UPND president Hakainde Hichilema has insisted that it is time for change because Zambians have suffered enough.

Speaking when he signed a social contract with UPND youths, pledging to empower them once he forms government in 2021, Hichilema wondered why PF was seeking reelection when they had already failed.

“We have only one agenda and that agenda is that it’s time for change! The time for change has come because we are tired of suffering. We have suffered enough, Zambians have never suffered like this ever before. I have never seen Zambians go hungry they way they are hungry now. I have never seen children not go to school the way it is happening now. Otherwise I could have never gone to school myself. The situation that is going on in this country I could have never gone myself. I would have been in the village maybe with eight wives. That is our duty, we only have one noble duty to unite this country, to end hunger, to take our children to school. After school, our children should get jobs, our children should get business. That is our business, nothing else. Zambians have suffered enough. Hunger knows know tribe,” Hichilema said.

“I use this opportunity to announce those police, those civil servants who have been removed because of national interest, actually it is the minority interest for the mwankoles, all of you are on leave, after the election we will bring you back. The retirement age, we want to bring it back to 55 years so that people retire when they are still energetic. We pay them their packages, we give them contracts, we give them cheaper fertiliser and they become business men like HH. Now when they retire, they die without benefits, what a criminal government, and you want to be re-elected again to do what? You have already failed. The youths will be employed, the youths will be given business and now you can even marry the women that you love but you are afraid to marry because there is no money.”

Hichilema said once elected, women and youths would be considered for empowerment programmes.

“Our duty is to unite for a purpose. That purpose is to deliver change so that we can better the lives of the people of Zambia. That is the responsibility of the youth. The youth have a duty to bring change in Zambia. Are you ready for change? We want change! They have heard, the mwankoles! That is why they are panicking. We are ready to work for you. Hence the Copperbelt youths asked me a question are you ready to sign a social contract. I said to sign a contract for what? He said to deliver for us when you form government. I said it is already in my head, I think about it, I dream about it, I talk about it. I said you are even late because that is our mission to work for the youths of this country. What is happening in the P,F the small numbers are eating while the majority, the owners of this country the youths and women are sleeping hungry. That will come to an end. Do your bit, Bally does his bit, Bally will fix it,” Hichilema promised.

“What you want HH to sign for in the social contract is already in our vision, it is our policies, it is in our manifesto, it is in our body flesh. I said this paper you have left a lot. When Bally comes, we’ll change the laws no foreigner will be given a mukula licence. Zambian truckers will move our copper, they will move our maize, Zambian drivers and only Zambian drivers will move all our goods in this country. The jobs will be there. I am giving an additional point for the amendment to this social contract that 12 months after we take office they will be no more load shedding never and never.”

Hichilema said it was disappointing that the PF government, through the police, was not allowing his party to hold a meetings on the Copperbelt.

“The PF are misbehaving, denying us our freedoms of assembly, denying us our freedoms of association in order for us to meet as we wish. Them they are meeting but they are talking nothing which is helpful to the people of Zambia. Our colleagues on the Copperbelt tried hard to hold this function on the Copperbelt but the PF are abusing the police. I am saying abusing the police because we know that even the police are suffering and they want to change. They are being abused. That is why a decision was made to bring this function here because ba mwakole are trying to copy what we are doing. They were delaying and denying notices and meetings there so that they can organize themselves and do what they are doing. Copying, all the time copying, copying,” said Hichilema.

And Copperbelt UPND provincial youth chairman Ronald Manenga said the party was going to sue the Chingola District Council for not permitting them to hold its meeting in that town.

“I want to make a clarification, people thought that we came here for mobilisation. We are here because the PF government has refused to give us political space. We asked the council in Chingola that we want to meet our president at a hotel so that we can tell him what we have prepared. To our surprise the answer that they gave us up to now we are still surprised. From there we went to Mufuira, we paid for a hotel space even there the PF refused for us. We went to Ndola where we applied for space at a hotel, so that we can have a lunch on with the President. Let me tell you a glimpse of what Chingola City Council wrote back to us when we told them that we want to have a meeting with our president. This is the response ‘We did not provide the local authority with a permission from an authorized officer in a local authority of the infested area where your party president is coming from, and any other person coming from an infested area intending to attend the luncheon. You did not provide the local authority with COVID-19 medical examinations results’. Now I am telling you Chingola District Council that we are taking this matter far and we are taking you to court,” said Manenga.