Lungu ‘risking the country’s peace and stability’ – Nawakwi

FDD leader Edith Nawakwi has accused Republican President Edgar Lungu of  putting the country’s peace and stability at risk saying hunger was a recipe for war.

Commenting on the late delivery of farming inputs, Ms Nawakwi observed that keeping people hungry would bring anarchy and promote civil strife in the country saying “a hungry man is an angry person.”

She further explained that national security was not just about guns but that the greatest war was in one’s stomach adding that the nation’s security depended on people not being hungry.

“I think that President Lungu wants to bring war in this country because if people are hungry they are likely to start fighting. If we don’t eat that’s a State security issue, State security does not only mean guns but people’s stomachs as well. A hungry man is an angry person,” Ms. Nawakwi said.

Ms. Nawakwi further accused agriculture Minister Given Lubinda of being ignorant of the country’s agriculture sector saying he just sits in his office at Mulungunshi House were he drinks coffee.

“That Minister of agriculture is lazy, he just sits in his office at Mulungunshi House, he doesn’t even know that farmers have not received their inputs. He doesn’t know anything about Agriculture and he is completely ignorant about the operations in the Agriculture sector.”

She called on the Government to put their acts together and ensure that inputs are given to the farmers before the situation degenerates to another Copperbelt where over 10,000 workers lost jobs.

Ms. Nawakwi said this in Chikankata where she was monitoring the delivery of Soya Beans seed to cooperatives in the area.

The FDD has donated Soya Beans and Maize seed, requisite chemicals and knapsacks valued at over K27,000 to ten cooperatives.

Meanwhile, the opposition leader said a farmer should not only be given seed and fertilizer but should be fully supported with all the necessary requirements including technical support to ensure a maximum yield when harvesting.

“As FDD we want Small Scale Farmers to succeed. We believe that if a farmer is fully supported he will grow enough to eat and sell so that you can build better houses, take your children to good schools and remain with something for a rainy day or for medicine. this is the difference between us and our friends in the PF, for them farming is about growing enough for stomach only”.

“They think that farmers in the country are only interested in eating and not bettering their lives. Everyone in this country wants to be better off but how can you move from the state of poverty and squalor when your government can not fully support you? I know even in these village you want your children to do better, produce more and buy Canter trucks so that they can drive to Mazabuka and Lusaka.”

“When we form government we will fully support the farmers for 3 years and  by that we mean providing all the necessary inputs, chemicals and technical support to ensure that they succeed in moving from the state of poverty to successful farmers.”

Eunice Mweene who spoke on behalf of the women called on fellow women across the country to support their fellow woman in next years elections saying she had demonstrated that she was more than capable of leading the country.

She said women for a long time had looked down upon their fellow females and that it was now time for them to stop thinking that only men can be leaders further encouraging them to aspire for leadership positions and stop the self pity.

She also thanked the FDD leader for the gesture and promised to ensure that they get the maximum yield as all the requirements had been provided including technical support by a trained Agriculturist.