President Edgar Lungu says it’ll be hard to get a fresh mandate if his government fails to finish projects which have stalled in the country.

And President Lungu has directed the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit to closely monitor the distribution of relief food in the country to ensure that all vulnerable people benefit, regardless of their religious or political affiliations.

Meanwhile, speaking at Chipata College of Education , President Lungu said he has observed that the top leadership in PF has been misleading him, and warned those who feed him false information to stop, saying the trend was alienating him from the grassroots.

Addressing Sinda residents when he commissioned an administration block at Tiritonse primary school, Thursday, the President said he would ensure that all projects were completed so that he could refer to them in his 2021 campaigns.

“Things like the school and other projects we will finish soon so that when I come in 2021, I will be able to point at something because in 2021 we will be looking at a new mandate as PF. If we don’t do what we promised you, it will be hard to come back,” President Lungu said.

“Boma nipakamwa lini yai, boma ni ma office monga aya yali pano, masukulu,vipatala, ma hospita, ma office ya boma molembela maleji, ma office ya akapokola ndipo zonse izi nawela kuti nizionere na menso (Government is not just about talking, no! Government is about having offices such as these, schools, hospitals, NRC offices, police offices and all these I am here to see them on my own.”

He said he was not happy that most of the projects in the district had stalled.

“I have seen that things are not moving on very well…I did not see the hospital and we have to build to ensure you stop traveling to Petauke or Katete for health services. I can assure you that our intention to declare Sinda as a district will not fail. We will form it into a new modern district with all offices,” President Lungu said.

And President Lungu has directed the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit to closely monitor the distribution of relief foods in the country to ensure that all vulnerable people benefited regardless of their religious or political affiliations.

Speaking during the flagging off of relief distribution in Eastern Province, President Lungu said government was concerned about the dry spells which were being experienced particularly in Southern Province, as well as, heavy rains in the Northern part of the country.

He noted that the 2017/2018 agriculture season was equally affected by prolonged dry spells resulting in most households being food insecure.

President Lungu said due to the increase in the number of affected households, government would continue with the distribution of relief in an expanded way.

“I wish to note that the 2017/2018 agriculture season was equally affected by prolonged dry spells resulting in most households being food insecure. The situation has further been compounded by another protracted dry spell being experienced in this current season. Due to the increase in the number of affected households, my government will continue with the distribution of relief in an expanded way. This entails that new areas which have also been affected this season will be considered,” he said.

“I wish to further take this opportunity to assure that my government’s policy on relief distribution is non discriminatory and impartial. We are concerned about the plight of our people, hence we will ensure that all the vulnerable regardless of their religious, political, or any other affiliations benefit from relief distribution.”

President Lungu therefore directed the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit to closely monitor relief distribution in the country to ensure that the principle of non discrimination was upheld.

He warned that government would not tolerate any misappropriation of relief meant for the vulnerable.

“At this point, let me direct DMMU and the District Disaster Management Committees (DDMCS) to supervise and closely monitor relief distribution in the country, to ensure that non governmental organisations handling relief distribution on behalf of government, strictly uphold the principle of non discrimination and impartiality without fail. My government will not tolerate any misappropriation of relief meant for the vulnerable,” he said.

“Let me also inform the nation that distribution of relief maize will be conducted in all the affected provinces in the country particularly Southern and Western Provinces, which I will soon be visiting. In the same vein, I wish to direct the office of the vice-president to ensure that an in-depth vulnerability and needs assessment is conducted soon to establish affected areas and the number of households which are food insecure, to avoid losing lives to hunger.”

And speaking during the official handover of the Edgar Lungu Technical Secondary School in Petauke district on Friday, President Lungu urged pupils to stop destroying school properties as a way of airing their grievances, saying it was not only heartbreaking but a drain on national resources.

He noted that if pupils were aggrieved, they should air their grievances with management through right communication channels.

“It is retrogressive to hear of vandalism acts on school infrastructure and any other developments. It is a drain on national resources. It is equally heart breaking to hear of pupils destroying property as a way of airing their grievances. This must not be allowed to happen. If pupils are aggrieved, they must not take to destroying structures which have been put up at an exorbitant cost. The pupils should instead air their grievances with management through right communication channels,” President Lungu said.

Meanwhile, President Lungu said his government placed great importance on education as it was the foundation for an educated workforce and well informed citizenry.

“As a government we are therefore committed to provide an opportunity to children from rural communities to access quality education to enable them compete with children in the cities. I am confident that this new school brings us one step closer to the realisation of that dream. Without education, we cannot attain our vision of becoming a dynamic middle income industrial nation. Without education, it would be impossible to attain inclusive development,” said President Lungu, adding that his government remained committed to educating the girl child and eliminating early marriages.

Speaking in Chipata when he addressed senior PF officials from various organs over the weekend, President Lungu said he wanted to be closer to the power base but he was losing popularity due to misinformation being peddled by those close to him in the PF.

When I meet leaders of the party, they tell me things which they think will please me. But in the process they mislead me into thinking that things are okay when they are not. That has to stop because they are consistently distancing me from the power base. An example is what happened in Lusinde Ward of Kaumbwe Constituency in Petauke. They told me ‘everything is okay Mr President’, but when we lost they started blaming each other,” said President Lungu.