Former State House press aide and Michael Sata’s spokesperson George Chellah says it is time political parties in Zambia put their cards on the table to address the rising political temperatures among stake holders.

In a statement, Chellah said it was no longer doubtful that the country was severely polarized and divided.

“It’s no longer doubtful that our country is severely polarized, and as a consequence the political temperature is high too. So, it would be highly clumsy and politically, economically and socially suicidal for us to linger on with pretense like its business as usual’ yet the reality is that of ‘business than the usual,” Chellah said.

“The bitter truth about our current state of affairs is that we are at a point where the parties responsible for this situation ought to put the country first and realize that we have tempted fate too far and its time we buried the hatchet, and discussed our differences flexibly.”

He also urged the leadership of both ruling and opposition political parties not to waste the only opportunity for dialogue presented before them.

“In this case, the leadership on both ends of our crisis must not waste the opportunity for dialogue presented before us. They must accurately read the prevailing circumstances i.e. the mood and tempo, and how such can be exploited to the benefit of the country and its citizens before the situation escalates. Identifying the moment for dialogue is of essence, if positive results are to be scored,” said Chellah.

“We are all Zambians and we have a country to build, and more importantly, we must be cognizant of the fact that the dignity, growth and sovereignty we desire will only have meaning and guarantee if we split our problems into manageable portions, guided by the spirit of genuine brotherhood, patriotism and unity in diversity,” said Chellah.