Kambwili speaks out, tells off Lungu’s third term campagners

Chishimba Kambwili

Ruling Patriotic Front ( PF ) Member of of the Central Committee Chishimba Kambwili has told off those who are campaigning for President Lungu’sthird term.

Speaking when he addressed a press briefing, Kambwili who is also the Roan constituency Member of Parliament charged that only the Congress of the PF will chose the president.

Below are some of the extracts from Kambwili’s press briefing today:

I have called this press briefing to discuss a few things to express my concern over what is happening in our party. It must be noted that we formed the Patriotic Front as a pro-poor party to serve the people of Zambia.

Now, I am extremely concerned that instead of serving the people of Zambia, we are spending more time on insulting one another, on attacking one another and working against one another. Let me make it very very clear that you united we stand, and divided we fall.

I want to call upon all well-meaning members of the patriotic front to avoid squabbles because squabbles will not take us anywhere. There are a lot of issues that we need to attend to as Government that are extremely urgent to make the living of our people, the ordinary people on the streets comfortable but I am so worried that instead of concentrating on serving the people, we are concentrating on issues that are not important. Issues that are not urgent.

For instance, the debates on the 2021 presidential candidate for PF is unnecessary. I find it very unnecessary. Even the endorsements that have been going on all over the country are unnecessary.

If you follow politics in Zambia, these are issues that bring division in the party. President Lungu was only elected I think eight plus or minus months ago and I think he needs to be given enough time to settle and deliver to the expectation of the Zambian people. I do not find it necessary for anybody to start endorsing that President Edgar Lungu shall be the sole candidate for then PF in 2021.

That is in my view, being irresponsible because every origination has its own constitution and for me as Chishimba Kambwili, I have been very consistent on the issues concerning the PF constitution.

When Mr. Sata died in 2015, you remember that there was a suggestion that the central committee would meet to choose the presidential candidate. I said no to that proposal and up to now, I am still saying no to any attempt to veer off the provisions of our constitution.

Our constitution on the election of the president of PF is very clear and I don’t see any reason why any person would want to veer off from ten provisions of the constitution.

The constitution states, the president of the part, shall be elected by the general conference which shall be held every five years, end of quote. The constitution does not provide that if there is an incumbent president, there will be no elections in the coming five years.

Look, former president Frederick Chiluba was an incumbent in 1996 after the 1991 elections. He was subjected to an election because that is what democracy entails. The likes of Levy Mwanawasa stood against him and because Chiluba was very popular at that time and sat so well with the general membership of MMD, he defeated Levy Mwanawasa. What is so different about the PF claiming that there will be a sole candidate in PF?

Let me make it very clear that PF will never entertain the issue of sole candidacy. Nobody, not even central committee would say that there would be a sole candidate to any position of the central committee. When we say this countrymen and women, we are not against President Edgar Lungu. What we fear is for us to be undemocratic and introduce tendencies that have got potential to destroy PF in future.

Imagine members of the central committee who are just about 54 plus or minus and then you choose a presidential candidate against the entire 16 plus million Zambians for which the Patriotic Front have a membership of over 5 million? What we want to do is that the president of the party like what happened in 2015 must be elected by the general membership of the party.

So, I find it very very unreasonable for anybody to start talking about 2021 because what we need to do right now as a party is to concentrate on service delivery and once the party performs… and I think it is not about an individual, it is a collective effort of the party, meaning those who are in cabinet, those who are in the committee and the general membership should work united together to support the manifesto of the PF which is being superintended by president Edgar Lungu to meet the aspirations of our people.

When it comes to 2021, we will just look at the performance. If we come to 2021 and we have performed so well, and things are moving well, people will go to the convention and say oh, those who want to stand can stand but I think the general membership will say President Edgar Lungu has worked so well, we are electing him. All we are emphasizing is that there must be an election after five years.

So for those who think that they can drive an agenda of sole candidacy in PF they are free to go and join the UPND where there are no elections. The UPND has had one president since Mazoka died for I don’t know how many ages. Every time there is a sole candidate. We don’t want that to happen to PF.

We want the ruling party to lead by example that we are democratic and let me say this, when people give divergent views, let them not be viewed as enemies of the party because this is what brings divisions. I mean, I am getting worried about what is happening in PF today.

Let me just give an example of South Africa, the last month, you all heard that there was an upraising against president Jacob Zuma and some of the people who called for Jacob Zuma’s recall were sitting cabinet ministers. Some of them were members of the national executive committee but I have not seen anybody being disciplined for calling for the removal of Zuma because it is their democratic right but what is happening in PF today, if you speak against the thinking of a few individuals, then you become an enemy of the party and what follows id disciplinary action. This is becoming undemocratic and worrisome because as a ruling party, we need to lead by example.

So I want to advise my colleagues in PF, the general membership, members of the central committee that let us not stifle divergent views. Stifling divergent views and only focusing on one direction is dangerous and me I do not understand why people don’t learn lessons from what has happened in Zambia before. Let me start from President Kaunda.

When all the Zambians had changed that they did not want UNIP, a few minister, members of the central committee continued misleading president Kaunda that all was well. The man even cut his term short and called for elections because they had assured him that UNIP was going to win.

Those like President Michael Sata who had advised him to the contrary were not taken seriously. What happened? President Kaunda lost the lections to Chiluba.

Came Chiluba. President Chiluba started very well but on the way, the third term issues started.. eeeh third term! third term! A few individuals, selfish individuals, bootlickers I may call him, assured Chiluba that all the Zambians wanted third term and yet they knew that what was on the ground was not what they were advising Chiluba.

When the third term issue came to a halt, Chiluba ended up a disgraced former head of State. All the respect, the democracy and the development he brought was swallowed by the fact that he wanted the third term which all the people of Zambia did not like. Chiluba ended up leaving State House a very dishonorable man although now people was a good man but that is what happens when a few individuals, bootlickers, I may call them want to mislead the suiting head of state.

Rupiah Banda when he became MMD and republican president, the first thing he did was to chase old members. He fired Mulongoti for no apparent reason, he fired my friend Mangani for no apparent reason, he fired George Mpombo and chased the old MMD.

What happened? Because these people that Rupiah Banda removed were the ones who knew the corners of the MMD household but because a few people wanted to be close to Rupiah Banda and pretended as if they were the ones who loved Rupiah Banda misled the president into making wrong decisions. What happened? Rupiah Banda lost elections.

I think as PF we need to learn from these occurrences in the past and not allow ourselves to fall in the same trap. We must be one brother’s keeper. Politics is fellowship and we need to love one another. We need to protect one another but what is happening now in PF is that people love telling lies about others.

Surely, you expect me, Chishimba Kambwili, to go and sponsor jerabos in Chingola to destabilize the Copperbelt so that president Edgar Lungu can lose the elections and I take advantage and become president? To me that is a lot of nonsense.

Somebody goes to tell the president, a minister, your excellence, these jerabos who were killed in Chingola is Chishimba Kambwili who is organizing them. Where are we going? I have never been to Chingola since the beginning of this year.

Do I know the jerabos in Chingola? Do I know the jerabos on the Copperbelt? Comrades in PF, more especially those who have juts joined PF, I beg you, help us to build PF, don’t come and destroy for your selfish gains. Bootlickers have never meant well. All they wasn’t is to keep their positions. They speak for their pockets, they speak for their gains.

Can you imagine, members of the press, a few ministers are now going to private companies where my company Mwamoneni Enbgineering, telling them, cancel the contracts, do not deal; with this company because the owner is not in good standing with the party. Where are we going? I have been a businessman before I came into politics.

Why do you want to destroy my business? Why do you want to destroy my business because today you are a minister? Come on, please stop it. It doesn’t help you. Today you are a permanent secretary and you go to a private company and say the president has directed us that you should cancel the contract of this company, for what? I have been in business since 1993 and I have been dealing with the mines since 1993. Why should you use your ministerial position to go and tell the mines to terminate contracts for Mwamoneni engineering? It doesn’t make sense!

The bible says he who rises by the sword, will fall by the sword. Do unto unto others as you want them do unto you. People may ask why I am I telling the press about this? I have tried my level best to meet the president, to sit down with him, to explain that some of the ministers have taken it upon themselves to go and destroy my business that I have suffered for and established in good faith. I have not used political power to establish my business. None of my businesses was established when I was a minister.

All my businesses were established long before I became minister and I have been dealing with the mines for very long. Why should it take Bowman Lusambo to go and tell companies that they should not deal with me? Young man Lusambo, let me tell you, the direction you are taking is wrong. The direction you are taking is wrong.

That is not the way we run PF. Since Sata came into office, we have never squeezed anybody in business because the people you want to squeeze in business have got employees and they contribute to the GDP of this country.

They contribute to the economy of this country. You have a lot of work to do as a minister. You have a lot of work to clean the Copperbelt. Please leave Mwamoineni engineering alone.

Because you don’t know where Mwamona engineering has come from that is why I am saying what is happening in PF is surprising and is a source of concern where you want to fight others.

There is nobody who is against the president but me as Chishimba Kambwili, I believe in calling a spade a spade and not a spade a pick for the sake of impressions. When something is wrong, I will stand up and say this is wrong because I don’t want PF to go or to fall in the ditch like many other parties have because of misleading the president.

I would rather go to the president and stand up to him and say sir, I don’t think we should go this direction, the people are not happy. What is happening today, the people are misleading the president on what is on the ground.

How can Kamba, a provincial you chairman go to the paper and say I want to warn Mr. Kambwili? Surely can Kamba warn me? A provincial youth chairman warn a member of the central committee and we are watching? That is indiscipline! That is indiscipline of the waste kind.

The other day it was the youth chairman on the Copperbelt Kainga, I want to warn Mr. Kambwili, he is too junior. Me the person that can scorn me from the party is the president, the vice president, the secretary general and the chairman of the party, not Sunday Chanda, that is indiscipline.

There is too much indiscipline in then party because when you allow small boys to insult senior members of the party and you watch, mu Chibemba tweba ati ukutengelesha mafina kucilonda because tomorrow they will not be on Chishimba Kambwili, they will be on you!