By JAMES KUNDA –

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has done his best to deal with the challenges that have gripped the country in awe of the global economic slump, the Patriotic Front (PF) has said.
The PF says it has since found it surprising that United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hakainde Hichilema can tell Zambians that he is a bearer of a formula that will fix the country’s economy if voted into office.
PF central committee member Paul Moonga said in a statement in Lusaka that remarks attributed to Mr Hichilema in Wednesday’s edition of The Post newspaper that he would fix the country’s economy should not be taken as gospel truth.
“In our view, Mr Hichilema’s statement in The Post newspapers of today, April 6, 2016 is purely a transcript of what President (Edgar) Lungu is already doing to stem further economic decline in our country.
“The UPND leader talked about diversification, promotion of small and medium businessman and confidence-building which are already on the ladder of President Lungu’s Government,” he said.
Mr Moonga said it was unbelievable that Mr Hichilema could claim that President Lungu was doing nothing about the economy yet the Head of State was engaging high-level individuals and institutions to find means of reprieving the country.
He cited the expansion programme to be undertaken by Mopani Copper Mines on the Copperbelt as indicated by Mr Lungu’s Special Assistant for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda, as an outcome of the engagements that the Head of State was fostering to restore the economy.
“We are very surprised that while the Southern African Development Community (SADC) applauded Zambia for its good performance in sectors such as agriculture, Mr Hichilema wants to play naive.
“Clearly, Mr Hichilema wants to downgrade the status of Zambians by insinuating that they can buy into his cheap lies that he is a bearer of a formula that will fix the economy. PF will not allow him to continue propelling politics of lies,” Mr Moonga said.
He urged Zambians to ignore Mr Hichilema as his attempts to woo votes ahead of the forthcoming general elections were a desperate ploy.