By ROGERS KALERO
INDEPENDENT councillors in Kitwe are not puppets of any political party and will not sink so low as to allow themselves to be used to fight personal and political battles of those in the ruling UPND when it suits them, Ndeke ward councillor Davies Kasengele has said.
Mr Kasengele said independent councillors were not elected to serve the interests of the ruling party or fight its political battles, but to serve the interest of those who elected them through lobbying for development in their various wards and adhering to the council standing orders.
Mr Kasengele was reacting to a social media write up that independent councillors at the KCC have unfortunately become puppets of the Patriotic Front (PF) agenda, sacrificing their integrity and personal opinions to fulfil the agendas set by one individual.
He said the write up was allegedly authored by a named UPND councillor in Nkana constituency, after Independent councillors helped the PF councillors to form a quorum to install Kamfinsa Member of Parliament Christopher Kang’ombe as Alderman along with former deputy mayor Evaristo Chilufya.
Mr Kasengele said the UPND councillors, under the instruction of one senior government official on the Copperbelt, decided to walk out of the council meeting last week to protest against the installation of Mr Kang;’ombe as Alderman together with Mr Chilufya.
But despite the walkout by the UPND councillors, the PF and Independent councillors managed to form a quorum and installed the Kamfinsa law maker as Alderman together with Mr Chilufya, a development which angered the UPND councillors.
Mr Kasengele said Independent councillors were not part of the meeting where the UPND councillors were instructed by a senior government official to reject the installation of Mr Kang;’ombe as Alderman and were not obliged to carry out such retrogressive instructions.
The UPND Councillors walked out of the meeting because they were not happy with the debate which was discussing installing Mr Kang’ombe as Alder man.
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