Tue, 20 Dec 2016 08:05:56 +0000
…as Kambwili maintains his demands for elections and constitution amendment in PF
By Gwendolyn
Mchenga
KELVIN Bwalya Fube has been dismissed from his position as Patriotic Front (PF) deputy elections chairperson with immediate effect.
And Chishimba Kambwili has maintained that the PF should amend its constitution to stop the president of the party from appointing party officials so that all positions from bottom to the top became elective.
Mr Kambwili has however declared that he would never rebel against the PF, neither would he trade his loyalty to President Edgar Lungu with any form of political ambition.
PF chairperson for elections Jean Kapata has sacked Mr Fube who until yesterday was her deputy for gross misconduct.
In a letter dated December 19, 2016, Ms Kapata stated that she was concerned with recent illicit media statements and activities by Mr Fube without her authority, consent or clearance.
According to a letter addressed to Mr Fube, Ms Kapata stated: “Following your appointment as deputy elections chairperson, I wish to revoke you appointment with immediate effect. You issued newspaper and social (media) statements without clearance from my office.
‘‘By virtue of this letter you are required to surrender all party material and equipment that are in your possession without fail,’’ Ms Kapata said.
Ms Kapata said her action was as a result of Mr Fube’s continued issuance of statements in print and social media without clearance from her office.
On Sunday, Ms Kapata lambasted Mr Kambwili and Mr Fube for calling for elections in the PF from top to bottom and branded the duo as treacherous individuals who wanted to cause consternation in the ruling party.
And Mr Kambwili has declared that he was not going to back-pedal on his demands that all positions in the governing party should be elective because he had always believed in calling a ‘‘spade, a spade and never a pick’’.
Mr Kambwili, who is PF Roan Member of Parliament, claimed it was an insult for anybody to brand him a rebel who was fighting President Lungu and the party’s secretary general Davies Mwila.
Mr Kambwili has however maintained his demand to amend the PF constitution so that all the positions in the party could be contested.
He has also maintained his demand that members who were being admitted in the PF and being given positions in Government and party structures should have respect for old members of the governing party.
“I will forever remain a PF member and my loyalty to the party and the President can never be questioned. I am not fighting the President when I say that we should amend the PF constitution so that the President stops appointing people to positions in the party. I believe in my principles and I will not say things that I do not believe in.
“We must ensure that all positions from bottom to the top are elective and those aspiring must go to the convention and ask the people to vote for them and not wait to be appointed,” Mr Kambwili said.
Mr Kamwbili claimed he had always been comfortable with whatever position he had been given to serve the party, saying although he was one of the founder members of the governing party, senior positions had always by-passed him.
Mr Kambwili said there were some new entrants in the PF who were pretending that they were more loyal to President Lungu and the ruling party.
“When we founded the PF, we allowed Mr (Michael) Sata to appoint because we were a new party. I know they are claiming that Sata embraced everybody but let me tell you that Mr Sata did not pick every Jim and Jack and gave them positions in the party.
‘‘It was Mr Sata who personally vetoed some names which were new in the party at our convention before the 2011 general elections,” Mr Kambwili said.
