By Agness Changala
PF chairperson for Information and Publicity Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba says Lusaka deputy mayor Ketty Nayangwe’s attempt to stop the PF from conducting a cleaning exercise in view of the cholera outbreak is an act of indiscipline coming from a candidate whose mandate has expired.
And Ambassador Mwamba has observed that while President Hakainde Hichilema is making a call for stakeholders to hold hands in the fight against cholera, Nanyangwe is choosing which hands to hold.
The PF, wrote the mayor of Lusaka Chilando Chitangala requesting to clean the Central Business District (CBD) in view of the cholera outbreak.
And Chitangala in her response to the PF letter, welcomed the party’s move and suggested a meeting between a representative of the party and relevant sections of the council to ensure that this opportunity is utilised in the best possible way.
But media reports indicate Nanyangwe wrote to Chitangala disapproving the request granted to the party because of alleged leadership wrangles in the PF.
Speaking to Daily Revelation, Mwamba said the deputy mayor has no authority to stop PF from the cleaning exercise, saying the head of the municipality was the mayor who was elected by a voting population from seven Lusaka constituencies.
He said the deputy mayor was only elected by 31 councilors and her term had actually expired and elections would soon be held.
“So it’s very clear who has the authority. The Constitution recognises the mayor as the head of institution and the town clerk as the administrative head and the mayor has written to us encouraging us to proceed with the cleaning exercise but she has encouraged us to sit down with the town clerk and his team and join in the cleaning exercise that we had proposed,” Mwamba said.
He said what the deputy mayor is doing is an act of indiscipline and it should be treated as such.
He also said the PF will not participate in internal mechanisms.
“We will not participate in internal mechanisms of indiscipline for example to a candidate whose mandate has expired. We will not participate in that. For that, we have an official letter from the head of the institution and we will proceed to convene whether the town clerk will now misbehave is another matter,” Mwamba said. “But for us, it’s a noble cause Zambia has lost over 260 lives. This is no laughing matter and this matter is coming from issues of water and sanitation and cleanliness.”
Mwamba said the state of Lusaka was very bad especially with rains saying the current situation needed the efforts of everyone as the mayor put it in her response to their letter.
“This is a multi-sectorial and multi-stakeholder fight. It can’t be done by one entity. As you have seen, the council is failing, the ministry is failing, the President is failing. It requires everyone, businesses, corporate institutions, political parties, citizens, government agencies and institutions to fight and save lives” he said.
Mwamba said during the action to save lives, people should not be preoccupied with who is qualified and not qualified to hold a broom and sweep.
“Unless someone can tell me that we are not qualified to hold a broom and sweep. At this stage, you even bring convicted prisoners to come and clean. They are given assignments, you bring in the army, bring everyone so that we can stem the outbreak and save lives,” Mwamba said. “So they are going to choose the hands to hold in this fight against…? That is what the deputy mayor is telling us. And that’s what the town clerk … while the Head of State is saying let us hold hands, they are choosing which hands should be held.”
Mwamba said the cleaning exercise will take place as soon as the secretariat and office of the town clerk agree on the actual appointment.
