By SIMON MUNTEMBA
I am not only psychologically ready but also have the capacity to adequately represent Matero Constituency which is vast, Lusaka lawyer, Dickson Jere has said.
And Mr Jere has promised to lobby Government so that the dilapidated Zingalume Road in Matero could be worked on without delay.
In an interview, Mr Jere said he had been unveiled by the Matero Constituency PF executive as one of the aspiring candidates for the parliamentary seat in the August general elections.
He said he was the right person for the constituency because he was the only aspiring candidate who could point at a number of things he has done in all the five wards. “My campaign won’t be, who Dickson Jere is. My campaign will be nchito za manja zanga. When I go to Katambalala (Market), I will be playing music and dancing because there will be nothing else to say because my works will be speaking there,” Mr Jere said. Mr Jere said he was a new bleed of a politician, who believed in action and not mere political rhetoric and appealed for support from the residents of Matero.
He urged the electorates not to experiment with leadership this time around but vote for tested leadership.
Mr Jere said in him, the residents of Matero constituency have somebody who is tried and tested to be their representative.
”I tell people that there are three things that you need to ask yourself when you are putting yourself up to be a Member of Parliament. One, are you psychologically ready to take up this battle? Matero is one of the biggest constituencies in the entire country and it is not a joke to be its representative. It is huge. So for one to say I want to be a leader of Matero, you need to have the capacity to deal with this big constituency. And I am ready.”
“Two, to be a Member of Parliament you must have a network of friends. Friends who must be there to come and assist you financially, to assist you materially and to assist you emotionally. And I have those friends. As I am speaking today, when I was telling my friends that I am going to launch my attempt again to go and stand as an MP for Matero, they told me, we have three boreholes to sink in Matero, ask your people where they want them to be sunk right now. I mean business, Matero is too huge a constituency to mess up,” he said.
Mr Jere also bemoaned the deplorable state of some roads in the constituency.
Mr Jere who noted with sadness that the damaged roads have contributed to flooding in the area and even caused some vehicular accidents pledged to work on Zingalume Road.
“The road will be done, this road shall be done. I know where to press the button. I am a new bleed of a politician, I don’t just give pledges. When I say I am going to do this, I do it,” he promised.
Apart from being a lawyer, Mr Jere is also an author, journalist, political analyst, and activist and served as former Press Aide to President of the Republic of Zambia , Rupiah Banda. He has served in various administrations.
Meanwhile, Mayor of Lusaka, Miles Sampa says he will re-apply to the PF to re-contest as mayor so that if re-elected he could continue serving the people of the greater city.
Mr Sampa who is former Matero constituency law maker, said he has foregone the idea of contesting as an MP because he does not want to abandon any section of the people of Lusaka.
He declared this during the zoom interview on Diamond TV’s live programme on Friday night while in the United States with his family on holiday.
