Patriots for Economic Progress (PeP) leader Sean Enock Tembo(SET) has likened the Patriotic Front(PF) run economy to goldfish, saying whatever these creatures are fed they do not grow in body size.

According to Tembo, the Zambian economy has remained stunted despite in floors of large Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) in US dollars, the Zambian Gross Domestic(GDP) has shrunk from US $ 28 billion in 2011 to US $20 billion in 2016.

” I have kept goldfish as pets for close to 5 years now. One thing l know for sure is that they’re high maintenance. The aquarium has to be cleaned at least once a week and refilled with fresh water which has to be treated with some expensive chemicals. The fish themselves cannot be fed with my food leftovers the way l do with popi, but require a special cuisine or they die! But despite all these headaches, l have persevered largely because l love the sight of these nemos, but also because every time l look at these fish, they remind me of the Zambian economy,” Tembo said.

He added: “You see, nemos are stunted and do not grow beyond the size of my middle finger, despite the fine cuisine that they have to eat everyday. That is exactly what has been happening to the Zambian economy which has remained stunted despite the large inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI). In US dollar terms, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Zambia has shrunk from around US$28 billion in 2011 to around US$20 billion 5 years later in 2016! In the same 5 years, my goldfish have consumed at least K60,000 worth of fine cuisine from Tackle & Pet Heaven at Manda Hill, but they have not grown by a single gram ever since l purchased them! Obviously the similarities between my nemos and the Zambian economy are unquestionable.”

Tembo said there is  another funny characteristic about goldfish which of late has made him to draw a parallel with Zambian politics.

“You see, the first time l purchased my nemos, the lady who was a shopkeeper sat me down and gave me an hour long lecture of how to take care of the nemos. The dos and donts if you like. One of the most striking characteristic of nemos is that they eat all the food that is available! If you put too much food in the aquarium, you’ll find that they’ve eaten everything and their stomachs have burst open and they’re all dead! Now, this is a perfect example of gluttony of the highest order!

For some time, l tried to picture my nemos eating themselves to death but it all sounded like a fairly tale. So one day about 3 years ago, l decided to sacrifice one of my goldfish and conduct an experiment! So l got the nemo and put it in a smaller aquarium then put a lot of food, then l sat back in my recliner and poured myself a few shots of Glenfiddich and watched. Lord behold, the nemo ate and ate and ate and ate and after about 30 minutes or so, it flipped on its tummy! The nemo had kicked the bucket! Satisfied with the results of my experiment, l picked up my goldfish and gave it a decent burial in the garden. Ever since, l always wondered what could possibly drive anything or anyone to such levels of greed and gluttony. Then l joined politics and began to see gluttony first hand,” the opposition leader explained.

And Tembo said the electoral process must be reformed before the 2021 election to avoid what happened in the 2016 disputed polls.

“From what l observed in the 2016 general elections, this country is in need of serious reforms before the next general elections in 2021. From where we stand, we need to amend the constitution to iron out the various lacunas in it,” he said.

Tembo said there is need to disband the Constitutional Court because in its current form, it is a mafioso organization.

He said Zambia cannot have a court that is both a court of first instance and a court of final jurisdiction, adding that the country cannot have two courts of final jurisdiction being the ConCourt and the Supreme Court.

The PeP leader said  the concept of Constitutional Court  was copied from South Africa, stating that whoever copied the concept forgot to note that in that country the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal are not at the same level.

Tembo said there is need to reform the Public Order Act so as  to remove all elements of doubt and subjectivity when it comes to the freedom of assembly for political parties.

In another development, Tembo has called on electoral reforms before the 2021 polls.

“As a small political party, PeP is currently not affected by the abusive application of the POA since we are not yet seen as a threat to the government, so we are pushing for this reform not because we stand to benefit in any way, but because it is the right thing to do,” he said.

Tembo said as part of electoral reforms, the  Electoral Commission of Zambia(ECZ) must get rid of  all the commissioners and replace them with people of integrity.

“It is our submission as PeP that ECZ Commissioners lack integrity. The basis for our position is that on the day ECZ announced the 2016 referendum results at Mulungushi International Conference Centre, the Chairperson is on record as having said the “referendum had failed because of some retrogressive people who had influenced people to abstain” and that ” the country had lost a golden opportunity”. These sentiments were later re-echoed by other commissioners. As one of the staunch campaigners of a NO vote on the referendum, l strongly believe that the ECZ chairperson should have been an independent referee in the entire process and should not have taken a stance. The fact that he took a stance makes the Honourable Judge comprised and unsuitable to continue in that role,” Tembo said.

He said  the Zambia Police Service must also be reformed so that its partisan stance when it comes to enforcing the law especially with regard to political violence can be go.

Tembo said PF members cannot be seen to be above the law while the rest of the citizens are expected to comply, charging that  such a situation is not tenable. “The thing about violence is that we are all capable of it. The fact that we are not violent yet is simply because we hold ourselves back. However, human beings have a breaking point. They’re not designed to endure forever,” he said.

Tembo regretted that Ever since they ascended to power in 2011, he has  known the PF to be an arrogant government who think that they have infinite wisdom. “Therefore, l have always scratched my head trying to figure out how best we as opposition can push through the above reforms so as to even the playing field before the next general elections in 2021. This is especially so given that the PF have the arrogance of numbers in Parliament and can easily defeat any motion that they don’t like,” Tembo said.