Emulate me and keep quiet if you have nothing to say, Lungu advises Hichilema
IN a continuing back and forth verbal exchange, Edgar Lungu has invited his successor President Hakainde Hichilema to emulate him by keeping silent if has nothing to say.
In s statement on his Facebook page this morning, Lungu described President Hichilema’s address to the the nation yesterday as meaningless.
“As president, I kept quiet whenever I had nothing significant to say. As leaders, let us stop
wasting people’s time with meaningless, hour-long addresses,” Lungu stated.
“Let us learn to keep quiet and stay away from the press if all we can muster is our pathological pursuit of personal interests, political bitterness and hatred at the expense of the interests of the majority poor and unemployed Zambians that can barely eat a meal a day,” Lungu wrote further.
He said if leaders had failed to govern, it was better to step down and resign, so that other competent Zambians can take over which was normal political practices worldwide.
“And if people complain about tribalism, the solution is not to enact laws that would result in stiffer punishment for those complaining but to correct the situation. In civilized societies, governments don’t punish the victims or complainants of visible bad policies, democratic governments listen to their voters and change the bad attitude and policies to address citizens’ complaints,” he said.
Lungu said there was no need to threaten Zambians with mass arrests when they complain against tribalism and regionalism.
“Let government demonstrate policy shift against tribalism and most people will stop complaining. In a true democracy, people must have the freedom to express themselves freely without fearing an arrest and punishment, that only happens in a dictatorship. The last time I checked as former President, Zambia was a democracy, NOT a dictatorship. No threats will silence Zambians,” wrote Lungu.
Kalemba June 6, 2024