President Hichilema is no a man of mediocrity

SOLICITOR General Marshal Muchende, SC says President Hakainde Hichilema has set the bar of economic diplomacy extremely high and that diplomats representing Zambia must live up to the challenge.

And Mr Muchende SC says President Hichilema is not a man of mediocrity.

The Solicitor General is in London with a delegation of officials from the Ministry of Energy, Zesco and legal experts for talks with a company that wanted to establish a coal power plant in Zambia but differed with the previous government leading into a litigation.

Speaking on Friday afternoon when the delegation visited the chancery, Mr Muchende, SC advised the staff to align themselves with the New Dawn Government policies and the leadership of his Excellency President Hichilema.

“He (Dr Hichilema) is our chief marketing officer; he represents us very well when he goes on these international platforms. So, the bar is set very high by the man who is the captain of our ship; he has set the bar extremely high in negotiations, in economic diplomacy, so buy into his modus operandi, align yourselves with his ways.”

He said the UPND came into government on a ticket of change and a paradigm shift towards economic transformation.

“One of the things that we have been instructed to do is to resolve issues of out Court and (if you like) out of Arbitration…we don’t do business in Court, we don’t do mining in Court, we don’t generate electricity power in Arbitration, let’s sit down in the deal rooms and close transactions that unlock our resource endowments and spur economic development…” Mr Muchende, SC said. “We inherited a very huge debt of over US$32bn, both domestic and foreign; US$18bn from the Euro Bond, that is the deal that the President managed to secure a debt restructuring for US$6.3bn.”

Mr Muchende, SC said the government and Zambians should wait for the seeds sown by President Hichilema to germinate and pan out.

“We have work cut out for ourselves in the sense that we need to engage in economic diplomacy, ensuring that we foster economic development in our country. That’s your first and foremost mission,” he told the staff. “When we were flying here, there is a place we saw a lot of windmills covering a huge area, I was watching from up there…can you contact the company that did those windmills, your Excellency, Madam High Commissioner, make an appointment with the company that dealt with those windmills, have a conversation and tell them we love what they are doing and how they can help back home in Zambia.”

Mr Muchende, SC said such conversations and lines that would be opened could go as far as Cabinet.“…that’s what economic diplomacy means, so please let’s up our game,” he advised.

He advised the staff to take seriously the opportunity given to them to serve the country in foreign service.

“Out of the 20 million Zambians, God chose you to come and serve mother Zambia…take it as a call to duty, apply yourselves diligently as a diplomat worth his or her salt…” he said while advising against churning out negative narratives of and about their country.

He said positive sentiments of and about the country could bolster the country’s economy and currency.

Mr Muchende SC also said President Hichilema had instructed that there should never be discrimination against people we found in government.

“We should not discriminate, don’t treat people the way we were treated when we were in the struggle, we should respect each other. Our President even when he is accosting you, he says it with respect and decorum but you can feel that this man is hammering me,” he said.

He emphasised that President Hichilema was not a man of mediocrity.

He also advised the stuff to be loyal to and support the government of the day.

Mr Muchende SC also advised the staff against leaking information to those that hate the government.

“Do not sabotage your country, make sure you are loyal to the government of the day, make sure you are loyal to that man (pointing at the portrait of President Hichilema), loyal to that flag, loyal to the People of Zambia,” he said.

Mr Muchende SC advised staff to be proud bearers of the Zambian flag as he recited a stanza in the National Anthem “stand and sing of Zambia proud and free….”

“This place (chancery) is sacred. I think all of you are familiar with the Vienna convention; this place is immutable, immune, when you enter here, you are in the Republic of Zambia with all the sovereign rights that the Republic of Zambia has, no one can budge in here anyhow,” he said. “We need to take care of this place so that it is representative of the people of Zambia.”

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy Dr Chisangano Francesca Zyambo, who is part of the delegation, said the Solicitor General had ably handled the case which would have cost the nation a lot of resources.

She said energy issues were on the agenda of President Hichilema and that he wants a proper agenda for energy sufficiency in the country.

“You heard what happened last year during loadshedding, so we don’t want a repeat of what happened. So, in our quest to bring in investors from all walks of life, we say that we cannot just depend on hydro power, you know the climate change issues, we are also trying to encourage investors to do energy mix kind of approach. So, we are as a ministry are trying to speak of enough power generation and a diverse energy mix,” said Dr Zyambo.

Special Assistant to the President for Legal Affairs Christopher Mundia said the discussion with Antra went on very well considering what was at stake.

“Of Course, government is in this case and we are looking at a liability of half a billion dollars and I think we did our part today and I think everything has gone according to plan,” said Mr Mundia.

Issued by:

Speedwell Mupuchi

First Secretary – Press

Zambia High Commission – London