United Party for National Development (UPND) Secretary-General Batuke Imenda has said that his party President Mr Hakainde Hichilema is ready and adequately prepared to shoulder the functions and responsibilities of the Republican president prescribed in the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016 and in subsidiary pieces of legislation.
In a statement released to the media, Mr Imenda said that there is really nothing meaningful which the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) can do over the next 5 years that will address the backlog of unfulfilled promises and urged voters to guard themselves against giving PF and Dr Lungu another term of office later this year.
Below is the full statement
I wish to assure all my fellow Zambian citizens that UPND President, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, widely known as HH, is ready and adequately prepared to shoulder the functions and responsibilities of the Republican president prescribed in the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016 and in subsidiary pieces of legislation.
First and foremost, President Hichilema, in exercise of the executive authority of the State, will adhere to the following provisions excerpted and adapted from Clause 3 of Article 91 of the current Constitution of Zambia:
(a) Respect, uphold and safeguard our country’s Constitution;
(b) Safeguard the sovereignty of the Republic of Zambia;
(c) Promote democracy and enhance the unity of the Nation;
(d) Respect the diversity of the different communities of our country, as well as consider the appointment of citizens from a diversity of ethnic, gender and racial segments of Zambian society;
(e) Promote and protect the rights and freedoms of all citizens and of all visitors to our Motherland; and
(f) Uphold the rule of law, as well as promote the existence of non-discriminatory laws, and push for law enforcement organs of the government that are efficient, impartial, independent, and legitimate.
In addition to upholding the rule of law, President Hichilema is also abundantly aware of the need to put into practice all the other elements of good governance, which include the following:
(a) Accountability—that is, availability of a mechanism for ensuring that public officials are directly and fully liable for the outcomes of their decisions and actions, and the appropriation of resources assigned to them;
(b) Transparency—that is, public access to information about the state, its decision-making mechanisms, and its current and contemplated projects and programmes—except for state secrets and matters relating to public officials’ right to privacy;
(c) Citizen participation—that is, availability of channels and mechanisms through which the citizenry and non-governmental institutions can have an influence on governmental decision-making processes and the behaviour and actions of public officials both directly and through their representatives in Parliament; and
(d) A free press, whose functions in a democratic country like ours include serving as a watchdog to the three organs of the government, informing the public about issues which are of national interest, serving as a medium of communication that guarantees free and open debate and discussion among citizens, influencing public opinion through impartial and fair analysis of issues affecting the country and its people, serving the economic system through sponsored advertisements designed to bring buyers and sellers into contact with each other, and serving as a medium for entertaining the public.
Accordingly, President Hichilema will be guided by the foregoing principles and Constitutional provisos in tending to the other important functions and responsibilities stipulated in Article 91, Article 92, Article 96, and other Articles of the Constitution of Zambia with dignity, leadership and integrity.
These functions and responsibilities include the following:
(a) Preside over national affairs as the country’s Head of State and Government, and as Commander-in-Chief of the various units of the Defence Force;
(a) Appoint ambassadors, high commissioners, plenipotentiaries, diplomatic representatives, and consuls;
(b) Receive and accredit foreign ambassadors, high commissioners, plenipotentiaries, diplomatic representatives, consuls, and heads of international organisations;
(c) Negotiate and sign international agreements and treaties and, subject to the approval of the National Assembly, ratify or accede to international agreements and treaties;
(d) Establish, merge and/or dissolve Government ministries, subject to the approval of the National Assembly;
(e) Confer honours upon deserving citizens and non-citizens residing within and outside Zambia;
(f) Initiate Bills for submission to, and consideration by, the National Assembly;
(g) Appoint the Secretary to the Cabinet, Attorney-General, Solicitor-General, Director of Public Prosecutions, Investigator-General, puisne judges, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Industrial Relations Court, and the Auditor-General in consultation with relevant organs of government and subject to ratification by the National Assembly; and
(h) Appoint members of an Advisory Committee on the prerogative of mercy which shall advise him on actions and/or decisions to be taken in granting relief to any deserving person convicted of an offence by a court or court-martial.
Besides, we are all aware of the numerous socioeconomic issues and matters which President Hichilema’s administration will have to tackle after the elections scheduled to be held on August 12, 2021, including the creation for a more effective and efficient national government, providing for greater access to education and training, providing for merit-based scholarships for vocational training and university education, providing for low-interest educational loans, providing for an efficient and effective healthcare system, providing for greater and sustained food security, and creation of greater employment opportunities.
Other important issues and matters which the new administration is geared to address include public infrastructure, garbage collection and disposal, socioeconomic conditions in rural areas, electricity tariffs and interruptions in the supply of electricity, the scourge of corruption, the needs of street children and the handicapped, the preservation and protection of our country’s fragile natural environment, and implementation of projects and programmes initiated by President Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front in our country’s 10 provinces.
Needless to say, the Patriotic Front assumed the reins of power in September 2011, but the socioeconomic conditions facing the majority of citizens have continued to worsen during the 10 years the ruling political party has been in power. And, unfortunately, the gifts and donations in the form of cash, bicycles, automobiles, and mealie meal which President Lungu and the Patriotic Front are dishing out will not solve the prevailing socioeconomic problems facing the country and its people.
Voters who have the interest of our beloved country and its people at heart, therefore, will need to guard themselves against giving the Patriotic Front and Dr. Lungu another term of office later this year. There is really nothing meaningful which the party can do over the next 5 years that will address the backlog of unfulfilled promises.
Under 5 takatekepo.
Dreaming is for free. If this political party was genuinine this is what they should have been telling the Zambian people on the is rallies and not insults. People want to hear what they will do so that they are held accountable in the event that they are given the mandate to gorven our great nation.
HH called Sata ailing dictator now we will be calling ailing tribalist. How old will HH be five years after 2026? Lesa nomalyotola. To be president, someone needs to be voted for first.
Am watching and waiting for the one to be voted in as the president.
No party is allowed to go and fight once lost.
We will be waiting.
The message is clear. ECL and PF have nothing new to offer. They will continue to ruin Zambia If re-elected. Zambians stopped Chiluba from his Third Term Bid they must stop Lungu from this Coup. When ECL was being sworn in in 2015 what term was he being sworn in for? If it was for 5 years expiring in 2020 why did he dissolve himself in 2016? He did so becoz he knew his 18 months term had come to an end. ECL cannot fool anybody. The 18 months that he served as President under the 1996 Constitution constitutes a Term of Office. On that basis that was ECL’s First Term of Office. Lungu’s second Term of Office run from 2016 to August 2021. Lungu therefore is prohibited from seeking a Third Term in terms of the Republican Constitution. If Concourt is impartial,Objective and Professional it…
This man was a mistake to be appointed SG. And this statement is shallow beyond belief. He is not saying anything new, in fact, he is simply lifting words from the constitution about the President’s roles and repeating them here.
Once again, the UPND has picked an SG who is too academic and happy to post comments and go online but doesn’t know anything about grassroots politics.
Highly disappointed.
Watch “Civil Servants must be Protected from Cadres but…….” on YouTube
One of the reasons others should be given a chance to improve our standard of living is, they have literally turned a strategic institution like ZESCO into a cash cow. They failed to explain why ZESCO needed to acquire a €1.7 billion loan, which remains suspicious.
@kci we are already calling him ailing because if you didn’t know HH is currently in a coma suffering from suspected covid 19. His party are doing a terrible job at hiding it. They even posted a video from years ago to prove he was ok. Hh who enjoys press briefings at his ugly house has not made a single briefing in months. Why is that? Anyway for me I have already started praying for him.
The corrupt PF doesn’t deserve another term for sure. But whether HH and his UPND are the ones to make things better – I’m not so sure. The party doesn’t look strong, I don’t see any capable potential ministers – if they win on August 12 it’s purely because people are totally fed up with ECL and his failing economy and the stealing.
To any job you aspire to get, there is always a template of the: TO DO LIST
The list in the article are the: To Do List.
It’s three months before elections and this is what you can come up with.
Such statements should be coming from “One Man Band” or Briefcase political parties. And not from the main opposition party.
There are serious matters on the ground right now that you can address and give PF a run for there money. Yet you completely fall flat.
Batuke Imenda……these guys are ready to loot just like PF bandits…..UPND scares the hell out of me…..more like a tribal grouping sprinkled with a few other tribes just to disguise themselves…..just pay close attention to their inner circle
Bo Imenda, careful with these useless long articles, nobody five a fvck about articles.
Be brief and focused on high prices and corruption, that’s what Zambians see.
Zambians can’t afford to loose elections again.
TUKATEKWE NE SHILU?
SO,NOMBA TUKABIKE SHILU PALI BU PRESIDENT?
WOULDN’T HE BE DRUNK WITH POWER AND BECOME EVEN MORE IRETRIEVABLY INSANE/MAD?
AREN’T ZAMBIANS NOT SEEING MAD-DRIVEN DICTATORSHIP IN ZAMBIA WHICH COULD TURN INTO GENOCIDE?
Are you sure you are winning, however some of us cannot see indicators to your victory but the opposite seems to be true , if you see your MPs resigning then you must be worried, I don’t know how you can figure out an expensive gamble , HH was supposed to win in 2016 when Lungu was already a patient and not well organized but this time he has done his homework and it is working for him.
I will vote for PF because I want more money in my pocket ….nafuti nafuti.
Upndead is headed for a 6th time merciless shocker.
Anso aka shokwa halibelela kukulusa!!
Ifwe ni all smiles.
Elite Zambians already know that its PF 100%; ECL 100%; Elite Zambians 100%; Zambian overdrive 100%; Empowerment 100%; Peace 100%; Unity 100%! More money in the pockets with hard 100%.
THERE IIS EVERY INDICATION OPPOSITION WILL NOT WILL THE FORTH COMING ELECTIONS
THERE IS EVERY INDICATION THAT THE OPPOSITION WILL NOT WIN THE FORTH COMING ELECTIONS.
HH calls himself a village boy and it shows. There is nothing wrong with being a village boy but stop pretending you are also a new generation economist because your figures don’t add up. How do you write such rubbish when you have zero experience on running the affairs of a country? At least President Lungu admitted it that he had no clue at first but to his credit, he is trying. This is the sort of arrogance that put people off voting HH. He thinks running a country is less sophisticated than being a partner of an accounting firm. You can take a boy out of a village but you can never take the village out of him.
Ba UPND SG, this is all you have to say? Even completing projects that President Lungu started is part of your campaign message? Tell us something new, not telling us the duties of the president like appointing ambassadors