Copperbelt Province Police Commissioner Charity Katanga says her division has received 9,177 applications for recruitment in the police service from which only 350 job seekers will be picked.

This is a very very dangerous economic indicator, and considering that Zambia is being presided over by a leadership that got into power on the promise of creating more jobs for the youths; this is actually a clear performance indicator as well.

One thing we love about the PF though, is that they are very honest with their lies. They have no more shame left in them and they are ready to defend every single lie they have told with a new one. As a matter of fact, PF should just change its slogan to “Twalisebana kale, tulundapofye”.

When you hear them campaign, they say we have created over 1 million jobs since 2011. They say Zambia has been transformed and people’s livelihoods have been made easier. The economic and performance indicators are pointing south, the PF is pointing north. What a joke!

If the PF fulfilled 10 per cent of its promises, we would not have 9,177 people chasing after 350 jobs in just one Province. This is a red light in any given economy. In fact, this scenario is actually worse than it is being portrayed. The 9,177 applicants are jostling for fewer than 350 recruitment positions in the police service.

Why do we say so? Well, to begin with, it is important to note that at least 30 per cent of the advertised vacant positions will be taken up by relatives of the Police Command in Lusaka and Copperbelt. That’s at least 105 positions already taken up by applicants who didn’t even need to apply.

The Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and other connected government officials, also have relatives from the village knocking on their doors. Nephews, nieces, girlfriends’ brothers and sisters, neighbours and church mates are pestering them for consideration. These will take up at least 20 per cent.

The PF secretariat also has cadres to employ. If Madam Charity Katanga wants to keep her job, she has to ensure that at least another 20 per cent of the 350 slots is reserved for recruitment of the ruling party militia. That’s another 140 vacancies already out of contest.

Then we have no doubt that the remaining 30 per cent of the advertised positions have been guaranteed to those who have paid bribes to officers who are handling the recruitment process.

In essence, the 9,177 applicants are fighting for zero jobs. What is worse is that among these job seekers, are college and university graduates; but the most qualified stand the least chances of being taken up in this process.

That is the reality of this picture. Like the new adage goes, education is no longer the key to success because government changed the lock. So the question we ask the PF is; where do they expect these 9,000 Copperbelt youths to go?

What about the millions who didn’t even bother about this recruitment because they were not fortunate enough to complete secondary education? How are they expected to feed their families? The government they elected to put more money in their pockets has chassed them even from the streets where they were suffering from under the MMD regime.

Surely, we shouldn’t be surprised that markets are being set ablaze in various towns. These are signs of a frustrated population. These are stranded citizens venting out their anger, they are desperately seeking the attention of their national leadership. It’s a cry for help.

Sadly, what they get is a President who comes to halt the whole economy by declaring unnecessary holidays so that even the few who feed from markets must sleep on empty stomachs. Where is the logic in condemning the rest of the country to an unproductive day just because 7 out of 156 constituencies are electing a Mayor?

Like economist Chibamba Kanyama observed, Zambian businesses have already lost a lot of money lately on account of too many public holidays. We are in half-year deficit and the remaining months don’t look good either. In fact, there has not been good business since the beginning of 2018. The economy is suffering because we lost the whole month of January to the Cholera epidemic. Public gatherings were banned, movements were restricted and trade in all markets of the major cities was halted. In the interest of business growth and enhancement of the desperately needed government revenue, please stop jamming the wheels of the economy.

The question we ask ourselves is; how does such a chaotic political party continue to win elections? Who is voting for the PF? Is it the jobless youths? Is it the civil servants whose salaries are exhausted by taxes? How many unemployed people are happy with this regime? Clearly, the voting results are not reflective of the economic and social status. So what is going on here?