By Isaac Zulu
We are not jokers, says Democratic Party (DP) leader Harry Kalaba with regards his party’s standing.
Speaking when he featured on 5FM Radio programme dubbed “The Burning Issue,” that was aired on several Commercial and Community Radio Stations across the country as well as on his Facebook Account and, monitored by the Daily Revelation, Kalaba said his party was now in a stronger position after last month’s elections.
“The Democratic Party came out third in the just ended general elections. That only goes to tell that we are not jokers. And this is an indication that the DP is now in a stronger position than it was before August 12 elections. We are not ba muselela kwakaba. We mean business, politically,” he said.
Kalaba urged PF members at lower structures to join his party, saying they lost power because of bad leadership at the top.
“People are beginning to open up…you can no longer hoodwink the Zambian people to vote for you just because you have given them money. People just wanted to change the system…they got tired of the system that was in the PF,” said Kalaba, who also served as Minister of foreign Affairs in the PF administration, but resigned a few years before the August 12, 2021 general election; citing grand corruption in the former ruling party for his resignation. “For us in the DP [Democratic Party], doors are open to all those PF members that want to join us. Iseni mu Democratic Party…come and join us.”
However, the former Bahati PF lawmaker praised the PF leadership for graciously accepting defeat and handing over power to the UPND leadership.
“I have been checking on social media. And I have observed that some people have been teasing the PF such that they are now referred to as “tu 1.8 million. Please don’t demonise our colleagues in the PF. I am personally not even talking about them. Political power is not something to play around with. Had the Patriotic Front wanted, they would have resisted to graciously accept defeat in the just ended general elections,” explained Kalaba. “And had the PF resisted handing over power to the UPND, lives would have been lost. So on that basis, I commend them for accepting defeat and graciously handing over power to the UPND and President Hakainde Hichilema.”
But Kalaba also acknowledged that the UPND administration has inherited “mismanaged economy from the Patriotic Front.”
“Even as DP, we knew that when we form government, we are going to find an ailing economy from the PF. And we vigorously campaigned on that basis. And, indeed, the UPND administration has inherited mismanaged economy from the Patriotic Front,” Kalaba acknowledged, urging Zambians to give the UPND administration time to settle. “I know, for instance; that the President [Hakainde Hichilema] has created new ministries. And whatever he has done with the other ministries that he has done away with. Look, I don’t want to enter in his head. We are going to the relevance of the [Government] ministries that he has created in 90 days…we will give them 100 days.
“So, give President Hakainde Hichilema time to settle down. And I think in the 100 days they are talking about, they would set some road maps in term of their development agenda. Of course, they should be held accountable for the promises they made to the Zambian people ahead of the elections. And as DP, we are going to provide effective checks and balances to the UPND. And where there’s need to give credit; we just have to do that.”
Asked what lessons the Democratic Party had drawn from the August 12 polls, Kalaba said that the DP has learnt that “politically, theories and practicals are not the same.”
“The August 12 general elections proved to be complicated. We had a challenge in terms of campaigning. And in our case, we were taking part in the general elections for the first time. Most of our political party agents came to know about the documents called Gen 20 for the first time; we also learnt that we needed to provide food and other requisites for our foot soldiers. And, above all; I think we have learnt that in politics, theories and practicals are not the same,” said Kalaba.
