VICE-President Mutale Nalumango says economic fundamentals such as the strong kwacha and single-digit inflation being experienced towards elections are not a political gimmick.

Speaking on Diamond TV, Thursday, Vice-President Nalumango said economic fundamentals will continue to improve, as long as the economy continues to grow.

Asked if the current strong economic fundamentals are a political gimmick that would change after the elections, Vice-President Nalumango said “what you see is not fake, it’s extremely sustainable”.

“That is the worst thinking that can happen. That is in those days, for other people, but for this government, that’s why, like you said, we left the fuel, just to go by the price but when we saw, then we waived to allow Zambians to get that change. So, it’s a kind of subsidy, whether you like it or not. Government forgoes that which should go into the treasury for the sake of the people of Zambia. Now to start saying, no, things will run, no, what you see is not fake, it’s extremely sustainable. All things being equal, it’s sustainable, as long as we continue to grow the economy, it is sustainable and we should even see the kwacha getting stronger. The issue is, what are you selling to get the money, this is why the kwacha went to K24, because there was nothing to sell. The mines were closed, Mopani was not producing, KCM was not producing [and] this was the forex earner,” she explained.

The Vice-President urged citizens to vote for all women who are contesting in the upcoming elections.

“It goes right back to the structure. It goes right back to decision making. I am not proud of such kind of a record, I think we still have a lot of work to do. The unity of women is required at the right time, for us to stand, whether it’s in the party, if you see these parties, they have a women’s wing, including mine but are we really presenting the picture that we should? I can’t pretend here, men may not like it but I think there is still a lot that should be done right from the party. I’ll also say that a lot of qualified women don’t offer themselves because of generally the environment that we live in, the perception, the traditions, all these hinder women from participating but women, rise up, nobody will do it for you. My appeal is to the voters, that as you vote, as long as there is a woman, pick that woman,” said Vice-President Nalumango.

“I think we have the laws, we have the instruments, whether Africa, SADC itself, but we still have to deal with ourselves as women, number one, to just be strong and rise up. You know for women, like they normally say, it’s not just rhetoric, it is true, a woman has to be, I think, 10 times stronger, to rise. So, to my young people that are watching me, just know that you can stand up, you don’t have to compromise anything about yourself. We keep bringing in the issues that as a woman you need to compromise your moral values or your Christian values, you don’t have to. My call is to rise up, women must rise up”.