No tension in Zambia

“Let’s love our country; let’s not do things that damage our country consciously. I scan social media; I look at the kind of stuff that is thrown in there. You don’t realise what you are doing; you are scaring off an investor who we have worked so hard to attract. What is your intention?

“You are making investors, domestic, regional and international, FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), (think) that there is an issue in this country. There is no issue in this country. We have had an election, Zambians voted, decisions are made by Zambians. We move on. What is this hullabaloo, creating a crisis where there is none?” President Hichilema said.

President Hichilema said Zambians who were portraying the country in a bad light had selfish interests because they were unhappy as they did not occupy certain public offices.

“Let us not have that mentality; let us love this country; focus on work ahead of us; let’s stay within the law. If you veer off the law, don’t blame anybody. It doesn’t matter how old you are; the law does not recognise age, it recognises wrongdoing.

“If you veer off the law, don’t complain when the long arm of the law visits you, and don’t call the law names through individuals. That’s my message. Let’s be law-abiding citizens. Security of our country is important. Security, peace, stability, then we can focus on the Grow Zambia Agenda,” he said.

President Hichilema said the message for all Zambians, including those who reside in other countries.

He said that the fact that some Zambians lived in other countries did not entitle them to damage their nation.

“If you really love Zambia, why would you damage your country? That’s why I would never send my followers in the streets in my difficult days to go and burn buildings. What am I going to use if the assets are burnt down, to run the country? Let us act responsibly,” President Hichilema said.

President Hichilema said it was an indication that something good was happening in Zambia if the annual inflation rate continued to drop, currently at 6.1 percent this month, from 6.2 percent in August.

The President also said Zambia’s economy grew by 7.2 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

“In an election season. What does that tell you? You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand what’s going on. The country is moving in the right trajectory. Let us accelerate this growth; let us not damage the growth by our carelessness as citizens,” he said.

Mr Hichilema further urged Zambians to respect public offices like the OAG, including that of the Presidency, which he described as sacred.