By Mubanga Mubanga
Citizens First (CF) leader Harry Kalaba says his party will no longer be identified with zeros because it has backed up its work by defeating the ruling UPND in the Mufili ward elections.
In an interview with Daily Revelation over the weekend, Kalaba said his party had been mocked for a long time by the ruling UPND for getting “zeros” in several by-elections held across the country, and yet CF was leaving a presence through such participations in elections resulting in them being identified by the masses overtime.
He said their hard work had now started to reap rewards after the party emerged victorious in Lupososhi’s Mufili ward, in Northern Province, following through on a recent narrow loss where they emerged second to the UPND in other by-elections in Fibalala and Shabo wards in Milenge and Nchelenge, respectively, in Luapula Province.
“We are fast becoming a party of choice and clearly the people of Zambia are beginning to notice our efforts. And we just call upon all Zambians to come around and work together for the good of the nation. If you remember, when the UPND noticed us emerging third in 2021 via another vehicle, they sponsored their own surrogates to throw spanners in our way,” Kalaba said. “However, noticing that they were intent on wasting our time and trajectory in the same manner they have done to PF, we quickly formed another vehicle called the Citizens First, which despite its newness has now got a victory to show for in the elections. We shall no longer be identified with the mockings of zeros now but as winners.”
Kalaba said his party had received endorsements from fellow opposition parties such as NAREP, Saboi Imboela’s NDC, NED and RDC. He said he was grateful that these parties had chosen to back the CF.
“Please give me, give us the chance to lead this country and we shall work everyday to make it better, because it deserves better,” Kalaba said.
He said this was a mark of confidence even as they aspired to work with others within the opposition ranks.
“The UPND must go. Malawi has done it. It’s hight time we did it as well,” Kalaba said.
Kalaba likened the mocking that CF had endured to a barren woman who endured scorn from their husband’s family and society over their state, only to finally deliver a bouncy baby.
“So we are now having the last laugh. I know there are those who still don’t believe that we are a party of choice. I urge them not to dwell on their laurels but join this ship called CF which is already sailing and may be out of sight by the time they realise,” Kalaba said. “The Mufili ward win clearly shows that Zambians are quickly buying into our message of hope for the country. And mind you, the scale of our movement might actually be more than what you noticed in Mufili as there is an over concentration of ruling party resources in just one area during a by-election, something that is absent during a general election.”
Kalaba said he was ready to work with other like minded Zambians who were ready to sacrifice self for the development and industrialisation of the country.
He urged Zambians who were tired with the corrosive tribalism, which was going unabated to join forces with him to return the country to the One Zambia, One Nation it used to be.
Kalaba said he was saddened that despite the clear tribal moves by the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) chief executive officer Amon Mweemba in the recruitment process, where he discounted the people of Eastern Province and northern parts of the country, there has been an eerie silence from President Hakainde Hichilema and his government over a matter that bordered on criminality and against a unitary state.
He said if it were him in government, he would have fired Mweemba on the very first day the matter became public.
