Mon, 09 Jan 2017 08:58:34 +0000
By NATION REPORTER
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) has remained a regional political organisation as has been demonstrated by the appointment of Garry Nkombo and Jack Mwiimbu as Parliamentary Chief Whip and Leader of the Opposition respectively, sidelining members of Parliament from North-Western, Western and part of Central Provinces, Shiwangándu Member of Parliament Steven Kampyongo has charged.
Mr Kampyongo, who is Home Affairs Minister, said UPND secretary general Stephen Katuka should not waste his time commenting on President Edgar Lungu’s statement on his eligibility to contest the presidency in the 2021 general elections but should be working on cleansing his party of the tribal tag.
Mr Kampyongo has revealed that MPs from North-Western, Western and Central Provinces were complaining that they had been denied any of the two positions in Parliament, wondering why only Tongas were considered in the House.
Mr Kampyongo said while the Patriotic Front (PF) had demonstrated that it could change its leadership democratically, the UPND had exhibited all the traits of a political organisation that did not believe in intra-party democracy.
Reacting to Mr Katuka declaration that the UPND was going to demonstrate against the candidature of President Lungu should the PF adopt the Head of State, Mr Kampyongo said Zambians had not forgotten that Hakainde Hichilema took over the leadership of the opposition party on the basis of tribal proclamations at a tribal convention.
“Mr Katuka should not waste time commenting on President Lungu’s pronouncements in the PF but should worry himself about changing its presidency. The PF has demonstrated that it can change leadership democratically but the UPND has exhibited all the traits of a regional political organisation. Zambians recall that Mr Hichilema became UPND president on the basis of tribal proclamation at a tribal convention. They have managed to change names at the level of vice-president but are failing to change Mr Hichilema who is a perennial loser,” Mr Kampyongo said.
Mr Katuka was quoted in the Sunday Nation declaring that if President Lungu wanted to witness mass demonstrations, the Head of State should go ahead and contest the 2021 general elections.
But Mr Kampyongo said Mr Katuka should preoccupy himself with changing the presidency of the UPND which had over the years been fielding Mr Hichilema who had perennially and perpetually losing the elections.
President Lungu has announced that he is constitutionally eligible to contest the presidency in the 2021 general elections if the governing party was going to adopt him.
In 2015, soon after President Lungu entered State House, the Head of State declared that he did not want a retirement house to be built for him but Monze Central MP Jack Mwiiimbu said in Parliament that the Head of State, in fact, did not qualify for a retirement house nor gratuity because he was not going to serve for three or more years as President to qualify for such benefits.
And Mr Kampyongo said former FODEP executive director McDonald Chipenzi should immediately stop masquerading as an electoral expert and concentrate on strategies on how he would win an adoption for the 2021 general elections.
