DEFENCE minister Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba says he wants to safeguard PF from riffraffs that have come to destroy the ruling party by imposing themselves as President Michael Sata’s potential successors.
And Alliance for Democracy and Development (ADD) president Charles Milupi says those endorsing President Sata as a sole PF candidate for 2016 elections have a hidden agenda.
Meanwhile, Given Lubinda says as someone who put in a lot to build the image of the PF, he will not sit back and watch the unity and success of the party and government be threatened.
Explaining his campaign to endorse President Sata as the PF’s sole presidential candidate in 2016, Mwamba said in an interview yesterday that those that wanted to impose themselves as presidential candidates knew themselves.
“I will go on with my agenda to protect the party from other people that have secret agendas to come and take over the presidency,” he said. “Is anything wrong with us supporting the current President? As PF members, we want to safeguard our party. We don’t want riffraffs to come and destroy our party. Tell them this time around, they will not succeed. Sata, 2016 again.”
Asked to explain what he meant when he told PF cadres in Kalabo to sort out anybody that would come to them with a view contrary to his over the presidency debate, Mwamba said: “I meant what I said.”
He explained that the PF members should simply do what was right.
“Yes, this is not the right time that we should talk about the presidency, no. It is too early to say that. We should remain united but we shouldn’t have secret agendas,” Mwamba said. “We are going to detract the President. So, that is my view.”
He said although he had triggered the presidential endorsement issue, he was not interested in the PF presidency himself because he had no crowd.
But Mwamba said his lack of interest in the party presidency was only as along as President Sata was there.
“Those who think they want to be president, we are only two years in power. Let them form their own party if they think they have a crowd,” he said. “They should be sorted out because they are trying to destroy our party. They should just behave themselves. Time for them will come. The people will guide us better. If we are going to impose ourselves because we think ‘I can be president’, it doesn’t work out that way.”
Addressing PF district members in Kalabo on Saturday, Mwamba said President Sata deserved to enjoy his full two presidential terms of office as he fought for them for the 10 years he was in opposition.
Mwamba said it was stupid for anyone within the PF to think they could succeed President Sata after 2016.
“My dear brothers and sisters, fellow party members, let’s rally behind President Sata. Whoever is going to come here with a different agenda, please sort him out,” Mwamba was quoted by the privately-owned Radio Phoenix. “That’s all I can say. How do you expect President Sata to execute all his campaign promises in five years? It’s impossible. We have to give him another second term. President Sata suffered for 10 years; sure, he deserves another 10 years because at the moment, we are not yet ready.”
Mwamba said it was too early for anyone within the PF to think of succeeding President Sata.
“He President Sata hasn’t even started grooming who should take over from him because it’s too early,” said Mwamba. “Just 24 months in office and we want to start even saying we should now start campaigning for presidency? That’s being stupid.”
But Milupi said there was a clear sign that those championing the endorsement of President Sata were positioning themselves to take over, and their current campaign was aimed at diverting public attention from themselves.
“I see it that there is a group of people that are positioning themselves,” he said. “They want to hide in these endorsements so that their opponents can go to sleep so they continue holding their dark-corner meetings to champion their agendas.”
Milupi cautioned the PF to watch out for elements that were bent on championing their selfish motives.
He wondered how some people could be calling for the sole candidature of President Sata when Zambia was a multiparty democracy.
“I believe that all political parties operating in Zambia are democratic and under such an environment, to call for sole candidates is no longer tenable,” he said. “The PF is not yet even two years in power but there are these endorsements. When things like this happen, be aware that meetings are taking place to strategise and get other competitors to sleep. ”
Milupi noted that the continued endorsements were creating an impression that all was not well and therefore there could be early elections. He said there was confusion among leaders in the PF as some were endorsing President Sata while others were against the idea.
“We in the opposition when we see this confusion among ministers, we salivate because we know that the ruling party is in disarray,” he said. “The confusion is also giving an impression that not all is well, elections can come sooner or later.”
Milupi said the PF should not blame anybody who reacted to the impression being created. Mwamba has endorsed President Sata for 2016 polls and called those opposed to the idea ‘stupid’, while Vice-President Guy Scott and PF Lusaka Province chairperson Geoffrey Chuumbwe are against such endorsements.
And in an interview, Lubinda, who is Kabwata PF member of parliament, said he stuck his neck out when it was very popular for people to run away from associating with the PF.
“I don’t speak on behalf of the party but as an ordinary small member of the PF. But my position as a member of the party and one who put in a lot, in case some people decide to forget, I put in a lot to build the image of this party. I stuck my neck out when it was very popular for people to run away from association with the PF because of its image, because of harassment, I stuck my neck out. So because of the amount of investment I put in the party, I will be the last one to sit back and see things going in a way that is threatening the unity in the party and the success of the government,” he said.
Asked to name the individuals he said were endorsing President Sata’s candidature for 2016 because they had realised that their plans of taking over from him had suffered a setback and were now trying to make things appear different, Lubinda said: “See the stories that have been coming from all of us in the PF. It is very clear to see even from the conduct of all of us in the party. You can see that there are some people who are extremely overzealous about positions of leadership, particularly about the presidency.”
Lubinda said his concern was that it was too early for people in the PF to put the country into a campaign mood.
He said the campaign should be outside and not within the party.
“The campaign should not be within the PF but the PF must again be given a second mandate. I don’t think President Sata is impressed with those who are hero-worshiping him. When we go round with endorsements, we are literally attracting adversity. For every force, there is an opposing force. This is not the time. The interest of PF members must be to ensure that the PF succeeds itself in 2016 and the best way to ensure that is done is by ensuring that we are delivering,” he said.
Lubinda said the issue of succession wrangles was a bad sign and must not be tolerated. “President Sata is being criticised not for any commission or omission on his part but on commission or omission on the part of us his supporters. All Zambians, and particularly members of the PF, should play our roles in ensuring that President Sata is given his deserved opportunity to captain the country in the direction that he sees right for Zambia,” he said.
Lubinda said everyone in the party must conduct themselves in a manner that attracts respect for the party.
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