By BARNABAS ZULU
THE UPND has continued to systematically harass and persecute the Patriotic Front (PF) and its leadership with the aim of exterminating it but Zambians should know that the Forum for Development and Democracy (FDD) is the best alternative to rescue the country from the social and economic tribulations they have been subjected to under the new dawn administration, Chifumu Banda has said.
Mr Banda SC, the leader of the FDD says PF leaders are being systematically arrested and politically prosecuted in a bid to weaken the country’s largest opposition political formation ahead of the 2026 general elections.
“The PF has been targeted from all angles, with all their leaders likely to face criminal charges, either allegedly committed whilst in government or as victims of the newly introduced cyber laws,” Mr Banda said.
He said Zambians deserved a government that empowered citizens rather than one that, according to him, was putting everything in the hands of foreigners.
“The FDD remains the best alternative government for the people come 2026,” he declared. “Our vision is to create a poverty-free Zambia, where people are in charge of their own development and destiny.” Mr Banda said the FDD’s core policy was the elimination of poverty through wealth creation at household level.
“This demands that the government puts the people back on the development agenda by adopting a people-centred approach to all its economic and social programmes,” he said. He stressed that under FDD leadership, Zambians would be recognised as the country’s greatest asset.
“People must be freed to determine their own developmental priorities through organs of governance that are closest to them, while the central government’s role should be to provide leadership,” he explained.
Mr Banda reaffirmed the party’s mission of promoting democratic decentralisation, human rights, transparency, accountability and a locally driven economy.
“Our mission is to be Zambia’s party of choice by remaining faithful to the needs of our people through uncompromised adherence to the rule of law and by freeing Zambia from poverty,” he said.