Former Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Sketchley Sacika says President Edgar Lungu’s style of government is endangering the security of Zambia because it is inconsistent with the people’s desire to live in a multi-party country.

And Sacika says President Edgar Lungu does not want political competition and intends to turn Zambia into a one-party state as a result.

In an interview with News Diggers! Sacika said President Lungu’s Politics have plunged Zambia into sterile and unproductive politics of tribalism and personal preservation.

“Now President Lungu’s style of government is endangering the security of our country, because it is inconsistent with the people’s desire to live in a multi-party country, where people are free to belong to political parties of their choice. As a result of President Lungu’s style of government, our country has been plunged into sterile and unproductive politics of tribalism and personal preservation. Politics that are yielding no benefits whatsoever to the ordinary Zambians. And politics that have led our country on the road to political anarchy. Leaders must manage the affairs of the country with a view to the future. Because the future is important and not on the basis of narrow self-interest.”

He said President Lungu should be concerned about the affairs of Zambians and the legacy he would leave behind when his term of office ends.

“President Lungu’s concern should therefore be, am I managing the affairs of Zambia according to the people’s aspirations as set out in their Constitution? What sort of Zambia shall I leave to my successors? The President should know that state power is like a borrowed jacket, one day you must return it to the owners. And this will happen to President Edgar Lungu when time comes,” he said.

And Sacika said President Edgar Lungu does not want political competition and hence intends to turn Zambia into a one-party state.

“The expulsion of the Cuban ambassador, painful as it maybe, is a symptom of a much bigger underline problem in our country. Mainly its that President Lungu and his colleagues in the PF do not believe in multi-party politics. They believe in a one-party state, which is controlled and government by them. And to some extent, they have succeeded in achieving this objective. Because all key state institutions are being managed and run by their supporters or the MMD cadres. Fred M’membe’s Socialist party is a legal entity registered under our laws, it is not a subversive organization. Now, how can it be an offence for an Ambassador representing a Socialist Party to attend the launch of a fellow socialist party which is recognized under our laws?” asked Sacika.

“Cuba is a country that stood with us during our struggle for independence. A country that has assisted Zambia in so many ways. Now assuming that the ambassador was in the wrong, how can President Lungu forget all these things? All the things that Cuba has done for us. As a former diplomat myself, a former ambassador and high commissioner, I know that expelling an ambassador is the biggest insult a country can deliver to another country. Especially when the expulsion as in the case of the Cuban ambassador is not justified in any way. The expulsion of the Cuban ambassador and the brutal treatment at which Chishimba Kambwili has been subjected are all intended to re-enforce the one-party state. President Lungu hates political competition. He is only comfortable with small political parties that offer no political challenge to him. Therefore, Zambians should resist and reject all attempts by President Lungu to turn Zambia into a one-party state.”