State House sets condition for HH-Tonse debate… as ‘the boys’ are challenged to find a coherent message before demanding showdown with the President By DAVID KANDUZASTATE House has declared that President Hakainde Hichilema is ready to take up a televised political debate against the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance, on condition its leadership stops ‘shadowboxing’ and formulates a […]

State House sets condition for HH-Tonse debate
… as ‘the boys’ are challenged to find a coherent message before demanding showdown with the President

By DAVID KANDUZA
STATE House has declared that President Hakainde Hichilema is ready to take up a televised political debate against the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance, on condition its leadership stops ‘shadowboxing’ and formulates a credible message.

State House chief communications specialist Clayson Hamasaka gave this condition following a challenge thrown by the opposition alliance who were fielding Brian Mundubile as its presidential candidate for the upcoming general election.

Responding to the challenge, Mr Hamasaka dismissed the alliance’s frontrunners, Mr Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu, referring to them as ‘the boys’ who lack policy direction.

He argued that the duo had spent their campaign trail promising alternative solutions that the current administration were actively implementing across the country.

“President Hakainde Hichilema can take up the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance’s challenge to a televised debate on the condition that ‘the boys’ Brian and Makebi, put their act together and come up with a message,”  Mr Hamasaka stated.

The tension escalated after Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance secretary general Celestine Mukandila publicly challenged the Head of State to a live, televised broadcast.

Mr Mukandila asserted that the opposition pact was fully prepared to expose the ruling UPND Government’s alleged failures in front of national voters.

However, State House had brushed off the challenge as a premature publicity stunt.

Adding weight to the Government’s pushback, the special assistant to the President for Policy Compliance, Joseph Lungu, stepped into the fray to buffer the Head of State from what the administration regarded as a sub-par debate.

Mr Lungu dared the opposition leaders to upgrade their political engagement, stating that if the two Mr Mundubile and Mr Zulu were genuinely interested in a rigorous analysis of national policy, they should look for him instead of demanding the President’s presence.

“If the duo want to debate policy, they can do so with me,”  Mr Lungu countered.

This political sparring comes as the Tonse Pamodzi Alliance—a coalition of multiple opposition parties—seeks to consolidate its support base behind Mr Mundubile and Mr  Zulu under the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) banner ahead of the August polls.

With State House throwing the ball back into the opposition’s court, the public awaits to see if the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance would refine its platform to meet the presidency’s conditions or if the highly anticipated debate would stall out in a war of words.