Mwaliteta says party overwhelmed by those who want to join it
PHILIP CHISALU,
CONRAD MWANGO
Lusaka
FORMER PF Kabwata constituency aspirant Clement Tembo and over 30 others have joined the UPND, with governing party chairperson Collins Maoma urging old members not to reject new entrants.
And UPND Lusaka Province chairperson Obvious Mwaliteta said the party is overwhelmed by those who want to join it.
Mr Tembo said every well meaning Zambian is agreeing with President Hakainde Hichilema’s principles and progressive policies that are delivering development countrywide.
Receiving the new members yesterday, Mr Maoma told UPND structures across the country not to resist those who have seen the good things that the New Dawn administration has done under President Hichilema and want to be part of the winning team.
He said the tangible developments across the country have made the UPND attractive, hence the now famous weekly defections.
Mr Maoma told the new sympathisers that they have joined a party of peace and love, with a call on structures to welcome, embrace and utilise them in areas of mobilisation.
He said the PF is finished and will never bounce back to power.
“I want to encourage all the opposition parties; you can do your politics but let us not destroy our country. Let’s build it together, the way [Mr] Hakainde [Hichilema] is doing it. He is uniting the nation,” Mr Maoma said.
For Mr Mwaliteta, he said although some people demonise it, the UPND is the best party, free from discrimination and upholds democracy.
“When you are in UPND, you are colourless. No one will question where your father comes from,” he said.
While urging old members to welcome newcomers, Mr Mwaliteta said the party targets to give President Hichilema 80 percent of the presidential vote by midmorning on August 13, 2026.
He said he personally knows Mr Tembo as he worked with him when he served as Lusaka Province Minister under the PF regime.
Mr Tembo said he felt unappreciated in the PF, with an appeal to old UPND members not to feel intimidated, saying he is there to add value and not grab positions.
The former Presidential Empowerment Initiative national coordinator said he wants to use his entrepreneurial skills to add value to the UPND, and that he considers himself as a prodigal son.
Meanwhile, UNIP has once again endorsed President Hichilema as the party’s preferred residential candidate in the August general elections.
During a radio interview last week, UNIP leader Henry Muyoba disclosed the party’s decision to support Mr Hichilema.
And speaking at a media briefing yesterday, party secretary general Alfred Banda said the UNIP leadership is in support of colonel Muyoba’s (Rtd) message of continuity for President Hichilema.
Reverend Banda said even before finalising the party’s plans for an alliance with the UPND, it is endorsing President Hichilema because of his policies, which he likened to those of former President Kenneth Kaunda.
He cited the introduction of free education, the school feeding programme and reviving of Zambia’s mining and agriculture sectors as some of the policies the party is happy with.
“It is our firm belief and conviction as UNIP that continuity is very important and the wheel of leadership of this country should not be reinvented, hence we strongly believe that President Hichilema should be supported to finish his second term of office uninterrupted,” Rev Banda said.
He said UNIP feels it would be costly to replace President Hichilema as it would likely take the country backwards….https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/welcome/home
