By SIMON MUNTEMBA
TRADITIONAL leaders must reject selfish MPs and political parties for having denied them the progressive Bill 10 that would have helped to resolve succession wrangles in their chiefdoms when they go to ask for votes in 2021, Minister of Tourism and Arts Ronald Chitotela has said.
And PF Lusaka Province secretary Kennedy Kamba said the collapse of Bill 10 speaks volumes of UPND selfishness.
Mr Chitotela said by fighting Bill 10, the UPND denied an opportunity not only for the youth, women and the differently abled to have representation in Parliament, but also denied traditional leaders an opportunity to have their succession wrangles resolved.
Mr Chitotela who is also Pambashe Member of Parliament said yesterday that had it passed, Bill 10 would have allowed chiefs to have a say on who becomes chiefs in their area of jurisdiction, thereby reducing the succession wrangles.
He urged the traditional leaders, women, youths, differently abled and the church not to entertain the UPND during the 2021 elections for having shot the bill down.
“They have said no to you, please say no to them also as they come to seek your vote,” Mr Chitotela said.
He said the Patriotic Front wanted to present to the people of Zambia a constitution that would look at their interests.
Meanwhile, Mr Kamba said in interview yesterday that posterity would judge the UPND harshly for having hijacked and destroyed the process that could have cemented the country’s constitution.
He said it was a painful experience for Zambia to see how the UPND celebrated the fall of a progressive document that could have helped enhance the country’s democracy and good governance.
“The UPND must know that all their schemes and machinations to have Bill 10 fall off were being followed closely by Zambians and posterity will judge these selfish individuals harshly by losing the 2021 elections,” Mr Kamba said
For us in the PF, he said, we believe that Bill 10 was progressive and it was not a PF document but a document for Zambians which the UPND has killed with impunity.
He said by rejecting Bill 10, the UPND was literally telling women that they should forget about their campaign for increased representation in parliament through a mixed member system.
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