VICE-President Mutale Nalumango says it is dangerous for people to accuse government of abducting people, urging those with evidence of abduction to report to the police.

And Vice-President Nalumango says the UPND needs more time to increase the earning capacity of citizens to meet the high cost of living.

Meanwhile, Vice-President Nalumango says she would personally put a ban on gambling if given a choice.

Speaking when she featured on Radio Christian Voice, Tuesday, Vice-President Nalumango said people should not be complaining of abductions without reporting to the police.

“Let me start by something that comes to mind when you were talking about abductions and things like that. It’s a very dangerous thing to make a statement that government is abducting people. I think it is important to report to the police when you suspect abduction. Because we don’t want criminals to jump on it and say this one was abducted. Go to the police. Find out who has taken the person. Because there should be an explanation. Arrest is arrest. I think people can say we are investigating. We have taken these people. But don’t complain without reporting to the police. That’s how you get the protection of the law. Because others can take advantage. We don’t want to see that. So please let us run to the police,” she said.

Vice-President Nalumango said the solution to the high cost of living was to increase the earning capacity of citizens.

“The solution on the cost of living as it were today is not necessarily in bringing down the prices. It’s a very difficult economic issue to bring down prices. If you bring down that means you have to go down up to the production, if it is export you have to do that,” Vice- President Nalumango said.

“Our answer to this is give us time, we are doing all these [things]. We know there is more to be done and the only thing is to grow the economy, increase the jobs so that people can earn, increase earning capacity to meet the cost of living. This is what we are working on, [it is] not just a populist statement [that] we are going to reduce. The same people pronounced I think it was in Chingola that they will increase the price of maize from K347 to K500. And then they are crying about the cost of mealie meal, I don’t know what type of magic they can play”.

And asked to comment on the continued online abuses like gambling and insults by young people on social media, Vice- President Nalumango said government was aware of the abuses.

“Government has many eyes, you are government. So when you say is government seeing? Yes government is seeing. We are all seeing what is wrong with the abuse. We are all seeing what is wrong, for example the kind of gambling. In fact, I remember saying this gambling, we should not be looking at the income from some form of gambling, because it is destructive at the end of the day,” she said.

“It is because in as much as there is regulation and that’s why it is a source of income. It is there if you look in the budget. But we are saying because of the abuse maybe it is not something that we should encourage. You look at it going to the taxing issues and those concerns. There has to be a way of stopping the progression of gambling unregulated, because gambling to me which I don’t know much about, it is like betting, you are getting money for not spending for just doing little things. Easy money. I think that this is the issue that we should stop. Issues of getting easy money, the gambling itself should not be encouraged. Yes, we will regulate but there is a lot of illegal gambling. Gambling outside the regulation, this is I’m sure the concern that you raise. But even within the confines of the law personally, I don’t think we should encourage people”.

When asked whether she would ban gambling in her personal capacity, Vice-President Nalumango said she would personally get rid of it.

“Are you talking to me as Nalumango, ? Okay yes I would get rid of it, That’s all. If it was me as Nalumango but as Vice-President I am beyond me.. I am looking out for all the other interests. Interest of all the Zambians and other stakeholders. So when you ask me as Vice-President it is something that we have to continuously do. And also when we ban does it mean that it ends? These are the concerns. You know some things you can ban and yet the illegality grows even bigger,” said Vice-President Nalumango.