Mulongoti Defends LAZ Silence on President Lungu 2021 Bid
People’s Party president Mike Mulongoti says no one should pressure the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) into making a statement on President Edgar Lungu’s 2021 bid.
And Mulongoti says that some civil servants were being retired under the banner of national interest when in fact they deemed be from tribes that purportedly did not vote for the PF.
Featuring on Radio Phoenix Let the People Talk program, Mulongoti said that people should not blame the citizenry for rushing to online media as the public media had closed out certain critical voices.
Mulongoti said that LAZ was under no obligation to comment on the debate for the 2021 eligibility of President Lungu as the agenda was being pushed by a political party.
He said that he was curious that a political party was desperately pushing LAZ to make a position when they knew that the courts of law were the sure source of guidance.
“People of Zambia have appointed a person in the Attorney General who is a government lawyer and guides the public. He speaks on behalf of government and the public on legal matters,” he said.
“Why should LAZ pander to the whims of a political party or the wishes of an individual? This is a subject that has come too early I do not think LAZ should make a statement based on the whims of a political party. The President is just another citizen with ambitions like anybody else.”
He added: “What will have if LAZ says that he is not eligible? Heavens will come down and they will take arrows and spears to attack LAZ.”
Mulongoti said that LAZ had done well to keep quiet on the subject as it was too early for them to weigh in on the matter.
“Stop forcing LAZ to divide the country. Why is it one political party that is pushing LAZ to make a statement? Did not their President tell them to go the Constitution Court?” he said.
He said that the PF government was better off dealing with pressing matters than pushing the country into a distractive debate barely four months after elections.
“Politicians sometimes send some flares in the air to when they want to test the ground. They can send some chaps to make a statement,” he said.
Mulongoti said the question about the eligibility of President Lungu may become irrelevant if he performed in transforming the country.
“After all ultimately in the end it will be irrelevant whether he wants to stand or not if he does not perform now. Did not Dr Kaunda cut his term of office and called for early elections? People had
enough and it was not relevant whether or not he still had two years remaining on his term of office,” he said.
“Four months into a five year term he has acquired for himself he is talking about 2021. What about hunger, drainages and army worms? Let us not waste time on this debate that is irrelevant to the people.”
Mulongoti said that there was a witch hunt that had robbed the country of some of the finest civil servants due to being suspected of not being politically correct.
“They have retired some people because they are Tonga, Lozi, and Lamba in national interest, that nonsense called national interest,” he said.
Mulongoti said that the public media had shut out certain voices forcing people to seek alternative sources of news.
“Some of us cannot appear on ZNBC that is why people are rushing to online platforms to get the news. Do not blame them that the narrative they are turning to is not correct. You are denying them information,” he said.
He said that government was not sincere on the review of prices of fuel every 60 days as they had bought stock to last up to June 2017 and was only fooling the public.
“You buy fuel from last year to last up to June 2017 and you go and intimidate Oil Marketing Companies to offload at a high price. There are lots of trucks loaded with fuel that cannot offload,” he said.
The opposition leader said that there was resistance to cut out middlemen in the procurement process because of corruption that was benefitting some middlemen.
Mulongoti also said that the issue of tribal voting sometimes was overblown as people expected to get votes from regions they never campaigned.
“To blame a person from Southern Province who votes for a person they see campaigning. How do I expect to get thousands of votes in Dundumwezi where I never set foot?” he said.
“The tribal talk is just a political gimmick and the nature of life is such that in a competition between a lawyer and an engineer is that engineers will be inclined toward supporting a fellow engineer.”
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