Edgar Lungu: PF Members With Presidential Ambitions Should Wait

EDGAR Lungu says those with presidential ambitions in the PF must not force themselves on people.
And Lungu says the PF has credible people to field in any vacancy in form of a parliamentary seat anywhere in the country should need to do so arise.
Asked to comment on the reduction of reports of infighting in the PF, Lungu, who is defence minister, said those that were aspiring to take over from President Sata should allow themselves to be led first.
He said political ambitions did not connote popularity contests and that ambitions should be tied to time.
“Ambition should be tied to time. For example, right now we have a Head of State and we want him to continue beyond 2016, that is a common position. Now if you are saying I can’t wait to be there as much as I am following the one who is there, either because he is making too many mistakes or because you think you’re better, either you are failing to be a good follower, in the end just form your own organisation and put yourself at them and see whether people will follow you,” Lungu said.
Lungu said the process of identifying a leader does not come spontaneously but with time.
“I can tell there are people I have seen in PF whom I can work with at the topmost, I can bow before them and say ‘yes you are my boss.’ Others, I can’t. That will be time for me to say, ‘what am I doing here’, because of their greed probably, their propensity to eat or because of just being bullies,” Lungu said.
“After this generation of leaders, there will be another group that will come to take over. Some of us may just remain ministers, we are even lucky to be ministers.”
Lungu predicted that there would be fallout as the party is going through a process of bonding.
“There will be fallouts, some people will fall out because they overrated themselves and they think that politics is a popularity contest. No it is not,” he said.
“I can tell you that those who are not committed to the party are falling out. It is either they will be ejected or leave themselves. Look at the elections in Lusaka and on the Copperbelt, it is part of the cleansing process.”
Lungu said good leaders were those that have been good followers.
“If you want to be a leader, you should be prepared to be led. Don’t always crave for the top slot. You can follow obediently and question in a respective manner your leaders, but if you are saying I am following because I want to be a leader, you won’t get anywhere. So this is where we are,” he said.
And Lungu said the PF would not fail to fill in any vacancy that shall come as a result of a by-election anywhere in the country because it had enough credible people.
“Nine people applied to stand on the Katuba ticket. That is an indication of how popular the party is growing. Elsewhere, we have volunteer candidates who are standing on the (opposition) political parties. Where we were is where MMD is now. Where one candidate says ‘look I have come, I will stand and fund myself,” he said.
“So if at all, we had a vacancy anywhere in the country, we are not short of credible candidates, after all as we go on, we are now purifying and refining ourselves and getting to know who is quality material and so on and so forth.”