By Patson Chilemba
Chief government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa has described the opposition alliance as a “brought in dead” project.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Mweetwa said the other individuals were being duped by former president Edgar Lungu and the PF to form another organisation as the former ruling party was no longer sellable to [pp-logged-users] Zambia.
Asked if the government will support the registration of the opposition alliance looking at the challenges some opposition threats to those in government have faced historically when it comes to registering new parties, Mweetwa said as long as the application was within the provisions of the law there was no problem, but that them getting registered does not mean that they will attract people to follow them.
“What is happening there is the rest are just being duped into a political scheme of PF. PF have seen two things, one, they have seen that they have failed to rebrand,” Mweetwa said. “They have seen that their hands are dripping with blood of people who were killed under their leadership through political violence and police brutality. They know that the people of Zambia can’t trust them to manage national affairs. They know that corruption had its headquarters in PF.”
He said the PF was aware that they lost on account of caderism, usurping power from public institutions among many other indiscretions, including hate speech and tribal talk and state sponsored terrorism, saying on the basis of the same they were aware that Zambians cannot accept them as all the wrongs were akin to the name PF.
“So they say let us metamorphose and come under a new name. They are now looking for a new name so that they look different. That’s why they are saying no this alliance will be led by a neutral person. Who is neutral when he’s also a president of a political party, Sakwiba Sikota?” Mweetwa said. “What do they mean neutral? Even when you see what they are doing, everything, they will write that the members president of this alliance, Edgar Lungu will be the last one indicated to try and shield him because he has a tainted image.”
Mweetwa described the alliance as political gimmick, and others were being used as “political doormats for PF to use its political dust as they try to enter into another organisation.”
“Lungu and PF are using these others as political doormats. Secondly this is not an alliance of political parties. No! This is an alliance of two political parties, PF and Citizens First. The rest are just individuals. Sakwiba Sikota, did he contest elections? Chishala Kateka, all those, put together, other than Mr Edgar Lungu, all of them when you put them together me in Choma-Central I got more votes than they got all of them standing as presidents,” Mweetwa said. “So who has a better case to represent citizens? So these are not political parties, they are just political parties on paper. This is an alliance of a political party called Patriotic Front and individuals.”
Mweetwa was asked to comment on the fact that the Socialist Party recently came out to Daily Revelation saying that there was no truthfulness in the manner the opposition group was handling matters, with there being information that there was contestation when word went out that New Heritage Party leader Chishala Kateka had the backing of Lungu for the leadership position.
Economic Front (EF) leader Wynter Kabimba also came out saying the other alliance leaders wanted to use others as chola boys, in response to alliance member, NDC leader Saboi Imboela that they wanted to start small and then invite others later.
Responding, Mweetwa said the alliance was being driven by individuals and not citizens as he has not heard of any citizen calling for the setting up of an alliance, arguing that there was no need for that.
“And no wonder Socialist Party and Economic Front have come out to say they are not partaking of that menu of evil because this is something that has just been generated by individuals,” he said.
He said there was no credible leader in the opposition who people could rally around right now, and that there was no justification to come up with an alliance as the country was just coming from an election two years ago and that the deliverables were there for all to see.
However, put to him that the position from him was contestable, Mweetwa said the UPND administration had delivered on many of their promises and the only issues they were having to deal with were to do with mealie-meal price, fuel and high cost of living, which he said were informed by the cost of production occasioned by the cost of fuel.
“We know that alliance is like bill 10. It is a brought in dead alliance,” said Mweetwa
