I’ve already walked out of PF, says Kambwili

I HAVE already walked out of PF, says Chishimba Kambwili. But PF secretary general Davis Mwila has told Kambwili that he cannot serve two masters at a time and has challenged him to resign his seat.

Kambwili yesterday said the PF under President Edgar Lungu was no longer attractive because of the corruption. The Roan member of parliament, who featured on Hot FM breakfast show, said the corruption under President Lungus watch was clear to see, citing the US$4.3 million Michael Chilufya Sata Toll Plaza on the Ndola-Kitwe carriageway as one of the projects whose expenditure was unreasonable.

He said even if he was offered a position, such as vice-president, he would not go back to PF. Kambwili went on to say the ruling party members should instead join the National Democratic Congress.

I want the court to declare that the decision by the PF [to expel me] was null and void and they give me a leeway either to remain as an independent or join another political party. That is what I am fighting about…. I have said it before, several times and I will say it again; I have no reason to go back to PF. Under Edgar Lungu its not attractive because of the corruption they are doing, he said.

That tollgate in Ndola, if you look at it, its just a shelter with 12 pillars, with a roof on top costing $4.3 million…this kind of corruption where people are getting low salaries, there has never been increments to the civil servants salaries and yet you go and spend $4.3 million to build a shelter to collect revenue, its sad. The one at Manyumbi, after Kabwe, the temporary one only about K3 million was spent, and they are collecting taxes but why go and make a flamboyant tollgate for the purposes of collecting revenue that you can collect in the existing shelter?

Kambwili maintained that he would not be hounded out of the PF, a party he was part of when it was formed. However, he clarified that he had already walked out and the only thing he was doing was to defend his Roan seat.

I have no intentions of working with President Edgar Lungu. Even today if he offered me a position as Vice-President [I would say] no thank you! They have to come to NDC. Nobody can hound me out of PF, I will walk out of PF on my own and by the way, I have already walked out of PF and Im only defending my Roan seat, which I won on merit using my own money. PF did not give me even one ngwee to win the election in Roan, Kambwili said.

He said he would not stop criticising President Lungu because he was superintending over the national treasury. Kambwili said there was nothing special about President Lungu not to be criticised because even past presidents went through the same furnace when they held that position.

When you ask us who talk about President Edgar Lungu…he is the President and when you become a President, you become a national asset and you are controlling and superintending over the treasury of the state and obviously when superintending over the treasury of the state, you must accept criticism, said Kambwili.

There is no way that you can insulate the President from criticism. All the presidents that have been there have been criticised and there is nothing special about President Edgar Lungu not to be criticised. When we criticise, we criticise for the purpose of wanting things to be done better than they are being done.

But Mwila said: awe, it doesnt work that way; people must have principles. If surely he doesnt want PF, he must also resign as MP, it ends there if he is a principled person. But if someone has no principles, he can say that, he can stay in PF. Because how can you hold on to two thing? You are NDC and you are PF! If he is saying that PF is not a good party, he is supposed to leave PF and go to NDC, it ends there.

Mwila wondered why Kambwili is holding on to the seat if PF was not attractive. He said Kambwili knows that PF was attractive, the reason he was clinging onto the seat. He challenged Kambwili to resign if he felt that it was not attractive.