By MAIMBO MWEEMBA
Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) leader Sean Tembo says they are impressed that the new UPND administration has started adopting some of the advice that the party has been giving them.
Mr Tembo said that on August, 23, 2021 PeP issued a statement advising President Hichilema to first undertake a performance audit of senior civil servants before deciding on who to dismiss and who to retain.
He said that they are pleased to note that President Hichilema has decided to adopt PeP’s advice and will undertake a performance audit of senior civil servants which will be used as a basis for determining who to dismiss and who to keep.
Mr Tembo said that such a development is progressive to the nation because it is an assurance that senior civil servants will not be dismissed and replaced on the sole basis of their surnames or perceived political affiliation to the former ruling party.
“We wish to implore President Hichilema to pay special attention to the advice that we give him from time to time, if he expects to succeed in his new job, unlike those in his inner circle who might be on a gluttonous quest, we owe the President nothing but the naked truth. Therefore, President Hichilema has the option to choose between the advice of his praise singers and the advice of his critics. Whatever choice the President makes will determine the verdict of his presidency after 5 years,” he said.
Mr Tembo also reiterated his advice to President Hichilema for him to reconsider his decision to get an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan and put the country on an IMF program, noting that neither the country’s current fiscal position nor balance of payment position warrants such a desperate measure.
“With copper prices sustainably higher in the medium to long term due to the advent of electric vehicles, there is no doubt that the country will comfortably meet its domestic and external debt obligations, there is no need for an IMF bailout loan, unless the President has certain ulterior motives which are unknown to the rest of the nation,” he said.
