Chimwemwe residents in Kitwe up in arms against their MP

Fri, 24 Feb 2017 10:26:32 +0000

By ROGERS KALERO

CHIMWEMWE residents in Kitwe are up in arms against their Member of Parliament (MP) Mwila Mutale for allegedly not delivering on his campaign promises.

The residents said Mr Mutale should stop celebrating his victory and instead get down to work and deliver on his campaign promises.

Speaking on behalf of the residents in the township, Joyce Mwango said Mr Mutale should stop being elusive, but instead get down to work and prove himself that he had the ability to deliver on his campaign promises.

Ms Mwango said it was disappointing that while other MPs like Pavyuma Kalobo of Wusakile and Joe Malanji of Kwacha constituencies had made their presence felt in their  respective constituencies, the Chimwemwe MP was nowhere to be seen.

“We have seen and heard that the Wusakile MP and Kwacha MP are settling down and fulfilling their campaign promises, but our MP, Mr Mutale is nowhere to be seen. We want him to give us his programme for the next five years. He should know that the celebrations are over,

“Yes, the honeymoon is over and he should get down to work. He should be on his toes to prove to the electorate that he is better than his predecessor Mwenya Musenge who put up roads and other infrastructure in the area. We don’t feel good to see him just driving around without settling down to do his job,” Ms Mwango said.

Another resident Emmanuel Banda said the youths in the area were expecting Mr Mutale to work on various programmes that would empower women and youths in various ways.

Mr Banda said the former MP did his best on road and health infrastructure in the constituency, now the new MP should roll out his programme to the people of Kawama township in particular, and Chimwemwe constituency in general.

Last year on October 4, 2016, residents of various constituencies in Kitwe cautioned their newly-elected MPs not to get carried away with life in Lusaka to the extent of forgetting about their areas because the repercussions of such actions would be embarrassing after five years.

During a random interview by the Daily Nation in all the five constituencies in Kitwe – Chimwemwe, Kwacha, Nkana, Kamfinsa and Wusakile – the residents said their respective MPs should not only wine and dine at Parliament Motel, but should deliver on their campaign promises.

Margaret Bunda  of Chimwemwe appealed to  Mr Mutale to work hard and ensure that he left some positive change in the lives of people at the end of his five-year term.

Ms Bunda said Mr Mutale and other MPs should know that they were elected to represent the people and not to enjoy life in Lusaka to the level of forgetting about their constituencies.

Mr Mutale could not be immediately reached for a comment.