The Zambia Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) is confident that the recent meeting between President Edgar Lungu and UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema will restore investor confidence into the country’s economy.

And ZUFIAW says it is optimistic that the tense political atmosphere the country has been exposed to due to various political differences between the two major political parties in the country will be normalised following the said meeting between President Lungu and Hichilema.

In a statement, General Secretary Chingati Msiska expressed confidence in a brighter future for Zambia’s politics and also thanked the three Church mother bodies for leveraging on its high moral ground to bring the two major political figures in the country to a discussion table.

“We are extremely grateful to the church for their tireless effort in ensuring that Zambia remains a haven of peace. The first most important step in resolving conflict is to bring protagonists to start talking to each other. The Church mother bodies have diligently and without any funfair managed to secretly bring the two leaders to one place and have them start talking, which is a critical step in the dialogue process. What is even comforting to us is that the two addressed each other as ‘brother’. This is an indication that they do have mutual respect for each other and is definitely a good start to the up-coming national dialogue and reconciliation process,” Msiska stated.

Msiska also commended the Zambia Centre for Inter-party Dialogue (ZCIDP for accepting that the Church leads the national political dialogue.

“As a union, we are further impressed that the Zambia Centre for Inter-party Dialogue (ZCID) has also accepted the Church to lead the much-anticipated political dialogue. We are alive to the fact that the question of who leads this dialogue process has been a hotly contested subject which has delayed it’s start. ZUFIAW is therefore calling on all political players to demonstrate commitment to resolving the thorny issues that have nagged the political space in the country. The union also agrees with other observers that the tense political environment in the country has contributed to the weakening of economic fundamentals which have adversely affected workers and the poor,” Msiska stated.

Msiska stated that ZUFIAW was concerned that investor confidence in the country was in bad shape.

“It is therefore in this spirit that we hope that our leaders shall begin to restore the aspirations of a democratic society which would also help the economy. The country is currently in a bad shape economically largely because investors and financiers are holding back in fear of losing their capital,” stated Msiska.