NATIONAL Restoration Party (NAREP) president Steven Nyirenda has called on Zambians to put their trust in the party in 2021, saying the PF and UPND are visionless parties.

And Nyirenda says the continued closure of Chinese businesses in Lusaka by Mayor Miles Sampa is not addressing the root cause of the current economic invasion.

In an interview, Nyirenda said Zambians should not trust the PF and UPND as most of their politicians are recycled without a vision for the country.

“When NAREP comes into power next year, we are taking over next year and that I can assure you. The chances of us winning are great, just wait. In fact, I am enjoying what I am doing . If you look at what is happening at Intercity Bus Station with the cadres, go to Monze or Mazabuka, it is the same…only UPND cadres are there. What does that tell us if these guys were to take over? And people are watching. You do not want to just substitute and these are the things that we are talking about, these are the things that are going to bring us to our feet because the so called giants that we have do not have vision, they have noticed already. And I don’t owe anyone any apology,” Nyirenda said.

“These people, most of them are just recycled politicians; whether it is in opposition or ruling party, most of them are recycled politicians. They have nothing to offer anymore. From what is going on the political scene, God is favoring me. Just wait, you will see the numbers; I told the people trust NAREP and watch, you will see what we can do. Had it not been for COVID, you could have seen where we could have been by now.”

And Nyirenda said closing Chinese businesses that were flouting laws was not the best way to address the current problem.

“I think that most of the reasons the local government has gone in is about discrimination, those reasons are completely more different to the way we look at it. Ourselves we are saying Zambia for Zambians…a Zambian must take over the economy. If we are going to look at the reasons why these guys are closing, they are leaving the fundamental reasons, the roots. The roots are that a Zambian has never been given chance to speak in terms of economic power and that is why these people are doing whatever they are doing. If the government is loose, the way our government is right now, and allows anything and disregards its people, then other people who are coming from outside take charge. We have the laws in place but all these things have been disregarded,” Nyirenda said.

“If you see that the whole mayor who is supposed to sit in the office and implement systems is the person who starts policing, he becomes a police man, that shows that the leadership is broken down. There is no leadership there because if you have proper arrangements and systems, there should be a custodian of that law down there without the mayor even moving. We have seen it also [previously] other ministries going out to enforce that people should not buy two bags of mealie meal, it shouldn’t be like that. All these things border on lack of leadership, leadership that has no vision, leadership that cannot implement, that does not know what it is doing.”

He said regardless of politics and economics, government should be behind Zambians at all times.

“You know, certain things that happen in this country can’t happen in Nigeria. I love Nigerians but here you have foreigners that have taken over [the country]. When you go to court with a foreigner, you fellow Zambians will make sure that they push you down and a foreigner takes over…I have seen an instance where a Chinese can tell you that ‘you can’t deal with me’, then like that two minutes later, the police will come and pick you up. I have seen a place where a Chinese gets a piece of land where a Zambian has bought, two minutes later, a bulldozer takes over; where do you see that? A Chinese has got the guts to pick a phone and call State House,” said Nyirenda.