Independent MP ready to embrace all councillors

By ROGERS KALERO
WE shall continue helping the vulnerable and improving people’s lives in the community despite unwarranted criticism, Chimwemwe Member of Parliament Mwila Mutale has said
Mr Mutale said in Kitwe yesterday that it was his desire to work with all the six councillors in the constituency, but he would not go down on his knees to beg for cooperation from a ward representative who wanted to work in isolation.
Mr Mutale, who is an Independent MP, was reacting to Buntungwa ward councillor, William Nyirenda, who accused him of unfair distribution of mealie meal meant for the vulnerable in the community.
Mr Nyirenda said he did not know where the MP had taken the mealie meal because no one in his ward had received a single bag of the commodity.
But Mr Mutale said the councillor was not aware of the mealie meal distribution in his ward because he had decided to distance himself and had not been answering his phone calls.
“That William Nyirenda cannot know how mealie meal is distributed even in his ward because he has not been answering my calls for more than three years. Whenever I call him, he snubs my calls. So what am I supposed to do?”
“Obviously, I can’t go down on my knees to beg for his cooperation. I will work with those who want to work with me,” he said.
Mr Mutale said there were a good number of individuals and organisations that were ready to cooperate in serving the vulnerable and developing the constituency.
Mr Mutale said other councillors in Chimwemwe ward were working with him on many projects.
He cited hard working councillors such as those in Itimpi ward, Mpasa Mwaya, Twatasha ward Michael Mbulo and Lubuto ward councillor, Mulenga Kateule.
Others were Chimwemwe ward councillor, Sebastian Munkonge and his Kawama ward counterpart Bonnie Kaonga.
He said the councillors were actively involved in the distribution of mealie meal for the vulnerable
Two weeks ago, Mr Mutale distributed 1, 350 bags of mealie meal in 25 kilogrammes packs.
Mr Mutale said he had distributed the mealie meal to Chimwemwe Central, Itimpi, Kawama and Twatasha wards in Chimwemwe constituency in the on-going programme aimed at alleviating the sufferings of the vulnerable.