Monday, June 17, 2013

C/belt UPND says working hard to make PF unpopular
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Thu 13 June 2013, 14:00 CAT

UPND on the Copperbelt says it is working hard to make PF unpopular countrywide. But Copperbelt PF chairman Robert Mwewa says it is wishful thinking for the UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema and his provincial leadership to think they can penetrate the province and dislodge the PF in 2016 with their uncivilised politics that lack substance.

Addressing UPND Copperbelt officials at one of the houses in Luanshya town on Sunday, Hichilema lamented that the PF was giving him and his national executive sleepless nights.

But Copperbelt UPND chairman Elisha Matambo said it was in fact President Michael Sata's PF that was having sleepless nights because the opposition party had penetrated the Copperbelt and was working hard to dislodge the ruling party's popularity.

Matambo said the PF did not deserve to be in government because it was hurting Zambians with its policies such as the removal of fuel and maize subsidies.

He said the PF was shaking because of the impact of Hichilema's visit to the Copperbelt.

"What happened is that we had lunch that was prepared by the Luanshya UPND officials and not a meeting as reported... In fact at the rally after lunch we had a lot of people, actually we deliberately didn't transport people because we knew that the people there had appetite to listen to Hakainde. There was even a young man who came, knelt down and apologised on behalf of all the youths in Zambia for voting for President Sata and PF. So the UPND is hot. PF officials are jumping like headless chickens because of the impact of president Hakainde's visit," Matambo claimed.

He said the UPND was now popular on the Copperbelt because Hichilema had visited Chisokone market after the Face to Face programme on Radio Icengelo.

But Mwewa said the UPND had demeaned the PF capabilities even before the 2011 elections, adding that Hichilema and his officials were still shocked that President Sata and his party were in government.

He said the PF had a strong connection with the people that had come to appreciate the significant strides the government was making to end poverty and deliver on its promises of infrastructure development.
Mwewa said PF officials were respected in the province because they discussed issues and that Hichilema had failed to substantiate his argument and was now busy scandalizing everyone.

He said Zambians had risen above petty politics that were being exhibited by the UPND and were only interested in seeing development.

"The PF has proved to be a very effective government by being practical and not merely rhetoric. We have the Pave Zambia coming and this project will not only make our townships clean but they will create jobs; we have the Link Zambia 8000, we are paving rural areas as well and the removal of subsidies on fuel will also have enormous benefits for the country. Many Zambians are able to see these things," said Mwewa.


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Friday, January 11, 2013

Mpongwe poll will be walkover for PF - Mwewa

Mpongwe poll will be walkover for PF - Mwewa
By Misheck Wangwe in Kitwe
Fri 11 Jan. 2013, 13:58 CAT

PF Copperbelt chairman Robert Mwewa has declared that the Mpongwe parliamentary by-election will be a walkover for the ruling party.

In an interview, Mwewa said the people in the rural districts of the Copperbelt had realised that tangible development could only be achieved by working closely with the party in power.

Mwewa said MMD president Nevers Mumba was day-dreaming by suggesting that the party had the strongest hold in Mpongwe and was ready to work alone in the forthcoming by-election.

"We are preparing in earnest for the Mpongwe by-election. We want the MMD to know that Zambians are no longer interested in political parties that have lost credibility. We have put our logistics in place; we will be in full gear when the campaigns start," Mwewa said.

He said it was a joke of the year for the MMD to think that they were more popular than the PF in Mpongwe when many of those that strongly believed in the former ruling party had defected and resolved to work with the PF government.
"It will be a landslide for the PF in Mpongwe and when we do so, we don't want them to complain like they are complaining right now before we even start. They are yet to feel the heat," Mwewa said. "Nevers Mumba is lying to himself and the remaining few MMD members nationwide when he is aware of what is pertaining in Mpongwe," Mwewa said.

He said the PF would give the people of Mpongwe the development that it promised before it assumed power, including the much-talked about Mpongwe-Machiya road as the works were underway.

"Every major development the people of Mpongwe so desire like schools, health centres and roads are in the 2013 budget, and we will do it. So he (Nevers Mumba) cannot continue deceiving himself about Mpongwe. The PF is stronger than ever before," Mwewa said.

He further appealed to political parties participating in the Mpongwe by-election to exercise restraint when the campaigns begin and learn to co-exist as Zambia was a democracy.

The Mpongwe parliamentary seat fell vacant after the resignation of Gabriel Namulambe, who has since joined PF.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has set February 28 for the Mpongwe by-election.

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