By Daily Revelation Reporter
Former Health minister Dr Jonas Chanda is wondering why PF acting president Given Lubinda and acting secretary general Nixon Chilangwa have not released the postmortem results to the public in which people expressed various views on why the PF lost and the recommendations going forward.
And Dr Chanda said he expects a lot more professionalism from a party that has held power before, rather than issuing unsigned statements via social media on the people who have been removed from their central committee positions.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Dr Chanda, who has been removed from the PF central committee, said the PF could not think of moving forward and bouncing back to power without addressing concerns from the general membership on why the party lost in the first place.
Asked if he saw a future in the PF in terms of one day bouncing back to power, Dr Chanda said PF was in the opposition, saying people have joined the party at different levels, “others, including the one writing those social media statements have just joined PF now, if I am not mistaken may be even after the elections.”
He said he joined PF when it was still a very small party, saying in a multiparty democracy anyone can get back to power as that was the very nature of democracy, but the question depends on the one who has been removed from power working to make sure that they become attractive again to the electorate.
Dr Chanda said the PF did a postmortem exercise, something he was in charge of on the Copperbelt region, which he said has since been submitted to the secretariat but as to why it has not been shared or acted upon “only the party president and the SG can answer. But it has been done in all the 10 provinces to look at why did PF lose and what needs to be done for PF to be attractive.”
He said why the PF lost and what needs to be done was something the media must ask Chilangwa and Lubinda on when they are releasing the postmortem report.
Dr Chanda said despite it being difficult to divulge the details of the postmortem publicly, some things were very obvious.
“But I think the best, in all fairness, we live in a transparent world. I don’t see why a postmortem report will not be shared with PF members and the media,” Dr Chanda said. “Because that is like you face a mirror, you cannot go before a mirror and you cover your face. So look in the mirror why you lost elections then work on that. Then you regain the confidence of the people. So for me, you the media should be the ones asking actually like oh when are you releasing the postmortem report, and what actions are you doing, based on the recommendations of that report,” Dr Chanda, and that as to whether the PF will bounce back to power or not depends on PF itself listening to what the people were saying, and that it was not just a matter of pronouncement that “you will come back to power because the people are the bosses. So we have to fall in line with what the people are saying.”
But asked if he thought the PF was working towards the recommendations from the people or were still in the same attitude which led them to their defeat, Dr Chanda said as a Christian he believed that all were sinners saved by the grace of God, but that the way God serves people was that they must repent of their sins and change direction.
He said for the PF, the starting point was the postmortem, which would tell them why the lost and then make the necessary amends, but it was very difficult to move on when one has not made amends.
Dr Chanda said the postmortem must be released to members of parliament and ordinary members as it came from the same people in the first place, and argued that there document was not a state secret.
“So once you know why you lost then you start making amends, oh people are saying let’s not do this, let’s not do that. But if you don’t start that process it’s very difficult for you to be seen in that new light,” he said, and that even parties in advanced countries have messed up but have always come out of the mess.
He said in the United Kingdom for instance, Boris Johnson had to be dumped by his own party in order to move forward, as parties are bigger than individuals and that was why it always important to listen to the people.
“So to me I think it’s just being honest to yourselves, we did this people have told us that,” Dr Chanda said. “If you don’t regain the confidence of your people it’s very very difficult to make progress in life generally.”
He said the convention is not main issue, but the main issue was to change, saying PF lost not because it did not have a convention but because of their practices while they were in government.
“Regaining the confidence of Zambians I think that is what will work, because you can have a leader, party leader today but with the same unaddressed issues. You are not going to make progress,” said Dr Chanda.
Asked that some of the fillers received from the same postmortem were that the party leadership became too arrogant in that they could not listen, were passive towards corruption, caderism and other vices, but Dr Chanda said there was even no need to get fillers, as they should just release the official report.
He said what leads to fillers is the culture of secrecy, saying things were being talked about publicly on why PF lost.
“To be just objective just give people the report as it is…and then that way you can judge a party. Are they living up to what they said or not? So obviously PF lost there is always a reason,” Dr Chanda said, adding that if you fail to address the reasons why you lost it doesn’t matter what else you do, you can go into extinction. “Secretariat or the party president just release the postmortem report, people look at it and they will look at the recommendations then they will judge you whether you are living by your word or not. Are you practicing what you are preaching or not.”
And Dr Chanda described the statement in which Raphael Nakachinda announced his and other people’s removal from the central committee as a social media statement, saying he expected that whatever decision the party president and the Secretary General took that they will be able to write to him officially, just as they were written to on being appointed.
“So I think that is the professionalism that I believe should be done in these matters, especially for a party that has been in government,” Dr Chanda said, adding that he has been a long time member of the PF, and “I expect that official kind of correspondence, not some unsigned social media statement flying around…because I believe that even the one who wrote that ka statement has my number.”
“Not that I am fighting to stay in the central committee. No! But just being professional. That’s what I would say. So officially I haven’t received anything from the SG or the party president,” Dr Chanda said.
Asked on assertions that he was being courted by the Socialist Party((SP), Dr Chanda said for now he has taken a back seat for the past one year in terms of politics, describing himself as a professional who does not take politics as a career as he is a medical doctor, saying at the right time he will let people know his stand politically because he was still young with a lot to contribute to the nation at whatever level and “using whichever platform of my choosing.”
But he said he has never been in touch with SP or any other party.
