Maravi

‘MMD struggling to hold ground in S/Province'

‘MMD struggling to hold ground in S/Province'
By Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
Sun 18 Sep. 2011, 13:53 CAT

THE MMD is struggling to hold ground in some parts of Southern Province with some district party officials in Namwala complaining of being sidelined in the campaigns. And Mulobezi independent parliamentary candidate Mwiya Wanyambe says the people of the area are fed up with the MMD's candidate Michael Mabenga.

According to an MMD source who preferred anonymity, Namwala MMD candidate Major Robbie Chizhyuka had sidelined some officials of the district committee in his campaigns.

"The district committee is not fully aware of who is in the campaign team of Chizhyuka and all we hear is that he is being hit hard in most of the areas he goes to. We are definitely losing this seat again to the UPND as their candidate seems to be on top of things. In the heat of panic VJ (Vernon Mwaanga) has been sent to Kalomo," the source said.

Efforts to get a comment from Maj Chizhyuka failed as his mobile phone was switched off by press time.

And Mbabala Constituency chairman Chilufya Mwamba said he would expose a lot of the underhand methods being applied by the MMD through a UPND official who has been co-opted in the MMD campaign team to help former Choma district commissioner Liven Apuleni.

"They are busy sending text messages on tribal lines saying that I'm Bemba. I'm not going to change my name and there is no MMD clause which states that for one to be a chairman in Southern Province, he or she must be Tonga. I give them 24 hours to stop what they are doing or I will expose this named official from the UPND who has been hired to help in the campaigns," Mwamba said.

And Wanyambe said in some areas, the people were just interested in chitenge material being distributed by the MMD while in some areas Mabenga was being chased by villagers.

"I'm in Machile right now on a campaign trail just like all the other political players but here in Mulobezi Constituency, the MMD is losing the parliamentary seat; Mabenga is not needed by the people," said Wanyambe.

Labels: MICHAEL MABENGA, MMD, SOUTHERN PROVINCE, TRIBALISM, UPND

posted by MrK @ 5:10 PM