Politics too commercialised, says ZDDM

By NOEL IYOMBWA ZAMBIA Direct Democracy Movement (ZDDM) President Edwin Sakala has observed that politics have been commercialised in the country. Mr Sakala said in an interview that politicians are flashing out money to win support from the voters. He said that people are getting the money without asking where it was coming from. He called on the voters to question where the money being flashed is coming from. “Zambia is our country yet we are daily losing control over it. The best of everything seems to be in the hands of foreigners and a few privileged fellow citizens.  There is massive poverty in the midst of plenty because the policies of our leaders are not tilted towards uplifting the standard of living for us, the common people,” he said. And Mr Sakala has observed that the media was only interested in covering politicians who they think are financially stable. He advised media houses and journalists in particular to change their attitude towards other political parties by giving them fair coverage. “The problem with our media is that they only give coverage to political parties that ‘shine.’ That is the reason why some journalists are attacked because of only covering certain politicians and parties,” he said. Meanwhile, three political parties and a civil society organisation have formed an amalgamation called the Kwacha National Alliance which will back the New Heritage Party in this year’s elections. The four parties are ZDDM, Zambia Democratic Congress (ZADECO), Common Cause Democracy (CCD) and EX-ZAMSA Liberation Veterans Multipurpose Cooperative. Mr Sakala, who is chairperson of the alliance said after having carefully examined and analysed the vision, the mission and manifesto of the New Heritage Party, a number of political parties and civil society organisations have identified with this party, more than all others contesting the August 12 elections. He said the New Heritage Party has the best plan to salvage the country out of its current problems and that the parties also looked at the  credentials of Ms. Chishala Kateka, its presidential  candidate and are fully satisfied that she has more than what it takes to lead  Zambia on the recovery path. He said other parties have been granted observer status by the Kwacha National Alliance, as they await their approval from their central committees. Mr Sakala said the parties are All Peoples’ Alliance, All Peoples’ Congress and Party for Unity, Development and Democracy. And Ms Kateka said the party takes the responsibility seriously and is continuously preparing well not just for the election but for the time beyond that. She said the song of Zambia’s potential via diversification of the economy has been sang so many times and for so long that it has become jaded and yet, the potential of this country remains unrealised.   Ms. Kateka stated that the vision for Zambia is to become the premier economic and productivity hub in southern Africa by 2030.