TONSE Alliance Election Chairperson Japhen Mwakalombe says the infrastructure built under the PF government is what is driving the economy today.

Mwakalombe was responding to remarks by former Indeni Board Chairperson Watson Lumba, who recently argued that the former MMD government left a good economy which the PF later mismanaged.

In an interview, Thursday, Mwakalombe argued that the country’s roads, hospitals, airports, universities and other major projects constructed during the PF administration are what have strengthened production and contributed to the country’s current foreign exchange reserves.

“No. That kind of talk is cheap talk. When we came in, how many roads were in the state they are today? How many hospitals did we have? How many bed spaces did Levy Mwanawasa have? How many bed spaces did Maina Soko have? How many bed spaces did Matero Hospital, Kabwata, and all these hospitals that have been upgraded have? How many universities did we find when we took over power? What were the standards of the airports? How many fuel storage facilities did we have as a country? We built all this infrastructure, and that is what is enhancing this economy today. Even the reserves that they are commenting on and bragging about are there because we put up infrastructure that can enhance production. There is infrastructure that is making Zambia become a tourist destination. The infrastructure has also made free education possible. It is because of the infrastructure that we built. Today they are employing nurses and doctors because the infrastructure is there. If this infrastructure was not there, they would not have been employed,” he said.

Mwakalombe also dismissed Lumba’s remarks that having Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu as the only alternatives to President Hakainde Hichilema would be a disaster.

“Let him enjoy his retirement. His comments on president Mundubile and running mate Makebi Zulu are not saying anything that any Zambian can benefit from. First and foremost, Indeni. Our president, Mundubile, wants to revitalise Indeni so that we can take it back to what it was before, when Indeni could process fuel. Today, Indeni has turned into a market for trade. Indeni was created to process fuel here because there are so many benefits from the residues of that fuel. For instance, Ndola Energy was surviving and producing enough power to supply Ndola from the waste from Indeni. So when you hear comments like that, they are basically comments that will not help Zambia move forward or prosper because, as a nation, we have produced chemical engineers who are supposed to work and run that plant,” said Mwakalombe.

“And we have Angola here, our neighbour, which has oil. Instead of talking about how we are going to increase our capacity to process the crude oil coming from Angola, the man is supporting the process that has turned Indeni into what it is today. President Mundubile is on record saying he is going to make sure that Indeni becomes the company it was before, and even better than it was before. So let the man concentrate on his retirement. Let him rest instead of making such comments. Mundubile means well for the Zambian people. That is why you have seen presidents of other political parties working with him because they have seen that this man means well. He is willing to carry everyone on board. He is a man who is going to listen to others so that we can grow our economy together”.