(LUSAKATIMES) The People’s Pact Launched

The People’s Pact Launched
TIME PUBLISHED - Monday, April 25, 2011, 3:13 pm

Former United Party for National Development official Colonel Panji Kaunda has denied allegations that he is going round the country campaigning for Patriotic Front Leader Micheal Sata.

Col Kaunda,who was expelled from the UPND for openly declaring his support for Mr.Sata has since formed the People’s PACT,a movement that is going round the country collecting people’s endorsement over their Presidential preference among the two opposition leaders,Sata and Hakainde Hichilema.

Col Kaunda says the people’s PACT was formed with a sole purpose of democratically removing the MMD from power using a collective decision, adding that
the movement is a replacement of the UPND-PF PACT which has since collapsed.

“After the collapse of the PACT,we thought we should go to the people themselves to find out which candidate people themselves want based on the popularity since their leaders have failed to agree ..so that was how we formed this coalition”, Col Kaunda said after the launch of the movement in Livingstone on Saturday.

Col.Kaunda,who is now the interim Chairperson of the Peopls’s PACT says people should not misunderstand the motive of the movement to be a campaign vehicle for SATA despite him having endorsed the PF Leader ahead of the forthcoming election polls.

After making the declaration in favour of Sata,the UPND immediately announced Col.Kaunda’s expulsion from the Party.

“That was my opinion,I was asked as a politician ‘who do you think can win these elections between Sata and HH’ my answer was Sata because he is more popular and I was expelled from the Party but this movement has nothing to do with that, it is purely a pressure group to remove the ruling Party from power,”he said.

Col.Kaunda,who however has maintained that even though he has been expelled from the UPND,he is ready to work with any members of the opposition whose goal is to remove the ruling Party from Government.

Meanwhile a co-opted member of the People’s PACT,Francis Muchiba,who is also former United National Independence Party(UNIP)District Chairman for Livingstone says the MMD Government should be removed from power because it has failed to deliver.

Mr.Muchiba pointed out a number of parastatal companies in Livingstone that have collapsed as a justification of the failures.

“Look, since we need to remove this Government in power, what we are saying is let us put someone not necessarily a perfect leader but someone who we will give conditions that opens the doors for us,it might be Sata,it might be Hakainde but the idea is they open the door for us ,”

The Launch that was held at Villa Grounds in the vicinity of Livingstone’s largest township Dambwa was fairly attended with notably only one member of the UPND seated at the high table.