National Democratic Congress (NDC) national youth chairperson Charles Kabwita has called on President Edgar Lungu’s newly-appointed Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Isaac Chipampe organize a press briefing for the Head of State as his first priority.
Kabwita argued that President Lungu should stop using Parliament or the airport runways as a platform to speak to the nation.
The youth chairman noted that President Lungu needed to attend to the high unemployment levels, power deficit and the current economic malaise.
The Head of State held his maiden and only press conference at State House back on November 26, 2015, 10 months after first assuming office.
Other direct engagements with the news media have predominantly been through question and answer sessions at airport facilities.
“Ifi tulanda mu Diggers!, ba Lungu tabakafi belenge, (The things we say in Diggers! won’t be read by President Lungu), that’s why we need a press conference so that issues affecting the public can be heard by the Head of State,” Kabwita said.
Kabwita has also urged Chipampe to focus on working on the Presidents’ diary and not amassing wealth as was the trend of some of his predecessors.
Meanwhile, the NDC youth leader called on President Lungu to explain where his Cabinet ministers were getting money as their lavish lifestyles were worrying.
“Look at Bowman Lusambo, who we used to see as the MMD Die Hard, not so long ago is now giving donations worth more than K1.3 million! Where are these people getting the money?” wondered Kabwita, who further called on President Lungu to allow for a lifestyle audit for all his Cabinet ministers, including himself.