UPND official resigns

Wed, 28 Dec 2016 11:37:06 +0000

By Oscar Malipenga

 UNITED Party for National Development (UPND) Lusaka district trustee Ntheye Mwewa has resigned from the party with immediate effect on the premise that the party has compromised the values which it stood for. 

And Mr Mwewa has charged that he had been prompted to resign following the decision by the party not to go for a convention, a sign that the party did not espouse values of democracy but tyranny.

He told the Daily Nation that the UPND had completely no cause for existence and had become a confused political organisation which did not know what they believed.

“They have lost direction and subsequently compromised their values. How is it possible to unseat the PF regime which conducts national conventions to demonstrate to the nation that they believe in the values of democracy, yet as a party you have not conducted one since 2006?

“You can’t run a country or a party the way you run a company,” he said.

Mr Mwewa claimed this was exactly what was happening in the UPND today.

He alleged the UPND was being run like a “Kantemba.”

“If you hold divergent views from the party, you are suspended. Members should analyze the style of management in the party and make the right decision.

“The reason why one should associate himself or herself to a political party should be centered on values and ideology which in this case have been compromised,” Mr Mwewa said.

He said it was part of the reason why he had decided to resign from the UPND with immediate effect.

Mr Mwewa said it was because of the likes of Canisius Banda and Mutale Nalumango that the party had started recording growth in its structures as well as national support because the party looked like it had national character after the duo joined the party.

He said the party had no right to hound out Dr. Banda because he had divergent views from Mr Hakainde Hichilema.

Mr Mwewa claimed Mr Hichilema’s tyrannical style of leadership was the reason why he has lost elections five times now.

“Secondly, the decision by the party to shun the national day of prayer and reconciliation which was made last year as a public holiday is completely nonsensical bearing in mind that Zambia is a Christian nation by declaration.

“This Public holiday is not supposed to be politicised because it was there before the MMD, PF and UPND were formed because it is a day when we reflect as a country where we have gone wrong and see how best we can move forward as a country,” he said.