By Patson Chilemba
The recognition of Fred M’membe’s Socialist Party (SP) on the ground is a welcome move which shows that our democracy is maturing, says opposition PF deputy national chairperson Davies Chama.
And Chama said the PF’s victory in the Kaumbwe and Lusangazi by-elections for member of parliament and council chairman respectively, is a message to the UPND government that people are reacting to the “deception and backtracking on promises.”
Commenting on the PF loss to winners UPND and second placed SP in Mwansabombwe’s Lufubu Ward, in Luapula Province where the PF came out third with 227 votes against the SP’s 456 and 691 by eventual winners UPND, in the supposed PF stronghold, Chama said he believed that the former ruling party did not put in their best in the campaigns as they already controlled the council there, and that the choice of the candidate could have also affected them.
But put across to him that the PF did not just lose to the UPND, but the SP, and asked what he made of that, Chama said it was a welcome move that the SP was emerging.
“It shows that our democracy is maturing. And it is a very welcome move that other parties are also emerging and are being recognised on the ground. And it shows that our democracy is maturing and it’s a welcome move,” the former Defence minister said in an interview with Daily Revelation. “But unfortunately our democracy is being affected or threatened by the violence that is being perpetrated by the UPND, that has been a very violent political party even in opposition and now in government.”
Asked if the PF feared they could be competing for the same space with the SP, Chama said the legacy of infrastructure development carried in the 10 years they were in government would speak for the PF, as people still had confidence in them going by the results from Kaumbwe and Lusangazi.
“It’s a welcome move that the Socialist Party is also emerging and I believe that the Socialist Party will be number 2 to PF and the UPND will be number three or number four going forward,” Chama claimed. “You saw for the first time ever in the history of Zambia where the President has to leave Lusaka, send all the security details, fly to go and campaign for councilors. It has never happened before where a President goes to campaign for a councillor, councillor, councillor.”
Chama, even over arguments that the President could have gone there to try and establish foothold in an area where he was not strong, said that would still not come as “come 2026 you will be shocked that the foothold has not been established.”
Chama characterised the UPND defeat in Kaumbwe and Lusangazi as the people sending a message against the “fake promises” that were made, including free education and reduction in the cost of fertilizer.
“And now it’s dawning on the people that what was promised, the heaven that was promised is actually not going to be delivered, as said by the people themselves who promised, because they have backtracked on what they promised,” Chama said. “So the people are now just responding to say they are not happy and they can’t buy in the further lies, regardless of how you can go and kneel down to beg, people will not buy in any further lies. And further deception.”
Asked on the arguments by those in the UPND that they were operating under the PF budget as they were yet to produce their own 2022 budget, Chama argued that the failure to deliver on the promises had nothing to do with the budget.
“For instance how did they say they are going to increase the purchase of maize from 500,000 metric tones to 1 million? So where is the money coming from to increase the budget allocation? When you run government there is always supplementary budget that can be approved at a later stage,” Chama said. “…So it shows that the people don’t know how government operates. So they were getting into government without knowing what it takes to be in government…when we took over from MMD we didn’t cry about ‘no we took over the budget of MMD.’ We continued to implement because we knew what we were supposed to do.
So an excuse that this is not our budget it’s not correct, how are they releasing the money if it’s not their budget? So it’s just an empty excuse, they are just being.”
