‘Absentee’ MP irks Sinazongwe

Thu, 25 Jan 2018 17:11:58 +0000

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

 PEOPLE in Sinazongwe are cursing themselves for voting for an “absentee landlord” who lives on the Copperbelt and has no time to address the challenges they are facing due to sheer tribal and regional politics introduced by the UPND, Southern Province PF youth information and publicity secretary Paul Silungwe has charged.

But Sinazongwe MP Gift Sialubalo has reacted angrily to the “absentee landlord” tag saying he had no time to band words with cadres who were trying hard to find relevance over issues they had no clue about and that no one will distract him from fulfilling his campaign promise to the people of Sinazongwe.

Speaking to the Daily Nation yesterday, Mr. Silungwe said people in the area had been given a golden opportunity by the PF for development continuity by floating former Defence Minister Richwell Siamunene on its ticket in the 2016 elections but that the people rejected him despite being a local person who had done so much for them in his previous tenure.

He said as a result of voting for a person who was busy on the Copperbelt, developmental projects that were solicited for by Mr. Siamunene had stalled because there was no interaction between the area MP and  the people in the constituency.

 “We don’t blame the good people of Sinazongwe. We blame the tribal and regional politics that UPND is practicing which has stalled development in most parts of the Southern Province because MPs here were elected on the basis of the UPND’s tribal and regional agenda,” Mr. Silungwe said.

But when contacted for a comment, Mr. Sialubalo rubbished Mr. Silungwe’s assertions saying he had always been in the constituency to attend to challenges facing the people.

“I know that this chap stays in Kalomo. When did he go to Sinazongwe to see that developmental projects have stalled? I will not band words with cadres who have to talk to make chicken change even when what they are talking about does not make sense. When the district was cut off during the last rain season, who was the first person to engage Maamba Collieries to help us fill up the gulf? Was it not me?

“How many times have I lobbied for the upgrading of the Batoka/Maamba road from Government and what has Government done? As a lawmaker, I spend most of my time in Lusaka during parliament sessions because I am the people’s representative but when we are not sitting, I visit my constituency regularly at least twice a month. I may be staying on the Copperbelt but my house is in Sinazongwe and so, let that cadre check his facts before he issues a statement,” Mr. Sialubalo said.

He said the PF was at liberty to field Mr. Siamunene in 2021 as he was ready to crush him again based on what he had done in the constituency in less than two years he has been in office.