By Kapya Kaoma
President Hakainde Hichilema (HH) and his supporters share a troubling trait: denial. They are aware that Zambians are being pushed to their limits, both politically and economically. They recognize that public confidence in President HH’s leadership has waned. In fact, they struggle to defend any of his accomplishments beyond the vague notion of “free education.”
Despite countless promises made, there is a stark contrast. President HH vowed to reduce the price of mealie meal but failed; he promised to create jobs but fell short; he committed to lowering fuel prices, yet those prices remain high; and he assured Zambians that the cost of fertilizer would decrease, but that promise, too, went unfulfilled. Instead of addressing these failures, his supporters resort to insults, dismissing anyone who questions his leadership as either tribalists or simply lazy. If Zambians were lazy during the Lungu administration, why then did HH blame Lungu for the economic situation of the country?
To me, this pattern of denial is perplexing. The same individuals who once criticized previous presidents for Zambia’s poverty now blame critics and citizens for voicing their concerns. It is unjust to have held President Lungu accountable for these failures while excusing President HH from similar critique. He has not met his promises and must be held accountable.
Sadly, those who attempt to speak out are met with police brutality and imprisonment. It doesn’t matter who speaks out; today, social media is monitored to intimidate people into silence as a way of shielding the president from public criticism.
This alarming culture of intimidation must be rejected by all Zambians. Silencing dissent through threats of imprisonment will not resolve our national problems. To assert that HH deceived Zambians to secure the presidency is not a crime; neither is it a crime to express concern about his health or mental state. The frustration felt by the public stems from the harsh economic realities we face. People will vent their anger on social media and publicly against the president since he stands at the helm of power.
To his supporters, President HH may seem like a demigod; yet, to his opponents, he is viewed as nothing but a villain. While his supporters may idolize him, those who disagree will continue to voice their discontent and may resort to derogatory language. The struggling economy will undoubtedly influence how people perceive and discuss the president. Who doesn’t eat? Who doesn’t use public transport or buy groceries? Whether one is a supporter or not, we all use the same Kwacha. Economically, things were better during the Lungu administration. Denial does not fill our pockets with money. As people compare the two administrations, they are apt to criticize HH.
It is critical, therefore, for the president and his supporters to understand this as we approach the campaign season. To believe that the opposition will worship President HH is as unrealistic as expecting the Pope to bow down to Satan.
President HH and his followers may be in denial, but not the majority of citizens. They may be silent today, and may not even show up during the ongoing by-elections. Come 2026, however, these are the ones who will make the final call. Will HH’s intimidations win him a second term? Kaya!
KAYA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dollar was at its highest at K21 then reduced to K17 to the USD, promises were made it will come down to K10, even when we had the debt negotiations successful this didn’t happen. Drought and lod shedding were used as an excuse and yet investment is said to have reached $9 billion where is that money and why can’t it stabilize the economy. This year God has blessed the nation with rains, we expect Kariba to fill up and a bumper harvest. You can f00l some people sometimes but you can’t f00l all the people all the time. We are tired of lies and failures.
HH and his administration are a failed project. His supporters are in denial. These people act as if they have been bewitched. Everything they have touched has been a mess. Look at the drunk education PS. Our mungulu traveling president never seems to learn. The white man Trump is telling him to manufacture ARVs locally, what does he do? He goings on a train ride to Japan. The world is telling Africa to utilize local resources while him is giving minerals for free to the richest people in the world while his people are dying of cholera in Chililabombwe.
Ba Kaoma.You should be thanking GOD Lungu was voted out at a very good time,otherwise Zambians today would have been at war.You are in denial that PF defaulted and ECL lost the trust of his lenders so they stopped supporting Zambia. All the mirage of the cheap life you were enjoying would have suddenly vanished.Support would have only come at an atrocious cost to all of us,perhaps even at the cost of selling our babies.Thank Jesus,HH and team came at the right time with his amazing debt restructuring plan
What happened to that piece of paper HH showed us on fuel. Continues enjoying Hichilema’s graphs while we prepared to send him back to the Village were he belongs. You can not compare HH with Lungu that is why he has done nothing but send his opponents to jail.
Only the courts jail criminals
Let’s put an alternative on the ballot PLEASE
This mu Zambian chap is not being realistic, PF economy was better than UPND even with the huge debt, and if PF continued your imaginary war was not going to happen. Visible lamentation failures by the UPND literally every where
Ka realist
Are you not aware that ECL and PF was starting to arm cadres with not only pangas but with state guns.They also brought in Caspers, Apartheid era police anti-riot vehicles mounted with machine guns.Worse off,are you not aware that PF started denying the people of southern and Western provinces the much needed FISP inputs while registering foreign nationals to vote in the 2021 elections.
All this was taking place in an unstable socio-economy that had downgraded from a lower middle income country back to a Least developed one.If PF had won 2021 they were only going to rule by force and terror
Is this really written by the Chief Editor or the Chief Editor always writes on behalf of whoever? I am not UPND and I see a lot of lack of professionalism in the civil service now and during PF days, compared to our time under KK. However you can write some articles which have some standard, not this low quality. Incidentally, “promised to reduce mealie prices” is an over played issue. Nothing is reducing under any regime, under any time. Inrease disposable income could be more rational than the one track “reduce mealie prices”.
The issue is that HH promised and needs to held accountable. Do not make excuses for him and do not deny being UPND. This is the same denial being talked about.
Amdone,you can never explain a circle to people like Tiki ,Kci and Deja Vu.You need a lot of time
They expect free handouts in their minds…….
FED2031
Dont worry When the president starts drawing the election funds allowed him Mealie Meal prices will drop same with fuel prices and hopefully the exchange rate and load shedding will temporary suspended BE OPTIMISTIC AS SOMEONE KEEPS SAYING
The fact that you don`t know the impact Russia and Ukraine war had throughout the world on fuel supply is very amazing, and you are also expecting the price of mealie meal to be reduce when Southern Africa was hit hard by droughts. Your analysis is flawed bwana try something else. Your pf left Kaloba fulu fulu without paying the farmers. IKona man even if you hate HH can you really go down this low? People like this author are a serious problem, a case of education without wisdom
I don’t see anything wrong with one expressing their views via a write up, people should be held accountable for their deeds and promises. Let’s also learn not to make too many promises, otherwise people will remember and hold us accountable.
You never accepted the reasons PF gave for the problems we had. At one time Garry Nkombo claimed that COVID-19 was just a created story by the PF to cover for something…. also don’t forget how easy he made it look to tap water from Chembe to Kariba dam.
If you talk or Ukraine and Russia, now that’s a different story on it’s own. We had enough stock of mealie meal that was stacked in our FRA sheds, since Ba Musonda you know better, advise us what happened to the mealie meal maybe the drought caused the mealie meal to be sold I guess. Let’s learn to analyse things critically than just arguing for the sake of it, even negative critism has got it’s own merits unlike being praised All the time.
Bally has fixed us but there is no way we can go back to PF.
Our president is a coward. Because he shows cawardly and bullying acts, he may just be described so. He has clasped to institutions like the DEC, courts, ZP, Zicta, ECZ to crash divergent views. Without which he would never have made it on his self date. No political rallies!
As for denials, he and his group think the Petauke seat was rigged no wonder it took them more time than necessary before announcing NCP as winner for Tonse. Some people, kaya!
Can we please have what was promised fulfilled by the UPND, nobody eats this free education crap ,I nearly said can you start being serious but I realise even if you were to be serious, your leaders as UPND lack competence, knowledge and capacity to deliver anything