Maravi

Opposition playing to the gallery, says Chilangwa
By Moses Kuwema
Fri 31 Jan. 2014, 14:00 CAT

HOME affairs deputy minister Nickson Chilangwa says playing to the gallery has become the order of the day for the opposition political parties in the country.

In an interview, Chilangwa, who is Kawambwa PF member of parliament, said most of the political party leaders who speak on issues affecting the country do not do proper analysis of the issues they discuss.

"The problem that we have in this country is that we have too many people who want to play to the gallery without analysing properly the issues that they are talking about. We need to critically look at issues that are obtaining in our country. Everybody wants to wake up and give a comment without analysing the issues," he said.

"They just want to speak when they feel like. It is unfortunate. Playing to the gallery seems to be the order of the day. Let us be critical in the way we talk about issues. We seem not to be weighing both sides of an argument as a nation."

Chilangwa said the opposition parties were now using the recent pastoral statement from Catholic Bishops to make political capital.

"They want to think the Catholic is now in support of their agenda and so forth but far from it because the opposition do not have an agenda of their own," said Chilangwa.

Last week, Catholic Bishops released a pastoral letter in which they highlighted a number of issues affecting the nation.

Opposition leaders have since jumped on the bandwagon and are using the pastoral statement to push their political agenda.

However, not too long ago, opposition People's Party president Mike Mulongoti accused the Catholic Church of conspiring with the ruling PF and abandoning its role of speaking for the poor and marginalised majority Zambians.

Mulongoti said some Catholic Church bishops and priests who supported and campaigned for the PF and President Michael Sata had suddenly become quiet when the PF was allegedly violating human rights.

Labels: MMD, NICKSON CHILANGWA, UPND

posted by MrK @ 6:32 PM