Sat, 02 Sep 2017 10:27:37 +0000
By Kalobwe Bwalya and Jack Mapapayi
HUNDREDS of Patriotic Front members from Eastern Province yesterday stormed the PF secretariat, demanding the resignation of Finance Minister Felix Mutati, who is also MMD president, accusing him of being disloyal to the ruling party.
Simultaneous protests against the minister in North-Western and Northern provinces were also held with PF members backing their Eastern province counterparts.
In Lusaka, the cadres marched from Intercity Bus Terminus to the PF secretariat, while chanting anti-Mutati slogans, and petitioned party secretary general Davis Mwila.
More than 50 buses carrying the PF members, took over Lusaka’s Cairo Road heading north as some members walked with placards written “Mutati must go”.
And receiving the petition, Mr Mwila charged that people who did not want to abide by the party’s constitution should leave becuse the PF was a party on its own.
Mr Mwila said, he expected total loyalty to President Edgar Lungu especially from government officials, failure to which, they should consider parting company because there was only one president in the party.
He said he would present the petition to both President Lungu and the Central committee to determine and come up with a decision.
“The petition that you have brought to us, we are going to present it to the appointing authority. So, before the President leaves for Swaziland, I am taking this petition to him.
The Eastern provincial executive has since demanded that Mr Mutati should state where he belonged or resign.
Meanwhile, efforts to get a comment from Mr Mutati proved futile as his phone went unanswered.
However, MMD Provincial spokesperson Zephenia Kaleya has warned that the PF organisers of the protest were a sponsored gang aimed at causing confusion in the two parties.
He said some of the officials had vowed to destroy the alliance between the two parties by sponsoring some people to protest against Finance Minister Felix Mutati.
“Some PF officials are not happy with the PF-MMD alliance and they will do anything to destroy it, those who were protesting in Lusaka are just a sponsored gang to cause confusion.
“If they are protesting against Mr Mutati, then it means that they are protesting against President Edgar Lungu who appointed him. For the President to appoint him, it means that he saw his ability to deliver to public expectation,” he said.
