The Editor Zambia
As Zambia’s election campaign enters its final stages, political rhetoric has continued to intensify, with opposition leaders exchanging sharp criticisms over the country’s future direction.
Socialist Party President Fred M’membe has rightly likened voting for the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance under the leadership of BrainMundubile and Makebi Zulu, as the same as asking monkeys to guard a maize field. 
The metaphor reflects his argument that electing leaders associated with the
Patriotic Front (PF)
would risk reversing the gains made in recent years.
M’membe described the Mundubile led Alliance as PF.
M’membe’s remarks came against the backdrop of Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance vice-presidential candidate Makebi Zulu during a campaign rally.
Makebi Zulu shamelessly told supporters that the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance government would “take you back to how we lived with Ba Edgar Lungu,” while invoking the slogan “Dununa Reverse,” a phrase that became synonymous with the PF’s 2021 election campaign.
The statement has understandably drawn criticism from many Zambians, who argue that it amounts to an admission that a Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance administration is actually PF and would seek to restore type of governance practices associated with the former ruling party era that included violence, promotion of cadreism, unbridled corruption and disrespect for the rule of law.
According to M’membe, the election presents voters with a choice between continuing with reforms or returning to policies that many Zambians rejected at the 2021 general election.
He questioned how a Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance government would sustain major public programmes currently in place, including the expanded recruitment of teachers and health workers, the Free Education Policy, and increased support for higher education students.
Among the issues raised by many Zambian are whether Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance/PF would maintain the employment of the thousands of teachers that the UPND has recruited since 2021, the continuance of financing free education, preserving meal allowances for university students, supporting the revival of mining operations and sustaining increased investment in the health sector.
Many Zambians also argue that these programmes have significantly expanded access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities and warn that any reversal could affect service delivery.
They contend that the country’s improved fiscal position and economic reforms should be protected regardless of the election outcome.
The Tonse-PamodziAlliance, on the other hand, is making wild promises of offering what it describes as a better alternative for Zambia while maintaining that it can improve economic conditions and address the cost of living.
The development by the UPND in areas of economic recovery efforts, investment, and public sector recruitment is evidence of progress that no opposition can derail.
As polling day approaches, the debate over continuity versus change is expected to remain at the heart of Zambia’s electoral contest.
However, many Zambians have been persuaded by the UPND to preserve recent reforms that have taken the country to another level.
With emotions running high on all sides, observers continue to urge political parties to focus on issue-based campaigning that the UPND is making instead of listening to promises the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance/ PF failed to implement when it was in power.
