Zambians can’t go for free education or to work because they have no food to eat, claims Frank Mutubila As election fever begins to rise, be modest with the medicine you prescribe. Zambia has been a sick patient for many years. Every doctor assigned to this patient has prescribed what appeared to be the right […]

Zambians can’t go for free education or to work because they have no food to eat, claims Frank Mutubila

As election fever begins to rise, be modest with the medicine you prescribe. Zambia has been a sick patient for many years. Every doctor assigned to this patient has prescribed what appeared to be the right medication. Unfortunately, that medication is either never applied or is administered to the wrong patients.

The reality is that while our people need attention, many do not require sophisticated remedies. The majority simply need to be fed and discharged. Many Zambians, quite frankly, cannot afford to put food on the table. They wake up every day wondering where the next meal will come from.

Manifestos, promises, and grand ideas are important, but they only matter if they translate into an affordable cost of living and food on the table. It is commendable to speak about good roads, modern airports, more jobs, free education, bumper harvests, and increased energy production. However, how do people go to school or report for work when they have no energy because they have not eaten?

The winning formula is not complicated. Tell the people how you will reduce the cost of living. Show them the ingredients that will make food affordable. Demonstrate how families will be able to put a decent meal on the table every day.

When a nation can eat, it can learn. When it can learn, it can work. When it can work, it can prosper. Put food on the table first, and the votes will follow.