism Fishing Mining Zambia is one of the largest copper producers in the world. The country has potential to effectively extract its minerals. UPND will modernise operations as well as add value to most minerals. Zambia produces among other minerals Cobalt Copper Zinc Lead Coal Gold Sinver Uranium Several precious metals such as Emeralds etc Other industrial minerals, such as barite, feldspar, graphite, iron ore, kaolin, lead, silica sand, talc, and zinc. Agriculture and Fisheries Zambia can and will under the leadership of UPND become Africa’s bread basket. Zambia has some one of the best open water table landscape such as Rivers, Lakes, Swamps, Dams etc. The country has some of the biggest Rivers, Dams and Lakes in Africa (Zambezi, Luapula, Kafue, Lwangwa, Kariba, Taganyika, Bagwewulu, Lake Mweru, Lukanga Swamps etc) it has abundance of underground water as well as good to average rainfall. UPND will utilise these resources effectively. Zambia has a very big arable land with fertile soil to grow a vast majority of crops. As UPND, we believe no Child should ever go hungry in our Country. Tourism This will be made a top Foreign Exchange earner for the country. Zambia has one of the world’s natural wonder, the Victoria Falls as well as other falls such as Mumbulum, Chisimba and Kundalila Falls among others. It also game parks such as shown on the map below: Under UPND, Zambia will be made into a preferred tourism destination.
