Former Defense Minister George Mpombo says the political tension between President Edgar Lungu and the opposition UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has created is an ‘impasse’ that has turned the country ‘topsy-turvy’ where underdevelopment is expected to be the order of the day.

In an interview with News Diggers! Tuesday, Mpombo said the political differences between the two were no longer about the 2016 elections but about their egos.

“Currently the political situation is Pregnant with political uncertainty and impasse, due to firstly lack of players to address policy-based issues, political ideologies. Because normally you would expect that political parties will have ideological leaning which they are able to expound in the political arena. And also, there is unnecessary political brinkmanship which is very destructive to an older political environment where people are not able to resolve political differences through dialogue. Or rather constructive engagement on important national issues. This fight between our two leaders is about personal egos and nothing else. Its about who is who. And this will perpetuate underdevelopment. It will be the order of the day,” Mpombo observed.

“Unless political players recognize that politics is a service to the people, and not means to develop personal egos, the country will continue to be dragged into political darkness. It is important always, for most of those in government and the opposition that the moment they continue to allow personal egos to crowd their political reasoning and sense of responsibility, the country cannot move forward. In my view it is important for political players to start addressing important national issues, for instance the economic direction of this country has put Zambians in severe economic dire stress. But the government must be held to account to change this direction. The ego fight between these guys has sent the country into a topsy-turvy. The agricultural sector is in topsy-turvy, it is upside-down and yet the agricultural sector must be the biggest assurance of prosperity for the country.”

He said the lack of focus on government to concentrate on issues affecting people had led into citizens purchasing power being reduced massively.

“You see, we are spending time on issues that do not affect people. It’s driving people into a political apse. The mining sector is in total disarray, but we are not discussing this particular issue. Yet all I read is the Commonwealth this, the UN resident coordinator that, things that are unnecessary, how does the country move forward? And now citizens have been reduced to the status of school boys where their wallets are just full of coins. The economy is in tatters and you talk about issues that have to do with your egos. Its unacceptable. This is why people have lost interest in politics. Our political leaders nowadays are only interested in useless public quarrels. Myopic quarrels are taking over as topics of discussion,” he observed.

Mpombo further said the political ideologies currently in the country would only translate to the development of a few individuals.

“We need a robust opposition, meaningful and focused which attacks government failures with vigor. But people are talking about useless issues. And you see this is a very serious indictment against the opposition because we are not addressing the issues that affect the people. You see the corruption dragon in the country under President Lungu continue to massacre citizens and yet we have not put up a credible fight,” said Mpombo.

“These are the issue that must be addressed. Because these are the issues that cause people to lose interest in election. We are leaving people languishing in the doldrums. Such politics only translate to the advancement of a few individuals in the country and are a danger to society.”