By Staff Reporter
Ruling UPND national chairman Stephen Katuka says the party will deal with those who misbehaved with a pinch of salt, in response to expressions of interests to work with the UPND by paramount chief Mpezeni, Dora Siliya and Charles Kakoma.
And Katuka said as opposed to the PF officials who became parasitic on the government platform to enrich themselves, those appointed in the UPND should be content with just the appointment and contactual remunerations they will be entitled to.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Katuka said public service was not about dipping one’s fingers into the public coffers nor use the government position to win this and that contract.
He said that was why in Dr Kenneth Kaunda’s government there was a leadership code to track the wealth accumulation of leaders.
Katuka said the PF made others very poor while making themselves rich at the same time, saying as a result weak souls like his “own relative”, Charles Kakoma, were enticed with some of the carrots that were being dangled, leaving the UPND at the 11th hour despite having diligently served it for a long time.
But asked if the party would welcome him back if he declared interest to, Katuka likened Kakoma’s situation to a wife who deserted their husband once they lost their job.
“Now when you get another job she comes to tell you she loves you so much would you take her back? If you can answer the question then you would be answering your question,” Katuka said. “It’s very difficult even to accept such a person. You know when people leave they want to say all bad things about this woman/man they divorced…you heard how he said he wasted his time in the opposition, he wasted his time supporting Hakainde. So how does he now go back to the same Hakainde who wasted his time?
“If he is principled even himself he can’t even dare to come back. The problem in African politics there are very few principled people.”
On former minister in the MMD and PF government Dora Siliya’s recent statement that she was ready to work with the new ruling UPND, Katuka said UPND had enough of its own brains and would only import what they did not have as it was useless to do so.
He said the UPND wanted to test its one brains, however noting that a few that joined hands with the party before the elections helped a great deal in securing the victory.
“But we will not be importing now after the victory. I don’t think it will make sense to the ordinary Zambians and even us all,” he said.
On the paramount chief of the Ngoni people of Eastern Province, Mpezeni’s recent statement to Daily Revelation that he will now be supporting the UPND as the PF was no longer in power and he did not even know them, Katuka said in the first place it was unconstitutional for chiefs to even engage themselves in partisan politics.
“The Bembas say eko sulile ekopa noko. So now they are coming back to apologise…it’s very unfortunate. But we must also listen to those stories (from them) with a pinch of salt. It’s not gospel truth, somebody who disowns you when you are in trouble,” Katuka said. “Those who did not support us, we are not being vindictive but however, as I said we will deal with them with a pinch of salt…we are Zambians, we are a Christian nation, we love our people. We love our traditional leaders, but those who misbehaved must be looked at with one eye closed, one open.”
