Presidency responds to ex-leader Lungu’s attack on character of his successor

The Presidency has expressed regret at former president Edgar Lungu’s latest attacks on the character of his successor.

State House Chief Communications Specialist, Clayson Hamasaka, in statement issued in Lusaka on Wednesday said it was time for Lungu to show remorse.

Hamasaka advised Lungu to cease being agitated when questioned about his party’s past.

He advised that the former President should refrain from insulting the collective intelligence of Zambians by urging them to ‘move on.’

“This advice is inappropriate in the aftermath of a criminally contracted debt that has stifled economic development,” Hamasaka said.

He claimed that instead of focusing on rebuilding the economy, President Hakainde Hichilema had spent two years untangling the country from unsustainable debt through global networking.

Hamasaka emphasized that it was crucial to ask honest questions about who led the country to the current situation.

“These are the same individuals loudly complaining about the high cost of living while gleefully mocking the slow resolution of the debt they accumulated,” he stated.

Hamasaka noted that Zambia currently had a local debt of US$1 billion owed to the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), and laid the blame’s at the doorstep of Lungu’s regime

He alleged that what Lungu and his cohorts were doing was telling OMCs to just bring in petroleum products on credit but were not ready to pay.

“Now Hichilema and his government has to pay. In the infrastructure projects, the Zambian government is owing contractors US$8 billion as local debt,” Hamasaka said.

Hamasaka said the press conference, led by Lungu and attended by a consortium of opposition leaders on January, 31, 2024, showcased the current peaceful and tolerant atmosphere created by Hichilema’s administration.

“Less than two and a half years ago, such a press conference would have been disrupted by PF slogan-chanting, machete-wielding thugs, resulting in bloodshed,” he claimed.

Hamasaka said the event highlighted the prevailing peace, ultimately benefiting the Zambian citizens, a cause for which the United Party for National Development (UPND) fought.

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