Fr Bwalya claims PF ministers' support
By Kombe Chimpinde
Wed 01 May 2013, 14:01 CAT

FR FRANK Bwalya says he is receiving a lot of support from some ministers over his presidential ambitions.

Fr Bwalya, who recently resigned as Zesco board chairman, yesterday said he had received overwhelming support from sections of society, including ministers and deputy ministers, on the presidency idea and that it was up to the people to decide whether he could actually be trusted with the mantle or not.

"When I speak like this, I speak with confidence because of the text messages that are flooding my phone. I don't want to delete them because I believe it's God speaking to me through these messages but my phone now is congested," he said.

"I am just overwhelmed and I have always said God's way is the best and it is for the good of the people. No one has sent me any negative message; people are sending me positive text messages. Some of them are Cabinet ministers, some of them are deputy ministers and a leader of a certain country abroad who I met on one of my official engagements."
Fr Bwalya said people had been calling him to assure him of the trust they had in his leadership qualities.
"I am not asking the Zambian people to trust me. I am asking them to see a heart in me that can be trusted," he said.
Fr Bwalya said the Zambians had the onus of putting whoever they trusted in power.
He said that God, through people, was drawing his attention to the issue of leadership, which he was seeking counsel on and that he had realised that there was nothing wrong with it.
"Talking about the question that you asked on whether I want to become president, my answer is very simple: the Bible makes it very clear that anyone who admires to serve the people and the position of leadership does a good thing," said Fr Bwalya.
"The only difference is when a good man admires to lead people, it's a good thing but when a bad man admires to lead the people, that one is dangerous. So I want the people to judge me whether I am a good man and if I am good man who is desiring to lead the people, the people shouldn't be worried because after all, I will not impose myself on the people. It will be the same people that will go into that booth and put a cross after my name."
Fr Bwalya said he was in a prayerful manner.
"I am not on my knees 24 hours. For me prayer is a way of life, so the way I am eating, reading spiritual books, the way I am cleaning my house, making my bed when I wake up in the morning, I am doing everything in a prayerful manner and trying to make sure that God speaks to me even through small things.
"When I wake up in the morning, I see birds singing outside, I listen to them," he said.
Fr Bwalya said it will be the people that will elevate him and bestow the honour of serving them in whatever capacity they will choose.
On Monday, sources revealed that Fr Bwalya is positioning himself to stand as Republican president in 2016 because he feels he can make a better president than Michael Sata.
Sources also disclosed yesterday that Fr Bwalya had been telling his confidants that President Sata was too old to lead Zambia.
The sources also said Fr Bwalya had been telling people that he could make a better secretary general than Wynter Kabimba.
And Fr Bwalya said he would only state his position over the presidency after 34 days beginning Monday.
On Sunday, Fr Bwalya claimed he resigned as Zesco board chairperson so that he could be free to praise or criticise the PF and President Sata in particular when he does something correct or wrong respectively.
Fr Bwalya also strongly criticised President Sata and the PF over the by-elections and the arrests of opposition political party leaders.
"I am back. I apologise to UPND leader HH and MMD president Dr Nevers Mumba for not speaking out for them when they were arrested on flimsy charges in Livingstone and Kitwe, respectively," he said.
Fr Bwalya also said people were losing hope in the PF and the promises the party made even in terms of the fight against corruption, citing President Sata's statement advising the Anti-Corruption Commission to notify him before investigating ministers which he hoped was a slip of the tongue.