What happened to critical analysis before doing? Why do and critically analyse later? Ministers will never say it. Other senior government officials will never say it. The SG will never say it. MPs will never say it. The secretariat will never say it. The party structures will never say it…but there is nothing more embarrassing and demotivating to party faithfuls than defending something with the last drop of blood only to hear it has been reversed.

Reversals send a wrong message to the people especially if they are too many. It gives the impression we are not sure of what we doing. Let us use this period to reflect and start the new year with a reshuffled team and reforms at all levels. It’s not a sin to reshuffle. The feedback is there for everyone to see.

When mistakes are too many and there is growing public discontent it calls for reflection. Every institution does this. We cannot keep doing things the same way and expect change. We serve the people. Their perception of our services is very important. That is why I have been urging the secretariat to conduct service satisfaction surveys.

We need to tighten up and refresh because we have serious challenges ahead. This is the time we need to implement serious measures to put the economy back on track because as we draw close to 2021, appeasement policies will set in and shortly after elections eurobonds are due. What are we doing to have a lasting solution to the persistent problems in the mining sector? What are we doing to improve the agricultural sector amidst poor marketing, high prices of inputs and late distribution of subsidised inputs? What are we doing to ease the financial challenges civil servants are experiencing amidst low salary adjustments? What are we doing to give hope to the unemployed youths who are getting frustrated and disgruntled? How do we give hope by building new universities when running three is a persistent nightmare? How will ZRA maximise revenue collection and reduce perpetual budget deficits amidst slow economic growth? How are we going to reduce on future borrowing when the current borrowing is not helping grow the economy and bring in money? For how long are we going to hang onto favourable copper prices to have slightly stable macroeconomic performance? For how long will farmers depend on good rains to have a good harvest? For how long will Zambians spend all their incomes subsidising foreign farmers leaving their own farmers at subsistence level? There is absolutely no need to be over defensive over things that are so clear.

Conceding we have challenges is the first step to finding lasting solutions. Admitting there are challenges is not failure. We need to step out of the comfort, deception and arrogance that come with incumbency. If we do not change, people will end up changing government because change is constant.

I want to plead with the President, we need reshuffles at all levels and further implement serious reforms. Economic challenges are like a pregnancy, at some point they will clearly show such that no form of political propaganda will work. The time is now. We are anxiously waiting……

Share this and send it to the President.

Alexander Nkosi‎