Support a popular candidate - Panji

Support a popular candidate - Panji
By David Chongo in Solwezi
Mon 11 Apr. 2011, 04:01 CAT

COLONEL Panji Kaunda says Zambians should support the consensus candidate by the People’s Pact Forum as a matter of life and death.

Col. Panji, a member of UPND who has strongly backed the candidacy of PF leader Michael Sata following the collapse of the PF-UPND pact, said failing to unite under the People’s Pact Forum to promote one popular candidate would mean chaos in the country.

Addressing scores of Solwezi residents who turned up for the launch of the People’s Pact Forum at the Showgrounds on Saturday, Col. Panji observed that the opposition political parties, despite having more than 70 per cent of the votes during general elections since 1996, have failed to bring down the MMD government.

Col. Panji said the candidate the People’s Pact Forum would eventually settle for would be given conditions of service and “if he doesn’t deliver, kuya bebele”.

“To you, the Pact is a matter of life and death. That is why you should decide wisely who is going to be your president. Let’s stay with the People’s Pact so that we can change rules and regulations,” Col. Panji said.

He told the crowd that braved late afternoon rains that his support for Sata was not misplaced but a matter of principle, saying Sata was leading the biggest opposition party and therefore stood a better chance of defeating the MMD.

“We must learn from our mistakes. Why should we repeat the mistakes we made in 2008?” Col. Panji asked.

He said rallying behind the choice of president of the People’s Pact Forum did not mean people ditching their parties but supporting one common cause to bring change as segmented opposition party efforts had failed to dislodge the MMD from power.

And interim Copperbelt People’s Forum secretary for mobilisation, Peter Sinkamba, said the MMD should be given the boot because it did not follow its own policies.

According to Sinkamba, the mines and minerals Act provides that 40 per cent of proceeds of the mineral wealth should go to the area where the minerals are sourced but the MMD government had continued to ignore the law and subject the people of Solwezi to more suffering.

And speaking earlier during an interview on Solwezi Radio, Col. Panji said the People’s Pact Forum was motivated by ordinary Zambians’ anger against the MMD's misrule.
He said Zambians should be angry with themselves for allowing the MMD to continue raping the country.

“This time, we should be careful what change we make; let’s look beyond the elections we have today. It’s not just a matter of removing Rupiah Banda and putting Sata. We agree that we need change but this is the change that should have meaning. We must be angry that we are driving in potholes…we must be angry that we do not have medicines in the hospitals. If we are not changing, they will continue raping this country,” said Col. Panji.