 Good morning everyone. Thank you. We would like to just give a little background with regard to why we are doing what we are doing. In Zambia we have a political system whereby we have parliament you know with ruling party and opposition in parliament. We currently have 84 MPs under UPND and the opposition with their 58 MPs 57 for patriotic front and one for PNUP. We also have 14 independent MPs. Now in an almost situation those MPs in opposition and these include the various independent MPs as opposed to provide the necessary checks and balances. Ideally political parties should be able to drive their agendas through their MPs. We have however in Zambia a situation where the system which is meant to work is not has failed as it's not working as well as it should and is not adequate to respond to the prevailing conditions that we have and which render the resolving of national crisis through parliament an academic exercise because when the opposition raise certain issues they are shut down. Now parliament has been ideal for the passing of bills into law however national crisis such as what we have now have normally been resolved through extra parliamentary interventions. We also have institutions such as ZCID which should bring us together and but these have agendas which may not necessarily be what we currently have such as what we are doing. So as opposition we are doing what we are doing is addressing ourselves to the needs that we see in the country and are therefore setting our own agenda which we shall speak to now. So we have before us an open letter from the opposition political parties relating to pertinent issues affecting our country. This is an open letter to the Republican president and I shall go through I shall take you through it. Your Excellency as members of the opposition we are deeply concerned with the current state of our nation. We have noted that there is a shrinking democratic space, a steep rise in poverty levels, high unemployment levels and the suffering of our people due to severe economic hardships. We have also noted that in spite of a number of pronouncements to the effect that these issues will be dealt with there appears to be lack of progress being made with their resolution and Zambians have continued to suffer the effects arising from these issues. We have therefore decided to write this open letter for your attention. We are cognizant of your public commitment to build consensus with stakeholders on critical national matters and similar commitment made in your party's manifesto where you pledge that you will hold regular meetings with stakeholders once elected as president. We also note that your party's manifesto 2021 to 2026 pledges and states that when elected as president you shall meet and engage leaders of the opposition regularly to promote and build national consensus. Please note that page 15 of the UPND manifesto in the executive summary states that ensuring that the president has regular question and answer sessions with the media, parliament and opposition leaders and D ensure regular engagement between the president and the leaders of opposition political parties to solidify consensus beyond the vision behind the vision 2030 while ensuring a sense of unity of purpose. It is for this reason that the initiative to meet the opposition leaders has not been taken by yourself that we feel that we should write this open letter to you. We list below some of the issues that we are of the view needs your immediate attention. Number one, the high cost of living. This has resulted in the very high price of millimail, fuel, cooking oil, electricity and other commodities which are now unaffordable for our people. Number two, the rise in arbitrary arrests and constant harassment of members of the opposition. Number three, lack of transparency around large scale public procurement of commodities such as fuel, fertilizer, power purchase agreements under Zesco, issuance and distribution of exploration, mining and timber licensing. Number four, unilateral handling of national peace and security matters by the executive such as the presence of the U.S. African Security Office, abuse of the public order act, amendments of the proposed public gatherings bill, the amendment of the Republican Constitution, the rise in human rights abuse, torture and mistreatment of persons, careless remarks of the coup plot, failure to publish IMF agreement and the giving back of KCM to Vedanta resources. Number five, decay of public morals and failure to uphold national values and principles, traditions and culture and failure to curb the rise in promotion of LGBT issues in Zambia. Number six, failure to undertake nation building in order to promote unity and curb rising nepotism, tribalism and regionalism in the public service. Number seven, secretive commencement of the constitution making process. Having no clear roadmap and no consultative process in place to guide the constitution making process, we are alarmed that there are secretive efforts aimed at amending the Republican Constitution in which people are being asked to submit recommendations on non-contentious issues. Given the lack of criteria on what constitutes non-contentious issues, we do not think that these non-transparent efforts represent the best way of carrying our constitutional reform forward unless the objective is to remove popular clauses such as that relating to the running mate and the 50 plus one. Number eight, the composition of the board of commissioners at ECZ, which is perceived to be partisan, not inclusive and not balanced in a serious cause, is a serious cause of concern. Number nine, fees, charges and other costs currently enforced for political parties and individuals to participate in the elections in Zambia. All the fees, costs and other charges are illegal and constitutional, redundant and anti-democratic because these put a barrier on Zambian's ability to participate as candidates, a right that is constitutionally theirs, and also a barrier for the citizenry to vote for potential candidates who are bad simply because they cannot afford to pay the astronomical fees. As a result of this barrier, a majority of our people, mostly the youth, women, the disabled and other disadvantaged persons, cannot afford to participate, to be elected to positions of leadership of their choice. This means that only the wealthiest, regardless of how they obtained that wealth, can participate. Number 10, lack of democracy at parliament and the deliberate stifling of free debate by members of parliament. Number 11, the management of the judiciary and the recent appointments of new judges raises serious concerns. These recent developments undermine the independence and autonomy of the judiciary and their sacred role to deliver justice. Number 12, the need for an economic endeavor. The new dawns near liberal policies that go to promote multinational, corporate, foreign and ultra-liberal policies have caused tremendous damage to the economy and to the well-being of our people. It is imperative that a national economic endeavor is convened to build broad consensus on how to tackle the many challenges facing the economy, including the high unemployment rate, slow pace of economic growth, high exchange rate and lack of liquidity. This will help bring down political tension and curtail the possibility of widespread civil and political unrest in the country. Number 13, the recent, constant judgments and the awarding of some very high amounts as compensation for those associated with the president and or the upnd is setting a very bad precedent. Number 14, gender inequality. The gap is widening. The gender ministry needs to be reinstated. Women constitute more than 50 percent of our population and therefore need to have an adequate representation just as the youth have a ministry. Number 15, the case of purported abduction by Edith, Madame Edith Nawaqui. Recently, Madame Nawaqui was arrested for abduction of the heart embers. A lady by the name of Rachel Chleshe Katolo came forward to give a statement and this lady was in upnd, came to give a statement to the effect that in actual fact it was the upnd that had casted the of the heart embers and not Madame Nawaqui. Some very prominent names within the upnd were mentioned. Why has there been no follow-up? What have the law enforcement agencies done with this information? Will it be swept under the carpet? Number 16, investigative wings reporting to state house. This undermines the integrity and therefore does not inspire confidence as regards the independence of these investigative wings. Number 17, breakdown in health facilities. We draw your attention to the mortality levels in the country and wonder as to whether you are being adequately briefed or you are ignoring the brief that the health sector has suffered under the new dawn government to the extent that today for example the cancer center that was once a flagship center is virtually non-operational as a result the hence the increase in mortality. Should you require an independent voice on the same please consult dignitaries from foreign embassies. Conclusion, consequent to the foregoing we now demand that number one a national endeavor involving various stakeholders with capacity to offer congent solutions to resolve the plethora of issues currently facing the nation be called. Such a national endeavor could become a national rallying point helping lead to the unity of purpose that has been lost in the nation. Number two, the national endeavor be held as soon as possible. It is in the best interest of both the ruling and opposition political parties as well as that of Zambians that the nation embarks on the trajectory of unity, peace, growth and prosperity as soon as possible. We remain in service to the Zambian people opposition political parties. We thank you and welcome to the president from Golden League party President Suwale Sillamon, you're most welcome. The president will now proceed to append their signatures to the open letter to the president. We'll do it again. We'll just take one maybe we can use this one. Enter to the president from the opposition political parties. Due to the number of issues that have been raised the president will not be able to take questions at this time and so this is where we close today. Thank you so much for coming. I will now ask for a prayer from Chikasa and after that the national anthem. Father, we thank you for the time that we've had for the leaders of this nation in the opposition to address the nation and the president in particular. We want to pray that Father may the president hacken his ears to the cries of the people in this land. Be with him even as he deliberates on what has been said to him. We thank you and we honor you in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you very much.