UPND IS BETTER OFF NOT POLITICKING

THE United Party for National Development (UPND) should stop using the PF template of raising the nation’s mood into hatred against opposition parties.

They are better and stronger sticking to the development agenda, otherwise the new dawn will soon be false dawn.

There is no doubt that majority of people recognises that the FTJ University project is a deal terribly gone wrong for those with political scores.

This is what in political parlance is now called lawfare, using the law to fight political battles. This is a big lesson UPND must learn, to tread carefully on the use of group think or mob psychology.

To ferment the anti-sentiment against the opposition never worked against the UPND. PF tried using the might of law to dent UPND as violent and tribal. The strategy failed.

It is not too long ago when every sector of our community had something to do with ECL. We had students for ECL, Miners for ECL, and Christians for ECL (instead of Christ), and the list goes on.

When the August 12, 2021 presidential election results came out they showed us a different picture. This is why President ECL can complain about hypocrisy because he went through it.

This behaviour of renting students across the province as recently happened in Luapula Province over the FTJ University saga belongs to the PF.

The PF could afford to do that, because it was the party mostly of the marketariat, the class of people with little political consciousness.

UPND started their mandate on very strong footing. To stand their ground, they just need to continue explaining to the nation the programmes they are undertaking and leave politicking to others.

The cut and paste of PF political behaviour is damaging their brand. New dawn means new spring, new season, so, there is need to engage a new paradigm of governance.

MIKE CHUNGU.