UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema says President Edgar Lungu and the PF government will never implement the announced austerity measures because they believe in taking away from the people.

And Hichilema says if Zambians want their children to grow in a lawful environment, they should vote for his mayoral candidate Kangwa Chileshe.

In an interview with News Diggers! observed that if President Lungu believed in the austerity measures which are meant to cut on costs, he wouldn’t have travelled to Turkey just to attend an inauguration ceremony.

“He had said that he has stopped travelling [but] now he has gone there travelling, I am sure as usual the ban meant nothing. It was to stop others from travelling while he travels. So like many of the policy pronouncements they have made, this is another empty pronouncement that they are cutting costs because they need to save money, but they will never do it because they don’t believe in cutting costs. They went into government to eat [and] to take, they never went there to give to the people. So he is eating and it is up to the people of Zambia to decide how long they want somebody to eat [and] to take away from them without them getting what is due to them from a public office.There is no austerity measures, because they don’t believe in austerity measures. They believe in eating. Part of those austerity was to cut on travelling [but] have they cut travelling? Inonge Wina has just come from Turkey am told and he is criss-crossing, so there are no austerity measures really to talk about,” Hichilema said.

And reacting to PF Secretary General Davies Mwila’s statement that UPND cannot win an election in its current form, Hichilema said the ruling party’s CEO just wanted to earn some pennies for attacking UPND.

“Davies Mwila understands that UPND has a programme of work and when UPND wins an election, Davies participates in stealing the election. So he can continue saying UPND cannot win an election, it is self deception, it’s just to make him feel good so that he can get a few pennies from his master. That is why he saying that he can get a soft spot on those who have stolen money from roads, from fire tenders and from ambulances,” he said.

Meanwhile Hichilema urged Zambians to vote for Kangwa if they wanted their children to grow up in a crime free environment.

“The Lusaka mayoral election is an indictment on the people of Zambia. Do they want to continue suffering in Lusaka? Do they want to continue having no access to trading places in the markets where there is clean water, drinking water, there is waterborne toilets. Is it that they want to continue suffering? They want to continue being chased out of markets, bus stops which have been politicized. They have to vote for us through our candidate Kangwa Chileshe. If they want their children to grow up in an environment which is with less crime in Lusaka, then they have to vote for our mayoral candidate Kangwa. If they want to have an opportunity where they can have supply of water in their areas, then they have to vote for mayor Kangwa. If they want to continue having difficulties in feeding their families, then they know what to do but I think people of Lusaka, people of Zambia have suffered enough. But we want a free and fair elections,” said Hichilema.