SHUNNING YOUTH DAY

THE United Party for National Development (UPND) is at it again and as usual they intend to boycott today’s Youth Day celebrations on flimsy grounds. The party has now become synonymous with a tendency of shunning key national events because of their hatred for President Edgar Lungu and their insatiable desire to take over the reins of power. Even in Parliament, the party’s lawmakers have made it a habit to walk out whenever they feel aggrieved or want to register their displeasure over an issue. This unbecoming behaviour seems to have permeated the party’s hierarchy from the top to the bottom ranks as evidenced by the UPND youths’ refusal to join other young people from all walks of life in the Youth Day celebrations. The party’s youths, through their national chairman, Gilbert Liswaniso, yesterday announced brazenly they would shun today’s annual celebrations. In Mr Liswaniso’s own words tainted by bitterness, the UPND youths would celebrate this important occasion in their own way as they “did not want to be paraded before President Edgar Lungu, or indeed the mayor.” From the foregoing words, the hatred and refusal to accept President Lungu is obvious and there for everybody to see. But Youth Day as the opposition party knows, is an important annual celebration by young people globally respectively in recognition of their contributions to the advancement of society. In Zambia, this yearly event is commemorated on March 12 to promote an increased recognition of youth as key agents for social change and economic growth irrespective of their political and religious divide. It is, therefore, folly and irrational for the UPND to boycott a non-partisan event which has been celebrated from time immemorial just because they are driven by hatred and envy of those in power. The question is: Whom is the party punishing with their fruitless boycotts and walk-outs and what will the party gain by shunning the celebrations as in the past? Past experience, dating back to when the party started shunning national events, has shown that its actions amounted to nothing but vanity as its conspicuous absence has had no effect on the events. Instead, by shunning today’s events as was the case in the past, the party has succeeded in sabotaging the wishes of their own supporters. It is disheartening that on a day when youths from various political parties will converge on the Freedom Statue to confer on pertinent issues such as combating political violence, the UPND youths will be missing in action. PF deputy media director Antonio Mwanza says youths had realised that it would only take unity in diversity and unity of purpose to foster peace and development. We totally agree with him. What is wrong with youths from various political parties meeting during youth day to dialogue? Nothing! But to the UPND, they can’t be part and parcel of such constructive peace-making building efforts. They see everything wrong in everything taking place in the country as long as it is not initiated by their party. The party discredits everything the government is doing, good or bad. Further, the opposition party whines about everything and nothing and this has left many to wonder just what would happen if it was given a chance to rule. We urge the party’s youths who have been brainwashed by the top leaders to come to their senses and take participate in today’s Youth Day celebrations. However, their absence at the celebrations will have no political impact on the activities of the day. It is time for the UPND youth to reason.