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UPND not interested in Pact anymore – PF

UPND not interested in Pact anymore – PF
By George Chellah
Sat 25 Sep. 2010, 04:02 CAT

PF national youth secretary Eric Chanda yesterday said it is outrightly clear that UPND is no longer interested in the pact and have resolved to act as spoilers in the 2011 general elections.

Reacting to UPND national youth chairperson Joe Kalusa’s statement that PF leader Michael Sata is losing wisdom everyday, Chanda said the PF youths would no longer tolerate the insults from the UPND on Sata.

“As PF youths we cannot continue stomaching the insults being hurled on our party president Mr Michael Chilufya Sata and our secretary general Mr Wynter Kabimba by the UPND. It is outrightly clear from the insults that we have received on our senior leadership from the UPND that our colleagues in the UPND are no longer interested in the pact,” Chanda said.

“They UPND want to destroy PF and then leave us at the end of the day to join the MMD or simply act as spoilers so that they lessen our chances and let the MMD carry the day. But they will not succeed because the people of Zambia are carefully watching and they know the truth. They have actually exposed themselves too early.”

He said the insults from UPND that were being poured on Sata were unjustifiable.

“The UPND have tried to hide their bad faith by referring to PF vice-president Dr Guy Scott’s one off article that appeared in The Post where he explained the realities and challenges of the pact. I have said one off because Dr Scott’s statement only appeared once,” Chanda said.

“But what has the UPND or Mr Hichilema in particular got to say about Joe Kalusa’s continuous attacks and insults on our party leadership and the president in particular? Joe Kalusa, the UPND national youth chairman in what capacity can he go to insult the PF president Mr Michael Sata that he has lost wisdom?

“The Zambian people know very well that Mr Sata has done a lot for this country. He is the man of the people and the most capable man to rule this country from 2011 and years by. What has Joe Kalusa done for this country to warrant his attacks and insults on President Sata?”

He said it was obvious that the attacks and insults on Sata were sponsored by other people.

“We know that Kalusa, Mazabuka UPND member of parliament Gary Nkombo and Siavonga UPND member of parliament Douglas Syakalima have been planted by the UPND president himself Mr Hakainde Hichilema to destroy the reputation of president Michael Sata and Wynter Kabimba and to destroy the reputation of the entire PF. But they are bound to fail because PF is a mass driven political party. Our strength lies in the people themselves,” said Chanda.

“Anyone can see that UPND does not mean well to the pact. What UPND could have done if they were genuinely aggrieved or had any issues was to call for round table dialogue. But they have gone to the media in an attempt to destroy us. This we cannot accept as PF youths and we are saying if they are not ready to dialogue let them come out in the open because their real intentions are already known.”

On Friday, Syakalima, who is also Hichilema’s senior adviser, was quoted in the Times of Zambia as having accused Sata and Kabimba of not believing in the spirit of the pact.

“By saying that UPND should accept that PF has more MPs than the UPND and the issue of presidency only means that they don’t believe in the pact,” he said.

Syakalima said the claim by the PF that it had more members of parliament was wrong.

He said PF was no longer strong because most of its member of parliament voted with the MMD.

He wondered why the PF could not accept reality that they had been losing to the MMD in Luapula Province.

Syakalima also said PF could no longer bank on its past glory because the “political pendulum is emotional and unpredictable.”

And Nkombo was quoted in the same publication as having maintained that Kabimba was an enemy of the pact and the Zambian people would blame him for breaking the alliance.

The Times of Zambia also quoted Kalusa stating that Sata had lost wisdom despite having served in government for a long time.

“As an old man, we expected Mr Sata to provide wisdom in the pact, but he has failed. If anything his statements in the media are showing that he is losing wisdom every day,” Kalusa said.

Copperbelt UPND chairperson Elisha Matambo told The Post that his party could survive without PF.

Labels: ERIC CHANDA, JOE KALUSA, PF, UPND

posted by MrK @ 6:07 PM