In the UPND Government, what lies ahead?

WHAT led to the Patriotic Front being voted out? What made UPND win? What lies ahead? Which party can form government?

I will be very frank and quick to highlight that it is an indisputable fact that the country at this stage needed change, people needed something and someone to believe in, they needed to have hope for a better tomorrow because they were struggling with unemployment and also to pay tuition fees, rentals and generally to survive.

Looking at the fact that the PF government scored highly in terms of infrastructure, people would have understood if there was no looting of government resources and if leaders painted the picture that they were suffering together with the people.

This made people feel helpless and wanted a government which could at least hear them. The major mistake PF consequently made at the end was to downplay the power of social media and the youth.

UPND won not because they campaigned well or had more members, because even in the 11th hour, their members were busy defecting to PF. UPND won simply because people wanted change.

Nonetheless, despite the downsides, the PF government scored on infrastructure development and on creating income generating sources such as the mines which the government got back.

Every party does extremely well in the first five years, they start messing up in the following two years after re-election which leaves people in a dilemma, they don't know whether to continue clinging on to the party in government or to start calling for change.

In the next three years, people usually make up their mind and start calling for change. This is where a good opposition needs to campaign well and convince the people that they are ready to take up the mantle and can do better.

So we have seen all the firing and hiring before because UNIP, MMD and PF also did it, it's not a new thing, what will determine what UPND is really made up of is their seven years in power, that is if they won't mess up fast.

In the last three years to 2021 elections, UPND was quick to promise the moon and stars to the betrothed to tie the knot. So UPND should sober up quickly, reorganise itself, restrategise and start delivering because they are going to have a very tough time governing the country than any government in the history of Zambia because their only job is to change the economy, as we all know, the economy deals with numbers and numbers don't lie.

To spice up the concoction, they were voted for by youths whom they promised jobs and free education and also by social media critics whom they promised a better economy.

Trust me, this is all fun and games until one fails to deliver according to their expectations and they turn against them. They say that the same teeth a dog uses when playing are the same teeth it uses for biting when fighting.

Fred M'membe’s Socialist party also has a chance because their party is comfortable with finances, looking at the fact that their funding comes from external sources, from countries such as Brazil, South Africa and China.

DAVID CHISHIMBA, Kalulushi Youth.