Choma rejects Mweetwa we will not campaign UPND officials
Cornelius Mweetwa
The UPND officials in Choma Central constituency have rejected former Member of Parliament Cornelious Mweetwa who a clique the UPND is trying to impose as parliamentary candidate, reports Zambian Eye Correspondent.
The officials have threatened that if the UPND National Management Committee does not reverse it’s decision and goes ahead to impose Mweetwa, they will not campaign for him.
“Where can you even start from campaigning for Mweetwa looking at his performance in the last five years? It is so demotivating for us He is a very unpopular not only among the party leadership but the public in Choma,” said an official from the constituency.
And UPND Choma District Youth Coordinator Arnold Mabuku said the party district leadership was disturbed with reports that Mweetwa had been adopted despite being rejected.
Mabuku said there is need for the party to take into consideration the wish of the grassroots. He said Mweetwa had failed to work with the party leadership and all wards in the constituency want Vitalis Masopo.
“There is a problem here and I tell you there will be protests against this decision,” Mabuku said. “He (Mweetwa) doesn’t respect the party structures. He uses a parallel structures and all wards don’t want him they want Masopo. So it is just the right thing for the party to give the people on the ground the person they want.”
Choma Constituency Trustee Youth Wing, Mulako Ngenda explained that Mweetwa in the last five years had brought confusion in the party in Choma.
“In the last five years he failed to organise the party and work with the structure to develop Choma. He formed his own structures with a Youth Wing of thugs who he uses to intimidated people. He has brought confusion in the party and if he is forced on us it will adversly affect our president’s votes which we don’t want,” Ngenda said.
Ngenda further explained that there is no touchable development Mweetwa has initiated during his tenure.
“We don’t know where he used the Constituency Development Fund. There is nothing you can point to that he did in Choma,” Ngenda said. “There are businessmen here and around Choma you have commercial farmers, he failed to work with these people so they can ploy back to the community. Through out his term of office he was saying that he is busy with by-elections at the expense of the Coma central community.”
Ngenda also alleged that Mweetwa many times failed to show up in meetings and when he did used abusive language.
“He has no respect to the community and during meetings he uses sarcastic language,” alleged Ngenda.
Mweetwa could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone was not reachable by press time.
Meanwhile a campaign on social media has been launched to make the party to adopt Masopo who is the choice of the people in Choma.
Sources within the party have told Zambian Eye that adoptions in some constituencies that include Choma are being reviewed as the names were changed. A source said Mweetwa had been left out but on Thursday some named former MPs prevailed.
“After
The adoption process has sparked protests not only in UPND but also PF.