OPPOSITION ALLIANCE DILEMMA

IT is becoming increasingly difficult to understand what exactly the opposition alliance led by the United Party for National Development (UPND) want to achieve given their propensity to shift political goal posts whenever it suits them. If not making wild and unsubstantiated allegations against President Edgar Lungu and the ruling Patriotic Front, they are playing the cry-baby and threatening not to support certain critical national engagements such as the Constitutional amendment process. Paradoxically, after accusing President Lungu of attempting to assassinate UPND president Hakainde Hichilema during the by-elections in Sesheke, the alliance is suddenly demanding the failed national dialogue goes ahead. The alliance insists dialogue should go ahead at all costs or they will have nothing to do with constitutional amendment process because they perceive the “PF wants to manipulate the process so it can cling to power.” Alas, from assassination claims and reporting Mr Lungu to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague to demands for dialogue and threats to boycott the constitutional amendment process, Which is which? All of a sudden, the issue of the failed dialogue has become some kind of bargaining chip to compel the ruling party to act in a way the alliance wants. But this is total deficit of logic by Mr Hichilema and the alliance and smacks of nothing but hypocrisy. However, this is typical of the UPND cry-baby hogwash and not so surprising after all. How can the alliance demand dialogue while at the same time threatening to report President Lungu, a key stakeholder in the process, to The Hague? This defies logic and just goes to show UPND’s penchant for political posturing and sympathy seeking from the electorate through skewed and defective political tactics. The question is, who is to blame over the failed dialogue process? It is common knowledge that the three Church mother bodies and the Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) are behind the failed dialogue process because of the impasse between them.So how can the alliance give the government conditions over the dialogue process when it is not the PF which refused to dialogue? And in any case, after making serious concocted allegations against President Lungu, do they surely expect him to ignore the claims and agree to dialogue? Nay, the alliance made the assassinations claims a local and international spectacle and it is only fair that the President’s image is cleared, perhaps only then can they be able to start talking about dialogue. If indeed Mr Hichilema and his cohorts genuinely want dialogue, they should be trying to persuade the church mother bodies and the ZCID to get the dialogue process going as opposed to giving the conditions and attacking the PF? We therefore vehemently agree with the Bishops Council of Zambia, Evangelical Youth Alliance and special assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda’s sentiments that under the prevailing circumstances the dialogue process will be a sham. Perhaps, the alliance is not mindful of the fact that with or without dialogue, the Constitutional Amendment Bill can be taken to Parliament for deliberations. Even Justice Minister Given Lubinda has made it clear the bill will be taken to Parliament with or without dialogue or opposition members of Parliament. Instead of wasting time calling for the failed dialogue and threatening not to support the Amendment Bill, the UPND and its alliance partners should be strategising on contributions to the bill. By not supporting the bill, the alliance will not punish the PF as they would want but will only shoot itself in the foot and sabotage wishes of the electorate. Clearly, the opposition alliance is gripped by confusion and needs to come to its senses.