By Patson Chilemba
Zambians must vote regionally as a way of countering the regional voting from other areas, says Chishimba Kambwili.
And Kambwili said the claim that President Hakainde Hichilema’s Cabinet was the most balanced is the biggest joke of the year, saying people must instead focus on appointments to influential ministries which drive the country.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Kambwili was asked on the regional message he was preaching to the people of Eastern Province recently. Responding, Kambwili defended himself saying there was no tribalism in what he was saying, and that people who were attacking him were guilty and have something to hide.
He said he was simply stating a fact that where President Hichilema comes from, people voted for him in numbers, and those from where Lungu comes from must also vote for his party in numbers.
Kambwili wondered why people were attacking him when he did not even mention the tribe that President Hichilema was Tonga and president Lungu was Nsenga, saying his attackers should be ashamed of themselves, and remind themselves of the scripture to do unto others what they would love others do for them.
Asked if he was suggesting that people should be voting on regional lines and if that was not tantamount to promoting regional voting in itself, Kambwili said it was not right to vote in that manner but that the only appropriate way to respond to regional voting right now was voting regionally to teach others a lesson.
“But if other people are doing it, and we don’t counter it they will forever be doing it and they will think it is right thing to do. Now by reciprocating in other areas it will teach them a lesson that this is not the right thing to be doing. That is the basis….they will learn that this is the wrong way and we must stop it,” Kambwili said. “I condemn it in all strongest terms but people when they are doing the wrong things they must be taught this is wrong. The problem that we have in Zambia we allow people to be doing wrong things and continue celebrating them instead of telling them this is wrong.”
Kambwili continued.
“There is no way, no way, Patson that you can have 69,000 people voting for one candidate and only 200 voting for the other candidate. In fact it’s not only Lungu and the PF it’s the other combined nine (16) political parties who run for office. You see what I am trying to say? But if the Northerners start saying we will also just be voting for somebody who comes from here, what will remain of the country?” Kambwili asked.
He said he was surprised that people had not seen sense in his argument, even suggesting to report him to the police.
“The current mayor of Kafue was saying openly, we Tongas must vote for a Tonga president, must vote for Tonga councilors, Tonga MP. Why hasn’t she been arrested? Why do you want Kambwili to be arrested?” Kambwili asked.
Kambwili suggested that the country must come up with a law that if someone got 90 percent of the votes from the region they came from, elections in that region must be nullified.
“Then it will be fair. It will teach other people a lesson to stop what they do. They are not going to be doing, they vote 90 percent and then they want to go into other regions and say you you can’t vote like that, or you can’t talk about it. No. No. This is dividing the country, that’s why you can see most appointments are tailored towards regions that voted. You can’t run a country like that,” Kambwili said, adding that he was generally speaking about the matter. “The danger of such kind of voting you find that most of the major appointments will be made in a region where you were voting. And I am not making reference that somebody has done that, no.”
But put across to him that several stakeholders have applauded the nature in which the cabinet appointments were tribally balanced, Kambwili laughed off the matter.
“Hahahahahaha that is a story for another day, but it’s the biggest joke of the year. I have told you now, I don’t want to talk about these issues, but I will talk about them at an appropriate time. But I can tell you that saying the Cabinet is the most balanced one, balancing a Cabinet by nature of tribe is not everything,” Kambwili said. “What is important is what positions have been given to who and where and where they come from. So let’s not be blinded. Government has got major ministries that run the country. So when you are balancing you have to be weary of the fact that which Ministry has been given where, which Ministry has been given where.
“Those are the issues no just a question of saying we have gotten someone from Northern Province. What positions are they holding in that government?Are those ministries important? Do they have any effect in the running of the country? So that’s why I am saying I don’t want to condemn anything or to talk about it but I will talk about it at an appropriate time.”
Asked on the PF presidency and the provincial WhatsApp groups that have been opened in provinces to push for his candidature, Kambwili said he did not want to address himself to the PF presidency as it was an internal issue right now, but that the members have the right to do what they are doing, since it’s them who are driving it themselves.
