MWEETA DISMISSES MUNDUBILE’S MANIFESTO CRITICISM
UPND spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa has hit back at opposition figure Brian Mundubile, dismissing his criticism of the party’s 2026 manifesto as evidence that the opposition has “run out of ideas.”
Mundubile had argued on Thursday that the UPND needed no new manifesto, claiming the party had delivered only about 15 per cent of its 2021 promises. Mweetwa seized on the figure, suggesting that in political terms a 15 per cent admission from an opponent in reality points to far higher performance. He contrasted it with the previous administration’s record, recalling that the economy had been dragged into a negative 2.8 per cent growth rate and left heavily indebted.
The President’s achievements, Mweetwa said, were plain for all to see: the resuscitation of the mines, debt restructuring, free education with no child left sitting on the floor, the enhanced CDF, and a sharp reduction in the cost of major projects such as the Lusaka–Ndola dual carriageway. He pointed to single-digit inflation for the first time in roughly 15 years and foreign reserves of US$6.7 billion as proof the country was moving in the right direction.
He argued that a manifesto is a serious strategic plan, something the opposition lacked, accusing them of relying on songs and dancing rather than ideas. International credit rating agencies, he added, had upgraded Zambia’s economy from the “junk” status it inherited.
