Sun, 04 Jun 2017 14:35:16 +0000
By Bennie Mandando
THE unsolicited for advice from Kabwe Central Member of Parliament Tutwa Ngulube to put off the debate on the PF presidency must be disregarded as it is out of synchronisation and does not represent the position of party structures, PF youths in Central Province have charged.
Last week, PF secretary general Davies Mwila said President Edgar Lungu would recontest the 2021 elections and those in the party who had presidential ambitions should shelve them.
But Roan PF Member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili objected to the directive, saying there were no shortcuts to the PF presidency and vowed that he would ensure elections took place to elect the new leader of the ruling party.
Mr. Ngulube proposed for sanctions against those who were debating on the PF presidency, saying all those openly discussing the issue were going against President Lungu’s previous directive that all the party members must concentrate on delivering development and recruiting new members as opposed to bickering.
He observed that it was too early for people to start differing over the presidency and that early endorsements were unnecessary as there were no elections this year and that it was better to wait for a time when party campaigns would be opened.
“This debate for now is unnecessary and has the potential of detracting the President from delivering the much-needed development in Kabwe Central where all the roads need attention. As a lawyer who was in charge of the same dispute in November 2014 and who was very instrumental in restoring the sanctity of the PF constitution, I find that it’s too early for people to differ over this matter,” Mr. Ngulube said.
But Provincial youth chairman Moses Chilando has charged that Mr. Ngulube’s statement must be ignored as it was not reflective of the provincial leadership’s stance on the matter.
Mr. Chilando said the party leadership in the province stood with Mr. Mwila’s directive on the sole candidature of President Lungu and that it would rally behind him in 2021 because he was the party’s only torch-bearer until 2026.
Mr. Chilando said the province was convinced that President Lungu’s leadership would stimulate meaningful economic development and that it subscribed to the tough decisions that he was taking now, which had huge benefits in the long-run.
He said there was no need for the PF to experiment with leadership as it was already blessed with a sound leadership President Lungu as he was providing workable solutions to the challenges that the country was facing as enshrined in the 2016-2021 manifesto.
“The unsolicited for advice from Mr. Ngulube must be disregarded as it is out of sync and does not represent the position of the structures. As PF youths in the province, we stand by the statement delivered by the secretary general and national chairperson for youth and security in the PF. It is also time that individual members respected hierarchy and structures in the party,” Mr. Chilando said.
