2008 PRESIDENTIAL BY-ELECTION CAMPAIGN LAUNCH SPEECH BY
UPND PRESIDENT HAKAINDE HICHILEMA
MULUNGUSHI INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE, LUSAKA
15TH SEPTEMBER, 2008

Fellow countrymen and women welcome, to this launch of the UPND Presidential campaign for Zambia 2008.

We gather here at this very important venue, united by our common and shared vision and love for this great country and its people. Our vision is to create a better Zambia for all, a Country in which opportunities shall be turned into solutions and potential turned into reality

Country men and women, you will recall that ten years ago in this same hall, a gallant son of Zambia, one Anderson Kambela Mazoka, mwana mubotu (MHSRIP) and his team launched the United Party For National Development a party that would liberate our people from the shackles of poverty, disease and poor governance. Specifically, UPND was founded in response to the challenges of that time. Today, ten years down the road, our Country is still faced with the same challenges. In 2001, as a result of the people of Zambia’s resolve to choose a leadership that would bring about economic independence, the people of Zambia overwhelmingly voted for Mr. Mazoka. Therefore, as we gather this morning we would like to re-assure the people of Zambia that the UPND vision and spirit of 1998 remains alive and getting even stronger.
Countrymen and women, before I proceed, may I now take this special occasion to address this house on the events of the recent past in our country.
As you are aware, the nation has just concluded the mourning period for our beloved late president Dr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa SC (May His Soul Rest In Eternal Peace).
On behalf of UPND and indeed on my own behalf, I take this opportunity to commend you the people of Zambia for the unity, dignity and the solidarity you displayed in bidding farewell to the President.
As a party, we equally send special thanks to our gallant men and women in uniform from all our defence and security agencies for the role they played in giving the late President a dignified send off.
We also find it befitting to thank the foreign heads of state and government who came to mourn with the people of this great country.



Fellow country men and women, the spirit of togetherness that you exhibited during this most trying period in the history of our country should continue to prevail even as we now embark on this important national duty of electing a successor to our fallen President.
We have a collective responsibility and an uncompromising duty of putting Zambia first before our individual aspirations. We should continue to preserve the spirit of one Zambia one nation on which this great nation is founded.

CONDUCT OF MMD DURING NATIONAL MOURNING PERIOD

As we thank you fellow Zambians on the dignified manner in which we mourned our President, we in the UPND would like to express our deepest disappointment with the behavior of our colleagues in the MMD during the mourning period.
Whereas most of us in the country were mourning the departed president, the MMD leaders were engaged in dirty schemes and squabbles that undermined the very foundation of Dr. Mwanawasa’s legacy, through leadership succession battles, ridden with their usual corrupt ways, as reported by their own national secretary. We find this conduct not only morally irresponsible and insensitive but also culturally disgraceful and embarrassing
Infact the country is well aware that, the true colours and intentions of these men and women were clearly seen at a time our President was seriously ill in France.
At that time, these heartless people led by Mr. Rupiah Banda connived to defraud the nation of the hard earned resources by awarding themselves unjustified hefty salaries and allowances.

It is clear that these people knew that our President would not come back alive to reverse their greedy actions. Nothing mattered to them except their pockets. They cared little that they were scheming to steal the family silver when the father of the nation was dying in France. How do you steal from the orphaned country: shame to MMD for its inhumane character and conduct!
This conduct by the  MMD is simply unacceptable.
What is even more disheartening is that Mr. Rupiah Banda and his henchmen were committing this fraudulent and sinful act against the people of Zambia, who at that time, were busy praying for the speedy recovery of our President and looking up to God for help.

We therefore demand that the acting president who is the architect of this scheme should veto the bill and make a public statement to that effect.
We further demand that the savings therefrom should go towards paying the university lecturers, medical personnel, our hard working civil servants the salaries and retirement benefits they have been crying for and are rightfully entitled to.

If Mr. Rupiah Banda defies the will of the people, the first act of the UPND government, after you the people of Zambia have given us the mandate on the 30th October 2008 shall be to immediately reverse this bill. We pledge and assure the nation, that their resources under the leadership of the UPND government will be re-directed from the pockets of a few greedy men and women, to needy areas of our society such as agriculture, health, and education, among others.

Opposition Forming Government

Some people in government and some political commentators have been trying to mislead the people of this country that opposition political parties cannot form government and therefore should not be voted for. These assertions are simply untrue and cheap political propaganda.
Country men and women we should be wary of these people, they will continue coming up with one scheme after another trying to cheat the nation. Its time you stand up to them. These are the same people who tried to make outrageous moves to prevent their candidate from being subjected to an election and assume office without the mandate of the people of Zambia. To us in the UPND and the rest of the Country this is what is unconstitutional and unacceptable. We thank the people of Zambia who voiced their opposition to this illegality. Thank you for standing up against such propaganda.
In terms of formation of government our constitution is abundantly clear. The winning Presidential candidate gets the mandate to constitute the executive wing of government by appointing a cabinet from amongst members of parliament.
Our system of democracy is what is called presidential and not parliamentary. There is no constitutional requirement for the winning President to form government only if the party that sponsored him or her has a majority in parliament. Those talking of a constitutional crisis if the opposition wins have just realized that the MMD cannot win this election and the only way out is trying to confuse the voters.
As you are all aware in 2001, Dr. Mwanawasa did not have the majority in parliament. The opposition won the majority seats but MMD even with fewer seats managed to form government. Equally the UPND government will not need to have a parliamentary majority to form government. We shall be there to serve our people from the shackles of poverty and not to pass legislation that will deprive the people of this great nation their wishes and aspirations. We do not fear having an opposition with majority seats in parliament because we shall not, and do not intend to propose or pass any unreasonable legislation which parliament will find difficult to pass.

In any case what Zambia needs is a lean but efficient and effective cabinet that will develop this country than a bloated and incompetent cabinet.  In 1964, our first cabinet had 16 ministers whose contribution to this country is there for everyone to see and was so immense. The schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, roads and infrastructure that this country relies on were delivered under the hands of these 16 gallant Zambians.  Such small cabinets are a common phenomenon in many democratic and progressive countries. For instance, the richest nation in the world, the United States of America, has a cabinet of 15, with strong and independent institutions.

Further, we wish to state that for us in the UPND, having the majority MPs in the opposition will actually enhance checks and balances on the executive. Why would any well-meaning President or MP fear such checks and balances.

Country men and women, as we face this Presidential bye-election, our Country is faced with a number of challenges such as poverty; over 75% of our people cannot afford or do not have access to education, medical care, housing, sanitation , safe drinking water and employment.
Looking into the future, clearly these challenges require both political will and the necessary expertise to meaningfully address the problems faced by our people.

To this end, I, Hakainde Hichilema, therefore do hereby accept the party’s nomination as its presidential candidate in the forthcoming bye-election and declare that I am physically, medically, intellectually and mentally fit and ready to take up this challenge as a noble task for my nation.  I am dedicated to the principles of good governance and government, peace, unity, economic, social and human development.
When you elect me, I pledge truth, faith and loyalty in the performance of the duties of the office of the President of the Republic of Zambia and to uphold the constitution of Zambia.  

We pledge to pursue aggressive economic policies and strategies aimed at reducing poverty.
Our governance system will foster the spirit of harmony, consultation and consensus on all major issues of national importance and interest and form an inclusive administration.

Fellow compatriots, Zambia deserves better and I am promising “the best for Zambia.”
When you favour us with reigns of government on 30th October 2008 and in accordance with our own party manifesto, the United Party For National Development government will deliver among a number of things the following:


Governance
Good governance entails transparency, accountability, consultation and dialogue between the government and the governed.
To achieve this, there must be watch dog institutions that ensure a level playing field in the area of governance. Key among such institutions is an independent judiciary, a free press, human rights commission, anti corruption commission and the civil society. Good governance requires dialogue and consensus among all stakeholders especially on issues of national importance. The UPND shall enhance democratic governance through:

•    Creating partnerships with the civil society including the church and trade unions
•    Promoting broad based participation in the governance of our country through achieving the provisions of the SADC gender protocol which requires 50 % representation of women at all levels of decision making. Further the UPND shall encourage representation from various interest groups such us the differently physically challenged
•    Improve the conditions of service for public service workers so that they become more efficient and responsive.
•    Within the first year of the UPND government, we shall deliver a people-driven constitution to the people of Zambia who have spoken on what they want. The NCC will be broadened to include the church mother bodies and civil society. We shall ensure a quick delivery of the constitution to the Zambian people.

•    Invigorating the fight against corruption and make it professional and non selective

•    Respect human rights


Education
Education is the cornerstone for any modern society. A country can never hope to achieve sustainable development without education. Knowledge and not capital, is the most important resource and ingredient for social economic development. Investment into human development can reduce poverty and enhance the economic well being of a nation. The challenge of the UPND government will be to improve quality and accessibility to all levels of education sector through:
•    provision of free education from grade one to tertiary level
•    Invest in new infrastructure and expansion of existing ones including houses for teachers
Economy
The UPND government shall focus on accelerating pro-poor growth by emphasizing the implementation of the appropriate policies that will encourage traditional growth areas such as mining, construction etc.
As UPND we recognize that industry is the hub of a viable modern economy. A strong and productive industrial sector creates employment, provides markets for locally produced raw materials, produces goods for local consumption and exports, enhances capital formation and public revenue generation for reinvestment in the economy and thus stimulates economic growth.
The UPND government shall raise the growth rate of our economy to 10%% per annum make a meaningful impact on poverty reduction. We shall also ensure macro-economic stability through stable exchange rates, lower and stable interest rates and other economic indicators.

Health
Health is a pre- requisite to individual, community and national productivity. The goal of the UPND will be to provide accessible, affordable and quality health care. The UPND  Will:
•    Abolish medical user fees in hospitals and clinics and provide free health services for all Zambians. Yes it is possible its just a question of priority
•    Encourage the provision of private sector health services
•    Rehabilitate existing health institutions and build new ones
•    Equip and expand the network of primary health care
•    Promote health insurance


Agriculture
Agriculture has been acknowledged in Zambia as a sector with great potential for economic growth. Besides being the source for food security, agriculture provides various types of raw materials to industry. It remains by far, the major opportunity for employment in rural areas. As UPND we shall amongst others:
•    Provide free agricultural inputs such as seed and fertilisers for three years
•    The UPND shall encourage contract farming where farmers shall be encouraged to grow crops and meet production targets at an assured price
•    The UPND shall encourage establishment of fish farming and processing plants and additionally restocking of all our fisheries so as to improve the livelihood of our people
•    We shall implement a livestock disease control programme
•    Recapitalise Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) to produce fertilizer locally


Others areas
•    We shall redevelop and upgrade all shanty compounds by improving roads, street lights, and other social amenities.

•    We shall ensure that retirement benefits are paid upon retirement.   The retirees deserve respect for their hard work.

•    Civil servants will have access to house loans to enable them own decent houses.

•    We shall effect a continuous voters’ registration process as provided for by the law;

•     National resources shall be allocated and spent through transparent and consultative budgetary and expenditure processes.

•    We shall create employment opportunities for Zambians as a matter of priority
•    Operating small-scale transportation businesses such as buses, taxis shall be a encouraged among Zambians;
•    We shall create co-operatives for artisan skilled Zambians such as mini bus drivers, marketeers and other such people to help them own businesses or expand their businesses through providing them with loans.
•     The physically challenged people will have a special place in all spheres of human development and dignity including representation at Cabinet level.
•    Under the UPND the workers shall have the right to form trade unions, to elect leaders of their choice and allow collective bargaining with their employers. All labour laws that are not beneficial to workers will be repealed.
•    Child labour, casual and sub-contracting of labour shall be discouraged.

•    We shall remove all draconian taxes that take away huge proportions of money from the pockets of our people especially the low income group and replace with low and fair taxes. We shall increase the tax free amount to K1, 500,000 per month effective 2009.


•    We shall reduce the price of fuel which is amongst the highest on the continent of Africa by reducing the high taxes and reviewing the pricing mechanism that is used.
We shall further invest in latest crude oil refining technology which can process crude oil from our neighbouring countries such as Angola and explore and drill our reserves in the eastern, north western and western provinces.

•    We shall build reasonable palaces for our traditional leaders and increase funding for traditional ceremonies. We shall replace the Chiefs ACT which is narrow with a broader Royal Establishment ACT
We shall operate on principles of honesty, fairness but firm, responsibility, courage and discipline. These are attributes that cannot be legislated but are important virtues in our governance system. I believe that every right implies responsibility, every opportunity an obligation, and every possession a duty. As Thomas Jefferson said, “to do our fellowmen the most good in our power, we must lead where  we can, follow where we cannot and still go with them, watching always the favourable moment for helping them take  another step.”
Finally we desire peaceful free, fair and credible elections and not elections marred with irregularities as we saw in 2001 and 2006.  We value our peace and unity and do not want to subject our citizens to unnecessary conflicts to satisfy greed for political power.
To achieve this, the vote must be protected.  We therefore appeal to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), to ensure that it organizes a brief period of voter verification for the people to confirm that they are still on the electoral roll. This will help avoid any contentious issues and accusations of vote rigging if people turned up at polling stations on the day and find that their names are not there.  The only way to avoid that is a quick voter’s roll verification exercise which will not pose any logistical problems.
We want clean, free and fair elections.  In this regard, foreign election observers and monitors must also be invited to observe this important election.

The elections must conform to the SADC standards, which the late
Dr Mwanawasa admired and advocated for so much.  
We value the peace and unity in our country. We must not do anything to disturb that!
There is need to revive the sense of patriotism, nationalism, pride and unity among our citizens.  We must rekindle and truly believe in one Zambia – one nation- one people.
We therefore call upon all Zambians who are registered voters to turn out in large numbers for the presidential bye-elections to cast their vote and ensure that you are part of this historic real change which will usher Zambia into the “promised land.”   Come 30th October 2008 lets us go and vote in large numbers.

May God who is omnipotent, the benefactor of order, the fountain of justice and the protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue his blessings upon Zambia and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of his providence.