ALEBWELELAPO GROUP COMMITS TO PAY KALANDANYA DEBT

ALEBWELELAPO GROUP COMMITS TO PAY KALANDANYA DEBT

EDGAR Lungu’s faction of the PF has committed to dealing with the former ruling party’s debts saying they would not leave such a responsibility to Miles Sampa whose leadership they have rejected.

In an interview with Kalemba, Secretary General of the Lungu faction, Raphael Nakacinda indicated that his group would scrutinize the contract that was entered into between the national chairman and businessman Bwalya Kalandanya for 70 alebwelelapo anthems at K13.5 million, prior to the 2021 general election and establish whether contractual obligations were met.

Early this week High Court Judge Charles Zulu ordered the PF to pay Kalandanya K13.5 million for the 70 campaign songs which were composed by a musical ensemble in the likes of JK, Yo Maps, Dandy Crazy, Macky 2, Mampi among others under his record label Kalandanya music promotions.

The Alebwelelapo anthems were aimed at luring the masses into re-electing Lungu.

The Court’s judgement sparked debates within the PF on who was going to settle the debt between the two groups led by Lungu and Sampa with most of the proposing that Sampa honors the contractual obligations.

The proposal did not sit well with Sampa who washed his hands off the debt saying the lyrics of the Alebwelelapo anthems did not have his name.

However Nakacinda indicated that as far as his team was concerned all services rendered to the party for advertisements and campaign songs were paid for and all outstanding debts were cleared.

“We are aware that matters to do with obligation whether to do with musicians and all that were settled.

On this particular issue the party is trying to do due diligence. I think there was a letter of demand and other processes that are yet to be looked at,” he said.

“As you may be aware Honorable Davies Mwila is appearing before Court over party funding and payments that were made to media houses, musicians and so on. As evidence of the fact we were paying for the services that everybody rendered.”

He indicated that he would not authoritatively speak to the findings as it would restructure how his team would respond to and deal with Kalandanya.

“He was of course one of those sympathizers of PF though a business person who provided support and of course a few services, which services if they needed payment, we paid. If there was any omission I think we are yet to respond to that,”Nakacinda indicated.

The Alebwelelapo advocate charged that his group would not risk passing on responsibility to Sampa for him to clear the debt mountain, as it will send a wrong signal that team Lungu is spineless.

“Miles Sampa remains a masquerader in terms of the leadership of our party(PF) and we will not be playing double standard in one vain we believe he’s masquerading as president and then later on we say can you pay for the obligation. I don’t think we are playing those games. We are fully in leadership and we will take responsibility of all matters that are relating on the party,” Nakacinda said.

He clarified that he was the only person to make pronouncements on how the issue at hand will be dealt with.

“I speak on behalf of the party I am Secretary General, beyond me there’s nothing you can only go to the president. The position is that all matters relating to the party, the buck stops at legitimate leadership of the party and we will handle all these issues,”Nakacinda emphasized.

He mentioned that though the party was facing an ‘uphill battle’, it will pull through.

“Of course it has been a difficult path just what we have experienced with honorable Given Lubinda, what we have gone through the past two to three years has not been an easy job of course we have been a subject of scorn, a subject of harassments, ridicule, demonized in many ways and now attempts to have the party destroyed. But, we have to weather the storm and navigate until we reach where God has ordained of us to go,”said Nakacinda

“What will happen is to assess whether the debt exists or not. Whether the contractual obligations were fulfilled or not. I can’t answer at this particular stage. Of payment, I can only tell you that we will undertake all obligations of the party being the ones in leadership.”

Kalemba