FDD Nkana constituency aspiring candidate Ernest Mulebi says the people of Copperbelt will punish President Edgar Lungu and his PF Government for what he termed betrayal of the people in the mining province for condemning over 4,000 miners to the streets.
And Mulebi says the FDD stands ready to work with the former miners in trying to find a remedy to their predicament and ease their pain in the wake of job loses.
In a statement, Mulebi said the former miners will speak the loudest in next year’s general elections for being betrayed by President Lungu and PF government who paid lip service to their cries to save their jobs.
“These families that President Lungu has abandoned and sent on the streets will speak the loudest next year. This government of Mr Lungu has betrayed the miners who voted massively for PF in 2011 and again supported him in January. This is total betrayal by a government and a President who said that the jobs of the miners were safe. These families that have been sent on the streets will punish the PF and Mr Lungu the same way he has betrayed them,” Mulebi said.
He e that what was more frustrating is the fact that President Lungu came on the copperbelt three weeks ago only to come and insult and intimidate the people who put in office.
“He was here doing what? Instead of sitting down with relevant stakeholders when he came here on the Copperbelt to secure people’s jobs President Lungu was busy holding political rallies, campaigning for himself. He came here to play and waste tax payers money and intimidate innocent people using insulting language which does not even befit his status as a Republican President. It is very unfortunate that things can happen like this when a sitting President was even here! Ba Lungu and PF are not serious with governance! They don’t understand what governance is. For example when KCM wanted to retrench workers, quick action was taken by Mr. Michael Sata to avert that. But today a President comes, claiming that he is on the copperbelt to save jobs, wastes tax payers money, days later thousands are sent on the streets.”
As FDD we are very concerned about the plight of the affected miners. Our president Edith Nawakwi came here to listen to the concerns of miners, but in their usual cowardly way they sent the police after her and had her arrested for no apparent reason! What kind of government is this surely?,” he wondered.
Mulebi says the FDD is ready to sit down with the former miners and chart the way forward.
“We would like to encourage the miners who have lost their jobs and assure them that not all is lost. As FDD we are ready to sit with you and chart the way forward because what you are going through will not only affect you as individuals but the communities you come from and the nation as a whole.”
Mulebi feels the FDD is the only formidable party that will address the chaos that the PF has caused in the country.
He says Zambia needs an economic manager with a proven track record and that FDD President Edith Nawakwi was the only person with such a pedigree.
“The FDD stands ready to work and change the lives of the people of Zambia. Enough is enough of this mediocre leadership of PF. If we had proper leadership this country could have not collapsed. What is unfortunate is that President Lungu and the PF have no idea of how this country should be governed.”
The FDD Nkana constituency aspiring parliamentary candidate further said he was ready to transform the constituency once elected as MP and that the constituency had remained behind economically because of poor representation.
“What I and the FDD want to bring to Nkana is transformation of the constituency. People here lack effective representation and that is why they are still suffering. Look at the poor drainage system! Nkana constituency has nothing to show for,” he said.
Mulebi was commenting on the recent job loses in the Copperbelt were over 4000 miners have los