…his neglect of the volatile youth constituency which delivered an emphatic protest vote,” said Charamba.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba says outgoing Zambian President Edgar Lungu made a mistake by borrowing heavily to fund infrastructure development.
He said the huge debt and Lungu’s neglecting of the country’s volatile youths masterminded his downfall.
“The fatal chink in the armour of former President Lungu was borrowing heavily to finance infrastructure.
“As a result, Zambia’s debt moved from USD3bn when he took over to the present USD18bn which he now leaves on the desk his successor, President-Elect Hichilema. Zambia defaulted on her debt payment, giving IMF excuse to withdraw balance of payment support.
“Once that happened, former President Lungu was walking on a limp electorally. Compounded by his neglect of the volatile youth constituency which delivered an emphatic protest vote.
“Two things stand out: Zambian politics were shaped by the debt trap which enabled intrusive influence on the body-politic.
“Made worse by the fact that copper prices were doing fairly well, thus getting Zambians to wonder why things were not looking up and stable for them,” he said.
Charamba added that secondly, the President-Elect has ridden on a protest vote belonging to a very volatile and impatient youth constituency, adding that unless he handles that carefully, the forces behind his rise could also be his downfall.
Zwnews
