PF Member of the Central Committee Kebby Mbewe says the PF government has “overperformed” such that even those who did not go to school can see that Zambia has developed.

And Mbewe says Hakainde Hichilema should stop forcing himself on Zambians and consider contesting as an opposition leader in 2046.

In an interview, Mbewe said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Zambia had remained steady, compared to other countries in Southern Africa.

He said it was unthinkable for anyone to assume that Zambians wanted change.

“In this country, there is no change and people have not been made poor. There is no change of government. This country has developed from the time PF came into power. You people who live in Lusaka and everywhere else, everyone is talking about development in this country. How can a country that is developing be called poor? So to counter that, the opposition has nothing to talk about. PF has overperformed in this country. You can compare to all countries in Southern Africa where other countries are rioting because of COVID-19 but Zambia has remained steady. Even in the midst of the problems of COVID-19, Zambia has remained one of the best destinations as we speak. So it is unthinkable. Even those who did not go to school can attest to say Zambia has developed,” Mbewe stated.

He said the PF had delivered various developmental projects which had benefited Zambians.

“What change do they want to bring and who wants to change by the way? What is there to change? As far as we are concerned, the opposition has never told any Zambian what they want to do. How do you propose to someone’s wife by wanting to take her to Kalingalinga and remove her from the suburbs? So the truth of the matter is that this government has overperformed. So for someone who is saying it has brought poverty, it is unthinkable. That is what we call failing to think. All the opposition should do is to tell the Zambian people what they want to do. You cannot just say you want change but change to what? You just stand and say I will make things right, what things when all countries in the world are having extreme difficulties because of COVID-19?” Mbewe questioned.

“We have already started the debt swap and civil servants are smiling. As we speak now, they are the majority that government employs, close to one million. So what is he talking about? Farmers have harvested enough crops and selling at higher prices to the government. The roads and hospitals have been done. We have more Universities in this country. We have clinics in Luapula, Northern and Southern Provinces, over 700 new clinics. We have bridges around this country. We have no shortages of foodstuff, fuel and everything. Zambia as we speak, people from Botswana and neighbouring countries are buying fuel from this country because it is the cheapest in the region. What do they want to offer when they come? They have never said anything. How can you vote for an opposition political party which just says ‘change’, but change for what? Change which has no plan?”

And Mbewe said Hichilema should stop forcing himself on Zambians and consider contesting as an opposition leader in 2046.

“This guy called Hakainde Hichilema, who does he think he is? Is he God that he can turn things around? How can he stop COVID-19? If he is a good economist the way he calls himself, let him go to Japan or neighbouring South Africa so that they should keep hiring him so that he can change the fortunes of the country. So the opposition has nothing to offer because they only look for misfortunes of this country. How do you expect a leader who is only waiting for drought, power shortages and effects of COVID-19 so that he talks? What type of governance is that? Is that the type of opposition Zambian people are looking for? In short, I am saying, there is no change of government, literally no change. The chiefs, church and everybody has said there is no change. The Zambian people are seeing a true leader but how do they vote for a political leader who is a loner?” Mbewe wondered.

“Hakainde Hichilema is alone in his party and everyone else has run away because of his type of leadership. He is greedy. He does not forgive and has no tolerance. They should not lie to us. Zambians are not going to be cheated by a person who is just after getting into State House because that is all he thinks of and not to serve the people. President Lungu is there to serve the people of this country and he has served them in the midst of when we had a drought. We managed to come out of the drought. We had a shortage of electricity which caused load shedding. President Lungu is a tested President so what can Hakainde Hichilema say? There is nothing he can say. He is going to oppose in 2046. And you should tell Hakainde Hichilema that it is God who picks, he should not force himself on the Zambian people. Let him not use tribe to get into State House but policies and manifesto.”

Meanwhile, Mbewe said the PF was penetrating all UPND strongholds.

“The campaigns are going on very well. I think so far we are breaking the ground and for the first time, we are slowly breaking the UPND in their strongholds. So for me, I can say that the UPND has never been weak as they are in Southern Province. It is a weak party in Southern Province compared to how it has been in the past years. I think the people of Southern Province have begun to appreciate the works of President Lungu. I want to agree that apart from the development that they have seen, I think the people of Southern Province are just tired of being cheated by their leaders, especially members of parliament. They are tired of being imposed with shameful candidates for the past 20 years in one constituency. I think amongst many other reasons, the PF is penetrating in Southern Province,” said Mbewe.