By ALICE NACHILEMBE
President Edgar Lungu should consider cutting down on the countless uneconomical trips he continues to make abroad Nation Democratic Congress party has said.
NDC Secretary General Mwenya Musenge said the visit by the Head of State to Turkey is costly which should have been avoided.
Mr Musenge said Zambia has an envoy designate to Turkey who could have effectively represented President Lungu at the inauguration of that country’s leader.
He said an inauguration ceremony of a foreign Head of State should never have been given priority looking at Zambia’s current economic mess.
“President Lungu would rather see the country struggle to pay its external debt whilst he and a few of his associates continue to loot Zambia’s meager resources. Zambia is broke and our foreign reserves, if at all we have any left are completely depleted.
“Zambia’s reserves have dwindled because of excess and reckless spending and borrowing by this regime. President Lungu has raped and crippled Zambia’s economy through wanton economic mismanagement,” he said.
Mr Musenge said president Lungu earlier this year announced that he would not undertake any foreign trip knowing very well that the country’s economy was in its doldrums.
He said he has undertaken private visits as well using tax payers money carrying along friends on trips that have never yielded any positive bearing to the country.
Mr Musenge said the colossal sums of money that the President is wasting on allowances and other incidentals could be used on productive ventures.
He said Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe announced austerity measures recently and NDC welcomed the gesture.
“We thought that for once, the Lungu regime had indeed started listening to the numerous cries from Zambians. The austerity measures announced by Minister Mwanakatwe if taken seriously can save our remaining resources,” he said.
Mr Musenge said that President Lungu should for once learn to stay home and address domestic problems.
He said NDC, demand that the austerity measures announced to limit public spending be implemented and followed to the later.
Mr Musenge said this regime will fail to pay its civil service and pay off its numerous debt.
He said President Lungu doesn’t care If he indeed cared, he wouldn’t be making numerous unproductive trips abroad.
Mr Musenge said by jumping from one plane to the other, what example is President Lungu giving to civil servants and their controlling officers?
