By CHARLES MUSONDA
FORMER Zambia Conservative Party (ZC) president Peter Simpemba has called on any political party that will win the August 12, 2021 elections to revive the proposed concept of funding political parties in the nation.
In an interview yesterday, Mr. Simpemba said of late political parties have had challenges because there are no organisations to fund them.
He said there is need to revise the republican Constitution so that political parties can be funded like in Namibia where the government funds political parties.
“When we go on the campaign trail, we cannot compete with others who have the money. My prayer and request to any government that will come into office after the August 12, 2021 elections is that it is high time they should try to enter into social contracts with the community to have political parties funded to manage their affairs prudently,” he said.
And Mr. Simpemba, who lost Chawama parliamentary elections to PF’s late Reverend Violet Sampa-Bredt to now President Lungu, in 2006 and 2011 respectively, hailed Zambia’s first President the late President Kenneth Kaunda on his achievements for the nation and those of successive governments.
He said what he predicted about by the unlikely success of the PF’s promise of more money in people’s pockets has come to pass.
He said it is not the Covid-19 pandemic that has made the ruling party to allegedly fail to fulfill the promise because the late President Levy Mwanawasa and his successor Rupiah Banda left Zambia a debt-free nation.
Mr. Simpemba said it is just poor planning and management of Zambia’s economy that has allegedly led to some economic woes that the nation is facing.
The ZCP was among 10 political parties that were disbanded after the 2011 elections.
