PRESIDENT HICHILEMA SAYS HIS MEMBERS MUST RETURN TO MARKETS WHERE THEY WHERE CHASED BY THUGS.

UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema says UPND cadres that were chased from trading in the markets by what he described as thugs must return.President Hichilema however warned at a press conference held today that senior party leaders must not agitate junior members into doing wrong things.“We couldn’t even enter markets. Anyone who entered markets you were beaten.He said the PF were free to re-group but that they had a big task ahead of them.“Zambians are not foolish. The memories are fresh. We lost people. People were killed,” he said.“I don’t want us to be the new killers.”President Hichilema said that UPND members must not behave as though they were still in the opposition.“You free to campaign. You are free to mobilise anyway. You are free like other parties to trade in the markets because you were driven out of the market by thugs. So you are free to return,” he emphasized.President Hichilema said councils must work with the community to ensure everyone was free to trade in the markets.He said stressed that UPND like any other party was free to politically mobilise and trade anyway.“I couldn’t go to Soweto myself because I knew if I went to Soweto people would be killed,” he saidHe said PF must thank him and his party for having prevented violence from occurring.“We don’t want to see any more blood,” he said.“If it was PF that won the elections, blood would have been all over.”“Even if you say something against HH no one should touch you.”And President Hichilema asked his members to be patient.“Don’t spoil your dish by being the hooligan around. We have a lot. No timber licence will be given to foreigners. Come down.”“PF members I want to appeal to you behave yourselves don’t provoke a situation that we are managing well. We are managing the UPND supporters very well, they may be unhappy now but I know they will be happy very soon. “Let sleeping dogs lie but for you sleeping dogs keep lying there.”President Hichilema said nothing will happen if there is no turnaround in the economy.“There are no jobs that will come from a rock,” Hichilema said.And President Hichilema said that he was committed to ensure that there is prudent use resources as demonstrated by his decision to travel to US on a commercial flight and a lean entourage.“Now we have the figures, and we have been proven right.it was no an emotional attachment because somebody was riding a Gulf Stream. If it was that I could have simply said ZAF where is the pilot? Let us go to New York. By the way the pilot was ready and I had to fight with ZAFF not use that plane,” he said.“We taking that matter to parliament and then at that point, numbers will become known to all of you. Then you will see who loves this country and who did not love this country. This does not mean the plane is not necessary but why would you pay twice the price? You will be frightened yourselves. You will be shocked. Then you will start thinking differently as you see certain people walk your streets.And President Hichilema said some people were celebrating that there is confusion in the fight against corruption.“Let us see who will have the last laugh,” he said.President Hichilema said the fight against corruption was an IMF condition but a UPND agenda.And Hichilema said the UPND was not propagating homosexuality.We did not go there to talk about lesbian rights. Follow the issues please. No one went for the agenda of those issues. I am Adventist myself. I am even an elder,” he said.And ask if he would call for the lifting of immunity of former president Edgar Lungu, President Hichilema said he would cross the bridge if he got there, adding that his intention was not harass anyone.