By Staff Reporter
I have never met one member of parliament who doesn’t dream to become minister, says Kantanshi member of parliament (PF) Anthony Mumba.
Reacting to PF chairperson Davies Chama’s assertion that his standing in PF was questionable going by how he has been coming out on issues, Mumba said the assertions from Chama did not surprise him.
“If he was able to describe honourable Davies Mwila, the former secretary general as a person who is seeking relevance in the party when honourable Davies Mwila did not agree on the method that was being used in terms of preparation for the convention, who am I to Davies Chama? As far as he is concerned I am a new comer in PF. Because it is people like him who should have taken a back seat and be part of what I would call a council of elders in the PF,” Mumba said.
Mumba argued that the PF that was in opposition before getting into the government was not the same one now, as it needed to fit into the new realities now, with the shifting demographics in terms of the people who vote, mainly the millennials.
Mumba said even a blind person would laugh at any person who would argue against the benefits of a stable currency, increment of CDF among others.
“You mean you haven’t seen that CDF has been increased? You were giving K1.6 million, me I have given already close to K6 million,” Mumba said, adding that “you mean you cannot see that the Kwacha was close to K23 to a Dollar, now it’s K17?”
He said he was simply giving credit and a pat on the back where it was due, saying President Hakainde Hichilema cannot appoint everyone as ministers, saying he was simply responding to a question on whether he would love to serve as minister in the UPND government from the ideas he was providing, which he said he answered in the affirmative.
He said his views were being magnified because of the pettiness he said was rampant in Zambians politics.
“Every member of parliament, I have never met one who doesn’t dream to be a minister one day. Because even in politics there is a career. You must be an MP, you become a minister. After you become a minister what do you aspire for?” Mumba argued. “If you ask Mr Davies Chama himself, why has he still maintained that he wants to be national chairman, in opposition?Why doesn’t he want to retire? He has served as defence minister. He has served as secretary general of PF. He has served as acting president on several occasions. What is it that he wants? That is what he should answer. Not me who is young, whose age is on the side and who I can consider myself a career politician. I became a member of parliament as an independent at the age of 38.”
He said he has served the people of Kantanshi diligently and that even his lifestyle cannot even be equivalent to that of a minister, arguing that his service was to the people, and that ministers drew their gratuities from parliament and were not differently from him except for a few allowances ministers received over MPs here and there.
“It’s lack of information and being envious for things that you don’t understand,” he said.
He insisted that people like Chama should take a back seat as the current voters today, mainly the millennials would not know anything about the PF of 20 years ago.
Mumba said he looked at the future of PF politically being difficult because of the finger pointing even where someone was being objective, “and you want to accuse him of being UPND.”
He said besides that, just the mere fact that UPND was in government did not mean that whoever praised them would become their member as there were other political parties around.
Mumba said there should be an end to finger pointing and lack of selflessness, and that people like Chama must accept to take back-row seat.
“Not saying my body is in PF and my heart is in UPND, when UPND does the right thing as a politician, you want me to go to the constituency and tell them that there is not free education when they are not paying anything? You want me to tell them that the Dollar is still K23 when they are transacting at K17? Come on! You knows, let’s be fair to one another. It’s not everything that government does right. It’s not everything, it’s not everything that the government does wrong,” Mumba said, saying even the PF scored successes like in the energy sector where the country was now moving towards surplus energy, and that the UPND has continued on the same trajectory as the programme looks the same.
Mumba said the PF could not claim anything that is happening now as they were in the opposition, and being in opposition does not mean that the job should just be to oppose everything.
“You will look lost. You can accept something and also provide leadership having served in government for 10 years. You provide leadership on how best this current programme can improve,” Mumba said, saying guidance must be provided on things like the FISP programme for instance which he said has lamentably failed, as the tax payers put in so much but when they go to the shelves the mealie meal was being sold at high prices.
He said he was alive to the fact that there were many people who worked for the UPND who have not been appointed to any position, but that would still not stop him from answering the question on if he would be interested to receive a ministerial appointment from President Hichilema.
“I don’t have anything against the UPND. I don’t have anything against President Hakainde Hichilema. I can even tell you that for me it’s development. It’s development. There is nothing else,” Mumba said, saying he has never even met President Hichilema in person when “there are there who meet him.”
He continued.
“You want him to come for me when I have not done anything? You want him to come for me when I have never insulted him? Just because you are being prosecuted ninshi you are more PF? Awee! That’s why I am saying can we revolutionalise our politics. Politics of 2000, politics of 1991 are not politics of today,” said Mumba. “And I have given you an example, the people who are voting are the millennials. They were born in 2000. Ebali ba problem. They are the ones who sit on these phones blogging.”
Chama yesterday said Mumba’s standing in PF was doubtful, going by how he has been coming out on several issues, including speaking in favour of the UPND government on the stable exchange rate, free education and increased CDF and that he would accept a ministerial appointment from President Hichilema.
“You can tell by his story. You can tell by his story. How patriotic is he? It’s doubtful. It’s very very doubtful. Yah! Very doubtful. By the way he comes out you can tell that the man does not want to promote the interests of the party. Period! It’s as strait forward as that. I can tell you he doesn’t promote the interests of the party and the unity of the party. It’s as simple as that. That one I can tell you without any question about it,” said Chama.
