Somebody was saying ‘Lungu has got no vision’ [and] I said ‘yes, I have no vision’, but collectively we have a vision because you the people are the ones who know what government should do for you, President Edgar Lungu told Lukulu residents in Western Province, Monday.

And President Lungu says he does not take it to heart when people say he is sick and unable to speak proper English because he knows that “it’s just politics”.

Meanwhile, President Lungu says if development was being implemented based on political inclinations, he would have suspended funding for the Chingola-Solwezi road because the people in that region did not vote for him.

“Let us work together, time to decide again who will be the president, 2021 will come then we can do politics. Why am I saying all this? I am saying all this because a lot of things were said about us in PF. Some of you were being told that ‘he is a very old man he can’t even speak English.’ Some were saying ‘I can’t even walk properly because I am sick,’ all that was said because it was politics. I do not take those things to heart, I had to ignore them. This is because when you are privileged to be on top. Everyone will know and see and they will talk about you anyway,” President Lungu said.

“Even for our traditional leaders not everyone agrees with them, but they are our leaders. But we have to work with them because they are the ones we know who are there for us. And they in turn provide leadership for us even when they know that we are against them. So let’s join hands and work together for our own being. Somebody was saying Lungu has got no vision [and] I said yes I have no vision but collectively we have a vision. The vision of the people in Mitete and Lukulu belongs to you, you are the people and you are the ones who know what the government should do for you. So when we listen to you, it is not because we are not wise but we respect you that you know better what you want.”

President Lungu promised the people of Lukulu that the Katunda-Watopa road would be reconstructed.

“I came here to see how much development has been coming to this area. I know that the hospital has been done, electricity has been brought here and we are happy about that but that’s not enough. Your cry has been the Katunda-Watopa road. I promise you that this road will be done. As I go back to Lusaka, I will sit down with my ministers and find out what can be done to quicken the process of reconstructing this road,” he said.

Meanwhile, President Lungu said if it was a matter of politics, he would have suspended funding for the Solwezi Chingola road because the people of that region did not vote for him.

“I know that some of you maybe doubting but you can ask the people of North-Western province, I promised them within weeks of becoming president in 2015, I said ‘I will do the Solwezi-Chingola road’ and it’s about to be complete and handed over to them this month. When I promised people that I would do this road (Chingola-Solwezi road), people were saying I am just politicking. We continued working on that road despite the people of that region not voting for PF but we continued working on the road. If it was a matter of politics we would have suspended funding for the project. I am saying this because people were saying we are selective on how we apply development. I went to Dundumwezi and launched a road recently. They gave me very few votes [but] I am here to work,” President Lungu said.

He further asked those who supported PF to accommodate those in the opposition and forget about all the ugly things said against each other during the time of the previous election campaigns.

“I am not only President of the PF but I am president of the Republic of Zambia. And it is One Zambia One Nation. Therefore I am responsible and answerable to the people of Zambia. So I came to appeal to those of you who supported PF to accommodate your friends who were your opposition. Please let us work together because there is only one Lukulu, one Mitete, one Western province and one Zambia. And there is only one treasury which is under the Ministry of Finance in Lusaka. So if you want to work with us, please feel free to do so. And those of you who are PF or were PF, if your friends choose to work with you in PF, please accommodate them,” he added.

And President Lungu reminded the Westerners that he was duly elected President of the Republic of Zambia through democracy.

“I think in our campaigning, we said ugly things against one another, it’s time to meet and reconcile with one another. What matters for the people of Zambia is to work together and see that there is development across the country [and] not East, South, or West. It does not matter who you voted for or how you voted because the system decides through elections who the President of the Republic of Zambia is. So now I am the President,” said President Lungu.