By STEPHEN KAPAMBWE –
SATURDAY, May 21, 2016 gave the nation an indication of how campaign messages will bombard the electorate as two of what are considered to be the strongest parties vying for power, launched their official campaigns.
In Lusaka, the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) crammed the 60,000-seater Heroes National Stadium with more supporters that the stadium is designed to hold while the United Party for National Development (UPND) also  overran Kitwe’s Freedom Park with hundreds of supporters.
The PF was launching campaigns by unveiling its new manifesto based on industrialisation while the UPND unveiled its Ten-Point Plan for the country.
President Edgar Lungu, who was supported by 15 opposition political parties, former Republican President Rupiah Banda and former Vice President Enoch Kavindele, took the opportunity to go a step ahead of the UPND by announcing that Vice President Inonge Wina would be his running mate in the August 11, election.
He described Ms Wina as a wise woman whom younger women in the country should emulate.
Mr Lungu said the Vice President is a sober person and a reliable advisor who was not troubled when her advice was not followed.
Using the analogy of a football coach who does not substitute a winning player, President Lungu said he would not to change the winning team hence his decision to go into the forthcoming election with Ms Wina.
“You have a task of bringing up young women who can take over the running of this country from you and me,” he said.
He urged the party members that their responsibility is to ensure that the party wins the election in the first round.
He said personally, as the party leader, he was equal to the task of leading the PF on that route.
President Lungu said his party would not relent in returning people’s trust generously.
The new PF manifesto is based on the party’s resolve to implement industrialisation as a mode of creating jobs, growing the economy and transforming the country in the next five years and beyond.
President Lungu said through the presidential solar milling plants initiative, the PF would ensure that in the next five years, the price of mealie meal is reduced to reasonable levels.
“This is something we can achieve and we will achieve it. Very soon, the solar milling plants will help us
reduce the mealie meal prices,” he said.
He said, despite the difficult weather pattern, the country has produced more maize.
The President paid tribute to farmers for working hard to produce slightly above 2.8 million tonnes of maize, which will also help to reduce the price of the staple food.
Government has since put one million farmers on the Farmers Input Support Programme (FISP).
It has also increased the number of crops being bought by the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), besides maize, for food security.
The Government has further broadened the distribution of agriculture inputs, besides maize seed and fertilisers, to include other crops like Soya beans, under the newly introduced e-voucher system.
President Lungu said although the country had turbulent times since he assumed power, Government has been equal to the task of resolving the problems.
The Government has managed to curb smuggling which was creating artificial scarcity of mealie meal and causing prices to rise sharply.
Government has also acted to reduce the prevailing power deficit by initiating new hydro power generation projects as well as thermal and solar power initiatives that are aimed at not only stopping blackouts, but transforming  the country into a net exporter of electricity.
President Lungu cited the construction of thermal power plants in Maamba and the recent launch of the scaling solar initiative at the Lusaka South Multi Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ), as some of the new projects that would end the power deficit.
The Maamba project will generate 300 mega -watts of electricity when completed while the solar initiative is meant to provide up to 600 mega -watts.
He further touched on the successes that the PF has scored under his leadership, such as the enactment of the Constitution which many leaders before him failed to do.
The President said PF would complete the Constitution making process by holding the forthcoming national referendum to pass the expanded Bill of Rights and repeal Article 79.
President Lungu further said in terms of infrastructure, Government has been working on the construction of roads under various projects like the Link Zambia-8000, and the upgrading of township roads countrywide.
The projects include the C-400 which is targeted at upgrading roads on the Copperbelt, the L-400 for upgrading roads in Lusaka and the Pave Zambia initiative.
The Government has also been building markets, health posts, clinics and hospitals.
Government has built over 100 primary and secondary schools countrywide, besides colleges and trades training institutions.
Five thousand teachers have been recruited each year to reduce the teacher-pupil ratio.
In health where hospitals and health posts are being built, the Government has equipped Livingstone General hospital, Kitwe and Ndola Central hospitals as well as the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) with modern equipment.
Government has further built hubs across the country to ensure effective distribution of essential drugs countrywide.
In addition, 6,000 health workers have been recruited since 2011 to improve health service delivery.
Government has also increased budgetary allocation to social protection initiatives, such as the Social Cash Transfer. It has also scaled up women and youth empowerment programmes besides expanding the school feeding programme to encourage under privileged children to attend school.
Government has also created an additional 33 districts to improve provision of basic services like post offices, police and courts across the country.
“Our vision for the next five years is to make Zambia more industrious, united, prosperous and stable,” he said.
He further said the PF has indicated in its 2016-2021 manifestos that, Zambia is a Christian nation and that is irrevocable.
President Lungu said Government was determined to run a free, clean and fair campaign.
“Zambia, trust me. We have been tried and we have passed the test,” he said.
But opposition UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema charged that the country is in a leadership crisis which required to be changed.
“Ladies and gentlemen, in 1964, a crop of politicians, led by our first President Dr Kenneth Kaunda took decisive actions and fought long and hard battles against the colonialists, for which we remain grateful. Then in 1991, the reintroduction of multi-party politics was another landmark stage.
“In 2011 when the PF took office, Zambia was firmly on the path to middle income status but look at where we are now,” he said.
He accused the PF-led Government of putting the country in an awkward position by borrowing billions of dollars.
He said Government has failed to create the jobs it promised apart from leaders travelling around the world.
“We stand here knowing that Zambia faces a crisis, a crisis that has resulted from five years of PF Government.
“We believe that now is the time to take matters into our own hands. We believe that now is the time to unite and fix our country,” he told hundreds of people at Freedom Park.
He said the UPND wanted to unite the country and bring about prosperity and equitability through what he called a 10 point plan.
The plan aims at creating jobs by promoting investment, trade and economic growth, diversifying the economy and investing in under-developed sectors that have potential for job and wealth creation.
The plan further seeks to foster equity through implementation of opportunities to enhance the welfare and empowerment of women and youths.
In terms of education, the UPND plans to support the education of the underprivileged.
The party wants to make sure that computers are delivered to schools and that loans and bursary schemes are introduced for students form underprivileged families.
UPND further wants to find a lasting solution to the country’s power rationing by ensuring that existing power generation units produce sufficient power for the country.
It further wants to diversify power sources besides hydro electricity generation so that enough is generated for local use and for export.
The party further wants to improve business competitiveness so that local businesses grow and create jobs, and new ones can start up.
This also involves doing away with heavy regulation, reduce high cost of transport and trade, ensure access to finance and power supply to make businesses flourish.
UPND wants to cut Government waste by reducing the number of ministers and review their conditions of service.
Mr Hichilema said a minister gets 800 litres of fuel per month, which is about K500,000 for the entire cabinet.
He said in a five-year period, that translates into an expenditure of K29 million on fuel for ministers. It does not include free phones, cars, housing and other entitlements.
The party further plans to ensure that public service workers like teachers and police officers are well paid, and that retirees and those who get retrenched receive their dues timely.
Under the UPND, renewal of drivers’ licences would be done once in five years in contrast with the current practice where the licences are renewed annually.
The party wants to advance agriculture by reducing input costs and diversifying the sector in order to achieve increased production.
This would reduce the cost of mealie meal.
The party also wants to be consistent in its running of public affairs and ensure that jobs are protected.
The party wants to improve healthcare services and ensure the rule of law in all public institutions.
In this regard, the party plans to reform the Public Order Act and encourage statutory bodies such as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Auditor General’s office to operate professionally.
Mr Hichilema said these initiatives are aimed at building Zambia for all Zambians.
“I am asking God to give me more wisdom, more intellect to serve his people better,” he said.
Even though Mr Hichilema did not mention the word industrialisation, most interventions he outlined were similar to interventions outlined by the PF.
The only major difference in that the UPND wants to run a smaller Government to cut on what Mr Hichilema called “government waste”.
So as the campaigns heat up, it is PF’s industrialisation manifesto versus UPND’s Ten-Point Plan.
Another difference between the two parties is the mode of implementing the two outlined sets of ideas.
The PF has been criticised for borrowing to fund capital projects.
But the party has insisted that it is not borrowing indiscriminately to the point of leaving the country in a debt trap.
The Government has also used the Private Public Partnership (PPP) approach in which it has encouraged the private sector to invest in capital projects.
President Lungu recently launched a US$1.4 billion Zambia Air Force (ZAF) Twin Palm construction project that will be funded through the PPP model.
The Government has further issued euro bonds in the past not only to obtain money to invest in productive areas of the economy but also to demonstrate that the country has managed to build investor confidence through fiscal discipline and prudent spending.
In December last year, President Lungu announced austerity measures to help the country deal with economic challenges.
President Lungu announced a revision of subsidies to food and oil imports, a ban on unnecessary trips by Government officials, a hold back on all planned new infrastructure and national airline projects, and a halt in all signed projects for infrastructure development.
All ambitious infrastructure development projects were to be reviewed.
It is these measures which have of been partially credited for the declining rate of inflation, the appreciation of local unit against international convertible currencies, and stabilisation in food prices.
The UPND is yet to disclose how it will implement its Ten-Point Plan, and whether it will equally borrow to fund the various programmes outlined.
The UPND is yet to announce the running mate to Mr Hichilema.
The choice of the running mate is crucial because the party is going against an experienced duo in PF’s President Lungu and Ms Wina.
But come May 30, the opposition Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) will also launch its campaigns.
FDD is another strong contender, being run by an experienced former finance minister and the only woman contesting the presidency, Edith Nawakwi.
Ms Nawakwi would have almost monopolised the vote from the women folk had it not been for President Lungu’s decision to have a woman as running mate.
Ignoring Ms Nawakwi would be a mistake because in the last snap elections, she led her party into third position, beating the former ruling MMD which settled for the fourth position.