By Bennie Mundando
NATIONAL Revolution Party (NRP) president Cozmo Mumba and his Alliance for Better Zambia (ABZ) counterpart Hector Soondo are attention seekers who always want to throw mud at me each time they are disciplined, Zambia Center for interparty Dialogue (ZCID) board chairperson Jackson Silavwe has said.
Yesterday, Mr. Soondo issued a statement in which he claimed that Mr. Silavwe is illegally in office at ZCID as political parties which gathered in Jesmondine rejected what he termed as an illegal ZCID chairmanship.
He claims that Mr. Silavwe, who is also Golden Progressive Party (GOP) president, is in the office illegally because his mandate expired in 2019 and that 16 political parties have threatened to pull out of the ZCID if the board is not dissolved.
“Jackson Silavwe is in the office illegally as board chairperson. According to the trust deed, only political parties with representation in Parliament can sponsor a chairperson for ZCID board. We (the 16 political parties) have therefore resolved that if the ZCID board is not dissolved, we are going to pull out of ZCID.
“There are a number of issues we want the ZCID board to clarify, e g, expenditure and transparency on a number of programs undertaken by the ZCID, membership fees, electoral processes, the trust deed, elections,” Mr. Soondo said.
But when contacted for a comment, Mr. Silavwe told The Scoop that he is not surprised that Mr. Soondo could come up with such wild allegations because he, together with Dr. Mumba, are in the habit of attacking him each time they are disciplined for their truancy.
He has described the duo as attention seekers and that he cannot allow himself to hold on to any position illegally and that there is nothing illegal about him being at the helm of ZCID because he was elected.
“Mr Soondo and Mr Cosmo Mumba were recently suspended from the ZCID WhatsApp group for breaking the house rules continuously. In order to seek attention, as per their tradition every time they are disciplined, they begin to throw mud at me even though am not the group enforcer of the rules but secretariat.
“I cannot allow myself to hold any position illegally. That would go against my values. I am a man of the law and I am not power hungry. All the positions I have ascended to in ZCID are as a result of being elected. It’s a pity that some of our members keep fighting the institution when we have fought so hard to raise the ZCID profile. Perhaps we should leave ZCID for them,” Mr. Silavwe said.
