By Bennie Mundando
KENNEDY Kamba says the Patriotic Front (PF) agrees with the Economics Intelligence Unit (EIU) with its expectations that this year’s general elections to be the last in which opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema will be contesting.
Mr. Kamba, who is Lusaka Province PF chairperson, says Mr. Hichilema has so far lost five previous elections and this August he will register a sixth defeat as Zambians are going to retire him because he has fallen short of their expectations due to his character as someone who is not “a people’s person”.
In a statement to The Scoop this afternoon, Mr. Kamba said Zambia, being a democracy, has given Mr. Hichilema a leeway to remain in the political space but that the electorates have snubbed him because they are able to see that he does not carry their agenda but his personal agenda and ambitions.
“This is the more reason why the UPND looks divided and prominent people that worked with the late Anderson Mazoka(MHSRIP) have left the UPND. The latest is Charles Kakoma , the former spokesperson of the UPND who has now joined the PF family. We are happy with Mr. Kakoma who has joined us and he is settling well. We believe patriots like him deserve all the support so that his political and economic experience he possesses could translate into significant contribution to the country’s well-being.
“Many members of the UPND especially those close to HH have been complaining about lack of good leadership for a long time now. We are happy that the general citizenry saw this a long time ago and it is the more reason why they have kept on rejecting HH. The fact remains that the UPND has continued to struggle with the tribal tag and regional kind of politics which comes out prominent in the manner they do their politics despite how much they try to hide,” Mr. Kamba said.
He said the UPND deserves another person to run it and that to demonstrate to the nation that it is not a tribal party, they need to pick another person within their rank and file but from another region.
“What they did to Sakwiba Sikota years ago at the UPND convention left many people shocked. Hakainde Hichilema became President of the UPND purely on tribal lines. Sikota was supposed to be President after the late Mazoka. The UPND can even pick our mother Mutale Nalumango who is a prominent figure in our political space and we respect her for that. There are many people who possess good leadership qualities in the UPND than HH.
“Hakainde Hichilema is not a uniting factor and Zambians don’t trust him because of his participation in the sale of Zambians assets including the mines at the time of privatisation which he undervalued for his personal benefit. On moral grounds such a politician with questionable character cannot ascend to power. Our Republican President Edgar Lungu is a people’s person and he is loved by the citizenry because of his humility, his love and continued championing of unity under the One Zambia One Nation motto.
“Beyond that President Lungu has demonstrated undoubted commitment and sacrifice to making Zambia a better place, a land of opportunity for everyone. President Lungu embarked on a robust programme of delivering development to the people through infrastructure development, roads, state-of-the-art hospitals, flyovers that are beautifying and decongesting our capital city Lusaka and many others. Development has been scattered across Zambia with priority given to the needs of the people in a particular locality,” he said. .
He said today the men and women in uniforms, the defence forces, have been dignified with decent accommodation and better conditions of service.
“Nobody has been left behind in the development agenda of Zambia. This is the more reason why President Lungu and the PF will retain government power come August,” he said.
