PRESIDENTIAL Affairs Minister Freedom Sikazwe says having gone round the country with President Edgar Lungu, he can tell that Zambians are ready to vote for him.

Last week, UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema successfully filed in his nomination to stand for party president at the upcoming UPND general conference.

But in an interview, Sikazwe said President Lungu was ready to face Hichilema so that he can beat him in this year’s election.

“People are saying things are bad in Zambia but you have to compare, is it only in Zambia? It is everywhere. President Lungu is the sole candidate for PF. The UPND are the ones that have had a problem with President Lungu. Is it [not] us who have gone to court to say ‘President Lungu is not eligible’ they were saying all these things because of the fear of President Lungu. We would rather allow HH to stand because we are going to beat him clean!” Sikazwe exclaimed.

“This time we will win by more than 60 percent. I can foresee a situation where those guys might even start running to the court, we want them to accept the results. I have been around the country and I know what is prevailing. Southern Province is not Zambia. I have been going round the country with the President. I know that Zambians are ready to vote for President Lungu. So anybody who is doubting his eligibility, they are wasting their time. He is the sole candidate. Whether they are going for the convention or not, President Lungu is the sole candidate for the Patriotic Front, there is no other candidate. President Lungu is more than ready to take on Hakainde Hichilema so that he can beat him.”

Sikazwe who is also Mpulungu PF member of Parliament said the ruling party had done wonders in his constituency.

“This government has done wonders in Mpulungu. In Northern Province, a lot of people have benefited from the PF government. That is why as an MP I walk as a proud man. Come 12th August, you are going to see what is going to happen. What is happening in Zambia is not peculiar to Zambia alone, it’s worldwide. Coronavirus has caused havoc to all the economies in the world. The trouble is that you young ones have no comparison of where you are coming from. To you, you are seeing damage. And what you are seeing today is the worst. So you guys should be able to appreciate that surely there has been a lot of change. And where do you think the change is coming from? Look at the infrastructure that has been in Lusaka alone. countrywide; the Kalabo-Mongu Road is another example. Some of the projects which the MMD government thought and planned that they could do but they did not do those things,” said Sikazwe.